Tag: East Carolina

Former MSU football QB Katin Houser talks about rivalry with Michigan

Katin Houser spoke on the MSU/Michigan rivalry in a recent podcast:

One of the latest quarterback jewels Michigan State had landed was Katin Houser, a 4-star from California who came into Michigan State. Now, Houser has since transferred to East Carolina.

In a recent podcast with the media at East Carolina, Houser spoke on the Michigan State vs Michigan rivalry, reaffirming his distain for the team in Ann Arbor.

Watch what he had to say in the podcast:

https://x.com/gphaas12/status/1808197401095680131

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Clemson adds East Carolina to 2029 college football schedule

Clemson will face East Carolina as part of its 2029 non-conference schedule.

Clemson football has played many games against regional opponents over the course of its long history.

On Friday, the Tigers added a future opponent to their schedule that they’ve never met on the gridiron before. The school announced Friday that it would play East Carolina as part of its 2029 non-conference schedule. The game will be played on September 1 at Clemson Memorial Stadium in the Tigers’ season-opener.

“We are extremely excited to add Clemson to our schedule,” East Carolina athletic director Jon Gilbert said in a news release. “East Carolina is committed to facing high quality non-conference opponents as we continue to showcase our brand across the country.

“This is another great opportunity to take our program to one of the country’s best college football atmospheres in Memorial Stadium (Death Valley). We continue to try and find the delicate balance between playing guarantee games while also providing a competitive schedule for our program and fans.”

Clemson confirmed the news in a social media post to X, formerly Twitter, Friday.

East Carolina is a member of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and is coming off a 2-10 season in 2023. They won only one game in conference play — a 22-7 victory over Florida Atlantic on November 11 in Boca Raton.

Mike Houston has been East Carolina’s head coach since 2018. He led the program to consecutive bowl appearances in 2021 and 2022. The Pirates were selected for the Military Bowl in 2021 but the game was postponed due to COVID-19.

A year later, East Carolina played its first official bowl game since January 2015 when they defeated Coastal Carolina, 53-29, in the Birmingham Bowl. It was the Pirates’ first bowl game victory since 2013 when they were a member of Conference USA.

In addition to East Carolina, Clemson’s tentative 2029 non-conference schedule includes games against Georgia (in Death Valley on September 15) and their annual rivalry with South Carolina at the end of the season (at Williams-Brice Stadium).

Clemson’s future non-conference slate also includes a home-and-home series against LSU beginning in 2025 when the Bengal Tigers visit Memorial Stadium. The two teams are scheduled to play in Baton Rouge in 2026. The Tigers are also scheduled to welcome Troy to Clemson in 2025 and 2028, in addition to Furman in 2025, Georgia Southern in 2026 and Wofford in 2027.

Beyond that, Clemson has a scheduled home-and-home series with Notre Dame in 2027-28. The Tigers will host the Fighting Irish in 2027 before making a trip to South Bend in 2028.

Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X and on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news, notes and commentary.  

Purple Aces advance to play Vols in Knoxville Super Regional

The Purple Aces advance to face Tennessee baseball in the NCAA Tournament Knoxville Super Regional at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

No. 4 seed Evansville (38-24) won game No. 7 of the NCAA Tournament Greenville Regional on Monday.

The Purple Aces defeated No. 16 national and No. 1 Greenville Regional seed East Carolina (46-17), 6-5, at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.

Evansville advances to face No. 1 national seed Tennessee in the Knoxville Super Regional. The Purple Aces will make their first super regional appearance in school history.

The Vols clinched a Knoxville Regional title on Sunday after defeating No. 2 seed Southern Miss, 12-3, at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Game dates and times will be announced later for the Knoxville Super Regional. NCAA Super Regionals will be contested June 7-9 or June 8-10.

The College World Series will be contested June 14-24 at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska. Tennessee advanced to the College World Series in 2021 and 2023 under head coach Tony Vitello.

PHOTOS: Tennessee baseball wins Knoxville Regional

BYU suddenly clinging to bowl eligibility hopes

Nobody saw this coming in Provo this fall…

After beating Baylor in overtime on the second Saturday of September, [autotag]BYU[/autotag] was 2-0 and knocking on the door of the top 10 in both the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and AP Poll.  Things since then haven’t gone according to plan for the Cougars, however.

BYU was routed the following week at Oregon before rebounding with wins over Wyoming and Utah State to close September.

