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ECU Upsets West Virginia

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 7, 2008

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Skip Holtz followed his biggest coaching victory at East Carolina with an even more impressive one.
Jonathan Williams had two short touchdown runs, quarterback Patrick Pinkney was nearly perfect and the Pirates routed No. 8 West Virginia 24-3 on Saturday for their third straight win over a ranked team.

Pinkney was 22 of 28 for 236 yards with a touchdown for East Carolina (2-0), which opened the season with a last-minute upset of then-No. 17 Virginia Tech.

This one was decided much earlier. The Pirates never trailed, kept Pat White in check, outgained West Virginia 386-251 and were in control from start to finish.

They cruised to their first upset of a top-10 team since the Steve Logan-led team stunned then-No. 9 Miami 27-23 on Sept. 23, 1999, in a game played 90 miles west in Raleigh because of Hurricane Floyd-related damage.

These Pirates may have done something even more remarkable - they followed last season's Hawaii Bowl victory over then-No. 22 Boise State by taking care of the two toughest teams on this year's schedule. Those wins could propel them back into the Top 25 for the first time since '99 while keeping them in the conversation for an at-large BCS berth.

White rushed for 97 yards on 20 carries and finished 11 of 18 for 72 yards for the Mountaineers (1-1), who for the second time in four games as a top-10 team were stunned by an unranked team dating back to a loss to Pittsburgh last December that kept them out of the national championship game.

Pat McAfee kicked a 26-yard field goal for West Virginia's only points. The Mountaineers were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 45-3 loss at Miami in 2001.

AKRON 42, SYRACUSE 28

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Chris Jacquemain threw three touchdown passes, including a 12-yarder to Andre Jones midway through the fourth quarter to break a tie, and Akron held off struggling Syracuse.

For the Zips (1-1), coming off a 38-17 loss at No. 11 Wisconsin, it was only their second win over a BCS conference team. They upset North Carolina State two years ago.

It was the first of four straight home games for the Orange (0-2), now 7-30 under Coach Greg Robinson.

LOUISVILLE 51,

TENNESSEE TECH 10

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hunter Cantwell threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns and Victor Anderson ran for 114 yards and a score as Louisville routed Tennessee Tech.

Brock Bolen added two touchdowns on the ground and Louisville's defense continued its dominant play as the Cardinals bounced back following a loss to rival Kentucky in the season opener.

PITTSBURGH 27,

BUFFALO 16

PITTSBURGH - LeSean McCoy scored on three short runs and Pittsburgh managed to avoid losing at home to a Mid-American Conference school for the second week in a row, driving for two touchdowns in the second half to hold off Buffalo.

McCoy scored on runs of 3, 1 and 2 yards while rushing for 93 yards.

CONNECTICUT 12,

TEMPLE 9 (OT)

PHILADELPHIA - Donald Brown rushed for a career-high 214 yards on a rain-soaked field and scored the winning touchdown in overtime to lead Connecticut to victory over Temple.

Brown held on tight all game to a slick ball and finally burst through into the end zone on a 7-yard run on UConn's first possession in overtime. He helped the Huskies (2-0) overcome sloppy play and missed field goals that had them trailing 6-0 entering the fourth quarter.

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