Meet Your Insider
Ahoy, shipmates! I'm Bartholomew Quidley, Bart to my friends, and I'm your East Carolina insider at The Cover Window. I'm a Pitt County native, and my family has tailgated the same spot in Greenville since before I could walk. I wear a purple tricorn hat for big games only, and I grade every opposing mascot's costume. Memphis, your tiger had better be brushed.
Here's my promise. Every number I give you has a source behind it. If I don't know something, I'll say so plainly rather than make up a tale. I respect every opponent, and I celebrate our players as people first. Arrr-guably the best fans anywhere are reading this right now. Hoist the colors.
The School in 60 Seconds
East Carolina played its first season in 1932. The Pirates have won seven conference championships and eleven bowl games, and they've produced 20 All-Americans. Four players have their jerseys retired. Except for the 1999 Miami game, the Pirates have played every home game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium since 1963. CFBD lists the stadium's capacity at 50,000 on natural grass. Today ECU plays in the American Conference at the FBS level.
The last five seasons have had real swells and troughs: 7-5 in 2021, 8-5 in 2022, a rough 2-10 in 2023, then 8-5 in 2024 and 9-4 in 2025. That 9-4 finish last year is the best of the stretch.
The Coach and the Scheme
Blake Harrell is the captain on this deck. Wikipedia lists him as head coach since the 2024 season, and CFBD records his hire date as Nov. 27, 2024. Fun timing: Wikipedia lists his birthday as Oct. 20, 1979, so the man turns a year older two days before kickoff. My public sources don't detail his earlier coaching stops, so I won't guess at them.
What does the 2026 ship look like? The defense is the sturdier hull. ECU allows 326.5 yards per game (38th in FBS) and 187.5 passing yards per game (34th). It gives up 139.0 rushing yards (63rd) and 23.8 points per game (72nd). The defense has also returned two interceptions for touchdowns this season.
The offense is still finding its wind. The Pirates gain 339.5 yards per game (112th) and score 23.5 points per game (99th). They run for 155.8 yards a game (69th) and throw for 183.7 (114th). Two numbers keep me up at night: a 31.3% third-down rate (125th) and a 73.7% red-zone scoring rate (125th). ECU also averages only 26:57 of possession per game, 132nd in FBS.
Players to Know
QB Emory Williams: 655 yards, 7 TD, 2 INT, 65.4% completions. At UAB he went 18 of 27 for 126 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 12 times for 42 yards. His 104 attempts are not the team's full 176, so other passers have thrown this year. I have no confirmed depth chart, so I won't guess who else plays.
RB TJ Engleman Jr.: 490 yards on 71 carries with three touchdowns. He carried 26 times for 104 yards at UAB.
WR Ray Ray Joseph Jr.: the team leader with 29 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns. He caught a 3-yard touchdown to finish a 14-play, 75-yard opening drive at UAB.
DL Jasiyah Robinson: team leader with 2.5 sacks. CFBD lists him as a 6-foot-3, 265-pound senior from Groveport, Ohio.
DB DJ Johnson Jr.: team leader with 42 tackles.
The Conference Picture
ECU is 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the American. The Pirates are 2-1 at home and 1-2 on the road. They opened at Alabama and lost 48-10. Then came a 27-24 loss to App State. The ship turned with three straight wins: 20-17 at Old Dominion, 42-9 over North Carolina Central and 28-12 over Rice. Last week brought a 30-17 overtime loss at UAB.
After Memphis, ECU hosts Temple on Oct. 31. A win in Memphis would put the Pirates back on the winning side of the league ledger.
This Week: Game Preview from Both Sides
East Carolina (3-3) at Memphis (5-2) · Thursday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET · Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, Memphis, Tenn. · ESPN2
Last time out. It hurt. ECU led UAB 14-0 early in the second quarter. UAB drove 93 yards in the final minute and scored a two-point conversion to tie it at 17 with 35 seconds left. The Blazers won in overtime on a touchdown pass and an 80-yard interception return. Memphis also lost: Tulane forced six turnovers in a 31-17 win in New Orleans on Oct. 16.
ECU's offense vs. Memphis' defense. This is where I see open water. Memphis allows 172.9 rushing yards per game, 104th in FBS. Feed Engleman and keep the clock moving, and our 26:57 possession average can climb. The catch: Memphis ranks 20th on third-down defense (31.5%) and 6th in red-zone defense (66.7%). Those are exactly our two weak spots, so drives must end in touchdowns, not field goals.
Memphis' offense vs. ECU's defense. Respect this crew. Memphis gains 512.6 yards per game (6th) and runs for 237.7 (8th). Marcus Stokes has thrown for 1,841 yards and 18 touchdowns, and Jaylin Carter has 780 rushing yards. Our pass defense ranks 34th, and Tulane just showed that Memphis can be pried loose: Stokes threw multiple interceptions and lost two fumbles in that game. Takeaways are our treasure map.
Series. ECU Athletics lists the Pirates ahead 18-8 all-time, and ECU won the last meeting 31-27 in Greenville on Nov. 15, 2025 (search summary; thin).
Availability. No official conference availability report has been published for this game. I found no confirmed ECU injury news, so I won't speculate on anyone's status.
Three questions that decide it:
1. Can Engleman and the run game exploit Memphis' 104th-ranked run defense?
2. Can ECU finish red-zone trips against Memphis' 6th-ranked red-zone defense?
3. Can the Pirates win the takeaway battle the way Tulane did?
Local Flavor
Thursday night in the Bluff City means a road crowd for us. Pray for safe travel and cheer with grace. CFBD lists Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium at 58,325 seats with an artificial surface, so our cleats will feel the difference from Dowdy-Ficklen's grass. I'll share confirmed travel tips for the purple-and-gold faithful before kickoff. Not an ad.
My call: Memphis Tigers 33, East Carolina Pirates 21.