THE GAME
East Carolina will play the first road game of its 2009 Conference
USA schedule when the Pirates face Marshall Saturday at Joan C.
Edwards Stadium in Huntington, W.Va. ECU will try to extend its CUSA
winning streak to four straight and push its early season record
to 3-2 after a 19-14 triumph over UCF in the league opener last week. The contest
against the Thundering Herd will also open a two-game road swing for the Pirates, who
will visit SMU in Dallas next week before returning to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for a
Homecoming clash against another C-USA West Division member, Rice, on Oct. 17.
EAST CAROLINA RECORDS AND STREAKS
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Ten winning or .500 seasons in the last 15 years (three straight) …
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Nine bowl appearances since 1990; five since 2000 (three straight) …
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Has won six of its last eight road games against C-USA members …
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Has won five of its last seven road games against C-USA East Division members …
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Has won eight of its last 10 games against C-USA East Division members …
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Has won its initial C-USA road game in three of the last four seasons (Holtz era) …
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Has won 13 of the last 14 games when holding its opponent to 24 points or less …
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Has scored 30 or fewer points in 17 of its last 18 games …
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Has forced at least two TOs in 14 of 20 games (10 TOs in its last three games) …
FAST FACTS
Record –
East Division;
2-2 (.500); C-USA Record/East Division Standing – 1-0 (1.000)/T1stLast 5 Games – 2-3; Last 10 Games – 6-4; Last 15 Games – 8-7;
Streaks –
Pirates face off against Marshall. ECU’s contest against the Herd will be the Pirates’
749th since the start of football in 1932 (380-356-12/.516).
Overall, East Carolina will play the 56th game of the Skip Holtz Era when the
SCHEMES
Marshall utilizes a multiple offensive attack while employing a 4-3 defensive alignment.
ECU will also line up in a multiple offense and use a multiple look when defending.
THE COACHES
SKIP HOLTZ
while overall, he is in his 10th year as a collegiate head coach with a 65-47 (.580)
record. When he became ECU’s 19th all-time head football coach Dec. 3, 2004, Holtz
officially finished a six-year stint as South Carolina’s assistant head coach, offensive
coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Prior to leading the Pirates to three-straight bowl appearances and earning
Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2008, Holtz helped guide the Gamecocks
to back-to-back Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State (2001-2002). From 1994 to
1998, Holtz steered the Connecticut program to unprecedented success as its head
coach and layed the foundation for the school’s move to the Division I-A (FBS) level.
UConn was a consistent member of the I-AA (FCS) Top 25 polls during his last four
seasons, which included a school-record 10-win, playoff campaign in 1998. Prior to his
success at Connecticut, Holtz spent four seasons at alma mater Notre Dame and served
as the Fighting Irish’s offensive coordinator in 1992 and 1993 – a period which resulted
in a 21-2-1 record and top 10 national ranks in total offense and scoring offense.
(Notre Dame ‘86) is 31-24 (.564) in his fifth season at East Carolina,
MARK SNYDER
program at Marshall. He was named the Thundering Herd’s head coach April 14, 2005
after spending four seasons at Ohio State, which included a role as the Buckeyes’
defensive coordinator in 2004 under Jim Tressel. Snyder has also served on the
defensive staffs at Minnesota (1997-2000), Youngstown State (1991-1996) and Central
Florida (1989-90) and played a key role in six bowl appearances.
(Marshall ‘88) is 19-32 (.373) in his fifth season guiding the football
Game No. 5 – October 3, 2009
EAST CAROLINA
Pirates (2-2, 1-0) vs. MARSHALL Thundering Herd (3-1, 1-0)
Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019/1991/FieldTurf), Huntington, W. Va.
12 noon (EDT)
East Carolina at Marshall Page 2 Game 5 – Oct. 3, 2009
EAST CAROLINA (2-2, 1-0 C-USA)
09/05 APPALACHIAN STATE
09/12 at West Virginia
09/19 at No. 24 North Carolina
09/26 * UCF
(ISP) W, 29-24(ESPN360) L, 35-20(ESPN2) L, 31-17(ISP) W, 19-14
10/03 * at Marshall
(CBSCS) 12 noon
10/10 * at SMU
10/17 * RICE
10/27 * at Memphis
11/05 VIRGINIA TECH (
11/15 * at Tulsa (
11/21 * UAB (
11/28 * SOUTHERN MISS 1:00 p.m.
