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2019 East Carolina

4–⁠8 (1–⁠7 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Houston.

Schedule and results

East Carolina in 2019, game by game: lost at NC State 6–34; won vs. Gardner-Webb 48–9; lost at Navy 10–42; won vs. William & Mary 19–7; won at Old Dominion 24–21; lost vs. Temple 17–27; lost at UCF 28–41; lost vs. South Florida 20–45; lost vs. No. 17 Cincinnati 43–46; lost at No. 23 SMU 51–59; won at UConn 31–24; lost vs. Tulsa 24–49+39−32Lost 6–34 at NC State-28NC StateWon 48–9 vs. Gardner-Webb+39Gardner-WebbLost 10–42 at Navy-32NavyWon 19–7 vs. William & Mary+12William & MaryWon 24–21 at Old Dominion+3Old DominionLost 17–27 vs. Temple-10TempleLost 28–41 at UCF-13UCFLost 20–45 vs. South Florida-25South FloridaLost 43–46 vs. No. 17 Cincinnati-3No. 17 CincinnatiLost 51–59 at No. 23 SMU-8No. 23 SMUWon 31–24 at UConn+7UConnLost 24–49 vs. Tulsa-25Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atNC StateL 6–⁠3421%
Sep 7vsGardner-WebbW 48–⁠979%
Sep 14atNavyL 10–⁠4234%
Sep 21vsWilliam & MaryW 19–⁠767%
Sep 28atOld DominionW 24–⁠2144%
Oct 3vsTempleL 17–⁠2736%
Oct 19atUCFL 28–⁠4111%
Oct 26vsSouth FloridaL 20–⁠4548%
Nov 2vs17CincinnatiL 43–⁠4619%
Nov 9at23SMUL 51–⁠5914%
Nov 23atUConnW 31–⁠2453%
Nov 30vsTulsaL 24–⁠4956%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 49–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
1–⁠7 11th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
321–⁠404
Coach
Mike Houston
Elo
1326 −70 this season
SP+ rating
-14.0 No. 116 of 130; offense No. 93, defense No. 120, special teams No. 56
SRS
−13.6 No. 117 of 130 in FBS
Returning
80% of last season’s EPA, No. 22 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 78 roster talent No. 85 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Donnie Kirkpatrick
Defensive coordinator
Bob Trott
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense93rd of 130
  • Defense127th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted84th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted132nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0640%1.1593rd of 130
Defense0.2848%1.34127th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.25 def		41% off
49% def		—84th off
132nd def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.2own 2625% allowed
Defense4.4own 2918% caused

CORE rating -15.0, 120th of 130 (offense -0.3, defense 14.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsHolton Ahlers QB3,387 yds
Passing touchdownsHolton Ahlers QB21 TD
Rushing yardsDemetrius Mauney S446 yds
Rushing touchdownsHolton Ahlers QB6 TD
Receiving yardsC.J. Johnson WR908 yds
Receiving touchdownsTyler Snead WR5 TD
TacklesXavier Smith LB81 tkl
SacksKendall Futrell DL11 sacks
InterceptionsDavondre Robinson DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Traveon Freshwater ILB★★★No. 672
Demetrius Mauney RB★★★No. 993
Ja’Quan McMillian CB★★★No. 1188
Bryan Gagg PRO★★★No. 1284
Immanuel Hickman Sr. SDE★★★No. 1337

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.825
Running backs13.00.858
Receivers13.00.840
Offensive line22.50.812
Defensive line42.80.825
Linebackers23.00.839
Defensive backs43.00.838
Athletes and specialists32.30.804
Whole class192.80.827

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 102

The 2019 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 53 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Memphis7–⁠112–⁠217
Navy7–⁠111–⁠220
Cincinnati7–⁠111–⁠321
UCF6–⁠210–⁠324
SMU6–⁠210–⁠3
Temple5–⁠38–⁠5
Tulane3–⁠57–⁠6
Houston2–⁠64–⁠8
South Florida2–⁠64–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠74–⁠8
UConn0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.