East Carolina Travels To Cincinnati For Thursday Night Tilt
November 11, 2014 | Football
| East Carolina Game 9: Cincinnati | |
| Date | Thursday, Nov. 13 |
| Time | 7 P.M. (EST) |
| Location | Cincinnati, Ohio (Paul Brown Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking | Game Tickets | Parking Information |
| Live Game Coverage |  Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | Pirates On Demand (Listen Live) |  Television: ESPN2 |
| Internet Options | Gametracker |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | Cincinnati l American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Cincinnati l The American |
| 2014 Football Statistics | East Carolina | Cincinnati | The American |
| ECU Football Central | Gameday Central | Roster | Fact Book | The American | NCAA Football |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| East Carolina | Cincinnati | The American | |
| East Carolina | ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) l Cincinnati | The American | |
| Twitter Hashtags | #ECUPirates | #ECUFootball | #BearcatsPride | #AmericanRising | #ECUvsCIN |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina, which is bowl eligible for the eighth time in the last nine years, will wrap-up a two-game roadswing when it faces Cincinnati in an American Athletic Conference battle Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Pirates, who completed their third and final bye week of the 2014 season after suffering a 20-10 setback at Temple on Nov. 1, will try to improve to 7-2 (at the nine-game mark) for the second-straight year.
ECU will play as an unranked team for the first time since downing North Carolina 70-41 on Sept. 20 and will attempt to avoid its first two-game losing streak since 2011. The meeting between the Pirates and Bearcats renews a series, which has been dormant for over 10 years.
EAST CAROLINA RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (eight of the last nine years) ...
- Has had at least eight wins in five of the last seven years ...
- Has won 21 of the last 23 games when scoring 30 or more points ...
- Has lost 13-straight games when scoring 20 or less points (19-14 vs. UCF in `09/last win) ...
- Has won 29 of the last 31 games when converting third downs at 50% or higher ...
- Has won 17 of the last 18 games when gaining 200 or more rushing yards ...
- Has generated 500-plus total yards in four of the last six (and six of the last nine) games ...
- Has won eight of the last 12 regular season road games ...
- Has won 10 of the last 14 games vs. American Athletic Conference opponents ...
THE SERIES
East Carolina leads 12-5 ... The Bearcats have won three straight, including the last meeting as Conference USA members 10 years ago ... East Carolina has taken seven of the nine matchups played in Greenville and has captured five of eight contests in Cincinnati ... The Pirates opened the series with seven-straight victories.
THE McNEILL-TUBERVILLE "CONNECTION"
While East Carolina's Ruffin McNeill (29) and Cincinnati's Tommy Tuberville (33) share a combined 62 years of collegiate coaching experience, the two men have never been on opposite sidelines during a game prior to Thursday's battle at Paul Brown Stadium ... However, both served as Texas Tech's head coach in "back-to-back" games during the same calendar year - McNeill as interim coach leading the Red Raiders to a 41-31 victory over Michigan State in the Valero Alamo Bowl Jan. 2, 2010, while Tuberville began his three-year tenure in Lubbock with a 35-27 win over SMU in the `10 season opener on Sept. 5.
THE AMERICAN - PREVIEWING THE NEW ...
East Carolina has posted a 72-37 (.661) all-time mark against current members of the American Athletic Conference ... In addition to their 17-game series with Cincinnati (12-5), the Pirates have also squared off against Memphis (15-6), Tulane (10-3), UCF (9-3), Temple (8-4), Houston (7-5), Tulsa (6-5), SMU (3-2), Connecticut (1-0) and USF (1-4).
... REVIEWING THE OLD - CONFERENCE USA
During its 17-year membership in Conference USA (1997-2013), East Carolina produced an all-time 78-50 (.609) league record ... Overall, the Pirates completed C-USA action by winning 11 of the last 13, 27 of the last 37 and 36 of the last 49 league games ... ECU captured conference titles in 2008 and 2009 under Skip Holtz.
FEELING REFRESHED OR SHAKING OFF THE RUST?
Although they currently enjoy a run of six-straight wins, the Pirates haven't taken full advantage of open weeks when looking at a broader 10-year perspective - winning only nine of their last 13 (9-4) contests following an off "day" since 2005 ... A closer look: 2005 (L/WFU, L/TLS), 2006 (W/UVA), 2007 (W/TLN), 2008 (L/UVA, W/UCF), 2009 (no true off -week/three-straight non-Saturday games), 2010 (L/UNC), 2011 (W/UAB), 2012 (W/TLN), 2013 (W/UNC, W/FIU) and 2014 (W/SMU, W/UConn) ... Since 1965 (start of the modern era), East Carolina is 29-18 in games after a break ... Because of the August start date and absence of an American Athletic Conference championship game this year, the Pirates had a total of three bye weeks - most in program history - scheduled in 2014 (Sept. 27, Oct. 18 and Nov. 8).
