GREENVILLE, N.C. — App State Football hits the road for its first away game of 2026, as the Mountaineers (1-0) will face East Carolina (0-1) on Saturday at noon in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
The game is being shown on ESPNU, and
tickets are still available for App State fans interested in traveling to Greenville.
This matchup concludes a four-game series that was agreed upon nearly a decade ago. The first two games were officially home games for App State, which won 33-19 in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium in 2021 and 43-28 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone in 2023. The Mountaineers erased a 16-0 deficit in a 21-19 victory at ECU in 2024.
App State and ECU started this season under different circumstances. The Mountaineers rolled to a 55-3 home victory against FCS program Maine to begin head coach
Dowell Loggains' second season, while the Pirates lost 48-10 at No. 12 Alabama, so it's harder to make evaluations based on the one-sided nature of those openers.
A defense coordinated by
DJ Smith didn't allow Maine to produce a first down until the final three minutes of the first half, and the Mountaineers didn't commit a defensive penalty in the game.
Caleb Pitts followed a
Caleb Sandstrom sack with an interception for App State's first takeaway of the season, and
Dre Walker's quarterback pressure contributed to a downfield interception in one-on-one coverage by versatile linebacker
Colton Phares, who also had a sack. Phares and two newcomers at linebacker (
Alex Mitchell,
Carson Sloan) combined for 15 tackles against a Maine offense that ran 60 plays.
ECU head coach Blake Harrell's staff has a pair of new coordinators following a 9-4 season in 2025. New offensive coordinator Jordan Davis arrived in Greenville after coordinating the offense for a 12-2 North Texas team that led the nation in points per game (44.8) and offensive yards per game (504.3).
With some uncertainty surrounding Saturday availability, the Pirates possess a talented receiver group comprised of returners from ECU's 2025 team and first-year transfers, coming from spots like North Texas and Miami, to catch passes from quarterback Mitch Griffis. Another North Texas transfer, running back Ashton Gray, is a preseason all-league selection.
Griffis spent four seasons at Wake Forest, playing on the same field as Clemson's Trevor Lawrence in 2020 before eventually making 10 starts in 2023. Griffis transferred to Marshall in 2024 and then stepped away from football, working a job in construction for the last half of that year and returning to the sport in 2025 as a Texas Tech backup who appeared in seven games.
Making his debut as App State's quarterback and as an FBS starter, with
Mike Anthony in his first year as an FBS offensive coordinator,
Malachi Singleton completed 22 of 24 passes for three touchdowns and 291 yards in less than three full quarters of work against Maine. The Mountaineers' four rushing touchdowns came from two running backs and two receivers, while receiver
Sam Pickett III had two touchdown catches and tight end
Darrin Fugitt scored on Singleton's other touchdown pass. Five App State tight ends combined to make 12 catches for 164 yards, and 12 different Mountaineers caught at least one pass.
ECU's defensive coordinator for the matchups with App State in 2021, 2023 and 2024, Harrell took over as the Pirates' interim head coach a little over a month after the Mountaineers won that September 2024 meeting in Greenville. Josh Aldridge coordinated the 2025 defense with Harrell leading the program as the full-time head coach, and Alridge's departure for USF preceded Jordon Hankins heading to ECU from Memphis, where he had spent five seasons, including the final two as the defensive coordinator for now-Arkansas head coach Ryan Silverfield.
Like Maine, the defensive line is considered a strength for ECU, headlined by preseason all-conference selection Jasiyah Robinson. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound Robinson began his career at Michigan State in 2020, had two tackles against App State in the Bank of America Stadium meeting in 2021 and posted 5.5 sacks last season.
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