2008 East Carolina Pirates football team

The 2008 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. and plays their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fifth year with the program.

2008 East Carolina Pirates football
C-USA champion
C-USA East Division champion
Liberty Bowl, L 19–25 vs. Kentucky
ConferenceConference USA
DivisionEast
2008 record9–5 (6–2 C-USA)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorSteve Shankweiler (4th in succession, 14th overall season)
Co-offensive coordinatorTodd Fitch (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorGreg Hudson (4th season)
Base defenseMultiple
Home stadiumDowdy–Ficklen Stadium
(Capacity: 43,000)
2008 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
East Carolina x$  6 2     9 5  
Memphis  4 4     6 7  
Southern Miss  4 4     7 6  
UAB  3 5     4 8  
UCF  3 5     4 8  
Marshall  3 5     4 8  
West Division
Tulsa xy  7 1     11 3  
Rice x  7 1     10 3  
Houston  6 2     8 5  
UTEP  4 4     5 7  
Tulane  1 7     2 10  
SMU  0 8     1 11  
Championship: East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • y Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The Pirates have a local television contract with WITN-TV, an NBC affiliate located in Washington, North Carolina who elects to pick up games that are not picked up by national or regional networks, and all games are broadcast over the radio on the Pirate-ISP Sports Network. The flagship radio stations of the Pirates are Pirate Radio 1250 and 930 AM and Oldies 107.9 WNCT, both located in Greenville, North Carolina. The games are called by the "Voice of the Pirates", Jeff Charles.

Before the season

The annual Purple-Gold Spring Game was held on April 12, 2008 during the Pigskin Pigout weekend activities in downtown Greenville, North Carolina. The "Pirates" team defeated the "East Carolina" team 13-3 as the game was called off due to inclement weather.[1]

Recruiting

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 3012:00 pmvs. No. 17 Virginia Tech*ESPNW 27–2272,169
September 64:30 pmNo. 8 West Virginia*ESPNW 24–343,610
September 133:00 pmat TulaneNo. 14WITN–TVW 28–2427,189
September 2012:00 pmat North Carolina State*No. 15ESPNL 24–30 OT57,583
September 273:30 pmHoustonNo. 23
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, North Carolina
CBSCSL 24–4143,641
October 1112:00 pmat Virginia*LFSL 20–3552,398
October 1812:00 pmMemphis
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, North Carolina
WITN–TV/CSSW 30–1041,216
November 28:00 pmat UCFESPNW 13–10 OT40,202
November 83:30 pmMarshall
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, North Carolina
CBSCSW 19–16 OT43,515
November 153:00 pmat Southern MissWITN–TVL 3–2130,658
November 224:00 pmat UABWITN–TV/CSSW 17–1311,453
November 291:00 pmUTEP
  • Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
  • Greenville, North Carolina
CBSCSW 53–2138,098
December 612:00 pmat TulsaESPN2W 27–2422,740
January 24:00 pmvs. Kentucky*ESPNL 19–2556,125
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

Staff

Position Name Year at ECU Alma Mater
Head Coach:Skip Holtz4thNotre Dame '86
Offensive Coordinator/
Quarterbacks Coach:
Todd Fitch2ndOhio Wesleyan '86
Defensive Coordinator
Linebacker Coach:
Greg Hudson3rdNotre Dame '90
Offensive Coordinator
Offensive Linemen Coach:
Steve Shankweiler4th(14th overall)Davidson '74
Assistant Head Coach/
Defensive backs coach
Rick Smith4thFlorida State '71
Director of Strength & ConditioningMichael Golden3rdCentral Connecticut State '92
Defensive end coach/
Special Teams
Vernon Hargreaves2ndConnecticut '86
Wide receiver coach/
Recruiting Coordinator
Donnie Kirkpatrick4thLenoir-Rhyne '82
Tight ends coach:Phil Petty4thSouth Carolina '01
Director of HS Football RelationsHarold Robinson4thEast Carolina '72
Defensive tackle coachThomas Roggeman4thNotre Dame '85
Running backs coachJunior Smith4thEast Carolina '97
Director of OperationsClifford Snow3rdCentral Connecticut State '83
Staff Assistant/
Defense Coach
Tim Carter3rdTulane '01
Administrative Assistant to Coach HoltzCourtney Bishop--
Administrative AssistantAnn Coyle-East Carolina '06
Administrative AssistantRyan Ormond-North Carolina '02

