Michigan opponent preview: East Carolina, on the rise, visits for opener

By Andrew Kahn | As Michigan was in a familiar spot last December, preparing for a College Football Playoff game, East Carolina was playing in its first bowl game in eight years. Trailing midway through the second quarter, East Carolina dominated the rest of the way and won 53-29 over a ranked Coastal Carolina team. The Pirates will try to ride that momentum into the 2023 season opener at Michigan.

Simply being competitive in the Big House would be a big step. East Carolina went 8-5 last season, including that Birmingham Bowl victory. The offense ranked third in the American Athletic Conference; the defense was seventh.

Mike Houston enters his fifth season as head coach. He won an FCS national championship at James Madison in 2016 and appears to be building East Carolina into a winner. The Pirates were set to play in a bowl in 2021 but it was canceled because of COVID.

were picked sixth in the preseason AAC poll, the same place they finished last season (though it’s worth noting that six new teams are entering the league this season). East Carolina has to replace a four-year starter at quarterback, Holton Ahlers, who threw for 300 yards and five touchdowns in the bowl and left as the conference’s all-time leading passer. (He’s now with the Seattle Seahawks.

) Mason Garcia figures to take over. He’s listed as a sophomore, though he’s been with the program since 2020. He’s large -- 6-foot-5, 240 pounds -- and can run, but has just 38 career passes to his name.

“A canon for an arm with NFL potential,” writes Phil Steele in his preview magazine. The top running back is gone, but Rahjai Harris and Marlon Gunn Jr. are “two proven commodities in this league,” Houston said at AAC media day on Tuesday.

Harris was a first-team all-league pick as a freshman in 2020 and is fully recovered from an ACL tear suffered last season. ” The top three pass catchers from last season are gone. Houston brought in a few power-conference transfers at the position, but the passing game may take some time to gel.

On defense, Julius Wood -- a good name for a player with 103 career tackles -- and Teagan Wilk are two reliable safeties. There’s experience up front, and East Carolina boasted a strong run defense a season ago. Of course, Michigan has perhaps the best running back tandem in the country in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, and can air it out with J.

J. McCarthy returning as the starting quarterback. There is a reason Michigan is an early 35-point (five touchdown) favorite for the Sep.

2 matchup (noon ET, Peacock). Being without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was reportedly suspended for the first four games, and perhaps a suspended assistant or two, could give the Pirates a little more hope. It’s the first-ever meeting between the programs.

East Carolina has only three players from the Midwest -- all Ohioans, including former Michigan State defensive lineman Jasiyah Robinson. Throwing out East Carolina’s 13-19 record against North Carolina State, the Pirates have lost three-quarters of their games against power-conference schools. Perhaps they’ll find inspiration from a school across the state that once pulled off a shocking upset at Michigan Stadium (Appal.

. . well, you know the school).

Most likely, they’ll return to Greenville, North Carolina, bruised, battered, and 0-1. They played in a bowl last year for the first time since 2014 (winning for the first time since ‘13), and may very well repeat the feat. That task, though, is far easier than beating Michigan.

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