FACTS & STATS: Site: Rice Stadium (70,000) -- Houston, Texas. Television: CBSCSN. Home Record: Houston 5-0, Rice 5-0. Away Record: Houston 2-3, Rice 3-3. Neutral Record: Houston 0-1, Rice 0-0. Conference Record: Houston 6-1, Rice 6-1. Series Record: Houston leads, 25-9.

GAME NOTES: The battle for the Bayou Bucket takes place this weekend as the Rice Owls host the Houston Cougars in Conference USA action. With the West Division of Conference USA still undecided, the winner of this matchup could easily be playing in the conference title game in a week as both teams are tied with Tulsa at the top of the standings with six wins and just a single conference loss thus far. Houston, which at one point had dropped three games in a row in September, has bounced back with three consecutive victories and six in the last seven outings. Last weekend the Cougars slipped by UTEP in a 42-37 decision. Meanwhile, the Owls have a better overall record at 8-3, but they lost to Tulsa early in October, which could prove to be costly. Nevertheless, Rice has still run off five wins in a row since that setback, the most recent of those coming last Saturday in a 35-10 triumph over Marshall at home. Based on the trophy presented to the winner of the annual Purdue/Indiana matchup in football, the Bayou Bucket has been handed out to Houston more often than not with the Cougars owning a 25-8 advantage in the all-time series. Last year, Houston posted an exciting 56-48 triumph at Robertson Stadium, giving the Cougars three straight wins over the Owls.

With 41 seconds remaining, Case Keenum took control of the meeting with UTEP last weekend, taking the ball into the end zone from a yard out for the game- winning touchdown. Keenum finished with two rushing TDs in fact, adding 480 yards and three touchdowns through the air on 41-of-81 passing. Tyron Carrier accounted for nine catches worth 141 yards and a score, while running back Bryce Beall raced for 167 yards and one touchdown on the ground and added eight receptions for 96 yards and a TD. For the second week in a row Keenum held at least a share of the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors and for good reason. Not only does Keenum lead the league with his 407.3 ypg in total offense, that number also has him first in the entire nation. Keenum has thrown for 38 touchdowns and just nine interceptions, but what is even more remarkable is the fact that he has completed close to 69 percent of his attempts. Thanks to Beall and his 1,024 yards on the ground, Houston is currently second in the nation in total offense with 569.7 ypg and is eighth in scoring with 41.1 ppg.

The defense for the Cougars was beaten and abused by the Miners, specifically Trevor Vittatoe who passed for 362 yards and four touchdowns in the close call. For some reason Houston could not get a handle on Kris Adams who finished with six catches for 111 yards and three TDs. However, even though the Cougars gave up 464 yards of total offense, it in no way was comparable to the 700 yards registered by Houston. Phillip Hunt came away with the only sack for the Cougars, while Cody Pree posted three and a half tackles for loss. As good as the offense has been for the Cougars this season, the defense tends to give that advantage right back to the competition. Save for a 55-3 blowout of Southern University in the opener and a 42-14 triumph versus Tulane a few weeks back, the Cougars have given up quite a number of points, which is why the squad is now 89th in the nation with 28.9 ppg allowed. Trying to stem the tide are Loyce Means and Brandon Brinkley who are tied for the team lead with four interceptions apiece.

After a slow start for the offense, Chase Clement went to work in the second half versus Marshall, throwing four touchdowns as the Owls cruised to the 25- point home win versus the Thundering Herd. Clement, who was second on the team with 53 yards rushing and a first-quarter TD, completed 25-of-41 passing for 315 yards, with Corbin Smiter turning his four catches into 120 yards and a score. Like Keenum for the Cougars, Clement has been a huge offensive force for Rice this season, averaging 311.9 ypg passing by completing nearly two- thirds of his pass attempts. Clement has 36 TDs and just seven interceptions, which means he has an even better ratio than Keenum at the moment. However, what Clement doesn't have is a running back that can take enough of the heat and give the signal-caller some room to breath. In fact, Clement is actually second on the team with his 563 yards rushing and has posted 10 of their 18 rushing scores as well. Jarett Dillard, second on the roster with 75 catches, is responsible for 19 TD receptions already.

Aside from giving up a nine-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, the defense for the Owls was right on target against Marshall a week ago. In fact, the Herd had to work hard for that one TD, controlling the ball for almost eight minutes and using 18 plays to take the ball 99 yards. Take away that one drive and Rice permitted just 169 yards for the game. The pass defense was especially tough for the Owls, giving up a mere 83 yards on 13 completions. Travis Bradshaw finished with a game-high 11 tackles and a fumble recovery. Bradshaw, who has one of the team's four blocked kicks, is currently second on the squad with his 69 tackles and is one of three players with at least two recovered fumbles. However, what Bradshaw doesn't have is either a sack or tackle for loss, which is something that is a running theme with the Owls these days. The team is currently 10th in the conference and 105th in the nation with just 4.55 TFLs per outing and is tied for 61st with 1.82 sacks per contest and that explains a lot when looking at the team's 451.6 ypg allowed (111th in the country this week).

All indications are that this game should be an offensive explosion for the record books, especially with so much riding on this meeting. Given that Keenum doesn't have to do the job all by himself, give the edge to the Cougars as they shoot for the postseason.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Houston 52, Rice 45

Saturday, November 29th, 3:30 p.m. (et).