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R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans, LA - Dec. 22, 2006 ESPN2, 8 p.m. ET Tickets | History | Bowls Schedule
 (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Troy's Omar Haugabook threw for four TDs and ran for another. The Big Easy
The good times rolled early and often for Troy in the New Orleans Bowl. The Trojans jumped on Rice early and roared to a 41-17 win over the Owls to pick up their first ever bowl win. Story …
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Heading into the New Orleans Bowl, Rice was 7th in the nation in turnover margin and Troy ranked 107th. The Owls protected the ball well all season, while the Trojans struggled. The roles flipped Friday in the Superdome. Injured Rice starting QB Chase Clement couldn't play, which was a bigger setback than the Owls envisioned. Replacement Joel Armstrong's five picks prevented Rice from gaining any offensive consistency and proved to be the difference in the game. Troy played the best game of its season. The Trojans were loose, aggressive and protected the ball. Troy QB Omar Haugabook threw four touchdowns and only tossed one interception. That's a significant improvement over his 17-16 ratio during the season. Haugabook also ran more in this game than I had seen him do on film. He finished with 92 yards and one TD on the ground. Defensively, Troy never gave up the big play and tackled well, which limited star Rice WR Jarett Dillard from gaining yards after the catch. This was a tremendous year for Rice, but the story in the New Orleans Bowl was Troy, which picked up the first bowl win in school history.
