East Carolina @ SMU preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2014 ) Southern Methodist 24, East Carolina 45

Junior quarterback James Summers came off the bench to breathe some life into East Carolina's offense last week in a stunning victory over Virginia Tech. Summers and usual starter Blake Kemp likely will share time under center as the Pirates hit the road for an American Athletic Conference game at SMU on Saturday.

East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeil said he will use both quarterbacks as the Pirates search for their first conference win of the season. Kemp - who has started every game this season - played well against the Hokies, but Summers was superb as he rushed for 179 yards and two scores while throwing for another touchdown as the Pirates rallied from a 14-0 deficit on the way to a 35-28 victory. Saturday's game is the AAC opener for SMU, whose lone win came against North Texas and whose defense has been riddled by opponents thus far. The Mustangs, excusably, allowed 56 points to both Baylor and TCU, but there was no excuse for James Madison to hang 48 points on them last week.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPNNews. LINE: East Carolina -5.5

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (2-2, 0-1 AAC): Summers rushed for touchdowns of 41 and 5 yards and also threw a crucial 26-yard scoring pass on a 4th-and-12 play to Isaiah Jones for the Mustangs. East Carolina is in the midst of a grueling stretch during which it plays four of five games on the road and hasn't won away from home this season. Jones, a junior, is fifth in the nation with 32 receptions after hauling in 81 passes last season.

ABOUT SMU (1-3, 0-0): The Mustangs are allowing 43.3 points per game, which ranks 119th out of 127 FBS teams, and coach Chad Morris is promising changes. "There are some areas where we have deficiencies that we're trying to cover up and move guys around, but we can't keep giving up the big play," Morris said. SMU allowed James Madison to amass 729 yards of offense, which was acceptable against national powers TCU and Baylor but not the Dukes.

EXTRA POINTS

1. East Carolina leads the series 3-2 - including last season, when it posted a 45-24 win in its AAC debut.

2. This is the third road game in the last four weeks for the Pirates.

3. SMU WR Courtland Sutton notched five receptions for 137 yards and a touchdown against James Madison and leads the team with 17 catches, five of them for scores.

PREDICTION: East Carolina 37, SMU 30