2020 East Carolina
3–6 (3–5 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Houston. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Temple 28–3Nov 21
By 25 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Tulsa 30–34Oct 30
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | vs 13UCF | L 28–51 | 20% |
| Oct 3 | at Georgia State | L 29–49 | 33% |
| Oct 10 | at South Florida | W 44–24 | 30% |
| Oct 17 | vs Navy | L 23–27 | 38% |
| Oct 30 | at Tulsa | L 30–34 | 27% |
| Nov 7 | vs Tulane | L 21–38 | 36% |
| Nov 13 | at 7Cincinnati | L 17–55 | 8% |
| Nov 21 | at Temple | W 28–3 | 30% |
| Nov 28 | vs SMU | W 52–38 | 29% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat SMU 52–38; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).
- Record
- 3–6
- Conference
- 3–5 tied for 8th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 272–319
- Coach
- Mike Houston
- Elo
- 1444 +60 this season
- SP+ rating
- -11.0 No. 110 of 130; offense No. 84, defense No. 121
- Returning
- 100% of last season’s EPA, No. 2 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 70 roster talent No. 71 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Donnie Kirkpatrick
- Defensive coordinator
- Blake Harrell
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 3–4 or 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.02 | 40% | 1.20 | 100th of 127 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 44% | 1.29 | 68th of 127 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.05 off 0.13 def | 41% off 44% def | — | 103rd off 73rd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.3 | own 29 | 21% allowed |
| Defense | 3.9 | own 31 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -10.3, 100th of 127 (offense -9.2, defense 1.1).
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 yards | Holton Ahlers QB | 1,927 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Holton Ahlers QB | 18 TD |
| Rushing yards | Rahjai Harris RB | 622 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Rahjai Harris RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Blake Proehl WR | 577 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | C.J. Johnson WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Jireh Wilson DB | 69 tkl |
| Sacks | Jireh Wilson DB | 3.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Ja’Quan McMillian CB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2020 class
| Mason Garcia PRO | ★★★★ | No. 374 |
| Shane Calhoun TE | ★★★ | No. 1200 |
| Rahjai Harris RB | ★★★ | No. 1253 |
| Sean Tucker CB | ★★★ | No. 1347 |
| J’Vian McCray DT | ★★★ | No. 1483 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2020 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 3 | 3.3 | 0.846 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.841 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.827 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.816 |
| Defensive line | 6 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 3.0 | 0.832 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 2.3 | 0.797 |
| Whole class | 26 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
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.
Drafted in 2021
The 2021 draft| Rd 4 | D’Ante Smith OT | Cincinnati Bengals |
Roster 155
The 2020 roster155 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster
2020 American Athletic Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 6–0 | 9–1 | 8 |
| Tulsa | 6–0 | 6–3 | |
 Memphis | 5–3 | 8–3 | |
| UCF | 5–3 | 6–4 | |
| SMU | 4–3 | 7–3 | |
 Houston | 3–3 | 3–5 | |
| Navy | 3–4 | 3–7 | |
| Tulane | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
 East Carolina | 3–5 | 3–6 | |
| Temple | 1–6 | 1–6 | |
| South Florida | 0–7 | 1–8 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.