Navy (4-5, 3-3 AAC) vs. East Carolina (2-8, 1-5 AAC)
When	Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023 | 12:00 pm (ET)
Location	Annapolis, Md. | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Parking & Fan Guide
Television	ESPNEWS (Mike Corey, Dustin Fox)
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 (Norfolk, Va.) | WJGM 105.7 GM (Jacksonville, Fla.) | Satellite: Sirius 158 or 204, SXM App 967 | 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 11th time on the gridiron and for the seventh time as conference foes when the two square off on Saturday afternoon (12 noon) on Senior Day at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000) in Annapolis. Saturday's contest is presented by First Command. Navy won last year's Senior Day game 27-20 over Temple in overtime.
•    Navy leads the all-time series against ECU 8-2, including a 5-1 mark in American Athletic Conference games. However, both of ECU's wins have come at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium as Navy is just 3-2 against the Pirates in Annapolis. ECU ruined Navy's Senior Day in 2021 with a 38-35 victory. Last year, Navy won in Greenville 23-20 in double overtime.
•    Navy, picked 9th in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll, enters Saturday's game in a three-way tie for 5th place with South Florida and Florida Atlantic.
•    Navy will play the longest regular-season schedule in the country this year. The Mids played the nation's first regular-season college football game of the season on August 26 against Notre Dame at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland and will play the final regular-season game of the year on Dec. 9 vs. Army at Gillette Stadium in New England.
•    Navy needs to beat ECU and SMU to become bowl eligible. The Army game is after bowl selections are announced.
•    The Mids will have an opportunity to garner a share of the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy with a win over Army thanks to the Black Knights' 23-3 upset over Air Force.
•    Navy is 1 of 2 schools (Arizona State) in the FBS to start 4 different quarterbacks this fall: Tai Lavatai (Sr.), Blake Horvath (So.), Braxton Woodson (Fr.) and Xavier Arline (Sr.). Navy and Duke are the only two schools in the FBS to win a game with 3 different starting quarterbacks (Lavatai vs. Wagner and Charlotte, Horvath vs. North Texas, Arline vs. UAB).
•    Navy has won 67-consecutive home games when leading after 3 quarters, which is the longest streak in the country. The last time Navy lost at home when leading after 3 quarters was against Akron in 1999.
•    Navy's 12:44 scoring drive, capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Daba Fofana (Jr. / FB), that started in the third quarter and ended in the fourth quarter against UAB was the longest scoring drive by a Navy team in terms of time since the Mids' epic 26-play, 94-yard, 14:26 drive that ended in a field goal against New Mexico in the 2004 Emerald Bowl.
•    Penalties have hurt the Mids this year, especially in American Athletic Conference games. In its 6 conference games  (Memphis, USF, North Texas, Charlotte, Temple and UAB), Navy has been called for 39 penalties, while the opposition has been called for just 13, with 10 of those being called against Charlotte and UAB (5 each). North Texas was the first Navy opponent not to be penalized in a game since Army in the 2016 Army-Navy Game presented by USAA, while Temple pulled off the same feat last week.
•    Navy's 737 wins rank 25th on the all-time FBS wins list.
•    Navy has 6 touchdown drives under 1:00 this year, tied for the 7th most in the country.
•    A win on Saturday against ECU would give Navy 5 wins on the year, the most since going 11-2 in 2019.
•    Donald Berniard Jr. (Sr. / NG) has started 39-straight games for Navy. That is the second-longest streak in the FBS for an interior defensive lineman and the longest streak by a nose guard. He has started every game in which he has played.
•    Landon Robinson (So. / NG) is the only nose guard in the country to play on the kickoff team.
•    Riley Riethman's (Jr. / P) 43.8 career average is the best average in school history. He is averaging 44.7 yards per punt this season which would be the second-best mark in school history if he can maintain it.
•    Navy is 1 of 7 schools to record 2 shutouts this year.
•    Navy's defense is 2nd in the the nation in fumbles recovered with 11.
•    Navy's 3 interceptions thrown are the 4th fewest in the country.
•    Navy's 7 turnovers lost his year is the 6th fewest in the country.
•    Navy is 2nd in the country in turnover margin at +1.33.
•    Navy's red zone defense is 2nd in the country, allowing opponents to score just 65 percent of the time.
•    Navy is 10th in the country in rushing offense, averaging 205.4 yards per game.
•    Xavier McDonald (Sr. / Striker) is tied for 8th in the country in forced fumbles per game (0.33), while Luke Pirris (So. / Raider) is 3rd in fumbles recovered with 3.   
•    Alex Tecza (So. / FB) is tied for 8th in the nation in rushing yards per carry (6.9).
•    Rayuan Lane III (Jr. / S) is 9th in the nation in interceptions (4) and tied for 9th in passes defended per game (1.2).
•    The ECU defense has 3 defensive touchdowns which are the 9th most in the country.
•    The ECU offense has lost just 2 fumbles this year, a mark that ranks 6th nationally.

