Rice 41, Tulsa 38, 2OT

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Chase Clement threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard to lift Rice to a 41-38 double-overtime victory over Tulsa Saturday. <br/><br/>It was the 3rd touchdown reception of the

Saturday, November 11th 2006, 6:11 pm

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) Chase Clement threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard to lift Rice to a 41-38 double-overtime victory over Tulsa Saturday.

It was the 3rd touchdown reception of the game for Dillard, who also caught an 11-yard strike from Clement in the first overtime and a career-long 65-yard scoring pass late in the 1st half that gave the Owls a 20-7 halftime lead.

It was a happy homecoming for Rice coach Todd Graham, who was Tulsa's defensive coordinator the past three years.

Tulsa (7-3, 4-2 Conference USA) rolled up 568 yards on Graham's defense, but constantly thwarted itself with mistakes, including 4 turnovers and a blocked punt. It was the fourth consecutive victory for Rice (5-5, 4-2 C-USA).

Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime, Rice first on the 11-yard grab by Dillard.

Tulsa had to go to 4th down twice, but quarterback Paul Smith completed a 17-yard pass to Donnie Johnson on 4th & 7, then scored on 4th down from inside the 1 on a quarterback sneak.

Tulsa had to settle for a 39-yard field goal by Jarod Tracy in the second overtime. Rice went to 3rd & 10 before Clement found his favorite target.

Dillard now has a Rice record 21 career touchdown grabs, a league-leading 16 in 2006 and has caught at least one touchdown pass in a nation-leading 14 consecutive games.

Clement completed 14 of 36 passes for 209 yards and the 3 touchdowns. Dillard had eight receptions for 137 yards.

Smith threw for 308 yards, completing 17 of 29. Tarrion Adams ran for 116 yards and Coutney Tennial had 109 yards.

Tulsa took a 21-20 lead in the 2nd half, but the Owls took advantage of TU's final turnover, a muffed punt by Idris Moss recovered by Rice's Andrew Sendejo at the TU 21, to go ahead 28-21 with 2:52 left.

Clement raced 9 yards around right end for the score and Quinton Smith bulled in for the 2-point conversion.

Smith brought Tulsa right back, completing 4-4 passes for 80 yards on the 86-yard drive and scoring on a 3-yard bootleg to tie the game with 1:19 to play.