Army and East Carolina (2-2) are dealing with short weeks going into their American Conference matchup at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. It is the league opener for ECU.

The Black Knights (1-2) are fourth nationally in rushing yards per game (301.3) from their triple option attack.

“You’re getting ready for an Army team and somebody says, ‘Hey, you got a short week to prepare for Army,'” said Pirates coach Blake Harrell. “I say, ‘Army’s got a short week prepared for us.’

“That’s kind of the mindset I want within our program. …  It’s obviously an option offense. I was around the option offense from 2008 until 2019 when I came here. We ran some sorts of the option, at Lenoir-Rhyne, The Citadel and Kennesaw State.

“You attack it different at different places, and I think you attack it differently here as well. The main thing is keeping it simple for your players so they can go play fast and clean. … It doesn’t matter if it’s Army or whoever it may be. I think that’s the key to it on both sides of the football is let your guys go play.

“Keep ’em fresh. You’ve got a quick turnaround.”

Army perspective

Army coach Jeff Monken said Tuesday that the short week is not ideal. His team will make the trip to Greenville today after scaled-down practices on Monday and Tuesday.

“I’d much prefer to have a bye week before a Thursday game,” Monken said. “It’s nice to have the extra time to be recovered and well rested. Obviously playing a Thursday game gives you a couple extra days for the next opponent, so that’s ideal.

“But it’s college football and I think the trade off is we get to play on national TV on ESPN and it’s the only game on at that time of the night. So we get to showcase the program and our players. That’s certainly great for the program.”

Last year’s game

Army was No. 23 when it hosted East Carolina last season in what became a turning point for the Pirates program.

The Knights led 31-0 in the third quarter of a 45-28 victory.

Harrell got a phone call the next morning that he was the interim coach. The Pirates won five of their last six to finish the season 8-5. Harrell had the interim label removed during the closing run, which culminated with a 26-20 Military Bowl win over N.C. State.

Daily dose

ECU saw a lot of Army quarterback Bryson Daily in 2024 as he ran for 171 yards and five touchdowns. He also passed for 147 yards and one score.

Daily is fulfilling his 5-year service commitment as a West Point graduate.

Army QBs

Army changed quarterbacks during a 45-38 overtime loss to North Texas at home on Saturday.

Monken didn’t name a starter on Tuesday.

“Cole (Hellums) certainly struggled early in the game, which is why we made the change,” Monken said. “As well as he played against Kansas State, he came out and really struggled to take care of the ball. The first fumble where he pitched it to Noah (Short) was an errant pitch. Not that he couldn’t have pitched it to him, but he was pitching off the wrong guy. It was a triple option play and just a mistake on his part and unfortunately we lost that one.

“Then the next one was a contact fumble. He’s running the ball and didn’t secure it. They were able to knock it away from him and then the interception, he’s trying to throw that thing in there. It was the third down play and, unfortunately, they made a great play and returned the ball back to our 10-yard line.”

North Texas took a 21-0 lead with the help of the turnovers.

“We just felt like we needed a spark and went with Dewayne (Coleman) and I thought Dewayne handled it really well. He did a really good job. He’s prepared, took care of the ball and again, unfortunately we couldn’t finish it out.

“Dwayne got injured there at the end. Got a cramp and was struggling to finish the game and Cole had to come back in. Give him credit for coming off the bench and being ready and taking over there in the overtime period. So we’ll see what happens over the next couple of days.

“I don’t have an answer on who’s going to be the guy that’ll take the first nap, but I’m pretty sure it’ll be one of those two guys.”

Down 21-0 to Mean Green

Both teams have trailed North Texas by 21-0 margins in their most recent matchups with the Mean Green.

ECU took a 40-28 road win on Nov. 23 last season with an incredible comeback.

Peripheral excitement

In addition to the national telecast of the game, there will be a SportsCenter originating from Sup Dogs in downtown Greenville on Thursday at 2 p.m.

Another SportsCenter will be live from Greenville at 5 p.m.

The Golden Knights will parachute into the stadium before kickoff.

There will be fireworks.

A drone show is scheduled for halftime in addition to a performance by the Camp Lejeune band and the Marching Pirates.