2020 East Carolina Pirates football team

2020 East Carolina Pirates football
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	3–6 (3–5 AAC)
Head coach	Mike Houston (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Donnie Kirkpatrick (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Blake Harrell (1st season)
Base defense	3–4 or 4–2–5
Home stadium	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Cincinnati y$		6	–	0					9	–	1
Tulsa y		6	–	0					6	–	3
Memphis		5	–	3					8	–	3
UCF		5	–	3					6	–	4
SMU		4	–	3					7	–	3
Houston		3	–	3					3	–	5
Navy		3	–	4					3	–	7
Tulane		3	–	5					6	–	6
East Carolina		3	–	5					3	–	6
Temple		1	–	6					1	–	6
South Florida		0	–	7					1	–	8
Championship: Cincinnati 27, Tulsa 24
$ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by second-year head coach Mike Houston, played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium as members of the American Athletic Conference.

East Carolina had games scheduled against Marshall, Norfolk State, and South Carolina, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1][2][3]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 26	12:00 p.m.	No. 13 UCF	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ABC	L 28–51	305
October 3	12:00 p.m.	at Georgia State*	Center Parc Stadium Atlanta, GA	ESPNU	L 29–49	3,823
October 10	7:00 p.m.	at South Florida	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPN+	W 44–24	6,799
October 17	12:00 p.m.	Navy	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN2	L 23–27	3,500
October 30	8:00 p.m.	at Tulsa	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPN2	L 30–34	0
November 7	12:00 p.m.	Tulane	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN+	L 21–38	3,500
November 13	7:30 p.m.	at No. 7 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN2	L 17–55	0
November 21	12:00 p.m.	at Temple	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPN+	W 28–3	0
November 28	12:00 p.m.	SMU	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN+	W 52–38	3,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[4][5]

Central Florida at East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 13 Knights 10 17 14 10 51 Pirates 7 0 7 14 28 Date: September 26, 2020 Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greeville, NC Game start: 12:05 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 58 minutes Game attendance: 350 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • Weather: Mostly cloudy • Wind: 0 MPH Referee: Luke Richmond TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Mike Golic Sr. (color) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 11:20 ECU Darius Pinnix Jr. 17-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (9 plays, 75 yards, 3:40) ECU 7–0 08:22 UCF Greg McCrae 1-yard rush (Daniel Obarski kick) (11 plays, 75 yards, 2:58) TIE 7–7 04:28 UCF Daniel Obarski 26-yard field goal (7 plays, 26 yards, 1:34) UCF 10–7 2 07:55 UCF Daniel Obarski 33-yard field goal (10 plays, 50 yards, 3:07) UCF 13–7 04:57 UCF Jaylon Robinson 64-yard pass from Dillon Gabriel (Daniel Obarski kick) (4 plays, 78 yards, 0:57) UCF 20–7 00:24 UCF Jake Hescock 7-yard pass from Dillon Gabriel (Daniel Obarski kick) (9 plays, 86 yards, 2:45) UCF 27–7 3 13:11 UCF Jacob Harris 11-yard pass from Dillon Gabriel (Daniel Obarski kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 1:49) UCF 34–7 09:57 UCF Jaylon Robinson 9-yard pass from Dillon Gabriel (Daniel Obarski kick) (6 plays, 55 yards, 1:44) UCF 41–7 06:25 ECU C. J. Johnson 37-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (8 plays, 92 yards, 3:31) UCF 41–14 4 13:33 UCF Daniel Obarski 31-yard field goal (9 plays, 66 yards, 2:20) UCF 44–14 08:09 ECU Darius Phinnix Jr. 3-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (12 plays, 75 yards, 5:24) UCF 44–21 03:59 UCF Johnny Richardson 31-yard rush (Daniel Obarski kick) (1 play, 31 yards, 0:08) UCF 51–21 00:19 ECU Tyler Snead 7-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (11 plays, 77 yards, 3:40) UCF 51–28

