There was no question what was going to happen when the ball entered the hands of No. 10 in the blue uniform. It was Quinton Jackson’s day, and nothing was going to stop him.
Rice relied on its feature tailback to bring home an upset victory, and he delivered. On the second play of double-overtime, Jackson handled the ball, broke a tackle attempt, and flew to glory. His 23-yard rush sealed a 37-34 win for the Owls, which outlasted UConn in an extended game. It was only fitting Jackson had the final
say in Rice’s stunner as he produced 168 yards rushing, 80 yards receiving, and accounted for four total touchdowns in a masterful performance.
A 23-yard touchdown was hardly considered long-range for Jackson, who produced a handful of explosive plays in the double-overtime contest. Last year he returned a 100-yard kickoff for a touchdown against UConn, but this year he struck in other ways. Jackson handed Rice its first lead in the second quarter on a 73-yard rush where he lowered his shoulder and powered through a pile en route to daylight. Later in the frame, Jackson was the decoy on a triple option setup as quarterback Chase Jenkins faked the handoff to him. Jackson then continued on a wheel route, became the furthest man down the field, and shed a shoe string tackle for a 75-yard touchdown. He produced 248 yards from scrimmage in the victory, becoming the 11th player since 1996 (and second this season, joining UTSA’s Robert Henry Jr.) to strike from 70+ yards as a rusher and receiver in the same game.
In addition to the best rushing performance Rice had witnessed since 2021, the Owls also received their best passing performance of the Scott Abell era. Quarterback Chase Jenkins benefited from the bye week returned from a leg injury suffered Oct. 11 at UTSA, firing for a career-high 191 yards in the victory. Jenkins connected on 17-of-22 passes and hit former UConn wide receiver Aaron Turner seven times on seven targets, allowing Turner to shine against his former team. Jenkins also added 57 yards as a runner, allowing Rice’s option attack to generate 300 rushing yards — its most against FBS competition under Abell.
It was a rare shootout win for Rice, which allowed its most points in a victory since Week 2 of the 2022 season. UConn’s offense remained neck-and-neck as quarterback Joe Fagnano collected 344 passing yards and three touchdowns for his third-straight 340+ yard game. Fagnano now sits at 18 touchdowns without an interception. The game was completely devoid of turnovers, and UConn still ranks first in the FBS with just one on the season. But even with Fagnano’s prolific performance and star wide receiver Skyler Bell’s 158 yards, the Huskies couldn’t escape Rice victorious.
UConn was held scoreless on each of its final five drives in regulation, punting four times and missing a 46-yard go-ahead field goal with 4:51 remaining. Both starting running backs, Quinton Jackson and Cam Edwards, traded touchdowns in the first overtime, but UConn was limited to a 41-yard Chris Freeman field goal in second overtime, opening the door for Jackson’s walk-off touchdown.
UConn (5-3, Independent) still has not lost in regulation this year, yet wields an 0-3 overtime record. The Huskies fell in overtime fashion to Syracuse in Week 2 and Delaware in Week 3 and still have not prevailed in an overtime game since 2012.
Rice (4-4, 1-3 American) finishes its non-conference slate at 3-1 with FBS wins over Louisiana and UConn. The Owls snap a 4-game losing streak as they revert to .500 and become closer to bowl eligibility for the final third of Abell’s debut season. A gauntlet of Memphis, UAB, North Texas, and South Florida awaits as Rice aims for its second 6+ win bowl eligible season since 2015.
