HOUSTON (AP) -- John Wall rushed for 156 yards and three

touchdowns as Rice rolled up 392 yards on the ground and ended the

nation's longest losing streak at 14 games with a 42-34 victory

over Tulane on Saturday.

"It was a great team victory," Rice coach Ken Hatfield said.

"Some of the guys even remembered the words to our victory song

afterwards."

Rice's last win was Oct. 9, 2004, when the Owls beat SMU 44-10

in Houston.

"I never worried about 14 (straight losses). I worried about

eight," Hatfield said. "Those other six were last year, and that

was a different team. I thought it was unfair to saddle this team

with those losses."

Wall and backfield mate Quinton Smith each had 20 carries, with

Smith adding another 143 yards and a touchdown. Wall scored from 25

and 75 yards before a 1-yard plunge, and Smith's 58-yard run

provided the last of seven lead changes, putting Rice ahead 35-31

midway through the third quarter.

The Owls (1-8, 1-5 Conference USA) gave themselves a cushion on

a 29-yard touchdown pass from Joel Armstrong to tight end Joe Don

Wood with 4:45 left in the game.

"We've been so close in so many games before this," Wall said.

"This time the plays we practiced worked. And everybody just came

together. It feels great."

Tulane (2-7, 1-5), which played in its ninth different stadium,

extended its losing streak to six games after starting the season

2-1.

The Green Wave led 31-28 before Smith's score and pulled within

35-34 on a 22-yard field goal by Jacob Hartgroves with 9:06 left in

the game.

But Rice's Carl Taylor recovered a fumble by Matt Forte at the

Tulane 42-yard line with 6:14 to play. Five plays later, Armstrong

threw the scoring pass to Wood.

Rice's Chad Price broke up a fourth-down pass with 1:22 to play,

and Taylor intercepted a pass by with 5 seconds to go for the final

stop.

"Those were the two biggest plays of my life," Taylor said of

his fumble recovery and interception. "This was a game for our

seniors. It feels real good coming after 14 straight losses."

Rice jumped to a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Owls

drove 69 yards in eight plays, capped by Wall's 25-yard run, and

Armstrong finished a 10-play, 52-yard drive with a 4-yard run on

the first play of the second quarter.

Tulane came back with two quick touchdowns in the second

quarter, and the teams traded touchdowns after that as Tulane led

24-21 at the half.

The Owls scored on drives of four and three plays on their first

two possessions of the second half, the latter capped by Smith's

long scoring run.