ECU Set To Host Virginia Tech
September 24, 2015 | Football
Sept. 24, 2015
| East Carolina Game 4: Virginia Tech | |
| Date | Saturday, Sept. 26 |
| Time | 3:30 PM (EDT) |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking | Game is SOLD OUT | 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: ABC/ESPN2 | WatchESPNAudience Viewing Map (blue indicates ABC, green indicates ESPN2) |
| Internet Options | GameTracker |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | Virginia Tech | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes | East Carolina  | Virginia Tech | The American |
| 2015 Football Statistics | East Carolina | Virginia Tech |
| ECU Football Central | Gameday | Roster | Fact Book | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| East Carolina | Virginia Tech | The American | |
| East Carolina | ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) l Virginia Tech | The American | |
| Twitter Hashtags | #ECUPirates | #ECUFootball | #Hokies | #AmericanRising | #VTvsECU |
| East Carolina | Virginia Tech | The American | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- East Carolina will try to capture its fifth-straight victory over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent when it hosts Virginia Tech for a non-league matchup Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The Pirates, who are in the midst of a schedule that includes four road games in five weeks, have knocked off North Carolina twice, NC State and Virginia Tech once each during its current run of success against the ACC. The contest will also mark a brief break from American Conference play for ECU, which next week will visit SMU for the first time since 2009.
East Carolina Records and Streaks
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (three-straight, eight of the last nine years) ...
- Has won 23 of the last 27 games when scoring 30 or more points ...
- Has lost 14-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 won nine of the last 10, 13 of the last 15 (and 17 of the last 20) home games ...
- Has won seven of the last 10 regular season non-conference games ...
- Has won three-straight and four of the last five non-conference home games ...
- Has won four-straight games against ACC opponents ...
The Series
Virginia Tech leads 13-6 ... After the Hokies opened the series with a 37-2 win in 1956, the two programs observed a 31-year hiatus before meeting on an annual basis for eight seasons beginning in 1987 ... After ECU won four of the first seven matchups, Virginia Tech rolled off six straight before the Pirates snapped the streak by upsetting the Hokies 27-22 in Charlotte in 2008 ... Virginia Tech has won six of eight in Greenville and seven of 10 in Blacksburg ... The Pirates haven't defeated the Hokies at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1992.
Frank Beamer Against The Pirates
Frank Beamer has been on the sidelines as Virginia Tech's head coach in 18 of the 19 series meetings between the Hokies and Pirates - winning 12 of those matchups (12-6) ... After ECU won four of the first six contests, Beamer has "bounced" back and led Virginia Tech to 10 wins in the last 12 games against the Pirates.
McNeill Against Beamer
Ruffin McNeill and Frank Beamer have stood on opposite sidelines five times (ECU wins in 1992, 2014; Virginia Tech victories in 2010, 2011 and 2012) ... As a head coach, McNeill is 1-3 against Beamer's Hokies.
East Carolina Against The Atlantic Coast Conference
ECU has compiled an all-time record of 42-83-1 (.337) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ... In addition to a 6-13 mark against Virginia Tech, the Pirates own a 12-16 ledger vs. NC State, 5-5 vs. Duke, 4-6 vs. Louisville, 3-6 vs. Syracuse, 4-12-1 vs. North Carolina, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 2-2 vs. Pittsburgh, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 2-9 vs. Miami and 0-7 vs. Florida State ... As previously mentioned, the Pirates have won four straight.
Virginia Tech Against The American
Virginia Tech has posted a 49-29-1 (.627) all-time mark against current members of the American Athletic Conference ... In addition to their 19-game series against East Carolina (13-6), the Hokies have also squared off against Temple (14-3), Cincinnati (6-5), Tulane (5-4), Memphis (3-3), UCF (3-0), Connecticut (2-0), Houston (1-3-1), Tulsa (1-3) and SMU (1-2).
Pirates Of The Commonwealth (Of Virginia)
A total of nine (9) Virginia natives on East Carolina's 2015 active roster will enjoy a reunion of sorts Saturday when the Pirates square off against the Hokies ... A closer look: OLB Joe Allely (Vienna/Oakton HS), DB DaShaun Amos (Midlothian/Manchester HS), OLB Jeton Beavers (Virginia Beach/Bayside), DB Bobby Fulp (Midlothian/Clover Hill HS), OR Davon Grayson (Suffolk/Kings Fork HS), DB Domonique Lennon (Suffolk/Nansemond-Suffolk Academy), DL Demetri McGill (Virginia Beach/Ocean Lakes HS), DB Travis Phillips (Montpelier/Patrick Henry HS) and RB Anthony Scott (Virginia Beach/Green Run HS).
At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium - 16-3 Since 2012
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 178-87-1 (.671) ... 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 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 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1) ... Overall, East Carolina has turned in 39 winning campaigns at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1963 ... Additionally, the Pirates currently enjoy a run of victories in nine of the last 10 games and 13 of the last 15.
Missing The Pirate Nation - 7.7 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 7,724,753 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and in the last seven-plus years, ECU has averaged 45,778 (1,922,690/42 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 1,453,467 fans - needing only 46,533 for the Virginia Tech game on Sept. 26 to crack the 1.5 million mark ... 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 (in 2015) after the first three weeks of play ... Overall, ECU ranks 57th nationally in average attendance (40,712) and 75th in capacity percentage (81.42) in 2015.