Rankings

Ranking Movement[2]
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. ██ Selected for BCS National Championship Game.
PollPreWk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Final
AP NR 27 14 15 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 29 NR
Coaches NR 28 20 17 26 NR NR 42 NR NR NR NR NR NR 29 NR
Harris Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
BCS Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Game summaries

Virginia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total
#17 Virginia Tech 0 14 2 6 22
East Carolina 0 7 6 14 27

Recap: Week 1

The meeting on August 30 was the 14th meeting between these two teams. These two teams met last year for the first time since 2000. Virginia Tech won that meeting and lead the head-to-head record 9-4. After a blocked field goal placed the Hokies up 16-13 over the Pirates, T.J. Lee would return the favor by blocking a Hokie punt and running it back for the game-winning touchdown, leading the Pirates to their first victory over Virginia Tech since 1992. This was the first time since 2002 that a Conference USA team had defeated a ranked BCS-conference team,[3] and also made the Pirates the first C-USA team ever to defeat ranked teams in consecutive games (counting ECU's win over Boise State in last season's Hawaiʻi Bowl).

West Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total
#8 West Virginia 0 3 0 0 3
East Carolina 7 10 7 0 24

Recap: Week 2

The Mountaineers visited Greenville for the seventh time in school history, while the Pirates were looking for their first win against WVU in Greenville since September 30, 1995. Going into the game, West Virginia led in the overall matchup, 17-2.

ECU did not need any last-minute heroics to pull off their second straight upset over a ranked BCS-conference school. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney had an almost mistake-free game, going 22-for-28 through the air with a touchdown and no interceptions, while the Pirates defense kept WVU's normally high-powered offense out of the end zone (the first time since 2001 any WVU opponent had done so). The Pirates scored their first win over a top-10 team since beating Miami in 1999.[3]

Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total
#14 East Carolina 0 7 14 7 28
Tulane 0 7 14 3 24

Recap: Week 3

#14 East Carolina visited New Orleans for the first time since the 2003 football season. Before the game, the Pirates led the series against this conference foe, 7-2, with both losses occurring in the Louisiana Superdome.

For the first time in a long time, the Pirates went into a game with a national ranking, but suffered a sluggish start against the Green Wave, who the week prior had held Alabama to a single offensive touchdown. After a perfect game against the Mountaineers, the Pirates suffered four turnovers on offense as the defense struggled after losing senior Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton to a severe knee injury. With the Green Wave up 24-21 in the 4th, the offensive line rallied back. Patrick Pinkney completed a pass to Jamar Bryant for the touchdown and brought the Pirates up 28-24 with 1:28 remaining. Pierre Bell's interception on the next Tulane drive would end it as the Pirates managed to sail past the Green Wave with the final score 28-24.

North Carolina State

1 2 3 4OT Total
#15 East Carolina 7 7 7 30 24
North Carolina State 0 7 10 76 30

Recap: Week 4

After barely escaping past Tulane, #15 ECU visited their inter-state rival in the state capital for the 21st time in the 26 game history. NCSU won the previous years' game 34-20 in Greenville and lead the all-time record 15-10.

Injuries were a major factor in the outcome of this game, but despite only dressing 45 of its players for the game, the Wolfpack managed to come on top over the Pirates, who fell to 3-1 overall. The key loss of Defensive Linebacker Quentin Cotton, and the two missed touchdown opportunities in the red zone for the Pirates would lead to an Overtime showdown as the score was tied at the last second, 24-24.

The Pirates came up with nothing after the first offensive series in Overtime, as Quarterback Patrick Pinkney was sacked and fumbled the ball, setting up a Wolfpack touchdown that gave the Pirates their first loss of the 2008 season, the final score: 30-24. The next time the two schools meet was pushed back to the 2010 season, to accommodate the completion of East Carolina's upcoming stadium expansion.

