# 2020 East Carolina Pirates football team

The 2020 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by second-year head coach Mike Houston, played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium as members of the American Athletic Conference.

## Schedule

East Carolina had games scheduled against Marshall, Norfolk State, and South Carolina, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 13 UCF | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ABC | L 28–51 | 305 |
| October 3 | 12:00 p.m. | at Georgia State* | Center Parc StadiumAtlanta, GA | ESPNU | L 29–49 | 3,823 |
| October 10 | 7:00 p.m. | at South Florida | Raymond James StadiumTampa, FL | ESPN+ | W 44–24 | 6,799 |
| October 17 | 12:00 p.m. | Navy | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPN2 | L 23–27 | 3,500 |
| October 30 | 8:00 p.m. | at Tulsa | Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman StadiumTulsa, OK | ESPN2 | L 30–34 | 0 |
| November 7 | 12:00 p.m. | Tulane | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPN+ | L 21–38 | 3,500 |
| November 13 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 7 Cincinnati | Nippert StadiumCincinnati, OH | ESPN2 | L 17–55 | 0 |
| November 21 | 12:00 p.m. | at Temple | Lincoln Financial FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | W 28–3 | 0 |
| November 28 | 12:00 p.m. | SMU | Dowdy–Ficklen StadiumGreenville, NC | ESPN+ | W 52–38 | 3,500 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

## Game summaries
### UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 13 Knights | 10 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 51 |
| Pirates | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UCF –27.5 | 77 |
| Statistics | UCF | East Carolina |
| First downs | 29 | 25 |
| Total yards | 632 | 459 |
| Rushing yards | 224 | 244 |
| Passing yards | 408 | 215 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Time of possession | 26:52 | 33:08 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| UCF | Passing | Dillon Gabriel | 32/47, 408 yards, 4 TDs |
| UCF | Rushing | Greg McCrae | 16 carries, 83 yards, 1 TD |
| UCF | Receiving | Johnny Richardson | 9 receptions, 150 yards, 2 TDs |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 14/29, 215 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Keaton Mitchell | 8 carries, 66 yards |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Audie Omotosho | 3 receptions, 56 yards |

### At Georgia State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 7 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
| • Panthers | 21 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 49 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ECU –1.5 | 70 |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Georgia State |
| First downs | 19 | 21 |
| Total yards | 286 | 485 |
| Rushing yards | 50 | 247 |
| Passing yards | 236 | 238 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 33:05 | 26:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 29/50, 236 yards, 3 INTs |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Tyler Snead | 1 carry, 31 yards, 1 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Tyler Snead | 11 receptions, 105 yards |
| Georgia State | Passing | Cornelious Brown | 18/28, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Georgia State | Rushing | Destin Coates | 23 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs |
| Georgia State | Receiving | Sam Pinckney | 7 receptions, 134 yards, 2 TDs |

### At South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Pirates | 17 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 44 |
| Bulls | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| USF –5.5 | 58 |
| Statistics | East Carolina | South Florida |
| First downs | 21 | 22 |
| Total yards | 432 | 398 |
| Rushing yards | 210 | 92 |
| Passing yards | 222 | 306 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 35:36 | 24:24 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 17/26, 222 yards, 3 TDs |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Rahjai Harris | 19 carries, 115 yards, 1 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | C. J. Johnson | 3 receptions, 99 yards, 2 TDs |
| South Florida | Passing | Jordan McCloud | 26/35, 298 yards |
| South Florida | Rushing | Johnny Ford | 8 carries, 44 yards, 2 TDs |
| South Florida | Receiving | Latrell Williams | 8 receptions, 93 yards |

### Navy

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Midshipmen | 7 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
| Pirates | 6 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| NAVY –3.5 | 55.5 |
| Statistics | Navy | East Carolina |
| First downs | 17 | 19 |
| Total yards | 318 | 372 |
| Rushing yards | 288 | 268 |
| Passing yards | 30 | 104 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 31:29 | 28:31 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Navy | Passing | Dalen Morris | 3/4, 30 yards, 1 INT |
| Navy | Rushing | Nelson Smith | 17 carries, 157 yards, 2 TDs |
| Navy | Receiving | Ryan Mitchell | 1 reception, 14 yards |
| East Carolina | Passing | Mason Garcia | 10/20, 104 yards |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Rahjai Harris | 22 carries, 172 yards, 1 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Tyler Snead | 4 receptions, 39 yards |

