ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WNCN/AP) — East Carolina came back late and beat North Carolina State University Saturday evening 26-21 in the Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland.
N.C. State was up by just a point late in the fourth quarter but an ECU 86-yard run by Rahjai Harris put the Pirates up 26-21. A 2-point conversion attempt by Casey Kelly failed, however.
The game then descended into a wild brawl in the final minute with a total of eight players ejected.
ECU’s comeback score with about 1:33 left in the game happened after the Wolfpack scored 14 points in the same quarter.
Pirate quarterback Katin Houser, who was 18 of 29 for 147 yards, rushed for two touchdowns during the game, but also threw two interceptions.
Rahjai Harris had 220 of ECU’s 326 yards rushing, and his sensational sprint near the end of the game gave the Pirates (8-5) the lead back after they’d blown a 13-point advantage in the fourth.
But after an interception by Dontavius Nash ended N.C. State’s final drive, East Carolina’s attempt to run out the clock was interrupted by large-scale fight between the two in-state rivals — who play each other again to start next season.
Three players for ECU and five for N.C. State were ejected.
ECU (8-5) trailed 21-20 and took over the ball at its own 14, and after two incompletions, the Pirates decided to run the ball with Harris. He had a good hole to the left for a big gain, then cut back past the final defender on his way to the end zone.
CJ Bailey threw three touchdown passes for the Wolfpack (6-7), who rallied from a 20-7 deficit in the fourth. Bailey threw a 15-yard scoring strike to Justin Joly on fourth down, then N.C. State forced ECU’s first punt of the game and took the lead on a trick play.
Bailey handed off to Hollywood Smothers, then Smothers pitched to Keenan Jackson, who pitched the ball back to Bailey. The N.C. State quarterback quickly dumped the ball off to Smothers, who had plenty of blockers in front of him and went all the way to the end zone for a 33-yard TD and a 21-20 lead.
It wasn’t enough as the ACC completed a desultory day. ACC teams are 1-9 in postseason bowls and playoff games this year after four more went down Saturday. North Carolina (Fenway), Boston College (Pinstripe), Miami (Pop Tarts) and NC State (Military) all lost.
Louisville, Duke and Virginia Tech still have games in the coming days for the league.
ECU quarterback Katin Houser opened the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown run. After an East Carolina field goal, Bailey got the Wolfpack on the board with an 8-yard scoring pass to Dacari Collins in the second quarter.
The Pirates led 13-7 at halftime and then drove for a touchdown to start the third quarter. After Houser’s 4-yard TD run, ECU lined up to go for 2, but after a delay of game penalty had to kick the extra point.
Takeaways
N.C. State: The Wolfpack put up a good battle in the final quarter, but ultimately N.C. State’s defense didn’t do enough on this day.
East Carolina: The Pirates have a lot to feel good about. They won five of their final six games after coach Mike Houston was fired. His replacement, Blake Harrell, was rewarded by having his interim tag removed, and this game showed why.
Up next
N.C. State can feel a little better about the future after the way Bailey, a 6-foot-6 freshman, handled this game. The same is true for East Carolina with its new coach.
However, the brawl means both coaches have work to do keeping their players under control when they see each other again in the 2025 opener.