Gameday: ECU Travels To No. 22 UCF
October 12, 2017 | Football
| Game 7: ECU at No. 22 UCF | |
| Date: | Saturday, Oct. 14 |
| Time: | 7 p.m. (EDT) |
| Location: | Orlando, Fla. (Spectrum Stadium) |
| Tickets & Parking: | Game Tickets | Parking Information |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9FM | 99.3 FM (Raleigh) | WDNC 620 AM / 96.5 FM (Durham) | TuneIn Radio Online Television: CBSSN |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | UCF | American Athletic Conference |
| Game Notes: | ECU (PDF) | UCF (PDF) | The American (PDF) |
| 2017 Football Statistics: | ECU | UCF |
| ECU Football Central: | Roster | Fact Book (PDF) | The American | NCAA Football | College Scoreboard |
| Official Social Media Sites | |
| Facebook: | ECU | UCF | The American |
| Twitter: | ECU | ECUScoreboard (In-Game Updates) l UCF | The American |
| Twitter Hashtags: | #ECUPirates | #ECUndaunted | #ECUFootball | #AmericanFB |
| Instagram: | ECU | The American |
ORLANDO, Fla. – ECU will try to run its American Athletic Conference road record to 2-0 this season when it meets No. 22 UCF at 7 p.m. Saturday inside Spectrum Stadium. After falling to Temple last week to close out a two-game homestand, the Pirates hope to improve to 2-2 in league play for the second time in the last three seasons when they battle the Knights. Additionally, ECU will attempt to post its second-straight win in Orlando and even its all-time AAC road record in October to 3-3 when it meets UCF in the Sunshine State for the seventh time in series history.
EAST CAROLINA RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Qualified for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (three of the last five years) ...
- Has won 31 of the last 39 games when scoring 30 or more points ...
- Has won 19 of the last 22 games when gaining 200 or more rushing yards ...
- Has won 10 of the last 14 games when an individual rushes for 100-plus yards ...
- Has accounted for 400 or more yards of total offense in 14 of the last 18 games ...
- Has recorded at least one sack in five of the last six games games ...
- Has won 30 of the last 32 games when leading at the half ...
- Has won four of six road games at UCF ...
- Has lost 26-straight games when scoring 20 or less points (19-14 vs. UCF in '09/last win) ...
THE SERIES
ECU leads 10-5 ... The Pirates have enjoyed a pair of four-game winning streaks against the Knights, the latest from 2006 to 2009 ... ECU has won six of nine (6-3) tilts played in Greenville and four of six in Orlando.
SCOTTIE MONTGOMERY AGAINST THE KNIGHTS
Despite Scottie Montgomery's seven-year tenure as a collegiate assistant coach (2006-09, 2013-15), last season's matchup in Greenville marked his first-ever meeting against UCF.
BULLS, CANES, GATORS, KNIGHTS, 'NOLES, OWLS AND PANTHERS
The Pirates have dropped 31 of 46 all-time matchups (15-31) against FBS (formerly Division I-A) programs from the state of Florida ... ECU is 10-5 vs. UCF, 2-9 vs. Miami, 1-0 vs. Florida Atlantic, 1-0 vs. Florida International, 1-7 vs. USF, 0-3 vs. Florida and 0-7 vs. Florida State ... East Carolina has lost seven of the last eight matchups against schools from Florida (posting its only win against UCF in the 2015 road finale).
THE AMERICAN - YEAR FOUR
ECU has posted an 80-56 (.588) all-time mark against current members of the American Conference ... The Pirates currently sport series records against Memphis (15-6), Cincinnati (12-8), Tulane (11-3), UCF (10-5), Temple (8-7), Tulsa (8-6), Houston (7-5), SMU (4-3) Connecticut (3-1), Navy (1-5) and USF (1-7).
THE EAST HAS BEEN A BEAST
ECU owns a 3-10 mark (1-6/home, 2-4/road) against American Athletic Conference opponents in its own East Division since the league began divisional play in 2015 ... The Pirates' 44-7 win against UCF in their '15 road finale and a pair of wins vs. Connecticut (41-3 in 2016, 41-38 in 2017) represents the only trio of triumphs ... In all, ECU is 2-1 vs. Connecticut, 1-1 vs. UCF, 0-2 vs. Cincinnati, 0-3 vs. Temple and 0-3 vs. USF while competing as division mates ... On the flipside, ECU is 2-4 against foes in the West Division so far (1-1 vs. SMU, 1-1 vs. Tulsa and 0-2 vs. Navy), but will switch cross-over opponents this year (Houston, Memphis and Tulane).
