ECU Hosts Cincinnati On Senior Day
November 26, 2015 | Football
Nov. 26, 2015
| East Carolina Game 12: Cincinnati | |
| Date | Saturday, Nov. 28 |
| Time | 12 noon (EST) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking | Buy Tickets | Parking Information | New To Gameday |
| Live Game Coverage |  Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | ECU Pirates On Demand (Listen Live) TuneIn Radio Online (within the app search ECU or Pirate IMG Sports Network) Television: CBS Sports Network |
| Internet Options | GameTracker |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | Cincinnati | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Cincinnati | The American |
| 2015 Senior Day | Senior Day Video |
| 2015 Football Statistics | East Carolina | Cincinnati |
| ECU Football Central | Gameday | Roster | Fact Book | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| East Carolina | Cincinnati | The American | |
| East Carolina | ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) l Cincinnati | The American | |
| Twitter Hashtags | #ECUPirates | #ECUFootball | #Bearcats | #AmericanRising | #CINvsECU |
| East Carolina | Cincinnati | The American | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- It's Senior Day as East Carolina officially completes its 2015 regular season schedule by hosting Cincinnati on Saturday for a 12 noon (ET) American Conference clash. Bowl eligibility remains at stake for the Pirates, who are just one victory away from post-season qualification for the fourth-straight year heading into the last week of play.
ECU also needs a triumph over the Bearcats to avoid posting its first losing regular season slate since the 2011 campaign. Cincinnati, the owners of a 5-3 mark at the end of October, will enter the contest having dropped two of their last three contests - including a recent 65-27 divisional setback at USF last week. The Bearcats, who will be making their first visit to Greenville since 2004, are 1-4 on the road during the 2015 season.
Salvation Army Visits Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Employees and volunteers with The Salvation Army will be onsite this Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with kettles and bell-ringers at Gates 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. For more information about the Greenville Salvation Army and its programs, please check out their website by clicking here.
East Carolina Records and Streaks
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (three-straight, eight of the last nine years) ...
- Has won 27 of the last 32 games when scoring 30 or more points ...
- Has lost 17-straight games when scoring 20 or less points (19-14 vs. UCF in `09/last win) ...
- Has won 18 of the last 20 games when gaining 200 or more rushing yards ...
- Has won 27 of the last 28 games when leading at the half ...
- Has won 11 of the last 14, 15 of the last 19 (and 19 of the last 24) home games ...
- Has won 13 of the last 17 conference home games ...
- Has never lost (5-0) when playing on Nov. 28 in program history ...
The Series
East Carolina leads 12-6 ... The Bearcats have won four straight, including the first meeting as American Athletic Conference members a year ago ... East Carolina has taken seven of the nine matchups played in Greenville and has captured five of nine contests in Cincinnati ... The Pirates opened the series with seven-straight victories.
McNeill Against The Bearcats
Despite his long coaching career, Ruffin McNeill has only faced Cincinnati as a coach three times prior to Saturday's matchup - twice as an assistant (Austin Peay and East Carolina staff s), once as head coach (ECU).
Tuberville Against The Pirates
Tommy Tuberville has never lost to East Carolina during his coaching career, possessing a perfect 5-0 personal mark against the Pirates entering Saturday's clash ... The first four meetings occurred when Tuberville served as defensive line/linebackers coach at Miami (Fla.) in 1986 (36-10), 1987 (41-3), 1988 (31-7) and 1989 (40-10).
The McNeill-Tuberville "Connection"
While East Carolina's Ruffin McNeill (30) and Cincinnati's Tommy Tuberville (34) share a combined 64 years of collegiate coaching experience, last year's meeting at Paul Brown Stadium marked the first time the two men were on opposite sidelines during a game ... 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.
Formidable Setbacks
ECU's six losses this year have been against teams that currently sport a combined record of 49-16 (.754): Florida (10-1), Navy (9-1), BYU (8-3), Temple (9-2), UConn (6-5) and USF (7-4).
The American - Year Two
ECU has posted a 78-46 (.629) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently own series records against Memphis (15-6), Cincinnati (12-6), Tulane (11-3), UCF (10-4), Temple (8-5), Tulsa (8-5), Houston (7-5), SMU (4-2) Connecticut (1-1), Navy (1-4) and USF (1-5).
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.
2015 Senior Day
A total of 18 seniors will be dressing out for their fi nal game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday: Jeton Beavers (OLB), Zeek Bigger (ILB), Chris Hairston (RB), Ike Harris (OL), Josh Hawkins (DB), Stewart Hinson (OL), Domonique Lennon (DB), Dontae Levingston (OL), Quincy McKinney (OL), Montese Overton (OLB), Tre Robertson (OL), Rocco Scarfone (DB), Terrell Stanley (DL), C.J. Struyk (OL), Cedric Thompson (IR), Connor Torruella (PK), Johnathon White (DL) and Bryce Williams (TE).
