• Box score

They established the running game early, moving the ball inside and out with ease.

They took advantage of mismatches in the passing game. And when it looked like they had hit a dead end, the Rice Owls found holes and made spectacular catches.

"It's been a long time coming," wide receiver Vance McDonald said. "To finally bust out feels good."

Rice produced 671 yards of offense, the third-highest total in school history, in a 41-37 victory over UTEP on Saturday that wasn't secured until the Owls recovered an onside kick with 42 seconds remaining.

The Owls (3-6, 2-4 Conference USA) put together their most complete offensive performance in nearly a year and — at least for another week — and kept their slim bowl chances alive with three games remaining. Rice has won its last eight November home games dating to 2007.

"I left a dressing room where guys are full of hope," coach David Bailiff said after the Owls snapped a season-high, three-game losing streak.

Finding their rhythm

In his first start of the season, quarterback Nick Fanuzzi was 30-of-43 for a career-high 405 yards. He capped the performance with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes — a 6-yarder to Jordan Taylor for the go-ahead score and a 23-yarder to Randy Kitchens that gave the Owls a 41-31 lead.

"We got into a rhythm where we could pretty much do whatever we wanted," Fanuzzi said.

Behind a wild Owl formation featuring Turner Petersen, Tyler Smith and Jeremy Eddington, Rice established the run early and finished with 222 rushing yards. The Owls scored on four consecutive possessions to start the game — a 44-yard run by Petersen, a 7-yard run by Eddington and field goals of 37 and 23 yards by Chris Boswell for a 20-10 lead.

When the Miners stacked defenders in the box to take away the run, Fanuzzi had plenty of weapons to spread the ball. McDonald had a career-high eight catches for 157 yards and a score. Tyler Smith had eight for 74 yards. Tight end Taylor Cook had three catches for 89 yards, including a 51-yard reception that set up the go-ahead touchdown.

"Some of those mismatches in man (coverage) we had been looking for, we got today," Bailiff said.

The Owls needed every bit of their offensive explosion after the Miners (4-5, 1-4) took advantage of breakdowns in coverage, including a 76-yard TD from Nick Lamaison to Mike Edwards on the third play of the game. Edwards had seven catches for 187 yards and two scores.

UTEP kept things close thanks to excellent field position; one scoring drive began at the Rice 24.

After Rice took a 34-31 lead with less than eight minutes left, redshirt freshman Bryce Callahan intercepted his second pass of the game. The Owls converted the miscue into a 23-yard TD pass from Fanuzzi to Kitchens for a 10-point lead.

In doubt until end

But the Miners answered, with Lamaison finding Jordan Leslie for a 17-yard score with 42 seconds left. UTEP's Dakota Warren missed the extra-point attempt, then McDonald recovered the onside kick to seal the win.

joseph.duarte@chron.com

twitter.com/Chronicle_Owls