East Carolina has been outscored by 103 points in just three games, an average of more than 34 points per game — or twice as much as their scoring average (17).
Unsurprisingly, the Pirates are winless: 0-3.
However, in the first quarter of a Week 3 loss to Virginia Tech, their scoring margin was plus-10. Jake Verity's field goal with two minutes remaining in the opening quarter gave them a 17-7 lead over the Hokies. We won't talk about what happened after that. We won't mention they were outscored 57-0 the rest of the way.
MORE: Ranking Winless Teams by 2018 Recruiting Class
Here is one positive thing to say for each of the other winless teams.
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Baylor
At 0-3, Baylor is off to their worst start since 1999. And while it's been bad — like losing-to-Liberty bad — things are looking up for the Bears.
They welcome back a pile of injured starters in Week 4 against Oklahoma. While Terence Williams, Grayland Arnold, Lenoy Jones and others likely won't be enough to upset the Sooners, it's still a welcome sign for a program in dire need of a victory.
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Bowling Green
Bowling Green ranks 105th nationally in total offense (345 yards per game) and 120th in scoring average (14.7 points), therefore while the offense has struggled, running back Josh Cleveland and receiver Datrin Guyton have been efficient and reliable.
Cleveland is averaging 5.2 yards per carry while Guyton is averaging 24.5 yards per catch. Guyton's clip ranks 14th among all FBS players.
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Charlotte
Charlotte running back Ben LeMay had 175 total rushing yards last season as a freshman, He already has 193 this year, thanks to a 7.4 yards-per-carry average. He is four carries shy of qualifying for the national rankings, which would put him at 17th, well ahead of players like Nick Chubb and Ryan Nall.
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Georgia Southern
Thanks to an early bye in Week 3, Georgia Southern is only 0-2.
They're not 0-3.
Yay.
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Georgia State
“We fought hard," Georgia State head coach Shawn Elliott said after their 56-0 loss at Penn State last weekend. “You look up at that score and say, ‘What can you be proud of your football for?’ but I saw a lot of positives and a lot of players who took a step forward."
Elliott can be proud of true freshman defensive tackle Dontae Wilson. The 6-foot, 285-pound Georgia native had a sack, tackle for loss and forced fumble against the Nittany Lions.
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Nevada
Nevada has lost their last two games by a combined five points and led Northwestern in the fourth quarter of their eventual 11-point loss to the Wildcats in Week 1.
While losing close games is a big, big problem, first-year head coach Jay Norvell and the Wolf Pack are not playing like an 0-3 team and have showcased a lot of strengths for the rebuilding program.
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UL-Monroe
Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson was 23-for-38 for 398 yards and six touchdowns in the Tigers' win over UCLA last weekend. Two weeks earlier, he was stymied by UL-Monroe.
The Warhawks held Ferguson to 10-for-25 passing for 95 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception in a 37-29 loss. They're yielding just 173 passing yards per game and rank in the nation's top third in defensive passing efficiency.
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UMass
The lone 0-4 team in the nation, UMass is searching for anything positive. One of those items is an offense that can move the chains.
The Minutemen rank among the nation's best in first downs acquire via passing (14.5 per game) and total first downs (22). They had 25 first downs last week vs. Temple.
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UTEP
UTEP will see ECU's minus-103 scoring margin and raise them 10. The Miners have lost two games to Power Five teams (Oklahoma and Arizona) by a combined 96 points.
This might be cruel but it's (hopefully) a positive: UTEP fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brent Pease on Sunday.
The Miners were averaging 211 yards, 12.3 points and 11.7 first downs per game. They can only go up from here.
