Final Score: Rice 36, SMU 14

Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Chris Boswell converted five field goals for Rice as the Owls picked up a 36-14 win over the SMU Mustangs in Conference USA play at Rice Stadium.

Boswell missed just one of his six attempts on the day for the Owls (5-6, 3-4 CUSA) as they won their third straight outing. Quarterback Taylor McHargue also played a pivotal role for the hosts as he converted 24-of-36 passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns in the triumph.

The Mustangs (5-6, 4-3) were paced by Zach Line who ran for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries for the group as they bowed for the second time in three tries. Garrett Gilbert hit on 15-of-27 passes for 214 yards, but he was sacked four times.

Boswell hit on a pair of field goals in the first quarter from 56 and 51 yards out, but in between Line made it into the end zone on a seven-yard run for the Mustangs to give the visitors a slim 7-6 edge after 15 minutes of action.

McHargue threw both of his TD strikes in the second quarter, a 19-yard effort to Vance McDonald and one to Donte Moore from seven yards away to make the score 20-7 at the break.

Boswell's 43-yard field goal in the third quarter raised the advantage to 17 points, but again it was Line who cut into the lead with a 10-yard scoring run this time at the 3:32 mark of the third.

The fourth quarter belonged to Rice as Boswell still had successful field goals of 53 and 28 yards still left in him and McHargue closed out the meeting with a 13-yard TD run of his own.

Rice finished the meeting with 423 yards of total offense as the team controlled the ball for close to 20 minutes in the second half to prevent a comeback attempt.