2008 East Carolina Pirates football team
Encyclopedia
The 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the college football
season of 2008-09
. and plays their home games in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
. The team was coached by Skip Holtz
, who was in his fifth year with the program.
The Pirates have a local television contract with WITN-TV
, an NBC
affiliate located in Washington, NC who elects to pick up games that are not picked up by national or regional networks, and all games are broadcast over the radio on the Pirate-ISP Sports
Network. The flagship radio stations of the Pirates are Pirate Radio 1250 and 930 AM
and Oldies 107.9 WNCT
, both located in Greenville, NC. The games are called by the "Voice of the Pirates," Jeff Charles.
. The "Pirates" team defeated the "East Carolina" team 13-3 as the game was called off due to inclement weather.
The meeting on August 30 was the 14th meeting between these two teams. These two teams met last year for the first time since 2000. Virginia Tech won that meeting and lead the head-to-head record 9-4. After a blocked field goal placed the Hokies up 16-13 over the Pirates, T.J. Lee would return the favor by blocking a Hokie punt and running it back for the game-winning touchdown, leading the Pirates to their first victory over Virginia Tech since 1992. This was the first time since 2002 that a Conference USA
team had defeated a ranked BCS-conference team, and also made the Pirates the first C-USA team ever to defeat ranked teams in consecutive games (counting ECU's win over Boise State
in last season's Hawaii Bowl
).
The Mountaineers visited Greenville
for the seventh time in school history, while the Pirates were looking for their first win against WVU in Greenville since September 30, 1995. Going into the game, West Virginia led in the overall matchup, 17-2.
ECU did not need any last-minute heroics to pull off their second straight upset over a ranked BCS-conference school. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney had an almost mistake-free game, going 22-for-28 through the air with a touchdown and no interceptions, while the Pirates defense kept WVU's normally high-powered offense out of the end zone (the first time since 2001 any WVU opponent had done so). The Pirates scored their first win over a top-10 team since beating Miami
in 1999.
#14 East Carolina visited New Orleans for the first time since the 2003 football season. Before the game, the Pirates led the series against this conference foe, 7-2, with both losses occurring in the Louisiana Superdome
.
For the first time in a long time, the Pirates went into a game with a national ranking, but suffered a sluggish start against the Green Wave, who the week prior had held Alabama to a single offensive touchdown. After a perfect game against the Mountaineers, the Pirates suffered four turnovers on offense as the defense struggled after losing senior Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton to a severe knee injury. With the Green Wave up 24-21 in the 4th, the offensive line rallied back. Patrick Pinkney completed a pass to Jamar Bryant for the touchdown and brought the Pirates up 28-24 with 1:28 remaining. Pierre Bell's interception on the next Tulane drive would end it as the Pirates managed to sail past the Green Wave with the final score 28-24.
After barely escaping past Tulane, #15 ECU visited their inter-state rival in the state capital for the 21st time in the 26 game history. NCSU won the previous years' game 34-20 in Greenville and lead the all-time record 15-10.
Injuries were a major factor in the outcome of this game, but despite only dressing 45 of its players for the game, the Wolfpack managed to come on top over the Pirates, who fell to 3-1 overall. The key loss of Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton, and the two missed touchdown opportunities in the red zone for the Pirates would lead to an Overtime showdown as the score was tied at the last second, 24-24.
The Pirates came up with nothing after the first offensive series in Overtime, as Quarterback Patrick Pinkney was sacked and fumbled the ball, setting up a Wolfpack touchdown that gave the Pirates their first loss of the 2008 season, the final score: 30-24. The next time the two schools meet was pushed back to the 2010 season, to accommodate the completion of East Carolina's upcoming stadium expansion.
#23 East Carolina hosted Houston for their conference home opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. ECU won in a shootout last fall, 37-35. The Pirates led this Conference USA West opponent overall, five games to three, but disaster would strike for a second week in a row.
The Pirate defense was unable to stop Case Keenum's 399 yard passing attack and could not muster enough offense to match it. The high-scoring Houston offense never trailed as the Pirates went down for a second straight week, losing 41-24 and was knocked out of the Top 25.
Coming off of their first bye week, East Carolina traveled to Charlottesville
for the second time in this three game history. ECU beat this ACC
member in Greenville in 2006, 31-21, and led the overall series 2-0.
