BIRMINGHAM — Alabama-Birmingham took a stunning 30-17 American Conference win in overtime over visiting East Carolina on Thursday night.
The Blazers drove from their 4-yard line with 1:37 left to tie the score at 17 on a 17-yard pass from Ryder Burton to Bam McReynolds and a 2-point conversion carry by Burton.
UAB had the ball first in overtime and Burton hit Rod Robinson II for a 6-yard TD.
DeIvon Gulley had a 78-yard pick six of an Emory Williams pass on ECU’s overtime possession to end the game.
The Pirates had a 14-3 lead at the half and never trailed in regulation.
“We couldn’t get the plays made that we needed to make,” said ECU coach Blake Harrell on the ECU radio network of UAB’s late 96-yard drive. “We hadn’t let them in the end zone all game. …
“We had a chance to make some plays, keep them inbounds. We missed a sack or two. We didn’t tackle well.”
The Pirates were limited offensively to a 43-yard field goal by Noah Perez in the second half. That came with 9:24 to go and gave ECU a 17-9 lead.
The Pirates won the opening toss and drove 75 yards for a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard inside pitch from Williams to Ray Ray Joseph Jr.
ECU lost a fumble at the UAB 16 on its second series.
The Pirates went up, 14-0, on their third possession as Dawson Quarterman recovered a fumble by tight end and teammate Ismael Smith Flores for a touchdown with 14:13 left in the half. The play originated at the UAB 16.
The Blazers (4-3, 2-1 American) stayed within reach on field goals of 41, 26 and 50 yards by Jonah Delange.
ECU (3-3, 1-1) must regroup for a Thursday night league game at Memphis (5-1, 2-0) that will be shown on ESPN2.
UAB had a 361-317 lead in total yards.
T.J. Engleman ran 26 times for 104 yards for the Pirates.
Burton completed 19 of 37 for 262 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
UAB won the turnover battle, 2-0. The Pirates were nine for 20 on third down conversions.
ECU punter Tomas O’Halloran sustained a concussion on a roughing the kicker penalty in the first quarter. Receiver Jeremiah Melvin appeared to aggravate a back injury early in the game.
The Pirates came into the game leading the nation in tackles for losses and had 10 at UAB.
“We’ve got a day off (Friday),” said defensive lineman Preston Carrm who had a sack. “Just let this one soak in. Let it hurt. We need to get our stuff together so we can move on to Memphis next week.”
The outcome trimmed ECU’s lead in the series to 9-5. The Pirates had won seven straight against the Blazers but the teams had not met since 2013 when both were members of Conference USA.
Not playing to win, but to just hold onto the lead was the real culprit in this loss.
This is a tough loss for the Pirates, but you could see it coming. The offense hasn’t played a complete game against FBS competition this year. The fragility of the concept was on display when the Pirates couldn’t pick up one yard – on two tries, which was caused in part by the absence of Melvin. His injury seemed to shut down the passing game, which allowed UAB to stuff the box whenever they wanted. The Pirate O-line, which did such a good job early, really got pushed around in the second half.
You could see signs early that the Pirate defense might be in trouble. A dropped pass, and a penalty, likely took at least ten points off of the board for UAB. Although the defense came up with numerous stops throughout the remainder of the game, the same error by the D-line, rushing past the quarterback, occurred numerous times. This allowed UAB’s offense to stay on the field, score some points, and keep the Blazers in the game. As for the last drive in regulation, what a shambles. Allowing receivers to roam free behind you, over-rushing the qb, and POOR TACKLING, all paved the way for UAB.
The Pirates should have won this game. Take nothing away from UAB. They played hard throughout, and made the most of every Pirate mistake. But those mistakes are the key. When you aren’t an overpowering team on your best day, you can’t afford many.
Going forward, let’s hope O’Halloran, Melvin, and Williams, are not seriously injured. QB1 took a nasty hit in OT, which I think lead to the INT.
“We couldn’t get the plays made that we needed to make,” said ECU coach Blake Harrell on the ECU radio network of UAB’s late 96-yard drive. “We hadn’t let them in the end zone all game.”
That’s because Coach and/or his DC mysteriously decided to abandon the defensive schemes that made ECU so lights out effective until UAB’s end-of-regulation two minute drill, and go into a soft “prevent” defense, which monumentally failed.
This embarrassing collapse, an entirely avoidable loss, sits squarely on the coaching staff.