No. 21 Marshall rolls to 10

Photo By Chris Tilley/Associated Press

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Rice traveled to West Virginia in hopes of knocking off a nationally-ranked opponent and extending its six-game winning streak.

Those hopes were vanished rather quickly on Saturday afternoon as No. 21 Marshall dominated from the start in a 41-14 win over the Owls.

Rice compiled just 180 yards of total offense - 75 of which came on a late drive against the Herd's reserves - and had trouble finding ways to get Marshall off the field on third down in the loss.

'I would put that defense right up there with Notre Dame,' Bailiff said following his team's first loss in seven games. 'They have a good solid defense that I don't remember a year ago.'

A year ago, Rice (6-4, 4-2 Conference USA) dominated Marshall en route to a 41-24 win over the Herd in the Conference USA Championship.

This year, the Owls could never get flying.

Rice quarterback Driphus Jackson finished just 11-of-23 for 99 yards on the day while being sacked three times and pressured seven others, which resulted in rushed throws.

Jordan Taylor caught nine of the 11 pass completions from Jackson, but was unable to find the end zone as Marshall made a concerted effort to take him out of the equation as best as possible.

'They did a good job stopping us and we couldn't execute it as well as we would like to,' Taylor said. 'The result was 14 points and a butt-kicking, so I give all the credit to them.'

The rushing attack for the Owls never got its legs underneath it, either, finishing with just 81 yards on 35 carries.

While Rice couldn't get its offense in rhythm, Marshall (10-0, 6-0) had no such problems, amassing 581 yards of total offense while maintaining its balanced attack that has brought success this season.

Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato finished 23-of-37 for 297 yards and four touchdowns with an interception.

Running back Devon Johnson finished with 199 yards on 27 carries and had a 2-yard touchdown run that put Marshall up 34-7 after three quarters.

'He is, in my opinion, the difference,' Bailiff said. 'Cato was great last year, but now they have the rushing that they can depend on.'

Marshall scored the game's first 17 points before Bryce Callahan returned an interception to Marshall's 17-yard line to set up Jowan Davis' 3-yard touchdown run. The Herd added a 21-yard field goal late in the half to go into the locker room with a 20-7 lead.

Following the break, Marshall scored the first 21 points of the half, squeezing a pair of Cato touchdown passes to tight end Eric Frohnapfel and wide receiver Deon-Tay McManus around a Johnson 2-yard plunge.

The 21 points represented the most second-half points that Rice has given up all season, which includes losses to Texas A&M and Notre Dame.

Following the game, Bailiff compared Marshall, ranked No. 21 this week in the Associated Press poll, to the Power 5 teams.

'We have played A&M and we have played Notre Dame,' Bailiff said. 'Marshall is right up there with those guys. They are a good football team.'

Rice returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday when the Owls host UTEP at Rice Stadium.

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