After going up on the board early 6-0, Virginia would rally back to make the score 28-6 at halftime. A Pirate rally in the second half would be cut short as a fumble and botched punt were recovered by the Cavaliers. The Pirates would go on to lose to Virginia for the first time in this series' history, 35-20.
For ECU's second home conference game, they played the Tigers of Memphis. East Carolina won last fall's game 56-40 at the Liberty Bowl
, in Memphis
. In the 16 previous games played between these teams, the Pirates led the Tigers 10-6.
East Carolina traveled to the Bright House Networks Stadium
in Orlando
for the third time in this series. The Pirates led the series six games to one.
The Thundering Herd traveled to North Carolina for the fifth time in this storied series. After the 1970 contest, Marshall's plane crashed while traveling back to Huntington
. The 2001 GMAC Bowl
is the highest-scoring bowl game in Division I-A (now Division I FBS) history. Marshall won 64-61 in two overtimes. The Pirates led the series 6-3.
Southern Miss hosted East Carolina in the 34th meeting of these two teams. Of the 33 games in the history of the series, the Pirates have won only eight times.
The Pirates traveled to Birmingham
for the fourth time to face the Blazers. Before this game, East Carolina had never won a road contest at UAB's home field. UAB led the overall series 4-3.
The Pirates welcome the Miners to Greenville for the first time ever. East Carolina and this Conference USA West opponent are meeting for the second time. The first meeting occurred last fall in El Paso
, Texas
. ECU won in overtime, 45-42 in the Sun Bowl
.
and winning their first Conference Championship in more than thirty years, the Pirates immediately accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl, which the team had not done in thirteen years. The last time East Carolina went to the Liberty Bowl was in 1995, where they defeated Stanford
19-13.
The Pirates faced Kentucky
from the SEC
and lost 17-20 after they went into overtime and lost by a field goal.
class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;">
Team Opp
Punts-Yards
73-3207
75-3037
Avg per Punt
43.9
40.5
Time of Possession/Game
30:38
29:22
3rd Down Conversions
76/206
75/212
4th Down Conversions
9/16
10/21
Touchdowns Scored
38
38
Field Goals-Attempts-Long
22-35
13-25
PAT-Attempts
34-37
32-36
Attendance
210080
242223
Games/Avg per Game
5/42016
7/34603
Neutral Site Avg
2/64147
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
season of 2008-09
2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...
. and plays their home games in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
Bagwell Field at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the East Carolina Pirates in Greenville, North Carolina. The official capacity of the stadium is 50,000, making it the third largest college stadium in North Carolina. The record attendance for the stadium was on October...
. The team was coached by Skip Holtz
Skip Holtz
Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz, Jr. is the head coach of the University of South Florida football team. For the previous five years, he served as the head coach of the East Carolina University football team...
, who was in his fifth year with the program.
The Pirates have a local television contract with WITN-TV
WITN-TV
WITN-TV is the NBC-affiliated television station for Eastern North Carolina's Inner Banks licensed to Washington. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in Grifton along NC 118. The station can also be seen on Charter and Time Warner Cable channel 7 as...
, an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate located in Washington, NC who elects to pick up games that are not picked up by national or regional networks, and all games are broadcast over the radio on the Pirate-ISP Sports
ISP Sports
IMG College, is a sports marketing company formed from the acquisition of Host Communications in 2007 and ISP Sports in 2010.ISP Sports was founded in 1992 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina providing sports marketing and broadcast services for collegiate athletics across the United States. In...
Network. The flagship radio stations of the Pirates are Pirate Radio 1250 and 930 AM
WDLX
WDLX and WGHB are radio stations broadcasting a Sports Talk format. Licensed to Washington, North Carolina, USA, it serves the Greenville-New Bern area. The station is currently owned by Pirate Media Group. WDLX was the flagship station for East Carolina University pirates athletics and also...
and Oldies 107.9 WNCT
WNCT-FM
WNCT-FM is a radio station broadcasting a Classic hits format. Licensed to Greenville, North Carolina, USA, the station serves the Rocky Mount, Greenville-New Bern-Jacksonville area. The station is currently owned by Beasley Broadcasting....
, both located in Greenville, NC. The games are called by the "Voice of the Pirates," Jeff Charles.
Before the season
The annual Purple-Gold Spring Game was held on April 12, 2008 during the Pigskin Pigout weekend activities in downtown Greenville, North CarolinaGreenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
. The "Pirates" team defeated the "East Carolina" team 13-3 as the game was called off due to inclement weather.
