Broncos Outlast Owls

Saturday, September 19

Houston, Texas

6 PM

Rice University

1-2 , 0-0

Western Michigan

2-1 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Western Mich.	7	7	0	14	28
Rice	0	7	7	7	21

Game Notes (PDF)

Photo by: Karen Warren | Rice Athletics

9/19/2026 11:44:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

Western Michigan edges Rice 28-21

By: Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu)

Houston: Jacurri Brown ran for 128 yards and threw for 121, but Rice's hopes to improve to 2-0 at Rice Stadium in 2026 fell just short as Western Michigan ground out a 28-21 win at Rice Stadium on Saturday night.

How it Happened: The teams traded punts on each of their first two possessions as yardage was hard to come by before the Broncos' Jaelen Buckley broke free for a 66-yard run to move WMU from its own 20 to the Rice 14, and four plays later, the Broncos had a 7-0 lead. The Owls' offense got untracked midway through the second quarter, moving 81 yards on nine plays to even the score on a two-yard run by Brown. The drive started with a 29-yard dash by Brown to move the ball near midfield, and D'Andre Hardeman Jr. , up the score by bulling 13 yards to the WMU two. WMU responded with a 65-yard scoring drive to take a 14-7 lead at halftime, but the Owls roared out of the locker room to tie the game on a one-yard run by Tyvonn Byars. Max Mosey pushed the ball to the one covering 16 yards after taking a pitch from Brown. On the ensuing kickoff, true freshman Jayden Cupitt made his first career tackle a memorable one, jarring the ball loose from the Bronco returner and Chris Bruce fell on the ball to set Rice up at the Bronco 34. But WMU's defense stiffened, and after a failed field goal attempt, the Bronco offense ate up the remainder of the quarter, retaking the lead on a methodical 16-play march to their third touchdown of the game. After trading punts, WMU held Rice on downs and used that field position to move ahead 28-14. Faced with a two-touchdown deficit and only 1:50 remaining, Brown moved Rice 86 yards to carve the deficit in half, completing all five of his passes, including a 22-yard touchdown to Barry Jackson Jr., with Jackson fighting through a tackle to extend the ball over the goal line. On a day that had already seen a number of improvable endings, the Broncos slammed the door on the Owls' last hope, covering the onside kick and running out the last nine seconds of the game.

Next Up: Rice renews a rivalry from its days in the WAC next weekend as the Owls travel west to meet Fresno State at 9 p.m. (central). They return to Rice Stadium in two weeks to host UTSA, with game time to be announced by the American Conference on Monday.

Notes:
• This is just the second meeting between Rice and Western Michigan which is now tied 1-1.
• Rice won the previous meeting, 38-14, in the 2008 Texas Bowl.
• Rice's 81-yard scoring drive was its longest of the season.
• RUSH Seth Clarke and DL Robert Rooks made their first career starts

Individual Notes - Offense
#11 QB Jacurri Brown
• Brown was 11-of-18 for a season-high 121 yards a touchdown and moved past 1,000 career passing yards.
• He carried the ball a career-high 23 times for a season-high 128 yards and a touchdown, moving past 1,000 career yards on the ground as well.
• It's his third career 100-yard rushing game.
• The 128 rushing yards are the most by a quarterback since Taylor McHargue had 153 against Marshall on Sept. 22, 2012.

#26 RB Tyvonn Byars
• Byars rushed eight times for 18 yards and touchdown.
• Byars scored on a one-yard run with 9:15 to play in the third quarter.
• It was his first touchdown of the year and the second of his
career.

#28 RB D'Andre Hardeman Jr.
• Hardeman tied a career-high with 11 rushes for 43 yards.

#0 WR Payton Matthews
• Matthews 25-yard reception in the first quarter was his longest of the season.

#7 WR Barry Jackson, Jr.
• Jackson had a career-high four receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.
• His 22-yard touchdown reception with 0:09 remaining in the fourth quarter… It was his first touchdown of the year and second of his career… It was his first touchdown since Sept. 2, 2023, against Eastern Kentucky while at Cincinnati.

Individual Notes - Defense
#12 CB Jamir Benjamin
• Benjamin recorded a career-high nine tackles.

#7 VIPER AJ Brown
• Brown recorded a career-high nine tackles.
• He also set a career-high with 2.0 tackles for loss and added a forced fumble in the first quarter.

#56 RUSH Seth Clarke
• In his first career start, Clarke recorded his first career sack in the second quarter.

#57 DL Aquantis Clemmons
• Clemmons recorded a career-high six tackles, including sack and forced fumble in the second quarter.

#33 LB Stone Combs
• Combs recorded a season-high seven tackles.

#54 LB Austin Harnetiaux
• Harnetiaux recorded a season-high nine tackles.

#10 CB Kyren Condoll
• Condoll recorded a career-high six tackles.

Individual - Special Teams
#29 P Charlie Durkin
• Durkin punted five times for 44.0 yards per punt.
• Durkin had a 51-yard punt with 10:49 to play in the fourth quarter.
• It was his third 50-yard punt this year and the 10th of his career.