East Carolina Scores 21 Straight to Bury Rice
Rice ran the ball 51 times and gained 164 yards. That is a little over three yards a carry, and it tells you most of what you need to know about how the afternoon went for the Owls.
East Carolina took the first score, a 22-yard touchdown pass from Emory Williams to Ray Ray Joseph Jr. in the first quarter. Rice answered with a 45-yard field goal late in the second to make it 7-3. Early in the third, Tyvonn Byars ripped off a 23-yard touchdown run (the extra point was blocked) and Rice led 9-7 for the only time all day. It lasted about eight minutes. Williams and Joseph connected again from six yards out with 4:37 left in the third, and East Carolina took a 14-9 lead into the fourth that it never gave back.
The fourth quarter was one-sided. TJ Engleman went 43 yards for a touchdown with 14:06 left, then Williams ran in a 12-yarder 79 seconds later, and it was 28-9. Count it up and East Carolina scored 21 unanswered points after trailing 9-7. Rice's last points came on a 44-yard field goal with 30 seconds left, which made the 28-12 final look slightly nicer than it was.
The passing game for Rice never showed up: 69 yards through the air, with Jacurri Brown completing 2 of 10 and throwing one interception. Add a lost fumble and you have two turnovers against none for East Carolina, which also piled up 234 rushing yards on 40 carries and three sacks. Byars was fine on his own, 14 carries for 111 yards and the touchdown, but he could not do it alone.
East Carolina moves to 3-2. Rice falls to 1-5. For fantasy owners, this one belonged to the home side: Williams, Joseph and Engleman were the top three scorers in the game, and none of them wore a Rice jersey.