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).
Analyzing The 2015 Schedule
East Carolina's 2015 schedule consists of games against two conference champions (UCF and Cincinnati/American co-champs), six bowl participants (Florida/W, Navy/W, Virginia Tech/W, BYU/L, UCF/L, Cincinnati/L) and four programs either currently ranked or earning votes in the two major Top 25 polls - BYU, Florida, Virginia Tech and Temple. Collectively, the Pirates' opponents have gotten off to a 22-13 start thus far this season.
CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH
In all, ECU is 3-2-0 in August, 120-110-2 in September, 158-147-4 in October, 136-115-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... Although the Pirates have won 12 of their last 21 overall September games, ECU has posted a recent 5-9 record against non-conference foes in the ninth month.
Shutout-Free ... 222 And Counting
ECU will enter the Virginia Tech game with an active streak of 222 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 222-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 337 (began in 1988).
Introducing This Year's First-Time Starters
There have been a combined six first-time starters in East Carolina's lineup against Towson, Florida and Navy to open the season - two on the offensive side of the ball with QB Blake Kemp and OT Brandon Smith, and four more on defense with NT Demage Bailey, ILB Jordan William, OLB Joe Allely and ILB Devaris Brunson each making a starting debut.
Pirate Career Numbers Against The Hokies
A total of six (6) ECU offensive skill players, 13 defenders and one specialist have experienced action in at least one game and recorded stats against VT during their career: OLB Joe Allely - 1 game (1 tackle); CB DaShaun Amos - 2 games (3 tackles, all solo); ILB Zeek Bigger - 2 games (22 tackles, 4 solo, 3 QBH); OR Trevon Brown - 1 game (3-45, 1 TD receiving); ILB Devaris Brunson - 1 game (1 tackle); OWR Davon Grayson - 2 games (2-6 receiving); P Worth Gregory - 1 game (8-377, 47.1 avg. punting, 1 tackle); CB Josh Hawkins - 2 games (13 tackles, 9 solo, 1.5 TFL, 2 INTs, 1 PBU); IR Isaiah Jones - 2 games (3-11, 1 TD receiving, 1-23 kickoff returns); FS Domonique Lennon - 2 games (9 tackles, 3 solo); OLB Montese Overton - 2 games (9 tackles, 1 solo, 1.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 3 PB, 2 QBH); DT Fred Presley - 1 game (2 tackles, 1 solo, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks); SS Terrell Richardson - 1 game (1 tackle); CB Rocco Scarfone - 1 game (2 tackles); RB Anthony Scott - 1 game (3-3 rushing); DE Terrell Stanley - 1 game (8 tackles, 3 solo, 1.0 TFL, 1.0 sacks); ILB Ray Tillman - 1 game (1 tackle, 1 solo); DE Johnathon White - 2 games (9 tackles, 3 solo, 2.0 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 2 QBH); TE Bryce Williams - 2 games (4-54, 2 TD receiving); OR Jimmy Williams - 1 game (4-77 receiving).
VT-ECU ... A Tale Of Two Halves Lately
It's been a tale of two halves when examining ECU's last four games vs. Virginia Tech (`10, `11, `13, `14) - the Pirates have scored a combined 59 points (14.8), thrown for 684 yards (171.0) and had only one interception in first half action against the Hokies, but have scored just 16 points (4.0), rushed for nine yards (2.3), passed for 279 yards (69.8) and tossed five picks after intermission in those four contests ... Additionally, ECU has held Virginia Tech to a combined 144 (72 ypg) ground yards in its last two matchups - 53 in 2013, 91 in 2014 - after surrendering 241 during the 2011 tilt alone.
Get The Ball First Mentality
East Carolina has received the opening kickoff in 38 of the last 40 contests (the South Carolina and UCF games in 2014 are the only exceptions) ... So far this season, the Pirates have cashed in their first possession with touchdowns in two of the first three contests (Towson, Florida) before stalling out at the Navy 37-yard line last week.
Rick's Picks
Rick Smith's leadership of the ECU defense - most notably his influence in the secondary - resulted in a return to national prominence as one of the top interception units on the FBS level ... The Pirates have picked off a pass in 23 of 29 games since Smith's return to Greenville prior to the 2013 campaign (after previously serving from 2005-09).
Zay's Streak
Junior IR Isaiah Jones has caught at least one pass in 26-straight games heading into the Virginia Tech contest ... The streak, which began with a two-catch, 27-yard effort vs. North Carolina on Sept. 28, 2013, currently ranks 16th among active receivers ... His 10-catch, 130-yard performance against Navy last week represented the fourth double-digit reception outing and seventh triple-digit yard total of his career.
On This Day In Pirates' History (6-2)
Sept. 26, 1953 - East Carolina 34, Lenoir-Rhyne 0
Sept. 26, 1959 - East Carolina 27, Guilford 0
Sept. 26, 1964 - East Carolina 31, Howard 20
Sept. 26, 1970 - The Citadel 31, East Carolina 20
Sept. 26, 1981 - East Carolina 28, Toledo 24
Sept. 26, 1987 - East Carolina 16, Georgia Southern 13
Sept. 26, 1992 - Bowling Green 44, East Carolina 34
Sept. 26, 2009 - East Carolina 19, UCF 14
