Saturday, October 10

Greenville, NC

12 p.m.

Rice University

1-5 , 0-2

East Carolina

3-2 , 1-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Rice	0	3	6	3	12
East Carolina	7	0	7	14	28

Photo by: David Beach

Owls Fall Late at East Carolina

10/10/2026 4:13:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Anthony Roberts (ar186@rice.edu)

The Lead
Rice went ahead early to open the second half, but couldn't maintain its lead as the Owls fell to East Carolina, 28-12, Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC.

The Story
Both sides opened the game with punts before East Carolina mounted a 97-yard touchdown drive to open the game's scoring. After another round of traded punts, both sides made fourth-down stops as Rice trailed at the end of the opening quarter. The Rice offense started clicking on the ground, with a 31-yard drive ending with Tommy Bauchiero's 45-yard field goal, the first of his career, to put the Owls on the board. The Pirates looked to counter the Owl score, but a fourth-down breakup by Koa Akui stalled the drive as Rice trailed 7-3 at halftime.

Tyvonn Byars ignited the Rice offense out of the break, breaking away for a 44-yard rush to set up the Owls deep in Pirates territory. Three plays later, Byars put the Owls ahead with a 23-yard rushing touchdown, as Rice led 9-7 after a blocked extra point. ECU had an immediate response, with an 8-minute drive capped off with a touchdown to retake the lead. Both sides traded possessions to close the third, with ECU leading 14-9. The Pirates opened the fourth with a 43-yard touchdown run to extend the lead, with a Rice interception on the ensuing drive setting ECU back up on the Rice 20-yard line. Two plays later, the Pirates added another touchdown, extending the lead to 28-9 with just under 13 minutes remaining. A late drive resulted in another Bauchiero field goal, this one being 44-yards, as the Pirates held on for the win.

Next Up
Rice is back at First Community Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 17, to face off against Tulsa at 3:30 p.m., with the game being streamed on ESPN+.

Postgame Notes
Series vs. ECU

This was the sixth meeting between Rice and ECU.
Rice is now 3-3 against the Pirates, with a 0-3 mark in Greenville.

Team Notes

Rice won the toss and deferred to the second half.
OL Matthew Aribisala made his first career start.

Individual Notes - Offense

#11 QB Jacurri Brown

Brown was 2-of-10 for 21 yards.
He also ran 19 times for 19 yards.

#4 QB Gael Ochoa

Was 2-of-4 for 48 yards.
His two completions tie a career high.
His 33-yard completion was a career-long.

#26 RB Tyvonn Byars

Finished with 111 yards on 14 carries with a touchdown.
Surpassed 100 yards rushing for the second time this season (HCU).
Scored his second touchdown of the season (Western Michigan) off a 23-yard run.
His touchdown capped off a drive in which he ran for 72 yards.
Set a career-long with a 44-yard rush in the third quarter.
Byars continued Rice's start of a 100-yard rusher in each game this season.

#19 WR Jordan Clark

Finished with 69 receiving yards, catching all four of Rice's passes.
Had a 33-yard and 15-yard completion to set up Rice's final field goal.
The 33-yard reception was a career-long.

Individual Notes - Defense

#96 DL Dillan Botts

Recorded his first solo sack as an Owl.
Finished with two sacks during the game.
Botts' two sacks are tied for a team-high this season (Chibby Nwajuaku vs HCU).
Had a season-high five tackles.
Had a season-high two tackles for loss.

#3 S Koa Akui

Finished with four tackles for loss, setting a career high.
Reached 100 career tackles with nine.
His nine tackles tied a career high.

#7 S AJ Brown

Tied a career high with nine tackles.

#33 LB Stone Combs

Set a season high with 11 tackles.

#54 LB Austin Harnetiaux

Tied a season high with nine tackles.

Individual - Special Teams

#13 Max Mosey

25-yard punt return in the first quarter was a season-long.

#29 P Charlie Durkin

With a punt of 53 yards in the first quarter, Durkin has had a punt of 50-plus yards in five of six games this season.
He now has eight 50-plus yard punts this season, after entering the season with only seven.

#49 K Tommy Bauchiero

Bauchiero was 2-for-2 in field goals, making 45-yard and 44-yard field goals.
Bauchiero's 45-yard field goal in the second quarter was his first career field goal.