The Cougars kept insisting they were a better team than their record indicated and would soon get things turned around. Too bad most of us didn’t believe them.
The Cougars delivered a resounding message to their critics by handing then-Associated Press No. 23 East Carolina a Texas-sized, 41-24 whipping Saturday in Greenville, N.C. Even that score is misleading – the game wasn’t really that close.
The Cougar offense had ECU defenders on the move all day, racking up an eye-popping 621 yards and eight trips inside the red zone.
The defense was even more dominant, holding the Pirates to 275 yards, forcing three turnovers and making life difficult for ECU senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney, who was benched temporarily at the start of the second half.
Unbelievably, this came from an offense that scored a combined 10 points in its last two first halves and a defense that entered last week ranked 107th nationally among 119 teams in total yards allowed (438.25 per game). The same offense and defense many of us said would be worn down by the Pirates.
Count me among those who said the Cougars had no chance of beating ECU and who woke up Sunday morning still full from all the crow we swallowed the day before.
Defense sets the tone
The Cougars heard much criticism in the days leading up to Saturday’s contest, and decided to do something about it. Some did more than others.
Sophomore quarterback Case Keenum completed 36 of 44 passes for 399 yards and three touchdowns, making up for his three turnovers. Freshman running back Bryce Beall carried the ground attack with 132 yards and two touchdowns. Redshirt freshman wide receiver Patrick Edwards caught 11 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Cody Lubojasky led the defense with 11 tackles, and senior cornerback Quinte Williams and junior cornerback Brandon Brinkley each had an interception.
If it were up to me, I’d have given the game ball to defensive coordinator John Skladany, who clearly prepared his unit for Saturday’s game.
The Cougars consistently pressured Pinkney (10-of-20 passing, 100 yards, one touchdown) into making bad decisions. The front seven were aggressive in their pursuit of the Pirates’ ball carriers, often stopping them at the line of scrimmage or dropping them in the backfield for a loss, the latter keeping ECU from establishing any sort of deep passing attack.
The offense will probably garner most of the spotlight because of its ridiculous statistics. But it was the defense that had the most impact, holding ECU at bay while the offense and special teams did what they could to keep the Pirates in the game.
Too many mistakes
The stat sheet says the Cougars only had four turnovers (three fumbles, one interception), but I counted seven. Can you guess where the other three came from? If you said the two missed field goals and a botched snap on another attempt, you’re dead right.
If you take away those mistakes, the Cougars beat ECU by at least five touchdowns. Instead, the Pirates hung around until Keenum’s 84-yard touchdown bomb to sophomore receiver Kierrie Johnson gave the Cougars a 31-17 lead with 14:06 remaining.
These are problems the Cougars will have to correct quickly. But they’ll worry about that later when they return to the practice field.
Right now, they’ll spend a little more time savoring this win. And, of course, telling the naysayers, "See? I told you so."