Pregame line	Over/under
UCF –27.5	77[6]

Statistics	UCF	East Carolina
First downs	29	25
Total yards	632	459
Rushing yards	224	244
Passing yards	408	215
Turnovers	0	4
Time of possession	26:52	33:08

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCF	Passing	Dillon Gabriel	32/47, 408 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Greg McCrae	16 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Johnny Richardson	9 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	14/29, 215 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Keaton Mitchell	8 carries, 66 yards
	Receiving	Audie Omotosho	3 receptions, 56 yards

East Carolina at Georgia State

1 2 3 4 Total Pirates 7 6 3 13 29 • Panthers 21 14 0 14 49 Date: October 3, 2020 Location: Center Parc Stadium Atlanta, GA Game start: 12:02 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 28 minutes Game attendance: 3,823 Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: 6 W MPH Referee: Marshall Lewis TV announcers (ESPNU): Mike Couzens (play–by–play) and Dustin Fox (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 14:54 ECU Warren Saba 28-yard interception returned (Jake Verity kick) (1 play, 0 yards, 0:06) ECU 7–0 13:30 GSU Destin Coates 13-yard rush (Noel Ruiz kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 1:24) TIE 7–7 11:02 GSU Sam Pinckney 38-yard pass from Cornelious Brown (Noel Ruiz kick) (2 plays, 61 yards, 0:23) GSU 14–7 07:19 GSU Jamari Thrash 22-yard pass from Cornelious Brown (Noel Ruiz kick) (9 plays, 61 yards, 3:07) GSU 21–7 2 12:45 GSU Tucker Gregg 4-yard rush (Noel Ruiz kick) (7 plays, 77 yards, 3:03) GSU 28–7 07:44 ECU Jake Verity 34-yard field goal (11 plays, 57 yards, 5:01) GSU 28–10 05:26 GSU Sam Pinckney 13-yard pass from Cornelious Brown (Noel Ruiz kick) (5 plays, 44 yards, 1:37) GSU 35–10 00:00 ECU Jake Verity 40-yard field goal (13 plays, 54 yards, 5:26) GSU 35–13 3 00:05 ECU Jake Verity 48-yard field goal (7 plays, 29 yards, 3:09) GSU 35–16 4 13:12 GSU Antavious Lane 34-yard interception returned (Noel Ruiz kick) (1 play, 0 yards, 0:12) GSU 42–16 10:30 ECU Tyler Snead 31-yard rush (Noel Ruiz kick) (7 plays, 65 yards, 2:42) GSU 42–23 08:07 ECU Blake Proehl 29-yard blocked punt returned (Jake Verity PAT failed) (5 plays, 21 yards, 2:23) GSU 42–29 00:23 GSU Destin Coates 5-yard rush (Noel Ruiz kick) (6 plays, 37 yards, 2:38) GSU 49–29

Pregame line	Over/under
ECU –1.5	70[7]

Statistics	East Carolina	Georgia State
First downs	19	21
Total yards	286	485
Rushing yards	50	247
Passing yards	236	238
Turnovers	3	3
Time of possession	33:05	26:55

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	29/50, 236 yards, 3 INTs
	Rushing	Tyler Snead	1 carry, 31 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Snead	11 receptions, 105 yards
Georgia State	Passing	Cornelious Brown	18/28, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Destin Coates	23 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Sam Pinckney	7 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TDs

