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The Rice Thresher
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by Jose Luis Cubria thresher editorial staff
The final score was 27-24, and Fresno State University escaped with a heart-wrenching come-from-behind win over the Owls at Rice Stadium. But that's it. Now forget it. Forget about Rice's late 24-16 lead. Forget about that missed field goal late in the fourth quarter that would have sealed a Rice win. Forget about how the Bulldogs marched 80 yards to tie the game with less than two minutes left to go. And, most importantly, forget about Fresno State's game-winning field goal. Why? Because the Owls already have. Fresno State's Asen Asparuhov kicked a tie-breaking 43-yard field goal with five seconds left in the game as the Bulldogs edged Rice in front of a national television audience last night. The defeat was Rice's fifth straight, dropping the Owls to 1-5, their worst start since 1988. Also, the loss means Rice is 0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, all but eliminating the team from the chase for the league title and a bowl game. But the Owls aren't worrying about any of that. While losing - and losing in such a painful fashion - hurts a great deal, the Owls have already moved on. "Of course it's frustrating," redshirt freshman quarterback Jeremy Hurd said. "But it's reality. We lost and there's nothing we can do to take it back or to go back in time and do something about it. We have to take it like men and go on. We have to do our best to try to win out. "If we just sit up here and don't care and give up, it won't do anything for us. Maybe our bowl chances have been eliminated, but so what? That's not the mind-frame of a championship team. We're not going to roll over." Instead, Rice is already looking ahead. Way ahead. The Owls have next weekend off, meaning they won't play again until Oct. 21, when they host the University of Hawaii at Rice Stadium. That's more than two weeks away, but the Owls are glad to have the opportunity to take some time off before their next game. "It's a good time for a break, no doubt about it," head coach Ken Hatfield said. "We have a chance to get some people rested and healed up. The main thing is to get ready for Hawaii, and we're ready to go. That's our goal right now. It's all we're focusing on. We'll beat Hawaii, and we'll go from there." Things didn't exactly get off to a good start for Rice. On the game's opening kickoff, sophomore running back Sean White fumbled the return inside his own 10-yard line. Sophomore linebacker Scott Huffman fell on the ball in the end zone, giving Fresno State a very early 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs, with great field position thanks to a poor free kick by the Owls, drove 55 yards in just four plays to score a touchdown on their ensuing possession. In other words, with less than two minutes gone in the game, Fresno State already led 9-0. But the Rice defense recovered from the early trouble and played a very solid game the rest of the way. Most importantly, they converted four turnovers which led to 14 Rice points. "We came out and gave them nine points," Hatfield said. "But our defense fought and hung in there. It was 9-0 before the game even started, so we had to struggle the rest of the game. But we got some key turnovers and did a good job." Rice took one of those turnovers - an interception by redshirt freshman defensive back John White - and turned it into a touchdown that gave the Owls a 24-16 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Rice then had a chance to put the game away late in the final frame with a drive that went deep into Fresno State territory. The drive sputtered inside the 15, and Rice had to settle for a 30-yard field goal attempt that would have made it a two-possession game. But junior place-kicker Derek Crabtree missed wide right, giving Fresno State the opening it needed. The Bulldogs didn't waste the opportunity. They methodically marched 80 yards down the field and into the end zone to make the score 24-22. Following a time out by each team, Fresno State quarterback David Carr found wide receiver Rodney Wright in the corner of the end zone for a successful two-point conversion. With 1:58 left to go, the game was tied at 24. But it wasn't quite over yet. Rice took the ensuing kickoff and went three-and-out. As a result, Fresno State got the ball back on the Rice 38 with 16 seconds to go. Following a quick 12-yard pass, Asparuhov - who had missed his only two attempts of the game - kicked the game-winner. "I thought it was wider than the two other he missed," Hatfield said. "When he hit it, I thought it was gone too. "We're disappointed and very hurt," he said. "To put your heart and soul into it, it hurts. But that's why you play the game. The elation we would have had if we'd won the game would've been very different. There's a high and a low and no in-between, and we're at a low right now. But we're at a proud low. We're going to learn from it, and we're going to pick it up. We've got five more games to play."
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