East Carolina University
Appalachian State
ECU To Open Season Against Appalachian State
September 01, 2021 | Football
| East Carolina vs. Appalachian State (Game 1) | |
| Date | Thursday, Sept. 2 |
| Time | 7:30 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location | Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America Stadium) |
| Digital Program | Appalachian State Program |
| Live Game Coverage | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | The Varsity Network App Television: ESPNU |
| Internet Options | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites | East Carolina | Appalachian State | The American |
| Game Notes | East Carolina | Appalachian State | The American |
| 2020 Statistics | East Carolina | Appalachian State |
| ECU Football Central | East Carolina Media Hub | Roster | East Carolina Yearbook | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| East Carolina | The American | |
| East Carolina | ECU Football (in-game updates) | The American | |
| Twitter Hashtags | #PirateNation | #AmericanFB |
| East Carolina | The American | |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina, which is in search of its first winning and bowl producing campaign since 2014, will open a new season under the direction of third-year head coach Mike Houston when the Pirates battle in-state and former Southern Conference rival Appalachian State in a non-conference matchup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. ECU will follow the contest against the Mountaineers, which represents the first of four-straight non-league matchups to begin the 2021 slate, by welcoming SEC-member South Carolina (Sept. 11) and Charleston Southern (Sept. 25) to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium while also visiting Marshall in Huntington, W. Va. (Sept. 18).
EAST CAROLINA RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Has averaged 415.0 total yards per game in its last five outings entering 2021 ...
- Has forced at least one turnover in eight-straight game (and in 19 of the last 20) ...
- Has netted four interceptions in the last two games ...
- Has tallied a total of 43.0 TLFs and 14.0 sacks in its last seven games (12.0/2.0 in last 2) ...
- Has won 41 of the last 46 games when leading at the half (14-3 since 2015) ...
- Has won eight of the last 13 season openers ...
THE SERIES
Appalachian State leads 19-12 .... While the Mountaineers have won 19 of 31 games in a near-90-year series that dates back to 1932, the two programs have met only twice since the Pirates posted a 38-21 victory over ASU in Boone on Nov. 3, 1979 ... The Mountaineers opened the series with 10 consecutive victories while ECU has won nine of the last 11, including a run of six straight ... The Pirates are 9-8 against ASU in Greenville but are just 3-11 in 14 meetings in Boone.
MIKE HOUSTON AGAINST THE MOUNTAINEERS (0-0)
Despite his western North Carolina and Southern Conference roots, Thursday's matchup against the Mountaineers will be ECU Head Coach Mike Houston's first-ever meeting against Appalachian State.
SHAWN CLARK AGAINST THE PIRATES (2-0)
While Shawn Clark has never faced East Carolina as a head coach (until Thursday), he has compiled a 2-0 mark against the Pirates as a staff assistant during his 20-year coaching career.
AAC, NON-AAC STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
The Pirates have averaged 27.8 points, 138.1 rushing yards, 305.6 passing yards and 443.7 total yards in their 57 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 2021 OVERALL SCHEDULE
ECU's 2021 opponents posted a combined 55-54 (.505) record in 2020 ... The Pirates' four non-conference foes were a collective 18-14 (.563), while the eight AAC squads tallied a 37-40 (.481) mark ... Four programs had seven (7) or more wins - Cincinnati (9-1), Appalachian State (9-3), Memphis (8-3) and Marshall (7-3).
WHO WENT BOWLING ... In all, ECU's current slate featured contests against seven teams which were invited to bowl games in 2020 - Appalachian State (Myrtle Beach), South Carolina (Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla), Marshall (Camellia), Cincinnati (Chick-fil-A Peach), Tulane (Famous Idaho Potato), UCF (RoofClaim.com Boca Raton), Houston (New Mexico) and Memphis (Cheribundi Boca Raton) ... Five of the six Pirates' road games are against 2020 bowl qualifiers.
IN THE FINAL POLLS ... Only one of ECU's 2021 opponents was ranked in college football's two major polls (Associated Press/USA Today Amway Coaches) to end the 2020 season - league champion Cincinnati (8/8). However, two Pirates' AAC opponents from 2020 also received season-ending votes (Tulsa, SMU).
ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 59-94 (.386) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... The Pirates will now set their sights on improving from a 2-3 road slate in 2020 when they meet Appalachian State ... From a non-conference standpoint, ECU snapped a seven-game skid when it topped Old Dominion 24-21 on Sept. 28, 2019 but has only played one road non-AAC tilt since - falling 49-29 at Georgia State last Oct. 3 ... The Pirates will be looking to post their first season-opening road/neutral site) win since knocking off Virginia Tech 27-22 in Charlotte on Aug. 30, 2008 (which preceded losses to SC and NCSU).
