East Carolina opens 2025 season at NC State

ECU will kick off its 2025 season in Raleigh against NC State.

The two teams meet at 7 p.m. Before the game, you can catch the Bud Light Pregame Tailgate before ECU-NCSU and the US Cellular 5th Quarter Call-In Show after the game.

Below are more details on the game from ECU Sports Information.

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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)

By ECU Sports Information

East Carolina is set to open the 2025 season Thursday evening when it travels 90 miles east to Raleigh, N.C. to Carter-Finley Stadium.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the contest will be televised on the Atlantic Coast Conference Network (ACCN) with Wes Durham (play-by-play), Steve Addazio (analyst) and Dana Boyle (sideline) on the call.

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 and inside linebackers coach since his initial hire in January of 2020, led the Pirates (8-5, 5-3 AAC) to five wins 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. During his time leading the program, ECU posted a 5-1 record notching consecutive wins over Temple, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa and North Texas helping the Pirates secure bowl eligibility for the third time in the last four campaigns (2021 Military, 2022 Birmingham). Over the final six games, ECU scored 229 points (38.2 ppg) and 2,993 yards of total offense (498.8 pg) which included a stretch of four straight games with over 500 yards of total offense – a first in program history.

THE GAME
East Carolina will face the first of two Power Four members on its 2025 schedule when the Pirates travel to Raleigh Thursday to meet NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium … This will be the 34th meeting between the two programs and consecutive outings as they squared off against one another in the 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl (ECU win 26-21) … It also marks the first time since the end of the 2018 and beginning of the 2019 campaigns where the Pirates and Wolfpack played consecutive games against one another.

FAST FACTS
Record – 0-0 (.000); American Record/Standing – 0-0 (.0-0)/—; Last 5 Games – 4-1; Last 10 Games – 6-4; Last 15 Games – 8-7; Streaks – When East Carolina opens the 2025 season at NC State, it will be the sixth game of the Blake Harrell era. ECU’s contest against the Wolfpack will be the Pirates’ 943rd since the start of football in 1932 (472-459-11/.507).

EAST CAROLINA RECORDS, STREAKS & TRENDS (end of 2024)

• Participated in 22nd bowl in program history at the Go Bowling Military Bowl (has qualified for 23 bowls all-time – did not play in 2021 Military Bowl/CoVID-19) …
• Won 11th bowl game in ECU history at Go Bowling Military Bowl (vs. NC State 26-21) …
• Became bowl eligible with a 38-31 won over Tulsa (3rd time in last 4 years) …
• Tallied seven or more wins (7 in ’21, 8 in ’22, 8 in ’24) in 3 of last 4 years …
• Earned bowl eligibility in 2021 (Military) and in 2022 (TicketSmarter Birmingham) …
• RB Rahjai Harris rushed for a personal-best 220 yards vs. NC State – 2nd most by a Pirate in a bowl game …
• Harris set an American bowl record with his 220 yards; named Go Bowling Military Bowl MVP …
• Harris’ 220 ground yards were the most by any player during 2024-25 bowl season …
• ECU rushed for a season-high 326 yards vs. NC State marking the fifth time in the last six contests with 200 or more rushing yards …
• Secured a winning record in American play for the third time (2014, 2021, 2024) since joining the league …

• Tallied 500-plus yards of total offense in a game five times with a season-high 581 against FAU …
• Concluded non-conference play with a 2-2 record … It marks the fourth time in six years that the Pirates are .500 through four games (2019, 2021, 2022, 2024) …
• Tallied fourth home win of the season against FAU (Nov. 7) for the 3rd time in last 4 years …
• Established new single-game record for yards per play against FAU (10.4) besting the previous record of 9.7 against Western Carolina in 2016 …
• Scored a season-high 35 first half points against FAU (Nov. 7), which were the most since 41 versus South Florida in 2022 (game played in Boca Raton) …
• Tallied 418 yards of total offense in the first half against FAU (Nov. 7) – the most since 459 vs. North Carolina in 2014 (both ranking first and second in program and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium history) …
• Set a modern day record with 29 points in the third quarter against Temple which is also the sixth most in an FBS game in 2024 …
• Also had eight different players (7/offense, 1/defense) score a TD against Temple, which tied a school record …

