Pirates to play in Military Bowl against ACC opponent

East Carolina will travel to our nation's capital for postseason game

While no official announcement has been made--one could come as early as today, it appears as though East Carolina will be extended and accept an invitation to play in the Military Bowl on December 29th in Washington, D.C. The Pirates would play a to-be-determined foe from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

East Carolina (6-6) began the season with a surprising 5-2 mark--which included a dramatic overtime upset of in-state rival N.C. State, but the Pirates proceeded to drop four of their final five contests. They finished their regular season last Friday with a 45-38 overtime loss to SMU on Senior Day at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Ruffin McNeill's first team, as anticipated, made its living on the offensive side of the football. The Pirates produce over 38 points and nearly 450 yards per game. They needed every bit of that offense, as their defense surrendered points and yardage at an alarming rate of 43.4 points and 478 yards. Quarterback Dominique Davis has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes while passing for 3,699 yards and 36 touchdowns. Davis' top targets were senior Dwayne Harris (93 rec. 1,055 yards, 10 TD) and Lance Lewis (78 rec., 979 yards, 13 TD). The ground attack was led by senior Jonathan Williams, who rushed for 846 yards and ten scores. Williams also caught 48 balls for 439 yards.

The Pirates have already played three ACC teams this season. They suffered back-to-back road losses in games three and four to Virginia Tech (49-27) and North Carolina (42-17), but did capture a home win over N.C. State (33-27, OT) in game six.

East Carolina's opponent will likely be someone the Pirates have never met before on the gridiron. Boston College (7-5), Clemson (6-6) and Georgia Tech (6-6) are the schools being mentioned the most.

Stay tuned to cusa-fans.com for the latest on the league's bowl situation.

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