Brown’s TD lets BYU hold off East Carolina late, 45-38

But never count the Pirates out.

East Carolina scored later in the fourth on a 7-yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap, making it 38-35 BYU with just over 6 minutes left to play.

James Summers called his own number and scored a 34-yard touchdown run on 4th down as East Carolina leads BYU 7-0 in the 1st quarter.

“I was really proud of our kids. That was not an easy task”, McNeill said.

Giving a great effort, the Pirates were almost saved by a relief quarterback for the third straight game before falling at the end to BYU.

BYU wide receiver Terenn Houk (11) celebrates with offensive…

The three second-half turnovers only added to that hurdle, as the combination was too much to overcome. “I was proud of them tonight”.

But while Mangum didn’t have to throw a Hail Mary in the last second or make a TD pass on fourth down for BYU to get this win, the emotional lift he gave the team was unmistakable. Quarterback Tanner Mangum continue to replace the injured Taysom Hill to lead the Cougars offense.

“When you’re in the middle of a game you want to do all you can to keep playing and help your team win, even when you’re hurt”, Magnum said. “When it came down to that last drive, I couldn’t stay on the sideline any longer”.

Mendenhall said he only got to enjoy the emotion of the touchdown, which came with 19 seconds left to play, for a moment because ECU still had time. Chris Hairston capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to pull the Pirates within ten points at 38-28.

Unga is BYU’s all-time leading rusher. His 1-yard touchdown toss to Trevon Brown with six seconds remaining closed the BYU lead to 28-21.

BYU responded to the quick start by East Carolina with a 10-play, 75-yard march downfield.

East Carolina’s defense finally made a big play, with Yiannis Bowden intercepting BYU backup quarterback Beau Hoge and returning the ball to the BYU 43. One scoring drive was kept alive after punter Jonny Linehan faked a punt and rushed 7 yards for the first down.

Saturday’s contest will mark the first meeting (0-0) between East Carolina and BYU in the sport of football.

But BYU rallied for 28 unanswered points. Mangum went 3 for 4 on the drive for 27 yards and Brown rushed 9 yards for his fourth touchdown for the game-winner with 19 seconds remaining.