East Carolina Pirates vs Florida Gators Match Player Stats On Sep 12, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 12, 2015

Will Grier made his case for the starting job, throwing two touchdown passes to lead Florida to a 31-24 win over East Carolina in a rematch of last year's Birmingham Bowl on Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla.

Grier, a redshirt freshman quarterback who backed up sophomore Treon Harris in the Gators' season-opening victory over New Mexico State last weekend, was 10 of 17 for 152 yards.

Harris also spent some time under center Saturday, completing 5 of 8 passes for 54 yards.

Florida (2-0) has three wins in as many meetings with East Carolina (1-1), including a 28-20 victory over the Pirates in the January bowl game.

Tight end DeAndre Goolsby had three catches for 94 yards and a touchdown and junior running back Kevin Taylor rushed for 55 yards and a score on 16 carries for the Gators.

East Carolina quarterback Blake Kemp racked up 333 yards on 34-of-55 passing with three touchdowns. Wide receiver Isaiah Jones totaled 135 yards and a touchdown on 14 catches for the Pirates, who were held to minus-2 rushing yards.

Kemp silenced the crowd on the opening drive, throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to put the Pirates up 7-0 with 11:26 left in the first quarter.

Florida grabbed the lead on a 37-yard field goal from Austin Hardin with 4:08 left in the and Grier's 32-yard pass to Goolsby with 49 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Hardin missed two field goal attempts in the first half, but the Gators still led 10-7 at halftime.

Kemp's 27-yard pass to Jones gave East Carolina a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter, but Grier found Robinson for a 6-yard score, putting Florida on top 17-14 midway through the quarter.

Gators defensive back Jalen Tabor picked off Kemp and returned it 39 yards for a score late in the third quarter, making it 24-14.

A 30-yard field goal from Davis Plowman brought East Carolina within a touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Taylor's 7-yard touchdown rush gave Florida a 14-point advantage with just under seven minutes remaining.

Kemp hit tight end Bryce Williams for a 7-yard score to trim the lead to 31-24 with 3:04 left.

The Pirates drove into the red zone in the final minute but fumbled in the closing seconds.