ECU vs. Virginia Tech: Score and Reaction to Pirates' Upset Win

Virginia Tech's run in the Top 25 might be over just one week after it started.  

The 17th-ranked Hokies were upset by the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday at home, 28-21, in one of the biggest surprises of the 2014 college football season thus far. One week removed from a road victory over then-No. 8 Ohio State, the Hokies couldn't overcome an underrated East Carolina team that no one will overlook from here on out. 

Frank Beamer's squad trailed 21-0 early, with the Lane Stadium crowd facing a three-possession deficit before all of the seats were filled. Despite a late comeback, the Hokies couldn't muster enough success to get over the hump against a Pirates defense that hounded them all afternoon. 

Pirates quarterback Shane Carden shredded the Hokies secondary that looked so dominant a week prior, throwing for more than 400 yards, as ESPN College Football captured:

The Hokies did battle back against the odds, with Michael Brewer throwing three touchdown passes, including the game-tying one with just 1:20 left. Virginia Tech's defense clamped down by shutting out ECU from the second quarter to late in the fourth.

But with the game on the line, Carden led his Pirates down the field in 1:04—thanks to a pair of big receptions from Cam Worthy—and slipped around the outside on a quarterback sneak to take the lead for good with 16 seconds left. 

Carden's performance was one of the best of the season, but it also had some all-time significance, as ESPN Stats and Information found:

Brewer had one last chance to tie the game from about 40 yards out on a heave, but he sailed the ball out of the end zone. Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer couldn't think of a more fitting ending:

The defeat marked the continuance of a disturbing trend for Hokies fans, as ESPN's Brett McMurphy illustrated:

The victory was no fluke for the Pirates, who outgained Virginia Tech 502-389 and kept the Hokies under 100 yards rushing for the first time in 2014. For a vast majority of the 60 minutes, the Pirates controlled the tempo up front.

Beamer insisted his team didn't overlook ECU, per Jacob Emert of TechSideline.com:

The Hokies didn't get long to enjoy last weekend's huge victory, as Sports Illustrated's Zac Ellis notes:

Believe it or not, East Carolina could have been up by much more early on. Already up 21-0, the Pirates had a touchdown called back that would've made it a four-score game and squandered three straight red-zone opportunities.

Squandered opportunities were much more common on the other side, with Virginia Tech's Brewer—days after the game of his life—throwing two ghastly first-half interceptions to set up those East Carolina chances.

Don Petersen/Associated Press

Eventually, Brewer and his receivers started to figure out the Pirates secondary and amassed 298 yards through the air. But it wasn't enough. 

Virginia Tech's rise and impending fall in the rankings will be quite the contrast. It finished considerably outside of the Top 25 in the preseason and Week 2 Associated Press rankings, but it shot up to No. 17 after its shocking victory over Ohio State on Sept. 6.

Though, as NFL Network's Jenn Brown noted, college football is filled with unpredictability, and Saturday was a perfect example:

The rhetoric around Beamer's team quickly shifted from one of rebuilding to championship-contending after last weekend, which isn't surprising given how monumental and unexpected the road win over the Buckeyes was. But if Saturday was any indication, this team still has a long way to go.

Last weekend was a dark time for the Big Ten, in part thanks to Virginia Tech's victory, but the Hokies' loss Saturday puts the pressure on the ACC, as ESPN's Edward Aschoff noted:

Voters and coaches haven't already forgotten about what Virginia Tech just did in Columbus, Ohio, but losing to an East Carolina team without a single Top 25 vote won't be a good look for the Hokies. If Virginia Tech stays in the Top 25—and that's a big if—it will likely be seated near the back.

As for the Pirates, well, the kids in Greenville, North Carolina, will certainly enjoy it, as Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples noted:

Many thought East Carolina was the real deal after it nearly knocked off South Carolina last weekend, but it still failed to generate a Top 25 vote in the Week 3 rankings. After simply dominating a Top 25 team for a half and mounting a late game-winning drive in dramatic fashion, the Pirates have put future opponents on notice. 

Putting future opponents on notice is something Virginia Tech did in a big-time way last weekend, but its fellow ACC counterparts will pay attention to Saturday's result just as much. While the Hokies looked like a dark-horse College Football Playoff contender last weekend, now it's apparent that Virginia Tech might be further away from contention than it recently led itself to believe.

Virginia Tech will have to shake off the loss quickly before Georgia Tech (3-0) arrives to open up ACC play. 

Meanwhile, ECU hopes to just keep on rolling as it gears up to host North Carolina—another ACC foe. And after the result the Pirates posted this weekend, it's safe to say that Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium will be rocking in the hopes of another upset.