ECU at NORTH CAROLINA STATE Television Radio THE GAME ECU Head Coach Notes
Saturday, Aug. 31 • Noon • ACC Network
Carter-Finley Stadium (57,600/Natural Grass)
Raleigh, North Carolina
ACC Network
Wes Durham, Roddy Jones and Eric Wood
Watch Live
WNCT-FM 107.9 (ECU flagship)
SiriusXM 381/969
Saturday’s game will be the 31st meeting between ECU and NC State … The Wolfpack snapped the Pirates’ three-game series winning streak last season to build a 17-13 lead in the rivalry … It will be the first time since the 1969 season opener (against East Tennessee State) that ECU will have faced the same opponent in consecutive games
0-0, 0-0 American
Mike Houston (Mars Hill ’94)
0-0, first season at ECU
80-25, ninth season as collegiate head coach
ECU has gone 3-9 in each of the last three seasons, but the Pirates are hoping for a turnaround in 2019 as Mike Houston begins his head coaching tenure in Greenville … Houston most recently served as head coach at James Madison, where the Dukes went 37-6, won the 2016 NCAA FCS Championship and was the national runner-up in 2017 … The Pirates have 49 letterwinners and 14 starters back from last year … QB Holton Ahlers made five starts as a true freshman and threw for 1,607 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for a team-high 592 yards with six TDs … The top returning receiver is WR Deondre Farrier, who had 30 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns in 2018 … K Jake Verity was The American’s top kicker last year, going 19-for-21 on field goal attempts.
Game Preview: ECU at North Carolina State