The Cougars haven’t won since.

Notre Dame largely controlled the Shamrock Series contest against BYU before letting them back in the game late before holding on for a 28-20 victory.  Since then Arkansas (52-35) and Liberty (41-14) both put whoopings on the Cougars.

BYU closed their October to-forget with another loss, this one a 27-24 defeat at the hands of East Carolina as they allowed over six yards per carry in their latest loss that puts them at 4-5 overall.

Notre Dame fans can relate to BYU supporters as some outlets (I’m looking at you, USA TODAY Sports College Football Preview) had the Cougars in the preseason top 10 but with just three games to play a bowl game is far from a sure thing.

BYU travels to Boise State next week before finally reaching their bye week.  They close the year with games against Utah Tech (yes, that’s a real program) and Stanford.  The Cougars will have to go 2-1 over their last three to become bowl-eligible, something few if any saw coming this preseason.

Not that Notre Dame is in a position to compare their best wins to others for anything of real significance this season, but that victory over a ranked opponent at the start of the month looks more and more like another close call against a mediocre foe with each passing week.

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Seahawks rookie QB Holton Ahlers talks about NIL

Right now, NIL is sort of turning the college football landscape into the wild west. There is very little regulation, but with that comes freedom.

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The Seattle Seahawks may have their starting quarterback in Geno Smith and likely their backup in Drew Lock, but it did not stop them from signing another. Following the 2023 NFL draft, the Seahawks signed undrafted free agent quarterback Holton Ahlers out of East Carolina.

The former Pirates quarterback – who followed in the footsteps of Gardner Minshew before transferring to Washington State – recently took to social media to discuss a few things. Not only did he briefly mention his short time in the Emerald City, but he did talk a little about the topic of NIL – otherwise known as Name Image Likeness.

“Just like all of Pirate nation, I want to see ECU win championships,” Ahlers stated. “I think to do that you gotta have the best players and keep the best players once you get them. NIL, fortunately and unfortunately, that’s the way to go.”

Ahlers went on to say how he plans on contributing financially to ECU’s athletics, and urged individuals and businesses to do so as well if they want to see the Pirates winning.

Right now, NIL is sort of turning the college football landscape into the wild west. There is very little regulation, but with that comes freedom. Matched with the transfer portal, teams like Texas Christian University can go from 5-7 in the Big XII to 13-2 and in the National Championship the following year.

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Seahawks rookie QB Holton Ahlers has all the intangibles

Coach Pete Carroll sang the praises of UDFA QB Holton Ahlers out of East Carolina after watching him at the Seahawks rookie minicamp.

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The Seattle Seahawks added another backup quarterback to the mix when they signed QB Holton Ahlers out of East Carolina as an undrafted free agent.

Coach Pete Carroll had nothing but the highest of praise for the young signal-caller over the weekend at the Seahawks rookie minicamp.

“In his senior year in high school, he threw 61 touchdown passes,” Carroll bragged. “Come on. You never heard of anybody throw 61 touchdowns. And I think he ran for 14 or 15 too, and he’s been throwing touchdowns ever since.”

The lefty set numerous records for East Carolina, including passing yards and touchdowns, total offensive yards, passing attempts and completions, as well as rushing touchdowns.

“He seems really confident in himself and he’s got some transitions to make because our style is different than what they played,” Carroll continued. “They were coming up with plays off the sidelines all the time. No huddle and all that. But he’ll be fine with it. He’s making transitions.

“But he’s exciting because it’s kind of like the intangibles that you know are there because you’ve been successful for a long time at the position.”

Seahawks updated 90-man roster after rookie minicamp

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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction Game Preview

East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl on Tuesday, December 27

East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina prediction, game preview, odds, how to watch. TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl, Tuesday, December 27

East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction Game Preview

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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina How To Watch

Date: Tuesday, December 27
Game Time: 6:45 ET
Venue: Protective Stadium, Birmingham, AL
How To Watch: ESPN
Record: East Carolina (7-5), Coastal Carolina (9-3)
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East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl 5 Things To Know

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

– Coastal Carolina came close to having a special season, and it could still be a ten-win campaign. It started 6-0 and then 9-1, got rocked by James Madison, and rolled in the Sun Belt Championship by Troy.

Head coach Jamey Chadwell decided he’d rather be working at Liberty, Grayson McCall entered the transfer portal, and now the program is in a holding pattern for the Tim Beck era to begin. On the plus side, McCall is still playing in this before leaving.

