GREENVILLE — There must be a hint of justice left in college football. After months of frowning on battle-worn East Carolina quarterback James Pinkney, the gridiron gods finally managed a smile.

Forget that familiar scenario of a battered quarterback struggling to emerge from the hard turf. Those images of pinpoint passes falling helplessly to the ground finally were replaced by far more deserving results.

The storylines many envisioned for Pinkney before the season began took on real-life meaning following the Pirates' 38-28 victory over Army. The talented QB who could, actually did when his team's back was pressed firmly against the wall.

"Offensively, James Pinkney looked very much in control of the football game out there," Pirates coach John Thompson said. "He looked like an experienced quarterback.

"He is an experienced quarterback right now. His composure throughout the whole game really did some good things."

Composed only begins to describe the performance ECU received under center. Pinkney was both efficient and dynamic on an afternoon when he completed 72 percent of his passes.

He threw short, medium, and long. There was a healthy mix of screens, slants, and posts. And when the occasion called, Pinkney had the presence of mind to tuck and run.

The end result was a 26-of-36, 285-yard, three-touchdown effort that arguably was the best of any ECU quarterback since 2001.

"He was strong tonight," Pirates offensive coordinator Noah Brindise said. "He was under control and he made good throws all night.

"We had a couple of drops, too, which is even more amazing. What, 26 out of 36? That's about probably almost 70 percent, I guess. Guys made good catches, he threw the ball well, the O-line blocked well. It was good all-around offense."

That much couldn't be said about many of the Pirates' previous outings. By and large, East Carolina has been one-dimensional, with Pinkney often enduring the brunt of the punishment.

An inconsistent running game and young, makeshift line has kept the Pirates' field general running for cover amid a constant rush. When the offensive line has provided him with a secure cocoon, that often has been negated by a receiving corps plagued by slippery hands.

Even though Pinkney has endured enough adversity to fulfill a career, he hasn't fingered teammates for not carrying their share of the load.

"The thing about James is he's a really quiet kid," Brindise said. "He's not real emotional, but it really effects him. It effects him bad when we lose.

"People think that because he's so quiet that he doesn't care one way or the other, but that's not the case at all. As a matter of fact, he cares just as much as anybody else, if not more."

That easily could go down as the unspoken theme in East Carolina's third win in 19 games: Regardless of the situation, the Pirates' quarterback would not let his team lose.

Each time the Black Knights took the lead, Pinkney made sure it was brief. And when Army was lingering on life support, he pulled the plug with a perfect 46-yard scoring strike to receiver Bobby Good.

"That's exactly what I said, too, before I called the play," Brindise said. "I said, we're going to go for the jugular.

"That's one thing that I've learned in the last couple of years coaching in the NFL. I watched how good teams would respond when they had a lead. Everybody thinks you're going to run the clock out. Well, sometimes, as we saw, they end up scoring again."

But Pinkney made sure that didn't matter. On a night when his teammates and coaches need him most, the East Carolina quarterback responded with his absolute best.