ECU Hosts UCF On ESPN For Senior Night
December 03, 2014 | Football
| East Carolina Game 12: UCF | |
| Date | Thursday, Dec. 4 |
| Time | 7:30 P.M. (EST) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking | Game Tickets | Fan Guide | Parking Information |
| Live Game Coverage |  Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | Pirates On Demand (Listen Live) Television: ESPN/ WatchESPN | Skycam Feed: ESPN3 |
| Internet Options | Gametracker |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | UCF | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | UCF | The American |
| 2014 Football Statistics | East Carolina | UCF | The American |
| ECU Football Central | Gameday Central | Roster | Fact Book | The American | NCAA Football |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| East Carolina | UCF | The American | |
| East Carolina | ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) l UCF | The American | |
| Twitter Hashtags | #ECUPirates | #ECUFootball | #ChargeOn | #AmericanRising | #UCFvsECU |
GREENVILLE, N.C. - It's Senior Night as East Carolina completes its 2014 regular season schedule by hosting UCF on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. (ET) American Conference battle against the Knights.
The Pirates, who are already bowl eligible (for the eighth time in the last nine years), will look to push their home win streak to nine in a row and produce an undefeated Dowdy Ficklen Stadium campaign (6-0) for the first time since `95. ECU's tilt against UCF marks the last of four non-Saturday contests this year and a renewal of a series that featured eight-straight meetings from 2005 to 2012 (as C-USA members).
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 six of the last eight years ...
- Has won 23 of the last 26 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 17 of the last 18 games when gaining 200 or more rushing yards ...
- Has held seven of last 11 opponents to less than 100 rushing yards ...
- Has won eight-straight, 12 of the last 13 (and 16 of the last 18) home games ...
- Has won 12-straight conference home games (dating back to 2011) ...
- Has won 12 of the last 17 games vs. American Conference opponents ...
THE SERIES
East Carolina leads 9-3 ... The Pirates have enjoyed a pair of four-game winning streaks against the Knights, the latest from 2006 to 2009 ... UCF posted its fi rst victory in the series during the two teams' initial Conference USA matchup in 2005 ... ECU has won six of the seven (6-1) tilts played in Greenville, while UCF has captured the last two matchups in Orlando.
PIRATE CAREER NUMBERS AGAINST THE KNIGHTS
A total of two (2) East Carolina off ensive skill players, seven defenders and one special teams performer have experienced action and recorded statistics against UCF during their careers: QB Shane Carden - 1 game (36-23-1, 298, 1 TD passing; 1 TD rushing); OLB Maurice Falls - 2 games (1 tackle); OLB Jake Geary - 2 games (1 tackle); IWR Justin Hardy - 2 games (11-155, 2 TD receiving); PK Warren Harvey - 1 game (2-2 FG, 2-2 PAT, 1 tackle); CB Josh Hawkins - 1 game (1 PB); SS Lamar Ivey - 2 games (1 tackle); OLB Montese Overton - 1 game (1 tackle); NT/DE Chrishon Rose - 2 games (2 tackles); NT Terry Williams - 2 games (10 tackles, 2.5 TFL).
THE AMERICAN - PREVIEWING THE NEW ...
ECU has posted a 74-38 (.661) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... In addition to their 12-game series with UCF (9-3), the Pirates have also squared off against Memphis (15-6), Cincinnati (12-6), Tulane (11-3), Temple (8-4), Houston (7-5), Tulsa (7-5), 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.
NON-SATURDAY MAYHEM
East Carolina is 18-20 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 a 12-10 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, 6-9 on Thursdays (1-1 in 2014) and 5-6 on Fridays (1-0 in 2014).
2014 PIRATE SENIORS
A total of 19 seniors will be dressing out for their final game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday: Breon Allen (RB), Detric Allen (CB), Terry Biles (DL), Desi Brown (ILB), Shane Carden (QB), Charlie Coggins (DSN), Maurice Falls (OLB), Jake Geary (OLB), Justin Hardy (IR), Warren Harvey (PK), Taylor Hudson (C), Lamar Ivey (DB), Greg Robinson (DB), Chrishon Rose (DL), Christian Simmons (DB), Jonathon Weymann (QB), Brandon Williams (ILB), Terry Williams (NT) and Cam Worthy (OR).
AT DOWDY-FICKLEN STADIUM - WINS IN EIGHT-STRAIGHT
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 177-86-1 (.672) ... The Pirates opened the facility on Sept. 21, 1963 with a 20-10 win over Brian Piccolo and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in front of 17,000 fans and celebrated the stadium's 50th anniversary last fall ... Before consecutive 5-1 marks in 2013 and 2012, a 3-3 ledger in 2011 and a 4-2 clip in 2010, ECU won a combined 10 of 12 home matchups in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1) ... Overall, East Carolina clinched its 39th winning campaign at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with a victory vs. UConn on Oct. 23 and will enter the UCF contest with an eight-game home win streak ... Additionally, the Pirates currently enjoy a run of victories in 12 of the last 13 (and 16 of the last 18) contests at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
THE PIRATE NATION - 7.6 MILLION STRONG
East Carolina has always been able to claim plenty of hometown support, even more so when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during the fall - establishing itself as a conference attendance leader on an annual basis ... In all, a total of 7,642,782 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and in the last six-plus years, ECU has averaged 46,018 (1,840,719/40 regular season games) ... Since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 that pushed Dowdy Ficklen Stadium's capacity to 50,000, the Pirates have drawn 1,371,496 fans - cracking the one million mark last season year with a crowd of 50,096 that watched the Virginia Tech game on Sept. 14 ... ECU set back-to-back school records in total attendance and season average attendance in 2011, breaking `10 marks (297,987/49,665) with 300,069 and 50,012 figures that year.
