ECU Entertains Memphis For Homecoming Contest

Memphis at East Carolina (Game 7)
Date	Saturday, October 15th
Time	7:30 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium)
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9FM \| The Varsity Network App Broadcast: ESPNU
Internet Options	Live Stats
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
2022 Statistics	East Carolina \| Memphis
ECU Football Central	East Carolina Media Hub \| Roster \| NCAA Football \| College Scoreboard

Official Social Media Sites
Facebook	East Carolina \| The American
Twitter	East Carolina \| ECU Football (in-game updates) \| The American
Twitter Hashtags	#PirateNation \| #AmericanFB
Instagram	East Carolina \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina celebrates Homecoming this weekend when Memphis comes calling for an American Athletic Conference affair at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and the contest will air on ESPNU with Brian Custer (play-by-play), Dustin Fox (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline) on the call.

The Pirates are under the direction of fourth-year head coach Mike Houston.

ECU (3-3, 1-2 AAC) traveled to Tulane last Saturday, falling to the Green Wave 24-9 at Yulman Stadium. The Pirates outgained Tulane 419 to 391, but the Green Wave capitalized on a handful of East Carolina turnovers to pull away in the second half. Holton Ahlers set the program career record for passing yards, finishing the contest with 12,039 and surpassing Shane Carden (11,991) in the process. He completed a season-high 32 of 51 attempts for 288 yards.

Memphis (4-2, 2-1 AAC) let a late lead slip away in a 33-32 home loss to Houston last Friday. The Tigers led the Cougars 26-7 in the fourth quarter before Houston scored 26 of the final 32 points of the contest.

East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

Has allowed only eight fourth-quarter offensive touchdowns in the last 12 games.
Has outscored opponents 88-65 in the second half and overtime this season.
Has forced at least one turnover in 23 of the last 26 games (and 34 of the last 38).
Stands 16th nationally in time of possession averaging 33:02 per game.
Has snapped more offensive plays than its six opponents (427-388/+39).
Leads the American and is 51st nationally in average attendance (42,707).
Is averaging 38,718 fans per game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since the start of 2021 season.

The Series
East Carolina leads Memphis 16-8 in the all-time series which began in 1990. The Pirates, who have won eight of the last 10 contests, also hold an 8-3 edge in games played in Greenville.

Houston Against The Tigers
Saturday's clash will be Mike Houston's second ever against Memphis in 12-plus seasons as a head coach. A year ago, he guided the Pirates to a 30-29 overtime win in Memphis, making ECU bowl eligible for the first time since 2014.

Silverfield Against The Pirates
While Ryan Silverfield will also be facing East Carolina for the second time as a head coach, he has squared off against the Pirates four previous times (2-2) as a member of the UCF and Memphis staffs dating back to 2006. He was 0-2 as a Knight graduate assistant (2006-07) before a 2-0 mark as the Tigers' deputy head coach (2017-18).

Last Meeting (Nov. 13, 2021)
Holton Ahlers keyed an effective clock-killing offensive effort that generated 502 yards and owned a +25:34 edge in possession time while also spearheading a fourth-quarter comeback that ultimately produced a 30-29 AAC overtime road win over Memphis. The victory earned the Pirates bowl eligibility status for the first time since the 2014 season and marked their third-straight league triumph. ECU used Rahjai Harris' one-yard scoring plunge with 1:29 remaining to erase a 20-16 deficit but the Tigers rallied to even the contest and force overtime on a David Kemp 24-yard field goal as time expired. Keaton Mitchell rambled in from 24 yards out on the second snap of overtime and Owen Daffer added the PAT for a 30-23 lead. Memphis also got a touchdown run on its second play - a 20-yarder from Rodrigues Clark - but elected to go for two and Seth Henigan's ill-fated toss was batted down under a pressured rush. In all, Ahlers racked up 359 total yards - throwing for 313 and adding 46 on the ground. ECU converted a single-game program-record 18 of its 26 third-down snaps and tallied 10 or more plays on six (of 10) offensive possessions. After tying the game 7-7, the Pirates reached the Tigers' 6, 10 and 3-yard lines on their next three drives but had to settle for field goals.

Tulane Leftovers
East Carolina dropped to 12-7 in the series with Tulane and 3-5 against the Green Wave in New Orleans ... Has scored first in five of six games this season (did not score first against Campbell) ... Has out-gained all six of its opponents this season with a 419-391 advantage over Tulane in total offense ... The Pirates registered a season-low nine points, failing to reach double figures since a 34-6 road loss to NC State back on Aug. 31, 2019 ... East Carolina notched a campaign-best five sacks, surpassing the four it collected against Old Dominion ... The Pirates threw one touchdown pass and have tossed at least one in 52 of the last 61 games (116 of last 131).

At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 198-113 (.636). The Pirates opened the facility on Sept. 21, 1963, with a 20-10 win over Wake Forest in front of 17,000 fans, celebrated the stadium's 50th anniversary in 2013 and recently hosted its 300th game vs. Tulane in 2020. Before a 4-2 clip in 2021, a 1-3 record two years ago and a collective 13-19 mark from 2015-2019, ECU was 5-1 in 2014, 2013 and 2012 (15-3) and won a combined 10 of 12 home matchups in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1). Overall, ECU has posted 40 winning campaigns at DFS since 1963.

The Pirate Nation – Over 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 9,292,651 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 3,021,362 fans.

A Single-Game Record Breaker
With an attendance total of 51,711 against NC State on Sept. 3, ECU established a single-game home record - surpassing the 51,082 fans who watched the Pirates beat North Carolina on Sept. 20, 2014. In all, East Carolina has enjoyed sellout crowds for 13 contests since Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was expanded in 2010.

Comparing 10-Year, Six-Game Results
East Carolina's 24-9 road loss at Tulane gave the Pirates a .500 or better record for the sixth time in the last 10 years and a 3-3 ledger for the third time in Mike Houston's four-year tenure. A victory over Memphis would push ECU to 4-3 or better for the first time since 2015, but a loss would be the seventh time since 2012 the squad would be sitting at .500.

Among Top Passing Units In American History
Since joining the AAC in 2014, the Pirates stand second in passing yards over a combined eight-plus year period despite utilizing nine starting quarterbacks, four offensive coordinators and three head coaches: 1. Memphis (34,497), 2. East Carolina (30,093), 3. SMU (27,517), 4. Houston (27,233), 5. UCF (27,217), 6. Cincinnati (27,117), 7. Tulsa (26,019), 8. Temple (23,226), 9. South Florida (21,269), 10. Tulane (19,460) and 11. Navy (8,441). However, the Pirates top the league in completions (2,538) and attempts (4,175). ECU has also accounted for a conference-high 20 400-yard passing games and surpassed the 300-yard mark on 51 occasions during the 96-game span. The top two receivers in NCAA FBS history by career receptions - Zay Jones (399 from 2013-16) and Justin Hardy (387 from 2011-2014) - are former ECU players.

11K-1K Club Membership
Ahlers is the lone active FBS quarterback who has passed for 12,000+ yards and rushed for over 1,000 for his (overall career) and one of two that is 10K/1K. He is also the only active FBS QB with over 13,000 total yards.

Up Next
East Carolina remains at home next weekend, welcoming UCF to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Oct. 22. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. and the game will air on ESPNU.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Holton Ahlers

Owen Daffer

Rahjai Harris

Keaton Mitchell

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