ECU Welcomes In Temple For Homecoming Contest

Game Eight: Temple (2-5, 1-2 AAC) at East Carolina (3-4, 1-2 AAC)
Date	Saturday, October 26th (Homecoming and Letterwinners Weekend)
Time	2:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000) \| Greenville, N.C.
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9 FM Streaming: ESPN+
Internet Options	Live Stats
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| Temple \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Temple \| The American Weekly Release
2024 Statistics	East Carolina \| Temple \| 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
Instagram	East Carolina \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina returns to the friendly confines of Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for the first time in nearly a month, entertaining American Athletic Conference opponent Temple.

The Pirates' annual Homecoming and Letterwinners Weekend game is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff and will stream live through ESPN+ with Mike Corey (play-by-play), Reginald Walker Jr. (analyst) and Smacker Miles (sideline) on the call.

ECU (3-4, 1-2 AAC) is under the direction of interim head coach Blake Harrell.

Last Time Out
No. 23 Army 45, East Carolina 28
(Oct. 19 @ Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y.)
East Carolina didn't pull off an upset of unbeaten and nationally ranked Army on Saturday, but an inspired second-half effort could provide a shot of confidence the Pirates need for the remainder of the season. Coming off an open date and looking to bounce back from a lopsided loss at Charlotte two weeks ago, ECU dug a deep hole against the efficient Black Knights before finding its rhythm in an eventual 45-28 defeat. The Pirates trailed 31-0 on a beautiful fall afternoon at Michie Stadium but struck for four second-half touchdowns against a team that had not surrendered more than 14 points in a game all season. With Michigan State transfer Katin Houser making his first start, ECU managed just 95 total yards in the opening half, averaging just 3.65 yards per play. Houser completed 10 of 17 passes for 60 yards in the first half with one interception – the lone turnover of the game – but was plagued by two key drops on third down on the first two possessions. Houser relied more on the vertical passing game and found openings in the middle of the field in the second half, finishing 24 of 38 for 282 yards with touchdown passes to Chase Sowell, Winston Wright Jr. and Anthony Smith. He also added his third career rushing TD and first as a Pirate. Sowell matched a career high with seven catches and set a personal best with 138 receiving yards, highlighted by a career-long 53-yard catch and run for ECU's first touchdown. Wright finished with four catches for 57 yards.

About The Owls
Temple (2-5, 1-2 AAC) snagged its first AAC victory of the campaign last Saturday, knocking off Tulsa 20-10 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Quarterback Evan Simon threw for 297 yards and a touchdown, while defensive end Diwun Black added two sacks and a forced fumble. Tight end Landon Morris set a new career high in receptions (4) and receiving yards (97). His 58-yard reception in the first quarter was the Owls' second-longest play from scrimmage this season. Temple outgained Tulsa 397-245, including a 316-170 advantage in passing yards. The Owls rank last in the conference in scoring offense at 19.0 points per game as well as 10th in scoring defense (32.4 points allowed per game). Temple seeks its first road win of the season having already fallen at Oklahoma (51-3), Navy (38-11) and Connecticut (29-20).

Interim Head Coach Blake Harrell
Harrell was named interim head coach at East Carolina on Oct. 20, 2024. He joined the Pirate program as the defensive coordinator on Jan. 29, 2020, after spending a year with Kennesaw State (2019). He has spearheaded a turnaround for a unit that surrendered just a combined 27.3 points per game from 2020-23 (ECU's highest four-year total since 2012-15) and forced 75 turnovers. In addition, East Carolina has tallied at least one takeaway in 43 of 53 contests since his arrival in Greenville. Harrell has helped the Pirates earn bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons – a first since the 2013-14 campaigns – which included a bowl win over Coastal Carolina (53-29) in 2022. Last year, he had guided a defensive unit that established new seasonal bests since 2019 at East Carolina including points per game allowed (22.4), pass yards allowed (219.2) and total yards allowed (341.1). The North Carolina native has also had coaching stops at Western Carolina (2001-02), McDowell HS (2003), Fuquay-Varina HS (2004), Franklin HS (2005-06), Lenoir-Rhyne (2007-13), The Citadel (2014-18) and Kennesaw State (2019) before joining the Pirate program.

East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

ECU is 55-13 all time on Homecoming Weekend and has won 14 of the last 17 such contests.
The Pirates are 2-1 at home this season with victories over Norfolk State (42-3) and UTSA (30-20) as well as a narrow loss to Appalachian State (21-19).
East Carolina enters the weekend in a four-way tie with South Florida, UTSA and Temple for seventh place in the American Athletic Conference standings.
The Pirates currently rank 76th nationally in total offense (382.9 yards per game) and 94th in total defense (390.7 yards allowed per game.
Twenty-two (22) different ECU defenders have recorded at least a half tackle for loss through seven games. In all, the Pirates have tallied 58.0 tackles for loss (-183 yards) and rank fifth nationally in tackles for loss per game at 8.3.
East Carolina has forced at least one turnover in 44 of its last 50 games (and in 55 of the last 64) – but none in its last two outings (Charlotte and Army).
Since the start of the 2013 season, the Pirates have scored five defensive touchdowns.

