HOUSTON -- Matt Forte rushed for 194 yards to eclipse 2,000 for the season, and he scored five touchdowns to lead Tulane past Rice 45-31 Saturday.

Pat Sullivan / Associated Press

Tulane running back Matt Forte (25) rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown followed by Rice defender Brandon King (15) in the first half in a college football game Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007 in Houston.

Forte, the nation's leading rusher with 2,007 yards, is the first back in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) with 2,000 in a season since California's J.J. Arrington in 2004. He broke the Conference USA rushing record of 1,964 yards set by DeAngelo Williams of Memphis in 2005. Forte tied his C-USA record with the five touchdowns. He scored that many Sept. 22 against Southeastern Louisiana.

Tulane (4-7, 3-4 Conference USA) has won two straight after losing five of six games. Rice (3-8, 3-4), which staged late rallies to beat Texas-El Paso and SMU, saw its two-game winning streak end.

Rice's Chase Clement was 35-of-55 passing for 353 yards and four touchdowns. With 379 total yards, Clement set a school season record for total offense with 3,319 yards.

His team trailing 7-3 in the first half, Forte scored back-to-back touchdowns on runs of 46 and 1 yards to give the Green Wave a 17-7 halftime lead.

Forte, who had 39 carries, scored three times in the second half. His 13-yard TD run midway through the fourth put the Green Wave ahead 38-17.

Ade Tuyo replaced Forte with less than six minutes remaining. Tuyo scored Tulane's last touchdown with a 1-yard run with 2:14 left that put the Green Wave ahead 45-24.

Clement threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jarett Dillard in the first quarter that put the Owls ahead 7-3.

But Tulane scored the next 21 points to go ahead 24-7 in the third.

Dillard also caught a 6-yard TD pass in the third to bring Rice within 24-14.

Clement threw a pair of scoring passes to James Casey in the fourth quarter.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)