New Orleans, LA - Omar Haugabook threw for four touchdowns
and ran for another score, as Troy won a bowl game for the first time in
school history with a 41-17 thrashing of Rice at the New Orleans Bowl.
Haugabook, who was named the game's MVP, completed 14-of-28 passes for 217
yards with one interception, and ran for 92 yards. The Trojans (8-5), who
ended the season with three consecutive victories, lost in their only other
bowl appearance, to Northern Illinois at the 2004 Silicon Valley Bowl.
'At the beginning they basically played a lot of man, they tried to be real
aggressive and then we burned them deep a couple of time,' Haugabook said.
Troy, which got into the New Orleans Bowl via the Sun Belt title, came up with
five interceptions, all against Joel Armstrong.
Armstrong connected on 35-of-54 passes for 305 yards with two TDs for the Owls
(7-5), who had a six-game winning streak halted. The New Orleans Bowl marked
Rice's return to the routine of postseason football for the first time since
1961. The Owls haven't won a bowl game since 1954.
Jarett Dillard had nine receptions for 71 yards for Rice, while Quinton Smith
had eight catches for 75 yards.
Haugabook scored on a two-yard run with 10:41 left in the opening quarter, and
it became 14-0 when he connected with Gary Banks on a three-yard TD pass. That
score came just 51 seconds later, as Boris Lee intercepted Armstrong.
An 11-yard scoring pass from Armstrong to Mike Falco cut the Rice deficit to
14-7, but Troy extended the margin to 14 points again with just two seconds
left in the first when Haugabook connected with Mykeal Terry on a 56-yard TD
pass down the left sideline.
Clark Fangmeier's 43-yard field goal cut Rice's deficit to 21-10 early in the
third, but Haugabook started to put the game out of reach later in the period
with a seven-yard TD pass to Andrew Davis.
Rice had a long TD pass overturned at the end of the half by a holding call.
Greg Whibbs hit a 25-yard field goal in the third and his 26-yarder nearly six
minutes into the fourth boosted the cushion to 34-10.
Dillard's one-yard TD catch with just under five minutes left gave him a
scoring reception in all 13 games this season, an NCAA record for consecutive
games with a TD catch in a single season.
'The record is nice, but I really don't look at individual statistics like
that,' Dillard said. 'A 'W' is a 'W' and that's all I worry about. The record
is fine, but I go for a win. You can break all the records, but if you don't
win, it doesn't matter.'
Haugabook closed the book on his MVP night with a five-yard TD pass to Toris
Rutledge with 1:56 left.
'I am sure we will be voted to win the league next year,' Troy coach Larry
Blakeney said of the team's success in the Sun Belt Conference. 'I am sure it
will help in recruiting. I am not sure what the future holds, but I am sure
proud of where we are right now. Coming into this game and getting a big win
certainly helps our perception.'
Game Notes
The Owls actually played a pair of bowl games in 1961, having played in the
Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in 1961 and then playing at home in the third
annual Bluebonnet Bowl in December of 1961.
The attendance of 24,791 was the
second-highest in the six-year history of the game.
Troy had scored 23 points
in the first quarter combined in its previous 12 games.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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