Final
East Carolina beats Memphis 49-27, moves to 2-0
Sep 11, 2010 - 7:56 PM By AARON BEARD AP Sports WriterGREENVILLE, N.C.(AP) -- Dominique Davis threw three touchdown passes and ran for two scores to help East Carolina beat Memphis 49-27 on Saturday.
Derek Blacknall returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown in a dominating first quarter for the Pirates (2-0, 2-0 Conference USA), who are off to a fast start under new coach Ruffin McNeill. East Carolina has won its first two games for only the second time this decade and travels to No. 13 Virginia Tech next weekend.
Jon Williams ran for 109 yards and scored for the Pirates, who scored 51 points in their opener and have already as many 40-point games this season as they did during last year's run to a second straight league title.
The Tigers (0-2, 0-1) never came close to making this a game, committing three turnovers that led to touchdowns as they fell behind 28-3 in the opening period.
Memphis had a terrible start to Larry Porter's coaching tenure last week, giving up 569 total yards and committing eight penalties in the 49-7 loss at Mississippi State. The best thing they could claim from this game is they didn't let the final margin look a whole lot worse.
As for McNeill, the former East Carolina defensive back didn't have much to complain about early. The only problem was the way the Pirates slowed down after building that big lead.
Davis turned in another solid performance while directing the no-huddle spread offense McNeill and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley brought with them from Texas Tech. After throwing for 383 yards and the last-play touchdown to beat Tulsa, Davis connected with Giavanni Ruffin and Dwayne Harris for first-quarter scores and completed 13 of his first 14 passes.
But perhaps more importantly, a defense with only two returning starters showed improvement after giving up 49 points last week. First it recovered a botched snap deep in Memphis territory to set up Davis' first TD pass, then Blacknall grabbed a badly overthrown pass from Cannon Smith over the middle and raced to the end zone for a 14-0 lead just 5 1/2 minutes in.
East Carolina also recovered a fumble on a handoff between Smith and Jerrell Rhodes to set up Williams' 2-yard run for the 28-3 lead.
Even when things went well for Memphis, it didn't last. Backup quarterback Ryan Williams replaced Cannon for the second quarter and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass, only to see Paulo Henriques kick the ball out of bounds and give the Pirates the ball at the 35. Then came a late-hit penalty, followed by Jon Williams dragging several Memphis tacklers about 5 yards on a carry for a first down before Davis scored on a 1-yard keeper to make it 35-10 with 11 minutes left in the half.
Memphis never got within two possessions the rest of the game.
- NCAAF FINAL
1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
MEMPHIS 3 7 7 10 27
EAST CAROLINA 28 7 7 7 49 FINAL
SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER: EAST CAROL - TD, GIAVANNI RUFFIN 11 YD PASS
FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL
BARBOUR KICK), 4:11. EAST
CAROLINA 7-0
EAST CAROL - TD, DEREK BLACKNALL 41 YD
INTERCEPTION RETURN (MICHAEL
BARBOUR
Sep 11 3:29 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 27
EAST CAROLINA 49 0:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Sep 11 3:29 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 27
EAST CAROLINA 49 1:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Memphis 27, East Carolina 49 4th - 1:00Sep 11 3:24 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA MICHAEL BOWMAN 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 24, East Carolina 49 4th - 6:03Sep 11 3:10 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA MICHAEL BOWMAN 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 24, East Carolina 49 4th - 6:03Sep 11 3:10 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA MICHAEL BOWMAN 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 24, East Carolina 49 4th - 6:03Sep 11 3:10 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 24
EAST CAROLINA 49 6:03 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Memphis 24, East Carolina 49 4th - 6:03Sep 11 3:10 PM
TD MEMPHIS JERRELL RHODES 35 YD RUN (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 24, East Carolina 42 4th - 13:15Sep 11 2:49 PM
TD MEMPHIS JERRELL RHODES 35 YD RUN (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 24, East Carolina 42 4th - 13:15Sep 11 2:49 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 24
EAST CAROLINA 42 13:15 LEFT, 4TH QTR
Memphis 24, East Carolina 42 4th - 13:15Sep 11 2:49 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 17
