East Carolina University
Cincinnati
Gameday: ECU Travels To No. 7 Cincinnati
November 11, 2020 | Football
| East Carolina at No. 7 Cincinnati (Game 7) | |
| Date: | Friday, Nov. 13 |
| Time: | 7:30 P.M. (EST) |
| Location: | Cincinnati, Ohio (Nippert Stadium) |
| Game Program: | Cincinnati Program |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | TuneIn Radio Online Television: ESPN2 | American Forces Network (AFN) |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | Cincinnati | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes: | ECU | Cincinnati | The American |
| Statistics: | ECU | Cincinnati |
| ECU Football Central: | ECU Media Hub | Roster | ECU Yearbook | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| Facebook: | ECU | The American |
| Twitter: | ECU | ECU Football (in-game updates) | The American |
| Twitter Hashtags: | #ECUGameday | #PirateNation | #AmericanFB |
| Instagram: | ECU | The American |
Due to The Master's coverage on CBS, this week's edition of the Mike Houston Show will air Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on WNCT-TV. The broadcast schedule for the alternative channel – CW (ENCT) - will remain at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina will be looking to post its second American Athletic Conference victory of the season - most since 2017 - when it visits Cincinnati on Friday night for a matchup against the No. 7 Bearcats. The meeting against UC also opens a two-game roadswing for the Pirates, who will travel to Philadelphia to face Temple next week. ECU will attempt to even its all-time ledger in Cincinnati to 6-6 when it squares off against the Bearcats, and oddly, tonight's encounter will mark the fourth time the two teams have met on November 13 (1997, 1999 and 2014).
ECU RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (eight in the last 14 years) ...
- Has averaged 421.0 total yards per game in its first five AAC contests this season ...
- Has averaged 340.5 passing yards (six overall TD tosses) in its last two games ...
- Has scored on 35 of 39 redzone visits in its last 10 games (18-of-21 in 2020) ...
- Has kicked at least three fi eld goals in four of the last five games ...
- Has forced at least one turnover in 16 of the last 17 games (11 total in the last five) ...
- Has tallied a total of 28.0 TLFs (7.0) and 11.0 sacks (2.8) in its last four games ...
- Has owned a combined 4:50 average edge in possession time so far in 2020 ...
- Has won 39 of the last 44 games when leading at the half (12-3 since 2015) ...
THE SERIES
East Carolina leads 13-10 ... The Bearcats have won eight of the last nine, including the first five of six meetings as American Conference members ... UC also holds a 6-5 edge in 11 contests in Cincinnati.
MIKE HOUSTON AGAINST THE BEARCATS
ECU's 46-43 loss vs. Cincinnati last year serves as Mike Houston's only prior meeting against the Bearcats.
LUKE FICKELL AGAINST THE PIRATES
Fourth meeting (2-1; ECU win in 2017, Cincinnati victories in 2018 & 2019) ... The Pirates never competed against Akron (2000-01) and Ohio State (2002-16) while Luke Fickell was a member of those respective staffs.
CINCINNATI, STATE OF OHIO STAFF "CONNECTIONS"
Two members of East Carolina current full-time football staff spent time with collegiate programs in the state of Ohio, including one who worked directly with the Bearcats - offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler, who served in the same capacity at Cincinnati in 2003 under head coach Rick Minter ... The Bearcats opened the season with three-straight wins, which included a 40-3 rout of ECU, before finishing the campaign with a 5-7 mark ... The other is director of operations Nina Baloun, who spent five years (2008-12) serving as a recruiting assistant and community relations liaison at alma mater and Mid-American Conference member Toledo.
AGAINST THE BUCKEYE STATE
The Pirates have won 21 of 35 all-time matchups (21-14) against FBS programs from the state of Ohio ... In addition to its 13-10 mark against Cincinnati, East Carolina is 3-0 vs. Ohio, 2-2 vs. Bowling Green, 2-2 vs. Toledo and 1-0 vs. Akron ... The Pirates have never faced Ohio State, Kent State or Miami on the gridiron.
THE AMERICAN - YEAR SEVEN
East Carolina has posted a 79-77 (.506) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently sport series records against Memphis (15-8), Cincinnati (13-10), Tulane (11-6), UCF (10-9), Tulsa (8-8), Temple (8-9), Houston (7-7), SMU (4-4), USF (2-9) and Navy (1-7) … Includes a 5-1 mark against former league member Connecticut.