12/05 C-USA Championship
(ISP) 8:00 p.m.(MASN) 3:30 p.m.(ESPN2) 8:00 p.m.ESPN) 7:30 p.m.ESPN) 8:15 p.m.ISP) 3:30 p.m.(ESPN) TBA
*C-USA game; all times Eastern; ISP (WITN-TV/MASN)
MARSHALL (3-1, 1-0 C-USA)
09/05 SOUTHERN ILLINOIS W, 31-28
09/12 at No. 14 Virginia Tech L, 52-10
09/19 BOWLING GREEN W, 17-10
09/26 * at Memphis W, 27-16
10/03 * EAST CAROLINA 12 noon
10/10 * at Tulane 3:30 p.m.
10/17 at West Virginia 3:30 p.m.
10/24 * UAB 12 noon
11/01 * at UCF 8:15 p.m.
11/14 * SOUTHERN MISS 4:30 p.m.
11/21 * SMU 4:30 p.m.
11/28 * at UTEP 3:00 p.m.
*C-USA game; all times Eastern
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INJURY REPORT
WR Michael Bowman l. arm OUT
RB J.R. Rogers l. knee OUT
DT Antonio Allison r. foot OUT
RB Dominique Lindsay r. shoulder QUESTIONABLE
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GAME-DAY CAPTAINS
Offense: …………………………
senior QB Patrick Pinkney
Defense: ……………………………..
senior FS Van Eskridge
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IN 2008
The Pirates posted a 9-5 overall record last year, which marked
East Carolina’s highest win total since 1999. In league play,
ECU was 6-2 to claim a divisional title before capturing the CUSA
championship with a 27-24 road triumph over Tulsa. In
addition, the Pirates made their third-straight bowl appearance,
facing off against Kentucky in the AutoZoneLiberty Bowl.
Marshall recorded a 4-8 overall mark and tied for fourth place
in C-USA’s East Division with a 3-5 ledger. After opening the
campaign with victories in three of their first four games, the
Herd closed the year by dropping seven of their last eight
contests (a 37-23 home win over Houston on Oct. 28 served
as the lone triumph).
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C-USA PRESEASON PICKS
Individually,
Johnson and DE C.J. Wilson
the Preseason All-Conference USA squad, while
C Sean Allen, FS Van Eskridge, LB Nickwere first-team selections toWilson
was also tabbed as the league’s preseason defensive playerof-
the-year.
C-USA does not sponsor a preseason team poll.
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ECU BRIEFLY
The Pirates return 55 lettermen off their 2008 squad. Offensively,
ECU brought back nine starters (C Sean Allen, OT
Terence Campbell, OG Cory Dowless, FB/TE Kevin Gidrey,
WR Dwayne Harris, QB Patrick Pinkney, OG Doug Palmer,
OT D.J. Scott and WR Alex Taylor ), while on the other side
of the ball, the Pirates welcomed back eight (LB Jeremy
Chambliss, FS Van Eskridge, LB Nick Johnson, DT Linval
Joseph, CB Dekota Marshall, DT Jay Ross, CB Travis
Simmons and DE C.J. Wilson). P Matt Dodge, KR Dwayne
Harris, PK Ben Hartman, PR Travis Simmons and H Joe
Sloan were regulars on the special teams’ squad a year ago.
THE SERIES
East Carolina leads 7-3 … Most recently, the Pirates have taken five of the last seven and three of
the last four matchups … The Thundering Herd owns the only neutral site victory after posting a
thrilling 64-61 overtime win at the 2001 GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. … ECU has taken all five contests
in Greenville while the Herd and Pirates have split four meetings in Huntington … The series is also
marked with tragedy as Marshall’s Southern Airways charter jet crashed on approach at Huntington’s
Tri-State Airport following the Pirates’ 17-14 win in Greenville on Nov. 14, 1970 … A total of 70
passengers and five crewmembers lost their lives … A closer look
(below rule denotes C-USA games):
Date Site Result Attendance
Nov. 18, 1967 Huntington, W. Va. ECU 29-13 4,500
Nov. 16, 1968 Greenville, N.C. ECU 49-20 7,500
Nov. 15, 1969 Huntington, W. Va. MU 38-7 5,500
Nov. 14, 1970 Greenville, N.C. ECU 17-14 8,711
Nov. 18, 1978 Greenville, N.C. ECU 45-0 22,450
Dec. 19, 2001 Mobile, Ala.
