East Carolina kicker Owen Daffer missed a would-be game winner from 41 yards. He went 25 of 39 for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Old Dominion, and the next week he was a surgical seventeen of twenty for 263 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Campbell. Against Navy, both teams were tied at seventeen going into overtime and East Carolina started with the ball first. Ahlers led the Pirates close enough for a 26 yard field goal to put them up 20–17. Navy would respond with a field goal of their own on back-to-back overtime possessions to go up 20–23. After three-straight incompletions by Ahlers, East Carolina kicker Daffer misses another game-winning kick, this time from 37 yards. The team would bounce back against South Florida as he threw for a tied career-high and team-record six touchdowns. Following the record-tying performance against the Bulls he struggled against Tulane and lost 9–24. In fourth overtime against Memphis, a failed two-point attempt by Seth Henigan caused the Pirates to win 47–45. Ahlers led East Carolina past UCF and BYU before being stumped by Cincinnati and Houston. Despite a five touchdown performance by Temple quarterback E.J. Warner, Ahlers' three touchdown passes, including the game winning strike with a minute left, were good enough to etch past the Owls 49–46. East Carolina finished the regular season 7–5 and earned a bid in the Birmingham Bowl against Coastal Carolina. Against the Chanticleers, and in Ahlers final career game, he threw for 300 yards on 26 completions in 38 attempts alongside five touchdowns. His five passing touchdowns was a Birmingham Bowl record, but as he tallied on another touchdown on the ground, his total of six touchdowns were also a bowl record. The Pirates won 53–29. Following the 2022 season, Ahlers was named to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl American Team. During the game he went nine of twelve for 189 yards and a touchdown. His performance was good enough for a 19–17 win over the National Team and the honors of the game's MVP. He was also invited to the 2023 Hula Bowl where he played for Team Kai. He would throw a touchdown to Michael Ezeike to put Team Kai up 10–3 and the team held onto the lead to win 16–13. Ahlers performance won him the game's MVP. Statistics East Carolina records Career records: Passing yards: 13,933 Total