Big Plays Lift No. 4 Bearcats Past Pirates

Friday, November 26

Greenville, N.C.

3:30 P.M.

East Carolina University

7-5 , 5-3

Cincinnati

12-0 , 8-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Cincinnati

East Carolina

November 26, 2021 | Football

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GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina arrived at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Friday with all intentions of spoiling Cincinnati's plans of being a part of the College Football Playoff. But the nation's fourth-ranked team showed why it is worthy.

The Bearcats overcame three turnovers with a stout defense, a big-play offense and a game-changing play on special teams to defeat the Pirates 35-13 in the regular-season finale played before a nationally-televised audience and a chilled home crowd of a 38,014. Cincinnati seized control with a 21-point second quarter then thwarted several ECU attempts to scrap back as it has throughout a turn-around season.

"Everybody on that team came in, and they thought we were going to win," said junior wide receiver Tyler Snead, who had six catches for a team-high 91 yards and extended his streak of games with a reception to 32. "We thought we were going to win, made some mistakes that can be corrected, so that's a good thing, but obviously the outcomes wasn't the way we wanted it."

Head coach Mike Houston pointed to the experience of being in a game of such magnitude as perhaps playing a role. Cincinnati (11-0) has steadily climbed the polls this year since winning at Notre Dame and now heads to the American Athletic Conference championship to face Houston. ECU (7-5, 5-3 AAC), meanwhile, put a string of six straight losing seasons in its rear-view mirror and now its attention to its first bowl appearance since the 2015 Birmingham Bowl.

"I thought our kids played really, really hard," Houston said. "I thought we did so many things well, but we just made some critical mistakes that you just can't make if you're going to win that ballgame. When you're playing a team of that caliber, that's what you hope to avoid.

"It comes from being able to handle the moment," Houston said. "I talked about it all week because I have been in a lot of ballgames like that one today. It never changes. The teams that can handle the magnitude of the game are the ones that win it, and it's because you don't make those critical errors. The hope is that your returning players are able to use this as a learning piece."

The Pirates, fueled by their hard-hitting defense, staged an inspired effort for a quarter before Cincinnati seized control with its 21-point second period orchestrated by dynamic senior quarterback Desmond Ritter. ECU created opportunities in the second half to climb back in, picking off a pair of passes and shutting out the Cincinnati offense, but simply could not make enough plays.

Ritter completed 17 of 28 passes – including a string of 10-straight in the second quarter -- for 301 yards and a pair of touchdowns as he became the school and AAC all-time leader in total yards. He was responsible for 10 of the Bearcats' 12 plays of 18 yards or more, including a 44-yard touchdown pass to Leonard Taylor.

"I told him after the ballgame he's a hell of a player," Houston said. "That's what he does. He extends plays, he extends drives. He had a great day today. He's probably the player of the year in this conference, and that's because he has the ability to make those plays on his own."

One of the biggest plays came with the Bearcats holding a 14-3 led but facing a third-and-12 at their 10. Ridder felt immediate pressure, eluded two tackles and then zipped a 24-yard pass for a first down to Tre Tucker. A 28-yard pass to Alec Pierce capped the 88-yard drive and made it 21-3.

Pierce finished with a career-high eight catches for 136 yards, including a 53-yarder that set up the Bearcats' second touchdown.

Cincinnati threatened to extend its lead even more add with less than two minutes left in the half before Juan Powell's hit forced Jerome Ford to cough up the ball at the eight, where Ja'Quan McMillian recovered.

The second half turned into a story of missed opportunities as the Pirates never found the formula to crack a stout defense. Quarterback Holton Ahlers, under constant pressure and sacked three times, completed 19 of 38 passes for 228 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Pirates managed just 54 yards on the ground on 38 attempts, a mere 1.4 yards per carry.

ECU could not capitalize on the first of two Warren Saba interceptions on the first series of the second half. Owen Daffer's 44-yard field goal inched the Pirates within 21-6, but realistic hopes quickly vanished on the next possession.

A 25-yard pass to Ryan Jones set up a first down at the 5, but a holding penalty followed by a 2-yard loss and two incompletions prompted another field goal attempt. But a potential three for the Pirates turned into seven for Cincinnati.

Arquan Bush sprinted in from the right side of the line, got a hand on the kick, and Ahmed Gardner scooped it up and ran 60 yards for a 28-6 lead.

Houston said the block resulted from "some miscommunication."

"The mistake on the field goal there at the end, we snapped it early; nobody was ready, nobody was set," Houston said. "They got a jump on us. You can't do that."

ECU responded quickly, driving 75 yards in just five plays with Ahlers throwing a 12-yard strike to Jsi Hatfield. The Pirates then forced a punt, but Darrian Beavers intercepted an Ahlers pass on the next play.
Ryan Montgomery's 2-yard run capped the scoring, sending the Bearcats home still perfect.

ECU seniors left Dowdy-Ficklen for the last time without the result they wanted but knowing they made a difference.

"They always say you want to leave things better than when you came in," senior linebacker Aaron Ramseur said. "I feel like that's what we did. I feel like the program can only go upwards."