Rice quarterback JT Daniels and UTSA outside linebacker Trey Moore each earned American Athletic Conference Player of the Week honors for their respective sides of the ball, marking a state of Texas sweep in week two of college football action.
Rice head coach Mike Bloomgren had never won the Bayou Bucket matchup against Houston, but he'd also never had Daniels until this season. The quarterback, now in his sixth collegiate season and on his fourth team, passed for a career high 401 yards as Rice defeated Houston 43-41 in double overtime. It looked like Rice would cruise to an easy win after they built a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Owls surrendered 28 unanswered points and needed all of Daniels's three touchdown passes to win in a thriller. After putting up a measly 176 yards of total offense in week one against Texas, Saturday provided a glimpse of what Rice can be this year with Daniels captaining Bloomgren's pro-style offense.
Whereas Daniels carved Houston's defense from a clean pocket, UTSA's Moore harassed Texas State quarterback TJ Finley the entire game. Moore notched three of UTSA's program-record seven sacks in one contest in the 20-13 victory, and he was an integral part of a front seven that limited Texas State to 76 rushing yards. UTSA's defense has been relentless in the first two games of the season, giving up an average of 15 points per game, and Moore has been the lynchpin. He's currently leading the nation with two sacks per game and has added five tackles for loss.
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