East Carolina Pirates @ Liberty Flames
Kaidon Salter throws 4 TD passes, 3 the Reese Smith, and Liberty rallies, beats ECU 35-24
LYNCHBURG, Va. -- — Kaidon Salter threw three of his four touchdown passes to Reese Smith to help Liberty rally from a 17-point deficit and beat ECU 35-24 Saturday night in a game that was delayed shortly after kickoff for more than 4 1/2 hours due to inclement weather.
Liberty (4-0) has won 16 consecutive games in the regular season.
Salter was 19-of-32 passing for 233 yards and Smith finished with six receptions for 80 yards. Quinton Cooley ran for 105 yards and a touchdown and Elijah Canion's 17-yard TD reception from Salter with 2:53 left in the second quarter trimmed Liberty's deficit to 17-7 at halftime.
Salter hit Smith for a 17-yard TD to cap the opening drive of the second half and a 14-yard touchdown that gave the Flames a 21-17 lead with 2:52 left in the third quarter. Rahjai Harris' 2-yard TD run about 2 minutes later put ECU back in front going into the fourth.
Liberty responded with a 16-play, 75-yard drive that took more than 7 1/2 minutes off the clock and culminated with a 15-yard scoring strike from Salter to Smith.
Cooley capped the scoring with a 21-yard touchdown with 2 minutes to go.
Jake Garcia's 8-yard touchdown run for ECU opened the scoring about 5 minutes into the game, Marlon Gunn Jr. added a 1-yard TD run with 3:18 left in the first quarter before Andrew Conrad kicked a 35-yard field goal to give the Pirates a 17-0 lead with 11:52 to go in the second.
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Game Information
Lynchburg, VA
2025 Standings
| American ConferenceAmerican Conference | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Tulane | 7-1 | 11-3 |
| North Texas | 7-1 | 12-2 |
| Navy | 7-1 | 11-2 |
| East Carolina | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| South Florida | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Army | 4-4 | 7-6 |
| Memphis | 4-4 | 8-5 |
| UTSA | 4-4 | 7-6 |
| Temple | 3-5 | 5-7 |
| Florida Atlantic | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Rice | 2-6 | 5-8 |
| UAB | 2-6 | 4-8 |
| Tulsa | 1-7 | 4-8 |
| Charlotte | 0-8 | 1-11 |
| Conference USAConference USA | CONF | OVR |
|---|---|---|
| Kennesaw State | 7-1 | 10-4 |
| Jacksonville State | 7-1 | 9-5 |
| Western Kentucky | 6-2 | 9-4 |
| Louisiana Tech | 5-3 | 8-5 |
| Missouri State | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Florida International | 5-3 | 7-6 |
| Delaware | 4-4 | 7-6 |
| Liberty | 3-5 | 4-8 |
| Middle Tennessee | 2-6 | 3-9 |
| New Mexico State | 2-6 | 4-8 |
| UTEP | 1-7 | 2-10 |
| Sam Houston | 1-7 | 2-10 |
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