GREENVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — Rice will visit East Carolina on Saturday for an NCAA Football Bowl Division game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Owls enter at 1-4, while the Pirates are 2-2. The forecast for game time calls for 63 degrees.

Rice is coming off a 16-14 loss to Texas-San Antonio. Jacurri Brown led the Owls in that game, passing for 88 yards and rushing for 96 yards and two touchdowns. D’Andre Hardeman Jr. added 28 rushing yards, and Tyvonn Byars rushed for 12 yards.

Brown has been Rice’s central offensive figure throughout the season. In a 38-24 loss to Fresno State, he passed for 119 yards and rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown. Against Western Michigan, he passed for 121 yards and rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown. At Notre Dame, he passed for 64 yards and rushed for 32 yards. Rice also has a 31-3 win over Houston Christian and losses to Western Michigan and Notre Dame.

East Carolina is coming off a 42-9 win over North Carolina Central. Emory Williams completed 25 of 36 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in that victory. He also completed 5 of 7 passes for 22 yards in a 20-17 win at Old Dominion. The Pirates also lost to Appalachian State 27-24 and Alabama 48-10.

Williams gives East Carolina a productive passing option, while the Pirates’ ground game has shown big-play ability. TJ Engleman Jr. ran for 129 yards and added two receptions for 33 yards with two touchdowns in the win over North Carolina Central. Mitch Griffis also saw time at quarterback in that game.

Rice will look to Brown to create plays through the air and on the ground. The Owls have struggled to score consistently, with 14 points in their most recent game and 24 or fewer in each of their losses. East Carolina has scored at least 20 points in three of its four games and will aim to control the pace at home.

The teams will meet in Greenville before continuing their schedules. Rice will next host Tulsa, while East Carolina will visit UAB. Both teams are in the midst of conference play and need a win to build momentum.

Interstat’s game simulator is projecting a final score of East Carolina 51, Rice 19. Rice has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +10. The over/under for this game is 47.5.