Classic Rewind Preview: ECU Hosts Duke in Home Opener (1999)
June 17, 2020 | Football
| Classic Rewind Preview: ECU vs. Duke (1999) | |
| Re-Air Date: | Saturday, June 20, 2020 |
| Re-Air Time: | 1 P.M. (EDT) |
| Game Location: | Greenville, N.C. |
| Game Coverage: | Internet: ECUPirates.com |
| In-Game Hashtag: | #ECURewind |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | Duke |
| Roster: | ECU | Duke |
| Depth Chart: | ECU | Duke |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – After an impressive 30-23 season-opening victory over West Virginia last weekend at Charlotte, East Carolina opens its home schedule this Saturday when the Pirates host the Duke Blue Devils in a nationally-televised (FOX Sports Net, 3:30 p.m.) contest. This will be the first-ever appearance for the Blue Devils in Greenville.
ECU amassed 496 of total offense (327 rushing, 169 passing) in the win over the Mountaineers. Junior RB Jamie Wilson rushed for a career-high 183 yards and one touchdown while QB David Garrard threw for 105 yards and ran for two touchdowns. ECU scored the game-winning TD with only 56 second remaining when Garrard scored from one-yard out. The score capped a six-play, 57-yard drive.
Duke will be playing its first game of the 1999 season and also is making its debut under Blue Devil head coach Carl Franks.
PIRATES IN HOME OPENERS
East Carolina has an all-time record of 37-24-2 in home openers. The Pirates have won their last four home-opening games, including a 31-0 victory in 1998 over Chattanooga.
SERIES HISTORY
East Carolina and Duke are meeting for the seventh time with the Blue Devils holding a 4-2 series lead. The first six games in the series have been played at Durham. Duke defeated ECU (13-10) in 1994 in the schools' most recent meeting. The Blue Devils has won three games in a row in the series. The first game played between the two teams occurred in 1977 (a 17-16 East Carolina victory).
DEFENSE WILL TAKE ON A NEW LOOK IN 1999
The East Carolina defense will take on a new look this season under first-year defensive coordinator Tim Rose. Rose, who has directed successful defensive units this decade at Boston College, Memphis, Cincinnati, Minnesota and Miami (Ohio), will implement a 3-4 scheme for the Pirates and also employ a more aggressive, attacking style. The Pirates, who return six starters on defense for the 1999 season, finished 65th nationally last season in total defense but only 95th in rushing defense. East Carolina finished 67th in pass efficiency defense and 53rd in scoring defense. One positive in 1998 was the Pirates' turnover margin as ECU ranked No. 15 (tied) in the final NCAA statistics.
MILLER DEBUT SUCCESSFUL
Early indications are that the Pirates' kicking game will be much improved in 1999. Redshirt freshman placekicker Kevin Miller made his ECU debut last Saturday in the Pirates' 30-23 victory over West Virginia and the results were outstanding. Miller, a native of Virginia Beach, Va., was successful on all three of his field goal attempts in the game, connecting from 37, 42 and 43 yards out. His 43-yard FG represented the longest by an ECU kicker since Brantley Rivers hit from 45 yards away in ECU's 1997 game at Tulane. Miller, also a member of ECU's golf team, won the starting job with an outstanding spring as he connected on 7-of-8 field goals in the final scrimmage last April.
RUSHING ATTACK PLAYS LARGE ROLE
ECU's rushing yardage total vs. West Virginia Saturday nearly doubled the Pirates' passing output. East Carolina ran for 327 yards in the game while throwing for 169. Consider that in the past three seasons, only four times had ECU totaled more rushing yards than passing yards in a game. The 327-yard effort was the highest by the Pirates since they ran for 410 vs. NC State in '96 – also at Charlotte.
WILSON BREAKS LOOSE
Junior RB Jamie Wilson enjoyed his best game as a Pirate last Saturday in the win over West Virginia. The Greenville native rushed for a career-high 183 yards on 20 carries (9.1 yards per attempt) and ran for one touchdown. The effort represented Wilson's first career game eclipsing the 100-yard mark for rushing yards. Wilson, who had runs of 47 and 32 yards in the first half against the Mountaineers, recorded the 11th-best single-game rushing effort in Pirate history with this performance. Wilson also was also the Pirates' leader in receptions against WVU. Wilson's previous best rushing total for a single game was 96 yards against UAB last season.
OFFENSIVE IMPRESSIVE IN OPENER
The Pirate offense had an impressive season debut last weekend in Ericsson Stadium. East Carolina churned out 496 yards of offense and averaged 7.4 yards per play. The Pirates averaged 6.8 yards rushing the ball and threw for 169 yards.
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