ECU Drops Shootout With BYU, 45-38

Saturday, October 10

Provo, Utah

7:30 PM

East Carolina University

3-2 , 1-1

BYU

3-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
East Carolina	14	7	0	17	38
BYU	7	21	10	7	45

October 10, 2015 | Football

Box Score

Oct. 10, 2015

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

Game Book l ECU Notes

by Mike Grizzard,
ECUPirates.com

PROVO, Utah - A double-digit deficit didn't faze East Carolina. The Pirates had been there twice already this year.

A final possession with the game on the line didn't shake Brigham Young. The Cougars had been there twice this year.

In an entertaining battle of comeback wizards featuring more than 1,000 total yards of offense, Brigham Young landed the last punch Saturday night, scoring with 19 seconds to go for a 45-38 homecoming victory before a crowd of 60,186 at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars (4-2) notched their first two wins this season with a dramatic flair, completing a Hail Mary pass on the final play for a 33-28 win over Nebraska, then getting a late long pass and pick-six in a 35-24 win over Boise State.

The Pirates (3-3) had a bit less drama but dug out of first-half holes of 14 points against Virginia Tech and 16 points last week at SMU to pick up wins, then overcame a 17-point second-half deficit Saturday to draw even with just 4:01 to play.

"I'm proud of our kids," said sixth-year ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill, who celebrated his 57th birthday on Friday. "We've said this before, I don't ever worry about us quitting. There were some mistakes that happened in the game. In a game like this, playing the caliber of team that BYU has, you can't have mistakes. But I was proud of the way our team fought back. We gave ourselves an opportunity there at the end."

The Pirates, who got off to a blazing start against BYU and led 14-0, had that chance despite having a punt blocked, giving up a first down on a fake punt, losing a pair of fumbles, throwing one interception and being out-gained nearly 150 yards in the first half.

A backup quarterback once again provided a spark, but McNeill flipped the switch this week. James Summers, who rallied the Pirates past Virginia Tech and SMU, got his first start and played the bulk of the first two quarters before Blake Kemp stepped in.

Summers compiled 70 yards rushing on 10 carries, including a 34-yard scamper for his fifth rushing TD on the Pirates' second series, but completed just 2 of 6 passes for 14 yards. With the Pirates down 28-14, Kemp directed a touchdown drive just before halftime and finished out the game.

In just two-plus quarters, the junior left-hander completed 28 of 36 passes for 371 yards - the third time he has topped 300 yards passing - and tossed his ninth and 10th TD passes of the year. He was picked off once.

"You can't do that if the kids don't think team first," McNeill said of the two-quarterback system. "If the team does not believe in them both and they trust me to make the decisions and (offensive coordinator) Dave (Nichol) to make the decisions ... they know we are doing the best thing for our team."

Kemp spread the ball to eight receivers, with four collecting at least five catches. Junior Isaiah Jones had a team-high 10 receptions for 95 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown that got ECU within 38-35. Jones now ranks third in school history in receptions (191) and receiving yards (2,002).

Trevon Brown had season highs in both catches (6) and receiving yards (84) and snared a touchdown pass for the third consecutive game, a 1-yarder from Kemp just before halftime.

Chris Hairston led the Pirates on the ground with 77 yards on 15 carries and scored his team-leading sixth touchdown. He also had five catches for 50 yards, including a career-long 36-yarder that ignited a fourth-quarter scoring drive.

With a second-half flurry of offense, ECU out-gained BYU 518-508. Led by freshman Tanner Mangum, the Cougars amassed a 254-78 advantage in passing yards the first half, but the Pirates wound up with a 385-341 edge.

Mangum, thrust into a starting role when Taysom Hill was injured in the season-opener, was sensational in leading the BYU offense, completing 24 of 33 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns. He limped off the field with a hamstring injury just before the end of the third period and the Cougars up 38-21. Freshman Beau Hoge was ineffective, completing just 1 of 5 passes and throwing one interception as the Pirates rallied.

But Mangum trotted back on the field after ECU pulled even and engineered the winning drive.

"When you're in the middle of a game, you want to do all you can to keep playing and help your team win even though you're hurt," Mangum said. "When it came down to the last drive, I couldn't stay on the sideline any longer."

The final drive covered 75 yards in 10 plays and took all but 19 seconds off the clock. He completed 3 of 4 passes for 27 yards on the drive, highlighted by a 15-yard pass to Terenn Houk on a third-and-10 play from the ECU 39. Algernon Brown bulled his way for 36 yards on five carries. The ball was in his hands on the final three plays, capped by a 9-yard run up the middle for the score.

Brown finished with 134 rushing yards on 24 carries and scored three touchdowns.

The Pirates' last gasp at a miracle ended when Anthony Scott, the recipient of the third lateral after a pass to Bryce Williams, was smothered under at the Cougars' 24.

Special teams played a key role in a see-saw first half that saw both team grab 14-point leads. Summers' run put the Pirates up 7-0, then Yiannis Bowden pounced on a punt blocked by Trevian Hicks - his second of the season - for a 14-0 lead.

Mangum and the Cougars then heated up. Mangum hooked up with Brown on a 22-yard scoring strike to make it 14-7, then Brown scored from 1 yard out after BYU blocked a Worth Gregory punt.

The Cougars executed a fake punt on their next possession, with punter Johnny Linehan rambling seven yards for a first down. Six plays later, magnum threw a 13-yard pass to Mitch Matthews for a 21-14 lead. Mangum's 9-yard pass to Houk later in the quarter put BYU 28-14.

Two fumbles derailed ECU early in the second half, and BYU extended its seven-point lead to 38-21. Mangum was injured while sliding on a scramble for a first down on a drive that ended with a 37-yard Trevor Samson field goal.

But with no Mangum in and Kemp continuing to peck away, the Pirates rallied. ECU pulled even on David Plowman's 33-yard field goal following Bowden's juggling interception near midfield.

But BYU had one comeback left in it.

Now the Pirates head home for just their third game in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this season, hosting American Athletic Conference opponent Tulsa next Saturday at noon.

"We divide our season into quarters; we just finished the second quarter," McNeill said. "Of course you would like to be undefeated, but at the same time we know we played quality opponents.

"We learned a lot, and you continue learning. Our kids will never give up, and my staff will never stop making adjustments. We understand competitive plays. That will carry us the rest of the conference race. We'll need it, because we're not through facing great teams."