East Carolina at South Florida

1 2 3 4 Total • Pirates 17 14 7 6 44 Bulls 7 10 0 0 17 Date: October 10, 2020 Location: Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL Game start: 7:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 6,799 Referee: Anthony Calabre TV announcers (ESPN+): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and Stanford Routt (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 10:35 ECU Jake Verity 25-yard field goal (11 plays, 67 yards, 4:25) ECU 3–0 08:58 USF Johnny Ford 8-yard rush (Kenny Scribner kick) (6 plays, 65 yards, 1:37) USF 7–3 03:50 ECU Darius Pinnix 2-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (12 plays, 59 yards, 5:08) ECU 10–7 00:16 ECU C. J. Johnson 75-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (3 plays, 78 yards, 1:16) ECU 17–7 2 13:18 ECU Rahjai Harris 42-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (1 play, 42 yards, 0:08) ECU 24–7 04:59 USF Johnny Ford 7-yard rush (Kenny Scribner kick) (5 plays, 80 yards, 1:55) ECU 24–14 02:17 ECU Rahjai Harris 10-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (1 play, 10 yards, 0:05) ECU 31–14 00:32 USF Jared Sackett 31-yard field goal (11 plays, 61 yards, 1:45) ECU 31–17 3 00:10 ECU C. J. Johnson 14-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (8 plays, 50 yards, 4:23) ECU 38–17 4 13:20 ECU Jake Verity 42-yard field goal (4 plays, 6 yards, 1:33) ECU 41–17 03:14 ECU Jake Verity 37-yard field goal (15 plays, 54 yards, 8:46) ECU 44–17 00:31 USF Noah Johnson 15-yard rush (Jared Sackett kick) (7 plays, 54 yards, 2:43) ECU 44–24

Pregame line	Over/under
USF –5.5	58[8]

Statistics	East Carolina	South Florida
First downs	21	22
Total yards	432	398
Rushing yards	210	92
Passing yards	222	306
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	35:36	24:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	17/26, 222 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Rahjai Harris	19 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	C. J. Johnson	3 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TDs
South Florida	Passing	Jordan McCloud	26/35, 298 yards
	Rushing	Johnny Ford	8 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Latrell Williams	8 receptions, 93 yards

Navy at East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • Midshipmen 7 6 14 0 27 Pirates 6 7 0 10 23 Date: October 17, 2020 Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greeville, NC Game start: 12:01 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes Game attendance: 3,500 Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Mostly Sunny • Wind: NNE 10 MPH Referee: Edwin Lee TV announcers (ESPN2): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and Keith Moreland (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 08:21 NAVY Nelson Smith 20-yard rush (Bijan Nichols kick) (6 plays, 50 yards, 3:06) NAVY 7–0 04:44 ECU Jake Verity 40-yard field goal (10 plays, 52 yards, 3:37) NAVY 7–3 02:23 ECU Jake Verity 25-yard field goal (5 plays, 17 yards, 1:47) NAVY 7–6 2 07:03 ECU Mason Garcia 3-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (8 plays, 44 yards, 3:07) ECU 13–7 03:48 NAVY Dalen Morris 9-yard rush (Bijan Nichols PAT failed) (7 plays, 75 yards, 3:15) TIE 13–13 3 08:51 NAVY Nelson Smith 29-yard rush (Bijan Nichols kick) (3 plays, 59 yards, 1:21) NAVY 20–13 00:00 NAVY Jamale Carothers 3-yard rush (Bijan Nichols kick) (12 plays, 50 yards, 0:00) NAVY 27–13 4 14:15 ECU Rahjai Harris 80-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (2 plays, 84 yards, 0:00) NAVY 27–20 06:33 ECU Jake Verity 39-yard field goal (12 plays, 45 yards, 5:54) NAVY 27–23

Pregame line	Over/under
NAVY –3.5	55.5[9]

Statistics	Navy	East Carolina
First downs	17	19
Total yards	318	372
Rushing yards	288	268
Passing yards	30	104
Turnovers	2	2
Time of possession	31:29	28:31

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Navy	Passing	Dalen Morris	3/4, 30 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Nelson Smith	17 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Ryan Mitchell	1 reception, 14 yards
East Carolina	Passing	Mason Garcia	10/20, 104 yards
	Rushing	Rahjai Harris	22 carries, 172 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tyler Snead	4 receptions, 39 yards

