Northwestern Wildcats @ Rice Owls Football Recap

Northwestern 30, Rice 13

The Northwestern Wildcats had spent their first two games this season riding the right arm of their pleasantly surprising and extremely efficient quarterback. Saturday night, they rode the arm of Rice quarterback Taylor Cook.

Teams like David Bailiff’s Rice Owls tend to have modest goals during a given college football season. Typically, improving enough on a week-to-week basis is enough of a milestone. Being able to win six or seven games and go to a bowl should generally suffice for Rice.  Unfortunately for the fan base in Houston, the Owls took a step back on their way towards achieving that modest objective on Saturday, falling behind Northwestern 27-6 before ultimately succumbing to the Wildcats 30-13 in an error-prone effort.

The key play was not a pass from Persa, the sensation who hit 38 of 44 passes at the beginning of this still-developing journey. No, the play that turned the tide in this tilt involved a pass from an errant Owl.

The second quarter was winding down. With 3:48 left before halftime, Northwestern held a meager 6-0 lead, as the Rice defense had been performing headstands and cartwheels. The Owls were inspired on defense in this game, as they vigorously and resourcefully kept Persa out of the end zone for 26-plus minutes. If the Owls had been able to go to the locker room with just a six-point deficit, they would have had reason to feel good about their chances in the second half.

Then came the mistake that killed them.

Northwestern senior linebacker Quentin Davie earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors as a result of what he did to the home team on Saturday night in Texas. Davie returned an interception nine yards for a pick-six in the second quarter to stake the Wildcats to a 13-0 lead.  Following a Chris Boswell field goal that cut the Rice deficit to 13-3, Northwestern scored two third-quarter touchdowns to extend the lead to 27-6. 

Davie’s dashing display sucked the life out of Rice Stadium and enabled Northwestern – then given a two-possession lead for the first time all evening – to breathe freely. The fact that NU quickly expanded its lead to 27-6 after the break came as a surprise to absolutely no one.

What did come as a surprise was the uneven play of Persa, Northwestern’s unquestioned leader under center. In this contest, he became a slacker. Persa completed “only” 24-of-32 balls for 307 yards and one touchdown. Persa – who was a bit shaky in the first half but found his form after halftime – ran for a touchdown for the Wildcats during their decisive third-quarter surge.

The Owls managed to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter when freshman wide receiver Turner Petersen raced in for a touchdown from 10 yards out.  Petersen’s score came too late in the game, however; it wasn’t nearly enough to help the Owls overcome four turnovers and a slow start.

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