Staff
| Position | Name | Year at ECU | Alma Mater |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head Coach Head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches... : |
Skip Holtz Skip Holtz Louis Leo "Skip" Holtz, Jr. is the head coach of the University of South Florida football team. For the previous five years, he served as the head coach of the East Carolina University football team... |
4th | Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish football Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an... '86 |
| Offensive Coordinator/ Quarterback Quarterback Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line... s Coach: |
Todd Fitch | 2nd | Ohio Wesleyan Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges... '86 |
| Defensive Coordinator Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach... Linebacker Linebacker A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen... Coach: |
Greg Hudson Greg Hudson Greg Hudson is an American football coach . He currently serves as the linebackers coach at Florida State. He has also served as a defensive assistant at Minnesota, Cincinnati and Connecticut and most recently as a defensive coordinator at East Carolina.... |
3rd | Notre Dame '90 |
| Offensive Coordinator Offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach... Offensive Linemen American football positions In American football, each team has eleven players on the field at one time. Because the rules allow unlimited substitution between plays, the types of players on the field for each team differ depending on the situation... Coach: |
Steve Shankweiler | 4th(14th overall) | Davidson Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News... '74 |
| Assistant Head Coach/ Defensive Back Defensive back In American football and Canadian football, defensive backs are the players on the defensive team who take positions somewhat back from the line of scrimmage; they are distinguished from the defensive line players and linebackers, who take positions directly behind or close to the line of... s Coach |
Rick Smith | 4th | Florida State Florida State University The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation... '71 |
| Director of Strength & Conditioning | Michael Golden | 3rd | Central Connecticut State Central Connecticut State University Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922... '92 |
| Defensive End Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years... Coach/ Special Teams |
Vernon Hargreaves | 2nd | Connecticut University of Connecticut The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually... '86 |
| Wide Receiver Wide receiver A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible... Coach/ Recruiting Coordinator |
Donnie Kirkpatrick | 4th | Lenoir-Rhyne '82 |
| Tight End Tight end The tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be... s Coach: |
Phil Petty | 4th | South Carolina University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House... '01 |
| Director of HS Football Relations | Harold Robinson | 4th | East Carolina '72 |
| Defensive Tackle Coach | Thomas Roggeman | 4th | Notre Dame '85 |
| Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... s Coach |
Junior Smith | 4th | East Carolina '97 |
| Director of Operations | Clifford Snow | 3rd | Central Connecticut State '83 |
| Staff Assistant/ Defense Coach |
Tim Carter | 3rd | Tulane Tulane University Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States... '01 |
| Administrative Assistant to Coach Holtz | Courtney Bishop | ||
| Administrative Assistant | Ann Coyle | ||
| East Carolina '06 | |||
| Administrative Assistant | Ryan Ormond | ||
| North Carolina University of North Carolina Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century... '02 |
Virginia Tech
Recap: Week 1The meeting on August 30 was the 14th meeting between these two teams. These two teams met last year for the first time since 2000. Virginia Tech won that meeting and lead the head-to-head record 9-4. After a blocked field goal placed the Hokies up 16-13 over the Pirates, T.J. Lee would return the favor by blocking a Hokie punt and running it back for the game-winning touchdown, leading the Pirates to their first victory over Virginia Tech since 1992. This was the first time since 2002 that a Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
team had defeated a ranked BCS-conference team, and also made the Pirates the first C-USA team ever to defeat ranked teams in consecutive games (counting ECU's win over Boise State
2007 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2007 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2007 college football season. The Broncos, led by second year head coach Chris Petersen, play their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the...
in last season's Hawaii Bowl
2007 Hawai'i Bowl
The 2007 Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Boise State University Broncos from the Western Athletic Conference and the East Carolina University Pirates from Conference USA at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 23, 2007...
).
West Virginia
Recap: Week 2The Mountaineers visited Greenville
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
for the seventh time in school history, while the Pirates were looking for their first win against WVU in Greenville since September 30, 1995. Going into the game, West Virginia led in the overall matchup, 17-2.
ECU did not need any last-minute heroics to pull off their second straight upset over a ranked BCS-conference school. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney had an almost mistake-free game, going 22-for-28 through the air with a touchdown and no interceptions, while the Pirates defense kept WVU's normally high-powered offense out of the end zone (the first time since 2001 any WVU opponent had done so). The Pirates scored their first win over a top-10 team since beating Miami
Miami Hurricanes football
The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
in 1999.
