Scores

Final

East Carolina 24

(2-1, 1-0 C-USA)

Southern Miss 14

(0-2, 0-1 C-USA)

Coverage: CBS Sports Network

3:30 PM ET, September 15, 2012

M.M. Roberts Stadium, HATTIESBURG, MS

1 2 3 4 T
ECU 0 3 21 024
USM 7 0 0 714

Top Performers

Passing: S. Carden (ECU) - 171 YDS, 1 TD

Rushing: D. Johnson (USM) - 13 CAR, 76 YDS

Receiving: J. Hardy (ECU) - 5 REC, 92 YDS, 1 TD

East Carolina 24, Southern Miss. 14

Associated Press

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Shane Carden threw for 171 yards and a TD and East Carolina capitalized on three third-quarter turnovers to beat Southern Mississippi 24-14 Saturday in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

The Pirates (2-1, 1-0 C-USA) trailed 7-3 at halftime, but forced Southern Mississippi's (0-2, 0-1) freshman quarterback Anthony Alford into an interception and two fumbles on the first three Golden Eagle drives of the second half. That led to three third-quarter touchdowns.

After an interception early in the second half, East Carolina's defense held on fourth-and-1 at its 16-yard line. Carden took over and led the Pirate offense 84 yards in four plays for a 10-7 lead.

A fumble by Alford on the very next drive led to an 8-yard TD run by Carden. Another fumble on the next possession was scooped up by Montese Overton and returned 16 yards for East Carolina's last score.

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Team Stat Comparison

 
ECU
USM
1st Downs1320
Total Yards228324
Passing171233
Rushing5791
Penalties4-478-61
3rd Down Conversions4-155-16
4th Down Conversions0-01-3
Turnovers03
Possession30:0729:53

Passing Leaders

East CarolinaC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Carden13/271716.310
Southern MissC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Campbell11/211456.910

Rushing Leaders

East CarolinaCARYDSAVGTDLG
Cooper13513.9019
Dobson681.304
Southern MissCARYDSAVGTDLG
Johnson13765.8014
Alford20130.7123

Receiving Leaders

East CarolinaRECYDSAVGTDLG
Hardy59218.4155
Bodenheimer34515.0092
Southern MissRECYDSAVGTDLG
Triplett46616.5131
Lampley25226.0031

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERECUUSM
TD10:17Anthony Alford 1 Yd Run (Corey Acosta Kick) 07
SECOND QUARTERECUUSM
FG00:00Warren Harvey 54 Yd 37
THIRD QUARTERECUUSM
TD04:49Justin Hardy 55 Yd Pass From Shane Carden (Warren Harvey Kick) 107
TD02:41Shane Carden 8 Yd Run (Warren Harvey Kick) 177
TD01:19Montese Overton 16 Yd Fumble Return (Warren Harvey Kick) 247
FOURTH QUARTERECUUSM
TD13:47Markese Triplett 8 Yd Pass From Chris Campbell (Corey Acosta Kick) 2414