Rice needed to take advantage of the first half against Texas A&M, and they did the best they probably could have asked for. Rice trailed Texas A&M 28-21 as the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime, but that means the season debut of Texas A&M and Heisman Trophy quarterback Johnny Manziel is now just moments away.
Rice is coming off one of their more successful seasons in recent program history, reaching a bowl game a year ago, but the Owls still figured to be a decided underdog heading in to this season opener in Aggie Land. To their credit, Rice put up 332 yards of offense in the first half and did it pretty evenly between the run and pass game. Texas A&M scored three straight times in the second quarter to take a 28-14 lead, but a touchdown pass from Taylor McHargue to Jordan Taylor seconds before halftime cut in to the lead.
Now the big questions is just what kind of debut Manziel has ready to show off. After sitting the first half due to a suspension handed down this week and an off-season that seemed to fill our timelines every other day (if not more), it will be back to football. The anticipation has been building for this moment, especially given the recent headlines surrounding one of college football’s most dynamic players in 2012.
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