Photo by: Chris Henry
Owls Welcome ECU for AAC Home Debut
9/29/2023 8:39:00 PM | Football
Kickoff set for 6 p.m. (central)
Game #5
Who: Rice (2-2, 0-1 AAC) vs. East Carolina (1-3, 0-0 AAC)
When: Saturday 6:00 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Rice Stadium
Television: ESPN+ Richard Cross (PXP); Taylor McHargue (Analyst); Smacker Miles (sidelines)
Where to Find the Game: ESPN+
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), David Pillen (sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Rice Game Day App, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm.com
Digital Game Program: Game 5 Rice vs. ECU
Series Information: Fifth Meeting
Full Game Notes
Series Notes
• This will be the fifth meeting between the schools and the first since 2010.
• The series is tied 2-2 with each school winning twice at home.
• Rice won the most recent meeting, 62-38 at Rice Stadium on 11/21/10 as Rice rolled up 639 yards of total offense, including 410 on the ground.
• Taylor McHargue was 11-15 with 220 yards and three TDs while Jeremy Eddington (16/150) and Sam McGuffie (15/123) topped100 yards on the ground while McHargue just missed joining them (13/93). Eddington scored four times, including an 80-yard, the second longest by an Owl at Rice Stadium.
• Rice staged a dramatic 18-17 win in the series first meeting at Rice Stadium in 2006.
• The Owls scored nine points in the last 2:35, capped by Clark Fangmeier's 40-yard field goal with :03 left to sete up a showdown the following week with SMU with the Owls' first bowl berth since 1961 on the line.
• Jarett Dillard hauled in a 40-yard completion on fourth down with less than a minute left to set up the winning field goal.
Owls Host ECU in Inaugural AAC Home Game
Rice Football opens a new chapter in its history as the Owls make their American Athletic Conference home debut on Saturday by hosting ECU. The AAC is Rice's fourth conference since the Owls joined the Southwest Conference in 1915. The Owls remained members of the SWC through 1995 and then competed in the Western Athletic Conference from 1996 through 2004 and then Conference USA from 2005 to 2022.
Rice is 1-2 in conference debut home games:
• 10/8/15 Baylor 26, Rice 0 in Houston (first win in 3rd home game, 7-0 over Texas A&M)
• 10/19/96 Rice 35, SMU 17
• 10/15/05 Tulsa 41, Rice 21 (first win in 3rd home game, 42-34 over Tulane)
"City Connect" Uniforms
For the second year in a row, Rice will wear an alternate uniform tied to some aspect of Houston. Last season, they wore NASA-themed uniforms and this year's "city connect" uniform ties in the history of Rice Stadium and the Houston Oilers who played at Rice Stadium from 1965-1967. The white pants with stripes and light blue jersey with the blocked RICE font and silver helmet acknowledge Rice's position as a longtime pillar in the Houston sports community. The uniform also prominently displays the Rice TX State Pride logo with the Olde English R in the distinctive light blue. The Oilers made their Rice stadium debut on 9/12/65 with a 27-21 win over the New York Jets in front of a record crowd of 52,690 that remained the largest crowd in Oilers history for 13 years until they drew 54,261 for a game with the Steelers on 12/3/78. They closed their time at Rice with a 24-17 win over San Diego to improve to 8-4-1 and with a win the following week at Miami, they completed a worst-to-first season and advanced to play Oakland in the AFC Championship game looking to advance to play Green Bay in Super Bowl II.
JT's Best Start
JT Daniels threw for a career-best 432 yards last Saturday and has thrown for 1, 237 yards and 11 touchdowns in the first four games, his highest totals through four games in his career. His previous best was 1,231 and 10 TDs in four games with Georgia in 2020.
Also notable:
• Daniels' 434 yards were the third most in school history.
• Rice has had seven games when a quarterback has thrown for 400+ yards and Daniels is the first Rice quarterback to top 400 yards twice in the same season. Chase Clement had one in 2007 and another in 2008.
• He has bettered his longest career completion in consecutive games with a 70-yard TD to Kobie Campbell vs. TSU and an 80-yard TD to Dean Connors at USF.
• Daniels leads the AAC in yards, yards per game, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency while he is seventh nationally in yards per game, ninth in yards and touchdowns, and 19th in efficiency.
• His 409 yards of total offense were the eighth-best total in school history.
