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Having secured bowl eligibility for the third time in the last four seasons, East Carolina will attempt to extend its winning streak to four when it travels west for an American Athletic Conference encounter with North Texas at DATCU Stadium.
Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. The game will stream live through ESPN+ with Ted Emrich (play-by-play), LaDarrin McLane (analyst) and Smacker Miles (sideline) handling the broadcast duties.
ECU (6-4, 4-2 AAC) is under the direction of interim head coach Blake Harrell.
Last Time Out
East Carolina 38, Tulsa 31
(Nov. 14 @ H.A. Chapman Stadium, Tulsa, Okla.)
Blake Harrell didn’t have to sweat much in his first two games as East Carolina’s interim head coach. His third outing and first on the road became a real test of nerves, but the Pirates gutted out a win to become bowl eligible. ECU, playing its second straight nationally televised Thursday night game, overcame a bevy of mistakes that included four turnovers, 12 penalties and a missed extra point to scrape by with an emotionally draining 38-31 win over Tulsa in a nearly four-hour tussle at H.A. Chapman Stadium. Isaiah Brown-Murray’s tackle of Tulsa receiver Kamdyn Benjamin at the one with just 34 seconds to play ultimately sealed the win. Senior Rahjai Harris gave ECU the lead for good with a 24-yard run and added a two-point conversion to cap off his third 100-yard game this season and eighth of his career. ECU displayed its resiliency after losing back-to-back road games to Charlotte and Army and the dismissal of head coach Mike Houston, routing Temple (56-34) and Florida Atlantic (49-14) before the home fans. Thursday’s matchup presented a sterner test, facing a Tulsa team that owned four-straight wins in the series and playing before a sparse crowd. The Pirates continued to rack up gaudy offensive numbers with 536 total yards, eclipsing 500 yards for the third time this season, but still had to scramble to survive a game with five lead changes and countless momentum shifts. Penalties and turnovers loom large and on Thursday repeatedly gave Tulsa (3-7, 1-5 AAC) life as it tried snap a three-game skid. On the heels of its first turnover-free game of the year, ECU coughed up one fumble and quarterback Katin Houser threw three interceptions. Houser, who had consecutive games with five touchdown passes, completed 24 of 37 for 314 yards and one score.
About The Mean Green
North Texas (5-5, 2-4 AAC) has lost four straight, including a 48-27 setback to UTSA in San Antonio in its most recent outing on Nov. 15. Junior running back Shane Porter rushed for a career-high 193 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first UNT player in the last 25 years to have at least 193 yards on the ground, three or more rushing touchdowns, average better than 14 yards per carry and have at least one reception in a game, but the Roadrunners racked up 681 total yards of offense, including 302 on the ground, to register the home victory. The Mean Green possess the league’s second-best scoring offense, averaging 35.6 points per game, but rank 11th in scoring defense – allowing 35.7 points per contest. In terms of total offense, North Texas paces the circuit by averaging 498.4 yards per game. However, the Mean Green defense is giving up a league-worst 458.1 yards per outing. Quarterback Chandler Morris enters the weekend with gaudy offensive numbers, averaging 332.8 passing yards with a conference-best 27 touchdowns against 12 interceptions, while DT Sheffield has hauled in a conference-high 10 receiving touchdowns. North Texas is 3-2 at DATCU Stadium with wins over Stephen F. Austin (35-20), Wyoming (44-17) and Tulsa (52-20) as well as losses to Tulane (45-37) and then No. 25 Army (14-3).
Interim Head Coach Blake Harrell
Harrell was named interim head coach at East Carolina on Oct. 20, 2024. He joined the Pirate program as the defensive coordinator on Jan. 29, 2020, after spending a year with Kennesaw State (2019). He has spearheaded a turnaround for a unit that surrendered just a combined 27.3 points per game from 2020-23 (ECU’s highest four-year total since 2012-15) and forced 75 turnovers. In addition, East Carolina has tallied at least one takeaway in 43 of 53 contests since his arrival in Greenville. Harrell has helped the Pirates earn bowl eligibility in consecutive seasons – a first since the 2013-14 campaigns – which included a bowl win over Coastal Carolina (53-29) in 2022. Last year, he had guided a defensive unit that established new seasonal bests since 2019 at East Carolina including points per game allowed (22.4), pass yards allowed (219.2) and total yards allowed (341.1). The North Carolina native has also had coaching stops at Western Carolina (2001-02), McDowell HS (2003), Fuquay-Varina HS (2004), Franklin HS (2005-06), Lenoir-Rhyne (2007-13), The Citadel (2014-18) and Kennesaw State (2019) before joining the Pirate program.
