Cougars suffer 27-24 loss to Pirates

PROVO, Utah — BYU football suffered its fourth-consecutive loss, falling to East Carolina 27-24 on a field goal as time expired at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Friday night.

Tied at 24-24 from the 7:07 mark in the third quarter on, the back-and-forth game saw three ties and six lead changes, with the final lead change coming as the final second ticked off the clock and the Pirates converted the game-winning field goal from 33 yards out.  

The Cougars possessed the ball for 33:56 to East Carolina’s 26:04 but were out-gained on offense by the Pirates, 424 to 388. Quarterback Jaren Hall finished 18-of-25 for 144 yards and two touchdowns, also carrying the ball eight times for 60 yards.

Running back Lopini Katoa led BYU with 20 carries for 116 yards and a touchdown. Wideout Puka Nacua hauled in seven receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Fellow receiver Chase Roberts had a touchdown catch of his own.

Linebacker Ben Bywater finished with a team-high 11 tackles. Defensive backs Kaleb Hayes and Jakob Robinson each contributed seven total tackles, including five solo tackles a piece. 

BOX SCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
POSTGAME NOTES

First Quarter
After forcing a three-and-out on ECU’s opening possession, the Cougars saw their first drive extended by a pass interference penalty. BYU took a 3-0 lead on a 36-yard Jake Oldroyd field goal with 8:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Quickly going 75 yards in six plays, the Pirates then took a 7-3 lead on a 31-yard rushing touchdown by Keaton Mitchell with 6:29 to go.

The two teams traded empty possessions before the Cougars gained first downs on a Nacua screen pass, Miles Davis carry and an East Carolina offside penalty on their next drive. 

Second Quarter
Katoa busted a 24-yard run to open the second, and then another 24-yarder to the house, aided by a downfield Keanu Hill block, putting BYU back in front, at 10-7, with 12:56 left in the quarter. 

A big play helped the Pirates get down to the Cougar 4-yard line, but two Blake Mangelson tackles and a quarterback hurry by Atunaisa Mahe held ECU to a field goal, making it a 10-10 game with 9:15 remaining in the half. 

Answering with a screen pass to Nacua and back-to-back first down runs by Jaren Hall, the Cougars scored on a sliding 30-yard touchdown catch by Nacua, again putting BYU ahead, this time 17-10, with 6:01 to go.

ECU’s Keaton broke outside for a 35-yard rush on the Pirates' ensuing possession, eventually setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Holton Ahlers that tied the game at 17 with 2:42 left in the half. 

Third Quarter
Starting the second half with the ball, the Cougars capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Chase Roberts to regain the lead, going ahead 24-17 with 9:58 remaining in the third. 

East Carolina answered back, earning three first downs on consecutive plays, scoring on a 4-yard Ahlers rush to make it 24-all, at the 7:07 mark of the quarter. 

BYU kept it almost exclusively on the ground on its next possession, picking up four of its five first downs through the run game but faced a 3rd-and-10 from the ECU 20-yard line as the third quarter came to a close.

Fourth Quarter
After an 8-yard completion from Hall to Hill, the Cougars went for it on 4th-and-2, but turned it over on downs.

The Pirates had picked up three first downs and were approaching the red zone before a Tyler Batty tackle for loss aided the BYU defense, forcing East Carolina into a 42-yard field goal attempt that went wide right and gave the Cougars the ball back at their own 25-yard line with 9:59 left in the game.

BYU picked up one first down but had a second negated by a holding call, eventually giving the Cougars a 4th-and-1. Hall was unable to pick up the first down on a sneak, turning the ball back over to the Pirates.

A targeting penalty on BYU quickly put ECU into the red zone. Facing 4th-and-1 from the Cougar 9-yard line, Keenan Pili and Pepe Tanuvasa teamed up to stop Keaton behind the line of scrimmage, returning the ball to BYU with 3:54 to go.

The Cougars went three-and-out, however, and Ryan Rehkow’s punt set up the Pirates at their own 38-yard line with 2:26 left. Picking up a pair of first downs, East Carolina went for it on 4th-and-8 from the BYU 37-yard line, converting on a pass-interference penalty by the Cougars.

ECU ran two rushing plays to set up a field goal with three seconds remaining. The Cougars called both of their remaining timeouts, but the Pirates’ kicker squeezed his 33-yarder through the uprights as time expired, giving East Carolina the 27-24 win.

The Cougars will head to Idaho next week to take on Boise State at Albertsons Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 5. The game will be televised on a FOX Sports network. Kickoff time and broadcast plans will be announced at a later date. Fans can also listen to live play-by-play on BYU Radio SiriusXM 143, BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App or KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.