ECU at UCONN
Sunday, Sept. 24 • Noon • ESPNU
Pratt & Whitney Stadium (40,000/Natural Grass)
East Hartford, Connecticut
Television
ESPNU
Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia
Radio
WNCT-FM 107.9 (ECU)
WTIC-AM 1080 (UConn)
SiriusXM 84 (UConn feed)
THE GAME
Sunday’s game will be the fourth meeting between ECU and UConn in a series that dates to the Pirates’ arrival in the American Athletic Conference … The home team has won each of the first three matchups as ECU holds a 2-1 series lead … The Pirates were 41-3 winners last year behind a 19-catch, 185-yard performance from WR Zay Jones.
ECU
0-3, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Scottie Montgomery (Duke ’00)
3-12, second season
Notes
ECU looks to bounce back from three losses to start the 2017 season and hopes to end a seven-game slide that dates to last year … The Pirates dropped a 34-14 decision to James Madison - the top-ranked team in FCS - and fell 56-20 at West Virginia before letting a 17-7 lead get away in a 64-17 loss to Virginia Tech … ECU has been outscored in the second quarter by a 44-0 margin … The Pirates will need to shore up a defense that has allowed 636.0 yards per game … QB Thomas Sirk, a transfer from Duke, is expected to start against UConn … Sirk has thrown for 401 yards and a TD with four interceptions … WR Davon Grayson has 13 catches for 171 yards, while WR Trevon Brown has 10 catches for a team-high 253 yards and two TDs … RB Tyshon Dye leads the team with 102 rushing yards … LB Jordan Williams has a team-high 35 tackles.
UCONN
1-1, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Randy Edsall (Syracuse ’80)
75-71, 13th season at UConn
97-105, 18th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
UConn returned from an unexpected Week 2 bye to face Virginia last week as the Huskies fell 38-18 to the Cavaliers … UConn opened the season with a 27-20 victory against Holy Cross before the Huskies’ game against USF was rescheduled in advance of Hurricane Irma … UConn was undone against Virginia in part by two red zone turnovers, which kept the Huskies off the scoreboard until late in the third quarter … QB Bryant Shirreffs has thrown for 351 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in two games … RB Nate Hopkins is the leading rusher with 164 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries … WR Hergy Mayala has been solid in both games thus far and has 11 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns … CB Jamar Summers has 15 tackles and four pass breakups.