BOCA RATON, FL — East Carolina reversed roles from the previous week to pummel Florida Atlantic, 42-3, and conclude the regular season with an 8-4 record.
The Pirates finished 6-2 in the American Conference for their best mark ever in the league.
After falling behind, 31-0, in a 58-24 loss at Texas-San Antonio last week, ECU avoided another adverse scenario at FAU. The Pirates took control early with three touchdowns in the first eight minutes.
All of the scoring for the game was in the first half. ECU got on the board on the game’s first possession.
“We knew FAU goes fast and there would be a lot of possessions,” said quarterback Katin Houser on the Pirates radio network. “We wanted the ball first and set that tempo.”
ECU won the toss, took the ball and moved 75 yards in 13 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Marlon Gunn Jr. with 10:27 left in the first quarter.
Jordy Lowery caused a fumble on the Owls’ first play from scrimmage and Jasiyah Roberson recovered at the FAU 27. The Pirates scored on the next play as Houser hit Desirrio Riles for a 14-0 lead with 10:10 left in the first.
A 22-yard reception by Brock Spalding completed an 84-yard scoring series as ECU extended the lead to 21-0 with 7:04 left in the first.
The Owls got a 60-yard punt return to the ECU 10 by Easton Messer but had to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Garrison Smith for their only points with 1:00 to go in the first.
The Pirates’ second quarter scores came on keepers of four and seven yards by Houser, which were sandwiched around a 1-yard plunge by defensive lineman Rion Roseborough on a direct snap.
ECU had 432 of its 524 total yards in the first 30 minutes. Pirates coach Blake Harrell utilized reserves as the game wound down.
ECU had 266 yards rushing with Gunn gaining 130 yards on 14 carries. He explained that credit goes to Marlon Gunn Sr.
“My dad always told me I wasn’t man enough when I ran,” said Gunn Jr. “Too soft, letting people tackle me.”
A change has been evident in his senior season.
“I’m just running like you’re not going to tackle me,” Gunn Jr. said. “I’ve got places to be, so you’ve got to get out of my way.”
Houser completed 20 of 29 for 258 yards with two TDs and no interceptions. Riles had seven catchers for 87 yards. Spalding had five receptions for 76 yards.
The ECU defense generated five turnovers, helping to ward off several scoring opportunities for the hosts. Ja’Marley Riddle, Teagan Wilk and Angelo Ross had interceptions for the Pirates, who lost one fumble.
Defensive back Kevon Merrell was in on a team-high eight tackles with four solo stops.
Harrell was pleased with the response to the bad day at UTSA. ECU has not lost consecutive games this season.
“We’ve done a great job of that all year and we certainly needed to do that today,” said the second-year Pirates coach. ” … We got off to a really good start and just kept our foot on the gas.”
CBS Sports is projecting a matchup between the Pirates and Western Michigan in the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery, AL, on Dec. 16. One ESPN writer has the Pirates taking on Duke in a return to the Military Bowl on Dec. 27.
“It’s exciting for me,” Houser said. “It’s my second bowl game. We’re excited to play good competition. Having eight wins, looking forward to the future for sure.”
Yes, ECU flipped the script from last week, but FAU is inarguably one of the worst teams in D1, so speaking very honestly, what the Pirates did today is not terribly meaningful.
Hopefully ECU will still secure a half respectable bowl vs. a half respectable Power 4 program. Opposing Wake Forest or Duke are among the projections I’ve heard, either of which I think would be favorable for the Pirates in terms of in-region recruiting.
Every win is a good win, even when you beat a team that you should beat 9.9 out of 10 times. The Pirates managed to dot most of the i’s, and cross all of the t’s against the Owls. After last week’s debacle, FAU proved to be much easier to handle. 8-4 is a respectable record, and deserving of a decent bowl invite. I hope the Pirate staff recorded the Army-UTSA game. I don’t know how Army did it, but ECU needs some of whatever mojo Army pulled out of the hat in San Antonio. ECU’s win over Memphis represents the only win against a quality opponent. The Pirates have made progress under Coach Harrell, but how much of this team can he keep together? Hopefully, the team will want to stay together at least through the bowl game.