Houston

1 2 3 4 Total
Houston 14 7 3 17 41
#23 East Carolina 7 3 7 7 24

Recap: Week 5

#23 East Carolina hosted Houston for their conference home opener at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. ECU won in a shootout last fall, 37-35. The Pirates led this Conference USA West opponent overall, five games to three, but disaster would strike for a second week in a row.

The Pirate defense was unable to stop Case Keenum's 399 yard passing attack and could not muster enough offense to match it. The high-scoring Houston offense never trailed as the Pirates went down for a second straight week, losing 41-24 and was knocked out of the Top 25.

Virginia

1 2 3 4 Total
East Carolina 6 0 7 7 20
Virginia 7 21 0 7 35

Recap: Week 7

Coming off of their first bye week, East Carolina traveled to Charlottesville for the second time in this three game history. ECU beat this ACC member in Greenville in 2006, 31-21, and led the overall series 2-0.

After going up on the board early 6-0, Virginia would rally back to make the score 28-6 at halftime. A Pirate rally in the second half would be cut short as a fumble and botched punt were recovered by the Cavaliers. The Pirates would go on to lose to Virginia for the first time in this series' history, 35-20.

Memphis

1 2 3 4 Total
Memphis 7 3 0 0 10
East Carolina 0 7 13 10 30

Recap: Week 8

For ECU's second home conference game, they played the Tigers of Memphis. East Carolina won last fall's game 56-40 at the Liberty Bowl, in Memphis. In the 16 previous games played between these teams, the Pirates led the Tigers 10-6.

UCF

1 2 3 4OT Total
East Carolina 0 0 3 73 13
UCF 3 7 0 00 10

Recap: Week 10

East Carolina traveled to the Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando for the third time in this series. The Pirates led the series six games to one.

Marshall

1 2 3 4OT Total
Marshall 0 3 6 70 16
East Carolina 3 10 3 03 19

Recap: Week 11

The Thundering Herd traveled to North Carolina for the fifth time in this storied series. After the 1970 contest, Marshall's plane crashed while traveling back to Huntington. The 2001 GMAC Bowl is the highest-scoring bowl game in Division I-A (now Division I FBS) history. Marshall won 64-61 in two overtimes. The Pirates led the series 6-3.

Southern Miss

1 2 3 4 Total
East Carolina 0 3 0 0 3
Southern Miss 0 7 0 14 21

Recap: Week 12

Southern Miss hosted East Carolina in the 34th meeting of these two teams. Of the 33 games in the history of the series, the Pirates have won only eight times.

UAB

1 2 3 4 Total
East Carolina 7 0 3 7 17
UAB 7 0 3 3 13

Recap Week 13

The Pirates traveled to Birmingham for the fourth time to face the Blazers. Before this game, East Carolina had never won a road contest at UAB's home field. UAB led the overall series 4-3.

UTEP

1 2 3 4 Total
UTEP 0 7 7 7 21
East Carolina 14 16 10 13 53

Recap Week 14

The Pirates welcome the Miners to Greenville for the first time ever. East Carolina and this Conference USA West opponent are meeting for the second time. The first meeting occurred last fall in El Paso, Texas. ECU won in overtime, 45-42 in the Sun Bowl.

2008 Conference USA Championship

1 2 3 4 Total
East Carolina 14 3 7 3 27
Tulsa 10 7 0 7 24

The Pirates, after clenching their division in a 17-13 win over the UAB Blazers, will be representing Conference USA East in a battle against the champion of the West division, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Tulsa clenched the division title with a win over Marshall and a Houston loss to Rice. Tulsa leads the all-time series against the Pirates, 5-2.

2009 Liberty Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total
Kentucky 0 0 17 0 17
East Carolina 0 10 7 0 17

After defeating Tulsa in the 2008 Conference USA Football Championship and winning their first Conference Championship in more than thirty years, the Pirates immediately accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl, which the team had not done in thirteen years. The last time East Carolina went to the Liberty Bowl was in 1995, where they defeated Stanford 19-13.

