Conrad's line-drive FG as time expires gets ECU past BYU

Oct 29, 2023, 11:54 am

PROVO, Utah -- — Andrew Conrad kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired, Keaton Mitchell ran for 176 yards and East Carolina beat BYU 27-24 on Friday night.

Conrad, a freshmen, made the game-winning kick with a line-drive wobbler that just cleared the crossbar following two timeouts from BYU.

It was the fourth consecutive win for East Carolina (6-3) while BYU (4-5) has lost four straight.

The Pirates were aided on their final drive with a 15-yard pass interference penalty on fourth-and-8 to get to the BYU 22 with 40 seconds left.

Mitchell carried the ball 21 times that included an 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He was later hit in the head by Jacob Boren after catching an 8-yard pass from Holton Ahlers with six minutes left in the game. Mitchell finished the series, but then sat on the bench with his helmet off and didn't play in the final drive. Boren was ejected for targeting.

Ahlers threw for 197 yards and added a pair of short-yardage touchdown runs for the Pirates.

Jaren Hall threw two touchdown passes and was 18-of-25 passing for 144 yards and added 60 yards on the ground for BYU. Lopini Katoa had 116 yards rushing on 20 carries with a 24-yard touchdown run.

------