GREENVILLE — Good fortune has kept its distance from the East Carolina football team in 2023. A 29-27 American Athletic Conference loss to visiting Tulsa on Saturday was no exception.
The Pirates appeared to be in control after stopping the Golden Hurricane on fourth down and taking possession at the Tulsa 24 with 2:31 to go.
A direct snap to running back Rahjai Harris on first down wound up on the ground and was recovered by Tulsa’s Ben Kopenski. It was the last of five turnovers for ECU.
True freshman quarterback Kirk Francis directed the Golden Hurricane on a quick drive to the ECU 19 and Chase Meyer kicked a decisive 37-yard field goal with one second remaining.
“The night should not have ended the way it did,” said Pirates coach Mike Houston. “We should be celebrating and singing a fight song right now. I hate it for all of our players. It’s just not the way it should have happened.”
The outcome put ECU at 2-10 for the season, the worst record since a 1-11 mark in 2003. The Pirates went 1-7 in the AAC to finish tied with Temple for last in the league among 14 teams.
“I’m proud of the way the kids competed,” Houston said. “Obviously, it wasn’t perfect, but they gave us the opportunity to win. I really appreciate the fans that were here. The stadium was awesome. I really appreciate the way Pirate Nation supports our program. I can promise you I’m not going through this again.”
Tulsa (4-8, 2-6 AAC) took a 6-0 lead on a 31-yard pass from Francis to Kamdyn Benjamin. Meyer missed the extra point.
Jaylen Johnson caught a 4-yard scoring pass from Alex Flinn with 10:20 to go in the first quarter and Andrew Conrad added the extra point for a 7-6 ECU lead. Harris skirted the left side and went 50 yards for a score to give the Pirates a 14-6 ECU advantage with 4:48 to go in the first quarter.
A Francis TD pass to Luke McGary at the 1:54 mark and a subsequent 45-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard scoring plunge by Bill Jackson gave Tulsa a 20-14 lead barely two minutes into the second quarter. The drive followed a 21-yard punt by Luke Larsen.
The Pirates led 24-20 at the half as Flinn hit Jsi Hatfield in stride for a 32-yard score and Conrad kicked a 29-yard field goal.
Meyer had scoring kicks of 28 and 26 yards in the second half in addition to the game winner.
Conrad connected from 26 yards for a 27-26 lead with 12:12 to play.
Tulsa led 446-409 in total yards.
Harris ran 21 times for 145 yards as the Pirates netted 225 yards rushing.
Flinn completed 12 of 18 for 184 yards with two TDs and two picks. Chase Sowell had five catches for 108 yards.
B.J. Davis had one solo stop and seven assists to pace the Pirates with eight tackles.
Francis completed 23 of 37 for 297 yards with two scores and a pick (by Shavon Revel).
Anthony Watkins had 18 carries for 106 yards for Tulsa. Benjamin finished with six catches for 143 yards.
Houston wasn’t sure why the Pirates were in a wildcat formation before the crucial final lost fumble.
“I was looking at the kill the clock sheet and turned around,” he said. “It looked like we just dropped the snap. … Not ideally what you want right there in that situation. I’d like to see us put the game away. That’s why I said, we shouldn’t be in the situation right here. So, it’s on me. I’m the head football coach here. I’m responsible for everything that goes on, on the field.”
The Pirates were 8-5 with a bowl win in 2022. The struggles this season were not expected although significant personnel left the program.
A group of 14 players were recognized on Senior Day.
“I’m excited about a lot of the young players we have in the program.” Houston said. “We played a lot of young guys, particularly on offense this year. But obviously, I, our fan base, our administration, all of us, the players, all of us have much higher expectations. I understand exactly what East Carolina football should be. It’s the picture I painted since I got here, and this year is not it and it’s not acceptable.”