A Toll-Taking 10-Game Grind
Before enjoying its first bye (of the year) prior to the UCF game, ECU played 10-straight weeks to open the 2015 season - ranking among the nation's longest: 13 Consecutive Weeks - Colorado, Hawai'i; 12 Consecutive Weeks - Arizona, Florida Int'l, Massachusetts, North Texas; 11 Consecutive Weeks - Eastern Michigan, Marshall, Nebraska, Texas Tech, UL-Monroe, Wyoming; 10 Consecutive Weeks - Ball State, Boston College, UCF, Connecticut, East Carolina, Kansas, Louisiana Tech, Mississippi, Penn State, Western Kentucky, Wisconsin.
At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium - 18-5 Since 2012
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 180-89-1 (.669) ... 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 in 2013 ... Before a 3-2 record this fall, consecutive 5-1 marks in 2014, 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 `09 (6-1) and `08 (4-1) ... Overall, East Carolina has turned in 39 winning campaigns at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1963 and can guarantee No. 40 with a triumph over Cincinnati on Saturday ... The Pirates currently enjoy a run of victories in 11 of the last 14 games and 15 of the last 19.
The Pirate Nation - 7.9 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 7,902,943 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and in the last seven-plus years, ECU has averaged 45,671 (2,100,880/46 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 1,631,657 fans - recently cracking the 1.5 million mark when 50,514 watched ECU down Virginia Tech on Sept. 26 ... 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.
NOTE: ECU's student ticket allotment of 15,000 ranks ninth nationally, trailing only Texas A&M (31,000), Ohio State (28,333), Penn State (21,500), Florida (19,500), Alabama (17,500), Texas (17,000), Florida State (16,000) and Georgia (16,000).
Attendance Leaders
In addition to departing Conference USA as a six-time attendance champion - 2008 (42,016), 2009 (41,742), 2010 (49,665), 2011 (50,012), 2012 (47,013) and 2013 (43,985), as well as topping the American Athletic Conference during its first year of membership, East Carolina has also led all non-AQ BCS conference (now referred to as the "Group of Five") members in attendance the last three seasons and currently stand third after 12 weeks of play ... Overall, ECU ranks 56th nationally in average attendance (43,780) and 53rd in capacity percentage (87.56) so far in 2015.
NOTE: The 40,712, 50,514 and 43,065 figures announced for the Pirates' first three contests this season marked the 11th, 12th and 13th-straight home games that East Carolina had surpassed 40K in attendance before the run was snapped on Oct. 22 when 39,417 watched ECU fall to Temple on a Thursday night.
Tops In The American
As previously mentioned, ECU opened competition in the American Athletic Conference last fall and immediately took command of the attendance title ... The Pirates' average of 44,786 easily ranked ahead of UCF (37,812), Memphis (33,851), USF (30,694), Cincinnati (29,686), Houston (28,311), Connecticut (28,218), Tulane (25,892), Temple (23,370), SMU (21,528) and Tulsa (19,647). East Carolina ranks third in 2015, trailing only Temple and Memphis.
Analyzing The 2015 Overall Schedule
East Carolina's 2015 schedule consists of games against two conference champions (UCF and Cincinnati/American co-champs), six bowl participants (Florida, Navy, Virginia Tech, BYU, UCF, Cincinnati) and five programs either currently ranked or earning votes in the two major Top 25 polls - Florida (10/9), Navy (16/15), Temple (25/24), BYU (RV) and USF (RV). Collectively, the Pirates' opponents this season are a combined 74-57.
Charting The Pirates Month-By-Month
In all, ECU is 3-2-0 in August, 121-110-2 in September, 160-150-4 in October, 137-116-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates continue play in November, a month in which East Carolina has captured 10 of the last 14 contests ... At home, ECU has won six of the last seven (had six-game run snapped vs. USF).
Shutout-Free ... 230 And Counting
ECU will enter the Cincinnati contest with an active streak of 230 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 230-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 343 (began in 1988).
Introducing This Year's First-Time Starters
There have been a combined 14 first-time starters in East Carolina's lineup so far this year - six on the offensive side of the ball with QB Blake Kemp, OT Brandon Smith, OG Christian Matau, RB Shawn Furlow, QB James Summers and WR Brandon Bishop, and eight more on defense with NT Demage Bailey, ILB Jordan William, OLB Joe Allely, ILB Devaris Brunson, OLB Yiannis Bowden, SS DaShawn Benton, ILB Cam White and OLB Dayon Pratt each making a starting debut.
