G5 Football Daily

East Carolina Survive Thursday Clash With Tulsa To Secure Bowl Eligibility

G5 Football Daily Staff

Oct 2, 2021; Greenville, North Carolina, USA; East Carolina Pirates running back Rahjai Harris (47) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tulane Green Wave during the second half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Oct 2, 2021; Greenville, North Carolina, USA; East Carolina Pirates running back Rahjai Harris (47) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tulane Green Wave during the second half at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / James Guillory-Imagn Images
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The East Carolina Pirates are now 3-0 under interim head coach Blake Harrell following Thursday night's 38-31 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. The Pirates also managed to improve to 6-4 on the season, making them bowl eligible again after a 2-10 campaign in 2023.

ECU running back Rahjai Harris carried 18 times for 114 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Pirates overcome a performance that saw them get flagged 12 times for a total of 125 yards.

In a losing effort, Tulsa quarterback Cooper Legas completed 20 passes on 32 attempts for 293 yards and three touchdowns. All three touchdown passes were to true freshman Joseph Williams, who caught five passes for a season-high 158 yards.

The first half contained a plethora of offensive miscues by both teams with ECU being intercepted twice and losing a fumble. ECU finished the game with four total turnovers. Tulsa also threw an interception and lost a fumble, in addition to turning it over on downs. Regardless, the game was tied 17-17 at the end of the first half.

With 8:48 remaining in the third quarter, East Carolina went up a score when they capped a four-play, 52-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown rush from London Montgomery.

East Carolina had a chance to pull away late in the third quarter, when Rahjai Harris appeared to break off a 71-yard run for a score...however, the play was negated by a personal foul penalty on offensive lineman Dustyn Hall. The Pirates were forced to punt and Tulsa drove 58 yards in five plays to get a touchdown and tie the game at 24-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

Tulsa took the lead on their first possession of the final quarter, with Legas finding Williams for the third time on an impressive fifty-yard touchdown.

The score didn't change until there were five and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, when Harris found his way back to the end zone with a 23-yard rushing score at the end of a 10-play drive. However, ECU kicker Andrew Conrad missed the extra point, keeping Tulsa in front by one.

Fortunately for the Pirates, the defense forced a punt, and Harris extended the lead with another rushing score from 24 yards out. Harris also made up for the missed extra point, powering over multiple defenders for a successful two-point conversion.

Inside the final two minutes of the game, Williams made another huge catch to position the Golden Hurricane inside the ten-yard line...but the ECU defense held on fourth-and-goal.

With the win, the Pirates reach bowl eligibility for the second time since 2015.

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