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULING ... ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
ECU is the only program in the nation to play at least three non-conference games against P6 (including Notre Dame & BYU) opponents in each of the last five years, including the 2017 campaign ... Moving forward, the Pirates currently have two P6 tilts scheduled in 2018 (North Carolina, Virginia Tech), two in 2019 (NC State, Virginia Tech) and three in 2020 (West Virginia, Virginia Tech, South Carolina).
ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, ECU is 55-79 (.410) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... Prior to a split this year (loss at WVU, win at UConn), the Pirates were a combined 5-14 (2014-2016) ... ECU snapped a seven-game road losing skid and handed head coach Scottie Montgomery his first win away from Greenville when it downed UConn 41-38 in East Hartford earlier this year (Sept. 24).
THE PIRATE NATION - 8 MILLION STRONG
ECU has always been able to claim plenty of hometown support, even more so when playing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during the fall - establishing itself as a conference and a national attendance leader on a near annual basis ... In all, a total of 8,358,520 fans have seen the Pirates in action since 1963 (ECU cracked the 8 million mark when 50,719 watched ECU down NC State Sept. 10, 2016) ... Since the completion of a 7,000-seat expansion project in 2010 (to push capacity to 50,000), the Pirates have drawn 2,087,234 fans ... ECU surpassed the 2 million post-expansion "milestone" on Sept. 16 when 43,776 watched the Pirates battle Virginia Tech.
ATTENDANCE LEADERS
ECU topped all American Athletic Conference members in attendance in 2014 and 2016, and currently lead the league again in 2017 ... Overall, ECU ranks 56th nationally in average attendance (37,539) and 79th in capacity percentage (75.08) this season ... A closer look at Top 5 AAC leaders: 1. ECU (37,539), 2. UCF (36,043), 3. Houston (35,479), 4. Navy (34,115), 5. Memphis (32,713) ... ECU has drawn at least 40,000 fans to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in 22 of its last 26 home games dating back to 2013, which includes this year's season opener vs. James Madison (40,169) and the Sept. 16 clash vs. Virginia Tech (43,776).
ANALYZING THE 2017 OVERALL SCHEDULE
Overall, the Pirates '17 schedule features contests against eight teams which advanced to bowl games a year ago - West Virginia (Russell Athletic), Virginia Tech (Belk), BYU (Poinsettia), USF (Birmingham), UCF (AutoNation Cure), Temple (Military), Memphis (Boca Raton) and Houston (Las Vegas) ... Of ECU's five road games, four will be against 2016 bowl qualifiers ... ECU's four non-conference opponents were a combined 43-12 (.782) a year ago, while the Pirates' eight American Conference foes posted a collective 55-47 (.539) record ... The Pirates' 2017 non conference slate, which includes FCS national champion JMU, was ranked as the toughest nationally by USA Today ... ECU's five losses this year have come to teams with a combined 21-6 record thus far (JMU, WVU, VT, USF, TEM) and five (VT, WVU, USF, UCF, MEM) are currently ranked or receiving votes in both FBS Top 25 polls.
LEAGUE, NON-LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPARISONS
In its three American Athletic Conference contests (1-2) this year, ECU has averaged 27.3 points, 104.0 rushing yards, 328.3 passing yards and 432.3 total yards per game ... By comparison, the Pirates booked 17.0 ppg, 84.0 rypg, 287.0 pypg and 371.0 ypg averages in their three non-conference tilts so far in 2017 (James Madison, West Virginia and Virginia Tech).
A "WHO'S WHO" LIST OF INFLUENCERS
Scottie Montgomery has benefitted from a "who's who" list of mentors during his playing and coaching career:
As a player at Duke: Joe DeLamielleure, George Edwards, Clay Helton, Les Koenning Jr.
As a player in the NFL: Karl Dorrell, Gary Kubiak, Anthony Lynn, Mike McCoy, George Seifert, Mike Shanahan
As a coach: Bruce Arians (Steelers), David Cutcliff e (Duke), Todd Haley (Steelers), Dick LeBeau (Steelers), Matt Lubick (Duke), Mike MacIntyre (Duke), Bill O'Brien (Duke), Ted Roof (Duke), Kurt Roper (Duke), Mike Tomlin (Steelers).
SHUTOUT-FREE ... 248 AND COUNTING
ECU will enter the UCF contest with an active streak of 248 games of not suffering a shutout – a school record (previous mark was 110 set from '71 to '81) ... The last time the Pirates were blanked was on Oct. 4, 1997 (56-0 at Syracuse).
CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH
In all, ECU is 3-2-0 in August, 124-116-2 in September, 161-154-4 in October, 137-121-5 in November, 9-9-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January ... The Pirates will try to regain their October productivity, a month in which ECU has now dropped seven of its last 13 games ... In American Athletic Conference play alone, the Pirates have taken six of the last 12 ... On the road, ECU has won four of the last eight (and five of the last 10) conference tilts.
LOSING THEIR (RED) SHIRTS
A total of 34 players have had their redshirts removed and experienced action as true freshmen in the last five-plus years - 2012 (1), 2013 (5), 2014 (9), 2015 (4), 2016 (9) and 2017 (6) ... This year, TE Ben Norris, RB Darius Pinnix, OL John Spellacy and WR Mydreon Vines all experienced action vs. James Madison in the opener, while ILB Bruce Bivens made his college debut vs. WVU (six tackles, five solo) and DB Davondre "Tank" Robinson made his initial collegiate appearance vs. Virginia Tech (two stops).
FIRST-TIME STARTERS
ECU has had a combined 19 "first-time" starters in its lineup against JMU, WVU, Virginia Tech, UConn, USF and Temple - nine on the offensive side of the ball (LT D'Ante Smith, LG Cortez Herrin, LG Des Barmore, C John Spellacy, RG Austin Lee, RG Dqmarcus Shaw, RB Derrell Scott, RB Tyshon Dye, RB Darius Pinnix) and 10 on defense (DT Tyree Owens, DT Raequan Purvis, DT Jalen Price, DT Alex Turner, DE Shaun James, ILB Ray Tillman, ILB Cannon Gibbs, ILB Aaron Ramseur, CB Travis Phillips, CB Marcus Holton Jr.).
TOP PASSING UNIT IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Since joining the AAC in 2014, the Pirates lead the league in passing yards per game over a combined three-plus-year period despite utilizing five starting quarterbacks, three offensive coordinators and two head coaches: 1. ECU (327.3), 2. Cincinnati (297.1), 3. Memphis (286.1) ... In addition, the Pirates also top the league in completions (1,215) and attempts (1,917) since competing in the AAC over the last three-plus seasons ... Despite missing the AAC's inaugural season (2013), ECU has still accounted for a conference-high 12 400-yard passing games (Cincinnati is second with nine).
LONG RANGE STRIKES
ECU has turned in three passing plays of 70 yards or more (95/Trevon Brown vs. WVU, 76/Brown vs. VT, 75/Davon Grayson vs. UConn), which ranks third nationally behind Baylor (6) and Mississippi (4) ... Although they didn't ring up a 70-yarder vs. Temple, the Pirates did rack up five receptions that went for 20 or more yards (three for 30-plus).
RECEIVER U: PAST
ECU has the top two receivers in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision history by career receptions in Zay Jones (399 from 2013-16) and Justin Hardy (387 from 2011-2014) ... In terms of FBS single season reception leaders, the Pirates are just one of two programs (Nevada) to have three entries in the Top 25 listings - 1. Jones (158/2016), 20. Hardy (121/2014), 25. Hardy (114/2013) ... ECU is also the only program in the nation to have a receiver with at least 90 catches in the last four years and a Pirate receiver has led the conference in receptions each of those seasons (3/AAC, 1/C-USA).
RECEIVER U: PRESENT
The Pirates are one of only four FBS teams to have three active receivers with at least 100 catches - Davon Grayson (107), Jimmy Williams (105) and Quay Johnson (104) ... Colorado tops the nation with four, while Oklahoma and Washington State each match ECU with three ... The Pirates also boast three active receivers who have amassed over 1,000 reception yards - Williams (1,569), Grayson (1,416) and Trevon Brown (1,144).
A TRIPLE-DIGIT QUINTUPLE
Three ECU pass catchers have turned in a combined five-straight 100-yard receiving outings - Trevon Brown (2-103 vs. WVU, 4-107 vs. VT), Davon Grayson (11-223 vs. UConn, 5-101 vs. USF) and Jimmy Williams (110 vs. TEM) ... Brown's 95-yarder for a TD at WVU on Sept. 9 is currently tied for the longest FBS pass play in 2017, while Grayson's 223-yard receiving day at UConn on Sept. 29 ranks fourth among all FBS players this season.
SIRK RANKS AMONG FBS TOP RUSHING QBs
Graduate transfer Thomas Sirk ranks among the nation's top active rushing quarterbacks ... After rushing for 1,041 yards and 16 touchdowns at Duke during the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Sirk transferred to ECU during the summer and has already contributed 145 ground yards for the Pirates in five games.
