East Carolina head coach Mike Houston doesn't want his team's knack of playing from behind to become a habit. But if it results in a win, he will take it.
The Pirates, ignited by a third-quarter interception return for a score by Malik Fleming, stormed back in the second half for a 29-14 win over South Florida, delighting a rain-soaked crowd of 32,015 in a nationally-televised game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The Pirates picked off three passes for the second time this season and forced the Bulls into four turnovers as they rallied from a 14-6 halftime deficit. With their third comeback win this season, the Pirates (4-4) not only notched their first victory over USF in six games in Greenville, but they picked up successive wins for the first time in the series, snapped a brief two-game skid and posted a 2-2 start in American Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2015.
ECU also climbed out of a big second-half deficit for a road win and Marshall and recovered from an early hole to beat Charleston Southern at home. Another comeback bid fell short Saturday in a 31-24 overtime loss at Houston.
Thursday's bounce-back from a frustrating first half just proved ECU's resiliency, freshman safety Teagan Wilk said.
"As a group it shows you we just stay together, and we don't really panic," said Wilk, who forced a first-half fumble and came up with his first interception in the second half. "When you play from behind it just shows you your true identity."
Houston said that identity is one of a team growing up.
"I think that shows the maturity in the program," he said. "The past several years, they're done. But this team has a lot of mental toughness, and it was that kind of a night. We talked about that, too. Rainy, dreary night. It was going to be a tough guys' game."
Junior quarterback Holton Ahlers from Greenville fit that mold by turning in his best overall performance of the season, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown while also running for a season-high 78 yards on 11 carries.
"I thought he made really, really good decisions tonight," Houston said. "I don't know if there's a decision I really questioned that he made tonight. … I thought he was very decisive of where to go with the football. I thought he put us in good situations. I really thought, mentally, he played his best game of the year."
Ahlers continued to climb up the school's career list among quarterbacks, moving into second place on the all-time list for passing yardage with 9,076, surpassing David Garrard. He trails only Shane Carden, who passed for 11,991 yards in his career (2011-14).
His 721 completions stand six behind No. 2 Dominique Davis (727 from 2010-11).
Ahlers said incorporating his running game provided a crucial element to the offense, especially under the wet conditions.
"It was good to get going," he said. "It was going to be a wet one, so the legs are definitely important there.
Running backs Rahjai Harris and Keaton Mitchell did the bulk of the groundwork, however. Harris churned out 100 yards on 22 carries, including a 13-yard touchdown in the first half and Mitchell finished with 79 yards on 16 carries, highlighted by a 25-yard dash in the fourth quarter to make it 26-14.
The Pirates still needed a spark after plodding through the first half, turning the ball over three times and managing just one touchdown. A 16-play, 70-yard drive at the end of the half came to a disastrous end when a fourth-down try from inside the one resulted in a fumble.
But the Pirates took charge from the start of the second half kickoff with Tyler Snead returning 43 yards to set up an Ahlers to Audie Omotosho pass to trim the lead to 14-12.
"That kind of set the tone for everything," Houston said of Snead's return. "And then just a dominant performance in the second half.
After Owen Daffer missed a 39-yard field goal attempt, Fleming stepped in with his interception and returned it 31 yards for the go ahead score.
"That was a game-changer," Wilk said.
"That's probably the turning point in the ballgame," Houston said. "They're trying to isolate Malik on one of their top receivers and he's anticipating the throw right there. That's one of those plays if you're going to undercut it you better make the pick because if you don't it's a big play."
Interceptions by Wilk and Shawn Dourseau kept the door sealed.
"It was a tough first half," Houston said. "The way we responded in the third quarter was really impressive because all the momentum was against us at halftime. Any coach will tell you momentum is one of the biggest variables there is. When you've got the momentum, you feel like you're riding a wave. When it's against you it's almost suffocating."
