Stacy Sneed ran for 82 yards on seven attempts and a long touchdown, and Houston’s defense held visiting Rice to 159 total yards in a 33-7 victory in the annual Bayou Bucket Game on Saturday night.

Re’Shaun Sanford II added 71 rushing yards on 15 carries for the Cougars (1-2), who opened the season with losses to UNLV (27-7) and No. 15 Oklahoma (16-12).

Houston quarterback Donovan Smith completed 12 of 21 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. He also scored two touchdowns.

Rice managed just eight first downs and was 0 of 10 third downs until the final drive of the game and finished the game 2 of 13.

The Owls (1-2) beat Houston in double overtime last season.

Rice quarterback EJ Warner completed 12 of 21 passes for just 50 yards and had one interception.

Sneed scored a 65-yard touchdown run to give Houston a 7-0 lead with 5:30 left in the first quarter.

Rice managed its third consecutive drive without a first down and Mekhi Mews scored a 75-yard touchdown on the ensuing punt, extending the lead to 14-0 with 3:49 minutes left in the first quarter.

With 7:29 minutes left in the first half, Stephon Johnson caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Smith and extended the lead to 20-0.

The Cougars were stopped at the Rice 7-yard line late in the third quarter, but two plays later Jalen Garner intercepted a Warner pass and returned it to the 1-yard line. Smith scored one play later to extend the lead to 26-0.

With 7:10 minutes left in the game, Smith scored a 37-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 33-0.

Rice’s Dean Connors scored on a 4-yard run with 1:08 minutes left to prevent a clean sheet.

After both teams went three-and-out on their opening drives, Sanford’s 34-yard run on the first play of the second series put Houston in Rice territory. J’Marion Burnette’s 14-yard run brought the drive into the red zone, but Joseph Kim missed a 31-yard field goal attempt after a shaky hold.

Rice had three first downs and 59 total yards in the first half, going 0-of-7 on third downs.

–Field level media