McMahon leads Rice past Louisiana-Lafayette 33-21
HOUSTON -- — TJ McMahon threw for 303 yards with three touchdown passes to lead Rice over Louisiana-Lafayette 33-21 on Saturday night in a Conference USA opener.
McMahon, who threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Luke McCaffrey late in the second quarter, hit Bradley Rozner for a 12-yard score early in the third. McCaffrey added a 6-yard TD pass to McCaffrey in the fourth quarter.
Louisiana-Lafayette (2-1, 0-1) built a 14-13 halftime lead behind Caleb Anderson's pick-6 and Chandler Fields' 11-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Williams. Chris Smith broke loose for a 22-yard touchdown to pull the Ragin' Cajuns to 27-21 with 9:17 left.
But on the ensuing possession, Rice (2-1, 1-0) ate up more than six minutes with an 11-play, 70-yard drive capped by Ari Broussard's 2-yard touchdown run.
McMahon was 25-of-36 passing but was intercepted three times. McCaffrey finished with 10 catches for 105 yards.
Louisiana-Lafayette was held to 175 total yards compared to Rice's 449.
It was the sixth meeting between the teams but first since Sept. 23, 1989 when Louisiana-Lafayette won 18-3.
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Game Information
2023 Sun Belt Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
James Madison | 7-1 | 11-2 |
Appalachian State | 6-2 | 9-5 |
Coastal Carolina | 5-3 | 8-5 |
Old Dominion | 5-3 | 6-7 |
Georgia State | 3-5 | 7-6 |
Marshall | 3-5 | 6-7 |
Georgia Southern | 3-5 | 6-7 |
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
Troy | 7-1 | 11-3 |
Texas State | 4-4 | 8-5 |
South Alabama | 4-4 | 7-6 |
Arkansas State | 4-4 | 6-7 |
Louisiana | 3-5 | 6-7 |
Southern Miss | 2-6 | 3-9 |
UL Monroe | 0-8 | 2-10 |
2023 American Athletic Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
---|---|---|
SMU | 8-0 | 11-3 |
Tulane | 8-0 | 11-3 |
UTSA | 7-1 | 9-4 |
Memphis | 6-2 | 10-3 |
South Florida | 4-4 | 7-6 |
Rice | 4-4 | 6-7 |
Navy | 4-4 | 5-7 |
North Texas | 3-5 | 5-7 |
UAB | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Florida Atlantic | 3-5 | 4-8 |
Charlotte | 2-6 | 3-9 |
Tulsa | 2-6 | 4-8 |
Temple | 1-7 | 3-9 |
East Carolina | 1-7 | 2-10 |