DENTON, TX — East Carolina put another power point on the resume of interim coach Blake Harrell with an epic comeback for a 40-28 American Athletic Conference triumph at North Texas on Saturday.
The Pirates (7-4, 5-2 AAC) had to recover from a 21-0 deficit in the second quarter for their fourth straight win since the program’s leadership transition on Oct. 20.
Momentum shifted late in the first half and the Mean Green (5-6, 2-5) ultimately was denied bowl eligibility on its Senior Day.
The early tone was set as ECU receiver Anthony Smith lost a fumble just short of the goal line on the Pirates’ first possession.
Three scoring passes later from Texas Christian transfer Chandler Morris and the Pirates had their work cut out for them.
ECU got on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run from Rahjai Harris with four seconds left in the half and the Pirates had some momentum.
“We knew what we had to do,” Harris said on the ECU radio network. “We had to come out and get a quick score.”
That mission was accomplished following a colossal, fumble-causing hit by linebacker Zakye Barker that provided the Pirates possession at the North Texas 46-yard line. Barker had to sit out the first half Saturday after he was ejected from the Tulsa game.
Harris emerged from a scrum to dash 39 yards for a touchdown with 13:06 left in the third quarter.
“The big boys pulled me through the pile,” Harris said. “After that, I was in the end zone and the rest was history. We knew we had them then.”
The offense kept capitalizing on opportunities created by the defense, which did not allow a third down conversion on seven North Texas attempts in the second half. The Pirates stopped all three fourth down tries by the Mean Green after halftime.
ECU’s second half scores included field goals of 38 and 31 yards by Andrew Conrad. The Pirates went ahead to stay at 24-21 on a 50-yard pass play from Katin Houser to Anthony Smith with 6:08 left in the third. Houser had a 28-yard scoring strike to Yannick Smith.
Harris closed the scoring with a 7-yard run with 1:38 to go.
Houser completed 16 of 23 passes for 298 yards with two TDs and one interception.
Harris carried 24 times for 128 yards with three scores. Anthony Smith had four catches for 121 yards with a touchdown. Yannick Smith had seven receptions for 112 yards with a TD.
ECI led, 553-447, in total yards. The Mean Green was limited to 188 yards in the second half.
“I just told them, ‘Hey, keep fighting, keep swinging. Stay together, and we’ve got this thing.'” Harrell said. “They certainly did, and they believed.”
The Pirates were a little overzealous at times, drawing 13 penalties for 127 yards compared to three flags for 29 yards for the hosts.
ECU can work on that with a short week at hand.
The Pirates have not beaten a team with a winning record under Harrell, but will have that opportunity when Navy (7-3, 5-2 AAC) visits on Friday for a noon kickoff (ESPN).
The Midshipmen have had an open date since a 35-0 home loss to Tulane on Nov. 16.
The Pirates showed a boatload of courage in how they reversed this game completely to seize the win; they’ve become an entirely different team overnight, including both sides of the ball.
Major contributions have been made up and down the lineup; Harris’ second touchdown to close the gap to one score, courtesy of being pushed and pulled by his own dudes out of a standing pileup, is a perfect metaphor for what ECU football has become, but special recognition should be given to Rahjai for all that he has endured leading up to what he is doing today.
Bring on the Midshipmen.
Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde showed up for the Pirates in Texas. Fortunately, the good doctor got a little more playing time than his nemesis. The Pirates displayed all of the good and bad habits of the season to date, rolled up in a single game. Give credit where credit is due. When you spot the opponent 21 points, then put 40 of your own on the board while holding UNT to a single 2nd half score, you’ve earned the victory. The Pirates are not a great team, but when they manage to get out of their own way, the Pirates’ performance has been better than average. A lot of stupid penalties, which are the result of a disturbing lack of discipline, seems to dog this team. How good would the Pirates be without all of the yellow laundry? I hope they can clean up the mess before Navy comes to town. Regardless of what happens with Navy, you have to give the present staff a hard look at getting the full-time gig.