The Pirates faced Kentucky from the SEC and lost 17-20 after they went into overtime and lost by a field goal.

Postseason

NFL Draft picks

Awards

Honors

1st Team All C-USA
  • C. J. Wilson – Jr. DL
  • Van Eskridge – Jr. DB
2nd Team All C-USA
  • Sean Allen – Jr. OL
  • Pierre Bell – Sr. LB
C-USA Team Honorable Mentions
  • Davon Drew – Sr. TE
  • Linval Joseph – So. DL
  • Jay Ross – Jr. DL
  • Zack Slate – Sr. DL
  • Nick Johnson – Jr. LB
  • Wilson Raynor – Sr. LS
C-USA All Freshman Team

Statistics

Team

TeamOpp
Scoring328295
  Points per Game23.421.1
First Downs241232
  Rushing10488
  Passing126125
  Penalty1119
Total Offense47654662
  Avg per Play5.14.9
  Avg per Game340.4333.0
Fumbles-Lost27-1926-11
Penalties-Yards82-74262-484
  Avg per Game53.034.6
TeamOpp
Punts-Yards73-320775-3037
  Avg per Punt43.940.5
Time of Possession/Game30:3829:22
3rd Down Conversions76/20675/212
4th Down Conversions9/1610/21
Touchdowns Scored3838
Field Goals-Attempts-Long22-3513-25
PAT-Attempts34-3732-36
Attendance210080242223
  Games/Avg per Game5/420167/34603
  Neutral Site Avg2/64147

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4OT Total
East Carolina 68 86 90 786 328
Opponents 48 96 58 876 295

Rushing

NameGPAttGainLossNetAvgTdLongAvg/g
Whitley, Norman14142722246984.946949.9
Simmons, Brandon14134484104743.572833.9
Williams, Jonathan775409293805.156854.3
Rogers, J.R.1033150161344.102513.4
Harris, Dwayne1019826764.00157.6
Pinkney, Patrick1490222172500.61143.6
Bowman, Michael513033.0030.6
Gidrey, Kevin1412022.0020.1
Simmons, Jason1320000.0000.0
Ballard, Darnell1102-2-2.000-2.0
Kass, Rob793638-2-0.2020-0.3
Sloan, Joe14106-6-6.000-0.4
Freeney, Darryl141010-10-10.000-0.7
Team69028-28-3.100-4.7
Total14518211034117693.41769126.4

Passing

NameGPEfficAtt-cmp-intPctYdsTdLngAvg/g
Pinkney, Patrick14131.3223-363-761.426751380191.1
Kass, Rob7101.025-54-246.332124245.9
Drew, Davon140.00-1-00.00000.0
Harris, Dwayne100.00-0-00.00000.0
Total14127.1248-418-959.329961580214.0

Receiving

NameGPNo.YdsAvgTDLongAvg/G
Harris, Dwayne105865411.315265.4
Drew, Davon144369516.234249.6
Simmons, Brandon14271726.434212.3
Taylor, Alex142331013.514722.1
Freeney, Darryl142235216.028025.1
Bryant, Jamar51921611.433543.2
Womack, Joe91723013.504125.6
Lee, T.J.7913615.104119.4
Whitley, Norman1478311.91515.9
Rogers, J.R.106162.7091.6
Williams, Jonathan75193.80102.7
Gidrey, Kevin144266.51131.9
Willis, Reyn1234414.70243.7
Bowman, Michael522010.00154.0
Kraemer, J.R.14133.0030.2
Terrell, T.J.5133.0030.6
Total14247297912.11580212.8