The Series
East Carolina officially leads the all-time series with Temple by an 11-9 count. On the field, the two teams have posted 10 wins each, but the 1986 matchup, which Temple won 45-28, was later forfeited to the Pirates because of the utilization of an ineligible player. The Pirates are 4-5 against the Owls in Greenville but are 7-4 in Philadelphia. Since 2014, the Pirates are 3-6 against the Owls (1-3 in Greenville) in American Athletic Conference play.

Last Meeting
East Carolina 49, Temple 46
(Nov. 26, 2022 @ Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pa.)
East Carolina headed north to face Temple with a clear mission: cleansing the bad taste of last week's disappointing Senior Day performance and building momentum for a long-awaited bowl game. It took a superhuman effort from running back Keaton Mitchell and a clutch game-winning drive to pull it off. Mitchell put his dazzling speed on display as he matched his career high with 222 yards rushing and scored four times, and senior quarterback Holton Ahlers tossed a 38-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 to play to lift the Pirates to a 49-46 win over Temple before a sparse crowd on a splendid fall afternoon Lincoln Financial Field. In bouncing back from a 42-3 loss at home to Houston, the Pirates ended a two-game slide and clinched their second consecutive seven-win season. ECU (7-5, 4-4 American Athletic Conference) now awaits its bowl destination and the chance to actually play after Covid canceled last year's Military Bowl. The Pirates escaped despite allowing a season-high 46 points and 575 yards in frenzied shootout that featured 1,109 total yards, 13 touchdowns and seven lead changes. ECU, which led by 11 on three occasions, seized the lead for the final time with an 89-yard drive in the final three minutes, scoring on Ahlers' 38-yard strike to Jaylen Johnson. Temple (3-9, 1-9 AAC), which came in averaging 19.7 points per game, could not muster a final drive as E.J. Warner's last three passes of a record-setting day fell incomplete. Ahlers completed 25 of 37 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns. ECU did not commit a turnover for the sixth-straight game and yielded just one sack to a Temple team that came in with 37 on the season. For the Pirates, Isaiah Winstead collected a team-high seven catches for 63 yards, boosting him 1,013 for the season and giving the Pirates a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard receiver and 1,000-yard runner in the same season for the first time since 2013. C.J. Johnson added six catches for 60 yards. Jsi Hatfield ignited the special teams with a pair of big kickoff returns - a 43-yarder to open the game and a 97-yarder that gave ECU a 21-17 edge late in the second quarter.

At Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 203-119 (.630). 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. ECU played seven home games in 2022, posting a 4-3 record. 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). With its 34-13 win over UCF (Oct. 22, 2022), ECU has posted 41 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 9,751,283 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 3,479,994 fans.

Among American Athletic Conference Attendance Leaders
East Carolina has reigned among the leaders in attendance every season since becoming a member of the American Athletic Conference in 2014. The Pirates have led the AAC in regular season attendance average three times - 2014, 2016 and 2017. ECU finished the 2023 season ranked 66th in average attendance and 68th in total attendance as well as second in the conference in average attendance and third in total attendance.

Comparing 10-Year, Seven-Game Results
East Carolina's loss at Army dropped East Carolina to 3-4, marking the third time in the last 10 years that ECU owns a 3-4 record through seven games. Since 2015, the Pirates have registered four or more wins through eight games three times - going a 10-year best 5-3 in 2022.

A Starters' Log
DL Chad Stephens enters the Charlotte contest having started 25 consecutive games as a member of the defensive unit. OL Hampton Ergle currently has the longest starting streak on the offense at 19. ECU has had 11 first time starters (in a Pirate uniform) this season: LB Zakye Barker, OL Darius Bell, LB Ryheem Craig, QB Jake Garcia, DB Gavin Gibson, TE Casey Kelly, DB Devon King, OL Emmanuel Poku, WR Anthony Smith, LB Dameon Wilson and WR Winston Wright Jr.

2024 Graduates
OL Hampton Ergle, OL Dustyn Hall, DS Alex Harper, RB Rahjai Harris, LB Noah Holmes, DB Jordan Huff, TE Casey Kelly, P Luke Larsen, Dl Jaden McKenzie, DB Kingston McKinstry, OL Parker Moorer, TE Tyler Savage, DL Chad Stephens and WR Winston Wright Jr. each have earned their degrees heading into the 2024 season.

Up Next
Following a scheduled bye weekend, East Carolina returns to action Thursday, Nov. 7, with an American Athletic Conference home contest versus Florida Atlantic. The game, scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. kickoff, will air live on either ESPN or ESPN2.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Zakye Barker

Darius Bell

Ryheem Craig

Hampton Ergle

Jake Garcia

Gavin Gibson

Dustyn Hall

Alex Harper

Rahjai Harris

Jsi Hatfield

Noah Holmes

Katin Houser

Jordan Huff

Jaylen Johnson

Casey Kelly

Devon King

Luke Larsen

Jaden McKenzie

Kingston McKinstry

Parker Moorer

Tyler Savage

Anthony Smith

Chase Sowell

Chad Stephens

Dameon Wilson

Winston Wright Jr.

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