East Carolina rallies to defeat Tulsa 51-49

GREENVILLE – In rousing and heart-tugging fashion, East Carolina answered a few pressing questions in its 51-49 come-from-behind victory over Tulsa on Sunday.

Can first-year coach Ruffin McNeill’s new spread offense put points on the scoreboard? Yes, in droves.

Who will start at quarterback in his no-huddle system? Junior transfer Dominique Davis, who on the team’s final drive Sunday heaved a 33-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jones that secured an improbable victory in the waning seconds.

Trailing by four points, the Pirates (1-0) used 1 minute, 22 seconds and 11 plays to go 66 yards on the final drive. Searching for a miracle, Davis released his pass to Jones with five seconds remaining and found the 6-foot-8 wideout on the right side of the end zone, surrounded by a group of wide-eyed players.

“I guess I’m just lucky,” Jones said. “I’m taller than everybody.”

Jones came down with the ball, sending ECU players galloping onto the field in an euphoric daze. They were stunned by the victory, considering their underdog status headed into the afternoon game.

The Pirates were counted out because of all the changes the program has experienced since capturing back-to-back Conference USA league championships last season.

With head coach Skip Holtz leaving for South Florida, the Pirates hired first-time head coach McNeill, a former player and Lumberton native who had spent 10 seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Tech.

The Pirates have also replaced 29 starters since that first leagues championship, including 18 starters from last season’s team. Ten new players started their first game on Sunday.

In the spring, McNeill installed a new spread offense and new defensive scheme valuing speed over power.

Those changes, mixed in with a heated competition at quarterback between Davis and sophomore Brad Wornick, left many calling this season a rebuilding year.

All those thoughts vaporized as Jones pulled in the game-winning touchdown, with many of the announced crowd of 50,010 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium erupting in thunderous cheer.

“I’m still in shock,” said Davis, who completed 27 of 46 attempts for 383 passing yards, five touchdowns and an interceptions. He was sacked once.
Davis, who had moments of imperfection, matched Tulsa junior quarterback G.J. Kinne. He completed 28 of 43 attempts for 399 yards, five touchdowns and an interception.

The two offenses combined for 10 touchdowns in the second half, scoring them in 23 minutes.

Davis connected often with senior wide receiver Dwayne Harris, who pulled in seven catches for 121 yards. He finished with 174 all-purpose yards.
Asked to evaluate Davis, Harris said, “He managed the clock well. He’s going to do a lot of great things in this offense.”

That was the sentiment of McNeill, who was careful to discuss his team’s performance as a work-in-progress. He said he expected rough patches with a young players who had seen very few reps behind talented players over the past two seasons.

“I was proud of the way they found to win the football game,” McNeill said. “Bottom line.”

His defense, one with nine new starters, played fast and blitzed as promise, though never seemed on sure footing with the pressure system. Tulsa often found the middle of the field and junior wide receiver Damaris Johnson (299 all-purpose yards) hurt them all over the field.

Tulsa delivered some mighty blows, most notably 579 total offensive yards, but ECU’s defense showed its mettle on occasion.

“We took them pretty good,” redshirt freshman Justin Dixon said of the blows. “We still have to go back to the drawing board.”

Still, the head coach seemed happy with the result, a third straight season-opening win against a tough league opponent. He’s found his starting quarterback, which he had named two weeks ago but kept it secret, and found a team of hustlers. He said they don’t have any quit in them, even if they seemed overmatched.

“Just watch them grow here,” McNeill said. “I wish we could hurry up their progress. But we can’t. It comes in time. They’ll be fine.”