This may well be the best college football game we'll see this season. ECU's 34-31 win over Carolina was every bit as exciting as the score suggests, and then some.
A few thoughts about the game:
Do you think Ben Hartman's breathing easier now? From goat to hero in two seconds. I'm sure his three missed field goals have been forgiven in Greenville now.
How was Patrick Pinkney ever a third-string quarterback? The Pinkney we saw against Carolina was every bit as lethal under center as he was in high school at Pine Forest: mobile and accurate while making good decisions. Of course, it's easy to say that now that he threw for 406 yards – but note that he also led the Pirates in rushing with 22!
His counterpart, T.J. Yates, ultimately, put up good numbers as well. Yates' line: 20-32 for 344 yards and three touchdowns. But Yates one-hopped most of those incompletions. He seems a lot more comfortable throwing the deep ball. That needs to improve in a hurry.
On defense, ECU's front seven was as good as advertised. But the Pirates' secondary simply couldn't handle Carolina's receivers.
Carolina's team is awfully young – as Butch Davis often pointed out during the summer – and the Heels had their share of "rookie" mistakes, including several costly penalties.
Finally, a few more items on my mind: 1) I heard a thunderous cheer early in the game – and looked up to see the N.C. State-Boston College score. That always cracks me up when the crowd at one game cheers another team's loss. 2) ECU's punter shares the same number with quarterback Rob Kass. One of these days, they should sneak Kass in for a fake. 3) Another moment that gave me a chuckle came when the song "Play That Funky Music White Boy" was being blasted over the sound system. The song ended abruptly in mid-tune – so the ECU crowd sang the finish. I laughed out loud.
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