Scouting East Carolina
2-8 Overall  |  1-5 AAC
Head Coach: Mike Houston

•    Like UAB, East Carolina enters Saturday's game at Navy coming off an upset of Florida Atlantic (22-7).
•    The Pirates have been playing outstanding defense all year, but especially as of late. Two weeks ago, they nearly knocked off nationally-ranked Tulane, falling 13-10.
•    The East Carolina defense ranks 9th in the country in defensive touchdowns (3), 15th in fourth down defense (.353), 15th in fumbles recovered (8), 18th in tackles for loss (6.9 per gm), 20th in red zone defense (.758) and 25th in rushing defense (114.3).
•    The ECU defense is led by senior defensive back Julius Wood (72 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 2 INTs), a transfer from Blinn Community College, and Georgia Southern transfer junior linebacker Michael Edwards III (50 tackles, 7 TFLs).  Senior outside linebacker Jeremy Lewis is 12th in the country in fumbles recovered with 2.
•    Redshirt junior quarterback Alex Flinn has completed 123 of his 234 passes for 1,219 yards with 4 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
•    Flinn's favorite targets are senior wide receiver Jaylen Johnson (38 catches, 421 yds and 1 TD), a Georgia transfer, and freshman wide receiver Chase Sowell (36 catches, 452 yds and 1 TD), a transfer from Colorado.
•    Junior running back Rahjai Harris leads the ground attack with 341 rushing yards on 107 carries and 4 touchdowns.  Sophomore quarterback Mason Garcia is second on the team in rushing with 227 rushing yards on 50 carries.
•    ECU is 6th in the country in fewest fumbles lost (2).
•    Sophomore kicker Andrew Conrad is 19th in the country in field goals per game (1.6 per contest). He tied an NCAA record last week against FAU, making 5 field goals all over 40 yards (46, 47, 43, 46, 40).
•    Freshman defensive lineman Preston Carr is a transfer from the Naval Academy Prep School, while junior punter David Chapeau is a transfer from the Air Force Academy. ECU has 33 transfers on its roster, including 23 from the FBS.

Game Day Timeline
•    9:30-9:40 am - The Navy football team will arrive at the Blue Angel on the West (Blue) side of the stadium. The team will walk down the sidewalk and through NavyFest before walking to the tunnel. Fans are invited to stand on both sides of the sidewalk to cheer on the players.
•    11:36 am - March-on of the Brigade of Midshipmen
•    11:46:30 am - National Anthem, followed by a flyover
•    Saturday's flyover will feature two F/A-18F Super-hornets from the "Jolly Rogers" of VFA-103, based out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va. Piloting the lead aircraft will be Lt. Michael "Longshot" Segalla, USNA Class of 2015 and his Weapons Systems Officer Lt. Brett "Inchworm" Kraft, USNA Class of 2017.  The wingman aircraft will be piloted by Lt. Alex "LOSABI" Holloway, USNA Class of 2017, and his Weapons Systems Officer Lt. Tyson "FNG" Stickler, USNA Class of 2019. Providing ground control and support for the flyover will be Lt. Tommy "Riddle" Sears, USNA Class of 2016. The "Jolly Rogers" are one of the most recognizable squadrons in fighter aviation, sporting their famous Skull and Crossbones on black tails.  
•    11:50 - Senior Salute
•    11:58:20 pm - Navy will take the field with East Carolina to follow
•    12:02 pm - Kickoff  
•    1st/2nd Quarter Break - The 2022-23 men's rugby team will be honored. In its first season as a varsity program, the team compiled an 18-0 record and won the Division I-A National Championship. Navy outscored its opponents 760-208 and posted an average margin of victory of 30.6 points. Navy's offense averaged 6.2 tries per match and only surrendered 1.2 tries per contest defensively. The Mids won 8 games against opponents ranked in the top 20 of the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) power rankings and outscored their ranked foes 274-128.
•    Halftime - The Naval Academy Drum and Bugle Corps will perform.
•    3rd/4th Quarter Break - The pilots from the pregame flyover will be recognized
•    Postgame - Navy's alma mater, Navy Blue & Gold, will be played as the team stands at attention in front of the Brigade of Midshipmen. It is one of the best traditions in all of sports.

Broadcast Coverage
•    ESPNEWS will have the TV coverage with Mike Corey and Dustin Fox 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 11:00 am on the Navy Radio Network, followed by game action beginning at 12 noon 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.

Senior Day
•    Saturday marks the final home game for Navy's 25 senior players. Navy will honor its seniors and their families in a pregame ceremony.

Xavier Arline: QB / Wading River, N.Y.
Donald Berniard Jr.: NG / Baton Rouge, La.
Chaisen Buckner: LB / Chatsworth, Ga.
Jacob Busic: DE / Westminster, Md.
Willie Collins V: CB / Mansfield, Texas
Khalil Crawford: FB / Prattville, Ala.
Clay Cromwell: DT / Oxford, Miss.
Eavan Gibbons: Striker / San Diego, Calif.
Sam Glover: OT / Pickerington, Ohio
Will Harbour: LB / Frisco, Texas
Daniel Jones: SB / Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Tai Lavatai: QB / St. Johns, Fla.
Xavier McDonald: Striker / St. Petersburg, Fla.
John Meagher: WR / Oxford, Miss.
Marcus Moore: FS / Houston, Texas
Lirion Murtezi: C / Pittsburgh, Pa.
Colin O'Connor: WR / Great Falls, Va.
Joshua Pena: OG / Queen Creek, Ariz.
Mike Petrof: OT / Ligonier, Pa.
Kai Puailoa-Rojas: SB / Santa Barbara, Calif.
Akalea Kapono: TE / Kailua, Hawai'i
Jayden Umbarger: WR / Baltimore, Md.
Evan Warren: K / Finksburg, Md.
Camari Williams: WR / Fayetteville, N.C.
Cole Williams: LS / Warrior, Ala.