CINCINNATI — East Carolina likely won’t miss traveling to Cincinnati after the Bearcats move to the Big 12 Conference next year.
The hosts won, 27-25, on Friday night for their fifth straight victory in the series, which is tied at 13, and, once again, Cincinnati generated ill will at Nippert Stadium.
The Bearcats ran a fake punt in the fourth quarter of a 55-17 win over visiting ECU in 2020, sparking outrage from Pirate Nation in what was perceived to be an attempt to run up the score.
In the third quarter Friday night, Cincinnati defensive back Bryon Threats was called for targeting on a hit that knocked ECU running back Keaton Mitchell out of the game as he attempted to make a catch near the goal line.
“That’s one of the dirtiest plays I’ve seen in years,” said Pirates coach Mike Houston in his postgame remarks on the East Carolina Radio Network. “I hope the conference (American Athletic) will do something about it. There’s no call for that.”
Mitchell had 16 carries for 112 yards with one touchdown when he exited. Marlon Gunn Jr. came in and finished with 48 yards on 11 rushes.
“He’s probably the best player in our conference,” said ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers of Mitchell. “I 100 percent think they were trying to take him out there. It was an extremely dirty play and they’re known for that. They’re known for doing some dirty stuff.”
ECU receiver C.J. Johnson was left prone on the turf around the Pirates’ 20-yard line after getting the ball on a hook and lateral on the game’s final play. Johnson was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
The Pirates (6-4, 3-3 AAC) took the lead at 25-24 on a 15-yard pass from Ahlers to Jalen Johnson with 2:02 left in the third quarter on the play after Mitchell was sidelined.
Cincinnati (8-2, 5-1) regained the advantage on a 21-yard field goal by Ryan Coe with 9:42 left to play.
ECU drove to the Cincinnati 41 before losing possession on downs on an incompletion that left Johnson pleading for pass interference with 1:44 to play.
“We let one get away,” Houston said. “Disappointed that we didn’t score there at the end.”
ECU took a 5-0 lead on a safety and a 47-yard field goal by Andrew Conrad in the first quarter. Jeremy Lewis and Elijah Morris sacked Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant in the end zone to open the scoring.
The Bearcats got a 100-yard kick return by Jadon Thompson to take a 7-5 lead after the scoring kick by Conrad.
A short toss from Bryant to Tre Tucker went for a 55-yard score and Cincinnati pushed its lead to 21-5 on a scoring pass play to Tyler Scott covering 76 yards.
Johnson stiff armed three defenders on a 72-yard TD pass that cut the lead to 21-12 with 6:03 left in the first half. ECU trailed 24-12 at the half as Coe connected from 37 yards 1;48 prior to the break.
Mitchell’s 4-yard run finished a 79-yard drive on ECU’s first possession of the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-19.
The Pirates kept the Bearcats out of the end zone in the second half.
“You just can’t give up the explosive plays,” Houston said. “That’s the ballgame right there.”
The Pirates finished with a 454-310 lead in total yards.
Ahlers completed 26 of 46 for 280 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Johnson finished with seven catches for 123 yards and Isaiah Winstead had eight catches for 58 yards.
ECU hosts Houston on Sat., Nov. 19, in its last game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this season.
The Pirates won that game, plain and simple. Yes, they gave up some big plays and special teams still needs work. But, take away three big plays by the pussycats and the score is way different. They knew they got out played and we’re on the verge of losing their precious home win streak that’s why they took out Deuce, and CJ at the end cause he was schooling them all night.
Maybe one way to eliminate those kind of shots is to actually get serious. Maybe take away their ability to make money off their likeness. Or better yet, suspend them for the rest of the season. The whole remove them for a game is a joke and doesn’t get the message across that those hits are dangerous and unnecessary. Still have a chance for a nine win season. Go Pirates! ☠️
While the Pirates responded to adversity much better than the effort vs Tulane, the first half was mostly played without real focus by the Pirates. Penalties by the offense kept the Pirates behind the chains. The defense, after a fairly solid start, was very lucky Bryant wasn’t dropping dimes with any consistency – it should have been 35-12 at the half. The back half of the defense was overmatched either by talent, scheme, or both.
Special Teams once again let the Pirates down, allowing a house call on a kick return which killed the momentum gained by the early safety and fg. AND PLEASE, can we find SOMEONE to be the holder for fg/pa who can spin the damn laces. Yes, the snap was off line, but you practice this type of situation – or you should be – so it is second nature for the holder. If this is the best the Pirates have on the entire roster, well, you get what you pay for, as the old saying goes.
The Pirates came out in the third quarter and really took care of business on offense, which put the team in position to finish strong. A dropped pass in the end zone by Cincy kept the Pirates in the game, down the stretch. Otherwise, the second half effort by the defense was much better, keeping Cincy out of the end zone. While they allowed what proved to be a game-winning fig, you’ve got to appreciate the in-game improvement shown by the D.
The Pirate offense moved the ball into Cincy territory, where an ill-timed penalty nullified a gained first down and killed the comeback momentum. Gunn did a solid job in place of KM. It does make you wonder about the final outcome, given KM and the o-line appeared to have figured Cincy out.
The results of this game will be hard to accept by the Pirates. Most of the real damage to the overall effort/performance by the team was self-inflicted. Let us hope the Pirates can focus on Houston now, and what is still attainable.
Here’s hoping KM doesn’t suffer any lingering effects from the kill shot – and it was a kill shot.
Coach Fikel and Byron Threats picture should be displayed in the post office, and on every teams’ bulletin board in the BIG12 conference.
“The hit” is the textbook reason why targeting was introduced. Honestly, that stuff used to happen much more often than it does now. Above and beyond everything else that happened last night, it was decisive.
Otherwise:
– Cinnci was the quickest and fastest team that ECU has played this year, which is why those downfield pass attempts, in which ECU NEVER had separation, were ill advised, and put them behind the chains unnecessarily on too many occasions.
– The kicking issue extends to an inability to kickoff into the end zone.
– The Cinnci q wasn’t particularly good.
ECU has lost 3 games by a total of 6 points; ouch. The American dream is over, but hopefully they’ll end up with 8 wins on the regular season, with a tough game upcoming vs. Houston, though with home cooking, and draw a name brand bowl opponent.
There were many instances of pass interference against the Bearcats that were either unseen or ignored. One of witch had to have been the latter, because the flag was picked up after the fact. ECU did leave a lot on the table and made some significant mistakes, but I believe that they would have definitely come out with a ‘W’ had the game been reasonably officiated.
Pass interference is a lot like holding; it happens a lot, and called inconsistently, but the bottom line is that the ECU wideouts simply could not get separation (understandably, given the speed they were facing), and when you’re the visitor, anything that’s not blatant simply cannot be expected to be called. More underneath slant and/or screen passes should’ve been made. The other problem was Holten Ahlers being dinged up, which led to him running less, and less aggressively (also understandably.) The foregoing notwithstanding, KM getting knocked out of the contest was the difference maker far and away above anything else.