Graham named C-USA Coach of the Year

Graham named C-USA Coach of the Year

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

After leading his team to the largest improvement in Division I-A this season, Rice’s first-year head football coach Todd Graham has been named the Conference USA Coach of the Year, as selected by a panel of media members in each conference city.

Graham took over the reigns of the Rice football program Jan. 1 and less than one year later has transformed a team that finished 1-10 last season into a squad that will play in the school’s first bowl game in 45 years. The Owls will take on the Troy University Trojans in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Dec. 22, ending the second-longest bowl drought in college football.

GRAHAM

 Rice will enter its bowl game on a six-game winning streak, the longest in Conference USA. After opening the season at 0-4 and dealing with the tragic death of freshman defensive back Dale Lloyd Sept. 24, the Owls posted an emotional 48-14 victory at Army Sept. 30. Following a loss at Tulane Oct. 7, Rice has not lost a game,