East Carolina Visits Navy For Final Road Contest

East Carolina (2-8, 1-5 AAC) at Navy (4-5, 3-3 AAC) (Game 11)
Date	Saturday, November 18th
Time	Noon (EDT)
Location (Venue)	Annapolis, Md. (Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium)
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9FM Broadcast: ESPNNEWS
Internet Options	Live Stats
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| Navy \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Navy \| The American
2023 Statistics	East Carolina \| Navy \| The American
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
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GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina wraps up its 2023 road slate Saturday when its visits Navy for an American Athletic Conference game at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon and the contest will air live on ESPNNEWS with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Dustin Fox (color analyst) on the call.

ECU is under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mike Houston.

The Pirates (2-8, 1-5 AAC) scratched the win column in Boca Raton last Saturday, smothering Florida Atlantic 22-7 to notch their first league victory of the campaign. A swarming East Carolina defense bottled up the Owls all game long while Andrew Conrad kicked through a school-record five field goals and tied an FBS record of five field goals made from 40 yards or longer. ECU limited FAU to just 172 total yards of offense – the second fewest by a Pirate opponent in 2023. The Owls only mustered 21 rushing yards while the nation's leading receiver LaJohntey Wester, riding a career-best 219-yard performance versus UAB, finished with six catches for just 36 yards.

The Midshipmen (4-5, 3-3 AAC) took care of UAB 31-6 in Annapolis last Saturday, outscoring the Blazers 24-0 in the second half to snap a two-game skid. Senior quarterback Xavier Arline rushed for a career-high tying 109 yards and a touchdown, while completing seven of 10 pass attempts for 94 yards and a touchdown. Navy's defense limited UAB to 321 yards of total offense and no touchdowns in the rout.

East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

Seeks its second-straight road win (1-4 on the road this season).
Ranks 37th nationally in total defense (337.4 yards allowed per game).
Looks to emerge victorious in Annapolis for the second-straight time (38-35 victory in 2021).
Has forced at least one turnover in 37 of its last 41 games (and 48 of the last 55).
Has scored three defensive touchdowns this season – two at Appalachian State and one at UTSA.
Recovered five fumbles against Gardner-Webb – a first since setting the standard against TCU on Nov. 23, 2002.
Blanked Gardner-Webb 44-0 to register its first defensive shutout since Sept. 2, 2000, versus Duke (38-0 victory).

The Series
Navy leads the series with East Carolina by an 8-2 margin. The Midshipmen posted 28-23 and 76-35 victories to open the series in 2006 and 2010, respectively, before ECU used Dominique Davis' record-setting 40-of-45 passing effort to post its first win in 2011. Navy has won five of six matchups between the two teams in American play ('15, '16, '19, '20, '22) and two years ago, Owen Daffer's game-winning 54-yard field goal as time expired, gave ECU its first win over Navy in AAC play.

Last Meeting
Navy 23, East Carolina 20 (2OT)
(Sept. 24, 2022 @ Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium – Greenville, N.C.)
For the second time in the first month of the season, East Carolina will have to find a way to recover from a heart-wrenching, last-second loss. The latest gut punch came at the hands of one of its biggest nemesis in Navy. When Owen Daffer's 37-yard field goal attempt hooked left of the upright, the Midshipmen celebrated a 23-20 double-overtime victory on a Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium turf where they have never lost in five trips. The Pirates seemed poised to repeat last year's thrilling victory at Navy when Daffer nailed a career-long 54-yarder as time expired, taking possession at their 14 with 3:17 to play in a frantic fourth period featuring four touchdowns. Three completions by Ahlers moved ECU to the Navy 46, but Tyler Fletcher snuffed out the threat with an interception with 25 seconds showing. The Pirates' other turnover also proved costly, a fourth-quarter fumble at their 25 that Navy cashed in for a brief 17-10 lead. Six penalties – twice their season average – also proved costly for the Pirates. Navy (1-2, 1-1 AAC) had just one penalty for five yards. A grind-it-out game where possessions are limited are also a near guarantee. Navy owned the time of possession, keeping the ball 37:02 of regulation. The Midshipmen put together three 11-play drives and a 13-play drive in their first six possession but managed only three points. ECU stuffed Navy's first drive at the 1, the third time the Pirates have stopped a team inside the 3-yard-line this season. Another drive also ended on downs, and a fumble ended yet another drive. But ECU couldn't muster much on offense, struggling to find a rhythm against Navy's blitzing defense and missing its big-play threat with Keaton Mitchell sidelined with an injury (he had 5 yards and five carries). The Pirates settled for a 19-yard Daffer field goal after a 96-yard drive to the 2 in the first quarter but didn't strike again until the fourth quarter. After two straight games with more than 500-plus total yards, ECU managed just 370 against Navy. Ahlers, who eclipsed Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder's as the AAC's all-time total yards leader, threw for 267 yards and a pair of touchdowns, completing 22 of 34 passes. Isaiah Winstead finished with 11 receptions for 143 yards, including a dazzling 67-yard catch and run to tie the score at 17-17 in the fourth quarter. Rahjai Harris led the rushing attack with 78 yards on 15 carries, highlighted by a 41-yard run in the first period. The teams entered the final period locked in a 3-3 tie before reeling off 28 points. Ahlers hit Ryan Jones with a 14-yard pass for a 10-3 lead, but Navy quickly answered with a rare pass as Tai Lavatai teamed up with Vincent Terrell Jr. on a 65-yard strike. Anton Hall scored five plays after the Harris fumble for a 17-10 lead, but ECU had its own quick reply with Ahlers throwing a 67-yarder to Winstead. Daffer gave ECU a 20-17 lead in the first overtime, and Davies answered with a 43-yarder. Navy again turned to Davies on its second possession and took a 23-20 lead when his 29-yarder slipped just inside the upright. Daffer's attempt to force a third overtime missed.