Tulane
Recap: Week 3Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
.
For the first time in a long time, the Pirates went into a game with a national ranking, but suffered a sluggish start against the Green Wave, who the week prior had held Alabama to a single offensive touchdown. After a perfect game against the Mountaineers, the Pirates suffered four turnovers on offense as the defense struggled after losing senior Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton to a severe knee injury. With the Green Wave up 24-21 in the 4th, the offensive line rallied back. Patrick Pinkney completed a pass to Jamar Bryant for the touchdown and brought the Pirates up 28-24 with 1:28 remaining. Pierre Bell's interception on the next Tulane drive would end it as the Pirates managed to sail past the Green Wave with the final score 28-24.
NC State
Recap: Week 4After barely escaping past Tulane, #15 ECU visited their inter-state rival in the state capital for the 21st time in the 26 game history. NCSU won the previous years' game 34-20 in Greenville and lead the all-time record 15-10.
Injuries were a major factor in the outcome of this game, but despite only dressing 45 of its players for the game, the Wolfpack managed to come on top over the Pirates, who fell to 3-1 overall. The key loss of Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton, and the two missed touchdown opportunities in the red zone for the Pirates would lead to an Overtime showdown as the score was tied at the last second, 24-24.
The Pirates came up with nothing after the first offensive series in Overtime, as Quarterback Patrick Pinkney was sacked and fumbled the ball, setting up a Wolfpack touchdown that gave the Pirates their first loss of the 2008 season, the final score: 30-24. The next time the two schools meet was pushed back to the 2010 season, to accommodate the completion of East Carolina's upcoming stadium expansion.
Houston
Recap: Week 5The Pirate defense was unable to stop Case Keenum's 399 yard passing attack and could not muster enough offense to match it. The high-scoring Houston offense never trailed as the Pirates went down for a second straight week, losing 41-24 and was knocked out of the Top 25.
Virginia
Recap: Week 7Coming off of their first bye week, East Carolina traveled to Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
for the second time in this three game history. ECU beat this ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
member in Greenville in 2006, 31-21, and led the overall series 2-0.
After going up on the board early 6-0, Virginia would rally back to make the score 28-6 at halftime. A Pirate rally in the second half would be cut short as a fumble and botched punt were recovered by the Cavaliers. The Pirates would go on to lose to Virginia for the first time in this series' history, 35-20.
Memphis
Recap: Week 8For ECU's second home conference game, they played the Tigers of Memphis. East Carolina won last fall's game 56-40 at the Liberty Bowl
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
, in Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. In the 16 previous games played between these teams, the Pirates led the Tigers 10-6.
UCF
Recap: Week 10East Carolina traveled to the Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Central Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Knights. Located in Knights Plaza on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the stadium was the first on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I...
in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
for the third time in this series. The Pirates led the series six games to one.
Marshall
Recap: Week 11The Thundering Herd traveled to North Carolina for the fifth time in this storied series. After the 1970 contest, Marshall's plane crashed while traveling back to Huntington
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
. The 2001 GMAC Bowl
2001 GMAC Bowl
The 2001 GMAC Bowl, a college football bowl game held on December 19 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama, pitted the Marshall Thundering Herd, then of the Mid-American Conference, against the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA...
is the highest-scoring bowl game in Division I-A (now Division I FBS) history. Marshall won 64-61 in two overtimes. The Pirates led the series 6-3.
Southern Miss
Recap: Week 12Southern Miss hosted East Carolina in the 34th meeting of these two teams. Of the 33 games in the history of the series, the Pirates have won only eight times.
UAB
Recap Week 13The Pirates traveled to Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
for the fourth time to face the Blazers. Before this game, East Carolina had never won a road contest at UAB's home field. UAB led the overall series 4-3.
UTEP
Recap Week 14The Pirates welcome the Miners to Greenville for the first time ever. East Carolina and this Conference USA West opponent are meeting for the second time. The first meeting occurred last fall in El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. ECU won in overtime, 45-42 in the Sun Bowl
Sun Bowl
The Sun Bowl is an annual U.S. college football bowl game that is usually played at the end of December in El Paso, Texas. The Sun Bowl, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl are the second-oldest bowl games in the country, behind the Rose Bowl...
.
