Rice Football
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By: Chuck Pool (cpool@rice.edu)
Rice shut out UTSA’s high-powered offense in the second half but saw their efforts to open the American Conference season with a win fall just short as the Roadrunners held on for a 16-14 win at First Community Stadium on Saturday night.
Final pic.twitter.com/9UgF0SlD46
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) October 4, 2026
How it Happened: Rice put itself in immediate danger by fumbling on the second play of the game, but the defense held UTSA to the first of three field goals. The Roadrunners added a second field goal on their next possession, but Jacurri Brown led Rice on a 75-yard scoring drive to take its only lead of the night. Brown hit Jordan Clark with an 11-yard completion on the first of four fourth-down conversions on the night, and two plays later, he broke through the UTSA pursuit and sprinted 38 yards to score and Rice took a 7-6 lead to the quarter break. The Roadrunners grabbed the lead back early in the second and then tacked on their final points of the night later in the quarter to push the lead to 16-7. UTSA scored points on each of its first four possessions, but the Owls shut out an attack that came into the game averaging 35.3 points per game over the final 35:49 and forced a pair of turnovers against a team that ranked second in the country, having committed just one in its first four games. Playing for the final time against is hometown school and making his 2026 season debut, co-captain Daveon Hook picked off his first career pass midway through the second quarter. Rice flipped the script from the first half on the opening possession of the second as freshman Seth Clarke pressured UTSA quarterback Owen McCown and then stripped the ball on the second play of the half and Koa Akui recovered at the UTSA 29.
Brown ➡️ Grice #RepTheR pic.twitter.com/e31dZKbmEY
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) October 4, 2026
Rice missed a chance to cut into the lead when the drive ended with a missed field goal, but the Owls’ defense continued to bottle up the Roadrunners, holding them to 13 yards on 12 plays in the third quarter. Rice forced UTSA’s only punt of the game on its next possession and then methodically marched down the field, covering 88 yards on 20 plays, with Brown converting the third fourth down conversion of the march on a one-yard run to move to within two, 16-14. UTSA found its offensive legs on its next drive and moved 57 yards, but the effort ended in a missed field goal, but the Owls could not muster one final drive to take the lead.
THAT'S OUR QB 😤#RepTheR pic.twitter.com/VaeQFmYwSB
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) October 4, 2026
Up Next: Rice returns to Greenville, North Carolina for the first time since 2009 when the Owls meet East Carolina next Saturday at 3 p.m. They return to First Community Stadium in two weeks to host Tulsa.
INCOMING#RepTheR pic.twitter.com/fZ5byUMfMY
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) October 4, 2026
Notes
Rice fell to 1-4 on the season and 4-10 all-time vs. UTSA.
Rice held UTSA to its fewest points in the series since a 14-13 win in Houston in 2016 and its fewest points in an American Conference game since scoring 16 vs. Tulane in 2023.
The Owls’ 20-play drive in the fourth quarter was the longest since a 20-play drive at UTEP on Nov. 24, 2012.
Punter Charlie Durkin punted four times for a career-high 54.0 yards per punt.
Durkin had punts of 57, 56, 52, and 51 yards and has seven this season, matching his career total prior to this season.
Credit: riceowls.co/UTSA-FB-26
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