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The Rice Owls snapped a four-game losing streak by handing the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners their first loss of the season, 34-14.
With two first-quarter field goals and a 38-yard touchdown pass from Luke Turner to Donte Moore early in the second quarter, Rice hopped out to an early, 13-0 lead. With a pair of rushing touchdowns from Turner Petersen and Taylor McHargue to begin the second half, the Owls continued to pull away and earned a 27-3 lead.
The Roadrunners mounted a small rally at the end of the third quarter with a 36-yard touchdown pass from Eric Soza to David Glasco II. With a successful two-point conversion and a 35-yard field goal by Kristian Stern less than three minutes later, they cut the Rice lead to just 13.
However, a second touchdown by McHargue early in the fourth quarter put the game back out of reach for the Roadrunners. Rice out-gained UTSA by more than double, gaining 483 total yards, compared to just 239 for UTSA.
Box Score Hero: Rice dominated on the ground, rushing for 301 yards and three touchdowns. While he didn't find the end zone, Charles Ross accounted for more of those rushing yards than any of the other Rice rushers with 117 yards on 16 carries.
Rankings Ramifications: Neither team came in ranked and Rice has no chance of breaking in to the rankings with this win.
But Did They Cover?: Rice were favored to win, but only had a 2.5-point spread in their favor. With a 20-point victory, they certainly covered.
Next Week's Schedule: Rice travels to play Tulsa in a Conference USA game while UTSA will host San Jose State for a game with WAC implications.
This story was originally published on SB Nation.com.