RANKING AMONG TOP FBS QBs LAST THREE WEEKS
Since reassuming ECU's starting quarterback role, Sirk has completed a collective 70-of-120 (58.3 percent) passes for 981 yards and six TDs in contests vs. UConn, USF and Temple ... He followed a 426-yard aerial performance against the Huskies (9th-highest single-game total in ECU history) with a 302-yard outing vs. the Bulls and a 253-yard day vs. the Owls ... He also added 104 yards and two TDs on a combined 41 carries on the ground (team-high 87 vs. USF) ... In the last three weeks, Sirk ranks among the Top 10 FBS signal-callers nationally.
THE (GRAD TRANSFER) "QB WHISPERER"
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tony Petersen has the unique distinction of directly working with graduate transfer signal-callers in each of the last four years ... At Louisiana Tech, he coached Cody Sokol and Jeff Driskel as the pair helped the Bulldogs to back-to-back bowl wins, while with the Pirates, he's steered Philip Nelson and Thomas Sirk to notable performances.
P6 .... #AMERICANPOW6R
Similar to the 2016 campaign, ECU will continue to wear P6 helmet stickers, recognizing Commissioner Mike Aresco's long-standing message that the American Athletic Conference is a Power 6 Conference based on the league's competitive results and commitments made at all the conference's institutions.
THIS AND THAT
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OT Brandon Smith (29 games) and DE Kiante Anderson (11) own the program's longest starting streaks on their respective side of the ball entering the UCF contest ... Five of QB Thomas Sirk's seven TD tosses have been for 17-plus yards, including a 75-yarder vs. UConn ... His 253-yard eff ort vs. Temple marked his fourth game with 200-plus passing yards this season ... WR Davon Grayson, who turned in career bests with 11 receptions for 223 yards and three TDs at UConn before following with 101 yards vs. USF and 40 vs. Temple, has now caught at least one pass in 31 of 37 career games ... WR Jimmy Williams extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 18 with five catches for 110 yards vs. Temple ... The triple-digit outing was the fourth of his career and first since the Cincinnati contest in 2016 (7-129) ... WR Quay Johnson registered his first TD reception of the year with an 11-yard grab vs. Temple ... He finished with three catches for 51 yards vs. the Owls and now has at least one reception in 30 of 40 collegiate contests ... WR Trevon Brown has netted at least one reception in 21 of 23 career games (multiple 18 times) after recording a pair vs. Temple (19 yards) ... Forty-fi ve of his 78 career grabs have gone for 10 or more yards ... ILB Jordan Williams, who led ECU in tackles last year and was included on SI.com's Freak List (nation's top 40 workout warriors in college football), has posted three or more stops in 21 of his last 22 contests ... He came off the bench vs. Temple, snapping his 10-game starting streak ... ILB Cannon Gibbs tallied a career-high 14 tackles (eight solo) at UConn, his first career double-digit game at ECU, before logging seven vs. USF and six vs. Temple ... FS Korrin Wiggins has racked up 40 stops in his last four games (career-high 11 vs. Temple) to join Jordan Williams as the team's co-leader (52) ... ILB Aaron Ramseur made his first collegiate start vs. Temple a memorable one, matching Wiggins with a squad-high 11 tackles while also netting his first interception (31-yard return) ... KOS Caleb Pratt has recorded seven straight touchbacks (dating back to the USF game), while 105 of his 127 kickoff s have traveled 60 or more yards ... In all, he's delivered at least one TB in 22 of 26 contests (multiple 15 times) ... PK Jake Verity successfully converted his only PAT try vs. Temple to remain perfect during his career (21-of-21) ... He also drilled at least one FG in fi ve-straight games ... P Austin Barnes matched a career-long with a 65-yard boot vs. Temple (other came vs. Michigan State while playing at EMU) ... Eight of his 30 punts in 2017 have traveled 50 or more yards (at least one in each game) and he's placed nine inside opponents' 20-yard line (70 during career) ... Barnes has never had a punt blocked in 210 attempts (30/ECU, 180/EMU).
TEAM NOTES: ECU has recorded a scoring throw in 68 of their last 75 games (two each vs. each vs. WVU and VT, three at UConn, two vs. USF, one vs. Temple in 2017) ... ECU has tallied a combined 71 first-half points in its last four games, but has been collectively outscored 105-28 in the final 30 minutes against the Hokies, Huskies, Bulls and Owls ... The Pirates have only scored twice in the fourth quarter this year and have been shutout 30-0 in their last four games (overall, opponents own a 43-14 edge in the fourth stanza in 2017) ... Under Scottie Montgomery (2016-17), ECU ranks 2nd nationally in most 4th down conversions (29) and 4th in most 4th down conversions attempts (49).