Up Next
Rice closes out its 2023 non-conference schedule by hosting UConn in the first meeting between the schools next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+
Who: Rice (2-2, 0-1 AAC) vs. East Carolina (1-3, 0-0 AAC)
When: Saturday 6:00 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Rice Stadium
Television: ESPN+ Richard Cross (PXP); Taylor McHargue (Analyst); Smacker Miles (sidelines)
Where to Find the Game: ESPN+
Rice Radio: JP Heath (play-by-play), Nate Griffin (analyst), David Pillen (sidelines)
Audio Streaming: RiceOwls.com, Rice Game Day App, Varsity Network
Live Stats: Sidearm.com
Digital Game Program: Game 5 Rice vs. ECU
Series Information: Fifth Meeting
Full Game Notes
Series Notes
• This will be the fifth meeting between the schools and the first since 2010.
• The series is tied 2-2 with each school winning twice at home.
• Rice won the most recent meeting, 62-38 at Rice Stadium on 11/21/10 as Rice rolled up 639 yards of total offense, including 410 on the ground.
• Taylor McHargue was 11-15 with 220 yards and three TDs while Jeremy Eddington (16/150) and Sam McGuffie (15/123) topped100 yards on the ground while McHargue just missed joining them (13/93). Eddington scored four times, including an 80-yard, the second longest by an Owl at Rice Stadium.
• Rice staged a dramatic 18-17 win in the series first meeting at Rice Stadium in 2006.
• The Owls scored nine points in the last 2:35, capped by Clark Fangmeier's 40-yard field goal with :03 left to sete up a showdown the following week with SMU with the Owls' first bowl berth since 1961 on the line.
• Jarett Dillard hauled in a 40-yard completion on fourth down with less than a minute left to set up the winning field goal.
Owls Host ECU in Inaugural AAC Home Game
Rice Football opens a new chapter in its history as the Owls make their American Athletic Conference home debut on Saturday by hosting ECU. The AAC is Rice's fourth conference since the Owls joined the Southwest Conference in 1915. The Owls remained members of the SWC through 1995 and then competed in the Western Athletic Conference from 1996 through 2004 and then Conference USA from 2005 to 2022.
Rice is 1-2 in conference debut home games:
• 10/8/15 Baylor 26, Rice 0 in Houston (first win in 3rd home game, 7-0 over Texas A&M)
• 10/19/96 Rice 35, SMU 17
• 10/15/05 Tulsa 41, Rice 21 (first win in 3rd home game, 42-34 over Tulane)
"City Connect" Uniforms
For the second year in a row, Rice will wear an alternate uniform tied to some aspect of Houston. Last season, they wore NASA-themed uniforms and this year's "city connect" uniform ties in the history of Rice Stadium and the Houston Oilers who played at Rice Stadium from 1965-1967. The white pants with stripes and light blue jersey with the blocked RICE font and silver helmet acknowledge Rice's position as a longtime pillar in the Houston sports community. The uniform also prominently displays the Rice TX State Pride logo with the Olde English R in the distinctive light blue. The Oilers made their Rice stadium debut on 9/12/65 with a 27-21 win over the New York Jets in front of a record crowd of 52,690 that remained the largest crowd in Oilers history for 13 years until they drew 54,261 for a game with the Steelers on 12/3/78. They closed their time at Rice with a 24-17 win over San Diego to improve to 8-4-1 and with a win the following week at Miami, they completed a worst-to-first season and advanced to play Oakland in the AFC Championship game looking to advance to play Green Bay in Super Bowl II.
JT's Best Start
JT Daniels threw for a career-best 432 yards last Saturday and has thrown for 1, 237 yards and 11 touchdowns in the first four games, his highest totals through four games in his career. His previous best was 1,231 and 10 TDs in four games with Georgia in 2020.
Also notable:
• Daniels' 434 yards were the third most in school history.
• Rice has had seven games when a quarterback has thrown for 400+ yards and Daniels is the first Rice quarterback to top 400 yards twice in the same season. Chase Clement had one in 2007 and another in 2008.
• He has bettered his longest career completion in consecutive games with a 70-yard TD to Kobie Campbell vs. TSU and an 80-yard TD to Dean Connors at USF.
• Daniels leads the AAC in yards, yards per game, passing touchdowns and passing efficiency while he is seventh nationally in yards per game, ninth in yards and touchdowns, and 19th in efficiency.
• His 409 yards of total offense were the eighth-best total in school history.
Up Next
Rice closes out its 2023 non-conference schedule by hosting UConn in the first meeting between the schools next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+
Players Mentioned
WBB: Rice vs. Marshall Postgame Presser
Wednesday, March 09
VB: Rice-Texas Postgame Presser
Saturday, December 04
VB: Rice-San Diego Postgame Presser
Thursday, December 02