HOUSTON (AP) - Charles Sims ran for three touchdowns as Houston defeated Rice 35-14 for its first win of the season Saturday afternoon in Reliant Stadium.
Sims scored on a 3-yard run and a 47-yard run that put the Cougars up 28-0 in the third quarter. He would later make a 16-yard run for his third touchdown. David Piland was 26 of 43 for 361 yards and two touchdowns, including a 31-yard pass to Daniel Spencer and a 25-yard pass to Larry McDuffey.
Rice scored in the third quarter when Sam McGuffie caught a 24-yard pass from Driphus Jackson. The two connected again for a touchdown on an 88-yard pass.
Houston (1-3, 1-0) opened its final season of Conference USA play before moving to the Big East.
Rice (1-4, 0-2) had hoped to rebound from an overtime loss to Marshall.
The win keeps the Bayou Bucket in Houston.
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| Scoring Summary |
| HOU | Larry McDuffey 25 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Daniel Spencer 31 yd pass from David Piland (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Charles Sims 3 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| HOU | Charles Sims 47 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| RICE | Sam McGuffie 24 yd pass from Driphus Jackson (Chris Boswell kick) |
| HOU | Charles Sims 16 yd run (Matt Hogan kick) |
| RICE | Sam McGuffie 88 yd pass from Driphus Jackson (Chris Boswell kick) |
| Team Stats | ||
| HOU | RICE | |
| First Downs | 30 | 17 |
| Third Down Efficiency | 10-15 | 5-16 |
| Fourth Down Efficiency | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Plays-Net Yards | 87-608 | 70-343 |
| Rushes-Yds | 44-247 | 34-69 |
| Passing Yds | 361 | 274 |
| Kick Return Yds | 29 | 97 |
| Punt Return Yds | 15 | -3 |
| Passes | 26-43-1 | 18-36-0 |
| Punts | 4-184 | 10-402 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Penalties-Yds | 8-69 | 6-55 |
| Time of Poss. | 29:13 | 30:47 |
| Individual Stats |
| RUSHING |
| HOU: Charles Sims 24-158, Braxton Welford 9-36, David Piland 3-25, Kenneth Farrow 4-17, Ryan Jackson 2-13, Team 2--2 |
| RICE: Charles Ross 13-52, Jeremy Eddington 7-35, Brandon Hamilton 2-2, Driphus Jackson 12--20 |
| PASSING |
| HOU: David Piland 26-43-361-1 |
| RICE: Driphus Jackson 17-35-272-0, Jordan Taylor 1-1-2-0 |
| RECEIVING |
| HOU: Larry McDuffey 8-100, Daniel Spencer 5-99, Kenneth Farrow 4-61, Charles Sims 4-47, Deontay Greenberry 3-32, DeWayne Peace 1-16, Ronnie Williams 1-6 |
| RICE: Sam McGuffie 6-119, Donte Moore 3-44, Vance McDonald 2-41, Taylor Cook 2-21, Charles Ross 2-19, Dennis Parks 1-18, Klein Kubiak 1-10, Jeremy Eddington 1-2 |
| Standings | |||
| Team | Standings | Conference | Overall |
| Houston | 3rd Conference USA West | 4-4 | 5-7 |
| Rice | 3rd Conference USA West | 4-4 | 7-6 |
