ECU Closes Season With Military Bowl
December 21, 2010 | Football
Dec. 21, 2010
Gametracker | 
Listen Live | Bowl Central
Directions to RFK Stadium | RFK Stadium Information | Official Military Bowl Site
ECU Game Notes 
| Maryland Game Notes
Public Activities For The 2010 Military Bowl | DC Armory's "The After Party"
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina will make its fifth-straight bowl appearance and seventh since 2000 when it faces off against Atlantic Coast Conference member Maryland in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman on Wednesday, Dec. 29 beginning at 2:30 p.m. (ET) at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.
The Pirates can guarantee their fifth consecutive winning season with a victory against the Terrapins - a first since the 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979 campaigns - but will be looking to bounce back after closing out regular season play with a 45-38 overtime loss to SMU. Maryland, which earned a second-place finish in the ACC's Atlantic Division in `10, has won two of the last three and four of the last six.
The Series
The Military Bowl matchup will mark the first meeting (0-0) between the East Carolina Pirates and the Maryland Terrapins in the sport of football.
Pirate Players Against The Terrapins
Although the Military Bowl will represent East Carolina's first battle against Maryland, one current Pirate has experienced action against the Terrapins ... QB Dominique Davis made his first career start as a redshirt freshman at Boston College against UM on Nov. 29, 2008, and led the Eagles to a 28-21 win at Alumni Stadium that secured an Atlantic Division title ... He completed 12-of-24 passes for 134 yards and a pair of TDs, while also rushing for 14 yards on five carries.
East Carolina Against The Atlantic Coast Conference
East Carolina has compiled an all-time record of 29-65-1 (.310) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ... The Pirates own an 11-16 ledger against N.C. State, 5-5 vs. Duke, 5-11 vs. Virginia Tech, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 2-9 vs. Miami, 2-10-1 vs. North Carolina and 0-7 vs. Florida State ... The Pirates have won five of 13 games against ACC opponents in the last five years, beginning with a victory over Virginia in 2006, and will enter the Maryland contest trying to make it two in a row after posting a 33-27 overtime decision over N.C. State Oct. 16 (which halted a six-game slide after an earlier loss to NCSU and defeats to UVA, UNC/twice and VT/twice).
Maryland Against Conference USA
Maryland has posted a 7-3 (.700) all-time mark against current members of Conference USA ... The Terrapins have faced Tulane (4-2), SMU (2-0), UAB (1-0) and Houston (0-1) ... In its last matchup against a C-USA opponent, UM defeated UAB 39-15 in College Park on Sept. 7, 1996.
Ralph Friedgen Against The Pirates
Ralph Friedgen has squared off against East Carolina on seven (0-7) prior occasions overall, six occurring during his seven-year tenure at The Citadel from 1973 to 1979 ... While the Bulldogs' defensive line coach (1973-76), the Pirates posted 34-0 (`73), 41-21 (`74), 3-0 (`75) and 22-3 (`76) Southern Conference victories ... When Friedgen moved to the other side of the ball as offensive coordinator, ECU added 34-16 (`78) and 49-7 (`79) wins ... A one-year stint at William & Mary followed in 1980, which also featured his final matchup against East Carolina (31-23).
McNeill Against Friedgen
East Carolina's Ruffin McNeill has faced off against Maryland's Ralph Friedgen in two capacities - as a star player for ECU from 1976 to 1979 and as a member of Clemson's staff in 1985 and '86 ... McNeill's Pirates defeated Friedgen's The Citadel teams in all three meetings, but while standing on the opposite sidelines as coaches, Friedgen holds a 1-0-1 advantage.
Ruff At-A-Glance ... Post-Season Destinations
The 2010 season marks Pirate head coach Ruffin McNeill's 25th at the collegiate level ... In 16 years at college football's top level (FBS/I-A), he's been a part of 13 bowl appearances (7-6) with three different programs (Texas Tech, Fresno State, Clemson) ... In seven seasons as an assistant at the FCS (I-AA) level, McNeill coached in six playoff games during his two tours of duty at Southern Conference member Appalachian State (1989-91/1993-96).
Drawing First Blood
East Carolina currently owns a 25-29 (.463) record when meeting current FBS opponents for the first time ... Yet, the Pirates have won 10 of their last 15 "series" openers:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Current Series Record |
| 01/02/10 | Arkansas | L, 20-17/OT | Memphis, Tenn.! | UA 1-0 |
| 12/23/07 | Boise State | W, 41-38 | Honolulu, Hawai'i# | ECU 1-0 |
| 10/13/07 | UTEP | W, 45-42 | El Paso, Texas | ECU 2-0 |
| 09/02/06 | Navy | L, 28-23 | Annapolis, Md. | NAVY 2-0 |
| 10/15/05 | SMU | W, 24-17 | Dallas, Texas | even 2-2 |
| 10/08/05 | Rice | W, 41-28 | Greenville, N.C. | even 2-2 |
| 10/19/02 | South Florida | L, 46-30 | Greenville, N.C. | USF 4-0 |
| 12/22/00 | Texas Tech | W, 40-27 | Houston, Texas* | ECU 1-0 |
| 12/22/99 | TCU | L, 28-14 | Mobile, Ala.+ | ECU 2-1 |
| 10/17/98 | Alabama | L, 23-22 | Tuscaloosa, Ala. | UA 1-0 |
| 10/10/98 | UAB | W, 26-7 | Greenville, N.C. | ECU 6-4 |
| 11/08/97 | Houston | W, 28-27 | Houston, Texas | ECU 6-4 |
| 11/16/96 | Ohio | W, 55-45 | Greenville, N.C. | ECU 2-0 |
| 12/30/95 | Stanford | W, 19-13 | Memphis, Tenn.^ | ECU 1-0 |
| 11/04/95 | Army | W, 31-25 | West Point, N.Y. | ECU 8-0 |
!AutoZone Liberty Bowl; #Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl; *galleryfurniture.com Bowl; +GMAC Mobile Bowl; ^St. Jude Liberty Bowl
Not For The Faint Of Heart
The Pirates are the nation's co-leader with the most overtime games played since 2006 with eight - two occurring in 2010 (W/N.C. State, L/SMU):
| No. | School | OT Games | Record |
| 1. | East Carolina | 8 | 5-3 |
| | Buffalo | 8 | 5-3 |
| 3. | Navy | 7 | 5-2 |
| | Army | 7 | 5-2 |
| 5. | Minnesota | 6 | 2-4 |
