THE GAME
East Carolina will play the first of three inter-divisional
contests on its 2009 Conference USA schedule
when the Pirates face SMU Saturday at Gerald
J. Ford Stadium in Dallas. ECU will try to extend its
C-USA winning streak to five straight and push its
early season record to a Skip Holtz era-best 4-2
after a 21-17 road victory over Marshall last week. The contest against the Mustangs
will also close a two-game road swing for ECU, who will return to Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium next week for a Homecoming clash against another C-USA West Division
member, Rice, on Oct. 17 – oddly, its last Saturday contest until meeting UAB on Nov. 21.
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 seven of its last nine road games against C-USA members …
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Has won five of the last six games against C-USA West Division members …
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Has won three-straight road games against C-USA West Division members …
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Has won 14 of the last 15 games when holding its opponent to 24 points or less …
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Has forced at least two TOs in 15 of 21 games (12 TOs in its last four games) …
FAST FACTS
Record –
East Division;
3-2 (.600); C-USA Record/East Division Standing – 2-0 (1.000)/1stLast 5 Games – 3-2; Last 10 Games – 6-4; Last 15 Games – 9-6;
Streaks –
Pirates face off against SMU. ECU’s contest against the Mustangs will be the Pirates’
750th since the start of football in 1932 (381-356-12/.517).
Overall, East Carolina will play the 57th game of the Skip Holtz Era when the
SCHEMES
SMU utilizes a Run & Shoot offensive attack while employing a multiple defensive
alignment. ECU will 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 66-47 (.584)
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 32-24 (.571) in his fifth season at East Carolina,
JUNE JONES
football program at SMU and sports a 3-13 (.188) record. Overall, he is in his 11th year
as a collegiate head coach with a 79-54 (.594) mark. Prior to his arrival in Dallas, Jones
was 76-41 in nine seasons at Hawai’i and capped his tenure there by leading the
Warriors to the All-State Sugar Bowl in 2007. He also had a 12-year NFL coaching
career, which included head coaching stops at Atlanta and San Diego.
(New York State Regents College) is in his second season heading the
Game No. 6 – October 10, 2009
EAST CAROLINA
Pirates (3-2, 2-0) vs. SMU Mustangs (2-2, 1-0)
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000/2000/A-Turf), Dallas, Texas
8:00 p.m. (EDT)
East Carolina at SMU Page 2 Game 6 – Oct. 10, 2009
EAST CAROLINA (3-2, 2-0 C-USA)
09/05 APPALACHIAN STATE
09/12 at West Virginia
09/19 at No. 24 North Carolina
09/26 * UCF
10/03 * at Marshall
(ISP) W, 29-24(ESPN360) L, 35-20(ESPN2) L, 31-17(ISP) W, 19-14(CBSCS) W, 21-17
10/10 * at SMU
(ISP) 8:00 p.m.
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
(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)
SMU (2-2, 1-0 C-USA)
09/05 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN W, 31-23
09/12 * at UAB W, 35-33
09/19 at Washington State L, 30-27 (OT)
10/03 at TCU L, 39-14
10/10 * EAST CAROLINA 8:00 p.m.
10/17 NAVY 8:00 p.m.
10/24 * at Houston 7:30 p.m.
10/31 * at Tulsa 2:00 p.m.
11/07 * RICE 3:00 p.m.
11/14 * UTEP 3:00 p.m.
11/21 * at Marshall 4:30 p.m.
11/28 * TULANE 3:00 p.m.
*C-USA game; all times Eastern
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INJURY REPORT
DT Antonio Allison r. foot OUT
RB J.R. Rogers l. knee OUT
WR Michael Bowman l. arm QUESTIONABLE
OG Terence Campbell l. shoulder QUESTIONABLE
WR Jamar Bryant head PROBABLE
RB Dominique Lindsay r. shoulder PROBABLE
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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. SMU
recorded an 1-11 overall mark and finished sixth in C-USA’s
West Division with a 0-8 ledger. After posting its only win of the
campaign against Texas State (47-36) during the second week
of the season, the Mustangs dropped their remaining 10 games.
Five of SMU’s eight leagues losses were by an average of
only 7.6 points per game, including narrow six-point setbacks
to division heavyweights Tulsa (37-31) and Houston (44-38).
.
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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 2-0 … The Pirates picked off three passes, used a 17-point second quarter and
benefitted from a trio of James Pinkney rushing touchdowns to book a 24-17 win against SMU in the
series opener in Dallas … Pinkney followed by accounting for 422 of ECU’s 438 total yards with a
career-high 391-yard passing effort to overcome a 36-yard team rushing performance a year later
in Greenville to extend the Pirates’ series lead to 2-0 … A closer look:
Date Site Result Attendance
Oct. 15, 2005 Dallas, Texas ECU 24-17 11,715
Oct. 21, 2006 Greenville, N.C. ECU 38-21 34,141
HOLTZ AGAINST THE MUSTANGS
The Pirates’ 24-17 and 38-21 victories in 2005 and 2006, respectively, serve as Skip Holtz’ only
meetings against the Mustangs as a collegiate coach … Yet, while Holtz was a player at Notre Dame,
the Fighting Irish defeated SMU 61-29 in South Bend on Nov. 8, 1986.