– East Carolina had an interesting year. It was wildly inconsistent – good enough to blowout UCF and win at BYU, and flaky enough to get destroyed by Houston and lose to Navy – but it’s still going to be a winning season. The balanced offense knows how to crank up the yards. But …

– East Carolina has been a bowl game nightmare. Since getting by Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii it lost four of the last five and went 4-9 since 1992. It was supposed to play Boston College in last year’s Military, but it got canceled thanks to COVID.

– This is just the third bowl game for Coastal Carolina, with all coming in the last three seasons under Chadwell. The Chanticleers lost a thriller of a 2020 Cure Bowl to Liberty, and last year hung on for dear life to beat Northern Illinois in the 2021 Cure.

– The 2020 Birmingham Bowl – coming at the end of the 2019 season – was a rough 36-6 Cincinnati blowout over Boston College, and the 2020 season version was canceled. Other than that, this has been one of the consistently best bowls of the season. Four of the last five were thrillers including Houston’s win over Auburn last season in the final moments.

CFN Experts Dec 20-27 | CFP NY6, Dec 28-Jan 2

Why East Carolina Will Win The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Coastal Carolina’s missing parts are more of a problem than East Carolina’s. But even at full strength, the Pirates have the style to give the Chanticleers problems.

ECU is usually dominates the turnover battle, it’s great offensively on third downs, and it’s going against a team that’s struggles on defense at getting off the field.

The Pirates haven’t turned the ball over since October 8th, going six straight games without a mistake and with eight games on the year with no turnovers. Coastal Carolina struggled over the last three games – two losses and a close call against Southern Miss – partly because it gave it up seven times.

Combined the lack of turnovers with almost no issues with penalties, and East Carolina isn’t going to beat itself.

Combine all of that with what East Carolina is about to do against a Coastal Carolina pass defense that was the worst in the Sun Belt, and it’s a nice mix. However …

Top 100 Bowl Players | Ranking Bowl Games So Far

Why Coastal Carolina Will Win The TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Grayson McCall, have a day.

Assuming he’s really and truly going to still play in this – and not be off being a Florida Gator or something – he going to crank up huge numbers against a Pirate secondary that allowed a nation-worst 299 passing yards per game.

From Houston and Clayton Tune pushing for 435 yards, to Temple rolling up 527 yards and five scores in a loss, to everyone by Navy and BYU coming up with at least 200 yards, everyone got fat on the East Carolina secondary.

Even with McCall out for a few games with a foot injury, the offense still worked. One of the most efficient passing games in America should be able to fire at will, but …

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History

NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina Prediction, TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl History

Pages: Page 1, Page 2

1 sentence in Grayson McCall’s transfer announcement sent oddsmakers into a panic over Coastal Carolina’s bowl game

Always read the fine print

It was right there in big, bold, italicized letters at the bottom of Grayson McCall’s transfer announcement:

“I WILL PLAY IN THE BOWL GAME AND FINISH WHAT I STARTED.”

Somehow, the message still wasn’t received by all. And by ‘all’ we mean bettors and oddsmakers.

With McCall’s Coastal Carolina program set to face East Carolina in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27, many saw the junior quarterback’s decision to transfer and immediately went to bet on the exhibition, probably thinking McCall wouldn’t play.

Half of the fun in the sports betting world is trying to get a jump on new information before the sportsbooks have a chance to react to it or take the game off the board.

Except there was no new edge here. Nothing changed except McCall’s status as a Chanticleer after the game. The line for the bowl game opened at Coastal Carolina as 7.5-point underdogs, but went for a pretty quick and strange joyride immediately after McCall’s announcement.

Well, you don’t see that often! McCall tweeted his intention to enter the transfer portal at 2:49 p.m. ET when the line was CCU +10.5.

Not even three minutes later, Action Network tracked the line shifting to CCU +13.5 where it stayed for about 10 minutes before falling back down to CCU +10.5—and then down another point to CCU +9.5.

After all that, oddsmaker apparently believe transferring will give McCall and the Chanticleers more of an edge against ECU than if he were coming back for his senior year.

McCall has been a star for CCU for three years now, passing for 7,994 yards, 77 touchdowns and eight interceptions to go with another 1,042 yards and 16 scores on the ground.

His presence against East Carolina can’t be understated.

