Golden Hurricane grabs season-finale win at East Carolina
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Chase Meyer’s 37-yard field goal with one second remaining on the game clock gave Tulsa a 29-27 victory over the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday afternoon in front of 29,567 fans at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Chase Meyer’s 37-yard field goal with one second remaining on the game clock gave Tulsa a 29-27 victory over the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday afternoon in front of 29,567 fans at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
With less than three minutes remaining, it was a game that looked like would end in favor of the host Pirates, but Ben Kopenski recovered a fumble on ECU’s first play from scrimmage after holding Tulsa on a fourth-and-3 at the Tulsa 24.
Tulsa ends the season with an overall 4-8 mark and 2-6 American Athletic Conference record in Kevin Wilson’s first at the helm. East Carolina fell to 2-10 and 1-7 in league play.
It was a game that saw the two teams total 44 points in the first half, but just 12 in the final 30 minutes, all on field goals. Meyer knocked through two third-quarter field goals covering 28 and 26 yards before knocking through the game-winner for Tulsa’s lone points in the final stanza.
On Tulsa’s game-clinching drive, Kirk Francis led the Hurricane 48 yards in 11 plays to the ECU 19, setting up Meyer’s field goal.
Francis finished the game by completing 62 percent of his passes for 297 yards and two touchdowns, while finding Kamdyn Benjamin six times for 143 yards and a score. Anthony Watkins rushed for 106 yards to lead the Tulsa run game. Overall, Tulsa out-gained ECU 446 to 409 yards.
It was a pretty even first half as the hometown Pirates held a 24-20 lead at the intermission. There was just a seven-yard difference in total yardage in the first 30 minutes. ECU gained 268 yards to Tulsa’s 261 while the Hurricane had more than a four-minute edge in possession time.
Tulsa opened the scoring on the first possession of the game, going 75 yards in four plays and culminating with a Francis 31-yard pass to Benjamin.
The Pirates scored the next 14 points for a 14-6 lead before Tulsa responded with two scores of its own. The first of those coming on a Bill Jackson 1-yard run and the second on a Francis 15-yard toss to fellow true freshman Luke McGary.
ECU closed out the final nine minutes of the first half with a touchdown and field goal.
