Pirates Host Tar Heels In Carolina Clash
September 28, 2011 | Football
Sept. 28, 2011
| East Carolina Game 4: North Carolina | |
| Date | Saturday, October 1 |
| Time | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) |
| Parking | Information and Map |
| Live Game Coverage |  Radio: WNCT 107.9FM and ECU All-Access Listen Live |  Television: CBS Sports Network |
| Internet Options | Gametracker | Live Chat |
| Mobile Connect | Live Chat for Mobile Devices |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | North Carolina |
| Statistics | East Carolina | North Carolina |
| Pirate Football Central |
Gameday Central | Roster | Fact Book |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina will play the last of two Atlantic Coast Conference opponents on its 2011 schedule when it welcomes North Carolina to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Saturday for an 8:00 p.m. nationally-televised contest. With its last non-conference game scheduled against Navy later this month, ECU's battle against the Tar Heels also represents the final matchup against automatic Bowl Championship Series (BCS) qualifying members this season for the Pirates, who dropped earlier meetings to South Carolina and Virginia Tech.
In addition, the matchup marks the end of a three-game homestand for East Carolina, which will follow with consecutive road tilts at Houston (Oct. 8) and Memphis (Oct. 15) before meeting the Midshipmen on Oct. 22.
The Pirates Against The Tar Heels
North Carolina leads 10-2-1 .... The `11 clash between the Pirates and Tar Heels will mark just the third meeting at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium after two-straight matchups in Chapel Hill ... ECU's only wins in the series came in 1975 and in the two teams' last battle in Greenville (2007) ... The 24-24 deadlock in 1979 represents one of two all-time ties in ECU's history against current FBS members (Louisiana Tech in 1989 is the other).
The Last Meeting
North Carolina 42, East Carolina 17
Oct. 2, 2010 @Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill, N.C.
North Carolina used a clock-killing, 222-yard second-half rushing effort on offense and three interceptions, one of which included a touchdown return, on defense to post a convincing 42-17 non-conference win over East Carolina ... For the second consecutive game, the Pirates were outscored 28-3 after intermission after enjoying 7-0 and 14-7 leads in the first half ... The Tar Heels, who were held to just 41 ground yards in the opening 30 minutes, were sparked by running backs Johnny White (140/103 in second half) and Shaun Draughn (137/120) after intermission to help UNC hold possession for nearly 22 minutes ... The Pirates scored on two of their first three possessions to build a 14-7 edge after receiver Dwayne Harris found Joe Womack for a 39-yard scoring strike six seconds into the second quarter ... ECU's offense racked up 231 total yards (192 passing) in the first half, but also surrendered its second TD in as many games when Da'Norris Searcy picked off a Dominique Davis pass at the Pirate 46-yard line and raced into the endzone late in the second quarter to erase East Carolina's last lead of the contest ... The Tar Heels also cashed in two other Davis interceptions in the second half, one at the ECU 26-yard line and the other at the UNC 38-yard line, with two of Draughn's three TD runs that closed out the scoring ... East Carolina jumped out to a 7-0 lead after Davis connected with Lance Lewis on a 13-yard pass that capped a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive ...The Pirates were penalized 13 times for 120 yards.
The Last Meeting In Greenville
East Carolina 34, North Carolina 31
Sept. 8, 2007 @Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C.
Junior quarterback Patrick Pinkney threw for a personal-best 406 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start while Ben Hartman bounced back from three earlier misses to drill a game-winning 39-yard field goal on the contest's last play to lift East Carolina to a 34-31 non-conference win over North Carolina at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Pinkney's performance, which ranked as the second-highest single-game passing total in school history at that time, helped the Pirates overcome a 10-point second quarter deficit in front of the 43,387 fans - then the fourth-largest crowd in stadium history ... ECU also used a stellar outing from running back Chris Johnson, who accounted for three touchdowns and racked up a career-best 136 receiving yards on five catches ... Hartman, who had missed from 30, 32 and 37 yards out earlier in the game, connected on the deciding three-pointer to cap a quick five-play, 31-yard drive that followed a muffed hold on a Tar Heel field goal attempt from 52 yards out with 0:49 remaining ... Trailing 17-7 late in the first half, Pinkney helped the Pirates roll off 10 points in a span of 1:26, first connecting with Davon Drew on a 15-yard scoring strike ... After Hartman converted a 33-yarder to knot the score at the half, Pinkney found Johnson on a 24-yarder to give ECU a 24-17 lead midway through the third quarter.