ON THE ROAD - WINS IN EIGHT OF THE LAST 12 (REGULAR SEASON)
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 51-66 (.436) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Before a 2-2 mark so far this year and a 5-2 record in 2013, the Pirates were 3-4 in 2012, 2-4 in 2011, 2-5 in 2010, 3-4 in 2009 and 5-4 in 2008 ... When the Pirates topped the Bobcats 37-20 at Tropicana Field last December, it marked "away" wins in five of seven contests during the 2013 campaign - ECU's top road ledger since a 5-1 slate in 1991 ... From a regular season standpoint, the Pirates have won eight of the last 12 road contests dating back to 2012 (5-3 in conference play, 3-1 in non-conference action).
ALREADY REPEATING IN THE AMERICAN
As ECU has opened competition in the American Athletic Conference this fall, the Pirates are already contending for top attendance honors there as well ... After the first 11 weeks of play, ECU has the lead in its new league with an average 44,755 (UCF/40,157; Memphis/33,342; Cincinnati/32,330; USF/29,650; Houston/29,101; Connecticut/ 29,059; Tulane/25,212; Temple/23,792; SMU/23,565; and Tulsa/20,551).
NON-SATURDAY MAYHEM
East Carolina is 17-19 in non-Saturday games since 2000, when it became a regular "alternative" to the game's scheduling staple ... Oddly, the Pirates have fared better on the road - compiling an 11-9 record compared to a 6-10 slate in Greenville ... In terms of days (including bowls), ECU is 4-0 on Sundays, 1-1 on Mondays, 2-1 on Tuesdays, 0-3 on Wednesdays, 6-8 on Thursdays and 4-6 on Fridays ... Since 2005, the Pirates have defeated Boise State (bowl/ Sunday/'07), UCF (Sunday/'08), UTEP (Friday/'08), Memphis (Tuesday/'09), Tulsa (Sunday/'09 & `10), UAB (Thursday/'10), Marshall (Friday/'12), FAU (Thursday/'13), Ohio (bowl/Monday/'13) and Connecticut (Thursday/'14), while losing to Kentucky (bowl/Friday/'08), Virginia Tech (Thursday/'09), SMU (Friday/'10), Maryland (bowl/Wednesday/'10), UCF (Thursday/'12) and Marshall (Friday/'13).
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 214 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the Cincinnati game with an active streak of 214 games of not suffering a shutout - a school record (previous mark was 110 set from `71 to `81) ... The last time the Pirates were blanked was on Oct. 4, 1997 (56-0 at Syracuse) ... ECU's 214-game run currently ranks 14th among all active FBS streaks and is the 24th-longest in the all-time annals ... Florida currently sits atop the active leaderboard with 331 (began in 1988).
TAKING OFF THE (RED)SHIRT
Ruffin McNeill's "play immediately" count is currently at 21 during his ECU head coaching tenure ... A program-high nine (9) players have had their redshirts removed this year - TE Steve Baggett, OWR Trevon Brown, ILB Joe Carter, OWR Terrell Green, IWR Quay Johnson, DS Colton Oliver, DB Cody Purdie, RB Anthony Scott, ILB Ray Tillman - to join a list of 12 others beginning in 2010: 2010 (4), 2011 (2), 2012 (1) and 2013 (5).
FOURTH QUARTER IS "NO QUARTER"
East Carolina has yet to allow a point in the fourth quarter during its American Athletic Conference schedule this year, outscoring SMU, USF, UConn and Temple by a combined 41-0 clip ... Overall (eight games), the Pirates have enjoyed an 83-31 edge in the final 15 minutes ... The +52 margin currently ranks seventh nationally (Nevada/+73 is first).
A COMMON DENOMINATOR
The arrival of defensive coordinator Rick Smith a year ago has certainly made a visible impact on that side of the ball for the Pirates ... A closer look:
| Category/Game | 2010-12 | 2013-14 |
| Rushing Defense | 185.6 | 109.1 |
| Total Defense | 430.0 | 357.6 |
| Scoring Defense | 36.1 | 24.1 |
| Overall W-L Record | 19-19 | 16-5 |
To offer some perspective, ECU ranked 120th in total defense, 119th in scoring defense and 117th in rush defense during Ruffin McNeill's first year (2010).
RUN STOPPERS
After limiting six of 13 opponents to double-digit rushing totals in 2013, Rick Smith's defense has followed with similar success so far in 2014 by keeping six of the first eight foes under 100 yards - NCCU (70), Virginia Tech (91), SMU (51), USF (93), UConn (84) and Temple (65) ... ECU ranked 13th nationally against the run a year ago (116.7 ypg) and currently stands 8th at the FBS level by allowing only 96.8 ground yards per contest.
Notebooking Shane Carden
Although passed over for the starting position to open the 2012 season as a sophomore, Shane Carden took over the job prior to ECU's third game and has responded with a school-record 10,046 aerial yards and 74 TDs... A closer look at Carden's career:
- Statistically, rates as the top "returning" QB in the American Conference, currently ranking among Top 5 FBS active career leaders in total offense plays per game (3rd/44.3), completion percentage (4th/67.3), TDs responsible for (5th/95), completions per game (5th/25.4), pass yards (5th/10,046), pass completions (5th/888), pass attempts (5th/1,319) ...
