East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play Coastal Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium on Tuesday, Dec. 27, at 6:45 p.m. The game will be shown on ESPN. ECU went 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the American Athletic Conference in earning a bowl berth for the second straight season. Last year's Military Bowl matchup was canceled because of … [Read more...]
VIEW FROM THE EASTPirates await bowl invitation
Projections have East Carolina headed for a variety of bowl destinations ranging from Fenway Park to Myrtle Beach to Birmingham to Shreveport. ECU athletic director Jon Gilbert elaborated on the possibilities Thursday. The American Athletic Conference championship game, which sends No. 22 Central Florida to No. 18 Tulane on Saturday (ABC, 4 p.m.) will be the catalyst for the … [Read more...]
Inside Game DayAhlers delivers winning touchdown for ECU
PHILADELPHIA — Holton Ahlers hit Jaylen Johnson with a 38-yard touchdown pass with 1:11 left to lift East Carolina to a 49-46 win at Temple on Saturday and assure the Pirates of a second straight winning season for the first time since 2014. "Jaylen was the original guy we were trying to get the ball to there," Ahlers told the East Carolina radio network. "We had two posts … [Read more...]
VIEW FROM THE EASTHouston, the coach, credits Houston, the team
East Carolina coach Mike Houston talked about a 42-3 home loss to Houston on Saturday as the Pirates looked more like the program he took over than the one ECU has become. Hopefully for the hosts, the contest with the Cougars was an aberration as the Pirates (6-5, 3-4 American Athletic Conference) head for Temple (3-8, 1-6) on Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. "For starters, … [Read more...]
Inside Game DayHouston beats Pirates with stunning ease
GREENVILLE — Houston used East Carolina as a springboard to the Big 12 Conference with a 42-3 triumph over the Pirates on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in the final American Athletic Conference contest in football between the two. Who saw this coming? The oddsmakers missed badly, making ECU a 6-point favorite. The Pirate seniors certainly were geared up to go out in … [Read more...]