ECU Falls To No. 21 Tulane, 13-10

Saturday, November 4

Greenville, N.C.

3:30 P.M.

East Carolina University

1-8 , 0-5

Tulane

8-1 , 5-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tulane

East Carolina

November 04, 2023 | Football

Box Score Game Book (PDF)ECU Notes (PDF)ECU Quotes (PDF)

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A dominant first quarter put East Carolina in prime position to knock off nationally ranked Tulane on a sun-splashed fall Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, but the Pirates simply could not generate the big play on either side of the ball and fell 13-10.

The Green Wave, ranked No. 21 and tied atop the American Athletic Conference, rallied from a 10-0 deficit and stuffed ECU's upset hopes with a time-consuming, ball-control offense on the way to their seventh consecutive win. The Pirates (1-8, 0-5 AAC) dropped their fifth in a row.

"It had a chance to be a pretty special night," fifth-year ECU head coach Mike Houston said. "… Our kids gave us a chance to knock off a nationally ranked opponent, and we just couldn't score when we needed there at the end."

That has been the case in six of eight the losses this season in which the Pirates either led or were within one score in the second half. Houston couldn't hide the pain of the mounting losses but vows to keep fighting.

"It's frustrating," Houston said of not being able to get over the hump. "It also says a lot about our kids. I know there's somebody sitting in a recliner somewhere that has pure hate in their heart and is going to say all kinds of stuff, and I get it; I know what our record is. But we have a good program. Those kids are good kids. Yes, we have not made plays to win those ballgames. But we have a good bunch of tough-ass, hard-nosed kids in that locker room, and they're going to fight, and I'm going to fight."

Senior defensive back Julius Wood echoed his coach's frustration.

"Every loss is complicated to deal with," Wood said. "Nobody likes losing. You've just got to keep pushing. In life, that's how it goes. You're going to lose sometimes. Everything ain't always going to go your way. In life you've always got to keep pushing."

Junior running back Rahjai Harris, who had a team-high 52 rushing yards, said the Pirates need to put four consistent quarters together.

"It's good that we're right there, but we've just got to finish," Harris said. "That's what it comes down to. You can't win a game in the first half. It's four quarters. We've got to play all four quarters like our hair is on fire."

ECU played that way in the first quarter Saturday against Tulane (8-1, 5-0 AAC) before hitting the wall offensively. The Pirates came out methodical and efficient, scoring on their first two possessions in dominant fashion, racking up a 149-23 advantage in total yards, while running nine more plays and hanging on to the ball for 10:18 of the opening 15 minutes.

The offense went dormant in the final three quarters, managing just 47 total yards on 22 plays and owning the ball a mere 11:30. ECU ran just seven plays in Tulane territory in the final 45 minutes and never got inside the Green Wave 44.

Flinn, who connected on 7 of 9 passes for 105 yards in the first quarter, completed just three passes for 15 yards the rest of the way.

"We knew we were facing a very good defensive football team," Houston said. "They've been a challenge all year for a lot of people. We just never could get consistency going with drives, couldn't generate a big play in the second half."

A lack of opportunities presented a challenge Saturday. ECU's offense took the field just five times after taking the 10-0 lead, ending four possessions on punts and the last one on downs.

"You go against Navy and teams like that you know you have limited possessions," Flinn said. "Tulane, you really weren't expecting to not have that many possessions. It just goes to show that each possession matters."

Tulane made just enough of its possessions to escape but had to recover from its first first-quarter deficit of the season.

ECU struck early by hitting three chunk plays – a pair of 32-yard passes and another for 22 – but would only register one more double-digit play the rest of the night.

The Pirates' opening drive covered 71 yards in 13 plays and milked more than six minutes off the clock. Andrew Conrad booted a 27-yard field goal after the drive stalled at the 10.

Gerald Green put ECU up 10-0 with a 1-yard plunge to cap off a 78-yard drive. Flinn connected with Jsi Hatfield for a 32-yard gain, and Chase Sowell made a tremendous lunging grab for 22 yards to move the ball to the 1.

Tulane turned the tables in the second quarter, outgaining the Pirates 156-6 and pulling even.

The Green Wave put together is longest drive of the season in terms of plays (14), yards (92) and time of possession (8:37), converting three third downs to make it 10-7. Michael Pratt flipped a 9-yard pass to Lawrence Keys III for the score, giving the junior quarterback at least one touchdown pass in 23-straight games and 41 of the 42 he has played at Tulane.

Pratt, who hit on just one of his first four passes before completing nine-straight, should have had another just before the end of the half, but Jha'Quan Jackson dropped the ball with one second to go. Valentino Ambrosia then came on for a 21-yard field goal to tie it.

Ambrosia missed a chance to put Tulane up on the first possession on the third quarter, missing a 31-yard attempt after head coach Willie Fritz called a timeout (Ambrosia made the kick after time was called).

Ambrosia responded on his next chance, putting the Green Wave up 13-10 with a 26-yard kick just 46 seconds into the final quarter. ECU would only get two more possessions with the last one ending on an incomplete pass from the 45.

Tulane then ran off the final 7:17 behind Pratt and freshman running back Makhi Hughes, who finished with 105 yards on 25 carries for his fifth-straight 100-yard game.

A fourth-down sneak by Pratt from the 5 sealed the game and ECU's hopes for an upset.

"We're all hurting right now because everyone in this building continues to invest heavily each day for each other," Houston said. "That's the special something that we have right now. I have no doubt that they're going to continue to go out and they're going to play their tails off. That's just who they are."