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East Carolina wins Conference USA title

Dec 6, 2008 - 10:59 PM TULSA, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- East Carolina began the season as the top team in Conference USA and ended it that way.

Ben Hartman kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:43 remaining as East Carolina defeated Tulsa, 27-24, Saturday in the Conference USA championship game.

The Pirates (9-4), took advantage of seven turnovers, won their first league title since the 1976 Southern Conference championship and earned an automatic berth to the Liberty Bowl.

"It is somewhat ironic that our low point was here at Tulsa four years ago when we got beat and dropped to a 3-6 record," East Carolina coach Skip Holtz said. "It is a real tribute to these players about the way they fought to get back to this point."

Tulsa's David Johnson, the top-rated passer in the Football Bowl Subdivision, threw a career-high five interceptions.

"We just threw the ball poorly today," said Tulsa coach Todd Graham, whose team reportedly is headed to the GMAC Bowl. "It was poor today. We didn't do a very good job with our plan. They sat back on us and we made some bad decisions."

After beginning the season with victories over ranked opponents Virginia Tech and West Virginia, East Carolina climbed into the top 25 and was mentioned as a possible candidate for team for a BCS berth.

However, following a 3-0 start, East Carolina endured a three-game losing streak, falling to North Carolina State, Houston and Virginia. The Pirates regrouped to win five of their last six regular-season games.

"We had a very difficult early road and had a lull there in the middle where we lost three games in a row, but once we got back into back into the conference, this football team and these seniors really drew a line in the sand," Holtz added.

Tulsa (10-3), which started 8-0 before losing to Arkansas, fell in the Conference USA championship game for the second straight year.

The Golden Hurricane had tied the contest, 24-24, on Johnson's 8-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Collums with just under nine minutes remaining.

Norman Whitley rushed for 104 yards for East Carolina - most of it on a 69-yard TD run that gave the Pirates a 24-17 with 11:40 remaining in the third quarter.