East Carolina University
Connecticut
Gameday: ECU Hosts UCONN On Senior Day
November 15, 2018 | Football
| ECU Game 10: Connecticut | |
| Date: | Saturday, Nov. 17 |
| Time: | 7:00 P.M. (EST) |
| Location: | Greenville, N.C. (Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking: | Game Tickets | Parking Information | Things To Look For On Gameday TDs = Thanksgiving Meals |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | TuneIn Radio Online Television: CBSSN |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | Connecticut | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes: | ECU (PDF) | Connecticut (PDF) | The American (PDF) |
| 2018 Statistics: | ECU (PDF) | Connecticut (PDF) |
| ECU Football Central: | Roster | Fact Book (PDF) | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| Facebook: | ECU | Connecticut | The American |
| Twitter: | ECU | Connecticut | The American |
| Twitter Hashtags: | #ECUPirates | #ECUGameday | #ECUFootball | #AmericanFB |
| Instagram: | ECU | The American |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – It's Senior Day at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as ECU officially completes its 2018 home schedule by hosting Connecticut on Saturday for a 7 p.m. American Athletic Conference clash. The Pirates will honor 20 players - 18 seniors and two juniors - who will dress out for their final collegiate game in Greenville. ECU will try to post back-to-back Senior Day wins after downing Cincinnati in the home finale last season, which also snapped a three-game "send-off " skid dating back to 2014. Additionally, the Pirates will look to tally their third home victory of the year - most since 2016.
ECU RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (three of the last six, eight of the last 12 years) ...
- Has won 20 of the last 23 games when gaining 200 or more rushing yards ...
- Has accounted for 400 or more total yards in 11 of the last 14 games (seven of the last eight) ...
- Has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 18 of the last 20 games ...
- Has won 33 of the last 36 games when leading at the half ...
- Has tallied 10 or more TFLs in four of the last six games ...
- Has recorded a combined 27 sacks in the last seven games (3.9 spg) ...
- Has won three of four overall meetings against Connecticut (2-0 at home) ...
THE SERIES
ECU leads 3-1 in a series which only dates back to the Pirates' membership in The American (2014).
SCOTTIE MONTGOMERY VS. THE HUSKIES
Scottie Montgomery has faced Connecticut only thrice as a coach prior to Saturday's matchup ... In addition to a pair of ECU triumphs as a head coach (2016, 2017), he also battled UConn as a wide receivers mentor on Ted Roof's 2007 Duke staff ... The Huskies opened that year with a 45-14 victory over the Blue Devils in Durham.
RANDY EDSALL AGAINST THE PIRATES
While Saturday's contest will be Randy Edsall's second against ECU as a head coach (2017), he did face the Pirates twice as an assistant ... As defensive backs coach at Syracuse, his Orange took a pair of games against ECU with 38-14 and 18-16 victories in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
AN ASSOCIATION OF HUSKIES AND PIRATES
ECU and Connecticut each feature Skip Holtz on its all-time head coach roster page ... Holtz was 34-23 (.596) while guiding the Huskies for five seasons (1994-98) and later led the Pirates to a 38-27 (.585) mark, two Conference USA titles and an unprecedented run of four-straight bowl appearances from 2005 to 2009 before moving on to USF, and ultimately, Louisiana Tech ... In addition to Holtz, four other former (and somewhat) recent ECU staffers have prior associations with UConn.
(STATE OF) CONNECTICUT COACHING CONNECTIONS
Two members of ECU's current full-time coaching staff spent time on collegiate football staff s in the state of Connecticut - both in Fairfield - early during their respective careers ... Running backs coach Jason Nichols directed wide receivers at Sacred Heart in 2001, which included All-America performer Deveron Johnson who became the first NEC player ever selected in the NFL Draft (Cowboys/6th round in 2002) ... Safeties coach Daric Riley had oversight of the Fairfield secondary in 2000, two years before the Stags dropped football.
THE AMERICAN - YEAR FIVE
ECU has posted an 81-66 (.551) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently sport series records against Memphis (15-8), Cincinnati (13-8), Tulane (11-5), UCF (10-7), Temple (8-8), Tulsa (8-6), Houston (7-7), SMU (4-3) Connecticut (3-1), Navy (1-5) and USF (1-8).