AAC, NON-AAC STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
The Pirates have averaged 27.1 points, 133.5 rushing yards, 311.1 passing yards and 444.6 total yards in their 53 American Athletic Conference games since joining the league in 2014 ... By comparison, ECU averages 29.2 points, 144.2 rushing yards, 298.8 passing yards and 442.9 total yards per game in 25 non-conference contests.
ANALYZING THE 2020 OVERALL SCHEDULE
East Carolina's 2020 opponents posted a combined 72-44 (.621) record in 2019 ... The Pirates' only nonconference foe (Georgia State) was 7-6, while the eight AAC squads tallied a collective 65-38 (.631) mark ... Four programs had 10 or more wins - Cincinnati (11), Navy (11), Tulane (10) and UCF (10) ... Some other notables:
WHO WENT BOWLING ... In all, ECU's current slate features contests against seven teams that advanced to bowl games in 2019 - UCF (Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla), Georgia State (Nova Home Loans Arizona), Navy (AutoZone Liberty), Tulane (Lockheed Martin Armed Forces), Cincinnati (TicketSmarter Birmingham), Temple (Military) and SMU (Cheribundi Boca Raton) ... All four of the Pirates' home games are against 2019 bowl qualifiers.
IN THE FINAL POLLS ... Four of ECU's 2020 opponents were ranked or received votes in college football's two major polls (Associated Press/USA Today Amway Coaches) to end the 2019 season - Navy (20/20), Cincinnati (21/21), UCF (24/24) and SMU (RV/RV).
COMPARING 10-YEAR, SIX-GAME RESULTS
East Carolina's 38-21 loss against Tulane last week dropped the Pirates' record to 1-5 for the first time since 2017 (and just the second time in the last 10 seasons) ... A victory over Cincinnati would give ECU a 2-5 mark for the third time in the last five years (2016/2018), but a loss against the Bearcats would again match the Pirates' ledger with the 2017 (and 2003) squads at 1-6
ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 58-93 (.384) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... The Pirates will now set their sights on evening their overall 2020 road slate at 2-2 when they meet Cincinnati (win at USF, losses at Georgia State and Tulsa) ... From an American Athletic Conference standpoint, ECU has dropped 10 of the last 13, but on the flipside, will try to post two "away" league triumphs in the same season for the first time since 2015 (49-23 and 44-7 wins at SMU and UCF, respectively).
THE PIRATE NATION - NEARLY 9 MILLION STRONG
East Carolina has usually been able to claim plenty of hometown support when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium - establishing itself among conference attendance leaders on a near annual basis ... In all, a total of 8,901,966 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 (to push capacity to 50,000), the Pirates have drawn 2,630,680 fans.
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 284 AND COUNTING
East Carolina will enter the Cincinnati contest with an active streak of 284 games of not suffering a shutout - a school record (previous mark was 110 set from '71-'81) ... The last time the Pirates were blanked was on Oct. 4, 1997 (56-0 at Syracuse) ... ECU's 284-game run currently ranks among the Top 10 nationally (Florida leads all programs).
CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH
In all, East Carolina is 3-3-0 in August, 130-120-1 in September, 163-164-4 in October, 140-131-5 in November, 9-10-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will continue November play at Cincinnati, a month in which East Carolina has lost 15 of its last 19 contests (and 18 of 24 since the 2013 campaign) ... On the road, ECU has dropped 10 of the last 13, but will look to make two wins in a row after downing Connecticut in its last November "away" tilt ... Overall, the Pirates are 6-18 vs. the AAC in Month 11.
NON-SATURDAY MAYHEM
East Carolina is 20-27 in non-Saturday games since 2000 ... Oddly, the Pirates have fared better on the road (14-13; 6-14 at home) ... In terms of days (including bowls), ECU is 5-1 on Sundays, 1-1 on Mondays, 2-1 on Tuesdays, 0-3 on Wednesdays, 7-12 on Thursdays and 5-9 on Fridays ... Most recently, ECU is 9-12 when deviating from the normal Saturday routine since 2010 ... The Pirates' most recent Friday outing was two weeks ago on Oct. 30 (34-30 loss at Tulsa), while their last visit to Cincinnati also was played on a Friday (Nov. 23, 2018).
