East Carolina Returns To Military Bowl Facing Pittsburgh
December 07, 2025 | Football
WASHINGTON, D.C. – East Carolina will play Pittsburgh in the 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis on Saturday, Dec. 27, according to a joint announcement by bowl officials and the Atlantic Coast Conference Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. (ET) on ESPN at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
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"We are looking forward to returning to the Military Bowl and continuing our momentum from the regular season," East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. "Last year's Military Bowl was a special experience for Pirate Nation and there's no doubt they will return to Annapolis to support the Pirates. This is a great opportunity for coaches, staff, and student-athletes to play a formidable opponent. Â Thank you to Steve Back and everybody involved with the Military Bowl for the invitation."
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This will be the fifth meeting between the two programs with the series being tied at two-all dating back to 1984. The Panthers won the first two contests in 1984 (17-10) and 1989 (47-42), before the Pirates claimed consecutive victories in the series 1991 (24-23) and 1992 (37-31).
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East Carolina (8-4, 6-2 America) returns to postseason play for the second-straight year under head coach Blake Harrell. The Pirates, who won five of their last six regular season games, have outscored opponents 231-151 averaging 38.5 points and 492.7 yards of total offense during that stretch. ECU's offense is led by quarterback Katin Houser who has passed for 3,300 yards with 19 touchdowns and has run for another nine to lead the team. All-American Conference receivers Anthony Smith (first team) and Yannick Smith (third team) have combined for 1,480 receiving yards and 10 scores, while running backs London Montgomery and Marlon Gunn Jr. have collaborated for 1,274 ground yards with 13 touchdowns. Offensive linemen Jimarion McCrimon (first team), Emmanuel Poku (second team) and senior Darius Bell have sparked the line unit that has allowed just 1.33 sacks per game (22nd nationally) and have opened holes for a running back room that has averaged 184.0 yards per game, the best clip since 202.3 yards in 2001.
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Defensively, the Pirates have surrendered just 20.3 points per game in 2025, standing among the FBS (Top 25) leaders in tackles for loss (fourth/7.8 pg), fumbles recovered (fifth/10), red zone defense (seventh/71.4 pct.), third down conversion defense (13th/30.2 pct.), interceptions (17th/6) and fourth down conversion defense (22nd/42.4 pct.). All-conference selections Ja'Marley Riddle (first team), Zion Wilson (first team), J.D. Lampley (second team) and Dameon Wilson (third team) along with seniors TyMir Brown, Ryheem Craig, Samuel Dankah, Jonathan Jean, Jasiyah Robinson and Teagan Wilk have led a defense that has surrendered 14 or less points in five games.
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The Pirates are making their fourth bowl appearance in the last five years (2021 Military Bowl/cancelled due to CoVID; 2022 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Champions and 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl Champions). ECU, who owns an 11-11 all-time postseason record, will also enjoy its sixth bowl showing since 2010 and 23rd in program history when it visits Annapolis.
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This will be the Pirates' fourth appearance in the Military Bowl. East Carolina fell to Maryland, 51-20, in the 2010 game, which set a Bowl attendance record with 38,062 fans. In 2021, ECU was set to face Boston College, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Eagles program, and last year ECU defeated NC State 26-21.
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The Panthers (8-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast), who finished in a five-way tie for second place during the regular season with Duke, Miami (Fla.), Georgia Tech and SMU, will make their second Military Bowl appearance, 12th since 2010 and 39th overall. Pitt, who owns a 14-28 all-time in bowl games, last appeared in postseason play in 2024 dropping a close game to Toledo, 48-46 in six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
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Pirate Club members and the general public are encouraged to order their Bowl tickets by phone or via ECUPirates.com by clicking here, while students may purchase tickets via this link. The ECU Athletics Ticket Office can be reached at (252) 328-4500.
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"We are looking forward to returning to the Military Bowl and continuing our momentum from the regular season," East Carolina Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert said. "Last year's Military Bowl was a special experience for Pirate Nation and there's no doubt they will return to Annapolis to support the Pirates. This is a great opportunity for coaches, staff, and student-athletes to play a formidable opponent. Â Thank you to Steve Back and everybody involved with the Military Bowl for the invitation."
Â
This will be the fifth meeting between the two programs with the series being tied at two-all dating back to 1984. The Panthers won the first two contests in 1984 (17-10) and 1989 (47-42), before the Pirates claimed consecutive victories in the series 1991 (24-23) and 1992 (37-31).
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East Carolina (8-4, 6-2 America) returns to postseason play for the second-straight year under head coach Blake Harrell. The Pirates, who won five of their last six regular season games, have outscored opponents 231-151 averaging 38.5 points and 492.7 yards of total offense during that stretch. ECU's offense is led by quarterback Katin Houser who has passed for 3,300 yards with 19 touchdowns and has run for another nine to lead the team. All-American Conference receivers Anthony Smith (first team) and Yannick Smith (third team) have combined for 1,480 receiving yards and 10 scores, while running backs London Montgomery and Marlon Gunn Jr. have collaborated for 1,274 ground yards with 13 touchdowns. Offensive linemen Jimarion McCrimon (first team), Emmanuel Poku (second team) and senior Darius Bell have sparked the line unit that has allowed just 1.33 sacks per game (22nd nationally) and have opened holes for a running back room that has averaged 184.0 yards per game, the best clip since 202.3 yards in 2001.
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Defensively, the Pirates have surrendered just 20.3 points per game in 2025, standing among the FBS (Top 25) leaders in tackles for loss (fourth/7.8 pg), fumbles recovered (fifth/10), red zone defense (seventh/71.4 pct.), third down conversion defense (13th/30.2 pct.), interceptions (17th/6) and fourth down conversion defense (22nd/42.4 pct.). All-conference selections Ja'Marley Riddle (first team), Zion Wilson (first team), J.D. Lampley (second team) and Dameon Wilson (third team) along with seniors TyMir Brown, Ryheem Craig, Samuel Dankah, Jonathan Jean, Jasiyah Robinson and Teagan Wilk have led a defense that has surrendered 14 or less points in five games.
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The Pirates are making their fourth bowl appearance in the last five years (2021 Military Bowl/cancelled due to CoVID; 2022 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Champions and 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl Champions). ECU, who owns an 11-11 all-time postseason record, will also enjoy its sixth bowl showing since 2010 and 23rd in program history when it visits Annapolis.
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This will be the Pirates' fourth appearance in the Military Bowl. East Carolina fell to Maryland, 51-20, in the 2010 game, which set a Bowl attendance record with 38,062 fans. In 2021, ECU was set to face Boston College, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Eagles program, and last year ECU defeated NC State 26-21.
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The Panthers (8-4, 6-2 Atlantic Coast), who finished in a five-way tie for second place during the regular season with Duke, Miami (Fla.), Georgia Tech and SMU, will make their second Military Bowl appearance, 12th since 2010 and 39th overall. Pitt, who owns a 14-28 all-time in bowl games, last appeared in postseason play in 2024 dropping a close game to Toledo, 48-46 in six overtimes at the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
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Pirate Club members and the general public are encouraged to order their Bowl tickets by phone or via ECUPirates.com by clicking here, while students may purchase tickets via this link. The ECU Athletics Ticket Office can be reached at (252) 328-4500.
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/ Football12/02/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
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Sunday, November 30
12/25/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, November 25
East Carolina Head Football Coach Blake Harrell's Weekly Press Conference (Nov. 24, 2025)
Monday, November 24
