GREENVILLE, N.C. — Jordon Brown ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns and East Carolina has its second straight win with a 29-14 victory over USF on Saturday.
A 67-yard TD pass from Ross Metheny to Antwon Thomas with 24 seconds left in the first half gave the Pirates (2-0) a 19-14 halftime lead. East Carolina, which held the Bulls (1-1) to 237 yards offense, went back ahead on a 32-yard run by Brown and Metheny finished the drive with a 1-yard TD run.
East Carolina went inside the 1 on four straight possessions and scored touchdowns on each one, at the 8- and 12-yard lines. The Pirates struggled to maintain a first-half lead last week, falling to Louisiana Tech.
Metheny completed 15 of 33 passes for 171 yards and two TDs. Michael Washington ran for a career-high 126 yards and had a 32-yard touchdown.
In the final four minutes, USF managed to move the ball inside the 20, but the Pirates defense contained Cardon Johnson. Late in the game, the USF quarterback was driving with the game out of reach, but was sacked twice and threw an interception, the last by Keith Lewis.
Johnson was the first USF quarterback to throw multiple TD passes in his first three career games.
He finished 11 of 29 for 146 yards. Kamrin Solomon ran for a career-high 98 yards.