Shutout Free ... 322 and Counting
East Carolina enters its game at Navy with an active streak of 322 games of not suffering a shutout - a school record (previous mark was 110 set from 1971-81) ... The last time the Pirates were blanked was on Oct. 4, 1997 (56-0 at Syracuse) ... ECU's 332-game run currently ranks among the Top 10 nationally (Florida is first with 445).

Comparing 10-Year, 10-Game Results
East Carolina's 22-7 win at FAU improved its overall record to 2-8. The Pirates have won two of the last three Week 11 games under Mike Houston (none in 2020/CoVID season). A win at Navy would improve the Pirates record to 3-8 but a loss would drop them to 2-9 which last occurred in 2004.

Looking For More Loot
Through 10 games this season, East Carolina is plus one in turnover margin (ECU 13, Opponents 12). ECU forced eight fumbles against Gardner-Webb and recovered five (most in Mike Houston era) - a feat that they last accomplished on Nov. 23, 2002, against TCU (span of 253 games). The Pirates have scored three defensive touchdowns on the season (2 at Appalachian State, 1 at UTSA).

On The Road
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 67-102 (.396) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. This season, the Pirates are 1-4 following a 22-7 win at Florida Atlantic. Last year they posted a 4-2 road slate (wins at South Florida/Boca Raton, Fla., BYU, Temple and Coastal Carolina/Birmingham, Ala.; losses to Tulane and Cincinnati). 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 five road non-AAC tilts since (2-3).

Analyzing The 2023 Overall Schedule
ECU's 2023 opponents compiled an overall record of 87-67 (.565) in 2022. The Pirates' four non-conference opponents were a combined 35-17 (.673) last season while the eight AAC teams on the state tallied a 52-50 (.510) mark. Seven programs had at least six or more wins including three teams that had 10-plus victories – Michigan (13-1), Tulane (12-2) and UTSA (11-3). Five of East Carolina's first six opponents finished last year at or above .500.
Who went Bowling? … The Pirates' 2023 schedule features contests against five teams who competed in bowl games last season, highlighted by Michigan's second-straight appearance in the College Football Playoff Semifinals and Tulane's comeback victory over USC in the Cotton Bowl ... Michigan (Fiesta), Tulane (Cotton), Marshall (Myrtle Beach), UTSA (Duluth Trading Cure), and SMU (New Mexico) … Three of the Pirates' six home games are against 2022 bowl qualifiers.
In the Final Polls … Two of ECU's 2023 opponents finished the 2022 season in college football's two major polls (Associated Press and USA Today/AFCA Coaches) – AAC champion Tulane (9/9) and Michigan (3/3).

Up Next
East Carolina officially closes out the 2023 season Saturday, Nov. 25, when it entertains American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and the game will stream live via ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Andrew Conrad

Owen Daffer

Rahjai Harris

Ryan Jones

Keaton Mitchell

Isaiah Winstead

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