I suppose it’s only fitting that the Pirate offense should finish the way it did. On a day in which it managed over 400 total yards while having three turnovers, and another possession taken away by a fumbled punt return, the offense shook a little more salt into the wound with a last-play fumble. Actually, the last two offensive plays by the Pirates were typical of the season as a whole. On a third and 1-1/2 – 2 yds to go, DK calls for the RPO with Harris running into the mosh pit at the middle of the line for no gain. It was not an aggressive RPO call that would put Tulsa under some pressure, rather more like a, “if we get it fine, if not, punt” sort of calls. Given the relative success Flinn had when he rolled out, one might think you could have put Tulsa under a little more pressure while instructing Flinn to be extra careful. But no, the Pirates appeared happy to punt the ball away and count on the defense. And, it worked. Having an otherwise mediocre performance, the defense came through when it counted most. Now, with only 3 minutes and change left to play, DK decides to run some Wildcat… and the rest is history. If you had run the Wildcat a couple of times during the game with proper execution, then anybody could understand using it again. Another questionable play call, in a year full of unanswered questions for the offense. Nice to see the solid rushing attack, and it didn’t look like RPO to me.
GOOD LUCK to the seniors, and thanks for all of your efforts. I wish DK well, but I am not unhappy he is moving on…
If there was any doubt about D. Kirkpatrick’s fitness to be fired (which there shouldn’t have been), then he put it to rest when he handed his last game away with that thoroughly unnecessary, inexplicable, asinine failed trick play call late in the 4th, with the game being all but on ice for the Pirates.
What’s arguably worse than the Debacle of 2023 that ECU has just completed is that there’s no reason today to expect better next season. While ECU maybe has three or four individual offensive players who are decent and should be able to help them to win, there’s no evidence that they have a true foundation upon which to build, unless maybe Jeter can be that; but one would think that if he can, then he’d have seen the field this year. Since he didn’t, is he another Q flop? Regarding the OL, while ECU was FINALLY able to run vs. Tulsa, the Tulsa defense has an extremely low ranking, so little should be taken from that; on balance, the OL did not improve over the season.
After 5 seasons, Coach Houston has a .413 winning percentage, not nearly commensurate with his $2.3M yearly take. He’s put himself squarely on the hot seat with an offensive wasteland in tow looking at 2024 (no. 128 out of 130 in the nation), needing a complete overhaul in a major hurry, sufficient for a bowl at minimum, failing which he should be released. That insecurity alone will likely make it very difficult to secure a quality Offensive Coordinator, and added to it is the very legit question of defensive players and the (sparse) offensive talent portal defections to avoid another season of futility.
well said, 2 wins in 2024 may be a high hurdle of achievement based on all the factors you cite. We will have a lame duck coach, a 2nd or 3rd rate OC that just needs a paycheck and is unwanted elsewhere, a TBD QB who will have to learn a brand new system (as will the rest of whatever offensive talent we can muster). On the defensive side of the ball I can’t blame any talented underclassmen who jump to the portal. Overall the defense played their butts off this year with zero support from the offense and a mixed bag special teams effort. Gonna be a LONG 2024.
The only selling point ECU has for potential offensive talent is the “you can play now” mantra. However, what skill players want to come into a situation where the QB is a big maybe. I don’t question Flinn’s desire or guts, but unless the playbook changes, he doesn’t have the talent. Garcia is the RPO man, because he possesses a true run threat, coupled with the cannon that can really keep a secondary honest. However, at this point, I wonder if he stays. Not being a part of the action at all down the stretch has to be crushing him. I hope something breaks his way, if not at ECU, then elsewhere.
The OC hire has to be someone who can come in without a set playbook, evaluate what he has on hand, and put the best combination of eleven players he can on the field. Because of this year’s disaster, there will be no honeymoon.
The Pirates have to keep the potential returning talent on defense in the house. Adding a true edge rusher would take some pressure off the DC, with respect to always needing a scheme to create pressure on the offense. If the Pirates can return the injured underclassmen to the defensive field, the experience gained by the young guys could pay huge dividends.