Dec 23, 2006, 6:15 GMT
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.
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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