22/24 TEMPLE (6-0) at EAST CAROLINA (4-3)
Thursday, Oct. 22 • 7 p.m. • ESPN2
Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium (50,000/Grass)
Greenville, N.C.
#TEMvsECU



Television
ESPN2 - Watch Live - Live Stats
Mark Neely and Ray Bentley

Temple Radio - WPEN-FM 97.5 (flagship)
East Carolina Radio - WNCT-FM 107.9 (flagship)

THE GAME
Thursday’s game will be the 13th meeting between Temple and East Carolina in a series that dates to 1982 … The Pirates hold a 7-5 series lead, though Temple was a 20-10 winner against the No. 20/18 Pirates last season in Philadelphia … Temple had 135 yards of offense in last year’s meeting, but recovered five Pirate fumbles to get the win.

22/24 TEMPLE
6-0, 3-0 American

Head Coach
Matt Rhule (Penn State ’97)
13-16, third season

NOTES
Temple improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in The American with a 30-16 win against UCF as the Owls closed the game with 16 unanswered points … Temple is ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1979 as the Owls are No. 22 in the Associated Press poll and No. 24 in the USA Today poll … Temple is off to its best start in program history … The Owls has been led offensively by RB Jahad Thomas, who is fifth in the nation in all-purpose yards (176.2 ypg) and leads The American in rushing with 756 yards and 10 touchdowns on 145 carries  … QB P.J. Walker has completed 93 of 153 passes (60.8 percent) for 1,063 yards and eight touchdowns … WR Robby Anderson has a team-high 23 catches for 262 yards and four touchdowns … The defense is led by LB Tyler Matakevich, the Butkus Award candidate who has 52 tackles, three sacks, 6.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions and four pass breakups in six games and is the NCAA’s active career leader in total tackles (406) … LB Nate D. Smith has a team-high 5.5 sacks … The Owls lead The American in scoring defense (14.7 ppg) … Thomas is averaging 33.2 yards on kickoff returns.



EAST CAROLINA
4-3, 2-1 American

Head Coach
Ruffin McNeill (East Carolina ’80)
41-30, sixth season at East Carolina
42-30, sixth full season as collegiate head coach


NOTES
East Carolina has won three of its last four after the Pirates scored a 30-17 victory against Tulsa … East Carolina has gone 3-0 at Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium this year, with wins against Towson, Virginia Tech and Tulsa … The Pirates have used two quarterbacks extensively … QB Blake Kemp has thrown for 1,556 yards and 10 touchdowns with six interceptions and has completed 71.3 percent of his passes (154 of 216) … QB James Summers provides East Carolina with a dual threat behind center … Summers has rushed for 354 yards and six touchdowns and has thrown for 417 yards and four TDs … RB Chris Hairston has rushed for a team-high 460 yards and six TDs … WR Isaiah Jones has 51 receptions for 595 yards and three touchdowns … TE Bryce Williams has 33 catches for 355 yards and three TDs … East Carolina’s three starting linebackers are the team’s three leading tacklers … LB Zeek Bigger leads the way with 58 tackles, while LB Montese Overton has 48 stops to go with 7.5 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss … LB Jordan Williams has 47 tackles … CB Josh Hawkins is the leader in the secondary with two interceptions, including a 100-yard return against Tulsa.