East Carolina University
Tulane
Gameday: ECU Travels To Tulane Saturday
November 08, 2018 | Football
| ECU Game 9: Tulane | |
| Date: | Saturday, Nov. 10 |
| Time: | 4:00 PM (EST) |
| Location: | New Orleans, La. (Yulman Stadium) |
| Tickets: | Game Tickets |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | TuneIn Radio Online Television: ESPNews |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | Tulane | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes: | ECU (PDF) | Tulane (PDF) | The American (PDF) |
| 2018 Statistics: | ECU (PDF) | Tulane (PDF) |
| ECU Football Central: | Roster | Fact Book (PDF) | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| Facebook: | ECU | Tulane | The American |
| Twitter: | ECU | Tulane | The American |
| Twitter Hashtags: | #ECUPirates | #ECUGameday | #ECUFootball | #AmericanFB |
| Instagram: | ECU | The American |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – ECU will make its longest road trip of the season (and first in over a month) when it travels to Tulane on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. (ET) American Conference battle against the Green Wave. The Pirates' tilt in New Orleans will also mark the final matchup of the year against AAC West Division foes following earlier meetings against Houston and Memphis. After splitting six contests at the Louisiana Superdome (beginning in 1991), ECU will play its first-ever game at Yulman Stadium.
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 10 of the last 13 games (six of the last seven) ...
- Has thrown at least one touchdown pass in 17 of the last 19 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 five games ...
- Has recorded a combined 25 sacks in the last six games (4.2 spg) ...
- Has won six of the last eight overall meetings against Tulane ...
- Has won six-straight "regulation" games against Tulane (last loss in 2003) ...
THE SERIES
ECU leads 11-4 ... The Pirates have won six of the last eight (and 10 of the last 13) meetings ... The two teams have split six prior matchups in New Orleans, while ECU is 8-1 against the Green Wave in Greenville.
TULANE, STATE OF LOUISIANA COACHING "CONNECTIONS"
Four members of ECU's current full-time coaching staff spent time on collegiate football staff s in the state of Louisiana, including one who worked directly with the Tulane program - offensive line coach Don Mahoney, who served in the same capacity with the Green Wave from 1999 to 2006 ... Others were special teams coordinator Kirk Doll (assistant head coach & linebackers/LSU/2002-03), running backs coach Jason Nichols (receivers/ULM/2010-15) and offensive coordinator Tony Petersen (OC & quarterbacks/Louisiana Tech/2013-15).
THE AMERICAN - YEAR FIVE
ECU has posted an 81-65 (.555) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently sport series records against Memphis (15-8), Cincinnati (13-8), Tulane (11-4), 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).
AGAINST THE WILD WEST
ECU owns a 2-9 regular season mark (1-5/home, 1-4/road) against the American Athletic Conference's "other side" since the league began divisional play in 2015 - splitting with SMU and Tulsa, dropping a pair to Navy, Houston and Memphis and falling once so far to Tulane ... On the flipside, the Pirates own a 4-14 mark (2-7/home, 2-7/road) against AAC opponents in its own East Division ... ECU's 44-7 victory against UCF in its '15 road finale, a pair of wins vs. Connecticut (41-3 in 2016, 41-38 in 2017) and a 48-20 triumph vs. Cincinnati on Senior Day in 2017 represents the quartet of successful outings.
LEAGUE, NON-LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
The Pirates have averaged 18.0 points, 94.0 rushing yards, 321.0 passing yards and 415.0 total yards in their five (USF, Temple, Houston, UCF, Memphis) 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 1-5 (2-6 last season) when they square off against Tulane.
COMPARING 10-YEAR, EIGHT-GAME RESULTS
ECU's 59-41 loss to Memphis last week marks the second consecutive year the Pirates have "opened" the season with a 2-6 record ... A victory over Tulane would give ECU a 3-6 ledger, which would match Scottie Montgomery's initial season in Greenville (2016) ... The Pirates haven't enjoyed much recent success during Week 9 of their schedule, winning only once since 2009.
ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, ECU is 55-84 (.396) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Before their 0-2 mark in 2018 (setbacks at USF and Temple) 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).
PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES
ECU will close out the regular season schedule by playing three of its last four games on the road ... After visiting Tulane, the Pirates will host Connecticut for Senior Day next week before heading to Cincinnati (Nov. 23) and NC State (Dec. 1) to wrap up the 2018 campaign ... The last time ECU faced a similar slate was in 2006 when the Pirates closed out Skip Holtz' second year, which also included a finale vs. the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
A 35-DAY TRAVEL "MORATORIUM"
As previously mentioned (page 1), ECU's contest at Tulane on Saturday marks the Pirates' first road game in over a month (since falling at Temple on Oct. 6) ... The 35-day "span" between trips matches ECU's 2011 schedule which opened with a Sept. 3 game vs. South Carolina in Charlotte that was followed by three home games (Virginia Tech, UAB and North Carolina) and a bye week before the Pirates traveled to Houston on Oct. 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 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 (42,888), 2. USF (34,695), 3. ECU (33,854), 4. Cincinnati (33,143), 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 ... 262 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the Tulane contest with an active streak of 262 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) … On the flipside, ECU has not recorded a defensive shutout since blanking Duke 38-0 on Sept. 2, 2000 in Durham, N.C. - a span of 231 games.