THE EAST HAS BEEN A BEAST
ECU owns a 4-14 mark (2-7/home, 2-7/road) against American Athletic Conference opponents in its own East Division since the league began divisional play in 2015 ... The Pirates' 44-7 win against UCF in their '15 road finale, a pair of victories vs. Connecticut (41-3 in 2016, 41-38 in 2017) and a 48-20 triumph against Cincinnati on Senior Day in 2017 represents the only quartet of triumphs ... In all, ECU is 2-1 vs. UConn, 1-3 vs. UCF, 1-2 vs. Cincinnati, 0-4 vs. Temple and 0-4 vs. USF while competing as division mates ... On the flipside, ECU is 2-10 against the West (1-1 vs. SMU, 1-1 vs. Tulsa, 0-2 vs. Houston, 0-2 vs. Memphis, 0-2 vs. Navy, 0-2 vs. Tulane).
LEAGUE, NON-LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
The Pirates have averaged 18.0 points, 93.3 rushing yards, 327.5 passing yards and 420.8 total yards in their six (USF, Temple, Houston, UCF, Memphis, Tulane) AAC games of the 2018 season so far ... By comparison, ECU averaged 33.7 points, 155.7 rushing yards, 305.7 passing yards and 461.3 total yards per game in its three regular season non-conference contests this year ... The Pirates posted a 2-1 non-league ledger this fall (1-3 in '17) and hope to improve their conference record to 1-6 (2-6 last season) when they square off against UConn.
COMPARING 10-YEAR, NINE-GAME RESULTS
ECU's 24-18 loss at Tulane last week marks the second consecutive year the Pirates have "opened" the season with a 2-7 record ... A victory over Connecticut would give ECU a 3-7 ledger, which would match Scottie Montgomery's initial season in Greenville (2016) ... The Pirates haven't enjoyed much recent success during Week 10 of their schedule however, dropping three straight
SENIOR DAY ... TODAY
A total of 20 players will be dressing out for their fi nal game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday: Tony Baird (DE), Bennett Boateng (DT), Trevon Brown (WR), Cam Coleman (RB), Cannon Gibbs (LB), Terrell Green (WR), Nate Harvey (DE), Brandon Henderson (DT), Marcus Holton Jr. (DB), Shaun James (DT), Garrett McGhin (OL), Dalton Montgomery (OL/TE), Branden Peña (OL), Caleb Pratt (PK), Anthony Scott (RB), Corey Seargent (DB), Dqmarcus Shaw (OL), Devon Sutton (DB), Michael Swift (DE) and Ray Tillman (LB).
AT DOWDY-FICKLEN STADIUM - 2-4 IN 2018
ECU's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 188-102 (.648) ... 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 2-5 record last year and 3-3 marks in both 2015 and 2016, ECU was 5-1 in 2014, 2013 and 2012 (15-3) and won a combined 10 of 12 home matchups in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1) ... Overall, ECU has posted 39 winning campaigns at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1963.
THE PIRATE NATION - OVER 8.6 MILLION STRONG
ECU 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 a near annual basis ... In all, a total of 8,668,578 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963 ... Since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 (to push capacity to 50,000), the Pirates have drawn 2,397,292 fans.
PROUD HISTORY OF ATTENDANCE LEADERS
ECU topped all American Athletic Conference members in regular season attendance in 2014, 2016 and 2017, and currently stands third in 2018 ... Overall, ECU ranks 64th nationally in average attendance (33,854) and 81st in capacity percentage (67.71) this season ... A closer look at Top 5 AAC leaders: 1. UCF (43,196), 2. USF (34,695), 3. ECU (33,854), 4. Cincinnati (32,376), 5. Navy (31,451) ... Before drawing a season-lows during a recent three-game homestand (29,127/Memphis; 29,851/Houston; 31,159/UCF), the Pirates missed hitting the 40K mark by less than 5,000 during their first three home dates of the 2018 season ... ECU drew 38,640 vs. N.C. A&T (following a weather-related postponement) for the opener, 39,298 against North Carolina on Sept. 8 before attracting 35,047 fans to watch the ODU matchup to close out September ... The 29,127 total vs. Memphis marked ECU's lowest "draw" since Nov. 26, 2005 when 26,990 watched the Pirates down UAB 31-23.