East Carolina at Tulsa

1 2 3 4 Total Pirates 7 10 3 10 30 • Golden Hurricane 3 0 17 14 34 Date: October 30, 2020 Location: Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK Game start: 8:00 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3:40 Game attendance: 0 Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: SSW 5 MPH Referee: A. Calabarese TV announcers (ESPN2): Clay Matvick (play–by–play) Rocky Boiman (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 11:08 ECU Tyler Snead 16 Yd pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity Kick) (4 plays, 42 yards, 1:31) ECU 7–0 03:35 TULSA Zack Long 35 Yd Field Goal (9 plays, 38 yards, 4:01) ECU 7–3 2 10:42 ECU C.J. Johnson 25 Yd pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity Kick) (10 plays, 90 yards, 4:18) ECU 14–3 01:58 ECU Jake Verity 46 Yd Field Goal (11 plays, 60 yards, 6:31) ECU 17–3 3 13:23 TULSA Keylon Stokes 25 Yd pass from Zach Smith (Zack Long Kick) (5 plays, 78 yards, 1:37) ECU 17–10 09:15 ECU Jake Verity 22 Yd Field Goal (11 plays, 68 yards, 4:08) ECU 20–10 06:19 TULSA T.K. Wilkerson 13 Yd Run (Zack Long Kick) (12 plays, 74 yards, 2:56) ECU 20–17 04:15 TULSA Zack Long 21 Yd Field Goal (4 plays, 0 yards, 0:47) TIED 20–20 4 12:34 ECU Jake Verity 38 Yd Field Goal (7 plays, 14 yards, 2:10) ECU 23–20 09:14 TULSA JuanCarlos Santana 39 Yd pass from Zach Smith (Zack Long Kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 3:20) TULSA 23–27 04:24 ECU Rahjai Harris 4 Yd pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity Kick) (11 plays, 85 yards, 4:50) ECU 30–27 00:29 TULSA T.K. Wilkerson 1 Yd Run (Zack Long Kick) (11 plays, 75 yards, 3:55) TULSA 30–34

Pregame line	Over/under
TUL –17	59.5[10]

Statistics	East Carolina	Tulsa
First downs	27	25
Total yards	456	428
Rushing yards	126	175
Passing yards	330	253
Turnovers	3	3
Time of possession	35:09	24:51

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	38/50, 330 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Rahjai Harris	21 carries, 118 yards
	Receiving	Tyler Snead	16 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD
Tulsa	Passing	Zach Smith	19/37, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	T.K. Wilkerson	18 carries, 89 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Keylon Stokes	6 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD

Tulane at East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • Green Wave 7 14 10 7 38 Pirates 7 0 0 14 21 Date: November 7, 2020 Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC Game start: 12:05 a.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 11 minutes Game attendance: 3,500 Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C) • Weather: Mostly Clear • Wind: E 5 MPH Referee: Luke Richmond TV announcers (ESPN+): Evan Lepler (play–by–play) and Jay Sonnhalter (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 11:09 TULN Deuce Watts 35-yard pass from Michael Pratt (Merek Glover kick) (9 plays, 78 yards, 3:51) TULN 7–0 06:48 ECU Tyler Snead 10-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 4:21) TIE 7–7 2 07:28 TULN Tyrick James 5-yard pass from Michael Pratt (Merek Glover kick) (4 plays, 54 yards, 1:58) TULN 14–7 00:38 TULN Deuce Watts 5-yard pass from Michael Pratt (Merek Glover kick) (7 plays, 65 yards, 2:58) TULN 21–7 3 05:49 TULN Cameron Carroll 48-yard rush (Merek Glover kick) (4 plays, 65 yards, 1:57) TULN 28–7 00:38 TULN Merek Glover 42-yard field goal (7 plays, 37 yards, 3:15) TULN 31–7 4 10:37 ECU Blake Proehl 30-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Holton Ahlers two-point conversion pass to Tyler Snead) (4 plays, 35 yards, 1:53) TULN 31–15 05:17 TULN Cameron Carroll 28-yard rush (Merek Glover kick) (1 play, 28 yards, 0:06) TULN 38–15 05:07 ECU Blake Proehl 75-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (two-point conversion pass attempt failed) (1 play, 75 yards, 0:10) TULN 38–21

