To Semenza's point about the defense tapping out, find the post game presser with the Charlotte RBs on Twitter; that's essentially what they said. It is extremely damning.

The only question is why does every coach come here and become mediocre?

Where this once proud program is at this time in NC (of course college football in NC in general is abysmal) Duke Wake UNC NCSU ASU Charlotte ECU The whole state is an embarrassment and we are at the bottom. Only a coaching change can address this it would seam at this point.

Need to make a coaching change as quickly as possible. This program is a total disaster at this point and is not likely to be competitive against anyone the rest of the year.

Remember when Houston backed out of the Charlotte job because he thought East Carolina was a better job with the potential to be more successful? They're on coach #2 since then and have beaten us twice. Counting those 2 losses and the fact we have Houston and not them makes 0-3 against them.

I think we would be better off with a cardboard cutout resembling Houston standing on the sideline. Maybe get a better emotional response.

Same old response from Coach Houston- we have to clean things up. I have heard this for the last several years. Why are things not getting Up and showing in the play? ECU should not be losing to Charlotte. All other programs around us are getting better and ECU is not. So I guess Houston is right - there are things that need to be cleaned up- maybe it should start with the head coach! Yesterday was embarrassing!

Houston can’t find or can’t recognize when he does see a QB. I was not a huge Holton fan, but he also grew up wanting to be a Pirate so no credit for recruiting with that one. Every game I have watched since Ahlers graduated, it seems the opposing QB is significantly better than either of the two we swap in and out. 2 years in a row now with 2 different ineffective QB’s each of those years.

I've not looked at the most popular Pirates message board, but it is a guarantee that Pirates Nation is calling for Coach's head, which it seems inarguable the circumstances at this point warrant, particularly in the wake of today's complete embarrassment at the hands of a "lesser" in-state rival. Coach is lucky that midseason removals are difficult (and therefore rare), not least because they telegraph to the world the university's abandonment of all confidence in the coach and his team. Hence, he still has some runway to somehow turn this foundering ship around (and 6 - 6 should not be considered to be good enough given their weak schedule.) Out of a lot of bad today, the worst of it to me is the fact that whereas going into it, their offense was known to be unreliable, but now their defense seems to have "caught up" with their colleagues. It's feeling an awful lot like 2023.

I’ve always heard it said, if you can’t say anything good, say nothing. That’s how I feel about the Pirates at present. It doesn’t look like the Pirates will be able to take off the training wheels any time soon. Hope I’m wrong.

Pirates must resurrect the disaster from last year.Pirstes go out an punishin them. J R Titsworth

Kudos to the Pirates for winning a Must Win game, but goodness, it would be dishonest not to admit that they got a lot of help from UTSA, especially by way of dropped passes down the stretch and a handful of very untimely penalties, though the biggest one, that huge pass interference late in the game on a ball that was more catchable by fans than by the Pirate wideout, was a terrible call; I'd have been beside myself if I was the UTSA coach. The offensive play by both teams down the stretch seemed almost like an exercise in who wanted the game least, though I give credit to the ECU d, which, as already stated by another commenter, Houston relied on 100% at the end, exactly as he did at the end of the ODU game. The OL remains a significant liability, unable to dependably protect Garcia or create holes for Harris, and therefore disallowing ECU from controlling the clock; they might be marginally better than they were during last year's nightmare, and maybe they'll get better in season; I hope so, because I just don't see ECU winning consistently unless and until there's improvement there. ...but a dub is a dub, and even against a team that's off of what it has been in recent seasons, but probably still decent nonetheless, so Congrats to the Pirates.

Agree with Jerry about knockout punch. Pirates have at least 3 good running backs. Need to show more imagination in the running game. Kudos to the defense.

A win is a win, and all the sweeter given the comeback. I’m not sure the competition was as challenging as the Flames proved to be, but the Pirates played hard all 60 minutes, and deserved the win. Garcia is still very much a work in progress, and the good, the bad, and the ugly of Saturday’s performance looks to be something Pirate Nation must endure as we go along for the ride. One thing that is painfully obvious, the Pirates as of yet do not have a kill-the-clock version of JDB’s offense. Not must trust shown to Garcia given the play-calling down the stretch. And kudos to the Pirates defense, who had more highs than lows in a seesaw game in which Coach Houston pretty much put the last half of the 4th quarter in their hands. Again, a win is a win. Some good things to build on, and some “iffy” things that continue to plague the Pirates. 3-2 is better than 2-10 on any scale, understanding the 2024 Pirates have no easy days ahead.

I cannot add to what has already been said, except to suggest that the home game this Sat., in which ECU is actually slightly favored (surprisingly, in my view) vs. their first conference foe this year and a team that has been very good in recent history, has got to be considered to be a MUST WIN. Short of that, nothing can be considered as having changed in this program from the debacle that was 2023; a reckoning would be sorely in order.