BOCA RATON, Fla- FAU is stunned on Saturday night in a 22-7 upset loss to the East Carolina Pirates, who came in with a 1-8 record. ECU’s defense was stout, only allowing 172 yards of total offense.
The Pirates come into this game losers of five straight and 0-5 in conference play. The last time these two teams met was in 2013 with ECU winning the matchup 31-13. FAU looked to bounce back after a high scoring loss to UAB 45-42. LaJohntay Wester is having a historic season for The Owls and is on the watchlist for the Biletnikoff and Hornung awards.
Recap
The first half saw FAU’s offense get off to a very slow start. Through the first quarter, the offense was only able to gain 14 yards on 12 plays. Daniel Richardson had a costly interception that resulted in an ECU score to make it 7-0. Star wide receiver LaJohntay Wester went without a catch and only had one total touch in the first half for 12 yards. FAU’s star running back Larry McCammon was also a non factor in the first half, only rushing for 33 yards.
ECU got their scoring started early with a Gerald Green 18 yard touchdown and two Andrew Conrad field goals. Their defense was stingy in the entirety of the first half, allowing only 74 yards of total offense. The Owls offense was finally able to get on the board with 7:07 to go in the second quarter with a three yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Michael Johnson Jr..
East Carolina continued to put pressure on FAU in the second half. The Owls missed an opportunity to put up points in their first third quarter drive with a missed 37 yard field goal by Carter Davis. Prior to that kick, Quarterback Daniel Richardson took a costly third down sack for a loss of 11 yards. Andrew Conrad made three more field goals in the second half and was 6 for 6 on kick attempts.
FAU only averaged 2.5 yards per play and allowed five sacks to the Pirates defense. The secondary for ECU was stout, only allowing Daniel Thompson to throw for 151 yards. Their defensive line also showed up and only allowed 21 yards rushing. The Owls offense also struggled on third down going 3-15 (20%).
“Their record doesn’t show how good they really are,” FAU quarterback Daniel Richardson said after the game.
Next up for FAU is their final home game against a #20 Tulane team that has won eight straight games. East Carolina will travel to Navy with some momentum after a huge upset win.