ECU-UNC Capsule
Game Day
Line: North Carolina favored by 17
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Date: Saturday, September 22, 2012
Time: 3:30 PM
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C. - Kenan Stadium (63,00)
TV: ESPNU (Watch Online)
Announcers: Anish Shroff (play-by-play) & Dan Hawkins (color analyst)
Radio: Tar Heel Sports Network; SiriusXM (Sirius 94, XM 191)
Announcers: Jones Angell (play-by-play), Rick Steinbacher (color analyst) & Lee Pace (sideline)
Weather: Chapel Hill Forecast
East Carolina At A Glance
Location: Greenville, North Carolina
Nickname: Pirates
Colors: Purple & Gold
Conference: Conference USA
Stadium: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000)
Surface: Natural Grass
2011 Record: 5-7 (4-4)
2012 Record: 2-1 (1-0)
LAST GAME
East Carolina: East Carolina enters Saturday's contest 2-1 overall with wins over
Appalachian State and Southern Miss. Its only loss came at nationally ranked South Carolina. Last week, ECU capitalized on three third-quarer Southern Miss turnovers for a 24-14 victory.
North Carolina: The homestanding Cardinals (3-0) withstood a furious rally by the visiting Tar Heels, who had a chance to take the lead in the fading minutes after trailing 36-7 at halftime. North Carolina (1-2) closed within 39-34 behind QB Bryn Renner's school-record tying five
touchdown passes, faced fourth-and-goal at the Louisville 3-yard line with 1:49 to play. But Renner just missed connecting with WR
Erik Highsmith in the back of the end zone, and Louisville held on.
East Carolina-North Carolina Series
Separated by approximately 100 miles, North Carolina and East Carolina will meet for
the 15th time Saturday. North Carolina won
last year's game in Greenville, 35-20. Bryn Renner threw four touchdown passes and Giovani Bernard ran for 146 yards and a score. Carolina scored the first 21 points and never looked back, rolling to 326 yards in the opening half and converting two early turnovers
into quick touchdowns.
In the last meeting in Chapel Hill, Carolina scored a 42-17 victory. Tailback Shaun Draughn rushed for 137 yards and scored three secondhalf touchdowns to power the offense. Johnny White also rushed for 140 yards as the Tar Heels rushed for 263 yards. Da'Norris Searcy led the defense with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown.
As head coach at Southern Miss, UNC's Larry Fedora posted a 2-2 mark against the Pirates with wins in 2011 (48-28) and 2008 (21-3). Fedora faced ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill twice during that time with Fedora winning in 2011 and McNeill pulling out a 44-43 victory in 2010.
Top 25 Rankings
East Carolina: AP: NR USA Today: NR
North Carolina: AP: NR USA Today: NR
Coaches
East Carolina: Ruffin McNeill (13-15 at ECU; 14-15 Overall)
North Carolina: Larry Fedora (1-2 at UNC; 35-21 Overall)
East Carolina-North Carolina Notes
ECU: ECU QB Shane Carden threw a 55-yard touchdown pass and ran 9 yards for another score in the Pirates' win over Southern Mississippi.
ECU: The Pirates have compiled an all-time record of 29-68-1 (.301)against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In addition to a 2-11-1 mark against North Carolina, the Pirates own an 11-16 ledger against NC State, 5-5 vs. Duke, 5-12 vs.Virginia Tech, 2-1 vs. Virginia, 2-6 vs. Wake Forest, 2-9 vs. Miami, 0-7 vs. Florida State and 0-1 vs. Maryland. The Pirates have dropped nine of the last 10 (since 2008) after capturing five wins in eight contests the previous three years
... ECU's 33-27 overtime decision against N.C. State on Oct.16, 2010 halted a six-game slide, which included earlier 2010 setbacks to Virginia Tech and North Carolina.
ECU: Only nine East Carolina players (3 skill offense/6 defense) have experienced action in at least two battles against North Carolina during their careers. A closer look:
OWR Dayon Arrington - 2 games, 1-9 receiving; OWR Andrew Bodenheimer - 3 games, 8-59 receiving; NG Michael Brooks - 3 games, 8 tackles (1 solo), 0.5 TFL, 1 PBU; RB/KR Michael
Dobson - 2 games, 2-33 KOR; CB Jacobi Jenkins - 3 games, 7 tackles (2 solo), 1 PBU; OLB Derrell Johnson - 2 games, 12 tackles (6 solo); FS Damon Magazu - 2 games, 6 tackles (3 solo);
DE Matt Milner - 2 games, 3 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL, 1 sack; CB Leonard Paulk - 3 games, 2 tackles (0 solo).
UNC: Junior QB Bryn Renner threw five touchdown passes in the Tar Heels' 39-34 loss to 19th-ranked Louisville. The total was a career-high for Renner and tied the North Carolina school mark originally set by Kevin Anthony against Wake Forest in 1985 and tied by Darian Durant against Arizona State in 2002.
UNC: North Carolina freshman RB Romar Morris (Salisbury, N.C.) had a career-high 5 catches for 149 yards, including TD catches of 44 and 50 yards in the Tar Heels' 39-34 loss to 19th-ranked Louisville.
UNC: Making his first start of the season, junior linebacker Tommy Heffernan finished with a career-high 13 tackles, including nine solo stops and four assists. He also recorded his first career sack with a 10-yard sack on Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater. Heffernan came to UNC as a walk-on from Miami, Fla., but earned a scholarship two seasons ago.
UNC: Sophomore TE Eric Ebron recorded his first career two-touchdown game with a 2-yard scoring reception in the third quarter and a 5-yard catch in the fourth. Ebron finished with five catches for
38 yards.
Team notes courtesy of the ACC, East Carolina and UNC Athletic Communications