Defense

Name GP Tackles Sacks Pass Defense Fumbles Blkd
Kick
Safety
SoloAstTotalTFL-YdsNo-YdsInt-YdsBrUpPDQBHRcv-YdsFF
Johnson, Nick14554710210.0-321.0-172-253531-51..
Bell, Pierre1357431009.5-321.0-122-05722-01..
Eskridge, Van145938971.0-2.4-8937.1-42..
Wilson, C.J.1435357018.5-8410.5-61.115.11.
Chambliss, Jeremy142238606.0-201.0-7.221....
Ross, Jay141830489.5-435.0-34...42-5.1.
Slate, Zack132523489.0-645.0-38.115.3..
Milbrook, J.J.132225472.0-6.2-479.1-261..
Davis, Emanuel142718452.5-8.4-5881211-01..
Joseph, Linval142221438.0-342.5-23.111.12.
Best, Leon13212142..1-512..2..
Marshall, Dekota142615411.5-2.1-0671....
Simmons, Travis14171330..2-7224.1-40...
Mattocks, Chris141118290.5-1..11..1..
Smith, Josh11810182.0-31.0-2...1....
Lineback, Dustin1413518......1-0...
Robinson, Scotty10107171.5-61.0-6.11.....
Perryman, Cliff9511161.5-5.........
Mitchell, Khalif7610163.0-91.0-6...1....
Reynolds, Darryl1012315..........
Cotton, Quentin369151.5-81.5-82-2035.....
Hewett, Jerek694131.0-1.1-523..1..
Hands, Marcus637100.5-1....11-0...
Blacknall, Derek13358..........
Wallace, Devon8437..........
Mack, Dalvon7336..........
Thompson, Matt9145..........
Patterson, Mel7145..........
Carter, Julian11325..........
Spence, Steve14314..........
Jones, Robert92242.0-80.5-4...1....
Willis, Reyn12134..........
Kraemer, J.R.14314..........
Von Bargen, Kurtis8224..........
Pick, Matt2.33..........
Haynes, Austin5213...11.....
Lee, T.J.72.2........1.
Allison, Antonio8112.....1....
Mercer, Maurice52.2..........
Raynor, Wilson14112..........
Dodge, Matt142.2..........
Scott, D.J.13.11..........
Palmer, Doug141.1..........
Simmons, Jason13.11..........
McFadden, D.J.6.11..........
Rogers, J.R.101.1..........
Bryant, Jamar5.11..........
Taylor, Alex141.1..........
Freeney, Darryl141.1..........
Simmons, Brandon141.1..........
Drew, Davon14.11..........
Harris, Dwayne101.1..........
Hampton, Spencer2.....1-0.1.....
Total14531492102391-36931-21722-27848702811-80155.

Special teams

Name Punting Kickoffs
No.YdsAvgLongTBFCI2050+Blkd No.YdsAvgTBOB
Dodge, Matt73320743.9731382025071423159.645
Hartman, Ben15454.000
Total73320743.9731382025072428559.545
Field Goals
NameMade-AttPct01-1920-2930-3940-4950-99LongBlkd
Ryan, Ben1-333.30-00-00-11-20-0420
Dodge, Matt0-10.00-00-00-00-10-000
Hartman, Ben21-3167.70-08-88-114-101-2510
Name Punt Returns Kick Returns
No.YdsAvgTDLongNo.YdsAvgTDLong
Simmons, Travis1314711.3028
Freeney, Darryl13957.3025
Milbrook, J.J.2-11-5.502
Lee, T.J.13737.012735217.3025
Harris, Dwayne1944623.5059
Bowman, Michael1023523.5061
Williams, Jonathan712918.4037
Lineback, Dustin22512.5014
Gidrey, Kevin11010.0010
Hewett, Jerek166.006
Kraemer, J.R.155.005
Taylor, Alex14040.0140
Mack, Dalvon1-2-2.000
Rogers, J.R.13636.0036
Total342587.604662150624.3196

Notes

  1. ECU Athletics (April 12, 2009). "ECU Ends Spring With Purple-Gold Game". ECUPirates.com. Retrieved September 10, 2008.
  2. It is possible to receive votes in certain polls but not be officially ranked in the Top 25. Rankings of 26 and greater indicate the team has received votes, but not enough to be featured in the Top 25.
  3. "East Carolina controls West Virginia from start to finish". ESP. Associated Press. September 6, 2008. Archived from the original on September 10, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
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