ANALYZING THE 2018 OVERALL SCHEDULE
ECU's 2018 scheduled opponents posted a combined 88-60 (.595) record in 2017, which ranks as the toughest schedule in the American Conference and 11th in FBS (based on win percentage) ... Four programs had 10 or more wins, including UCF (13), North Carolina A&T (12), USF (10) and Memphis (10) ... Some other notables:
SEVEN BOWL TEAMS ... in addition to North Carolina A&T (Celebration) and Virginia Tech (Camping World), AAC programs USF (Birmingham), Temple (Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla), Houston (Hawai'i), UCF (Chick-fi l-A Peach) and Memphis (AutoZone Liberty) each made FBS postseason appearances last season.
HOSTING CHAMPIONS ... the Pirates host two defending conference champions who enjoyed undefeated seasons - A&T (MEAC) and UCF (AAC) ... The Aggies also captured the HBCU nat'l championship by downing Grambling State 21-14 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, while UCF capped its perfect campaign with a 34-27 victory over Auburn in the Chick-fi l-A Peach Bowl, which was played at the same Atlanta facility.
IN THE FINAL POLLS ... four of ECU's 2018 FBS opponents were ranked in college football's two major polls (Associated Press/Amway Coaches) to end the 2017 season - UCF (6/7), USF (21/21), Virginia Tech (24/25) and Memphis (25/24) ... The Knights (12th), Tigers (20th) and Hokies (22nd) were also included on the last CFP rankings.
PLAYER(S)-OF-THE-YEAR VISITS ... all four 2017 American Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Year selections are on the docket to play in Greenville this season - UCF QB McKenzie Milton (offense), Houston DE Ed Oliver (defense), Memphis RB/KR Tony Pollard (special teams) and Memphis DB T.J. Carter (rookie).
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 263 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the UConn contest with an active streak of 263 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).
CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH
In all, ECU is 3-2-0 in August, 127-118-1 in September, 162-158-4 in October, 138-126-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will continue play in November vs. Connecticut on Saturday, a month in which ECU has lost 10 of its last 12 contests (and 13 of 17 since the 2013 campaign) ... At home, ECU has dropped six of the last seven - posting its last November win at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium against Cincinnati almost exactly a year ago (48-20 on Nov. 18, 2017).
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
The Pirates returned only 53.9 percent of its lettermen from a year ago, which ranked as the lowest percentage among all FBS programs ... Additionally, ECU's season-opening depth chart included only four senior returning starters (WR Trevon Brown, OT Garrett McGhin, RB Anthony Scott and CB Corey Seargent) - the second-fewest nationally.
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
ECU has already utilized 18 fi rst-time starters this season - 12 on the offensive side of the ball (QB Holton Ahlers, TE Johnny Bogle, RG Fernando Frye, QB Reid Herring, RG Jordan Johnson, TE D'Angelo McKinnie, WR Leroy Henley, RG Branden Pena, WR Blake Proehl, WR Tyler Snead, TE Anthony Watley, C Peyton Winstead) and six on defense (LB Bruce Bivens, SS Daniel Charles, DE Nate Harvey, FS Nolan Johnson, DE Chance Purvis, CB Mike Witherspoon).
LOSING THEIR (RED) SHIRTS
A total of 24 players have had their redshirts removed and experienced action as true freshmen during the Scottie Montgomery era at ECU – nine (9) in '16, six (6) in '17 and nine (9) in '18 so far ... In all, a total of 15 true freshmen have played in 2018 and nine (italics) have surpassed the four game "limit" mandated by the NCAA: QB Holton Ahlers (8 games played), DB Myles Berry (9), TE Johnny Bogle (8), DB Daniel Charles (9), WR Maceo Donald (1), DE Dorian Hardy (2), DB Damel Hickman (3), FS Nolan Johnson (9), TE D'Angelo McKinnie (7), WR Juwan Moody (2), DB Jaren Rainey (1), LB/RB Xavier Smith (8), WR Tyler Snead (2), LB Gerard Stringer (5) and OL Peyton Winstead (6).
TOP PASSING UNIT IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Since joining the AAC in 2014, the Pirates lead the league in passing yards per game over a combined four-plus-year period despite utilizing eight starting quarterbacks, three offensive coordinators and two head coaches: 1. ECU (325.9), 2. Memphis (290.3), 3. Cincinnati (273.6), 4. Houston (268.5) and 5. UCF (246.4) ... In addition, the Pirates also top the league in completions (1,633), attempts (2,688) and total air yards (18,923) ... ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 16 400-yard passing games.
SNAPS O'PLENTY
The Pirates have snapped 796 offensive plays from scrimmage so far in 2018 - an average of 88.4 per contest, which currently stands first among all FBS programs … ECU also averages 17.7 more plays per game than its opponent, which ranks third nationally (Army/+21.9, Texas A&M/+20.9, ECU/+17.7, Ohio State/+13.4. Cincinnati/+12.5).
