As for E-C-U in playing games in the Queen City… East Carolina’s matchup against Appalachian State at Bank of America Stadium will mark the Pirates’ sixth trip to Charlotte for a neutral site contest… A closer look at earlier battles against N-C State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and South Carolina:
E-C-U rode Fullback Scott Harley’s three touchdowns and rushed for a school-record 351 yards on 42 carries to send the Pirates past the Wolfpack by the final score of 50-29 at then-Erikson Stadium on November 30th, 1996… The attendance of 66,347 was the largest college football attendance ever in North Carolina at the time…
Three seasons later — the Pirates opened the season at Erikson Stadium as David Garrard’s one-yard touchdown plunge with 56 seconds remaining capped a 57-yard drive to lift E-C-U to a victory over West Virginia…
The first Charlotte loss for the Pirates came in 2004 as Jay Davis threw three touchdown passes while the N-C State defense allowed only 140 yards in a convincing win over E-C-U — 52-14 — in coach John Thompson’s final game…
The Pirate’s return to the Queen City in 2008 was much more fruitful… T-J Lee’s block of a Brent Bowden punt and subsequent 27-yard return for the touchdown with just 1:52 remaining helped the Pirates shock the 17th-ranked Hokies — 27-22 in front of 72,169 fans — a new state record at the time…
East Carolina’s last game played at B-of-A Stadium was the season opener to the 2011 campaign… Number 12 South Carolina converted three consecutive early third-quarter East Carolina turnovers into 21 points to erase a 24-14 halftime deficit and roll to a 56-37 season-opening non-conference victory over the Pirates… E-C-U — which also enjoyed a 17-0 lead midway through the first half thanks to some Gamecock sloppiness — lost three of four fumbles on its first seven touches of the third period to open the door for South Carolina … After sitting out the opening quarter for South Carolina — senior quarterback Stephen Garcia provided an immediate spark for the Gamecocks — capping a five-play, 59-yard drive with a 32-yard scoring run to get SC on the board … Following the first of five overall E-C-U turnovers — the Gamecocks made it 17-14 with 5:44 to play on the first of three Marcus Lattimore short T-D plunges… The Pirates answered with a Dominique Davis-to-Joe Womack eight-yard scoring strike with three seconds remaining to enjoy a 10-point cushion at intermission before SC stormed out of the locker room with TDs on four-straight possessions to take control of the contest… The two teams combined for nine turnovers, eight of which were cashed in…