Will Grier made his case for the starting job, throwing two touchdown passes to lead Florida to a 31-24 win over East Carolina in a rematch of last year's Birmingham Bowl on Saturday night in Gainesville, Fla.

Grier, a redshirt freshman quarterback who backed up sophomore Treon Harris in the Gators' season-opening victory over New Mexico State last weekend, was 10 of 17 for 152 yards.

Harris also spent some time under center Saturday, completing 5 of 8 passes for 54 yards.

Florida (2-0) has three wins in as many meetings with East Carolina (1-1), including a 28-20 victory over the Pirates in the January bowl game.

Tight end DeAndre Goolsby had three catches for 94 yards and a touchdown and junior running back Kevin Taylor rushed for 55 yards and a score on 16 carries for the Gators.

East Carolina quarterback Blake Kemp racked up 333 yards on 34-of-55 passing with three touchdowns. Wide receiver Isaiah Jones totaled 135 yards and a touchdown on 14 catches for the Pirates, who were held to minus-2 rushing yards.

Kemp silenced the crowd on the opening drive, throwing a 31-yard touchdown pass to put the Pirates up 7-0 with 11:26 left in the first quarter.

Florida grabbed the lead on a 37-yard field goal from Austin Hardin with 4:08 left in the and Grier's 32-yard pass to Goolsby with 49 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Hardin missed two field goal attempts in the first half, but the Gators still led 10-7 at halftime.

Kemp's 27-yard pass to Jones gave East Carolina a 14-10 lead early in the third quarter, but Grier found Robinson for a 6-yard score, putting Florida on top 17-14 midway through the quarter.

Gators defensive back Jalen Tabor picked off Kemp and returned it 39 yards for a score late in the third quarter, making it 24-14.

A 30-yard field goal from Davis Plowman brought East Carolina within a touchdown in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, but Taylor's 7-yard touchdown rush gave Florida a 14-point advantage with just under seven minutes remaining.

Kemp hit tight end Bryce Williams for a 7-yard score to trim the lead to 31-24 with 3:04 left.

The Pirates drove into the red zone in the final minute but fumbled in the closing seconds.