Ruffin McNeill Against North Carolina - As A Player
Ruffin McNeill squared off against North Carolina three times during his playing career at East Carolina ... As a safety under Pat Dye, McNeill suffered low-scoring setbacks as a freshman and junior before the Pirates and Tar Heels battled to a 24-24 deadlock during his senior campaign:
| Date | Year | Pos. | ECU Coach | Score | Location |
| 10/23/76 | Fr. | SS | Pat Dye | UNC, 12-10 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| 09/16/78 | Jr. | SS | Pat Dye | UNC, 14-10 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
| 10/27/79 | Sr. | SS | Pat Dye | TIE, 24-24 | Chapel Hill, N.C. |
1978 note - credited with seven tackles (one solo).
1979 note - logged two solo stops, recovered a fumble and had a pass breakup ... UNC's Jeff Hayes connects on a 47-yard FG with 13 seconds remaining to produce the tie.
McNeill Versus North Carolina - As A Coach
Despite his long coaching career, Ruffin McNeill has only faced the Tar Heels as a coach three times prior to Saturday's matchup - one as ECU's head coach and two as a member of the Clemson staff. McNeill's programs have fallen to North Carolina twice and Clemson downed the Tar Heels 38-10 Nov. 8, 1986.
Everett Withers Against The Pirates
Everett Withers has seen East Carolina on the opposite sideline a total of six (4-2) times during his career as an assistant coach - two while on the UNC staff in 2009 and 2010 ... The Tar Heels were 2-0 against the Pirates during Withers' tenure in Chapel Hill, while he also racked up 38-21 and 24-16 victories as a part of Southern Miss staffs in 1992 and 1993, respectively ... He suffered setbacks to East Carolina during stays at Tulane (1991) and Louisville (1997).
Playing In Front Of The Pirate Nation
East Carolina has always been able to claim plenty of hometown support, even more so when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturdays during the fall - establishing itself as C-USA's attendance leader on an annual basis ... In all, a total of 6,668,700 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and in the last three-plus years, ECU has averaged 45,612 (866,637/19 regular season games) ... Thanks to the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project, the Pirates set new school records during the 2010 campaign in total attendance (297,987) and season average attendance (49,665) in Ruffin McNeill's first year - besting the previous marks of 292,191 (set in 2009) and 42,016 (2008) ... ECU followed by opening the 2011 campaign with crowds of 49,404 (Virginia Tech) and 50,023 (UAB) after establishing a new program record for season ticket sales with 24,182.
A Record Breaker
With an attendance total of 50,410 against North Carolina State last Oct. 16, ECU established a single-game home attendance record - surpassing a mark that had stood since 1999 ... For good measure, the Pirates welcomed their second and third-largest crowds in stadium history against Navy and Marshall before posting its first `11 sell-out vs. UAB ... A look at an updated list of Top 5 DFS crowds before welcoming a sold-out group Saturday:
| No. | Attendance | Opponent | Date | Score |
| 1. | 50,410 | N.C. State | 10/16/10 | W, 33-27 |
| 2. | 50,191 | Navy | 11/06/10 | L, 76-35 |
| 3. | 50,145 | Marshall | 10/23/10 | W, 37-10 |
| 4. | *50,092 | N.C. State | 11/20/99 | W, 23-6 |
| 5. | 50,023 | UAB | 09/24/11 | W, 28-23 |
bold denotes Ruffin McNeill era; *denotes utilization of temporary bleachers
It's Not Always Easy
In addition to respective top-12 national rankings (9/10 for South Carolina, 10/11 for Virginia Tech), East Carolina's first two opponents are a combined 8-0 heading into this weekend ... When adding the other two non-conference teams (UNC, Navy) on the Pirates' 2011 schedule, the record is 13-2.
