After jumping out to a 16-0 lead to start the game, the Rice Owls needed some late-game heroics as Jack Fox nailed a 23-yard field goal at the buzzer to give Rice a 31-28 victory over Prairie View A&M.
The “intellectual brutality” era started on a good note as Austin Walter and Emmanuel Esukpa, each rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter. Walter and Esukpa finished with a combined 256 yards and three touchdowns and looked great.
During the end of the David Bailiff era, quarterback play was a huge concern and it carried over to start the Bloomgren era.