Gameday: ECU Closes Out Season At NC State
November 30, 2018 | Football
| ECU Game 12: NC State | |
| Date: | Saturday, Dec. 1 |
| Time: | 12 Noon (EST) |
| Location: | Raleigh, N.C. (Carter-Finley Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking: | Tickets | Parking |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | TuneIn Radio Online Television: ACC Network Extra |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | NC State | American Athletic Conference |
| 2018 Statistics: | ECU (PDF) | NC State (PDF) |
| ECU Football Central: | Roster | Fact Book (PDF) | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| Facebook: | ECU | NC State | The American |
| Twitter: | ECU | NC State | The American |
| Twitter Hashtags: | #ECUPirates | #ECUGameday | #ECUFootball | #AmericanFB |
| Instagram: | ECU | The American |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU will complete its 2018 regular season schedule by visiting NC State in Raleigh on Saturday for a non-conference matchup beginning at 12 noon. The Pirates will try to post their first 3-1 non-league mark since 2014 following wins over North Carolina and Old Dominion earlier this season, while at the same time, attempt to earn their first road win of the campaign. Additionally, a total of 19 players (17 seniors, two juniors) will dress out in Purple & Gold for the final time.
ECU RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (three in the last seven years) ...
- Has accounted for 400 or more total yards in eight of the last 10 games ...
- Has thrown at least one touchdown pass in six-straight games (12 TD throws) ...
- Has won 34 of the last 37 games when leading at the half ...
- Has tallied 7.0 or more TFLs in nine (of 11) games this season ...
- Has recorded at least two sacks in eight of the last nine games (31 total) ...
- Has snapped 90 or more offensive plays in four of the last six games ...
- Has won five-straight against ACC members from North Carolina (UNC, NCSU) ...
- Has won seven of the last nine games against ACC opponents (dating back to Sept. 28, 2013) ...
THE SERIES
NC State leads East Carolina 16-13 all-time in a series which dates back to 1970 ... Although the Pirates trail the overall series against the Wolfpack, ECU has had the upper hand lately – winning three straight, eight of the last 12 meetings since 1987 (and 10 of the last 16 since '83) ... ECU has taken three of four contests at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, but the Wolfpack are 14-8 in Raleigh ... The Pirates have also won two of three neutral site matchups, including the 1992 Peach Bowl.
ECU AGAINST THE ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
ECU has compiled an all-time record of 45-85-1 (.347) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference ... In addition to a 13-16 mark against NC State, the Pirates own a 7-15 ledger vs. Virginia Tech, 5-5 vs. Duke, 5-12-1 vs. North Carolina, 4-6 vs. Louisville, 3-6 vs. Syracuse, 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 (page 1), ECU has enjoyed a recent run of success against the ACC, winning seven of the last nine matchups (dating back to Sept. 28, 2013).
PLAYING IN-STATE FOES
The Pirates will finish the 2018 campaign having faced three in-state opponents (L/NC A&T, W/UNC, NC State) - the most for ECU in a single-season since 1981 ... In all, ECU is 56-62-1 (.475) when playing programs from the state of North Carolina (in order of victories): 18-3 vs. Western Carolina, 13-16 vs. NC State, 12-19 vs. Appalachian State, 5-5 vs. Duke, 5-12-1 vs. UNC, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 1-0 vs. North Carolina Central and 0-1 vs. North Carolina A&T ... The Pirates have never faced in-state Division I (FBS or FCS) members Campbell, Charlotte, Elon or Gardner-Webb in the sport of football ... Through the 2028, ECU has current contracts in place to square off against at least one state of North Carolina program each year with the exception of 2020.
LEAGUE, NON-LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
In its three regular season non-conference contests (2-1) this year, ECU has averaged 33.7 points, 155.7 rushing yards, 305.7 passing yards and 461.3 total yards per game ... By comparison, the Pirates averaged 21.1 points, 132.2 rushing yards, 303.4 passing yards and 435.6 total yards in their eight (USF, Temple, Houston, UCF, Memphis, Tulane, UConn, Cincinnati) American Conference games of the 2018 season that produced an 1-7 record.
