Bayou Bucket: University of Houston running back to face former teammates at Rice in rivalry game

Jordan Burgess/University of Houston Athletics The football teams at the University of Houston and Rice face other Saturday night in the 47th edition of the Bayou Bucket Classic, which will then be on hiatus. For the Cougars' fifth-year senior running back, Dean Connors, the 6 p.m. game at Rice Stadium is about more than just a trophy. It's also a homecoming. After spending the last three years as a cornerstone of the Owls’ offense, racking up 22 touchdowns and more than 2,500 total yards, Connors transferred to UH, about 5 miles away. So this Saturday, he’ll suit up for the Bayou Bucket game not in blue and gray, but in scarlet and white. "Some of my best friends are on that [Rice] team still. This summer I was in a wedding with a couple of them,” Connors said this week. “Those ar