Navy (0-2, 0-1 AAC) at East Carolina (2-1, 0-0 AAC)
When	Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 | 6:00 pm (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium | Game Day & Parking Information
Television	ESPN+ (Richard Cross, Jay Sonnhalter)
Live Video Stream	ESPN+
Listen	Navy Football Radio Network (Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff) WBAL 1090 AM / 101.5 FM (Baltimore) | WFED 820 AM, 94.3 FM (Frederick, Md.) | WFED 1500 AM (Washington, D.C.) | WFED 104.5 FM (Western Fairfax / Loudon, Va.) | WNAV 1430 AM, 99.9 FM (Annapolis) | KWFN 97.3 FM (San Diego) | WGH 1310 AM / 100.9 FM / 97.3 HD2-3 (Norfolk, Va.) | Satellite: Sirius, XM 111 or 202, SXM App 965 | Apps: Audacy (WNAV) and TuneIn (WBAL)
Live Stats	Navy Athletics
Game Notes	Navy | East Carolina | AAC
Season Statistics	Navy | East Carolina | AAC
Social Media	@NavyAthletics | @NavyFB | Facebook | Instagram

Opening Kick
•    Navy and East Carolina meet for the 10th time on the gridiron when the two square off on Saturday (6:00 pm ET) at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000). Navy leads the all-time series 7-2 with East Carolina winning last year's contest 38-35 on Owen Daffer's 54-yard field goal at the gun. Navy is 4-0 all-time in Greenville.
•    Saturday's game matches two of the active leaders in career coaching wins among the FBS. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo ranks 22nd with 105 wins, while East Carolina's Mike Houston stands 25th with 97. Niumatalolo is also one of eight active coaches who is the all-time winningest coach at the school he is currently coaching. All 105 of his wins have come at Navy.
•    Navy and East Carolina are two of the top rushing defenses in the country.  Navy enters Saturday's game ranked fourth, giving up just 52.0 yards per game on the ground, while ECU is #20, allowing just 83.7 rushing yards per game.  
•    Navy and ECU are two of the least penalized teams in the country. Navy is ranked sixth in fewest penalties (3.5 per game) and 12th in penalty yards per game (35.0), while ECU is third in penalties per game (3.3) and sixth in penalty yards per game (29.7).
•    This is the 142nd year of Navy football. The Mids have produced an all-time record of 729-587-57.
•    The 729 wins are the 25th most in history among schools in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPN+ will carry Saturday's game with Richard Cross and Jay Sonnhalter on the call.
•    The Navy Football Pregame Show with Pete Medhurst, Joe Miller, Keith Mills, Scott Wykoff and special commentary from John Feinstein will get underway at 5:00 pm on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 6:00 pm with Medhurst, Miller and Mills on the call.
•    Following the contest, Medhurst, Miller, Mills and Wykoff will recap the day's events in a 30-minute postgame show.

