East Carolina's Pick-six Rescues a 20-17 Win at Old Dominion
Take away one 67-yard interception return and East Carolina loses this game 17-13. The Pirates scored 20 points, 7 of them came from the defense, and that is how a team with 103 passing yards beats Old Dominion 20-17.
East Carolina got the first score, a 25-yard touchdown pass from Jason Dickerson to Ja'Keith Hamilton. Old Dominion then scored 17 straight in the second quarter: a Nathanial Eichner field goal, a 23-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Daevon Iles, and an 18-yard Quinn Henicle run. That made it 17-7 Monarchs, the biggest lead of the day.
Noah Perez cut it to 17-10 with a 36-yard field goal as the half expired. Then Ayden Duncanson returned an interception 67 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter to make it 17-17. Perez kicked a 24-yard field goal with 9:39 left in the fourth for the final points, and nobody scored after that. There were two lead changes and a single tie.
Neither offense did much. Old Dominion had 295 total yards against 280 for East Carolina, and the Monarchs actually ran for more (201 yards to 177). The difference was turnovers: Old Dominion threw an interception and lost a fumble, while East Carolina lost one fumble. Each side scored a defensive touchdown, and the one that came off the interception was the one that tied it. Of the 37 points scored, 14 came from defensive touchdowns.
Both teams are now 1-2. Fantasy takeaway: Henicle led all scorers at 17.1 points, nearly all of it on his legs.