ECU Hosts No. 13 NC State In 2022 Opener

East Carolina vs. No. 13 NC State (Game 1)
Date	Saturday, September 3rd \| Gameday Fan Information
Time	12 noon (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium)
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9FM \| The Varsity Network App Television: ESPN
Internet Options	Live Stats
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| NC State \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| NC State \| The American
2021 Statistics (Final)	East Carolina \| NC State
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

Gameday Fan Information

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina, which secured its first winning campaign since 2014 a year ago, kicks off the 2022 season Saturday at 12 noon when it hosts No. 13 NC State inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The contest will air live on ESPN with Anish Shroff (play-by-play), Brock Osweiler (analyst) and Lauren Sisler (sideline) on the call.

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

ECU closed the 2021 season winning four of its last five games before finishing with a 7-5 overall record and 5-3 American Athletic Conference mark. The Pirates earned an invitation to the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Boston College program. For the first time in program history, East Carolina will play four-straight games at home to open the. The Pirates also host Old Dominion (Sept. 10), Campbell (Sept. 17) and Navy (Sept. 24) during the stretch.

East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

Has allowed only three four-quarter offensive touchdowns in the last six games
Has forced at least one turnover in 18 of the last 20 games (and in 29 of the last 32)
Had +6.4 points per game, +86.7 yards per game and +107.0 total yards per game cumulative margins in all eight AAC games in 2021
Had a collective time of possession edge in all eight American Conference games (+8:42 avg.)
Snapped more offensive plays in all eight AAC contests (+112 the last five)
Since 2010, owns a 3-2 record against NC State including two-straight victories at home
Won seven of its last 11 games versus Atlantic Coast Conference opponents

The Series
NC State leads East Carolina 18-13 in a series which dates back to 1970. Although the Pirates trail the overall series against the Wolfpack, ECU has had the upper hand lately - winning three of the last five and eight of the last 14 meetings since 1987. ECU has taken three of the last four meetings at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, but the Wolfpack are 16-8 in Raleigh. The Pirates have also won two of three neutral site matchups, including the 1992 Peach Bowl at Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium.

Houston Against The Wolfpack
Mike Houston has faced NC State twice during his 11-year coaching career, opening the 2018 campaign with a 24-13 setback to the Wolfpack as James Madison's head coach. The next year, his first at East Carolina, the Pirates fell in Raleigh by a 34-6 margin.

Doeren Against The Pirates
Dave Doeren has posted consecutive wins over East Carolina (2018-19) and has split four games as the head coach of the Wolfpack.

East Carolina Against The Atlantic Coast Conference
East Carolina has compiled an all-time record of 45-87-1 (.342) against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Pirates are 13-18 against NC State, 7-15 vs. Virginia Tech, 5-5 vs. Duke, 5-12-1 vs. North Carolina, 4-6 vs. Louisville, 3-6 vs. Syracuse, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 2-2 vs. Pittsburgh, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 2-9 vs. Miami and 0-7 vs. Florida State. As previously mentioned, ECU has enjoyed a recent run of relative success against the ACC, winning seven of the last 11 matchups.

ECU Hall Of Famer Ruffin McNeill Returns To Dowdy
For the first time since leading the Pirates on the football field, ECU Hall of Famer Ruffin McNeill returns to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. A three-year starter in the late 1970's under Pirate Hall of Famer Pat Dye, McNeill made his first collegiate start against NC State on Sept. 3, 1977 in ECU's 28-23 victory. "Ruff" returned to his alma mater in January of 2010 after being named East Carolina's 20th head coach. In six seasons, he led the Pirates to four bowl appearances and posted the fifth-most head coaching victories (42) in program history, while developing 12 first-team all-conference selections and a trio of MVP/Player-of-the-Year award winners. In 2013 he led ECU to just the second 10-win season in program history.

What We Have (2002)

ECU returns a perfect 100 percent of its ground yards in 2022 which were responsible for the Pirates' 1,949-yard net total – the program's fifth-highest clip since 2000 and best since 2014
ECU returns 98 percent of its total yards (5,101 of 5,198) in 2022
ECU returns 97 percent (3,147 of 3,249) of its passing yards in 2022
Of ECU's 43 touchdowns last year, 35 (81 percent) were scored by players who return in 2022
Of ECU's 21 takeaways last year, eight were tallied by defenders who return in 2022
Both Pirates who earned First Team All-American Athletic Conference honors last year return in 2022 (placekicker Owen Daffer and running back Keaton Mitchell
Among 2021 individual Top 25 national (FBS) statistical leaders, the following return in 2022 – RB Keaton Mitchell (ninth in rushing yards per carry/6.51), PK Owen Daffer (18th in field goals made per game/1.58) and QB Holton Ahlers (19th in passing yards per game/260.5 and 21st in completions per game/21.3)
ECU's defensive unit, which returns seven of 11 starters in 2022, held two opponents under 100 yards rushing and two more under the 100-yard passing mark in 2021.

What To Look For (2002)

Ahlers needs just 1,773 passing yards to become ECU's career leader, surpassing Shane Carden's mark of 11,991 set from 2011 to 2014
Ahlers needs only 224 ground yards to set ECU's all-time quarterback rushing record, eclipsing Leander Green's (1977-1979) total of 1,485
Ahlers needs only 764 total yards to establish an ECU career total offense standard, bettering Carden's clip of 12,244

Season Openers
The Pirates are 40-45 (.470) on opening day since ECU started its football program back in 1932. Since 2012, ECU is 5-5 in season openers, winning five-straight from 2012 to 2016, before dropping its last five.

At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 196-111 (.638). 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 Nine 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 9,121,824 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 2,850,535 fans.

Among AAC Attendance Leaders
East Carolina has been among the leaders in attendance every season since becoming a member of the American Athletic Conference in 2014 and ranked third in 2021 (trailing only UCF and Cincinnati).

Against Non-Conference Opponents
The Pirates have produced a 40-58 (.408) regular season non-league record, which includes a 2-2 clip in 2021. East Carolina fell to Appalachian State and South Carolina to open the season before rallying back to post victories against Marshall and Charleston Southern. During his first season as head coach at ECU in 2019, Houston led the Pirates to a 3-1 record - the program's first winning non-conference ledger since 2014.

Up Next
East Carolina continues its four-game homestand Saturday, Sept. 10, with a matchup against Old Dominion. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will stream live via ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Holton Ahlers

Owen Daffer

Keaton Mitchell

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