Just one win away from securing bowl eligibility for the third time in the last four seasons, East Carolina travels west Thursday night for an American Athletic Conference showdown with Tulsa at H.A. Chapman Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The game will air live to a national audience on ESPN with Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Dan Mullen (analyst) and Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline) handling the broadcast duties.
ECU (5-4, 3-2 AAC) is under the direction of interim head coach Blake Harrell.
Last Time Out
East Carolina 49, Florida Atlantic 14
(Nov. 7 @ Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C.)
A quarterback change followed by a coaching change injected new life into East Carolina, and a bowl game that once seemed unreachable is now more than possible. Behind another stellar performance from sophomore quarterback Katin Houser, the Pirates overwhelmed another American Athletic Conference opponent by rolling past Florida Atlantic 49-14 on Thursday night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. ECU, which has won all three meetings in the series with the Owls, delivered Blake Harrell his second-straight win as interim head coach following the dismissal of Mike Houston. Combined with last week’s 56-34 win over Temple, the Pirates have put up 105 points and1,051 total yards in two games under Harrell. Houser, who tossed five touchdown passes for the second-straight game, ran for another and finished with a career-high 343 yards passing. ECU punted just once, played its first turnover free game and never gave FAU a hint of snapping a three-game losing streak. The Pirates unleashed an ultra-aggressive and creative offense early in striking for touchdowns on their first three possessions for a 21-0 lead and led 35-7 at halftime. By air or by ground, ECU moved quickly and reeled off yardage in big chunks on the way to a staggering 418 total yards – striking for five passes of at least 25 yards and five rushes of 14 yards or more. Three of ECU’s touchdowns came in lightning-quick fashion of 37 seconds or less. All five first-half scores needed less than three minutes. ECU finished with a season-high 581 total yards – its third game this year with at least 500.
About The Golden Hurricane
Tulsa (3-6, 1-4 AAC) enters Thursday’s contest off a bye week, having taken the field last on Nov. 2 when it lost at UAB by a 59-21 score. The Blazers scored on their first two possessions for a 14-0 lead and ended the first 15 minutes with a 21-0 advantage on the way to a 45-7 halftime lead. UAB put up 537 yards, while passing for 424 yards and a TU opponent record seven touchdowns. The Golden Hurricane’s Cooper Legas completed 21-of-31 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns, while true freshman Joseph Williams pulled in six of those passes for 112 yards and one touchdown. Tulsa ranks last in The American in scoring defense, allowing 38.4 points per game, while slotting 10th in scoring offense (24.8 points per game). The Golden Hurricane sports a 2-2 home record with wins over Northwestern State (62-28) and UTSA (46-45) as well as losses to Oklahoma State (45-10) and Army (49-7). Tulsa is under the direction of second-year head coach Kevin Wilson.
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