Oct. 17, 2008

The Rice Owls will open the second half of their 2008 football schedule when the host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Rice Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff for the Conference USA tilt is set for 2:05.

Rice-Southern Miss game program (PDF file)

The Owls (3-3/2-1) are coming off an open week and will be looking to win their third straight home game. They opened the season by defeating SMU 56-27 and then blasted North Texas 77-20 three weeks ago. Southern Miss (2-4/0-2) is coming off a 24-7, non-conference loss at home to Boise State last Saturday night.

This is Southern Miss' first game at Rice Stadium and the first by a team from Mississippi since 1975 when Mississippi State defeated the Owls 28-14. Last season, Rice won the inaugural meeting with Southern Miss, holding off a late rally to win 31-29.

Rice's Jarett Dillard and Chase Clement will be looking to add to their record-setting career totals. Dillard and Clement hold the NCAA career record for touchdown passes by a duo (42), and Dillard holds the NCAA career marks for touchdown receptions (51) and games with a touchdown catch (32).

The Owls will be back on the road the next two weeks, with games at Tulane on October 25 and UTEP on November 1. They will return home to host Army for Homecoming on November 8, the first of three consecutive home games to wrap up the 2008 regular season.

Tickets for the Southern Miss game are on sale on-line, by calling (713) 522-Owls, or in person at the Rice Stadium Ticket office.

The game will be broadcast locally on Houston's ESPN 97.5 The Ticket with David Saltzman, Nate Griffin and Matt McCabe describing the action. The game will also be available on-line through Owls All Access.