ANNAPOLIS — East Carolina had not been held scoreless for 322 consecutive games, a streak that ended Saturday with a 10-0 American Athletic Conference loss at Navy.
In a recurring theme this season, the Pirate defense played well as the offense sputtered for the greater part of the afternoon.
ECU managed just 34 yards rushing, but stayed with Alex Flinn at quarterback although he was responsible for three turnovers in the first half. ECU had 189 total yards of offense, a season low.
Flinn was ECU’s leading rusher with 12 keepers for 31 yards.
“We were not able to run the ball effectively enough and it turned us into a little bit of a one-dimensional offense for most of the game,” said Pirates coach Mike Houston. “We had some untimely mistakes that would kill a drive.”
With the ground game grounded, ECU stuck with Flinn.
“We had to throw the football in order to have a chance to win,” Houston said. “Based on practice this week, Alex gave us the best opportunity.”
Flinn completed 24 of 38 passes for 155 yards with two interceptions.
Navy scored on its third possession with 2:47 left in the first quarter on an 18-yard run by Alex Tezla. A 39-yard gain by quarterback Xavier Arline preceded the touchdown as the hosts took a 7-0 lead.
Andrew Conrad missed a 49-yard field goal attempt with 10:49 left in the first half after Jason Shuford recovered an Arline fumble at the Navy 48.
The teams traded turnovers in the second quarter as Teylor Jackson forced an Arline bobble that was recovered by Elijah Morris at the Navy 47 with 7:10 left in the half.
Flinn was stripped and lost possession two plays later.
Navy got a 27-yard field goal from Nathan Kirkwood with 8:49 left to play for a 10-0 lead. Kirkwood was 1-for-3 with a miss from 42 yards to close the first half and a 42-yard attempt in the fourth quarter that was blocked by Shavon Revel with 12:08 remaining.
ECU punter Luke Larsen fumbled for a 13-yard loss on 4th-and-4 at the ECU 34 before Kirkwood connected.
“He needs to look at the film,” Houston said of Larsen. “I mean, it’s two up on the outside, you have to kick the ball. There’s no reason for him to hold the ball as long as he did. He knows that. He’ll know that after he looks at the film.”
Houston said he didn’t know if the 31-year-old punter from Australia was looking to run.
ECU had just four penalties for 45 yards but two of those were for personal fouls on offense, which put a struggling attack farther behind the chains.
“We did not sustain drives and do the things we needed to get points on the board and win the ball game,” Houston said.
The Pirates, who slipped to 2-9 overall and 1-6 in the AAC, will host Tulsa (3-8, 1-6) to close the 2023 season on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ESPN+). The Golden Hurricane was topped, 35-28, by visiting North Texas on Saturday.
ECU has had some narrow escapes in keeping its scoring streak intact, most recently in the season opener at then-No. 2 Michigan when Conrad kicked a 33-yarder as time expired in a 30-3 loss at Ann Arbor.
ECU’s last chance to keep the scoring streak going Saturday ended with a 6-yard pass from Flinn to Gerald Green on 2nd-and-19 at the Navy 48 before the clock went to zeroes.
The last time the Pirates were shut out was Oct. 4, 1997, in a 56-0 loss at Syracuse.
…like it would mean anything, whatsoever, had ECU managed to kick a field goal late to avoid the shutout? That even being in the discussion is a measure of how bad things have gotten.
To get the NIL bs out of the way, yeah, sure, I’ll call that a factor; some Pirate Nation citizens seem to derive comfort from that. …but dozens of teams will be playing in a post-season game whose NIL position is no better than ECU’s, and plenty are worse. Every time I hear that excuse, I feel like it’s probably a cousin of Mike Houston behind the keyboard to whom he’s paid a few bucks to comment.
It’s a little unfair to judge Flinn based on the OL in front of him and the receiver corps in front of them, yet there’s nothing to suggest that it would make enough of a difference even given the huge improvements needed in those other areas. Still, I would think that even if only out of desperation, we’d by now have seen Garcia (again) or Jeter, begging the question exactly what the heck is really going on with this team?
The offense that Coach has brought to this his 5th season, in combination with his hefty salary, entirely validates the question of his fitness to stay on; undoubtedly, much better than a .421 winning percentage at this point in his tenure was anticipated when he was hired at a very healthy salary. He has put himself in a true bind, needing a complete offensive overhaul (save maybe for Sowell and a couple of RBs), such that making a bowl in ’24 (though a low bar) will be very difficult nonetheless (assuming he survives the Debacle of ’23), and IMPOSSIBLE if out of frustration some defensive players bail, but if ECU doesn’t make a bowl in ‘24, a dismissal will be the only responsible course to take.
While I’m not ready to scuttle the Houston era just yet, I believe it is long past time to address the issue of not having even a semblance of a run game. Up front, the only consistency shown by the offensive line is their inability to properly block for the RPO scheming to which DK and MH remain stubbornly wedded, even after a major shuffle in personnel didn’t work. Granted, having your #1 quarterback prove to be a game time bust requires some major adjustments. When Garcia flopped, the RPO should have been scrapped. He brought the physical capabilities to the field which everyone knew Flinn didn’t have. Granted, Flinn understands the RPO concept probably better than Garcia. But, he doesn’t possess the physical talent of Garcia. That’s not a knock on Flinn, just a fact everyone knew from the jump. Where Garcia could overcome some of the o-line’s deficiencies, Flinn cannot. So, if Flinn is the man, why not change up your run scheme to a quicker hitting, north and south concept which could benefit both him and the o-line? It’s a fair question, and one which hasn’t been answered. If you’ve tried it in practice, and it didn’t work, tell us. Pirate Nation won’t like it any better, but at least we will know you tried. As it is, Garcia can’t get on the field, and Flinn struggles to be mediocre. And the o-line, God bless them, because I know they are trying.
The sad summary of this season should include the dismissal of most, if not all, of the offensive staff. That begins with DK. Also, the talent evaluation process needs a major overhaul.
The Pirate Nation grousing over DK, et al is widespread, and I’m certainly not arguing, but of course the buck stops with MH, and he gets paid a very hefty salary for the privilege. My attitude is more of a “I don’t care WHAT you do to fix it, Coach, but fix it, and make sure you have a bowl team in 2024.”
How does a team have a no. 25 ranked run d (no. 37 overall d) and yet a 2 – 9 record (one of the wins being vs. an FCS program)?? By having a no. 128 ranked offense! (Thank God for Eastern Mich. and Iowa.)
We’ve got another game to play. With another effort like yesterday, the Pirate offense might get all the way to 130… ARRRRGH!!
Well, FINALLY they’re making a move, announced this AM. I genuinely feel badly for DK and the young men who are competing. I’ve seen no evidence of bad faith on the part of any of them, but it’s about time; there’s a lot of work ahead to turn this ship around.