GREENVILLE — It didn’t exactly go as scripted for 22nd ranked ECU Saturday, but the Pirates secured a 45-24 victory over visiting SMU to start off their American Athletic Conference tenure in the win column.

ECU was favored in Las Vegas by 40 points heading into the matchup, and the Mustangs had only managed to score 12 points through their first four games. But SMU was within 11 points of ECU (35-24) early in the fourth quarter because the Mustangs found something they liked in the Pirate secondary to the tune of 339 passing yards.

The ECU defense proved it could stop the run early, so SMU responded by throwing the ball on just about every play from the second quarter on. Quarterback Garrett Krstich threw 67 times, completing 42 passes, dinking and dunking his way around ECU defensive backs.

“Quick passes — something that we really weren’t looking for at the time. We didn’t really go over that in practice,” said ECU linebacker Zeek Bigger. “No game is going to be easy in this conference. We’re going to have to fight. But hey, we came out here and won the game.”

The Pirate defense will likely be the subject of some criticism this weekend because it allowed 390 yards of offense to a team that was averaging 207 (last in FBS), but at a second glance, ECU got the crucial stops it needed early in the fourth quarter when the result was in doubt. The Mustangs, an 0-4 team with nothing to lose, also converted five of six fourth downs.

Quarterback Shane Carden (31-for-41, 410 yards, four TD’s) was his typical self Saturday, erasing any doubt in the outcome that ECU’s defense created, using his legs to make plays more than in previous games this season (seven carries, 47 yards).

“I thought we had some great drives, but in the middle we had some moments where I thought we could have done a little better,” said Carden.

The senior, dark-horse Heisman candidate also became ECU’s all-time career passing leader in the third quarter on a 30-yard connection with receiver Isaiah Jones (nine catches, 130 yards, one TD). Carden surpassed David Garrard’s record (9,029 yards from 1998-2001) and is now sitting on 9,134 total.

“It’s an honor to be the leader in that category,” said Carden. “I know [Garrard] is a great guy who represented the school well. It’s hard to compare stats because I obviously throw the ball a lot in this offense.”

In the early stages of the contest, ECU started just fine, jumping out to a 21-0 lead in the second quarter on the back of one touchdown reception from Isaiah Jones and two from Justin Hardy. The senior Hardy, who did all his damage in the first half (eight receptions, 120 yards, three TD’s), has had an illustrious career, but this was his first three-touchdown game, compensating well for not scoring a touchdown since the second game (South Carolina).

From 11:28 left in the second quarter on, SMU scored the same amount of points as the Pirates (24), but ECU stepped up when it needed to most. Leading 35-21 with under three minutes in the third, ECU turned the ball over on downs at its own 35, but the Pirate defense held and forced a field goal that cut the lead to 35-24. On the ensuing kickoff, Pirate freshman Quay Johnson coughed up the ball and SMU took over at the ECU 26. Again, the Pirate defense held, allowing just three yards on the next three plays, and SMU’s Cody Rademacher missed a 40-yard field goal attempt wide right. Carden and the offense was able to cruise the rest of the way for 10 unanswered points.

“I thought we did a good job coming out and playing as a team,” said head coach Ruffin McNeill. “[SMU] has faced three nationally ranked teams in Texas A&M, Baylor and TCU before us, so they weren’t going to be intimidated. I thought our guys missed some opportunities today on all three sides of the ball. But we did a good job of staying with that team and pulling out a win.”

Next week, No. 22 ECU, which likely won’t move far in the polls, will hit the road for a Saturday game against conference opponent Southern Florida in Tampa Bay.