The Bearcats (7-2, 4-1 AAC) welcome in the ECU Pirates (6-3, 3-2 AAC) to Nippert Stadium for Nipp at Night this Friday night at 8 pm. The Bearcats are coming off a 20-10 victory over Navy this past weekend as they bounced back after a hard-fought loss to UCF two weeks ago. The Pirates on the other hand are coming off a 34-13 victory over UCF back on October 22nd, as they come into this one with over two weeks to prepare for the Bearcats following the bye week as they have won their last three games while the Bearcats are set to prepare for the Pirates on a short week with only five days to prepare for the Pirates.
“They have played really well, especially at the end of the season over the last few seasons. We know what we know, we are going to get a great shot and with what we have seen on film and something even a little bit better. Regardless of if they are coming off the bye week or not, this has been a very unique one on both sides of the ball for years now,” said Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell.
The Pirates are led by quarterback Holton Ahlers who is entering his fifth season at the realm of the Pirates offense, but for Bearcats fans it seems a lot longer than those five seasons. Ahlers is known to sling the ball across the yard as he has thrown for 2,362 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season while completing a career high 70% of his passes heading into this matchup. Ahlers, however has thrown for roughly 13,000 yards in his career, (12,851) to be exact and has left his mark on the Eastern Carolina program over the last five seasons. Ahlers has led the Pirates to a Top 20 offense in the country as the Pirates currently rank 20th in the country in terms of offense as they average 467.2 yards of offense per game, which is ranked third in the American Athletic Conference.
The Pirates love to sling it across the yard as we mentioned as that is no secret, but they also love to get sophomore running back Keaton Mitchell going as well. Mitchell stands 5-foot-9, but has shown to be a dynamic weapon in the run game as he leads the American Athletic Conference in rushing yards with 863 yards and nine touchdowns on the season as he averages nearly 7.1 yards per carry for the Pirates. Mitchell has been a name to keep an eye on all season as Mitchell has rushed for 100 yards in the last three games for the Pirates where he averages 107.8 rushing yards per game. The Bearcats know the test at hand when it comes to stopping the run especially after a week where Navy ran the ball roughly 55 times due to the triple option play style. The Bearcats know they will have to find a way to contain Mitchell as he has the ability to get up through the tackles but also has the ability to beat you on the edges and bounce the ball outside for the homerun ball which is something he’s done quite a few times this season.
“He is a difference maker that is why he is leading the league in rushing. That is what makes him so unique, you see the big, long runs where he can circle the defense because of his electric speed and his quickness,” said Fickell.