LEAGUE, NON-LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
In its seven American Athletic Conference contests this year, East Carolina has averaged 34.7 points, 173.3 rushing yards, 349.0 passing yards and 522.3 total yards per game so far ... By comparison, the Pirates booked 43.3 ppg, 189.5 rypg, 392.0 pypg and 581.5 ypg averages in their four non-conference tilts ... Defensively, ECU has surrendered 24.9 points, 93.7 rushing yards, 273.6 passing yards and 367.3 total yards in its league contests, while giving up 25.5, 120.2, 240.5 and 360.8 averages against non-American Conference foes ... Of the seven interceptions East Carolina has surrendered all year, only three have been recorded by AAC opponents - one each by USF and Connecticut back in October and another by Tulsa last week.
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 217 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the UCF game with an active streak of 217 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 217-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 334 (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 CLOSURE
ECU has enjoyed a distinct upper hand in fourth quarter action during its American Athletic Conference schedule this year, outscoring SMU, USF, UConn, Temple, Cincinnati, Tulane and Tulsa by a combined 88-26 clip (+62) ... Overall (11 games), the Pirates have enjoyed an 130-57 edge in the final 15 minutes ... The +73 margin currently ranks second nationally (Nevada/+85 is first).
A TWO-YEAR DEFENSIVE TURNAROUND
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 | 110.6 |
| Total Defense | 430.0 | 367.0 |
| Scoring Defense | 36.1 | 24.9 |
| Overall W-L Record | 19-19 | 18-6 |
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).
HALTING THE RUN
After limiting six of 13 opponents to double-digit rushing totals in 2013, Rick Smith's defense has followed with greater success in 2014 by keeping seven of the first 11 foes under 100 yards - NCCU (70), Virginia Tech (91), SMU (51), USF (93), UConn (84), Temple (65) and Tulane (24) ... ECU ranked 13th nationally against the run a year ago (116.7 ypg) and currently stands seventh at the FBS level by allowing only 103.4 ypg.
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 11,167 aerial yards and 81 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 (2nd/45.2), completions per game (4th/25.8), TDs responsible for (4th/105), pass yards (5th/11,167), pass completions (5th/982), pass attempts (5th/1,465), completion percentage (5th/67.0) ...
- Has accounted for 105 of 163 offensive TDs (64%) as ECU's starter in two-plus years ...
- Has thrown for over 400 yards on eight occasions and authored 13 contests over 350, 19 over 300 and 29 over 250 yards ...
- Has thrown a touchdown pass in 31 of his last 33 games ...
- First QB in school history to both pass for over 4,000 yards in a season and eclipse 3,000 in three-straight years (needs just 88 yards to reach 4K in `14) ...
- Also is the first QB in school history to pass for over 10,000 yards in a career (11,167) ...
- 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 six (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 an 18-5 (.783) record in conference games (7-1/'12, 6-2/'13, 5-2/'14) ...
HARDY'S NCAA-RECORD CHASE ... COMPLETE
With nine receptions vs. Tulane on Nov. 22, senior inside receiver Justin Hardy broke the NCAA's (FBS) all-time receptions record - surpassing the mark of 349 set by Oklahoma's Ryan Broyles (2008-11) ... Hardy, who followed up his record-breaking performance with another nine catches (88 yards) at Tulsa last week to stand at 364, currently leads all active receivers in career receptions and receiving yards.
TWO FOR 2 ... IN 47-STRAIGHT
Justin Hardy has caught at least two passes in every career game he's played, a run that sits at 47-straight contests heading into the UCF 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 26 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 | 26 |
| 2. | Rakeem Cato | Tommy Shuler | Marshall | 24 |
| 3. | Bryce Petty | Antwan Goodley | Baylor | 17 |
SPREADING THE WEALTH
ECU has had a 100-yard receiver (14 times by four different players - Isaiah Jones, Justin Hardy, Cam Worthy and Trevon Brown) in nine of 11 games this season ... The Pirates have featured a "double-triple" in two of the last three games (Cincinnati/ Tulane) with Hardy and Worthy each reaching 100-plus receiving yards in both tilts.
OFFENSE O'PLENTY
ECU has racked up 4,445 total yards (555.6 ypg) in its last eight outings (UNC/789, SMU/581, USF/481, UCONN/580, TEM/428, CIN/579, TLN/497, TLS/510) - an eight-game program record, surpassing 4,081 yards set last year (UNC/Sept. 28 - NCSU/Nov. 23).
SPEAKING OF OFFENSE ...
The Pirates' 789-yard eff ort vs. North Carolina earlier this year stands as the second-highest single-game total at the FBS level this season (most by "G5" vs. "P5"):
| No. | Team | Yards | Opponent | Date | Result |
| 1. | Washington State | 812 | California | Oct. 4 | L, 60-59 |
| 2. | East Carolina | 789 | North Carolina | Oct. 20 | W, 70-41 |
| 3. | Arizona | 787 | UNLV | Aug. 29 | W, 58-13 |
SEASONAL "LONG-TERM" GOAL (WITHIN REACH)
With wins in its last two games (bowl included), the 2014 Pirates can become the first team in ECU football history to post consecutive 10-win campaigns.
IN THE POLLS
The 20-10 setback at Temple on Nov. 1 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.
