Houston tops Rice for sixth-straight Bayou Bucket win
HOUSTON -- — Clayton Tune completed 22 of 30 passes for 236 yards and a pair of touchdowns, Alton McCaskill rushed for two TDs and caught a third as Houston walloped crosstown rival Rice 44-7 on Saturday night.
The victory marked Houston's sixth straight in the Bayou Bucket game, the longest win streak by either team in the long-running series.
McCaskill opened the scoring by pulling in a 35-yard pass from Tune at 10:08 of the first quarter. After a 38-yard Dalton Witherspoon field goal, Tune found Jake Herslow from 11 yards out as the Cougars (1-1) staked themselves a 17-0 lead with 2:19 left in the opening frame.
Rice (1-1) answered with an 11-play, 81-yard drive capped by Luke McCaffrey's 5-yard pass to Jordan Myers. But Houston scored the next four touchdowns to win going away.
McCaskill had TD runs of 1 and 2 yards, Chandler Smith added a 14-yard touchdown run, and Alex Hogan returned an interception 91 yards into the end zone as time expired.
McCaffrey finished 9-for-19 passing for 86 yards with three interceptions that led to 13 Houston points. He was sacked three times for a loss of 26 yards. Khalan Griffin led the Owls with 86 of their 126 yards rushing.
The teams marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with special uniforms that had a red, white and blue color scheme.
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2021 American Athletic Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 8-0 | 13-1 |
| Houston | 8-0 | 12-2 |
| UCF | 5-3 | 9-4 |
| East Carolina | 5-3 | 7-5 |
| Tulsa | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| SMU | 4-4 | 8-4 |
| Memphis | 3-5 | 6-6 |
| Navy | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Tulane | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| South Florida | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| Temple | 1-7 | 3-9 |
2021 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Western Kentucky | 7-1 | 9-5 |
| Marshall | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Old Dominion | 5-3 | 6-7 |
| Middle Tennessee | 4-4 | 7-6 |
| Florida Atlantic | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Charlotte | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Florida International | 0-8 | 1-11 |
| TEAM | CONF | OVR |
| UTSA | 7-1 | 12-2 |
| UAB | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| North Texas | 5-3 | 6-7 |
| UTEP | 4-4 | 7-6 |
| Rice | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Southern Miss | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| Louisiana Tech | 2-6 | 3-9 |