Kenny Hill threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns and No. 7 Texas A&M overcame a slow start for a 38-10 win over Rice on Saturday night.
The win gives the Aggies a 3-0 record for the first time since 2010.
Texas A&M led by 14 points at halftime, but struggled at times to sustain drives and committed several costly penalties, including one that resulted in a touchdown being called back, in the first half.
They got going after halftime with Hill finding Josh Reynolds on a 20-yard touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter. A 1-yard touchdown run by Tra Carson pushed the lead to 35-10 later in the third.
Hill also had TD passes of 14, 13 and 48 yards and has 1,094 yards passing this season to become the first player in school history to throw for 1,000 yards in the first three games of a season.
Driphus Jackson threw for 212 yards and a touchdown and ran for 84 yards for Rice (0-2).
There was heavy rain in College Station on Friday night and there were a number of divots on the grass field. Rice coach David Bailiff went on the field near some of them at the start of halftime and talked to several people for a couple of minutes before going into the locker room.
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Members of the grounds crew ran onto the field during many of the stops in play in the second half to fill the holes. At one point in the third quarter there were 10 people spread across the field working on it.
Reynolds had just two catches but they were both for touchdowns and he finished with 68 yards receiving.
Hill had a nifty run to set up Carson's score in the third quarter. He zig-zagged his way around several Rice defenders before being tripped up from behind at the 1. The play was initially ruled a touchdown, but it was reviewed and overturned.
Hill was replaced by freshman Kyle Allen with about five minutes remaining. Allen threw an interception to end his only drive.
Texas A&M freshman Myles Garrett had 2 1/2 sacks to give him 5 1/2 sacks this season.
James Hairston made a 33-yard field goal with less than a minute left in the third quarter for Rice. A career-long 47-yard field goal by Josh Lambo pushed the lead to 38-10 early in the fourth quarter.
A&M took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Speedy Noil grabbed a 14-yard pass for his first career touchdown. Noil limped to the locker room in the third quarter with an unspecified injury.
The Aggies made it 14-0 on their next possession when Hill found Ricky Seals-Jones for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
The Owls got within a touchdown when Jackson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Mario Hull.
Reynolds came back to get the ball and then juked Malcolm Hill to evade a tackle on his way to the end zone on a 48-yard touchdown reception that made it 21-7 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half.
Hairston hit a 53-yard field goal seconds before halftime that would have made it 21-10, but A&M was flagged for having 12 men on the field and the Owls had to kick again.
The second time it was blocked by Seals-Jones and Armani Watts returned it 93 yards for a touchdown. But those points would be taken away, too. There was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the A&M bench and the would-be TD run became a 35-yard return.
Hairston also missed a 22-yard field goal attempt early in the first quarter.
