ECU Rolls Past Cincinnati, 48-20

Saturday, November 18

Greenville, N.C.

12:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

3-8 , 2-5

Cincinnati

3-8 , 1-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Cincinnati

ECU

November 18, 2017 | Football

Box Score

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By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. — The ECU football team used a dominant effort on both sides of the ball to beat visiting Cincinnati 48-20 on Saturday at Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

No one for the Pirates was more dominant than receiver Trevon Brown. He caught nine passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Brown's yardage total is a school and American Athletic Conference record.

"It's just a blessing," said Brown, whose team improved to 3-8 overall and 2-5 in the American. "These guys rallied around me. My teammates believe in me and I believe in them. When we knew it was close (to the record), we went for it.

"My teammates believed in me all week, we practiced well all week. They said to go out and give it your all, and that's what I did."

Brown's contributions were especially critical because Davon Grayson, the team's leading receiver so far this season, was a late scratch with a tweak to his back and hip. In addition to Brown's big day, others contributed. Freshman Tahj Deans had five catches for 56 yards and one touchdown, all in the first half, and Deondre Farrier had five catches for 39 yards and a touchdown.

"They really did step up," quarterback Gardner Minshew said of the rest of the receiving corps. "They've been practicing their tails off, so for them to get a little payoff on the field was great."

Minshew also had another big day, completing 31 of 45 passes for 444 yards and four touchdowns. He hit his first 13 throws.

"Gardner was rolling there at a good pace, throwing the ball and completing a lot of balls," ECU Head Coach Scottie Montgomery said. "We had some matchups that we liked, and he just did a good job throwing the football. Our offensive front gave him time to throw it."

The defense was solid. Overall the Pirates held an edge of 578 to 326 in total offense. Cincinnati, which dropped to 3-8 and 1-6, was just 3-for-10 on third-down conversions and 0-for-1 on fourth-down attempts.

"I've got to go back and look at the film, but I think, looking at it, we did a fantastic job," said inside linebacker Jordan Williams, who had two solo tackles and five assists to go with one pass breakup. "The guys played with a lot of energy. We got some younger guys like Keyshawn Canady in there, he's making plays and he's juicing up the defense.

"It definitely felt good to stop them early and finish out in the fourth quarter. Sometimes with this defense we play the first half good or the second half good, but it feels good to get all those quarters of the game and finish it out strong."

ECU got a field goal late in the first half to push its advantage to 24-13, then got a stop on Cincinnati's first possession of the second half. Bearcats punter James Smith pinned the Pirates back at their own 5, but on first down Minshew hit Brown with a pass near the 30. Brown momentarily bobbled it but quickly regained control, then sidestepped the defense and went virtually untouched down the left sidelines for a 95-yard score.

"His timing and everything is where it's supposed to be, and I'm comfortable with it," Brown said of his comfort level with Minshew. "It's easy to play with him."

Cincinnati had to punt again on its next possession, and the Pirates then extended their advantage to 38-13 as Farrier capped a 5-play, 85-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown from Minshew.

The Bearcats scored late in the third to make it 38-20, but ECU answered again with an 11-play drive that ended with a 50-yard field goal by Jake Verity.

"I really trust Jake Verity," Montgomery said. "I'll try to let him kick it if we're anywhere 53 and under. I feel really good about him."

Cincinnati's next possession was a three-and-out. The Pirates were unable to move, and the Bearcats got the ball back again — at their own 1 after a 62-yard punt by Austin Barnes.

ECU's Chris Love intercepted Cincinnati quarterback shortly thereafter at the Bearcats 34 and returned it to the 25. Reid Herring was inserted in Minshew's place, and he ended the scoring with a 20-yard pass to Brown.

"I love playing with these boys," Brown said. "I love playing in Dowdy-Ficklen. I love these fans. It gives me a confidence-boost to have this game and everyone believing in me."

ECU often looked nearly invincible on both sides of the ball. The Pirates scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions, and missed a field goal on the other. In the meantime, Cincinnati went three-and-out the first two times it had the ball, and gained just one first down before having to punt on its third possession.

After Minshew connected with Jimmy Williams on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 9:02 left in the second quarter, the Pirates had what at the time was their biggest lead of the season at 21-0. Williams caught the ball near the 10, and carried a pack of defenders into the end zone with him.

But the cushion was short-lived. The Bearcats broke through on their first play after that, with quarterback Hayden Moore hitting Khalil Lewis on a 75-yard touchdown pass, cutting it to 21-6 after the hold was bobbled on the point-after attempt. It was the ninth touchdown of 70 or more yards given up by ECU this season.

ECU had to turn to Barnes to punt for the first time all day on its next possession, and Cincinnati took over at its own 20 after the touchback. Eleven plays later, Moore hit JaQuay Savage for a 10-yard scoring pass, making it 21-13.

But the Pirates showed some renewed life in the final two minutes, going 46 yards on 10 plays to set up Verity's 46-yard field goal, making it 24-13 at the half.

ECU scored on a 23-yard pass from Minshew to Deans on its first possession, and a 3-yard run by Hussein Howe on its second. The key play on the second drive was a 33-yard pass from Minshew to Brown on fourth-and-3 from the Cincinnati 41.

Minshew was 24-for-35 for 239 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Two of his completions were to backup quarterback Thomas Sirk, who lined up at tight end several times.

"(Sirk) was so excited all week to play tight end," Minshew said. "To get him the ball early like we did, I was really happy for him."

The Pirates will finish out their season next Saturday, Nov. 25, at 12 noon at No. 21 Memphis. ECU leads the all-time series with Memphis 15-6 and has won the last seven meetings between the two. Their last matchup was in 2012, when the Pirates prevailed 41-7.

"We'd like to ride this momentum," Minshew said. "We feel like we executed well on both sides of the ball. If we continue to do that, you've got to feel good about it."