GREENVILLE —
Cincinnati provided some unwanted deja vu as East Carolina was trying to
nail down a bowl bid and send its seniors out in style Saturday at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
For the second straight
year, a play as time expired was the difference maker in a loss on
Senior Day for the Pirates.
Andrew Gantz was once again
a villain for ECU.
Gantz
hit a 47-yard field goal with 15 seconds left
last year in Cincinnati to put the Bearcats ahead 48-46.
The final margin was 54-46 in 2014 as a gadget play by the Pirates led
to a game-ending fumble return by Cincinnati for a score.
Central Florida
spoiled Senior Night for ECU last year
with a Hail Mary for a 32-30 win as time ran out.
The difference a year ago
was that the Pirates had already secured bowl eligibility. The season
continued with
a 28-20 loss to Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.
At 5-7 overall and 3-5 in
the American Conference after Gantz hit from 42 yards for a 19-16
Cincinnati win, it doesn't appear that a postseason trip is in store for
the Pirates.
"We talked about it a
little bit on our (AAC athletic directors) call this week," said ECU AD
Jeff Compher. "It's possible that some 5-7 teams will get bids. I don't
know where we would fit in on that process. I would say it's possible
but unlikely."
There are 80 postseason
slots for teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
The Bearcats, regrouping
from a 65-27 loss at South Florida last week, took control of the
matchup by controlling the line of scrimmage as the game progressed.
There was a lot of emotion
as East Carolina bid farewell to 18 seniors.
The Pirates took a 3-0 lead
on the game's opening possession after a 39-yard kickoff return by
Trevon Brown.
ECU drove from its 39 as
far as the Cincinnati 1-yard line before settling for a 20-yard field
goal by Bobby Plowman with 11:17 left in the first quarter.
The Pirates pushed the lead
to 10-0 on a 10-yard scoring pass from Blake Kemp to Davon Grayson with
6:55 left in the opening period. The play was initially ruled an
incompletion with pass interference but it was overturned for a
touchdown after review. The TD followed a three and out by the ECU
defense.
The 94-yard scoring drive
included a 13-yard run by Anthony Scott, an 18-yard completion to
Grayson, a 13-yard keeper by Kemp and a 17-yard pass to Isaiah Jones,
who finished with 12 catches for 124 yards.
ECU had a 182-67 lead in
total yardage in the first quarter.
An 8-yard pass from Gunner
Kiel to Shaq Washington completed a 13-play, 90-yard drive for the
Bearcats with 10:47 left in the first half. The Bearcats missed the
extra point, leaving ECU with a 10-6 lead until Cincinnati went ahead
13-10 on a 1-yard scoring run by wildcat quarterback Mike Boone with
7:28 left in the third quarter.
The Bearcats took a 16-10
lead on a 50-yard field goal by Gantz with 26 seconds left in the third
quarter.
Cincinnati outgained ECU
129-34 in the third quarter, outrushing the Pirates, 80-7.
ECU tied the score at 16 as
it used James Summers, primarily a running quarterback, on a 2-yard
touchdown pass to Bryce Williams in a fourth-and-goal situation with
10:36 remaining. The 78-yard drive accounted for the bulk of ECU's 113
yards in the second half.
Plowman missed the extra
point to leave the score knotted after 15 yards were tacked on for an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Summers. He apparently reacted as
Silverberry Mouhon of the Bearcats was disqualified for targeting.
Cincinnati had 20 minutes,
59 seconds of possession in the 30 minutes of the second half.
"They've got size up front
and mass up front," said Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill. "That's an NFL
line they've got."
ECU, on the other hand, was
missing starters Dontae Levingston, Quincy McKinney and Christian Matau
from its offensive line.
"The whole key to the game
the second half was we were able to run the ball," said Cincinnati coach
Tommy Tuberville. "They had 44 snaps in the first half and I told the
offense if we don't get control of the ball in the second half we
couldn't win the game.
"We had to be able to run
the ball. They had 44 in the first half and had just 25 in the second
half. That was the difference in the game."
Kemp completed 33 of 50
passes for 315 yards and one touchdown. The Pirates played turnover
free.
Mike linebacker Zeek Bigger
was disappointed at the outcome of his last game, as seniors Shane
Carden, Justin Hardy and that group were a year ago.
"That's how football is
sometimes," Bigger said. "It's like life. You have to keep fighting."