(GMAC Bowl) MU 64-61 (OT) 40,139
Nov. 19, 2005 Huntington, W. Va. ECU 34-29 22,408
Nov. 11, 2006 Greenville, N.C. ECU 33-20 41,372
Nov. 10, 2007 Huntington, W.Va. MU 26-7 26,718
Nov. 8, 2008 Greenville, N.C. ECU 19-16 (OT) 43,515
HOLTZ VS. MARSHALL
ECU’s 34-29, 33-20 and 19-16 victories in 2005, 2006 and 2008, respectively, and Marshall’s 26-
7 win in 2007 serve as Skip Holtz’ only meetings against the Herd as a head coach.
SNYDER VS. EAST CAROLINA
Other than the aforementioned ‘05, ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08 meetings, Mark Snyder’s coaching background
does not include any previous matchups against East Carolina … While Youngstown State, Minnesota
and Ohio State have never faced ECU on the gridiron, the Pirates have met UCF nine times
beginning in 1991 – one year after his departure from Orlando.
HOLTZ AGAINST SNYDER
While the last four East Carolina-Marshall matchups mark the only meetings between Skip Holtz and
Mark Snyder as head coaches, there was one previous game where the two stood on opposite
sidelines during a contest … While Holtz served as offensive coordinator at South Carolina and
Snyder was Ohio State’s linebacker’s coach, the Gamecocks posted a 31-28 Outback Bowl victory
over the Buckeyes in Tampa on Jan. 1, 2002.
LAST MEETING
East Carolina 19, Marshall 16 (OT)
<Nov. 8, 2008 @Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C.>
Junior Ben Hartman drilled a game-winning 27-yard field goal in overtime to guide East Carolina to
a key 19-16 Conference USA win over Marshall … The kick capped off a career-high four-field goal
day for Hartman and was his second overtime game-decider in six days, following a 39-yarder at
UCF Nov. 2 … The Pirates staved off a Thundering Herd comeback attempt in the second half,
wasting a 13-3 halftime lead and a 16-9 late fourth-quarter advantage before capturing their fourth
overtime win in five tries during the Skip Holtz Era … The Herd tied the contest 16-16 with 1:21 to
play in the fourth quarter on Cody Slate’s 34-yard scoring catch from Mark Cann but ECU used a
29-yard pass from Patrick Pinkney to Davon Drew on a first-and-10 play to spark a 52-yard drive
down to the Marshall 25-yard line with three seconds remaining, but Hartman misfired on a 42-yard
attempt to win it in regulation … The Pirates won the overtime coin toss and forced three-straight
incomplete passes before Marshall backup kicker Tyler Warner missed from 42 yards out …
Pinkney connected with Dwayne Harris on a 13-yard pass play on ECU’s first overtime play to
setup Hartman’s kick … Pinkney completed 26-of-37 passes for 287 yards to lead East Carolina’s
offensive efforts, rescuing a stalled Pirate rushing attack that generated just 100 yards … The Herd
held the Pirates to just a field goal in six second-half possessions after ECU tallied points on its last
three consecutive drives of the first half, one producing the Pirates’ only touchdown of the contest.
MARSHALL 0 3 6 7 0-16
EAST CAROLINA 3 10 3 0 3-19
Quarter Time Play Score
1 3:41 Ben Hartman 31 field goal 0-3
2 9:19 Hartman 51 field goal 0-6
2 1:41 Craig Ratanamorn 31 field goal 3-6
2 0:12 Davon Drew 5 pass from Patrick Pinkney (Hartman kick) 3-13
3 10:19 Cody Slate 7 pass from Mark Cann (kick failed) 9-13
3 2:55 Hartman 21 field goal 9-16
4 1:21 Slate 34 pass from Cann (Tyler Warner kick) 16-16
OT 15:00 Hartman 27 field goal 16-19
MU STATS ECU INDIVIDUAL STATS
16
155
137
292
26:45
2
1st Downs 20 Rushing – D. Marshall (MU), 20-123, 0 TDRush Yds. 100 N. Whitley (ECU), 23-68, 0 TDPass Yds. 287 Passing – M. Cann (MU), 29-13-2, 137 yds, 2 TDTotal Yds. 387 P. Pinkney (ECU), 37-26-0, 287 yds, 1 TDPoss. 33:15 Receiving – C. Slate (MU), 5-62, 2 TDTurnovers 1 D. Harris (ECU), 5-39, 0 TD