COMPARING 10-YEAR, 11-GAME RESULTS
ECU's 56-6 loss at Cincinnati last week marks the third-straight year the Pirates are 3-8 through 11 games ... A victory over NC State would give ECU a 4-8 ledger, which would be ECU's top record since a 5-7 clip during Ruffin McNeill's final campaign (2015) ... Unfortunately however, the Pirates have not enjoyed much recent success during Week 12 of their schedule, dropping seven of the last eight contests ... In fact, ECU has not captured a regular season finale on the road since 2006 (at NC State).
ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, ECU is 55-86 (.390) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Before their 0-4 mark in 2018 (USF, Temple, Tulane, Cincinnati) and prior to dropping four of five last year (win at UConn; losses at WVU, UCF, Houston & Memphis), the Pirates were a combined 5-14 (2014-2016).
AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
Since accepting membership in a conference, the Pirates have produced a 35-53 (.398) regular season nonleague record ... ECU claimed its first winning non-conference mark since 1999 with 3-1 ledgers in 2013 and 2014 before following with 2-2 marks in 2015 & 2016, a 1-3 standing in 2017 and a current 2-1 clip in 2018... With a win over NC State, the Pirates will have matched their second-highest non-league victory total since 1997.
THE AMERICAN - YEAR FIVE
ECU has posted an 82-67 (.550) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently sport series records against Memphis (15-8), Cincinnati (13-9), Tulane (11-5), UCF (10-7), Temple (8-8), Tulsa (8-6), Houston (7-7), Connecticut (4-1), SMU (4-3), Navy (1-5) and USF (1-8).
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 among conference attendance leaders on a near annual basis ... In all, a total of 8,695,812 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 2,424,526 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 65th nationally in average attendance (32,908) and 83rd in capacity percentage (65.82) this season ... A closer look at Top 5 AAC leaders: 1. UCF (43,853), 2. USF (38,517), 3. ECU (32,908), 4. Navy (31,464), 5. Cincinnati (30,519) ... Before drawing a season-lows during their last four home games (27,234/UConn; 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 for the opener, 39,298 against North Carolina before attracting 35,047 fans to watch the ODU matchup to close out September ... The 27,234 total vs. UConn marked ECU's lowest "draw" since Nov. 26, 2005.
ANALYZING THE 2018 OVERALL SCHEDULE
ECU's 2018 scheduled opponents posted a combined 88-60 (.595) record in 2017, which ranked 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 NC State (Hyundai Sun), 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 hosted 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), NC State (23/23) and Memphis (25/24) ... The Knights (12th), Tigers (20th) and Wolfpack (24th) were also included on the last CFP rankings.
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 265 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the NC State contest with an active streak of 265 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, 139-127-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will try to remain productive in December - a month in which ECU has captured victories in four of the last seven outings (wins vs. Boise State/'07, Tulsa/'08, Houston/'09 and Ohio/'13; losses to Maryland/'10, UL-Lafayette/'12 and UCF/'14) ... In terms of regular season play, ECU is 0-3 when playing in December after falling to LSU/'85, Cincinnati/'02 and UCF/'14 ... The Pirates' visit to Baton Rouge marks ECU's only regular season road December tilt.
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 utilized 19 fi rst-time starters this season - 13 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, TE Xavier Smith, 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 since 2016 at ECU - nine (9) in '16, six (6) in '17 and nine (9) in '18 so far ... In all, a total of 18 true freshmen have played in 2018 and nine (italics) have surpassed the four game "limit" mandated by the NCAA: QB Holton Ahlers (10 games played), DB Myles Berry (11), TE Johnny Bogle (8), DB Daniel Charles (11), WR Maceo Donald (3), DE/FB Damir Faison (2), DE Dorian Hardy (2), DB Damel Hickman (4), FS Nolan Johnson (11), TE D'Angelo McKinnie (9), WR Juwan Moody (2), WR Andre Pegues (1), DB Jaren Rainey (1), TE/LB Xavier Smith (10), WR Tyler Snead (4), LB Gerard Stringer (7), LB Jireh Wilson (2) and OL Peyton Winstead (8).
