DALLAS — If Marshall wins its first Conference USA title, it will have to do it on the road.
League officials announced Sunday night that West Division champion Rice would host the C-USA championship dame Saturday in Houston. East Division champion Marshall finished the season with an identical 7-1 conference record but the Owls won the tiebreaker thanks to finishing the regular season with a higher BCS ranking.
Despite Marshall receiving votes in both the USA Today/Coaches and Harris polls, the computer rankings preferred Rice to such a margin that it boosted the Owls higher in the overall BCS standings.
The final analysis was confirmed by BCS executive director Bill Hancock:
Rice: Harris (0); USA Today (0); Computer Avg. (0.628); BCS Avg. (0.2093)
Marshall: Harris (0.0038); USA Today (0.0084); Computer Avg. (0.55); BCS Avg. (0.1874)
Marshall leads the all-time series against Rice 3-1, with the lone loss coming in Houston.
Last year, Marshall outlasted Rice in a wild 54-51 win in Houston. Owls’ quarterback Taylor McHargue threw for 314 yards and rushed for 153 more. Marshall countered with 259 yards and two touchdowns from Rakeem Cato, but it was the ground game that was the difference for The Herd that day. Kevin Grooms rushed for 166 yards and Steward Butler added 103 yards. Marshall finished the day with 334 yards rushing and six touchdowns.
Tickets for the C-USA Football championship game will be go on sale Monday at 9:30 a.m. Buyers can call 713-522-OWLS or shop online at www.RiceOwls.com.