2008 Conference USA Championship
The Pirates, after clenching their division in a 17-13 win over the UAB Blazers, will be representing Conference USA East in a battle against the champion of the West division, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Tulsa clenched the division title with a win over Marshall and a Houston loss to Rice. Tulsa leads the all-time series against the Pirates, 5-2.2009 Liberty Bowl
After defeating Tulsa in the 2008 Conference USA Football ChampionshipConference USA Football Championship
The Conference USA Football Championship Game is an annual postseason college football game played to determine the champion of Conference USA. From 1996–2004, the champion of Conference USA was determined by regular season record...
and winning their first Conference Championship in more than thirty years, the Pirates immediately accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl, which the team had not done in thirteen years. The last time East Carolina went to the Liberty Bowl was in 1995, where they defeated Stanford
Stanford Cardinal
The Stanford Cardinal is the nickname of the athletic teams at Stanford University.-Nickname and mascot history:Following its win over Cal in the first-ever Big Game in 1892, the color cardinal was picked as the primary color of Stanford's athletic teams...
19-13.
The Pirates faced Kentucky
2008 Kentucky Wildcats football team
The 2008 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the college football season of 2008-2009. The team's head coach was Rich Brooks, who served his sixth year in the position...
from the SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
and lost 17-20 after they went into overtime and lost by a field goal.
NFL Draft Picks
- Davon DrewDavon DrewDavon Anthony Drew is an American football tight end for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens in the fifth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...
- Round 5: 13th (149th Overall) - Baltimore RavensBaltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
Awards
- Sporting News Coach-of-the-Year - Skip HoltzSkip HoltzLouis Leo "Skip" Holtz, Jr. is the head coach of the University of South Florida football team. For the previous five years, he served as the head coach of the East Carolina University football team...
- Sporting News Defensive MVP - C.J. Wilson - Jr. DL
- PontiacPontiacPontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
Game Changing Performance Winner Week 1: - T.J. Lee - Sr. WR
Honors
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|
Team
| class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;"> | Team | Opp | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoring | 328 | 295 | |
| Points per Game | 23.4 | 21.1 | |
| First Downs | 241 | 232 | |
| Rushing | 104 | 88 | |
| Passing | 126 | 125 | |
| Penalty | 11 | 19 | |
| Total Offense | 4765 | 4662 | |
| Avg per Play | 5.1 | 4.9 | |
| Avg per Game | 340.4 | 333.0 | |
| Fumbles-Lost | 27-19 | 26-11 | |
| Penalties-Yards | 82-742 | 62-484 | |
| Avg per Game | 53.0 | 34.6 |
Scores by quarter
Rushing
| Name | GP | Att | Gain | Loss | Net | Avg | Td | Long | Avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitley, Norman | 14 | 142 | 722 | 24 | 698 | 4.9 | 4 | 69 | 49.9 |
| Simmons, Brandon | 14 | 134 | 484 | 10 | 474 | 3.5 | 7 | 28 | 33.9 |
| Williams, Jonathan | 7 | 75 | 409 | 29 | 380 | 5.1 | 5 | 68 | 54.3 |
| Rogers, J.R. | 10 | 33 | 150 | 16 | 134 | 4.1 | 0 | 25 | 13.4 |
| Harris, Dwayne | 10 | 19 | 82 | 6 | 76 | 4.0 | 0 | 15 | 7.6 |
| Pinkney, Patrick | 14 | 90 | 222 | 172 | 50 | 0.6 | 1 | 14 | 3.6 |
| Bowman, Michael | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Gidrey, Kevin | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0.1 |
| Simmons, Jason | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Ballard, Darnell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 | -2.0 |
| Kass, Rob | 7 | 9 | 36 | 38 | -2 | -0.2 | 0 | 20 | -0.3 |
| Sloan, Joe | 14 | 1 | 0 | 6 | -6 | -6.0 | 0 | 0 | -0.4 |
| Freeney, Darryl | 14 | 1 | 0 | 10 | -10 | -10.0 | 0 | 0 | -0.7 |
| Team | 6 | 9 | 0 | 28 | -28 | -3.1 | 0 | 0 | -4.7 |
| Total | 14 | 518 | 2110 | 341 | 1769 | 3.4 | 17 | 69 | 126.4 |
Passing
| Name | GP | Effic | Att-cmp-int | Pct | Yds | Td | Lng | Avg/g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinkney, Patrick | 14 | 131.3 | 223-363-7 | 61.4 | 2675 | 13 | 80 | 191.1 |
