A 45-38 road loss against an arguably superior opponent isn’t a cause for concern on paper, but the Pirates (3-3, 1-1 AAC) will have tough questions to answer before they take on Tulsa next weekend.
If last weekend’s dominating victory over SMU was the best this ECU team could offer, the Pirates’ near-upset in Provo, Utah, was nearly the worst. Until BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum went down with an injury in the fourth quarter, ECU was completely exposed on both sides of the ball.
The Pirates jumped to a 14-point lead following an early touchdown drive by James Summers and a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown, but Summers failed to generate offense from there.