Bud Light Pregame Tailgate Show: ECU goes to Old Dominion seeking first win of season

East Carolina travels to Old Dominion for its second road contest of the season on Saturday, Sept. 19 … Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (ET) at Kornblau Field inside S.B.Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Va. … The two teams have squared off five times dating back to 2013 with the Pirates holding a 5-0 all-time lead in the series … Both teams are coming off a loss as ECU fell to App State 27-24, while ODU dropped a road game at Virginia Tech, 44-21.

THE HEAD COACH
Blake Harrell (Western Carolina ’02), who is in his sixth overall season at East Carolina, was officially named the 23rd head football coach on Nov. 27, 2024. Harrell, the program’s interim head coach (Oct. 20-Nov. 26, 2024) and the squad’s defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach since his initial hire in January of 2020, led the Pirates (9-4, 6-2 American) in 2025 and a share for fourth place in league play. His team stood among the FBS leaders (Top 25) in 15 statistical categories with his offense averaging 32.7 points per game while allowing 20.1, the fewest since at East Carolina since 1999. He has guided the Pirates to a 14-7(.667) record in 21 games becoming the fastest head coach to 14 victories and quickest to 10 wins in conference play, while becoming the second coach in program history to win consecutive bowl games with a 23-17 victory over Pittsburgh at the 2025 Go Bowling Military Bowl. In 2024, he posted a 5-1 record over a six-game span which included a 26-21 come from behind victory over NC State in the 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. On Dec. 28, 2024. The win was the first over a Power 4 team since 2018, when ECU topped North Carolina, 41-19. Following the Charlotte win, ECU secured bowl eligibility in consecutive games and for the fourth time in the last five campaigns (2021 Military, 2022 Birmingham, 2024 Military).

FAST FACTS
Record: 0-2 (.000); American Record/Standings: 0-0 (.000); Last 5 Games: 2-3; Last 10 Games: 6-4; Last 15 Games: 9-6; Streaks: When East Carolina travels to Old Dominion, it will be the 22nd game of the Blake Harrell era (14-7) … The Pirates contest against the Monarchs will be the 958th since the start of ECU football in 1932 (481-465-11/.508).

ANALYZING THE 2026 OVERALL SCHEDULE
COMPOSITE RECORDS: ECU’s 2026 opponents posted a combined 77-76 (.503) record in 2025. The Pirates’ four non-conference foes were 24-29 (.453), while the eight American squads tallied a collective 53-47 (.530) mark. Five programs had eight or more wins – Alabama (11), Old Dominion (10), South Florida (9), N.C. Central (8) and Memphis (8).

SEVEN BOWL TEAMS: For the second consecutive season, ECU’s schedule features contests against seven teams which participated in bowl games a year ago. In addition to Alabama (CFP first round and Rose Bowl), Appalachian State (JLab Birmingham Bowl), Army (Wasabi Bowl), Memphis (Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl), Old Dominion (StaffDNA Cure Bowl), Rice (Lockhead Martin Armed Forces Bowl) and South Florida (StaffDNA Cure Bowl) each made FBS postseason appearances last December and January. Of the Pirates’ six home games, five will be against 2025 bowl qualifiers, while two of six road contests will be against postseason teams.

IN THE FINAL POLLS: Alabama is the lone ECU opponent that finished ranked in the two major polls (Associated Press, AFCA Coaches) to end the 2025 season coming in at No. 9. Old Dominion received votes in both polls, while Army garnered on vote in the AFCA poll along with East Carolina.

NON-SATURDAY ACTION: ECU will have three non-Saturday contests in 2026. For the seventh-straight campaign (and eighth in the last nine years), ECU will play at least one weeknight contest. The Pirates will have consecutive road Thursday night contests playing at UAB (Oct. 15) and at Memphis (Oct. 22), while hosting South Florida on Friday, Nov. 6. The Pirates regular season finale inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium against Florida Atlantic will be played either Nov. 27 (Friday) or Nov. 28 (Saturday). ECU is 40-50-1 (.451) all-time on non-Saturday games (17-24-1/home, 19-20/road, 4-6/neutral) after posting a 2-2 record in 2025.

CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH

In all, East Carolina is 4-4-0 in August, 139-133-1 in September, 172-172-4 in October, 154-139-5 in November, 12-12-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January … With the Pirates win over NC State in 2024, ECU remained somewhat productive in December – a month in which it has won six of its last 10 outings (wins vs. Boise State/’07, Tulsa/’08, Houston/’09, Ohio/’13, Coastal Carolina/’22, NC State/’24; losses to Maryland/’10, ULLafayette/’12, UCF/’14 and NC State/’18).

ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 75-110 (.405) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … ECU closed out the 2025 season 4-3 away from home following a 23-17 win against Pittsburgh … In 2024, ECU also posted a 4-3 record … Three years ago, ECU finished the year 1-5 on the road and in 2022, 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 11 road non-American tilts since, including bowl games (5-6).

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
The Pirates have produced a 48-68 (.414) regular season non-league record since 1997, which includes a 2-2 clip in 2025. Last year, ECU was 2-2, 1-3 in 2023 and 3-1 in 2022 picking up wins against Old Dominion, Campbell and BYU, while dropping the home opener to NC State … In 2021, they split their four non-conference games falling to Appalachian State and South Carolina to open the season before rallying back to post victories against Marshall and Charleston Southern … In 2019, the Pirates posted a 3-1 record – the program’s first winning non-conference ledger since 2014 … ECU has won 13 of last 25 non-conference games dating back to 2019.

UP NEXT
ECU closes out non-conference action when it plays host to N.C. Central on Saturday, Sept. 16 inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.