SMU Defeats ECU On Military Appreciation Day, 55-31

Saturday, November 12

Greenville, N.C.

12:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

3-7 , 1-5

SMU

5-5 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

SMU

East Carolina

November 12, 2016 | Football

Box Score

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GREENVILLE, N.C. – SMU came up with five turnovers and piled up 477 yards of total offense cruising to a 55-31 win over East Carolina in an American Athletic Conference game in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

After an opening half featuring fireworks on both sides, the Mustangs (5-5, 3-3 American) scored the first 21 points of the second half to forge a 31-point lead.

The Pirates (3-7, 1-5 American) fell despite 466 yards of total offense. Three lost fumbles and a pair of pick-6s by senior cornerback Horace Richardson proved to be ECU's undoing. Richardson had interception returns of 70 yards (second quarter) and 80 yards (third quarter) to help break open the contest.

"If you take a look at this game there are two categories that we lost the game in: turnovers and third down conversions" ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery said. "We couldn't get them off the field. They got us off the field and we turned the ball over. We moved the ball as well as any other game we have been in. It was just heartbreaking to see us turn the ball over like that."

Despite drawing double and triple coverage during most of the game, Pirate senior wide receiver Zay Jones finished with 12 catches for 173 yards and a touchdown. It marked his 17th game with 10 or more catches, his 18th with triple digit receiving yardage and his 14th with 10-plus receptions and 100 or more yards. The leading receiver at the NCAA FBS level entering the game now needs eight catches to pass former Pirate teammate Justin Hardy (2011-14) as the career reception leader in NCAA FBS history at 388. He is just 22 yards shy of surpassing Hardy's ECU single-season record for reception yards with 1,473 through the first 10 games.

ECU starting quarterback Philip Nelson and sophomore backup Gardner Minshew combined for 284 yards passing, but each tossed an interception to Richardson.

Senior running back James Summers rushed a dozen times for 89 yards and a touchdown to pace the ECU ground game with sophomore Devin Anderson adding a career-high 63 yards and a ground score.

For the second-straight week, the Pirates allowed two opponent backs to eclipse 100 yards rushing with freshman Ke'Mon Freeman netting a game-high 111 yards on 18 carries and sophomore Braedon West collecting 104 on 20 totes.

Sophomore wide receiver Courtland Sutton offset Jones by grabbing a dozen passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns as SMU balanced its offense with 240 yards on the ground and 237 through the air.

Four Pirate turnovers turned into 21 points for the Mustangs during a wild first half which ended with SMU leading 38-24.

An 8-yard Minshew to Jones pass on the final play of the half allowed ECU to trim the deficit to two touchdowns after SMU had reeled off 21 unanswered points in the second quarter.

After a Davis Plowman 27-yard field goal leveled the score at 17-17 with 9:47 left in the half, things began to go very wrong for the Pirates.

Freshman quarterback Ben Hicks completed a 32-yard pass to Freeman to key a 12-play, 86-yard go-ahead touchdown drive by SMU. Hicks connected with freshman wide receiver James Proche for the score on a third and seven play.

On the Pirates' ensuing possession, Richardson read Nelson's pass to the right side and jumped the route for a 70-yard interception return which stunned the home crowd.

ECU's next play from scrimmage, Summers was stripped of the football by senior outside linebacker Jackson Mitchell, who pounced on top of the loose ball at the Pirate 46.

The ECU defense forced a three and out only to have SMU senior safety Darrion Millines pick off Nelson and set the Mustangs up at the Pirate 40. Five plays later, Hicks found Sutton between two ECU defenders in the back of the endzone for a 22-yard scoring strike on third down. Williams' point after kick pushed the visitors' lead to 38-17.

It took the Pirates less than two and a half minutes to set the early tone with a three-and-out on defense followed by a lightning-quick touchdown drive.

A tackle for loss by junior cornerback Bobby Fulp on second down and quarterback sack by senior defensive lineman Fred Presley on the next play forced the Mustangs to punt. A shanked kick by freshman punter Jamie Sackville set ECU up at the 50.

On third and six, Nelson found Jones down the left side between converging defenders to feather in a throw which the senior carried to the seven-yard line. On the next play, Nelson kept the ball and rolled untouched into the left side of the endzone for his first rushing touchdown since a season-opening win over Western Carolina. Plowman's PAT kick made it 7-0 just 2:23 into the contest.

SMU spurted into the lead when it sandwiched a field goal and a touchdown around a Pirate turnover. The Pirate defense allowed an 11-play, 86-yard drive on the Mustangs' second possession, but a pass break up by Fulp on second down and a tackle by senior linebacker Cam White on a drag pass completion on third down forced SMU to settle for a 2-yard field goal by sophomore Josh Williams.

Mustang freshman safety Kevin Johnson stripped junior wide receiver Quay Johnson of the ball and junior defensive end Justin Lawler recovered at the ECU 39 to set up a go-ahead tally by SMU.

Sutton pulled in an 8-yard strike from Hicks with 4:45 left in the opening period to give the Mustangs a short-lived 10-7 lead.

ECU responded with a 12-play, 63-yard drive which was capped when Summers, who was lined up at quarterback, kept around the left side to push the Pirates back into the lead at 14-10 on the first play of the second quarter.

In the first half, the teams amassed 577 yards in total offense (ECU 293, SMU 284) with the Mustangs' 4-0 edge in turnovers proving to be the crucial difference.

The Pirates now face American West Division-leading Navy (7-2, 5-1 American) Saturday on a makeup date for the October 13th game erased by Hurricane Matthew. The Midshipmen broke a tie with Tulsa (7-3, 4-2 American) today with a 42-40 win over the Golden Hurricane in Annapolis, Md. The Mustangs host USF to begin a 2-game season-ending homestand.