JONES AGAINST THE PIRATES
Although his successful college coaching career spans a total of 144 games, June Jones will see
ECU on the opposite sideline for the first time Saturday … The Pirates have never competed against
Hawai’i, either during his time as a head coach (1999-2007) or as an assistant (1983).
HOLTZ VS. JONES
Saturday’s matchup will also mark the first time that East Carolina’s Skip Holtz and SMU’s June Jones
will stand on opposite sidelines during a contest … South Carolina had two (‘77, ‘81) previous
meetings against Hawai’i, but those came well before Holtz’ and Jones’ arrival at their respective
institutions … Holtz faced the Warriors while serving as an assistant at Colorado State (‘87) and
Notre Dame (‘91), also well before Jones took over the UH program.
AGAINST THE LONE STAR STATE
The Pirates have won 14 of 20 all-time matchups (14-6) against programs from Texas … ECU is 5-
4 against UH, 2-1 vs. TCU, 2-0 vs. SMU, 2-0 vs. UTEP, 1-0 vs. Texas Tech, 1-0 against North
Texas and 1-1 vs. Rice … East Carolina has never faced Big 12 Conference members Baylor,
Texas A&M or Texas on the gridiron.
LAST MEETING
East Carolina 38, SMU 21
<Oct. 21, 2006 @Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C.>
Senior quarterback James Pinkney established new career highs in total offense yards, passing
yards and completions to lead the Pirates to an impressive 38-21 Conference USA victory over
SMU … After throwing for just 92 yards a week earlier against Tulsa, Pinkney bounced back to
complete 31-of-40 passes for 391 yards and a pair of scores … The aerial effort ranked as the thirdbest
in school history … In all, he accounted for 422 of ECU’s 438 total yards and was directly
responsible for three of five TDs … Senior receiver Aundrae Allison returned to the lineup after
missing the previous two contests (ankle injury) and grabbed a career-best 13 catches for 138
yards – including a 30-yarder which closed out the Pirates’ scoring efforts late in the fourth quarter
… ECU got off to a torrid start, scoring on three of its first four possessions to build a 21-14 halftime
lead … Sophomore tailback Brandon Simmons booked a pair of one-yard scoring runs in the first 30
minutes, the last breaking a 14-14 deadlock and seizing the momentum away from the Mustangs
with 29 seconds remaining before intermission … After Ben Hartman’s 36-yard field goal pushed the
Pirate lead to 24-14 early in the third period, ECU put the game away with a pair of TDs in a 1:18
span midway through the fourth stanza – quickly converting a SMU fumble into a Pinkney-to-Allison
scoring strike … Defenses were stingy against the run as both teams combined for just 125 ground
yards (SMU 89, ECU 36) … Pinkney completed his first seven passes on the way to a career-high,
269-yard first-half effort … East Carolina matched a season-best effort (Navy) by converting eightof-
13 third down situations and cashed in all five of its redzone visits during the afternoon.
SMU 0 14 0 7 -21
EAST CAROLINA 14 7 3 14 -38
Quarter Time Play Score
1 8:40 Brandon Simmons 1 run (Ben Hartman kick) 0-7
1 2:10 Davon Drew 17 pass from James Pinkney (Hartman kick) 0-14
2 12:10 Emmanuel Sanders 6 pass from Justin Willis (Tom Morstead kick) 7-14
2 5:34 Sanders 32 pass from Willis (Morstead kick) 14-14
2 0:29 Simmons 1 run (Hartman kick) 14-21
3 11:08 Hartman 36 field goal 14-24
4 7:19 Pinkney 10 run (Hartman kick) 14-31
4 6:01 Aundrae Allison 30 pass from Pinkney (Hartman kick) 14-38
4 1:04 Columbus Givens 10 pass from Willis (Morstead kick) 21-38
SMU STATS ECU INDIVIDUAL STATS
21
89
224
313
29:36
1
1st Downs 24 Rushing – J. Mapps (SMU), 8-37, 0 TDRush Yds. 36 J. Pinkney (ECU), 10-31, 1 TDPass Yds. 402 Passing – J. Willis (SMU), 33-22-0, 224 yds, 3 TDTotal Yds. 438 J. Pinkney (ECU), 40-31-0, 391 yds, 2 TDPoss. 30:24 Receiving – E. Sanders (SMU), 8-87, 2 TDTurnovers