Odds revealed for ECU’s league opener at Rice

East Carolina will head to Rice for its conference opener looking to continue the momentum it has following its first win of the season, a 44-0 shellacking of FCS foe Gardner-Webb this past Saturday inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. But the Pirates will have to make it two in a row by winning as an underdog.

Rice opened as a 4.5-point favorite on Sunday, though the line has quickly moved in ECU’s favor to Rice by 2.5, with a total of 50.5, according to VegasInsider.com.

A lot of the movement likely stems from the uncertainty surrounding Rice quarterback J.T. Daniels, who exited the USF game with an injury. The former five-star quarterback, who has also spent time at Georgia, USC and West Virginia, was lighting up USF’s defense to the tune of 432 yards and three touchdowns when he suffered a leg injury on a sack.

Rice was leading 21-20 at the time of his injury late in the third quarter, but USF went on to outscore the Owls 22-8 the rest of the game in Tampa to run away with a 42-29 victory. USF had 597 yards of offense in the victory, with quarterback Byrum Brown throwing for 435 yards and rushing for 82 more alone. Rice had 491 yards passing, but just one net yard rushing. Redshirt freshman AJ Padgett went 7-of-10 for 59 yards with one touchdown off the bench in relief of Daniels.

The Owls dropped to 2-2 on the season with the loss, including an 0-1 start in their first ever AAC game. Rice lost 37-10 at Texas in the season opener before bouncing back to win in a thriller over Houston, 43-41. The Owls also defeated FCS foe Texas Southern 59-7 in Week 3. Daniels has been a major weapon for the Rice passing attack, completing 64 percent of his throws for 1,237 yards, 11 touchdowns and three picks. Wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, the son of Ed McCaffrey and brother of Christian McCaffrey, has 20 catches for 370 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and four scores.

Rice is averaging 35.3 points per game and is allowing 31.7 points per game.

East Carolina improved in several statistical categories on both sides of the ball after its 44-0 win over Gardner-Webb, though the Pirates are still averaging only 22 points per game compared to giving up 26 points per contest. The Pirates are averaging 282.5 yards on offense per game, and allowing 345.3. ECU has still really yet to settle on a true No. 1 quarterback. Alex Flinn has started the last two games with mixed results, though he's moved the offense more consistently than Mason Garcia did the first two games. But Garcia came off the bench in the second half against Gardner-Webb and guided two touchdown drives, performing the best he's looked early this season.

ECU and Rice have played just four times previously, with both teams holding serve at home, winning twice apiece. The Pirates are looking for their first-ever win at Rice Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) on Saturday in Houston.