Getting Behind The Line Of Scrimmage
The Pirates recorded 6.0 tackles for lost yardage against UAB and 11.0 in their last two games after having just one in the opener vs. South Carolina ... DE Derrell Johnson's sack of Blazer QB Bryan Ellis for a six-yard loss in the second quarter pushed his TFL streak to three consecutive games ... He also has forced a fumble in back-to-back games and shares a No. 10 national ranking with NG Terry Williams, who also has a pair of ball-jarring hits.
Trying To Keep `Em Under 200
Despite allowing a season-high 283 passing yards to UAB Saturday, one could still say the Pirates have been rather stingy against air attacks ... ECU has kept three of its last four opponents under 200 passing yards, dating back to last season - 181/Maryland, 131/South Carolina, 91/Virginia Tech.
First Down Success
In East Carolina's first two contests of the season, the Pirates struggled on first down, averaging just 2.2 yards in 56 "first" snaps ... ECU picked up only 1.3 yards per first down play against the Hokies before turning its efforts around against UAB with a 7.0 ypfd clip ... Of the 41 snaps against the Blazers, the Pirates booked gains of 10 or more yards on 10 occasions and scored once ... ECU is currently averaging 4.3 yards per first down play, has moved the chains on 14 occasions and produced two touchdowns.
Power Near Restoration?
After being held to Ruffin McNeill-era lows in scoring (10), total yards (112), rushing yards (-15) and passing yards (127), by Virginia Tech Sept. 10, East Carolina's offensive unit bounced back against UAB to rack up 542 yards - 361 through the air and 181 on the ground - to restore the potency of an attack that shattered or at least matched 29 team or individual standards including total touchdowns (62), points scored (478), passing yards (4,143) and passing touchdowns (39) a year ago.
Second Half Struggles
Although they enjoyed a slim 14-13 edge on the second half ledger against UAB in their Conference USA opener Saturday, the Pirates' second-half woes, especially against non-league opponents, have been well-documented recently ... Despite its bounce-back effort against the Blazers, ECU has been outscored in six of its last eight games after intermission ... So far in 2011, opponents currently enjoy a 69-30 advantage after halftime ... In its last seven non-conference games, ECU trials the second-half ledger 201-62 and is at a deficit in both TD drives (24-7) and turnovers (16-7).
Grove, Drake Among Top Tacklers
A pair of East Carolina starting inside linebackers, redshirt freshman Jeremy Grove and junior transfer Daniel Drake, rank among the nation's top tacklers after netting 39 each in the first three games ... A closer look:
| No. | Name (class) | School | Games | Tackles | Tackles/Game |
| 1. | Luke Kuechly (Jr.) | Boston College | 4 | 69 | 17.3 |
| 2. | Cornelius Arnick (Sr.) | Tulsa | 4 | 55 | 13.8 |
| 3. | Jeremy Grove (Fr.) | East Carolina | 3 | 39 | 13.0 |
| Daniel Drake (Jr.) | East Carolina | 3 | 39 | 13.0 | |
| 5. | Steve Erzinger (Sr.) | Army | 4 | 51 | 12.8 |
By surpassing the 10-tackle milestone in the first three games (12/SC, 12/VT, 15/UAB), Grove became the first ECU player since Chris Moore in 2005 to reach double-digit totals in the first three contests of a campaign ... He is also one of only two only rookies among the nation's top 50 defenders and his 15-stop effort vs. the Blazers were the most by a Pirate since 2009 (Nick Johnson vs. Marshall on Oct. 3).
