South Florida vs. Rice: Box score, stats, game summary and more ft. EJ Warner

South Florida had already clinched bowl eligibility, but in a regular-season finale, it was Rice who lit up the scoreboard and picked up an impressive victory on Saturday.

USF (6-6, 4-4 in AAC) came into play as a 5.5-point road favorite but struggled in their season finale. Rice (4-8, 3-5 in AAC) had an impressive first-half passing attack and jumped to a 27-7 halftime advantage over the Bulls. The Owls, led by a massive passing performance by EJ Warner, held on for a 35-28 victory.

South Florida vs. Rice Box Score

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
South Florida	7	0	7	14	28
Rice	17	10	8	0	35

South Florida Passing Stats

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	Pass TDs
Bryce Archie	19	35	227	1
Israel Carter	5	6	93	2

South Florida Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player	Rush	Yards	Rush TDs	Rec	Yards	Rec TDs
Ta'Ron Keith	3	31	0	0	0	0
Kelley Joiner	9	19	0	0	0	0
Bryce Archie	10	21	0	0	0	0
Nay'Quan Wright	6	35	1	0	0	0
Keshaun Singleton	0	0	0	7	107	1
Michael Brown-Stephens	0	0	0	6	80	1
Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen	0	0	0	1	6	0
Sean Atkins	0	0	0	7	110	1
Payten Singletary	0	0	0	2	5	0
Israel Carter	2	5	0	0	0	0
Joshua Hardeman	0	0	0	1	12	0

South Florida Kicking Stats

Player	XP-XPA	FG-FGA	Long
John Cannon	4 for 4	0 for 0

Rice Passing Stats

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	Pass TDs
EJ Warner	27	42	430	3

Rice Rushing and Receiving Stats

Player	Rush	Yards	Rush TDs	Rec	Yards	Rec TDs
Quinton Jackson	5	40	1	0	0	0
Christian Francisco	12	42	0	1	9	0
EJ Warner	5	-4	0	0	0	0
Dean Connors	17	40	0	4	91	1
Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman	1	2	0	3	58	1
Matt Sykes	0	0	0	7	118	0
Graham Walker	0	0	0	3	45	0
Drayden Dickmann	0	0	0	2	36	1
Kobie Campbell	0	0	0	3	52	0
Braylen Walker	0	0	0	1	12	0
Elijah Mojarro	0	0	0	3	9	0

Rice Kicking Stats

Player	XP-XPA	FG-FGA	Long
Tim Horn	3 for 3	2 for 4	25

Rice scored on the opening possession of the game, with the first salvo coming on a 31-yard strike from EJ Warner to Drayden Dickmann. The Owls jumped to a 27-7 halftime edge, with Warner nearing 300 passing yards by halftime.

South Florida scored on their opening possession of the second half to pull within 27-14. After the teams traded scores, South Florida pulled a late rally behind backup QB Israel Carter to close within 35-28.

• Rice: 31-yard TD pass to Drayden Dickmann from EJ Warner (Horn XPT), 7-0, 12:33 remaining in 1st quarter
• South Florida: 1-yard TD run by Nay'Quan Wright (Cannon XPT), 7-7, 9:14 remaining in 1st quarter
• Rice: 12-yard TD run by Quinton Jackson (Horn XPT), 14-7, 7:44 remaining in 1st quarter
• Rice: 25-yard field goal by Tim Horn, 17-7, 0:22 remaining in 1st quarter
• Rice: 23-yard TD pass to Dean Connors by EJ Warner (Horn XPT), 24-7, 6:32 remaining in 2nd quarter
• Rice: 25-yard field goal by Tim Horn, 27-7. 0:12 remaining in 2nd quarter
• South Florida: 16-yard TD pass to Sean Atkins from Bryce Archie (Cannon XPT), 27-14, 12:22 remaining in 3rd quarter
• Rice: 33-yard TD pass to Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman from EJ Warner (two-point conversion good on pass), 35-14, 6:26 remaining in 3rd quarter
• South Florida: 28-yard TD pass to Keshaun Singleton from Israel Carter (Cannon XPT), 35-21, 3:09 remaining in 4th quarter
• South Florida: 34-yard TD pass to Michael Brown-Stephens from Israel Carter (Cannon XPT), 35-28, 2:25 remaining in 4th quarter

South Florida will presumably be selected for a bowl game, while Rice's season is now over. A new coaching staff will lead the Owls in 2025.