One problem with a 35-24 loss at Liberty that was completed in the wee hours of Sunday morning was that the Pirates had a bus ride back to Greenville after the nonconference matchup was over in Lynchburg, VA.

“We pulled in around 7 a.m.,” said Coach Mike Houston in an exclusive interview Monday. “It was a long night.”

Houston tweaked ECU’s normal Sunday schedule in advance of the American Athletic Conference opener against Texas San Antonio at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m. (ESPN+) .

“The staff went home for a couple of hours,” Houston said. “I was back in here around 9 a.m. and then we brought the kids in at 3 p.m. We didn’t do quite as much. We watched the film and then did a little walkthrough to kind of get ready for UTSA, but I talked to them.

“The big focus is them getting their sleep bank caught back up and getting recovered from the game, getting ready for Tuesday’s practice. So really, we just put a priority on getting them some rest.”

Physical days 

Getting ready for the Roadrunners includes physical practices on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

“Having a great Tuesday and Wednesday is the big thing,” Houston said. “Those are two big heavy work days in continuing to push ourselves to improve. We’ve seen improvements from week one to week two, week two to week three and week three to week four. So continue to see improvements.

“And then some things that we didn’t do well Saturday night, really working on those and being more prepared to play better in those situations this coming Saturday.”

Turning point

An interception return by Isaiah Brown-Murray and a personal foul penalty on the Flames gave ECU a 1st-and-goal at the Liberty 7 in the second quarter with a 17-0 lead.

The opportunity ultimately ended with a missed 25-yard field goal from the right hash.

“We’ve got to get points right there and you really want to come away with a touchdown,” Houston said. “You got first and goal at the seven. The penalty, you can’t have that. And then we had a dropped pass on third down that would’ve put us inside the one.

“But you’ve got to come away with points. It’s a chip shot.. It’s an extra point from an angle. You’ve got to knock that down. So I think that took a little bit of wind out of our sails, but we’ve got to respond.

“When you’ve got the momentum, you’ve got to hold on to it and when it goes against you a little bit, you’ve got to figure out a way to get it back. … They took the ball down and drove it for a touchdown to finish off the first half and that did give them some momentum going into halftime.”

Houser on hold

Michigan State transfer Katin Houser hasn’t played since a brief appearance in the late stages of a 42-3 win over Norfolk State in the season opener.

Jake Garcia completed 20 of 36 at Liberty for 204 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, in the fourth quarter.

“Katin is very valuable to our offense,” Houston said. “He’s one play away from being the starter and obviously he’s very, very talented.

“We have said many times it was a tight competition. Now that being said, Jake, he earned the right to be the starter to start the season and I think he’s played better each time out, including this past weekend.”

UTSA

Frank Harris passed for 395 yards and four TDs for the Roadrunners in a 41-27 road loss for the Pirates in 2023. Harris is gone, but  UTSA (2-2) has some returning talent.

“They lost some skilled guys, but they’ve got a lot coming back, too,” Houston said. “Both of their top two running backs are back, (Robert) Henry and (Kevorian) Barnes. They’re old, they’re experienced, they’re explosive. They’re very, very good players. Their top receiver that they have this year, started for them last year, played a lot, played against us. No. 3, (Devin) McCuin.

“Their tight end is a multiple-year starter. One of the better tight ends in our conference. No. 0, (Oscar) Cardenas. And then the quarterback started a couple of games for him last year when Harris was out. So Owen McCown, the son of Luke McCown, is their starting quarterback. And he’s improved each week. Really good passer, very accurate, strong arm, comes from a good pedigree.

“They have a couple of starters back on the offensive line, a couple of transfers, so a big offensive front. So, you’re facing a very explosive offense.

“Defensively, their front is back from last year. Their top linebacker’s back from last year. They lost the one rush backer to the University of Texas, but they have a kid that’s very explosive that’s replaced him and they run well in the secondary.

“So it’s a good football team. Preseason, I think they were picked maybe second or third in the conference, so obviously they have a lot of talent. They’re coming off a big win at home (45-7 vs Houston Christian), so they have a lot of momentum coming in here.”

Revel’s absence

The Pirates played fr the first time this season without Shevon Revel at corner. Revel is out for the season with a knee injury.

“You’re never going to be able to replace a guy of that ability level,” Houston said. “So it’s the next man up and they’ve got to be ready to go. Dontavius Nash and Andrew Wilson-Lamp, those are the next guys up. Both of them have great length. Both of them can run. They’re good athletes. They’re not old, but they’re older.

“So the challenge is for them to step in and do the job and give us a chance to win. And so Coach (Jules) Montinar, he’s working diligently with those guys. We’ve been working to prepare them in case this did happen. The reason I moved Nash to corner during preseason camp was to protect us there. So they’ve been waiting on this opportunity and now it’s their time.”

1999 Pirates

The 1999 East Carolina football team will be recognized Saturday. The ’99 team went 9-3 with wins over West Virginia, Duke, South Carolina, Miami of Florida and N.C. State.

Kevin Monroe of the Bonesville staff was a senior corner on that team.

“I know the Coach (Steve) Shankweiler has been working with that group very closely since way back in the spring to plan this event commemorating the 25th anniversary of the flood that moved the (Miami) game to Raleigh and just everything surrounding that,” Houston said. “The way the community embraced them and first responders.

“The way they helped out with helping with the transition and making things go as smoothly as possible and then that huge win. And so it’s going to be great to have them back. Coach Shankweiler does a great job connecting with our alumni and our alumni are very important to us. We want to make sure it’s a special day for them and their families.”