Revisiting Houston football’s half-century rivalry with Rice

77 years ago, in its third-ever season, Houston football faced off against crosstown Rice for the first time in a fall scrimmage before its 1948 season.

Long before any bragging rights and a trophy were at stake, they were simply two college teams from the same city. Rice had been an established member of the Southwest Conference since 1912, while Houston was in its third — and what turned out to be its last— year in the Lone Star Conference.

It wasn’t until 1971 that the two programs played each other in a meaningful, regular-season game, and Houston’s move to the SWC in 1976 led to them facing each other regularly, sparking a rivalry that has continued ever since. 

To take the budding rivalry up a degree, the Touchdown Club of Houston established the Bayou Bucket trophy in 1974.

The trophy, standing at around three feet tall, contains scores of all matchups engraved on the sides as well as figures of football players in the middle, closer to the wooden base.

The Cougars have never lost more than two consecutive matchups since they began playing Rice, and lead the all-time series 34-12, which includes a 7-game winning streak that was snapped in 2023. 

Throughout the years, the programs have found themselves on different trajectories, but it hasn’t put a damper on the rivalry itself. 

Over the five-decade history of the Bayou Bucket Classic, a handful of matchups have come to shape the rivalry into what it is today.

Sept. 11, 1971 (Houston 23, Rice 21) 

Remembered as the day Houston’s rivalry with Rice was officially established, the first-ever regular-season matchup between Houston and Rice is the most attended to date, with over 62,000 spectators seated at Rice Stadium. 

After trailing 7-0 at intermission, Houston’s junior quarterback, Gary Mullins, connected with junior wide receiver Del Stanley on a 73-yard touchdown pass for six points, with the team converting the extra point to tie the game just minutes into the second half.

With 2:17 remaining in the third quarter, Mullins gave Houston its first lead with an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Robert Ford.

Rice responded with two seven-point drives of their own. Still, the difference in the game wound up being a third-quarter safety in the end zone, after Houston’s sophomore defensive end Butch Brezina tackled junior fullback Mike Phillips for two points.

Sept. 14, 1974 (Houston 21, Rice 0) 

If 1971 introduced the rivalry, 1974 gave it more meaning, as it marked the first official Bayou Bucket Classic and the first of three shutout victories for Houston in the series.

The Cougars totaled 369 total yards of offense, nearly five times more than Rice’s 80 yards on 55 plays.

Rice’s most promising scoring opportunities were both off of Houston fumbles, one to begin the game and one near the end.

Houston’s primary running back, sophomore Donnie McGraw, nicknamed “quick draw” McGraw because of his agility and speed, broke a 91-yard touchdown run, which was then a school record.

Junior defensive end Mack Mitchell totaled six unassisted tackles and two sacks, and junior defensive back Robert Giblin ended the game with a shutout-saving tackle on a last-play heave attempt.

Dec. 2, 1989 (Houston 64, Rice 0) 

A bludgeoning from start to finish, it is the most significant margin of victory in any of the 46 Bayou Bucket Classic games that have been played. 

It was also the final game on Houston’s 1989 schedule, and as it turned out, the bow on Heisman Trophy winner-to-be, junior quarterback Andre Ware’s season.

He entered the matchup with the trophy all but secured, having totaled 44 passing touchdowns and 4,299 passing yards in the 10 games prior.

How could Ware have added on to his already loaded resume and Heisman case? Setting the NCAA season record for passing yards in a season, behind a 400-yard, two-touchdown performance.

Former BYU quarterback Jim McMahon previously held the single-season record of 4,571 yards, earned in 1980. Ware’s 36 completions against Rice also broke the previous NCAA record of 338, which was also set by a former BYU quarterback, Robbie Bosco, in 1985.

The accolades didn’t end there for Houston, either. 

Freshman wide receiver Manny Hazard’s 14 receptions gave him 142 on the season, shattering the previous NCAA record of 134, formerly held by Tulsa wide receiver Howard Twilley in 1965.

Houston’s 543 yards of total offense gave it an NCAA-record 6,874 on the season, though the team could not add on to those totals as they were on NCAA probation, making them ineligible for a bowl-game appearance.

Nov. 28, 2009 (Houston 73, Rice 14)

Houston, in the midst of its best start to a season record-wise, boasted an offense ranked among the best in college football, in large part due to junior quarterback Case Keenum, who was having another record-shattering season. 

The 73 points for Houston still stand as a record-high for the rivalry, though just two years later, the 2011 Cougars managed to match the total.

The lopsided halftime score of 59-0 allowed Keenum to get rest in the second half, though he still finished with 323 passing yards and two touchdown passes. 

Keenum relaxing didn’t mean the offense would, as when it was freshman Cotton Turner’s chance to command drives, he went 8-for-10 for one touchdown and 112 yards passing. 

Rice was entering the 2009 season on the heels of a 10-3 campaign, but following the game had dropped to a lowly 2-10, a sudden and drastic decline.

Meanwhile, Houston improved to 10-2, though it lost to ECU in the CUSA Championship game 32-38, and Air Force 20-47 in the Armed Forces Bowl. 

Oct. 27, 2011 (Houston 73, Rice 34)

Houston, ranked no. 20 nationally, reclaimed the Bayou Bucket after narrowly forfeiting it to Rice in a 2010, 34-31 defeat at Rice Stadium. 

The stories of the game were the trio of senior quarterback Case Keenum, senior wide receiver/returner Tyron Carrier and senior wide receiver Patrick Edwards, who all put on a record-breaking spectacle to remember. 

Carrier returned the opening kick 100 yards for a touchdown, which tied the NCAA record of seven career touchdown returns.

Keenum, facing an early 17-7 deficit partly due to his two turnovers, connected with Edwards on a 51-yard pass for his first of a school record five touchdown receptions that night, on the final play of the first quarter.

Edwards made the most of his receptions that night, as he only caught seven total passes. He finished the game with 318 total receiving yards, second-most in a game by a Houston receiver. 

Houston would score on the following nine possessions, ballooning its point total from seven to 52 by the 8:20 mark of the third quarter. The barrage included five of Keenum’s career-high nine total touchdowns, which gave him the NCAA record for most career touchdown passes.

By game’s end, Keenum had totaled 534 passing yards on the evening, also a career-high. 

Since Houston’s two 73-point onslaughts in three years, the most points the team has scored in a game against Rice is 45.

Sept. 14, 2024 (Houston 33, Rice 7) 

For the first time in seven years, Houston headed into the Bayou Bucket Classic without possession of the trophy, following its 43-41 2OT loss to Rice the year prior, where a second-half rally wasn’t enough to overcome what was a 28-7 halftime deficit. 

But the 50th anniversary of the Bayou Bucket Classic ended the same way it did in 1974: with the trophy in Houston’s ownership.

Beyond the significance of reclaiming the trophy, the win also happened to be coach Willie Fritz’s first as man in charge, sparking even more cause for celebration among the team. 

When the Bayou Bucket is carried to Rice Stadium this Saturday, it could be for the final time.

Since there aren’t any Bayou Bucket Classic matchups scheduled beyond this year, the winner will get to keep the piece of hardware and bragging rights for at least a long time.

It’d be one more chance for Rice to reclaim the trophy on its home field, but one final opportunity for Houston to carry it out and into the history books.