East Carolina-UAB recap: Pirates' lose heartbreaker in Birmingham

CUSA-fans.com has a new staff of team correspondents this fall to help bring you, the fan, more detailed Conference USA football coverage. Today, our ECU Correspondent Thomas "Bubba" Rosenbaum recaps the East Carolina Pirates trip to UAB where they fell 17-12.

Despite not playing very well, East Carolina nearly escaped Legion Field with a victory on Saturday. However, following a finish that you would've almost had to witness to believe, the Pirates were 17-12 losers to the home standing Blazers. They were still "0-fer" in Alabama, but it wasn't due to lack of effort and heart, that's for certain. Rather, it was primarily a lack of consistent execution on the offensive line and poor tackling that got the Pirates beat.

The first half was a tale of two quarters. The first quarter belonged to the Pirates. East Carolina not only led 3-0, but they also had out gained the Blazers 97-72 in the stanza.

However, their fortunes would changes in the second quarter. Nearly the entire second fifteen minutes was played on East Carolina's side of the field. UAB scored on two of its three drives and the only drive they didn't get points on was one that ended at the East Carolina seven-yard line following a mishandled snap.

The Pirate offense ran 15 plays for only 43 yards in the second quarter and only one of the three ECU drives didn't result in a three and out. It appeared as though the Pirates might cut into the Blazers 7-3 lead. East Carolina was on the UAB 42-yard line when the Blazers picked off Pirate quarterback James Pinkney. Not only did the Pirates not get points, but the Blazers would convert the turnover into a field goal with Parker Mullins drilling a 31-yarder as time expired in the half.

ECU would only get the football once during the third quarter, but the Pirates did convert that only possession into a field goal. Robert Lee's second 22-yarder of the game pulled the Pirates to within four at 10-6. The drive consisted of big plays involving James Pinkney hooking up with tight end Davon Drew and wideout Bobby Good while there were also key runs by Dominique Lindsay and Chris Johnson.

As the third quarter was coming to a close, it appeared as though UAB was well on the way to making the score 17-6. However, just as the Blazers were knocking on the Pirates door, they suffered another turnover via a fumbled snap.

It looked as if East Carolina might take advantage of this UAB miscue, but they fumbled it and turned it back over after driving out to around midfield. The Blazers capitalized on this opportunity, making the score 17-6 with just under nine minutes remaining.

Chris Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff to the 38-yard line, giving ECU very good field position to start its drive. Much like the Navy game, down 11 points with about eight minutes left and their backs to the wall, the Pirate offense responded with an eight play, 62-yard touchdown drive. The scoring play was on a 1-yard pass to tight end Davon Drew. Drew had another big reception, which was good for 12 yards, on the first play of the drive.

Feeling more confident in the Pirate defense's ability to stop UAB, Skip Holtz did not try the onsides kick attempt like he did with just less than five minutes left at Navy. The defense responded as they forced the Blazers to go three and out at their own 25.

The Pirates were going to get the ball back and in pretty good field position with 2:15 left on the clock. They moved the ball to their own 48 following a five-yard run by James Pinkney and a nine-yard completion to Kevin Roach.

However, from there the Pirates would go backwards following a costly intentional grounding call on Pinkney. Now faced second and 24, Pinkney hooked up with freshman Jamar Bryant for nine yards. The third down attempt for Phillip Henry fell incomplete. With the game on the line as the Pirates had to convert on fourth and 15 from their own 43, Pinkney made an excellent throw over the outstretched arms of the UAB defender. The pass was headed toward Henry. He adjusted to the ball beautifully, as the throw was slightly outside and behind him. It appeared as though he was headed for the end zone and that the Pirates would take the lead.

However, to his credit, Blazer defensive back Chris Felder did not give up on the play. He chased Henry down and punched the ball out from behind, as the receiver did not have his elbow tucked closely enough to his body. Larry Evans recovered and the Blazers were able to run out the clock; however, they were not able to do so without a little excitement on third and five. On that play they fumbled, but fortunately for them they were able to jump on it at their 18-yard line. The Pirates, out of timeouts, could not stop the clock; therefore, the game ended with UAB facing a 4th and 12.

For the second week in a row, the Pirates were on the short end in a close ball game. They were also reminded for a second straight week about a couple of problem areas that their football team has. One, the offensive line is a work in progress and two, tackling needs to be improved, as the Pirates are often too high.

On a positive note, the defense played better than in week one and again, the Pirates had responded when faced with adversity, playing their hearts out in Birmingham.

A major difference in the game was the job that UAB did defensively on Pirate star wideout Aundrae Allison. They held the Pirate senior without a catch in the game. UAB didn't run the same coverage twice, and kept the East Carolina offense out of rhythm for most of the night.

East Carolina quarterback James Pinkney, who was on the run for the majority of the evening, turned in another courageous effort. He completed 20 of 38 passes for 280 yards and one touchdown. He did throw one interception, which resulted in a UAB field goal right before halftime.