ONE MORE YARD = SEVEN-STRAIGHT YEARS (1K WR)
ECU has featured at least one 1,000-yard receiver in six-straight seasons, which ranks first at the FBS level ... If Trevon Brown can pick up just one more yard (has 999 entering the UConn tilt), the Pirates will extend their streak to seven in a row … ECU 1,000-yard receivers include: 2012 Justin Hardy (1,105), 2013 Hardy (1,284), 2014 Hardy (1,494) and 2014 Cam Worthy (1,016), 2015 Zay Jones (1,099), 2016 Jones (1,746) and 2017 Trevon Brown (1,069) ... Brown is just one of eleven 1,000-yard receivers nationally who return this year (and the only one in the American Conference).
DECADE RECEIVING LEADERS
In the last decade (since 2008), ECU has produced nine 1,000-yard receivers, which also leads the FBS level along with SMU … NOTE – ECU has the top two receivers in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history by career receptions in Zay Jones (399 from 2013-16) and Justin Hardy (387 from 2011-2014) ... In terms of FBS single-season reception leaders, the Pirates are just one of two programs (Nevada) to have three entries in the Top 25 listings - 1. Jones (158/2016), 20. Hardy (121/2014), 25. Hardy (114/2013).
TREVON BROWN ... AMONG ACTIVE WR LEADERS
Trevon Brown currently stands fifth (5th) among all active FBS receivers in reception yards (2,828), 8th in reception yards per game (74.4), 5th in TD grabs (23) and 11th in catches (179) ... Additionally, his 2,828 receiving yards, 179 receptions and 23 TD grabs tops all American Athletic Conference pass catchers heading into the UConn contest.
BROWN'S TRIPLE-DIGIT QUARTET
Trevon Brown has made a combined 41 receptions for 652 yards in his last four outings vs. Houston (13-153), UCF (10-145), Memphis (10-193) and Tulane (8-161) - standing as the only pass catcher at the FBS level to surpass 100 receiving yards in four-straight games this year ... Brown's 13 grabs (UH) also ranks as a AAC single-game high in 2018.
TOP (TRUE) FRESHMEN QBs ... RUSHING
True freshman Holton Ahlers has made an immediate impact during his first eight collegiate appearances with a team-best 441 rushing yards, five touchdowns on 98 carries ... Since his debut vs. UNC (8-36, 2 TD), he has posted seven-straight team-high rushing outings - USF (12-48), ODU (8-63), Temple (5-56), Houston (5-45), UCF (27-69), Memphis (17-57) and Tulane (16-67) ... Among all true FBS rookies, Ahlers currently stands second in rushing yardage and rushing TD … Ahler's 53-yard run vs. Temple also currently stands as the second-longest single rush turned in by a true freshman quarterback this season.
WELCOMED DISRUPTIONS
Senior defensive end Nate Harvey will enter the UConn matchup as the national leader in TFLs per game, while ranking second in sacks per game … Harvey is currently on pace for 28.0 TFLs in '18 (he currently shares the ECU record with 21.0) and is on pace for 14.0 sacks in '18 (ECU record is 15 by Rod Coleman in 1997).
A STARTERS' LOG ...
NB Devon Sutton (19 games) and OT Garrett McGhin (17) own the program's longest starting streaks on their respective side of the ball entering the UConn contest.
P6 .... #AMERICANPOW6R
Similar to the 2016 and 2017 campaigns, ECU will continue to wear P6 helmet stickers, recognizing Commissioner Mike Aresco's long-standing message that the American Athletic Conference is a Power 6 Conference based on the league's competitive results and commitments made at all the conference's institutions.
ECU OF NOTE ...
ECU's seven losses this year have come to teams with a combined 48-21 record thus far ... Under Montgomery (2016-18), ECU ranks 4th nationally in 4th down conversions (49) and 6th in most 4th down conversion attempts (84) ... The Pirates have lost 32-straight games when scoring 20 or less points (19-14 vs. UCF in '09/last win) ... ECU's nine (9) sacks vs. Old Dominion on Sept. 29 matched a school single-game standard (9 vs. FIU in 2013) ... The Pirates need only 14 more TFLs to match a school single-season record (98/2007) ... Holton Ahlers and Reid Herring are ECU's first high school signees to start at QB since 2014.
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