Pirates Look For 2-0 Start
September 08, 2010 | Football
Sept. 8, 2010
Stadium Bag Policy | Football Parking | 2010 Sportsmanship
ECU Game Notes
| Memphis Game Notes
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina will try to improve its record to 2-0 for only the second time since 1999 when the Pirates battle Memphis in a league matchup at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium beginning at 12 noon. ECU, which opened the Ruffin McNeill era with a 51-49 victory over Tulsa Sunday, will also close out a two-game homestand and begin a month-long hiatus from Greenville after it meets the Tigers. The Pirates will look to extend their league home winning streak to nine straight and run their intra-division record to 19-7 (since 2005), which also includes a run of seven consecutive triumphs.
Battling Within The East Division - 5-0 In ‘09
The Pirates are 18-7 (.720) against Conference USA East Division opponents since the league implemented division play in 2005 ... ECU is 10-3 at home and 8-4 on the road in games against Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss, UAB and UCF ... Before taking all five divisional matchups in 2009, the Pirates posted a 4-1 record in 2008, a 3-2 slate in 2007, a 4-1 mark in 2006 and a 2-3 ledger in 2005 ... On the flipside, ECU is 11-5 all-time against West Division members (1-0 in ‘10).
Trading Purple For Red
Two true freshmen experienced action vs. Tulsa - DB Damon Magazu and H Trent Tignor, thus wiping out potential redshirt seasons for the duo ... Magazu netted one stop on special teams while Tignor held on six extra-point attempts and one field goal try - all successful kicks.
Buckling Down After Touchdowns
In the last four games, East Carolina’s opponents have failed to convert a PAT seven times - two blocked kicks, two missed kicks and three failed two-point conversions ... Recently, Tulsa attempted a two-pointer after scoring its second, third and fourth-quarter touchdowns and was unsuccessful on all three occasions during the two-point loss.
Building Blocks Of Success
The Pirates have won 15 of 17 games in which it has recorded a blocked kick or punt during the last five-plus seasons ... ECU’s second-quarter block of a Tulsa field goal attempt was the Pirates fourth block in their past three home games (also knocked down PAT attempts against Houston and Southern Miss, and a FGA against the Golden Eagles) ... In addition to six in 2009, ECU also blocked five kicks in 2008, four in ‘07, one in ‘06 and two in ‘05.
A New M.O.?
Although one game is certainly not an indicator of a season-long pattern, East Carolina’s second-half production against Tulsa doesn’t mirror past Pirate scoring efforts ... ECU rolled up 34 (67%) of its 51 points in the second half Sunday, a contrast to the “score-early-and-hold-them-off” mentality last season (39.7 percent of scoring in the final 30 minutes).
Getting At Least One In 31 Straight
East Carolina has forced at least one turnover in 31 consecutive contests, dating back to a flawless Marshall performance on Nov. 10, 2007 ... The Pirate defense and special teams squad have only come up empty on seven occasions in 66 games spanning the last five-plus years.
