Houston ? Rice took out more than 50 years of postseason frustration on Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl.

Chase Clement threw three touchdown passes, ran for a score and caught a TD pass from Jarett Dillard to lead the Owls to a 38-14 victory over the Broncos at Reliant Stadium on Tuesday night.

Dillard also caught his nation-leading 20th touchdown pass of the season as the Owls (10-3) won a bowl game for the first time since the 1954 Cotton Bowl and reached 10 victories for the first time since 1949.

Clement went 30-for-44 for 307 yards and was the game’s Most Valuable Player.

The performance by Rice’s defense may have been just as remarkable.

The Owls were giving up 467 yards and 35 points per game, but shut out the high-scoring Broncos for more than three quarters before Tim Hiller threw a two-yard TD pass to Kirk Elsworth with 6:33 left.