| Kass, Rob | 7 | 101.0 | 25-54-2 | 46.3 | 321 | 2 | 42 | 45.9 |
| Drew, Davon | 14 | 0.0 | 0-1-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Harris, Dwayne | 10 | 0.0 | 0-0-0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 14 | 127.1 | 248-418-9 | 59.3 | 2996 | 15 | 80 | 214.0 |
Receiving
| Name | GP | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | Avg/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harris, Dwayne | 10 | 58 | 654 | 11.3 | 1 | 52 | 65.4 |
| Drew, Davon | 14 | 43 | 695 | 16.2 | 3 | 42 | 49.6 |
| Simmons, Brandon | 14 | 27 | 172 | 6.4 | 3 | 42 | 12.3 |
| Taylor, Alex | 14 | 23 | 310 | 13.5 | 1 | 47 | 22.1 |
| Freeney, Darryl | 14 | 22 | 352 | 16.0 | 2 | 80 | 25.1 |
| Bryant, Jamar | 5 | 19 | 216 | 11.4 | 3 | 35 | 43.2 |
| Womack, Joe | 9 | 17 | 230 | 13.5 | 0 | 41 | 25.6 |
| Lee, T.J. | 7 | 9 | 136 | 15.1 | 0 | 41 | 19.4 |
| Whitley, Norman | 14 | 7 | 83 | 11.9 | 1 | 51 | 5.9 |
| Rogers, J.R. | 10 | 6 | 16 | 2.7 | 0 | 9 | 1.6 |
| Williams, Jonathan | 7 | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 0 | 10 | 2.7 |
| Gidrey, Kevin | 14 | 4 | 26 | 6.5 | 1 | 13 | 1.9 |
| Willis, Reyn | 12 | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | 24 | 3.7 |
| Bowman, Michael | 5 | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 0 | 15 | 4.0 |
| Kraemer, J.R. | 14 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 0.2 |
| Terrell, T.J. | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 0.6 |
| Total | 14 | 247 | 2979 | 12.1 | 15 | 80 | 212.8 |
Defense
| Name | GP | Tackles | Sacks | Pass Defense | Fumbles | Blkd Kick |
Safety | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Total | TFL-Yds | No-Yds | Int-Yds | BrUp | PD | QBH | Rcv-Yds | FF | ||||
| Johnson, Nick | 14 | 55 | 47 | 102 | 10.0-32 | 1.0-17 | 2-25 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1-5 | 1 | . | . |
| Bell, Pierre | 13 | 57 | 43 | 100 | 9.5-32 | 1.0-12 | 2-0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2-0 | 1 | . | . |
| Eskridge, Van | 14 | 59 | 38 | 97 | 1.0-2 | . | 4-89 | 3 | 7 | . | 1-4 | 2 | . | . |
| Wilson, C.J. | 14 | 35 | 35 | 70 | 18.5-84 | 10.5-61 | . | 1 | 1 | 5 | . | 1 | 1 | . |
| Chambliss, Jeremy | 14 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 6.0-20 | 1.0-7 | . | 2 | 2 | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Ross, Jay | 14 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 9.5-43 | 5.0-34 | . | . | . | 4 | 2-5 | . | 1 | . |
| Slate, Zack | 13 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 9.0-64 | 5.0-38 | . | 1 | 1 | 5 | . | 3 | . | . |
| Milbrook, J.J. | 13 | 22 | 25 | 47 | 2.0-6 | . | 2-4 | 7 | 9 | . | 1-26 | 1 | . | . |
| Davis, Emanuel | 14 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 2.5-8 | . | 4-58 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1-0 | 1 | . | . |
| Joseph, Linval | 14 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 8.0-34 | 2.5-23 | . | 1 | 1 | 1 | . | 1 | 2 | . |
| Best, Leon | 13 | 21 | 21 | 42 | . | . | 1-5 | 1 | 2 | . | . | 2 | . | . |
| Marshall, Dekota | 14 | 26 | 15 | 41 | 1.5-2 | . | 1-0 | 6 | 7 | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Simmons, Travis | 14 | 17 | 13 | 30 | . | . | 2-72 | 2 | 4 | . | 1-40 | . | . | . |
| Mattocks, Chris | 14 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 0.5-1 | . | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | 1 | . | . |
| Smith, Josh | 11 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 2.0-3 | 1.0-2 | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Lineback, Dustin | 14 | 13 | 5 | 18 | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1-0 | . | . | . |
| Robinson, Scotty | 10 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 1.5-6 | 1.0-6 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . |
| Perryman, Cliff | 9 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 1.5-5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Mitchell, Khalif | 7 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 3.0-9 | 1.0-6 | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Reynolds, Darryl | 10 | 12 | 3 | 15 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Cotton, Quentin | 3 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1.5-8 | 1.5-8 | 2-20 | 3 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . |
| Hewett, Jerek | 6 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 1.0-1 | . | 1-5 | 2 | 3 | . | . | 1 | . | . |
| Hands, Marcus | 6 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0.5-1 | . | . | . | . | 1 | 1-0 | . | . | . |
