Pirates Have First Road Test At Virginia Tech
September 15, 2010 | Football
Sept. 15, 2010
ECU Game Notes
| Virginia Tech Game Notes
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina will face the first of three BCS members on its 2010 schedule when the Pirates travel to Blacksburg Saturday to meet Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium/Worsham Field for their first non-league matchup of the season. The meeting against the Hokies will also open a three-game road swing for ECU, which will return to in-state competition in two weeks when it visits North Carolina.
East Carolina, which will try to improve its record to 3-0 for only the second time since 1999, will also be looking to become the first Pirate squad to capture a victory in a non-conference opponent's home stadium since 2006 (21-16 at N.C. State) and end a run of six-straight setbacks.
The Series
Virginia Tech leads 10-5 ... After the Hokies opened the series with a 37-2 win in 1956, the two programs observed a 31-year hiatus before meeting on an annual basis for eight seasons beginning in 1987 ... After ECU won four of the first seven matchups, Virginia Tech rolled off six straight before the Pirates snapped the streak by upsetting the Hokies 27-22 in Charlotte in 2008 ... Virginia Tech has won six of eight in Blacksburg and four of six in Greenville.
East Carolina Against The Atlantic Coast Conference
East Carolina has compiled an all-time record of 28-63-1 (.310) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ... In addition to the Pirates' 5-10 mark against Virginia Tech, ECU also owns a 10-16 ledger against N.C. State, 5-5 vs. Duke, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 2-9 vs. Miami, 2-9-1 vs. North Carolina and 0-7 vs. Florida State ... The Pirates have won five of 12 games against ACC opponents in the last five years, beginning with the 2005 opener vs. Duke, but will enter the Virginia Tech contest trying to halt a four-game slide (NCSU, UVA, UNC and VT) ... ECU will have two more shots at ACC members in `10 - facing UNC and N.C. State later this year.
Among The Nation's Best
With the release of the NCAA statistics through September 11 games, QB Dominique Davis is 1st in passing touchdowns, 3rd in passing yards per game, 9th in total offense per game and 27th in passing efficiency; WR Dwayne Harris is 24th in receptions per game, 29th in all-purpose yards per game and 32nd in receiving yards per game; RB Jonathan Williams is 34th in all-purpose yards per game and 35th in rushing yards per game; CB Travis Simmons and FS Derek Blacknall are 26th in interceptions per game; LB Dustin Lineback is 35th in tackles per game.
In Select East Carolina Company
With victories over Tulsa and Memphis to begin his East Carolina head coaching tenure, Ruffin McNeill is just one of five coaches in program history to open their Pirate career 2-0, and the first since Bill Lewis defeated Bowling Green and Cincinnati in 1989 ... The other three ECU mentors who were 2-0 include Art Baker (1985/N.C. State, SW Texas State), Pat Dye (1974/Bowling Green, East Tennessee State) and John Christenbury (1940/Kutztown State, Presbyterian) ... Ironically, Dye was McNeill's coach while he played at ECU.
Points, Points And More Points
The 100 points (51 vs. Tulsa, 49 vs. Memphis) tallied by the Pirates in the first two games are the most scored in back-to-back opening games in program history - surpassing the previous mark of 75 in 1953 when East Carolina downed Wilson Teachers 41-0 and Lenoir-Rhyne 34-0 ... In terms of any consecutive two-game period, the 100-point performance stands second all-time - one shy of 101-point effort on Nov. 10 and 17, 1979 (52/Richmond, 49/ North Texas State ) ... Head coach Ruffin McNeill played in both of those contests, home games at Ficklen Stadium, as a senior for the Pirates.
Picking Up Where We Left Off
East Carolina scored 27 points during the fourth quarter against Tulsa and started the Memphis game with 28 in the opening period - a combined 55 points in a 30-minute span that decided the outcome in both games.
Making A Good Early Impression
The Pirates netted 12 touchdowns and one field goal on their first 19 possessions of the 2010 campaign ... In all, East Carolina has scored 13 offensive TDs in two games, a production level that didn’t happen until the sixth game of the 2009 season (at SMU).
Getting It Done On First Down
East Carolina has picked up 427 yards on 71 first down plays in its first two games - an average of 6.0 yards per snap ... The Pirates have also scored four times on "1st & 10" plays and picked up 11 first downs.
