HOUSTON » Rice defensive end Brian Nordstrom gestured for celebratory crowd noise after a huge near-sack late in the fourth quarter sealed the Owls’ 28-14 victory over Hawaii on Saturday night.
Although he was unable to sack Hawaii quarterback Ikaika Woolsey, who threw an incomplete pass as he was being dragged to the ground, Nordstrom’s pressure forced a crucial turnover on downs in the fading minutes of the game, thwarting a Hawaii comeback.
It was Rice’s relentless pass pressure that kept Hawaii’s offense in check throughout the game, giving its own offense much-needed breathing room on a night of extreme inconsistency.
Rice’s seven sacks were the school’s most in more than a decade.
"I don’t think I’ve been in a game in my life where our team had so many sacks," linebacker Alex Lyons said. "That kid was tough. He took some nice hits."
The second half had barely started when freshman defensive end Connor Johnson sacked Woolsey for the Owls’ sixth of the game, their most quarterback drops in a game since 2004, when they were facing crosstown rival University of Houston, Texas’ UH.
Rice coach David Bailiff likened Hawaii’s blitzing pass-rushers to fire ants with their style of attacking quarterbacks, but it was Woolsey who suffered the most Saturday. Rice finished with 12 tackles for loss, taxing Hawaii 60 yards on those plays in the backfield.
While the defense was just teeing off, a season-high three turnovers kept Rice from taking a lead until there were less than five minutes remaining in the game.
"We thought it would be famine, famine, and then we’d have some feast," Bailiff said. "We didn’t realize how long we’d be in the famine period."
Rice was fueled by a breakout performance from sophomore running back Darik Dillard, who had two touchdowns and 141 yards on 23 carries, his first career 100-yard game. Dillard’s older brother, Jarett, was an All-America receiver for Rice from 2005 to 2009 and holds the NCAA record for career touchdown receptions with 60.
Dillard’s second touchdown gave Rice a 21-14 lead with 4:18 remaining. For the third straight week, Rice outscored its opponent in the second half, and an unwavering commitment to the running game was the key.
"The offensive line was begging us to run zone plays and overpower them," Dillard said. "By trusting them, we were able to keep the ball moving and make things happen."
Rice scored one final touchdown with 12 seconds left when Jordan Taylor pulled in a 31-yard pass from quarterback Driphus Jackson on fourth-and-13.
Jackson finished 10-for-23 for 248 yards, two touchdowns and one interception but was wildly inaccurate in the first half. He blamed himself for Rice’s slow start.
"That was the worst half of football I’ve played in my life, from Little League on up," Jackson said. "But I went in at halftime, said a prayer and asked the Lord to calm the storm. It’s just amazing how things settled down."