Lightning Strikes
Although ECU averages over seven plays per touchdown drive in 2015, it only takes 2:43 to reach the endzone ... In fact, only two drives have exceeded the 5:00 mark all year (vs. Towson, Temple) - 34 of the 38 successful possessions have been under 3:59.
Continued First Down Production
ECU has enjoyed solid production on first down this year, averaging 5.6 yards per snap ... The Pirates have had 355 first down plays, gained 1,971 yards, moved the chains on 83 occasions and reached the endzone 13 times ... Against UCF, East Carolina racked up 305 yards on 41 first down plays (7.4) and gained 10 or more yards on 15 occasions.
Bounce-Back Mode?
After scoring a combined 44 points in successive games against Temple, UConn and USF, the Pirates matched that total in one night - booking 44 in 60 minutes at UCF last week ... ECU logged a season-high 622 yards of total offense against the Knights, 62 more than it amassed against the Huskies and Bulls collectively (560).
The Third Down Mountain
After standing first nationally (44-80/55.0%) in third-down conversions during its first five games this year, ECU has managed just a 33.3% (31-93) success rate in its last six contests ... In their last three outings vs. UConn, USF and UCF, the Pirates have converted just 14-of-46 (30.4%) opportunities on third down.
Impressive Damage Control
After Navy (2), Virginia Tech (2) and SMU (2) cashed all six East Carolina turnovers into points (four TDs, two FGs), the Pirate defense has done some impressive damage control in their last six games ... Despite gaining a combined 10 takeaways against ECU, BYU (FG), Tulsa, Temple, UConn, USF and UCF have scored only three points.
Redzone Success
Of its last 29 trips inside the redzone (spanning eight games), ECU has turned 28 of those visits into (168) points - a success rate of 96.6 percent ... If one excludes a missed 40-yard fi eld goal attempt against Temple on Oct. 22, the Pirates would be a perfect 29-of-29 ... Overall, East Carolina stands 30th nationally (36-of-41/87.8%).
Pressure + Breakups = Pass Defense
East Carolina has been credited with 20 quarterback pressures (i.e. hurries) against Tulsa (season-high nine), Temple, UConn, USF and UCF in successive games ... ECU has also knocked down 28 passes in its last seven games (14 in first four), which with the pressure, has helped lower opponent pass production.
A Challenging Fourth Quarter
ECU enjoyed an 154-63 edge in the fourth quarter a year ago (+91 ranked first nationally), but is -21 (72-93) through 11 games this year ... Furthermore, in the last five outings, the Pirates are -31 (17-48) in the final 15 minutes of play.
American, Non-League Statistical Comparisons
In its seven American Athletic Conference contests (3-4) this year, ECU has averaged 26.9 points, 148.3 rushing yards, 266.3 passing yards and 414.6 total yards per game ... By comparison, the Pirates booked 31.3 ppg, 123.5 rypg, 298.5 pypg and 422.0 ypg averages in their four non-conference tilts in 2015 (Towson, Florida, Va. Tech and BYU).
Zay's Streak
Junior IR Isaiah Jones has caught at least one pass in 34-straight games heading into the Cincinnati contest ... The streak, which began with a two-catch, 27-yard effort vs. North Carolina on Sept. 28, 2013, currently ranks 15th among active receivers ... His 14-catch, 181-yard effort vs. UCF on Nov. 19 represented the seventh double-digit reception outing and ninth triple-digit yard total of his ECU career.
Jones has 15 career touchdown receptions and the Pirates are 12-2 when he snares a scoring catch (only losses have come against Florida and BYU on Sept. 12 and Oct. 10, respectively, this year). In addition to his No. 7 national rank in receptions per game (7.8), he currently stands 22nd in receiving yards and 25th in receiving yards per game.
The Pirates' Double-Option
Junior East Carolina quarterbacks Blake Kemp and James Summers have each contributed in their own unique way over so far this season ... A closer look:
- Blake Kemp (5-2/starter) - Currently ranks 4th in completion percentage, 20th in completions per game (22.7) and 38th in passing yards game (234.3) ... Of his three relief appearances, eff ort at BYU stood out with 371 air yards and two touchdowns.
- James Summers (0-4/starter) - Started three games prior to UCF, but top effort has been off the bench such as posting the second-highest single-game QB rush total in school history (169 yards, most since 1979) vs. Virginia Tech.
On This Day In Pirates' History (5-0)
Nov. 28, 1946 -- East Carolina 53, Fort Bragg 0
Nov. 28, 1970 -- East Carolina 36, Davidson 18
Nov. 28, 2008 -- East Carolina 53, UTEP 21
Nov. 28, 2009 -- East Carolina 25, Southern Miss 20
Nov. 28, 2014 -- East Carolina 49, Tulsa 32
