HOUSTON -- — Frank Peasant rushed for three touchdowns, Brendon Lewis threw for 225 yards and rushed for a touchdown, and No. 25 Memphis beat Rice 38-14 on Friday night.

Lewis, who also rushed for 87 yards, finished 18-of-22 passing and connected with 11 different receivers. Memphis (8-1, 4-1 American) outgained Rice 355-212.

Lewis exited midway through the fourth quarter and appeared to limp off.

“He had been dealing with a lower leg issue previously,” Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield said. “We’ll monitor him day-to-day like any of the guys that were banged up tonight.”

Lewis had an 18-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Peasant had touchdown runs of 2, 1 and 1 yards in the first half as the Tigers built a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.

“Frank’s a guy that’s had a lot of success throughout his college career, and then came to us and bought into his role,” Silverfield said. “I’m just so proud of him for being bought in whether it’s being short yardage, goal-line running back, special teams.”

Peasant gave credit to his offensive line.

“Red zone, our big package,” Peasant said. “My O-line was moving them out of the way for me, so it was kind of easy for me.”

Cortez Braham Jr. caught three passes for 66 yards, and Greg Desrosiers Jr. rushed for a 2-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the Tigers.

Memphis forced four three-and-outs and a fumble from Rice to start the game, and Rice did not get a first down until midway through the second quarter.

“I was so proud of the defense to go out there (and do that) because you have to be so assignment sound to play that kind of offense,” Silverfield said. “The guys were really detailed. They played with great eyes and had great communication, and that led us to get those three-and-outs. They were able to do that throughout most of the game.”

Chase Jenkins was 11 of 16 for 100 yards, a touchdown and an interception for Rice (4-5, 1-4). Aaron Turner caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, and Tyvonn Byars added a 1-yard touchdown run for the Owls.

“The first 18 minutes of the game you’ve got to play better,” Rice coach Scott Abell said. “You’ve got to make some plays. I’ve got to coach better. I can keep naming all those things. After that, it was an even football game for the last 42 minutes. Unfortunately, the game is 60 minutes, and we have to figure out against a really good football team how you play 60 minutes.”

The Takeaway

Memphis: The Tigers have a chance to rise in the rankings following the convincing win. Memphis remains near the top of the American with three games to go, trailing Navy, which is undefeated in the conference.

Rice: The Owls struggled throughout on both offense and defense. Rice, which has been run heavy this season, was unable to get the rushing game going against the Tigers until late, finishing with 112 yards on 46 carries.

Up next

Memphis hosts Tulane on Friday.

Rice hosts UAB on Nov. 8.

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