Which is exactly why many went rushing to bet on the Pirates before realizing McCall still had one more game to play.

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East Carolina vs Temple Prediction Game Preview

East Carolina vs Temple game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 13 game on Saturday, November 26

East Carolina vs Temple prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 13, Saturday, November 26

East Carolina vs Temple Prediction Game Preview

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East Carolina vs Temple How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 26
Game Time: 1:00 ET
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: East Carolina (6-5), Temple (3-8)
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Why East Carolina Will Win

The offense should get its groove back.

Nothing worked in the strange 42-3 loss to Houston last week, but that was one of the weirder blowouts. The offense wasn’t horrible, but the passing game couldn’t keep things moving, the defense wasn’t even close, and it turned into a disaster.

Normally the offense is far more efficient, there hasn’t been any problem with turnovers – none in the last five games – or penalties, and now it gets to deal with a Temple defense that’s not awful, but it doesn’t do enough to overcome the mediocre offense.

But …

– Bowl Projections | Bowl Bubble: Who’s Bowl Eligible?

Why Temple Will Win

The defense is able to come up with plenty of third down stops.

The East Carolina offense stalls a bit too much at odd times. Again, it should be better than it was last week, but it has to overcome a defense that gives up way too many yards through the air and is too rocky on third downs.

Temple has been able to stay in most games lately, but it needs the passing game to keep on moving. Freshman QB EJ Warner struggled in the 23-3 loss to Cincinnati, but before that he was a yardage machine to build around.

He’ll be back to form in this – he’ll push for close to 300 yards.

– Week 13 College Football Schedule, Game Previews

What’s Going To Happen

Can Temple turn all the yards into points? That’s been a problem, and it’ll be costly again here – it doesn’t do enough to close out drives.

East Carolina won’t have a smooth ride, but it’ll be consistent and balanced for a full four quarters. The defense will hold on in the third quarter and the offense will pull away.

– Expert Picks College Week 12 | NFL Week 11

East Carolina vs Temple Prediction, Line

East Carolina 30, Temple 20
Line: East Carolina -9.5, o/u: 51.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3
East Carolina vs Temple Must See Rating (out of 5): 2

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Houston vs East Carolina Prediction Game Preview

Houston vs East Carolina game preview, prediction, and breakdown for the Week 12 game on Saturday, November 19

Houston vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch. Week 12, Saturday, November 19

Houston vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

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Houston vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 19
Game Time: 4:00 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ESPN+
Record: Houston (6-4), East Carolina (6-4)
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Why Houston Will Win

Who wants to have some fun?

Houston games are a lot of things, but they’re sure as shoot not boring.

The offense continues to crank up yards in chunks. It’s the best in the AAC on third downs and bombs away with the league’s most efficient passing game.

The defense might have its issues, but the line is good at getting into the backfield, the run defense isn’t that bad, and again with the passing game – Houston is 4-1 when throwing for more than 275 yards.

East Carolina gave up 275 or more passing yards five times, but …

– Bowl Projections | 10 Best Picks Against the Spread

Why East Carolina Will Win

No, really. Who wants to have some FUN?

Houston games are high-powered shootouts with the defense giving up lots and lots and lots of yards. If you thought the 77-63 Cougar loss to SMU was wild, a week later Temple threw for 486 passing yards and made things interesting.

Welcome to the Houston defense, Holton Ahlers.

The long-time East Carolina quarterback has been fantastic – throwing for over 2,900 yards so far with 20 touchdowns and just five picks. He hasn’t given it away in the last four games. The Pirate offense hasn’t turned it over int he last four games, and …

– Schedules, Predictions College | NFL

What’s Going To Happen

Yeah, Houston wins when it throws for a gajillion yards. East Carolina is 4-0 when it throws for 300 yards or more.

The Cougars allow 262 passing yards per game and, again, they’re getting ripped apart over the last two weeks. Get your popcorn ready because this is about to be another wild Houston game.

East Carolina is 6-0 when it scores more than 20 points. It’s going to score more than 20 points.

– Expert Picks College Week 12 | NFL Week 11

Houston vs East Carolina Prediction, Line

East Carolina 44, Houston 38
Line: East Carolina -5.5, o/u: 67.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
Houston vs East Carolina Must See Rating (out of 5): 3.5

CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Expert Picks Week 12
Week 12 Schedule, Predictions | Bowl Bubble
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