the Rice Thresher

Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Lauren Schoeffler Sophomore safety Travis Bradshaw, who leads the nation in solo tackles with 74, showcases another of his talents as he grabs an interception against Tulane on Saturday in his team's first victory of the season.

Throughout the first nine games of this disheartening season, the football team was plagued with a tough schedule, a slew of injuries and some of the worst luck the program has seen in years. But it appears that karmic intervention is finally making its way back to Rice Stadium, as, in the homecoming game last Saturday, the Owls (1-9, 1-5 Conference USA) defeated Tulane University 28-20.

But it wasn't easy, it wasn't clean and it wasn't pretty. Tulane (3-7, 1-5 C-USA) scored twice in the first quarter, following the pattern of previous games and rattling the nerves of everyone in the stadium. The worries were warranted, considering the Owls accrued a mere three yards on six plays over their first two drives.

But Rice did not give up between quarters, and the Owls put together a 73-yard drive in the beginning of the second quarter to turn the heat on the Green Wave. The drive culminated with redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Fanuzzi tossing a pass into the waiting arms of senior receiver Toren Dixon, who caught his first of three touchdowns on the day.

Fanuzzi, who finished the afternoon 15-24 from the field, has evolved a prominent passing game alongside the increasing stability of his offensive line, and Head Coach David Bailiff is certainly appreciative.

"I'm really proud of the offensive line," Bailiff said. "They held up for Nick to give him time to get the ball down the field and [allow] Toren Dixon [to] step up and play the way he played."

The following drive also looked promising for Rice, bringing the Owls to Tulane's eight-yard line. But with 36 seconds left in the half, senior kicker Clark Fangmeier botched his second kick in as many games, sending a 25- yard field goal attempt wide right.

At this point in the game, the Owls had not done much to differentiate their performance from any previous game's. However, according to Bailiff, the difference was palpable during halftime.

Continued...

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