Pregame line	Over/under
TULN –3.5	63.5[11]

Statistics	Tulane	East Carolina
First downs	24	20
Total yards	493	386
Rushing yards	277	35
Passing yards	216	351
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	30:59	29:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulane	Passing	Michael Pratt	22/34, 216 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Cameron Carroll	6 carries, 129 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Duece Watts	5 receptions, 57 yards, 2 TDs
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	27/43, 351 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Rahjai Harris	13 carries, 27 yards
	Receiving	Blake Proehl	13 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TDs

East Carolina at Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total Pirates 0 10 0 7 17 • No. 7 Bearcats 7 28 7 13 55 Date: November 13, 2020 Location: Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH Game start: 7:31 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 37 minutes Game attendance: 0 Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: NW 10 MPH Referee: Tim Rich TV announcers (ESPN2): Jason Benetti (play–by–play), Andre Ware (analyst), and Rocky Boiman (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary 1 09:14 CIN Michael Young 33-yard pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick) (10 plays, 79 yards, 4:34) CIN 0–7 2 14:52 CIN Jarell White 26-yard Interception (Cole Smith kick) (6 plays, 18 yards, 2:08) CIN 0–14 10:36 ECU Keaton Mitchell 18-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (3 plays, 58 yards, 0:50) CIN 7–14 08:23 CIN Jerome Ford 24-yard rush (Cole Smith kick) (6 plays, 70 yards, 2:09) CIN 7–21 05:25 ECU Jake Verity 32-yard field goal (7 plays, 44 yards, 2:04) CIN 10–21 05:18 CIN Tre Tucker 45-yard pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick) (1 play, 45 yards, 0:07) CIN 10–28 01:32 CIN Desmond Ridder 7-yard rush (Cole Smith kick) (7 plays, 53 yards, 3:04) CIN 10–35 3 00:29 CIN Jayshon Jackson 12-yard pass from Desmond Ridder (Cole Smith kick) (11 plays, 85 yards, 4:06) CIN 10–42 4 05:41 CIN Jerome Ford 1-yard rush (Cole Smith kick) (9 plays, 75 yards, 4:07) CIN 10–49 00:17 ECU Rahjai Harris 1-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (13 plays, 73 yards, 5:17) CIN 17–49 00:10 CIN Cameron Young 75-yard rush (Cole Smith kick failed) (1 play, 75 yards, 0:07) CIN 17–55

Pregame line	Over/under
CIN –27.5	56.5[12]

Statistics	East Carolina	Cincinnati
First downs	23	29
Total yards	293	653
Rushing yards	206	299
Passing yards	87	354
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	29:50	30:10

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	9/20, 87 yards, 3 INTs
	Rushing	Keaton Mitchell	17 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Keaton Mitchell	1 reception, 26 yards
Cincinnati	Passing	Desmond Ridder	24/31, 327 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Desmond Ridder	8 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tre Tucker	4 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD

East Carolina at Temple

1 2 3 4 Total • Pirates 7 14 7 0 28 Owls 0 0 3 0 3 Date: November 21, 2020 Location: Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA Game start: 12:50 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2 hours and 48 minutes Game attendance: 100 Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Mostly Sunny • Wind: NW 6 MPH Referee: Hank Johns TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Leno (play–by–play) and Ken Dunek (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 00:33 ECU C. J. Johnson 60-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (1 play, 60 yards, 0:10) ECU 7–0 2 11:36 TEM Rory Bell 28-yard field goal (4 plays, 7 yards, 1:13) ECU 7–3 11:22 ECU Tyler Snead 95-yard kickoff returned (Jake Verity kick) (0 plays, 0 yards, 0:00) ECU 14–3 00:48 ECU Tyler Snead 46-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (2 plays, 80 yards, 0:16) ECU 21–3 4 11:05 ECU Holton Ahlers 1-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (4 plays, 90 yards, 1:12) ECU 28–3