• Had 15 offensive scoring drives (13 TD, 2 FG) of one minute or less in 2024 …
• Forced at least one turnover in 60 of the last 71 games since 2019 …
• Since the start of 2023, ECU’s defense has scored six TDs (2/ASU ’23, 1/UTSA ’23; 1/NSU ’24, 1/ASU, 1/TEM) …
• Twenty-six (26) different ECU defenders have recorded at least a half TFL through the 2024 season – In all, ECU tallied 94.0 TFLs for minus 289 yards and ranked 14th nationally in TFLs per game at 7.2 …
• SAF Omar Rogers (104) became the first Pirate since LB Zeek Bigger (140/2014) and LB Brandon Williams (124/2014) to register 100 or more tackles in a season … He is also the first safety to hit the 100-plus mark since Van Eskridge (102) in 2009 …
• Harris rushed for 1,166 yards moving into 10th place on the single-season rushing charts …
• Harris ranks second all-time in rushing yards (3,096) and tied for third in rushing TDs (29) …
• Harris’ 200 career points rank 10th all-time in the Pirate annuals …
• PK Andrew Conrad’s 52-yard field goal at Tulsa is tied for the eighth longest in ECU history …
• Return specialist Winston Wright Jr. averaged 26.8 yards per kickoff return, which tied for seventh on the Pirates single-season charts with Anthony Collins (1980) …
• The 2024 offense ranked among the all-time greats in program history … total offense (fifth/5,673 yards), total offense per game (sixth/436.4 ypg), points per game (eighth/32.0 ppg) and total passing yards (10th/3,432 yards) …

• For the third time since joining the American, ECU ranked first in total and average attendance …
• The Pirates ranked 100th nationally in total defense (405.2 ypg) and 24th in total offense (436.4 ypg) …
• ECU is averaged 69.2 offensive plays per game which was 41st nationally … On the flipside, the defense averaged 74.5 – the fourth most per game in the FBS …
• ECU’s stood 83rd nationally (sixth in American) in scoring defense allowing 27.3 ppg and 34th in scoring offense (sixth in American) at 32.0 points per game …
• Pirate stood among FBS Leader (Top 30) in 14 statistical categories in 2024 … blocked kicks allowed (t1st/none), blocked punts allowed (t1st/none), defensive touchdowns (12th/3 scores), red zone defense (13th/0.745), team tackles for loss (14th/7.2 per game), third down conversion percentage (24th/0.451), total offense (24th/436.4 ypg), passing yards per completion (26th/13.30), blocked kicks (27th/2 blocks), kickoff return yards (27th/22.74 ypkor), passes intercepted (27th/14 interceptions), passing offense (27th/264.0 pg), turnovers gained (27th/22 total) and fourth down conversion percentage defense (29th/0.457) …

🏴‍☠️ Former ECU Football Quarterbacks @holtahlers12 @thecaidennorman @HoltAhlersShow return tomorrow night on the US Cellular 5th Quarter Call-In Show after ECU vs NC State!

Join Pirate Radio Thursday starting at 3pm as the Bud Light Pregame Tailgate & legendary US Cellular 5th… pic.twitter.com/2TUUzzsXRJ

— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) August 28, 2025

ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 71-106 (.401) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … ECU closed out the season with a 4-3 overall road record following a 26-21 win versus against NC State in the Go Bowling Military Bowl (3-3 regular season) … A year 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).

