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Rice 51, Utah 10

HOUSTON (AP) -- Michael Perry scored two touchdowns, including a 67-yard punt return, and Rice rushed for 496 yards in a 51-10 rout of No. 20 Utah on Saturday.

The Owls (5-3, 4-1 Western Athletic Conference) have won four straight and rushed for more than 400 yards in each victory.

Spencer George scored on a 76-yard run for Rice, which snapped Utah's seven-game winning streak.

The scoring didn't stop when Rice coach Ken Hatfield pulled the regulars midway in the third quarter.

Backup quarterback Chad Richardson threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gingrich with 2:39 left in the third quarter and defensive tackle Jason Winship returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown with 7:11 remaining in the game.

Perry scored on an 11-yard run in the first quarter and gave the Owls a 23-3 lead with 3:27 left in the half with his long punt return. It was Rice's first punt return for a touchdown since Chuck Latourette had a 60-yarder in 1966.

The Utes (7-2, 5-1) narrowed Rice's lead to 23-10 at the half on a 39-yard touchdown pass from Mike Fouts to Terence Keehan, but Fouts suffered a hip pointer on the play.

Fouts, who has thrown a touchdown pass in 10 straight games, returned for the first series of the third quarter before he was replaced by Brandon Jones.

The Owls needed only two plays of the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Using his blockers effectively, George cut back across the field to complete his 76-yard run with 54 seconds gone in the period.

Benji Wood had TD runs of 1 and 4 yards for Rice.

The Owls got a safety when Fouts intentionally grounded the ball in the Utah end zone with 31 seconds left in the first quarter.