2020 East Carolina Pirates football team

The 2020 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by second-year head coach Mike Houston, played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium as members of the American Athletic Conference.

2020 East Carolina Pirates football
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record3–6 (3–5 AAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDonnie Kirkpatrick (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorBlake Harrell (1st season)
Base defense3–4 or 4–2–5
Home stadiumDowdy–Ficklen Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Cincinnati y$   6 0     9 1  
Tulsa y   6 0     6 3  
Memphis   5 3     8 3  
UCF   5 3     6 4  
SMU   4 3     7 3  
Houston   3 3     3 5  
Navy   3 4     3 7  
Tulane   3 5     6 6  
East Carolina   3 5     3 6  
Temple   1 6     1 6  
South Florida   0 7     1 8  
Championship: Cincinnati 27, Tulsa 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll.

Schedule

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East Carolina had games scheduled against Marshall, Norfolk State, and South Carolina, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1][2][3]

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 2612:00 p.m. No. 13 UCFABCL 28–51305
October 312:00 p.m.at Georgia State*ESPNUL 29–493,823
October 107:00 p.m.at South FloridaESPN+W 44–246,799
October 1712:00 p.m.Navy
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, NC
ESPN2L 23–273,500
October 308:00 p.m.at TulsaESPN2L 30–340
November 712:00 p.m.Tulane
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, NC
ESPN+L 21–383,500
November 137:30 p.m.at No. 7 CincinnatiESPN2L 17–550
November 2112:00 p.m.at TempleESPN+W 28–30
November 2812:00 p.m.SMU
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, NC
ESPN+W 52–383,500
Schedule Source:[4][5]

Game summaries

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Central Florida at East Carolina
1 234Total
No. 13 Knights 10 171410 51
Pirates 7 0714 28
         
Pregame line Over/under
UCF –27.5 77[6]
Statistics UCF East Carolina
First downs 29 25
Total yards 632 459
Rushing yards 224 244
Passing yards 408 215
Turnovers 0 4
Time of possession 26:52 33:08
Team Category Player Statistics
UCF Passing Dillon Gabriel 32/47, 408 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Greg McCrae 16 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Johnny Richardson 9 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 14/29, 215 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Keaton Mitchell 8 carries, 66 yards
Receiving Audie Omotosho 3 receptions, 56 yards

At Georgia State

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East Carolina at Georgia State
1 234Total
Pirates 7 6313 29
Panthers 21 14014 49
  • Date: October 3, 2020
  • Location: Center Parc Stadium
    Atlanta, GA
  • Game start: 12:02 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 28 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,823
  • Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: 6 W MPH
  • Referee: Marshall Lewis
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Mike Couzens (play–by–play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)
         
Pregame line Over/under
ECU –1.5 70[7]
Statistics East Carolina Georgia State
First downs 19 21
Total yards 286 485
Rushing yards 50 247
Passing yards 236 238
Turnovers 3 3
Time of possession 33:05 26:55
Team Category Player Statistics
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 29/50, 236 yards, 3 INTs
Rushing Tyler Snead 1 carry, 31 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Tyler Snead 11 receptions, 105 yards
Georgia State Passing Cornelious Brown 18/28, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Destin Coates 23 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Sam Pinckney 7 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TDs

At South Florida

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East Carolina at South Florida
1 234Total
Pirates 17 1476 44
Bulls 7 1000 17
        
Pregame line Over/under
USF –5.5 58[8]
Statistics East Carolina South Florida
First downs 21 22
Total yards 432 398
Rushing yards 210 92
Passing yards 222 306
Turnovers 0 2
Time of possession 35:36 24:24
Team Category Player Statistics
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 17/26, 222 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Rahjai Harris 19 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD
Receiving C. J. Johnson 3 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TDs
South Florida Passing Jordan McCloud 26/35, 298 yards
Rushing Johnny Ford 8 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Latrell Williams 8 receptions, 93 yards
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Navy at East Carolina
1 234Total
Midshipmen 7 6140 27
Pirates 6 7010 23
  • Date: October 17, 2020
  • Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
    Greeville, NC
  • Game start: 12:01 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,500
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Mostly Sunny • Wind: NNE 10 MPH
  • Referee: Edwin Lee
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and Keith Moreland (analyst)
     
Pregame line Over/under
NAVY –3.5 55.5[9]
Statistics Navy East Carolina
First downs 17 19
Total yards 318 372
Rushing yards 288 268
Passing yards 30 104
Turnovers 2 2
Time of possession 31:29 28:31
Team Category Player Statistics
Navy Passing Dalen Morris 3/4, 30 yards, 1 INT
Rushing Nelson Smith 17 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Ryan Mitchell 1 reception, 14 yards
East Carolina Passing Mason Garcia 10/20, 104 yards
Rushing Rahjai Harris 22 carries, 172 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Tyler Snead 4 receptions, 39 yards

At Tulsa

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East Carolina at Tulsa
1 234Total
Pirates 7 10310 30
Golden Hurricane 3 01714 34
  • Date: October 30, 2020
  • Location: Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium
    Tulsa, OK
  • Game start: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Elapsed time: 3:40
  • Game attendance: 0
  • Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: SSW 5 MPH
  • Referee: A. Calabarese
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick (play–by–play) Rocky Boiman (analyst)
        