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 8,905,466 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 2,634,180 fans.
CAUSE AND EFFECT (ECU's COVID-19 TIMELINE IN 2020)
Like all programs across the country, East Carolina was impacted by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) throughout the 2020 season with practice pauses, game postponements and limited S-A availability (not to mention thrice weekly testing protocols, social distancing, limited travel parties, team bubble protection, etc...):
Practice Pause - August 20 to September 1 (12 days/preseason camp)
Game PPD's - Marshall (Aug. 29), South Carolina (Sept. 12), Norfolk State (Sept. 19)
Of Note - vs. Navy (Oct. 17); five two-deep players DNP, including QB Holton Ahlers
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 287 AND COUNTING
East Carolina will enter the Appalachian State contest with an active streak of 287 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 287-game run currently ranks among the Top 10 nationally (Florida/1st).
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, 142-132-5 in November, 9-10-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will open September play against Appalachian State, a month in which East Carolina has won four of its last six contests since the 2018 campaign ... On the road, ECU has split its last four (wins at Connecticut/2017, Old Dominion/18), but has also dropped seven of the last 10 dating back to 2014 ... Overall, the Pirates are 12-8 vs. in non-league affairs in Month 9 since that same 2014 campaign (1-5 vs. the AAC).
WHAT WE HAVE (2021)
- ECU returns an impressive 89 percent of its ground yards in 2021, which was mostly responsible for the Pirates' 173.8 rushing yards-per-game average in 2020 – the program's highest clip since 2007 ...
- ECU returns 95 percent of its total yards (3,452 of 3,624) in 2021 …
- ECU returns a perfect 100 percent (2,060 of 2,060) of its passing yards in 2021 ...
- Of ECU's 33 touchdowns last year, 24 (73 percent) were scored by players who return in 2021 ...
- Of ECU's 18 takeaways last year, 17 were tallied by defenders who return in 2021 - including all 10 picks …
- All four Pirates who earned American Athletic Conference honors last year return in 2021, including first-team selection and rookie-of-the-year RB Rahjai Harris. Other all-league returners include CB Ja'Quan McMillian, WR/RS Tyler Snead and ILB Xavier Smith ...
- Among 2020 individual national (FBS) offensive stats leaders for 2021 returners - WR C.J. Johnson stood 6th in yards per reception (21.3) and QB Holton Ahlers ranked 25th in passing TDs (18) ...
- Among 2020 individual national (FBS) defensive stats leaders for 2021 returners – DT Elijah Morris was 3rd in recovered fumbles (3), CB Ja'Quan McMillian was 6th in total interceptions (4) and OLB Jireh Wilson was 16th in forced fumbles (3) ...
- ECU's defensive unit, which returns 10 of 11 starters in 2021, held two opponents under the 100-yard passing mark in '20 - a first for an East Carolina defense since 2008.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR (2021)
- Ahlers needs just 106 passing yards to move into fourth place on ECU's career list (as a junior) and only 1,081 to rank among the Top 3 Pirate passers of all-time (trailing only Shane Carden and David Garrard) ...
- Ahlers needs only 426 rushing yards to become ECU's all-time leading rusher among signal callers, surpassing Leander Green's mark of 1,485.
WHAT WE SAW (2020)
- The Pirates closed the year with a two-game AAC win streak (Temple, SMU) – a first since 2015 - after averaging 40.0 points, 212.5 rushing yards and 470.0 total yards in those pair of victories ...
- A total of 37 different players (19/offense, 18/defense) made starts in '20, including 21 first-timers (11/O, 10/D) - a number which ranked among the Top 15 nationally among all FBS programs ...
- ECU ranked among the Top 25 nationally in three statistical categories in 2020 – punt return average (10th/14.6 ypr), most fumbles recovered (25th/8) and most turnovers gained (25th/18) ...
- The Pirates scored 272 points during their pandemic-shortened nine-game schedule, which translated into a 30.2 scoring average - the 10th-highest all-time clip in ECU history ...
- Harris and Keaton Mitchell's five collective 100-yard rushing outings in 2020 were the most overall individual century-mark ground efforts at East Carolina since 2012.
TRIPLE-DIGIT MAGIC ... INDIVIDUALLY
Rahjai Harris (USF/115, Navy/172, TLS/118 in 2020) will enter the Appalachian State contest looking to become the first Pirates' RB in eight years to post four career 100-yard rushing contests ... Tay Cooper (8) last accomplished the feat by logging four each in 2012 and 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) ... Dominique Lindsay posted five during ECU's C-USA championship season in 2009 for the most recent single-season best.
