Saturday, Sept. 5 • 6 p.m. • ESPN3
TOWSON
at
EAST CAROLINA
Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium (50,000/Grass)
Greenville, N.C.
Television
Taylor Zarzour and Mickey Matthews
East Carolina Radio - WNCT-FM 107.9 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between East Carolina and Towson on the gridiron … East Carolina has won its last three home openers and has taken nine of its last 10 … The Pirates last dropped a home opener in 2011, when they fell to 11th-ranked Virginia Tech, 17-10 …. East Carolina and Towson are located about 335 miles apart.
TOWSON
0-0
Head Coach
Rob Ambrose (Towson ’93)
36-37, seventh season at Towson
39-44, ninth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Towson looks to bounce back from a 4-8 season in 2014 … That season came on the heels of a 2013 campaign, which saw Towson finish as the FCS national runner-up … The Tigers went 13-3 in 2013, falling to North Dakota State in the NCAA final … Towson was projected to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league’s head coaches … The Tigers had two players chosen to the preseason All-CAA Team … DT Jon Desir was chosen after he registered 61 tackles last season … Desir has made 28 consecutive starts on the Twoson defensive line … RB Darius Victor was also chosen to the preseason team after he earned all-conference first team honors last season and was the 2013 CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year … Victor led the CAA and was 15th in FCS with 1,305 rushing yards — the most by a Towson sophomore in program history … Victor also had a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns … Towson head coach Rob Ambrose served as an assistant at UConn from 2002-08, helping the Huskies to a share of the Big East title in 2007.
EAST CAROLINA
0-0
Head Coach
Ruffin McNeill (East Carolina ’80)
37-27, sixth season at East Carolina
38-27, sixth full season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
East Carolina went 8-5 last season, with all five losses coming by 10 points or fewer … The Pirates were ranked as high as No. 18 nationally, but dropped four of their last six to close the year … East Carolina returns 11 starters from last season … The Pirates look to replace the production of QB Shane Carden, the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and WR Justin Hardy, who set the NCAA career receptions record (387) … QB Kurt Benkert was named as the starter for the 2015 season during training camp, but was lost to a season-ending knee injury, leaving QB Blake Kemp or QB Cody Keith as the starting signal-caller … RB Chris Hairston rushed for 528 yards and two TDs and is the top returner in the backfield … WR Isaiah Jones was third in The American, with 81 receptions, while his 830 receiving yards ranked seventh in the conference … OT Ike Harris and OG J.T. Boyd were both all-conference second-team choices and lead an offensive line that returns four starters … LB Zeek Bigger led The American with 140 tackles on his way to second-team all-conference honors … CB Josh Hawkins registered five interceptions.