NON-SATURDAY MAYHEM
East Carolina is 25-32 (.439) in non-Saturday games since 2000 … Oddly, the Pirates have fared better on the road (17-15; 8-17 at home) … In terms of days (including bowls), ECU is 5-1 on Sundays, 1-1 on Mondays, 3-1 on Tuesdays, 0-3 on Wednesdays, 9-13 on Thursdays and 6-13 on Fridays … Most recently, ECU is 14-17 when deviating from the normal Saturday routine since 2010 … The Pirates, 2-1 this season, had one non-Saturday game in 2023 hosting SMU on Oct. 12 (loss/31-10) … In 2022, ECU played three non-Saturday contests posting a 2-1 ledger (win at BYU/27-24, win vs. Coastal Carolina/53-29; loss at Cincinnati/27-25) … With their win in Tulsa, Okla. the Pirates became bowl eligible for the third time in the last four years.

THE SERIES
NC State leads East Carolina 19-14 all-time in a series which dates back to 1970 … Although the Pirates trail the overall series against the Wolfpack, ECU has won four of the last seven meetings and nine of the last 16 contests dating back to 1987.

LOOKING FOR MORE LOOT
East Carolina finished the 2024 season with a -0.62 in turnover margin (ECU 30, Opponents 22) … ECU forced two or more turnovers in a game (2024 season) in eight of 13 contests … The Pirates turned the ball over six times (3 fumbles, 3 INTs ) against Norfolk State marking the most since they gave up seven against UAB in 2011 … East Carolina finished the 2023 campaign with a -0.42 turnover margin (ECU 21, Opponents 16) ranking 101st nationally … The Pirates tied a program-best record with eight forced fumbles against Gardner-Webb recovering five (most in the Mike Houston era) – a feat that they last accomplished on Nov. 23, 2002 against TCU (span of 253 games) … The Pirates also scored three defensive touchdowns on the season (2 at Appalachian State, 1 at UTSA) … Two years ago, the Pirates finished with a +13 turnover margin forcing 10 fumbles, recovering nine and picked off 11 passes for 154 return yards … Against UCF, ECU forced a season-high four turnovers (3 INTs, 1 fumble) and had five multi-turnover games on the year … Despite its impressive 45-3 win, East Carolina’s 16-game streak of forcing at least one turnover came to a halt against Templeon Nov. 6 (2021) … The run, which began on Oct. 3, 2020 at Georgia State and produced 36 takeaways (22 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries), was the program’s longest since a 33-game streak (from 2007 to 2010) … In all, ECU still has at least one takeaway in 60 of the last 71 contests, as well as 31 of 38 games dating back to the start of the 2022 campaign.

A STARTERS’ LOG
OLB Ryheem Craig enters the NC State game having made 13 consecutive starts as a member of the defensive unit … OL Emmanuel Poku and WR Anthony Smith lead the offensive unit having started 13-straight games … See page 13 of game notes for career starts of 2025 members.

AGAINST NON-CONFERENCE OPPONENTS
The Pirates have produced a 46-64 (.418) regular season non-league record since 1997, which includes a 2-2 clip in 2024. Last year, ECU was 1-3 in non-conference games and in 2022 they posted a 3-1 ledger 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 … During his first season as head coach at ECU in 2019, Mike Houston led the Pirates to a 3-1 record – the program’s first winning non-conference ledger since 2014 … ECU has won 11 of last 21 non-conference games dating back to 2019.

SEASON OPENERS
The Pirates are 41-47-1 (.466) on opening day since ECU started its program in 1932.

2025 PIRATE GRADUATES (22)
OL Darius Belll, PK Andrew Conrad, OLB Ryheem Craig, DB Chance Graves, LB Noah Holmes, DB Jonathan Jean, DL J.D. Lampley, P Ryan Leavy, WR Payton Mangrum, PK Nick Mazzie, DL Xavier McIver, LS Triston O’Brien, DB Ladarian Paulk, WR Kyler Pearson, DB Rasheed Reason, DL Jasiyah Robinson, WR Anthony Smith, OL Jayson Tarpeh, DB Teagan Wilk, DL Zion Wilson, QB Mike Wright Jr. each have earned their degrees heading into the 2025 season.

UP NEXT
ECU continues non-conference play when it hosts Campbell in the home opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and the game will stream live through ESPN+.