### At Tulsa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 7 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 30 |
| • Golden Hurricane | 3 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 34 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TUL –17 | 59.5 |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Tulsa |
| First downs | 27 | 25 |
| Total yards | 456 | 428 |
| Rushing yards | 126 | 175 |
| Passing yards | 330 | 253 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 35:09 | 24:51 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 38/50, 330 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Rahjai Harris | 21 carries, 118 yards |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Tyler Snead | 16 receptions, 108 yards, 1 TD |
| Tulsa | Passing | Zach Smith | 19/37, 253 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs |
| Tulsa | Rushing | T.K. Wilkerson | 18 carries, 89 yards, 2 TDs |
| Tulsa | Receiving | Keylon Stokes | 6 receptions, 90 yards, 1 TD |

### Tulane

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Green Wave | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Pirates | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| TULN –3.5 | 63.5 |
| Statistics | Tulane | East Carolina |
| First downs | 24 | 20 |
| Total yards | 493 | 386 |
| Rushing yards | 277 | 35 |
| Passing yards | 216 | 351 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:59 | 29:01 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Tulane | Passing | Michael Pratt | 22/34, 216 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
| Tulane | Rushing | Cameron Carroll | 6 carries, 129 yards, 2 TDs |
| Tulane | Receiving | Duece Watts | 5 receptions, 57 yards, 2 TDs |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 27/43, 351 yards, 3 TDs |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Rahjai Harris | 13 carries, 27 yards |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Blake Proehl | 13 receptions, 182 yards, 2 TDs |

### At Cincinnati

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Pirates | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • No. 7 Bearcats | 7 | 28 | 7 | 13 | 55 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| CIN –27.5 | 56.5 |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Cincinnati |
| First downs | 23 | 29 |
| Total yards | 293 | 653 |
| Rushing yards | 206 | 299 |
| Passing yards | 87 | 354 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 29:50 | 30:10 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 9/20, 87 yards, 3 INTs |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Keaton Mitchell | 17 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Keaton Mitchell | 1 reception, 26 yards |
| Cincinnati | Passing | Desmond Ridder | 24/31, 327 yards, 3 TDs |
| Cincinnati | Rushing | Desmond Ridder | 8 carries, 75 yards, 1 TD |
| Cincinnati | Receiving | Tre Tucker | 4 receptions, 69 yards, 1 TD |

### At Temple

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Pirates | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| Owls | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ECU –7 | 53 |
| Statistics | East Carolina | Temple |
| First downs | 16 | 10 |
| Total yards | 447 | 235 |
| Rushing yards | 265 | 140 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 95 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Time of possession | 25:06 | 34:54 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 11/22, 182 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Keaton Mitchell | 13 carries, 103 yards |
| East Carolina | Receiving | C. J. Johnson | 3 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD |
| Temple | Passing | Kamal Gray | 10/21, 95 yards, 2 INTs |
| Temple | Rushing | Tayvon Ruley | 14 carries, 48 yards |
| Temple | Receiving | David Martin–Robinson | 1 reception, 30 yards |

### SMU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Mustangs | 7 | 0 | 17 | 14 | 38 |
| • Pirates | 21 | 24 | 0 | 7 | 52 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| SMU –12.0 | 72 |
| Statistics | SMU | East Carolina |
| First downs | 26 | 28 |
| Total yards | 384 | 493 |
| Rushing yards | 70 | 160 |
| Passing yards | 314 | 333 |
| Turnovers | 3 | 2 |
| Time of possession | 29:43 | 30:17 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| SMU | Passing | Shane Buechele | 35/50, 314 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs |
| SMU | Rushing | Ulysses Bentley IV | 12 carries, 36 yards |
| SMU | Receiving | Austin Upshaw | 8 receptions, 78 yards |
| East Carolina | Passing | Holton Ahlers | 20/29, 298 yards, 4 TDs |
| East Carolina | Rushing | Keaton Mitchell | 20 carries, 68 yards, 1 TD |
| East Carolina | Receiving | Blake Proehl | 6 receptions, 152 yards, 2 TDs |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 4 | 139 | D'Ante Smith | OT | Cincinnati Bengals |