BOONE, N.C. — Another sellout awaits the next installment of another compelling in-state series, with more history being made at The Rock.
For the first time since 1979, East Carolina is traveling west to Boone to face the Mountaineers (1-1). Kickoff in Kidd Brewer Stadium against the Pirates (0-2) is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, and a sellout crowd approaching or surpassing 40,000 is expected.
After drawing 36,075 fans for the home opener against Gardner-Webb and playing a double-overtime thriller at No. 17 North Carolina in a sold-out Kenan Stadium last weekend, App State faces a third straight in-state opponent. It's the 33rd overall meeting between the Mountaineers and Pirates but only the fourth since that 1979 game in Boone, with 2009 and 2012 games in Greenville, N.C., preceding the App State home game that was played in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium to open the 2021 season.
"I really like our football team," App State head coach
Shawn Clark said. "They're hungry to win and hungry to go out every day and compete."
Holding five leads during the double-OT loss at UNC, App State had an eighth straight game against a Power Five opponent decided by seven points or less and an eighth straight close game when facing an AP Top 25 opponent. The Mountaineers went 6-1 in the next game after those previous seven AP Top 25 matchups.
Facing a UNC defense that had nine sacks and allowed minus-2 rushing yards against South Carolina, App State's offensive line of
Markell Samuel,
Damion Daley,
Isaiah Helms,
Bucky Williams and
Jack Murphy didn't allow any sacks and contributed to 219 rushing yards, including 127 on a career-high 26 carries from
Nate Noel.
He ranks first nationally at 25.0 attempts per game, and the pass protection provided by Noel and fellow running back
Maquel Haywood against North Carolina drew lofty praise from Clark. Registering his first FBS start after making his debut in relief of an injured
Ryan Burger late in the first half against Gardner-Webb,
Joey Aguilar threw for 275 yards with two touchdowns against North Carolina. He has totaled six touchdown passes and 449 passing yards in a little more than six quarters of work.
East Carolina's defense has been stingy for long stretches during the 0-2 start that includes a 30-3 loss to No. 2 Michigan and a 31-13 loss to Marshall. The Pirates held Michigan's running attack to 2 yards or less on 10 of 12 first-half attempts and limited the Wolverines to 122 rushing yards in the game, then took a 13-10 lead into the fourth quarter against the Thundering Herd.
Marshall had managed 16 yards on 13 second-half plays before a double pass for a 75-yard touchdown produced a 17-13 lead. In the final 7:16, Rasheen Ali then scored on runs of 56 and 14 yards — his first 15 carries resulted in a combined 6 yards.
"They have an outstanding defense," Clark said. "Their defensive line plays very physical and their linebackers get downhill. They play tight coverage, and you have to earn your way down the field. We saw it in the Marshall game."
The tackling of App State's defense improved significantly from Week 1 to Week 2, as the Mountaineers swarmed to the ball with more consistency than they had shown against Gardner-Webb. Employing a game plan that took more away from high-profile quarterback Drake Maye, who threw for 208 yards and no touchdowns, App State did allow 319 rushing yards, including 234 from Omarion Hampton.
Jordan Favors delivered several big hits, while sacks came from the likes of defensive end
Michael Fletcher and outside linebacker
Brendan Harrington, who suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Caden Sullivan is expected to move into the starting role at the "Anchor" spot.
An ECU offense with four returning starters has been directed by a new starting quarterback in 6-foot-5 Mason Garcia, a fourth-year sophomore who made one start as a true freshman in 2020 as the top backup to multi-year starter and recent Seattle Seahawks player Holton Ahlers.
Garcia has completed 21 of 41 passes for 142 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions through two games, and he leads the Pirates with 154 rushing yards on 24 attempts, good for a per-carry average of 6.4 yards. He had a 57-yard keeper while gaining 118 yards on 16 attempts against Marshall.
"If the pass wasn't there, he could tuck it down and run, and they have designed runs for him," Clark said. "That's always difficult when you have a running quarterback. You have to be gap-sound in the run game but also account for the quarterback. I know our defense has a challenge in front of them."