TRIPLE-DIGIT MAGIC ... COLLECTIVELY
For the first time in 30 years, ECU featured multiple ball-carriers with multiple 100-yard rushing performances in the same season (2020) ... Rahjai Harris (3) and Keaton Mitchell (2) were the fi rst Pirate duo since Jeff Blake (2) and David Daniels (2) accomplished the feat in 1990 ... The 1996 (Scott Harley) and 2001 (Leonard Henry) campaigns produced the most overall century mark rushing efforts with eight, but those were all done individually, however.
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 nine starting quarterbacks, four offensive coordinators and three head coaches: 1. Memphis (26,354), 2. East Carolina (24,985), 3. UCF (23,386), 4. SMU (22,088), 5. Cincinnati (22,079), 6. Houston (21,864), 7. Tulsa (20,810), 8. Temple (20,117), 9. South Florida (17,951) and 10. Tulane (15,289) ... In addition, the Pirates top the league in completions (2,120) and attempts (3,519) ... ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 18 400-yard passing games and surpassed the 300-yard mark on 45 occasions during the 81-game span ... On a related note, the top two receivers in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history by career receptions - Zay Jones (399 from 2013-16) and Justin Hardy (387 from 2011-2014) – are former East Carolina players.
DEFENSIVE LEADERSHIP STABILITY ... FINALLY
From a clean record-keeping standpoint, it's perhaps easier to say that East Carolina is one of the few FBS programs to employ four different defensive coordinators in the last five seasons ... However, it would be more accurate to state the Pirates might be the only team to have used five plus DCs since opening the 2017 campaign.
LIVING A PIRATES' LIFE
After having its 11-game streak with at least one takeaway (longest since '09) snapped during the '20 season opener vs. UCF, East Carolina's defense started a new run by generating at least one turnover in the final eighth-straight contests last year ... In all, the Pirates will enter the ASU clash having forced a TO in 19 of the last 20 tilts.
SWISS ARMY KNIFE & RECEPTION STREAKS
Slot receiver/return specialist Tyler Snead has averaged 136.8 all-purpose yards in his last five games (244 vs. Temple alone) ... On offense, Snead has caught at least one pass in 19 consecutive games (dating back to 2019) - tops on the unit ... Outside receiver C.J. Johnson currently stands second with a reception in 11-straight outings.
A STARTERS' LOG
OG/C Fernando Frye (17 games) and ILB Xavier Smith (13) own the program's longest starting streaks on offense and defense entering the Appalachian State contest.
SEASON OPENERS
The Pirates are 40-44-1 (.476) on opening day since ECU started its program in 1932, but will be trying to halt a four-game losing streak when it faces Appalachian State Thursday (last winning 52-7 vs. FCS Western Carolina in 2016) ... The matchup against the Mountaineers will also mark the fourth time that East Carolina has opened a new campaign in Charlotte (1999, 2008, 2011, 2021) ... The Pirates' last season-opening win over an FBS opponent was a 51-49 thriller over Tulsa on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on a time-expiring Hail Mary pass from Dominique Davis to Justin Jones during Ruffin McNeill's debut as ECU head coach.
PIRATE & MOUNTAINEER CONNECTIONS
EAST CAROLINA: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Donnie Kirkpatrick served as ASU's QB/RB coach in 1985-88, DE coach in 1984 and graduate assistant coach in 1982-83; part of staff s that turned in a 34-12 (.739) mark, captured a pair of SoCon titles and made a pair of playoff showings ('86, '87); running backs coach Chris Foster held the same position at ASU from 2012-14 where he coached three all-conference selections and a pair of FCS All-America choices during arguably the top two rushing campaigns in program history at the time.
APPALACHIAN STATE: Offensive quality control coordinator Louis Swaba served in the same role under Scottie Montgomery at ECU during the 2017 and 2018 campaigns; WR coach Pat Washington was the Pirates' outside receivers coach and run game coordinator for a span of just 49 days (hired 01/10/12, departed 02/27/12 to accept WR coach position at Kentucky before later serving on the Missouri (2013-15), South Carolina (2016-18) and, eventually, ASU staff s (2019-21).
EAST CAROLINA AGAINST THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE
East Carolina has compiled an all-time record of 23-28 (.451) against current members of the Sun Belt Conference ... In addition to the Pirates' 12-19 mark against Appalachian State, ECU is 4-7 vs. Louisiana, 3-0 vs. Georgia Southern, 2-0 vs. Arkansas State, 1-0 vs. Texas State, 1-1 vs. Louisiana-Monroe and 0-1 vs. Georgia State.
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