East Carolina welcomes AAC opener to UTSA

GREENVILLE, North Carolina – East Carolina returns to Dowdy Ficklen Stadium on Saturday afternoon to host UTSA in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener. Kick-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. and the contest will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Reginald Walker Jr. (analyst) in attendance.

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

ECU finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 2-2 record, picking up wins over Norfolk State and Old Dominion to start the season before consecutive losses to Appalachian State and Liberty.

Out last time

East Carolina’s first-ever visit to Liberty doesn’t begin to describe a long night. The Pirates showed no ill effects from a four-and-a-half-hour storm delay Saturday night, dominating for a quarter before blowing a double-digit lead for the second straight season in a 35-24 loss. The Flames, who extended their streak to 16 straight regular-season wins and 11 straight home wins, rallied from a 17-0 deficit, outscored ECU 28-7 in the second half and improved in the second and third Year in a row to 4-0 time in five years. Liberty’s comeback in a game that started at 6:02 p.m. and ended at 2 a.m. came on the strength of converting 13 of 17 third downs, including all four touchdown passes from Kaidon Salter. The Flames won despite Salter’s first interception of the year and a fumble, as well as a number of penalties, including five personal fouls. The Pirates made all the plays early and took advantage of the momentum. With a mix of quarterback Jake Garcia and run back Rahjai HarrisECU found its offensive rhythm, rushing for 134 yards in the first quarter, but only managed 197 yards the rest of the way. Garcia finished 20 of 36 for 204 yards and also rushed for 28 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. Liberty, meanwhile, was down to just 24 yards in the first quarter, but still eclipsed 400 yards of total offense for the fourth straight game, finishing with 414 yards. Quinton Cooley gave the Flames a 100-yard rusher for the fourth straight game with 105 yards on 19 carries, punctuated by a 21-yard touchdown run with 2:00 to play.

About the Roadrunners

UTSA also has a 2-2 overall record against Greenville, having picked up wins over Kennesaw State (28-16) and Houston Christian (45-7), while also beating the current No. 1 team in the country in Texas ( 56-7) lost as Texas State (49-10). The Roadrunners racked up a season-high 536 yards of offense and a school-record 34 first downs, holding Houston Christian to just 177 yards in a 45-7 win Saturday afternoon at the Alamodome. UTSA’s offensive performance totaled the most yards since a school-record 643 against South Florida on November 17, 2023 and featured a balanced attack with 269 rushing yards – the most since 287 against North Texas on November 4, 2023 – and 267 rushing yards . The 34 first downs exceeded the previous Roadrunner standard, achieved five times before, most recently in a win over South Florida last fall. Bryson Donnell and Brandon High Jr. each rushed for a game-high 74 yards, while Kevorian Barnes added 64 yards to lead the game on the ground and Owen McCown completed 18 of 25 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns. Devin McCuin had a team-best five receptions for 43 yards and a touchdown, and Willie McCoy had 85 yards and a score on two catches.

East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends

• The Pirates are 2-2 after four games for the fourth time under Houston (2019, 2021, 2022 and 2024).
• ECU ranks 59th nationally in total defense (330.0 yards allowed per game) and 61st in total offense (406.8 yards per game).
• East Carolina averages 72.3 offensive plays per game, ranking 21st nationally. On the other hand, the defense has an average of 74.8 – which ranks as the eighth highest per game in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
• Twenty-one (21) different Pirate defenders have recorded at least a half-tackle for loss through the first four games. Overall, ECU recorded 44.0 tackles for loss for minus-129 yards and ranks second nationally with 11.0 tackles for loss per game.
• East Carolina ranks 41st nationally (second in the American Conference) in scoring defense, allowing 18.3 points per game.
• Since the start of the 2023 season, the Pirates defense has scored five touchdowns (2/App State ’23, 1/UTSA ’23, 1/Norfolk State ’24, 1/App State ’24).
• Forced at least one turnover in 43 of the last 47 games (and 54 of the last 61).

The series

Saturday’s clash with UTSA marks the second-ever meeting between the two programs. Last year, the Roadrunners earned a 41-27 win at the Alamodome.