"D" THREE & OUTS
ECU's defensive success on third down currently ranks sixth nationally - based on a per-game "three & out" average - after forcing a combined 15 the last three weeks in contests vs. Tulane (10), Connecticut (4) and Cincinnati (1).
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 (323.1), 2. Memphis (288.1), 3. Cincinnati (273.1), 4. Houston (267.0) and 5. UCF (245.5) ... In addition, the Pirates also top the league in completions (1,665), attempts (2,750) and total air yards (19,385) ... ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 16 400-yard passing games.
SNAPS O'PLENTY
The Pirates have snapped 944 offensive plays from scrimmage so far in 2018 - an average of 85.8 per contest, which currently stands first among all FBS programs … ECU also averages 15.3 more plays per game than its opponent, which ranks third nationally (Army/+21.8, Texas A&M/+17.0, ECU/+15.3, Cincinnati/+13.6. Ohio State/+12.8).
*FBS record is 92.4 by Notre Dame in 1970 (924 in 10 games).
1K RECEIVER = SEVEN-STRAIGHT YEARS
ECU has featured at least one 1,000-yard receiver in seven-straight seasons, which ranks first at the FBS level ... Trevon Brown helped the Pirates extend the streak by surpassing the 1K mark vs. UConn (second consecutive year) on Nov. 17 … 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), 2017 Trevon Brown (1,069) and 2018 Brown (1,075).
DECADE RECEIVING LEADERS
In the last decade (since 2008), ECU has produced 10 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 sixth (6th) among all active FBS receivers in reception yards (2,904), 6th in TD grabs (24), 7th in reception yards per game (72.6) and 17th in catches (186) ... Additionally, his 2,904 receiving yards, 72.6 reception yards per game and 24 TD grabs tops all AAC pass catchers heading into the NC State contest.
BROWN'S TRIPLE-DIGIT QUARTET
Trevon Brown made a combined 41 receptions for 652 yards in 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 still 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 10 collegiate appearances with a team-best 592 rushing yards, six touchdowns on 119 carries ... Since his debut vs. UNC (8-36, 2 TD), he has posted team-high rushing outings in eight of the last nine games - which includes his first century-mark performance (12-130 vs. UConn) ... Among all true FBS rookies, Ahlers currently stands second in rushing yardage and second in rush TDs … Ahlers' 53-yard run vs. Temple currently stands as the third-longest single rush turned in by a true freshman quarterback this season, while his 130-yard rushing performance vs. UConn was the third-highest single-game total turned in by an ECU QB (best since Jeff Blake had 161 vs. Northern Illinois in 1990).
TOP (TRUE) FRESHMEN QBs ... PASSING
Ahlers passed for 400-plus yards in two-straight contests this year (an ECU freshman-first), which ranks second and third at the FBS level for true rookies in a single game … Ahlers is the only QB at FBS level to have multiple (2) games with 60+ pass attempts … He has compiled 1,985 total yards (397.0 ypg) as the Pirates' starter in the last 5 games, has the 2nd & 3rd-highest true freshmen. single-game total offense yards (506/MEM, 475/UCF) and has 60+ pass attempts/15+ rush attempts in two FBS games - a first since 2000.
NATIONAL LEADER IN DISRUPTIONS
Senior defensive end Nate Harvey will enter the NC State matchup as the national leader in TFLs, while standing second in sacks per game … Harvey is currently on pace for 26.0 TFLs in '18 (he owns the ECU & AAC record with 24.0) and is currently on pace for 15.0 sacks in '18 (ECU record is 15.0 by Rod Coleman in 1997) .
A STARTERS' LOG ...
NB Devon Sutton (21 games) and OT Garrett McGhin (19) own the program's longest starting streaks on their respective side of the ball entering the NC State 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 67 wins (8.4 per team) ... Since 2016, ECU ranks 5th nationally in 4th down conversions (51) and 6th in most 4th down conversion attempts (88) ... The Pirates have lost 33-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 1 more TFL 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.
