BYU Football Opponent Preview: East Carolina Looks To Build On Bowl Win

PROVO, Utah – BYU football will conclude the non-conference portion of its 2025 schedule against the East Carolina Pirates on Saturday, September 20.

The Pirates play in the American Athletic Conference.

Last year, East Carolina finished with an 8-5 record. It was a six-win turnaround from a 2-10 campaign in 2023.

BYU’s trip to Greenville, North Carolina, will conclude a two-game home-and-home series that began with a meeting in Provo in 2022. The game was initially to be played in October of 2024, but it was moved back due to BYU joining the Big 12 Conference in 2023.

ECU leads the all-time series 2-1, with all three of the previous meetings taking place since 2015. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake is 0-2 against the Pirates.

Blake Harrell prepares for his first full season as East Carolina’s head coach

Last season, East Carolina fired former head coach Mike Houston after the team started 3-4. The Pirates appointed defensive coordinator Blake Harrell as the interim head coach, and he helped turn the season around, earning buy-in from his players as they finished the year 5-1, capped off by a Military Bowl win over NC State.

Harrell is no stranger to ECU. He’s entering his sixth year in Greenville, having served as the defensive coordinator for the previous five seasons.

He was the defensive play-caller in ECU’s win at BYU in 2022, holding the Cougars, led by quarterback Jaren Hall and wide receiver Puka Nacua, to only 24 points.

Harrell is instilling a “Let’s ride” mantra with his program for this season, now that he’s settled in as the head coach.

ECU was his first coaching stop in the FBS ranks. Before that, he coached at Kennesaw State when it was an FCS program, The Citadel, and Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II program.

Returning quarterback to pair with playmakers at wide receiver

East Carolina returns a starting quarterback entering the 2025 season. Former Michigan State transfer Katin Houser leads the Pirates.

In his first season as ECU’s quarterback, Houser started seven games after taking over for Jake Garcia midway through the year. He passed for 2,006 yards and completed 60.8% of his passes with an 18-11 touchdown-interception ratio.

Year 2 loading…. 🏴‍☠️ @katinhouser #LetsRide pic.twitter.com/vfU3qcEsyJ

— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) July 10, 2025

The 11 interceptions will be a number to get down this season. Last year, ECU had its worst turnover margin (-8) since 2018, when Scottie Montgomery was the head coach.

The Pirates played with a lot of tempo last season. They were fourth nationally in seconds per play at 21.8.

Houser loses two of his top three receivers from last season. Still, ECU replenished the receiver unit by adding Oklahoma transfer Jaquaize Pettaway to team up with senior leader Anthony Smith.

Smith led the Pirates in receiving yards with 799 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season. He projects to be one of the top receivers in the AAC in 2025.

Big non-conference opportunities for the East Carolina Pirates

The Pirates have a chance to make a splash nationally with their non-conference schedule in 2025.

Along with hosting BYU for the first time since 2017 in Greenville, ECU opens the season on Thursday, August 28, in a rivalry game against NC State in Raleigh. They also have a trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to face a Coastal Carolina program that reached a bowl game last season.

BYU at East Carolina

Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025

Venue: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (Capacity: 50,000)

Location: Greenville, North Carolina

Kickoff: TBD (Likely a 12-day selection)

TV: TBD

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.

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