UH defeats Rice for record seventh straight Bayou Bucket: 'It's all about the Cougars!'

The Bayou Bucket will continue to reside at 3875 Holman St. as the University of Houston (UH) Cougars edged Rice University 34-27 in the 44th meeting between the crosstown rivals at TDECU Stadium on Saturday.

Normally, the Cougars would make easy work out of the Owls as they had in five of the previous sixth contests, but the teams were locked in a seesaw affair until the last few minutes of the game when the UH defense rose to the occasion and helped secure the Third Ward program’s seventh consecutive victory in the rivalry. 

“It's all about the Cougars!” UH’s athletics department proclaimed in a tweet.

According to a UH-issued postgame recap, Cougars senior quarterback Clayton Tune put the hosts on the board first with a 19-yard touchdown lob to freshman wide receiver Matthew Golden.

Rice then pushed UH out of the driver’s seat in the second quarter to lead 14-7 courtesy of two Ari Broussard touchdowns on the ground before UH transfer kicker Bubba Baxa booted a 37-yard field goal with less than 60 seconds remaining before halftime to bring the Cougars within four.

Following the break, the game turned into a back and forth, with Tune connecting with his security blanket, junior wideout Nathaniel "Tank" Dell, about two minutes into the third quarter for his second of two touchdown passes of the evening to give UH the lead again at 17-14, the report said.

The lead changed hands four times with a couple of ties afterward.

Cougars sophomore defensive lineman Nelson Ceaser’s fumble recovery for a touchdown with 3:34 left in the contest, a Thabo Mwaniki interception in the subsequent Rice offensive series and a successful last-second stop in the red zone helped seal the deal for UH, who also won their first home game of 2022 along with the coveted Bayou Bucket, per the program.

Sitting at the .500 mark with a 2-2 record, UH will begin American Athletic Conference play (AAC) at home against Tulane on Friday at 6 p.m., the report said.

The Cougars have designated the game as Hispanic Heritage Night, as well as their annual “Blackout” matchup in which fans are encouraged to wear black.

According to UH, the seventh straight Bayou Bucket victory marks the longest streak for either school in the rivalry’s lengthy history.