At times the Rice Owls showed signs of life in their home opener against the #21 Baylor Bears in front of 27,047. The Owls (0-3) opened the scoring when Haden Tobola put a 24-yard field goal through the uprights at the start of the second quarter. Baylor (3-0) would answer with two scores of their own when JaMycal Hasty found the end zone on a 16-yard run followed by a reception by wide receiver KD Cannon when the Baylor Quarterback Seth Russell connected for a 10-yard pass.
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- Baylors KD Cannon (#9) makes a catch over Rice cornerback J.T. Blasingame (#14) during the Bears 38-10 victory in Rice Stadium on September 17th. (Photo by John Glaser)
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- JaMycal Hasty (#6) of Baylor scores on a 16 yard run with 11:07 left in the first half in their 38-10 victory over Rice on September 17th. (Photo by John Glaser)
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- Rice QB Tyler Stehling (#10) runs a quarterback keeper for a big gain on the Baylor Bears in the Bears 38-10 victory over the Owls on September 16th in Rice Stadium. (Photo by John Glaser)
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- Emmanuel Esukpa (#33) for the Rice Owls reaches for the endzone and falls just short for a touchdown. He would score one play later making the score 14-10 late in the first half in the Owls loss to Baylor 38-10 in Rice Stadium on September 16, 2016. (Photo by John Glaser)
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- Rice Owls lineman Isaiah Edwards (#55) raises his hands after a one yard touchdown by Emmanuel Esukpa in the Owls loss to Baylor 38-10 on September 16, 2016 in Rice Stadium. (Photo by John Glaser)
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- Baylors Terence Williams (#22) celebrates after scoring on a 24 yard run with 1:45 left in the first half during the Bears victory over Rice on September 16, 2016 in Rice Stadium. (Photo by John Glaser)
Rice responded with a touchdown of their own with 4:11 left in the half closing the gap making score 14-10 but then the wheels fell off for the Owls. Just before halftime the Bears Terence Williams made it into the end zone on a 24-yard run increasing their lead 21-10 going into the locker room after Rice running back Darik Dillard fumbled after a big gain in Baylor territory.
“We knocked on the door,” Rice Head Coach David Bailiff said speaking on the fumble, “we just can’t have those types of mistakes. That is how Rice wins ballgames by Rice not beating Rice.”
The second half would belong all to the Bears as they scored 17 unanswered points. Baylor quarterback Seth Russell finished the night completing 22 of 38 passes for 337 yard and three touchdowns. JaMycal Hasty rushed for 105 yards on the night for the Bears and a touchdown. KD Canon is a player to watch for the Bears as he completed the game with nine receptions for 213 yards and two touchdowns including a leaping touchdown as he hurdled a Rice defender to find the end zone.
Baylor opens its conference schedule next Saturday in Waco when they take on Oklahoma State. Rice looks for their first win next week as they host North Texas.
