PROVO, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – A season that started out so promising has turned into a full-fledged nightmare for BYU.
Andrew Conrad kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired, Keaton Mitchell ran for 176 yards and East Carolina beat BYU 27-24 on Friday night.
The loss is BYU’s fourth straight, its longest losing streak since 2017.
Conrad, a freshmen, made the game-winning kick with a line-drive wobbler that just cleared the crossbar following two timeouts from BYU.
The Pirates were aided on their final drive with a 15-yard pass interference penalty on Kaleb Hayes on fourth-and-8 to get to the BYU 22 with 40 seconds left.
“It was a tough game, back-and-forth, and they earned the win,” said BYU head coach Kalani Sitake. “I was really proud of our guys, in comparison to last week. The guys played a lot better, but everything is looking at the result of the game more than anything. This is where the culture of the team is supposed to thrive the most. I feel really good about our team, our core values and our principles as a team. The players are going to get better from this. We will respond well and be ready to go next week.”
Mitchell carried the ball 21 times that included an 31-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. He was later hit in the head by Jacob Boren after catching an 8-yard pass from Holton Ahlers with six minutes left in the game. Mitchell finished the series, but then sat on the bench with his helmet off and didn’t play in the final drive. Boren was ejected
