⚡ CFB Dashboard

East Carolina and North Carolina Central will square off for the second time in football this Saturday inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET, with the game set to be televised on ESPN+.  These two teams have met only once on the gridiron, dating back to the 2014 season. It was the season opener for both sides, on Aug. 30, 2014, with 42,758 in attendance.  The Pirates won the contest, 52-7, in a game that saw quarterback Shane Carden complete 26-of-37 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns. Zay Jones, known then as Isaiah Jones, caught 10 passes for 150 yards and a score. Justin Hardy added eight grabs for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and he also threw a 41-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. Trevon Brown also had a touchdown catch, and Jimmy Williams, Cam Worthy, and Davon Grayson each had multiple catches.  Kurt Benkert played off the bench for ECU, going 6-of-8 for 50 yards, in addition to two carries for 13 yards and a score. The Pirates outgained North Carolina Central 582-174. Central actually opened the scoring with a fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter. But ECU quickly rallied. Hardy's 41-yard touchdown toss to Jones gave ECU a 10-7 edge, and Breon Allen's 5-yard touchdown run made it 17-7 a drive later. Carden connected with Hardy twice in a row for scores before halftime to open up a 31-7 lead at the break. ECU went on to finished that season 8-5 overall, and 5-3 in The American. North Carolina Central completed the year at 7-5, including a 6-2 mark in the MEAC. The Pirates are 32-3 all-time against FCS opponents, falling in their first-ever such contest in 1980 against Eastern Kentucky, 28-16, before winning 25 in a row. ECU then dropped back to back FCS games against James Madison (34-14) and North Carolina A&T (28-23) in 2017 and 2018, respectively, when Scottie Montgomery was head coach.  ECU has since rebounded to win seven FCS games in a row, by a comfortable average margin of victory. Over the last four years, ECU has defeated Campbell (49-10, 2022), Gardner-Webb (44-0, 2023), Norfolk State (42-3, 2024), and Campbell (56-3, 2025).