GETTING THEIR FEET WET
The Pirates have utilized 17 true freshmen in their first six games, 13 against UCF in the opener alone - seven offensive (TE Shane Calhoun, QB Mason Garcia, RB Rahjai Harris, WR Taji Hudson, RB Keaton Mitchell, OL Jaquaez Powell, OL Walter Stribling), nine defensive (ILB Teylor Jackson, DB David Laney, DL Xavier McIver, DL Elijah Morris, DL Jason Romero, DL Jason Shuford, DL Kareem Stinson, DB Sean Tucker, DB Teagan Wilk) and one special teamer (P Luke Larsen) ... Harris has made the biggest impact on offense with a team-high 475 rushing yards on 91 carries, while Morris has recovered a unit-best two fumbles to go along with his 13 tackles ... Larsen has experienced punting action in three games - UCF (41.0 ypp), Tulsa (39.5) and Tulane (46.7).
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
Additionally, there have been a combined 19 first-time ECU starters in the Pirates' lineup so far this year - nine on the offensive side of the ball (TE Shane Calhoun, QB Mason Garcia, RB Rahjai Harris, LG Avery Jones, TE Jeremy Lewis, RT Bailey Malovic, RB Keaton Mitchell, OR Audi Omotosho, RG Nishad Strother) and 10 on defense (DT Rick D'Abreu, SAF Shawn Dourseau, CB Malik Fleming, DT Hozey Haji-Badri, DE Immanuel Hickman, DT Elijah Morris, SAF Warren Saba, DE Chad Stephens, DE Chris Willis, OLB Jireh Wilson), which currently ranks fourth nationally.
20-YEAR, 6-GAME NARRATIVE: OVERALL RUSHING INCLINE
Despite its struggle against Tulane with a season-low 35 rushing yards last week, East Carolina's current 933-yard ground total marks the program's fifth-highest clip through the first six games of a season since 2000.
AMONG SELECT COMPANY
Rahjai Harris' 475 rushing yards ranks as the fourth-highest ground total by an East Carolina running back through the first six games of a season ... Among freshmen, Harris' current total stands first in program history.
HARRIS: LOOKING FOR A TRIPLE-DIGIT QUARTET
Rahjai Harris (USF/115, Navy/172, TLS/118) will enter the Cincinnati contest looking to become the first Pirates' RB in seven years to post four 100-yard rushing contests in a single season ... Tay Cooper last accomplished the feat in 2013 after racking up 186 vs. North Carolina, 126 vs. UAB, 148 vs. NC State and 198 vs. Ohio in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl ... Cooper also recorded four triple digit ground outings in 2012, while Dominique Lindsay posted five during East Carolina's C-USA championship season in 2009.
AMONG TOP PASSING UNITS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Since joining the AAC in 2014, the Pirates stand second in passing yards over a combined seven year period despite utilizing eight starting quarterbacks, four offensive coordinators and three head coaches: 1. Memphis (25,095), 2. East Carolina (24,377), 3. UCF (22,318), 4. SMU (21,574) and 5. Houston (21,159) ... In addition, the Pirates top the league in completions (2,079) and attempts (3,446) ... ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 18 400-yard passing games and surpassed the 300-yard mark on 42 occasions during the 79-game span.
1K RECEIVER IN SEVEN OF LAST EIGHT YEARS
East Carolina has featured at least one 1,000-yard receiver in seven of the last eight seasons ... Its FBS-best run of seven-straight years came up just 92 yards short as freshman C.J. Johnson closed his rookie campaign with 908 reception yards in 2019 ... Pirate 1,000-yard receivers include: 2012 Justin Hardy (1,105), 2013 Hardy (1,284), 2014 Hardy (1,494) and Cam Worthy (1,016), 2015 Zay Jones (1,099), 2016 Jones (1,746), 2017 Trevon Brown (1,069) and 2018 Brown (1,123) ... ECU also has the top two receivers in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history by career receptions in Jones (399 from 2013-16) and Hardy (387 from 2011-2014).
MR. UTILITY & MR. RELIABILITY
Slot receiver/return specialist Tyler Snead has racked up 100-plus all-purpose yards in eight of his last 12 outings, while outside receiver Blake Proehl has caught at least one pass in 21 consecutive games (dating back to 2018) - tops on the unit.
STARTERS' LOG
C Fernando Frye (14 games) and ILB Xavier Smith (10) own the program's longest starting streaks on offense and defense entering the Cincinnati contest.
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