Last meeting
UTSA 41, East Carolina 27
Oct 28, 2023 @The Alamodome (San Antonio, Texas)

Put in one of his most lackluster performances of the season Mike Houston In this era, East Carolina found some life again early Saturday at the Alamodome, but just couldn’t keep up with the great UTSA, falling 41-27. The Pirates led 17-14 after an impressive first quarter before an aggressive Roadrunner defense turned up the pressure and put the quarterback in trouble Alex Flint and the ECU insults the rest of the way. East Carolina racked up 169 yards in the first quarter – surpassing last week’s 127-yard total in a 10-7 loss to Charlotte – but managed just 197 yards in the final three quarters. UTSA, meanwhile, racked up a season-high 516 total yards, posted its 14th straight conference win and stayed in the running for the AAC regular-season title. ECU limited the Roadrunners to 151 yards rushing in the second half – 87 of them on three plays. Flinn, back in the starting lineup, delivered a tough performance against a UTSA defense that recorded 13 runs and sacked him five times – three times by two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Week Trey Moore. He completed a career-high 23 passes on 43 attempts for 225 yards and set a personal best with two touchdown passes – a 13-yarder to the senior Jaylen Johnson in the first quarter and a 4-yarder to the freshman Chase Sowell with 15 seconds playing time. Johnson, who finished the game with eight catches for 105 yards, was not only responsible for the first touchdown reception by a receiver this season, but also the longest scoring play of the year. Flinn also had a team and career-high 20 rushing attempts for 53 yards. Flinn’s counterpart, seventh-grader Frank Harris, sparked the Pirates for several big plays but also threw a costly interception Dontavius ​​Nash returned for a touchdown and was sacked four times. Harris, who holds 38 school records, completed 20 of 32 passes for a season-high 395 yards and four touchdowns.

Recognition of the 1999 Pirates football team

East Carolina University Athletics officials have announced that the 1999 Pirate football team will be recognized at the UTSA game. After the catastrophic damage left by Hurricane Floyd in eastern North Carolina on September 16, the 1999 season was one of perseverance. ECU started the season 2-0 with wins against West Virginia and Duke before traveling to South Carolina. Before the Pirates’ 21-3 win in Columbia, S.C., Floyd made landfall and much of eastern North Carolina received 15 to 20 inches of rain over the next 12 hours. Unable to travel home, the Pirates remained in Columbia and prepared for their home game against the ninth-place University of Miami Hurricanes. With parts of the city still affected by flooding, the game was moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, and Carter-Finley Stadium. After trailing 23-10 after the third quarter, ECU rallied from a 20-point deficit to defeat the Hurricanes and improve to 4-0. The 1999 team finished with an overall record of 9-3, played in the 1999 Mobile Alabama Bowl against TCU, and received the 1999 Disney’s Wide World of Sports Spirit Award at the annual Home Depot College Football Awards.

The pirate nation – over 9 million people strong

East Carolina has typically garnered ample hometown support when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, establishing itself among the top teams in conference attendance almost every year. All in all overall 9,709,432 Fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963, and since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 (to increase capacity to 50,000), the Pirates have attracted 3,438,143 fans.

At Dowdy Ficklen Stadium

East Carolina’s record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 202-120 (.629). The Pirates opened the facility on September 21, 1963 with a 20-10 victory over Wake Forest in front of 17,000 fans, celebrated the stadium’s 50th anniversary in 2013 and recently played their 300th game against 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 (15-3) in 2014, 2013 and 2012, winning a combined 10 of 12 home games in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1). With its 34-13 victory over UCF (October 22, 2022), ECU has recorded 41 victories in exhibition games since 1963.

Comparison of results from 10 years and four games

For the fourth time in the Mike Houston In this era, the Pirates are 2-2 (.500) after four games. A win against UTSA would increase their record to 3-2 for the fourth time since 2015, while a loss would move them to 2-3 for the first time since 2018.

Houston in the AAC opener

Houston has won two of five American Athletic Conference openers since taking over as head coach at East Carolina (Tulane/2021, South Florida/2020). The losses occurred in 2019 (Navy), 2022 (Navy) and 2023 (Rice).

2024 graduates

OIL Hampton ErgleOIL Dustyn HallD.S Alex HarperRB Rahjai HarrisL.B Noah HolmesDB Jordan HuffTE Casey KellyP Luke LarsenDl Jaden McKenzieDB Kingston McKinstryOIL Parker MoorerTE Tyler SavageDL Chad Stephens and W.R Winston Wright Jr. Each has earned their degree for the 2024 season.

Next

ECU makes its first appearance at Jerry Richardson Stadium next Saturday (October 5) when it takes on AAC opponent Charlotte. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.