UCF at East CarolinaPage 1 Game 1 - Sept. 26, 2020 Game No. 1 - September 26, 2020 No. 13 UCF Knights (1-0, 0-0 AAC) vs. EAST CAROLINA Pirates (0-0, 0-0 AAC) Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000/1963/Natural Grass), Greenville, N.C. 12 noon (EDT) EAST CAROLINA CONTACTS THE GAME Head Coach: ..................................................................................Mike Houston East Carolina will fi nally open the 2020 campaign and the second year of the Mike Houston Era Assistant AD/Media Relations: ..................................................Tom McClellan when the Pirates host UCF on Saturday for a 12 noon American Athletic Conference clash. The Offi ce Phone: ...............................................................................(252) 737-1274 contest will mark the eighth time in the last nine years that ECU will begin a new season with Cell Phone: .................................................................................(252) 414-0990 a tilt (2012-2018) at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Additionally, the Pirates will start the year with a E-mail Adress: ..................................................................mcclellant@ecu.edu conference matchup for only the third time as an FBS league member - 2003 (Cincinnati/C-USA) Director of Media Relations: .......................................................Malcolm Gray and 2010 (Tulsa/C-USA) - and Sept. 26 represents ECU’s “latest” kickoff since 1947 (Sept. 27). Offi ce Phone: ..............................................................................(252) 737-4523 Cell Phone: .................................................................................. (252) 414-2021 ECU RECORDS AND STREAKS E-mail address: ...................................................................... [email protected] Qualifi ed for 10 bowl appearances since 2000 (eight in the last 14 years) ... Has won eight of the last 12 season openers ... UCF CONTACTS Has won six of the last eight home openers ... Head Coach: ....................................................................................Josh Heupel Has accounted for at least 30 points and 500 total yards in three of the last four games ... Assistant AD/Strategic Communications: ...................................Dan Forcella Has thrown at least one TD pass in nine-straight games (and in 10 of the last 11 contests) ... Offi ce Phone: ..............................................................................(407) 823-2142 Has scored on 17 of 18 redzone visits (10 TDs, 7 FGs) during its last fi ve games ... Cell Phone: .................................................................................(207) 650-6790 Has converted 14 of 15 fi eld goal attempts in its last seven games ... E-mail address: .....................................................dforcella@athletics.ucf.edu Has forced at least one turnover in 11-straight games (most since 2009) ... PIRATE IMG RADIO NETWORK Has won 38 of the last 42 games when leading at the half ... Network: ......................12 stations (North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia) Talent:.......................................Jeff Charles, Kevin Monroe, Marty Feurer (SL) FAST FACTS Engineer: ...........................................................................................David Horn Record – 0-0 (.000); AAC Record/Standing – 0-0 (.000)/none; Last 5 Games – 1-4; Last 10 Pregame Show: ............................................................................. 11:00 a.m. ET Games – 3-7; Last 15 Games – 5-10; Streaks – East Carolina will play the 13th game of the Mike 2020 Network Affi liates: WBCN-1660 AM/Charlotte; WGAI-560 AM/Elizabeth Houston Era when the Pirates face off against UCF. ECU’s contest against the Knights will be the City; WNCT-107.9 FM/Greenville; WRHD-94.3 FM/Greenville; WKDX-1250 AM/Hamlet; Pirates’ 884th since the start of football in 1932 (444-428-11/.509). WAYS-1050 AM, 101.9 FM/Myrtle Beach, S.C.; WTJZ-1270 AM, 104.9 FM/Norfolk, Va.; WFJA-105.5 FM/Sanford; WAME-550 AM, 92.9 FM/Statesville; WIAM-900 SCHEMES AM, 97.5 FM/Williamston; WNTB-93.7 FM/Wilmington; WTOB-980 AM, 96.3 FM/ UCF utilizes a spread off ensive attack while employing a multiple defensive alignment. East Winston-Salem Carolina will also feature a spread look on off ense and are a multiple unit on defense. TELEVISION THE COACHES ABC: Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Mike Golic (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline) MIKE HOUSTON (Mars Hill ‘94) is 4-8 (.333) in his second season at East Carolina, while overall he is in his 10th year as a collegiate head coach with an 84-33 (.718) record. When he offi cially INTERNET became the Pirates’ 22nd all-time head football coach on Dec. 4, 2018, Houston fi nished a Live audio streaming: .....................................www.ECUPirates.com (TuneIn) three-year stint directing the James Madison program. Live video streaming: ..................................................................... WatchESPN Houston guided the Dukes to a 37-6 mark, which included three NCAA FCS postseason appearances (2016 national champions, 2017 national runner-up, 2018 second round) and a TICKETS pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) titles. He was named the American Football Coaches ECU Ticket Prices: Per current restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Association (AFCA) FCS National Coach-of-the-Year in 2016 after JMU turned in a 14-1 campaign. this contest is closed the general public according to an announcement made The appointment to the top Dukes’ football position followed brief head coaching assign- by East Carolina University Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert on Sept. 2. The N.C. ments at Lenoir-Rhyne (2011-13) and The Citadel (2014-15). He led the Bears to a 29-8 ledger Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) announced on Sept. 18 it would and a pair of NCAA Division II playoff showings before guiding the Bulldogs to a 14-11 record, a allow up to 350 spectators per event to accomodate S-A family members. Southern Conference co-championship and a venture into the FSC playoff s in 2015. Houston, a Franklin, N.C. native, began his collegiate coaching career as defensive coordina- RANKINGS tor at Brevard College in 2006 before serving in a similar capacity at L-R from 2007 to 2010. East Carolina is unranked, but UCF stands 13th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 15th in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls this week. JOSH HEUPEL (Oklahoma ‘01) is in his third season at UCF and sports a 23-4 (.852) record. The appointment to the top Knights’ football position, which was announced December 5, 2017, marks his initial head coaching assignment. Heupel, who owns 14-plus years of full-time coach- ing experience (including seven as off ensive coordinator), most recently spent two seasons at Feel free to call us East Carolina or ECU. However, we respectfully ask Missouri where he helped the Tigers to a No. 8 rank in total off ense with a 502.2 yards per game that the erroneous designation of Eastern Carolina or fl awed abbreviations clip in 2017. He began his full-time coaching career at Arizona (TEs/2005) before returning to such as E. Carolina, East Caro, ECaro, EC never be used. alma mater Oklahoma (2006-14) and then following with short stints at Utah State and Mizzou. UCF at East CarolinaPage 2 Game 1 - Sept. 26, 2020 EAST CAROLINA (0-0, 0-0 AAC) THE SERIES 08/29 MARSHALL ....................................Postponed/COVID-19 East Carolina leads 10-8 ... While the Knights have won the last four, the Pirates enjoyed a pair of earlier 09/12 at South Carolina .........................Postponed/COVID-19 four-game winning streaks (1991-96, 2006-09) ... ECU has won six of 10 in Greenville (*C-USA games/^AAC games): 09/19 NORFOLK STATE ............................Postponed/COVID-19 Date Site Result Attendance 09/26 * UCF (ABC) .............................................12 noon 10/03 at Georgia State (ESPNU) .................................12 noon Sept. 21, 1991 .................Orlando, Fla. ......................................................ECU 47-25 ............................... 20,049 10/10 * at USF ........................................................................TBA Sept. 18, 1993 ...........Greenville, N.C. .....................................ECU 41-17 ........................30,867 10/17 * NAVY ..........................................................................TBA Nov. 12, 1994 ............Greenville, N.C. .................................... ECU 23-20 ........................25,783 10/30 * at Tulsa ......................................................................TBA Sept. 28, 1996 ...........Greenville, N.C. ......................................ECU 28-7 .........................34,121 11/07 * TULANE ......................................................................TBA Oct. 29, 2005 ............Greenville, N.C. ...................................*UCF 30-20 ........................34,410 11/13 * at Cincinnati (ESPN2) ..................................... 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, 2006..................Orlando, Fla. ....................................................*ECU 23-10 .................................31,414 11/21 * at Temple ..................................................................TBA Oct. 6, 2007 .............Greenville, N.C. ...................................*ECU 52-38 ........................42,777 11/28 * SMU............................................................................TBA Nov. 2, 2008 ..................Orlando, Fla. .............................................*ECU