The US LBM Coaches Poll No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to face the Rice Owls this weekend, a member of the American Athletic Conference, in its home opener on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls are led by quarterback Jacurri Brown, a redshirt senior who is in his first season with Rice. He was previously at Miami and UCF for a combined four seasons. Brown contributed to Rice’s 31-3 win over Houston Christian last weekend. In his first start under center for the Owls, Brown was 3-of-6 passing with a touchdown and ran the ball 13 times for 98 yards.
Before donning the Owls’ blue and white, Brown played 21 career games for the Knights and Hurricanes. He completed 57.4% of his passes for 906 yards, six TDs and nine interceptions. On the ground,
Brown rushed for 821 yards and eight scores on 137 carries.
His best season so far was with UFC in 2024. Brown was 52.2% on completions for 398 yards, a TD and four INTs. He also had 401 rushing yards and four scores on 53 carries.
Brown inherited an Owls’ offense that averaged 19.1 points and more than 200 rushing yards per game last season. Against Houston Christian, Rice compiled 458 rushing yards and three TDs on 69 carries.
In a Rice football press conference on Tuesday, Brown said he is looking forward to playing in South Bend this weekend.
“If we take care of our job, we won’t have to worry about the crowd,” Brown said. “Our number one thing is just playing ball. Like our coach said, everyone dreams of these moments and going to these stadiums. It’s time to go.”
@RiceFootball QB Jacurri Brown on what he's learned in his experiences against programs like Notre Dame pic.twitter.com/dEgXw7HoOl
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) September 8, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Breakdown of the Rice quarterback that Notre Dame faces on Saturday