Pregame line	Over/under
ECU –7	53[13]

Statistics	East Carolina	Temple
First downs	16	10
Total yards	447	235
Rushing yards	265	140
Passing yards	182	95
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	25:06	34:54

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	11/22, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Keaton Mitchell	13 carries, 103 yards
	Receiving	C. J. Johnson	3 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD
Temple	Passing	Kamal Gray	10/21, 95 yards, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Tayvon Ruley	14 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	David Martin–Robinson	1 reception, 30 yards

Southern Methodist at East Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total Mustangs 7 0 17 14 38 • Pirates 21 24 0 7 52 Date: November 28, 2020 Location: Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greeville, NC Game start: 12:05 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 31 minutes Game attendance: 3,500 Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Weather: Mostly Clear • Wind: Calm Referee: Edwin Lee TV announcers (ESPN+): Lincoln Rose (play–by–play) and LaDarrin McLane (analyst)

Scoring summary 1 09:08 ECU Keaton Mitchell 9-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (10 plays, 80 yards, 3:46) ECU 7–0 07:07 ECU Blake Proehl 11-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (3 plays, 34 yards, 0:59) ECU 14–0 03:27 SMU Kylen Granson 6-yard pass from Shane Buechele (Chris Naggar kick) (10 plays, 75 yards, 3:40) ECU 14–7 00:00 ECU Blake Proehl 35-yard pass from Tyler Snead (Jake Verity kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 0:00) ECU 21–7 2 11:01 ECU C. J. Johnson 14-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (3 plays, 32 yards, 1:00) ECU 28–7 06:16 ECU Keaton Mitchell 7-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (7 plays, 60 yards, 3:05) ECU 35–7 04:00 ECU Tyler Snead 16-yard pass from Holton Ahlers (Jake Verity kick) (4 plays, 30 yards, 0:42) ECU 42–7 00:01 ECU Jake Verity 29-yard field goal (7 plays, 47 yards, 1:30) ECU 45–7 3 08:12 SMU Shane Buechele 1-yard rush (Shane Buechele two-point conversion pass to Rashee Rice) (12 plays, 80 yards, 4:42) ECU 45–15 04:56 SMU Ulysses Bentley IV 26-yard pass from Shane Buechele (two-point pass conversion attempt failed) (8 plays, 65 yards, 2:13) ECU 45–21 00:00 SMU Chris Naggar 36-yard field goal (6 plays, 8 yards, 2:37) ECU 45–24 4 13:15 ECU Darius Pinnix Jr. 2-yard rush (Jake Verity kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 1:45) ECU 52–24 07:28 SMU Tyler Lavine 5-yard rush (Chris Naggar kick) (5 plays, 75 yards, 1:30) ECU 52–31 07:05 SMU Tyler Lavine 4-yard rush (Chris Naggar kick) (2 plays, 14 yards, 0:23) ECU 52–38

Pregame line	Over/under
SMU –12.0	72

Statistics	SMU	East Carolina
First downs	26	28
Total yards	384	493
Rushing yards	70	160
Passing yards	314	333
Turnovers	3	2
Time of possession	29:43	30:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
SMU	Passing	Shane Buechele	35/50, 314 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
	Rushing	Ulysses Bentley IV	12 carries, 36 yards
	Receiving	Austin Upshaw	8 receptions, 78 yards
East Carolina	Passing	Holton Ahlers	20/29, 298 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Keaton Mitchell	20 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Blake Proehl	6 receptions, 152 yards, 2 TDs

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
4	139	D'Ante Smith	OT	Cincinnati Bengals