GREENVILLE — There were few bones to pick with East Carolina’s performance on Night of the Boneyard at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday night.
ECU secured another midweek American Conference triumph on ESPN with another fast start.
Using a method of operation that resulted in a 28-6 victory over Army on Sept. 25, the Pirates subdued Tulsa, 41-27, to improve to 4-3 on the season and 2-1 in league play.
ECU scored touchdowns on its first three possessions against the Black Knights and remained in control.
The Pirates weren’t as thorough early against the Golden Hurricane, but they took the lead early and maintained it. The offensive production continued for four quarters with 568 total yards.
Katin Houser completed 21 of 38 for 300 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
London Montgomery had 16 carries for 125 yards with a score. Anthony Smith had four catches for 150 yards.
ECU was coming off a 26-19 loss at Tulane the previous Thursday night.
“You can always let one loss turn into two losses,” said Coach Blake Harrell on the Pirate radio network. “We’ve done a good job all year up to this point of not letting that happen.”
ECU finished its Thursday night regular season games in 2025 with a 2-2 record with both wins at home. The Pirates will play on Saturdays the rest of the way with a break before a contest at Temple on Nov. 1.
Neither team had a turnover.
“We’ve got to keep mashing the gas, pushing it forward,” Harrell said.
Tulsa sought a fast start of its own, winning the toss and choosing to receive. The ECU defense went three and out before the Pirates drove from their 49 for a 37-yard field goal by Nick Mazzie that put ECU ahead to stay with 10:52 left in the first quarter.
The Pirates pushed the lead to 10-0 on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Katin Houser to Anthony Smith with 5:08 left in the first.
Brody Foley’s 38-yard scoring reception from Baylor Hayes trimmed the margin to 10-7 with 2:44 to go in the first.
Foley had a productive performance with six catches for 126 yards.
Marlon Gunn Jr. completed a 75-yard drive with a 1-yard plunge on the first play of the second quarter as ECU pushed the lead to 17-7.
The Pirates led 24-14 at the half as Smith had a 63-yard scoring reception from Houser with 9:33 left in the half.
A 51-yard touchdown run by Montgomery gave ECU a 31-14 advantage with 13:09 left in the third quarter.
The visitors closed within 31-24 with a field goal and a touchdown before the Pirates answered with a 32-yard field goal by Mazzie and a 2-yard scoring keeper by Houser.
Seth Morgan’s second field goal for Tulsa came with 1:49 to go and allowed the Golden Hurricane to cover the 16.5-point betting line.
ECU took a 10-9 lead in the series.
Winning is always good, whether it’s accomplished in a nearly perfect fashion, or when it looks as ugly as sin. This year, the Pirates seem destined to keep us guessing. Flashes of offensive power, sprinkled with stupid penalties. Interrupting a strong rushing performance with “cutesy” wrinkles that seem to serve one purpose, be a “cutesy” wrinkle. We must also accept that Houser can put very little “touch” on his passes, strictly fastballs. That’s ok, if you structure the route trees to protect him from needing to throw a “touch” pass. Not easy, but doable. Nice to see Coach Harrell push the running attack when it’s working.
The Pirate defense is worrisome, being porous against the pass, thereby negating solid performances against the run. It appears some players can’t even identify the player they should cover, much less maintain coverage. Tulsa didn’t have the skill set of Tulane, yet exposed the Pirates defense on several occasions. This prevented the Pirates from putting away Tulsa far earlier in the second half.
With 7 games in the books, the Pirates have a chance to finish the season strong. On paper, only Memphis looks out of reach. The Pirates certainly have the “potential” to run the table, but have failed to show up against quality opponents. A 9-3 record, given the success of Memphis so far this season, would go far to heal some of the disappointments in 2025. The Pirates can’t afford to look ahead, and must really focus on what is immediately in front of them.
Thurs. night overall I thought the Pirates looked solid, particularly Houser and a very good running game that allows KH to do his thing.
Temple came very close to beating Navy last week, and at home upcoming I think will give ECU everything it can handle. Memphis stunningly losing to UAB last night says that ECU very definitely has a legit chance to compete for the top of the league.