The East Carolina Pirates had an impressive 2022 campaign. Will their 2023 run provide them with more of the same?
Regardless of how mean it may sound, none can deny that the East Carolina Pirates have been some of the AAC’s favorite punching bags in recent memory. From 2015 to 2020, they never saw a season finish better than 5-7.
Luckily for them, they managed to go 7-5 in 2021 and pulled off an even better 8-5 in 2022. With that quick of a turnaround in mind, it’s fair to wonder if they could do just as good if not better in 2023. However, I find their chances of doing either virtually impossible. This is almost solely due to the abundance of talent they’ve lost—especially on offense.
Since their solid run last fall, the East Carolina Pirates have said goodbye to QB Holton Ahlers (threw for over 3,700 yards), RB Keaton Mitchell (ran for the better part of 1,500 yards), WRs Isaiah Winstead and C.J. Johnson (both caught for over 1,000 yards), and CB Malik Fleming (led the team in interceptions).
With all of them gone, East Carolina football is a shell of its former self, and an imbecile could foresee the downfall it’ll likely endure as a result. But just how steep of a downfall will it be? Will ECU stand as a slightly worse postseason power, or will it crash down far further, returning to the cellar-dweller levels it witnessed in the late 2010s? Let’s find out.
Here are my official game-by-game predictions for the 2023 East Carolina Pirates.
@ Michigan (L)
The Michigan Wolverines have made back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff, and they are known for having a large and intense gameday atmosphere that few can outshine. I’d bet my house on the Pirates getting walloped in this one.
Marshall (L)
While still limping from the beatdown they endured in their season opener, the Pirates will welcome Marshall into Greenville.
The Thundering Herd not only won nine games last year but also have what I believe could be the Group of 5’s best shot at a CFP appearance this season. In other words, it’s awfully difficult for me to not imagine the Herd joining Michigan in ECU’s loss column.
@ Appalachian State (L)
Boy, this slate couldn’t be starting off any worse, could it?
App State is no stranger to being viewed as East Carolina’s more-attractive sibling, and especially with the former concluding its 2022 regular season only one win behind the latter, it should be capable of maintaining that image in this home game.
Gardner-Webb (W)
It doesn’t matter how bleak I have things looking as the Pirates enter this affair, I firmly believe that they have no business losing this one. In fact, the final tally being decided by anything less than three scores would be a travesty.
Though it may not look like much on its own, a win over an FCS opponent is better than no win at all, and that’s what ECU fans will have to remember as their guys get ready for what will surely be some problematic league play.
@ Rice (L)
East Carolina has several new foes lined up for its 2023 AAC slate, with Rice leading the charge on a serious desire to bring some heat—and my, what heat it’s going to bring.
Unlike the Pirates, the Owls have a bundle of noteworthy talent returning at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. Their QB situation is especially interesting, though, as senior journeyman JT Daniels was confirmed to be transferring to Rice late last year.
Long story short, it boils down to a simple equation for me: (Talent Advantage) + (Home field Advantage) = Win.
SMU (W)
It’s fascinating to see just how quickly we can go from talking about returning stars and playing at home to talking about a team that benefits from neither, yet here we have SMU.
The Mustangs will be heading into Greenville without 3,500-yard gunslinger Tanner Mordecai and 1,300-yard receiver Rashee Rice; their departures will be sure to leave SMU’s pass-heavy offense in absolute shambles.
The teams share a competitive back-and-forth and will both be coming off bye weeks, so I’d like to think that it will be an entertaining battle where the two give it their all. However, the Mustangs have too much against them for me to take this one from ECU.
Charlotte (W)
Now we’re finding the rhythm we want to see.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: The Charlotte 49ers suck. They’ve had one winning team in their limited history (7-6 in 2019) and are coming off of their worst full-season win count since 2017. How could one possibly expect me to side against the hosting East Carolina Pirates as they come off a tough-yet-empowering victory?
@ UTSA (L)
Quite the change of pace with this one, as the UTSA Roadrunners have sat atop the Group of 5 for the last couple of years, having won 23 games since their 2020-21 run.
But while that is a scary fact on its own, it has nothing on this one: Multiple playmakers who paved the way to that success will be back this year. Said playmakers include 4,000-yard QB Frank Harris, 2022 Conference USA Freshman of the Year RB Kevorian Barnes, and WRs De’Corian Clark and Joshua Cephus, who both exceeded 700 receiving yards.
When mixing that elite of an offense with a visiting (and offensively challenged) East Carolina, this one sounds like a blowout waiting to happen.
Tulane (L)
I recently covered the Green Wave and its poor odds of living up to last year’s 12-2 standard, but while such a subject matter is valid, the Pirates are in no better condition.
So, in what could be a rather forgettable game on its schedule, ECU runs a strong risk of being handed its sixth loss—a risk that, especially when following a deathmatch with the Roadrunners, I firmly believe it will fall victim to.
@ Florida Atlantic (L)
While not looking too pretty at face value, the Florida Atlantic Owls will be nothing less than an army of thorns in ECU’s side. This is because they have a near-perfect combination of placement, site, and coaching.
Think about it: No one wants to play a game right after a pair of losses to unforgiving teams, nor does anyone prefer to go on the road when welcoming distant foes to their conference. When it comes to this matchup, the Pirates are stuck having to do both. Beyond that, FAU’s head coach being the respected Tom Herman drives the final nail into the purple-and-gold coffin.
@ Navy (L)
Once again, we are seeing the cream of returning talent rise to the top.
The Midshipmen maintain an impressive amount of experience at their disposal for the quarterback and running back positions, along with leading receiver Jayden Umbarger. It’s hard to believe that East Carolina, a team that stands out for the yardage it gave up when falling to Navy in 2022, could walk into Annapolis this year and walk out with anything other than a loss.
Tulsa (W)
This game will be a final stand for the Pirates in every sense of the phrase, as they will be angrily entering their senior day off four consecutive losses, seeking an outstanding note to end their season on. Considering that the Golden Hurricane was a non-bowl team in 2022 and will be on the road, they should have little trouble finding it.
In total, I predict that the 2023 East Carolina Pirates will go 4-8. That means that they will not only miss the postseason (obviously) but will also be back to the sorry play that we’ve seen from them several times before. They had a good stretch last year in regards to both their final record and statistical success, but by this point, that will look like nothing more than just a pinch of lightning in an enormous bottle.