| Blacknall, Derek | 13 | 3 | 5 | 8 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Wallace, Devon | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Mack, Dalvon | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Thompson, Matt | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Patterson, Mel | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Carter, Julian | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Spence, Steve | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Jones, Robert | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2.0-8 | 0.5-4 | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Willis, Reyn | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Kraemer, J.R. | 14 | 3 | 1 | 4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Von Bargen, Kurtis | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Pick, Matt | 2 | . | 3 | 3 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Haynes, Austin | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | . | . | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . |
| Lee, T.J. | 7 | 2 | . | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | . |
| Allison, Antonio | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . | . |
| Mercer, Maurice | 5 | 2 | . | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Raynor, Wilson | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Dodge, Matt | 14 | 2 | . | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Scott, D.J. | 13 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Palmer, Doug | 14 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Simmons, Jason | 13 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| McFadden, D.J. | 6 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Rogers, J.R. | 10 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Bryant, Jamar | 5 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Taylor, Alex | 14 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Freeney, Darryl | 14 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Simmons, Brandon | 14 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Drew, Davon | 14 | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Harris, Dwayne | 10 | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| Hampton, Spencer | 2 | . | . | . | . | . | 1-0 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . |
| Total | 14 | 531 | 492 | 1023 | 91-369 | 31-217 | 22-278 | 48 | 70 | 28 | 11-80 | 15 | 5 | . |
Special teams
| Name | Punting | Kickoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yds | Avg | Long | TB | FC | I20 | 50+ | Blkd | No. | Yds | Avg | TB | OB | |
| Dodge, Matt | 73 | 3207 | 43.9 | 73 | 13 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 0 | 71 | 4231 | 59.6 | 4 | 5 |
| Hartman, Ben | 1 | 54 | 54.0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 73 | 3207 | 43.9 | 73 | 13 | 8 | 20 | 25 | 0 | 72 | 4285 | 59.5 | 4 | 5 |
| Field Goals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Made-Att | Pct | 01-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-99 | Long | Blkd |
| Ryan, Ben | 1-3 | 33.3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 42 | 0 |
| Dodge, Matt | 0-1 | 0.0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hartman, Ben | 21-31 | 67.7 | 0-0 | 8-8 | 8-11 | 4-10 | 1-2 | 51 | 0 |
| Name | Punt Returns | Kick Returns | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | No. | Yds | Avg | TD | Long | |
| Simmons, Travis | 13 | 147 | 11.3 | 0 | 28 | |||||
| Freeney, Darryl | 13 | 95 | 7.3 | 0 | 25 | |||||
| Milbrook, J.J. | 2 | -11 | -5.5 | 0 | 2 | |||||
| Lee, T.J. | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 1 | 27 | 3 | 52 | 17.3 | 0 | 25 |
| Harris, Dwayne | 19 | 446 | 23.5 | 0 | 59 | |||||
| Bowman, Michael | 10 | 235 | 23.5 | 0 | 61 | |||||
| Williams, Jonathan | 7 | 129 | 18.4 | 0 | 37 | |||||
| Lineback, Dustin | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 14 | |||||
| Gidrey, Kevin | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 | |||||
| Hewett, Jerek | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | |||||
| Kraemer, J.R. | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | |||||
| Taylor, Alex | 1 | 40 | 40.0 | 1 | 40 | |||||
| Mack, Dalvon | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Rogers, J.R. | 1 | 36 | 36.0 | 0 | 36 | |||||
| Total | 34 | 258 | 7.6 | 0 | 46 | 62 | 1506 | 24.3 | 1 | 96 |