SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 12, 2013
Tulane 36, East Carolina 33 (3 OT): Cairo Santos booted a 42-yard field goal in the third overtime and Devin Powell filled in capably at quarterback as the host Green Wave edged the Pirates.
Powell went 23-for-39 for 224 yards and threw both of his touchdown passes to Ryan Grant in overtime while getting the spot start in place of Nick Montana, who sat out with soreness. Grant finished with six catches for 90 yards for Tulane (5-2, 3-0 Conference USA), which kept pace with Rice atop the C-USA West Division.
Shane Carden completed 41-of-55 passes for 480 yards and a touchdown and Vintavious Cooper piled up 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground to go along with 84 receiving yards for East Carolina (4-2, 2-1). Justin Hardy added career highs of 17 catches and 230 yards but Warren Harvey missed a 34-yard field goal in the third overtime, leaving the door open for Santos.
The Green Wave grabbed the lead on Santos’ 42-yard field goal in the third and made it a 16-6 gap when Derrick Strozier picked off Carden deep in Tulane territory and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown with 3:58 left in the third.
The Pirates fought back to tie it in the fourth, forcing overtime when Cooper capped a 72-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:48 left. Carden and Powell traded TD passes in the first overtime, and Powell found Grant in the second before Cooper’s 2-yard burst forced a third extra session.