Story courtesy of Conference USA
Photo courtesy of Rice Athletics
After turning in one of the top performances by a quarterback in school history in the Owls' league opener against Marshall, Rice junior Taylor McHargue has been named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week. The Defensive Player of the Week honor went to Tulsa senior DB Dexter McCoil, who had a strong all-around performance in a win over Fresno State, while special teams recognition was given to Marshall freshman P Tyler Williams, who played a key role in field position in the Thundering Herd's win. C-USA Football Players of the Week are voted on by a panel of the league's media.
McHargue became the second player in Rice history to top 450 yards of total offense in a game, finishing with 467 yards, 129 of them in the final four minutes of regulation to force overtime before an injury prevented him from finishing the game. With the Owls down 41-31, McHargue scored on a 43-yard run to close the gap to three with 3:17 left on the clock. After the Owls forced a Herd punt with 2:29 left, McHargue drove Rice 77 yards, the last 47 on a scramble put the ball at the Marshall two, but was injured on the play and watched from the sideline as Marshall forced a field goal to send the game into overtime. After being held to just eight yards passing in the first quarter, McHargue threw for a career-high 316 yards and three touchdowns and added a career-high 153 on the ground and one rushing score to join Chase Clement as the only Owls with more than 450 yards of offense in a game. His 467 yards rank as the fourth-best total in school history.
McCoil was one of the key defensive figures in Tulsa's 27-26 victory over Fresno State, which had been averaging 43 points coming into the game. The Golden Hurricane defense held Fresno State to just two offensive touchdowns in improving to 3-1 for the season. McCoil was credited with 10 tackles, including eight solos and two TFL's for -2 yards, and two pass breakups.
Williams had another superb performance in Marshall's league-opening, double-overtime win, averaging 50.8 yards (including a 66-yarder) for his five kicks, while dropping three inside the 20 yard line. He is currently fourth nationally with a 47.53 per-kick average with eight inside the 20 and just one touchback on his 15 attempts.