EAST CAROLINA 42 0:00 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Sep 11 2:40 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DOMINIQUE DAVIS 8 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 17, East Carolina 42 3rd - 0:45Sep 11 2:37 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DOMINIQUE DAVIS 8 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 17, East Carolina 42 3rd - 0:45Sep 11 2:37 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 17
EAST CAROLINA 42 0:45 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Memphis 17, East Carolina 42 3rd - 0:45Sep 11 2:37 PM
TD MEMPHIS MARCUS RUCKER 13 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 17, East Carolina 35 3rd - 4:19Sep 11 2:27 PM
TD MEMPHIS MARCUS RUCKER 13 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 17, East Carolina 35 3rd - 4:19Sep 11 2:27 PM
TD MEMPHIS MARCUS RUCKER 13 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 17, East Carolina 35 3rd - 4:19Sep 11 2:27 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 17
EAST CAROLINA 35 4:19 LEFT, 3RD QTR
Memphis 17, East Carolina 35 3rd - 4:19Sep 11 2:27 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 10
EAST CAROLINA 35 0:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Sep 11 1:39 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DOMINIQUE DAVIS 1 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 10, East Carolina 35 2nd - 11:03Sep 11 1:09 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DOMINIQUE DAVIS 1 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 10, East Carolina 35 2nd - 11:03Sep 11 1:09 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 10
EAST CAROLINA 35 11:03 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Memphis 10, East Carolina 35 2nd - 11:03Sep 11 1:09 PM
TD MEMPHIS GREGORY RAY 33 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 10, East Carolina 28 2nd - 13:40Sep 11 1:00 PM
TD MEMPHIS GREGORY RAY 33 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 10, East Carolina 28 2nd - 13:40Sep 11 1:00 PM
TD MEMPHIS GREGORY RAY 33 YD PASS FROM RYAN WILLIAMS (PAULO HENRIQUES KICK)
Memphis 10, East Carolina 28 2nd - 13:40Sep 11 1:00 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 10
EAST CAROLINA 28 13:40 LEFT, 2ND QTR
Memphis 10, East Carolina 28 2nd - 13:40Sep 11 1:00 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 3
EAST CAROLINA 28 0:00 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Sep 11 12:51 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA JONATHAN WILLIAMS 2 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 3, East Carolina 28 1st - 0:03Sep 11 12:49 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA JONATHAN WILLIAMS 2 YD RUN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 3, East Carolina 28 1st - 0:03Sep 11 12:49 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 3
EAST CAROLINA 28 0:03 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Memphis 3, East Carolina 28 1st - 0:03Sep 11 12:49 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DWAYNE HARRIS 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 3, East Carolina 21 1st - 3:04Sep 11 12:40 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DWAYNE HARRIS 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 3, East Carolina 21 1st - 3:04Sep 11 12:40 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DWAYNE HARRIS 5 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 3, East Carolina 21 1st - 3:04Sep 11 12:40 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 3
EAST CAROLINA 21 3:04 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Memphis 3, East Carolina 21 1st - 3:04Sep 11 12:40 PM - NCAAF
MEMPHIS 3
EAST CAROLINA 14 6:20 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Memphis 3, East Carolina 14 1st - 6:20Sep 11 12:30 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DEREK BLACKNALL 41 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 0, East Carolina 14 1st - 9:37Sep 11 12:23 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA DEREK BLACKNALL 41 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 0, East Carolina 14 1st - 9:37Sep 11 12:23 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 0
EAST CAROLINA 14 9:37 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Memphis 0, East Carolina 14 1st - 9:37Sep 11 12:23 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA GIAVANNI RUFFIN 11 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 0, East Carolina 7 1st - 10:49Sep 11 12:17 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA GIAVANNI RUFFIN 11 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 0, East Carolina 7 1st - 10:49Sep 11 12:17 PM
TD EAST CAROLINA GIAVANNI RUFFIN 11 YD PASS FROM DOMINIQUE DAVIS (MICHAEL BARBOUR KICK)
Memphis 0, East Carolina 7 1st - 10:49Sep 11 12:17 PM- NCAAF
MEMPHIS 0
EAST CAROLINA 7 10:49 LEFT, 1ST QTR
Memphis 0, East Carolina 7 1st - 10:49Sep 11 12:17 PM
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