ECU quarterback Blake Kemp joined those who have out-dueled the Knights this season, completing 35 of 50 passes for a staggering 448 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. And it’ll prove it, deftly mixing Summers and Kemp with RB Chris Hairston.
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The outcome kept ECU in the bowl picture as the Pirates improved to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in the American Athletic Conference. “The offensive line did a great job and we were able to spread the ball around to a lot of our playmakers”.
The 6-foot-1, 197 pound Jones took over for Atlanta Falcons’ fourth round pick Justin Hardy as the featured pass-catcher in East Carolina’s offense this season and he entered the game with 72 receptions for 794 yards and three scores already on the year.
With linebackers Zeek Bigger and Montese Overton on the sideline for the first series of the game, UCF took a 7-0 lead on an 11-yard scoring pass from Justin Holman to freshman Tre’Quan Smith.
ECU discovered the simplest way to revive an uninspiring offense: play a game against the poor Knights. In fact, each of the Knights’ last seven losses was by at least two touchdowns. Kemp has thrown for 1,878 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Bright House, televised on ESPN. A 44-yard Holman completion to Jordan Franks was the big play that pushed the Knights into the redzone right before Smith finished off the drive.
With a chance to reboot last week, East Carolina will resume playing like a bowl-caliber team, even if that bowl is of the second-tier variety. He was never sacked and seldom distracted by the Knights lethargic pass rush in the first half.
UCF’s offensive woes were matched on defense as they allowed East Carolina to amass 605 yards of total offense. The UCF quarterback limped off the field late in the second quarter after getting hit while attempting a pass.
“Once we had the touchdown called back from the penalty, [it] looked like all the momentum and energy we had kind of left the sidelines”, interim coach Danny Barrett said. They combined for 2-for-15 passing for just 21 yards. “There were too many missed tackles and easy scores. Those guys (East Carolina) were a little more hungry than we were to finish off the game”.
HAMMOND, La. – Francisco Condado booted a 40-yard field goal with no time remaining as Nicholls closed out the season with a victory over Southeastern Louisiana.
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Tobias Lofton ran for 147 yards as Nicholls dominated the second half after trailing 17-3 at the break. The running game was not part of any quick comeback plan. The familiar combination of Kemp and Jones ended the scoring drought, however, as they hooked up for a 13-yard touchdown to extend East Carolina’s lead to 38-7 with 6:23 left in the quarter.