Scouting East Carolina
2-1 Overall  |  0-0 AAC
Head Coach: Mike Houston

•    East Carolina is off to a 2-1 start which includes a rout over Old Dominion (39-21) and a dominating win over FCS member Campbell (49-10). The Pirates' only loss was by 1 point to then #13 NC State (21-20) in a game ECU should have won. Normally reliable kicker Owen Daffer missed an extra-point and a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter as the Wolfpack hung on for the win. Daffer made a career-long 54-yard field goal at the gun to beat Navy last year 38-35.
•    The Pirates are a strong contender to win the AAC thanks to their potent backfield of quarterback Holton Ahlers and running backs Keaton Mitchell and Rahjai Harris. ECU is #23 in the country in total offense (495.3 yds/gm) and #23 in turnover margin (+1.0)
•    Ahlers is in his fifth year as the starting quarterback for the Pirates and is off to a great start, completing 67 of his 100 passes for 800 yards with 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Ahlers is one of the best quarterbacks in ECU and AAC history, as his 12,332 total yards are the most in school history. He needs just 86 yards to supplant Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder (12,418) at the top of the AAC list. Ahlers is also first in AAC career passing yards with 11,019 and holds AAC marks for passing attempts (1,934) and completions (879).
•    What makes ECU so dangerous is that if you pay too close attention to Ahlers, it will kill you on the ground with Mitchell and Harris. Mitchell has rushed for 381 yards and 3 touchdowns on 41 carries, while Harris has 4 rushing touchdowns and 123 yards on 41 carries. Mitchell is averaging 9.3 yards per carry.
•    East Carolina already has four players with double figure catches, led by Isaiah Winstead (17 catches for 259 yards) and C.J. Johnson (12 catches for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns).
•    The Pirates are one of 23 teams not to have lost a fumble yet this year and rank #13 in the country in time of possession (34:03).
•    The Pirate defense is led by Teagan Wilk and Juan Powell with 19 tackles each. Shaundre Mims has recorded 3 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks. ECU is #2 in the country in red zone defense (.500) and #20 in rushing defense (83.7 yds/gm).
•    East Carolina ranks 16th nationally in third down offense (.532) and 24th in third down defense (.270).
•    The Pirates have been extremely disciplined, ranking third in fewest penalties per game (3.3) and sixth in fewest penalty yards per game (29.7).
•    ECU's punt return defense is #1 in the nation, giving up -21 yards per return.
•    ECU has 34 transfers on its roster including players from Georgia, Oklahoma, North Carolina, West Virginia, Michigan State and Duke.

No Place Like the Road?
•    Navy has won 3 of its last 4 games away from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium: 17-13 over Army (12-11-21) at MetLife Stadium, 38-14 at Temple (11-27-21) and 20-17 at Tulsa (10-29-21). The only loss during that span was a 34-6 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame (11-6-21).

Going Home
•    Navy has 9 players from the state of North Carolina, including 3 that are currently listed on the depth chart.
•    Starting slot back Maquel Haywood hails from Wake Forest, second-team wide receiver Camari Williams is from Fayetteville, while second-team defensive end Justin Reed is from Apex.

Mids To Play Nation's Toughest Schedule in 2022
•    Navy's 12 opponents this fall put together a combined 100-52 record in 2021 (.658), making Navy's schedule the toughest in the country heading into the year based on last year's opponents' win-loss records.
•    The next-closest American Athletic Conference team is USF at #33 (85-66, .563). Army's schedule ranks 47th (82-69, .543) and Air Force's is 81st (76-75, .503).    
•     Ten of Navy's 12 opponents this season qualified in bowl games in 2021. Among those 10 opponents is AAC foe Cincinnati, who played Alabama in the College Football Playoffs. No team played the Bearcats closer in the regular season than Navy last year, who lost to Cincinnati 27-20 on Oct. 23 in Annapolis.

Taking Care of the Ball
•    Last year, Navy was a bit lucky when it came to fumbles, losing just 5 of its 21 fumbles on the year while the opponents lost 7 of their 16.
•    This year, the Mids have been decidedly unlucky, losing 4 of their 5 fumbles, while the opponents have lost just 1 of their 4 fumbles.  
•    Navy had just 2 total turnovers over the final 8 games last year. This fall, the Mids have turned it over 6 times in 2 games. Navy finished last year +6 in turnovers, while this year Navy is -5 in turnovers.
•    Navy is 14-32 in the Niumatalolo era when losing the turnover battle.

Navy Sack Exchange
•    Navy has recorded 9 sacks in its 2 games this season after recording just 16 sacks all of last year (12 gms).  
•    Junior defensive end Jacob Busic leads the Mids with 2.5 sacks, while senior striker John Marshall has 2. Seven different Mids have recorded at least a half a sack this season.
•    Navy is one of just nine teams to record at least 9 sacks in its first two games.

Narrow Victories
•    Since 2006, Navy has won 51 one-possession games, a mark that leads the country during that time period.  
•    The Mids are 0-1 in one-possession games this year, losing to Delaware by 7.