- Has accounted for 96 of 147 offensive TDs (65%) as ECU's starter in two-plus years ...
- Has converted 141-of-159 (89%) redzone opportunities while under center ...
- Has thrown for over 400 yards on seven occasions and authored 11 contests over 350, 16 over 300 and 26 over 250 yards ...
- Has thrown a touchdown pass in 28 of his last 30 games ...
- Has four 400-yard passing performances this season, ranking second nationally at the FBS level behind Connor Halliday of Washington State (6) ...
- First QB in school history to pass for over 4,000 yards in a season and one of only two to eclipse 3,000 in back-to-back years (currently on pace for a 4,187-yard campaign in `14) ...
- First QB in school history to pass for over 10,000 yards in a career (10,046) and one of 89 players at the FBS level to accomplish the feat ...
- One of eight (8) returning FBS QBs who own their school's single-season passing record, but is one of only four (nationally) to have set his program's career mark as an active player (Taylor Heinicke/ODU, Sean Mannion/OSU, Garrett Grayson/CSU) ...
- Established an ECU single-game passing record on three occasions - 439 vs. Marshall in 2012, 447 vs. Old Dominion and 480 vs. Tulane in 2013 ...
- Directly responsible for all four TDs vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech (three pass, game-winning rush with 0:16 remaining) and accounted for 12 scores vs. ACC member North Carolina in consecutive years (six; three/three in 2013, six; four/two in 2014) ...
- Earned 10 career league player-of-the-week awards, including four C-USA versions in 2013 and three American Conference honor so far this year; also has picked up two ESPN Helmet Stickers (vs. UNC/'13, vs. VT/'14) ...
- Currently second in rush TDs with three (led unit with eight in `12/second with 10 in `13) ...
- Has equaled a single-game East Carolina record with five TD passes on four occasions - vs. Memphis (`12) and vs. Old Dominion, Tulsa and UAB (`13) ...
- Has led ECU to a 16-4 (.800) record in conference games (7-1/'12, 6-2/'13, 3-1/'14) ...
CLAIMING ANOTHER (TOTAL) OFFENSIVE RECORD
With his 213 yards of offense vs. Temple, Shane Carden (10,324) became ECU's career record holder, passing David Garrard's mark of 10,238 ... In regards to single-season FBS rankings, he currently stands third nationally.
HARDY "ACTIVELY" TOPPING THE NATION
Senior inside receiver Justin Hardy (114) is one of only three returning pass catchers nationally who posted 100 or more receptions in 2013, joining Duke's Jamison Crowder (108) and Marshall's Tommy Shuler (106) ... Hardy, who tallied his 12th double-digit catch total (14) and 13th triple-digit yardage outing (186) vs. UConn on Oct. 23, currently leads all active receivers in career receptions and receiving yards.
TWO FOR 2 ... IN 44-STRAIGHT
Justin Hardy has caught at least two passes in every career game he's played, a run that sits at 44-straight contests heading into the Cincinnati tilt ... The streak, which began with an 11-catch, 91-yard effort vs. South Carolina on Sept. 3, 2011, currently ranks first among all active receivers in 2014.
ECU'S TOUCHDOWN TANDEM
Seniors Shane Carden and Justin Hardy have connected for 24 touchdowns during their Pirate careers, which leads all active QB-WR tandems at the FBS level:
| No. | Quarterback | Receiver | School | TDs |
| 1. | Shane Carden | Justin Hardy | East Carolina | 24 |
| 2. | Rakeem Cato | Tommy Shuler | Marshall | 22 |
| 3. | Bryce Petty | Antwan Goodley | Baylor | 16 |
SPREADING THE WEALTH
ECU has featured a 100-yard receiver (four different players - Isaiah Jones, Justin Hardy, Cam Worthy and Trevon Brown) in seven of the last eight games.
BALL-HAWKING 101
Junior CB Josh Hawkins owns four of ECU's seven interceptions in `14 and currently ranks second nationally in passes defended per game with 1.8 (10 pass breakups, four picks).
OFFENSE O'PLENTY
ECU has racked up 2,859 total yards (571.8 ypg) in its last five outings (UNC/789, SMU/581, USF/481, UCONN/580, TEM/428) - a five-game program record, surpassing 2,506 yards set last year vs. UNC/603, MTSU/511, TLN/543, USM/476 and FIU/373.
IN THE POLLS
The 20-10 setback at Temple knocked the Pirates out of the Associated Press Top 25 polls for the first time since entering the rankings on Sept. 21 after their 70-41 win vs. North Carolina ... ECU broke in at No. 23 before shuffling around at No. 22 (Sept. 28), No. 19 (Oct. 5), No. 18 (Oct. 12, Oct. 19) and No. 21 (Oct. 26), compiling a 3-1 mark as a ranked program in 2014 ... The Pirates also stood 23rd in the initial College Football Playoff Top 25 released on Tuesday, Oct. 28 - the first "G5" program included in 2014.