East Carolina Records, Streaks and Trends
- The Pirates last won four-straight games in 2021 when they defeated South Florida (29-14), Temple (45-3), Memphis (30-29/OT) and Navy (38-35) consecutively.
- In the win at Tulsa, ECU rushed for 222 yards, marking its third consecutive 200-plus yard ground effort. The last time that occurred for the Pirates was a five-game stretch spanning the 1988 and 1989 seasons (last two of 1988 and first three of 1989).
- East Carolina tallied 536 yards of total offense against the Golden Hurricane – its third consecutive game producing 500 or more (500 vs. Temple and 581 vs. Florida Atlantic).
- The Pirates established a program single-game record for yards per play versus Florida Atlantic (10.4), besting the previous standard of 9.7 set against Western Carolina in 2016.
- ECU scored a season-high 35 points in the first half of the FAU game which were its most in a first half since netting 41 opposite South Florida in 2022 (contest played in Boca Raton).
- The Pirates produced a modern-day program record for points in a quarter with 29 in the third versus Temple.
- ECU tied a program record with eight different players (seven offense) scoring a touchdown against Temple.
- The Pirates racked up 418 yards of total offense in the first half versus FAU – the most since collecting 459 against North Carolina in 2014 (ranking first and second in program and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium history).
- East Carolina owns 11 offensive scoring drives of 44 seconds or less this season.
- Houser topped the Week 11 ESPN Total QBR List with a 99.7 rating.
- ECU ranks eighth among FBS institutions with three defensive touchdowns. The Pirates have notched six defensive scores since the start of the 2023 campaign.
- The Pirates rank 39th nationally in total offense (429.1 yards per game).
- Twenty-five (25) different East Carolina defenders have recorded a half tackle for loss through 10 games. In all, the Pirates have tallied 76.0 tackles for loss for minus 244 yards and ranks ninth nationally in tackles for loss per game at 7.6.
- ECU is averaging 68.0 offensive plays per game which is tied for 50th nationally. On the flip side, the defense is checks in with 75.1 – the second most per game among FBS teams (tied with San Jose State).
The Series
East Carolina won its only previous meeting with North Texas by a 49-16 score back on Nov. 17, 1979, at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
On The Road
Since shedding independent status in 1997, East Carolina is 69-106 (.394) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. This season, the Pirates are 2-3 following the win at Tulsa (other road games: W/ODU, 20-14; L/Liberty, 35-24, L/Charlotte 45-28). 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).
Comparing 10-Year, 10-Game Results
East Carolina’s triumph at Tulsa pushed its record to 6-4 on the season, marking the third time in the last four years that the Pirates have won six of their first 10 games (2021 and 2022).
A Starters’ Log
DL Chad Stephens enters the Tulsa contest having started 29 consecutive games as a member of the defensive unit. OL Hampton Ergle currently has the longest starting streak on the offense at 23 prior to Saturday’s game. ECU has had 16 first time starters in a Pirate uniform this season: LB Zakye Barker, OL Darius Bell, LB Ryheem Craig, LB Samuel Dankah, QB Jake Garcia, DB Gavin Gibson, QB Katin Houser, TE Casey Kelly, DB Devon King, OL Jimarion McCrimon, OL Emmanuel Poku, DB Ja’Marley Riddle, WR Anthony Smith, LB Dameon Wilson, DB Andrew Wilson-Lamp and WR Winston Wright Jr.
2024 Graduates
OL Hampton Ergle, OL Dustyn Hall, DS Alex Harper, RB Rahjai Harris, LB Noah Holmes, DB Jordan Huff, TE Casey Kelly, P Luke Larsen, Dl Jaden McKenzie, DB Kingston McKinstry, OL Parker Moorer, TE Tyler Savage, DL Chad Stephens and WR Winston Wright Jr. each have earned their degrees heading into the 2024 season.
Up Next
East Carolina closes out the regular season on Black Friday (Nov. 29) when it welcomes American Athletic Conference opponent Navy to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The game is set for a 12 p.m. kickoff and will air live to a national audience on ESPN.
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