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, 138-125-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will continue play in November vs. Tulane on Saturday, a month in which ECU has lost nine of its last 11 contests (and 12 of 16 since the 2013 campaign) ... On the road, ECU has dropped seven of the last nine - posting its last November win three years ago with a 44-7 rout of UCF in Orlando on Nov. 19, 2015.
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 16 fi rst-time starters this season - 10 on the offensive side of the ball (QB Holton Ahlers, TE Johnny Bogle, RG Fernando Frye, QB Reid Herring, TE D'Angelo McKinnie, WR Leroy Henley, RG Branden Pena, WR Blake Proehl, 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 22 players have had their redshirts removed and experienced action as true freshmen during the Scottie Montgomery era at ECU- nine in '16, six in '17 and eight in '18 so far ... In all, a total of 14 true freshmen have played in 2018 and eight (italics) have surpassed the four-game "limit" mandated by the NCAA: QB Holton Ahlers (7 games played), DB Myles Berry (8), TE Johnny Bogle (7), DB Daniel Charles (8), WR Maceo Donald (1), DE Dorian Hardy (2), DB Damel Hickman (2), FS Nolan Johnson (8), TE D'Angelo McKinnie (7), WR Juwan Moody (2), LB/RB Xavier Smith (7), WR Tyler Snead (1), LB Gerard Stringer (4) and OL Peyton Winstead (5).
ALL (EVEN-YEAR) SIGNS POINT TO ...
ECU has advanced to postseason play (i.e. bowl appearance) in five of the last six even-numbered years - 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
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 (325.7), 2. Memphis (291.8), 3. Cincinnati (274.9), 4. Houston (267.6) and 5. UCF (247.2) ... In addition, the Pirates also top the league in completions (1,612), attempts (2,621) and total air yards (18,563) ... ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 16 400-yard passing games.
SNAPS O'PLENTY
The Pirates have snapped 702 offensive plays from scrimmage so far in 2018 - an average of 87.8 per contest, which currently stands first among all FBS programs … ECU also averages 17.9 more plays per game than its opponent, which ranks third nationally (Texas A&M/+22.0, Army/+21.8, ECU/+17.9, Ohio State/+12.9. Texas Tech/+11.4).
1K RECEIVER IN SIX-STRAIGHT YEARS: NO. 1 IN FBS
ECU has featured at least one 1,000-yard receiver in six-straight seasons, which is tops nationally at the FBS level ... Boise State, Houston, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all stand second with a 1K pass catcher in three-straight years … 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 sixth (6th) among all active FBS receivers in reception yards (2,667), 8th in reception yards per game (72.1), 8th in TD grabs (21) and 13th in catches (171) ... Additionally, his 2,667 receiving yards tops all American Athletic Conference pass catchers heading into the Tulane tilt.
BROWN'S TRIPLE-DIGIT TRIFECTA
Trevon Brown has made a combined 33 receptions for 491 yards in his last three outings vs. Houston (13-153), UCF (10-145) and Memphis (10-193) - standing as the only pass catcher at the FBS level to surpass 100 receiving yards in three-straight games ... Brown's 13 grabs (UH) and 193 yards (MEM) rank as AAC single-game highs in 2018.
TOP (TRUE) FRESHMEN QBs ... RUSHING
True freshman Holton Ahlers has made an immediate impact during his first seven collegiate appearances with a team-best 374 rushing yards, fi ve touchdowns on 82 carries ... After picking up 36 yards and two TDs in his debut against UNC, he posted six-straight team-high rushing outings - USF (12-48), ODU (8-63), Temple (5-56), Houston (5-45), UCF (27-69) and Memphis (17-57) ... Among all true FBS rookies, Ahlers currently stands second in rushing yardage and rushing TDs … 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.
A STARTERS' LOG ...
NB Devon Sutton (18 games) and OT Garrett McGhin (16) own the program's longest starting streaks on their respective side of the ball entering the Tulane 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 six losses this year have come to teams with a combined 39-14 record thus far and three (UCF, UH, USF) are currently ranked or receiving votes in both FBS Top 25 polls ... The Pirates have engineered 16 scoring (9 TD/7 FG) drives of 10 plays or longer, which ranks tied for fifth nationally (Army leads FBS with 24) ... Under Montgomery (2016-18), ECU ranks 4th nationally in 4th down conversions (48) and 7th in most 4th down conversion attempts (82) ... The Pirates have lost 31-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) ... Holton Ahlers and Reid Herring are ECU's first high school signees to start at QB since 2014.