Pregame line Over/under
TUL –17 59.5[10]
Statistics East Carolina Tulsa
First downs 27 25
Total yards 456 428
Rushing yards 126 175
Passing yards 330 253
Turnovers 3 3
Time of possession 35:09 24:51
Team Category Player Statistics
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 38/50, 330 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Rahjai Harris 21 carries, 118 yards
Receiving Tyler Snead 16 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD
Tulsa Passing Zach Smith 19/37, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing T.K. Wilkerson 18 carries, 89 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Keylon Stokes 6 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

Tulane

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Tulane at East Carolina
1 234Total
Green Wave 7 14107 38
Pirates 7 0014 21
  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
    Greenville, NC
  • Game start: 12:05 a.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 11 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,500
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Mostly Clear • Wind: E 5 MPH
  • Referee: Luke Richmond
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Evan Lepler (play–by–play) and Jay Sonnhalter (analyst)
     
Pregame line Over/under
TULN –3.5 63.5[11]
Statistics Tulane East Carolina
First downs 24 20
Total yards 493 386
Rushing yards 277 35
Passing yards 216 351
Turnovers 1 1
Time of possession 30:59 29:01
Team Category Player Statistics
Tulane Passing Michael Pratt 22/34, 216 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Cameron Carroll 6 carries, 129 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving Duece Watts 5 receptions, 57 yards, 2 TDs
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 27/43, 351 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Rahjai Harris 13 carries, 27 yards
Receiving Blake Proehl 13 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TDs

At Cincinnati

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East Carolina at Cincinnati
1 234Total
Pirates 0 1007 17
No. 7 Bearcats 7 28713 55
       
Pregame line Over/under
CIN –27.5 56.5[12]
Statistics East Carolina Cincinnati
First downs 23 29
Total yards 293 653
Rushing yards 206 299
Passing yards 87 354
Turnovers 4 1
Time of possession 29:50 30:10
Team Category Player Statistics
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 9/20, 87 yards, 3 INTs
Rushing Keaton Mitchell 17 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Keaton Mitchell 1 reception, 26 yards
Cincinnati Passing Desmond Ridder 24/31, 327 yards, 3 TDs
Rushing Desmond Ridder 8 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Tre Tucker 4 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD

At Temple

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East Carolina at Temple
1 234Total
Pirates 7 1470 28
Owls 0 030 3
  • Date: November 21, 2020
  • Location: Lincoln Financial Field
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Game start: 12:50 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 2 hours and 48 minutes
  • Game attendance: 100
  • Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Mostly Sunny • Wind: NW 6 MPH
  • Referee: Hank Johns
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Leno (play–by–play) and Ken Dunek (analyst)
  
Pregame line Over/under
ECU –7 53[13]
Statistics East Carolina Temple
First downs 16 10
Total yards 447 235
Rushing yards 265 140
Passing yards 182 95
Turnovers 2 3
Time of possession 25:06 34:54
Team Category Player Statistics
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 11/22, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing Keaton Mitchell 13 carries, 103 yards
Receiving C. J. Johnson 3 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD
Temple Passing Kamal Gray 10/21, 95 yards, 2 INTs
Rushing Tayvon Ruley 14 carries, 48 yards
Receiving David Martin–Robinson 1 reception, 30 yards
Southern Methodist at East Carolina
1 234Total
Mustangs 7 01714 38
Pirates 21 2407 52
  • Date: November 28, 2020
  • Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
    Greeville, NC
  • Game start: 12:05 p.m. EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours and 31 minutes
  • Game attendance: 3,500
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Mostly Clear • Wind: Calm
  • Referee: Edwin Lee
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and LaDarrin McLane (analyst)
          
Pregame line Over/under
SMU –12.0 72
Statistics SMU East Carolina
First downs 26 28
Total yards 384 493
Rushing yards 70 160
Passing yards 314 333
Turnovers 3 2
Time of possession 29:43 30:17
Team Category Player Statistics
SMU Passing Shane Buechele 35/50, 314 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Rushing Ulysses Bentley IV 12 carries, 36 yards
Receiving Austin Upshaw 8 receptions, 78 yards
East Carolina Passing Holton Ahlers 20/29, 298 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing Keaton Mitchell 20 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Blake Proehl 6 receptions, 152 yards, 2 TDs

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
4 139 D'Ante Smith OT Cincinnati Bengals

References

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  1. ^ "MEAC suspends all fall sports for indefinite period". ESPN.com. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  2. ^ Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "ECU-Marshall football game canceled ahead of plane crash 50th anniversary". WITN.com. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "2020 Football Schedule". East Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "2020 East Carolina Pirates Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "UCF Knights vs East Carolina Pirates". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 23, 2020.
  7. ^ "East Carolina Pirates vs Georgia State Panthers". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "East Carolina Pirates vs USF Bulls". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Navy Midshipmen vs East Carolina Pirates". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  10. ^ "East Carolina vs Tulsa Golden Hurricane". Sportsline. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  11. ^ "Tulane Green Wave vs East Carolina Pirates". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "East Carolina Pirates vs Cincinnati Bearcats". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  13. ^ "East Carolina Pirates vs Temple Owls". Odds Shark. Retrieved November 27, 2020.