ECU headed to Military Bowl; opponent yet to be named

GREENVILLE — East Carolina has accepted an invitation to the Military Bowl presented by Peraton on the campus of the Naval Academy.

The opponent, as of early Saturday afternoon, was yet to be announced.

The Pirates (7-5) are back in the postseason for the first time since 2015, when they made a sixth trip in seven years. Mike Houston, the third-year head coach, earlier in his career guided teams to national championship games in NCAA’s Division I Championship Subdivision and Division II.

“I’m excited for the young men in our program along with our coaches, staff and administration who have worked tirelessly over the last three years for this opportunity,” Houston said in a release before hosting a news conference, then stopping in at ECU’s basketball game to invite all of Minges Coliseum. “Everybody involved with our program put in the time and commitment to make this a season to remember. This is a chance for our football program to face an ACC opponent within driving distance for many in Pirate Nation. There’s no doubt purple and gold will represent in Annapolis.”

The game will be played the Monday after Christmas, on Dec. 27, with kickoff set for 2:30 p.m.

From the 2006 to 2014 seasons, ECU went to the PapaJohns.com, Hawaii and to back-to-back Liberty bowls with Skip Holtz at the helm; and under Ruffin McNeill, to the Military Bowl against Maryland in 2010, and the New Orleans, Beff O’Brady’s and Birmingham bowls.

Since McNeill’s 5-7 campaign in 2015, ECU seasons ended with 3, 3, 3, 4 and 3 wins before this season.

This will be the school’s 17th bowl appearance.

ECU was 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference, which will tie for third at the end of today’s games.

The Pirates lost badly in their opener to Appalachian State in Charlotte, 33-19, then had a reasonable chance to knock off an SEC team but instead fell at home to South Carolina 20-17. They won seven of their next nine, highlighted by a fourth-quarter comeback at Marshall, an overtime win at Memphis, and a last-play 54-yard field goal beat Navy.

Holton Ahlers has thrown for 3,129 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Pirates. Keaton Mitchell has rushed for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns. Tyler Snead is the leading receiver with 67 catches, 860 yards and four scores.

Bruce Bivens, the only remaining player from the 2017 recruiting class of Scottie Montgomery, leads the team with 57 tackles and two fumble recoveries, and has two sacks. Ja’Quan McMillian has a team-high five interceptions and second-best 56 tackles.

Owen Daffer, hero of the Navy game, has successfully kicked 19 of 23 field goals and 39 of 41 extra points.