UAB vs ECU: Matchups, Questions and Keys to the Game
By Steve Irvine
October 15, 2026 - BIRMINGHAM, AL
EAST CAROLINA (3-2 OVERALL, 1-0 AMERICAN) AT UAB (3-3 OVERALL, 1-1 AMERICAN)
PROTECTIVE STADIUM
THURSDAY, 6:30 P.M. CST, ESPN
When ECU has the ball: Look for the Pirates to run the football a lot. Stats don’t always tell the full truth. ECU is officially 12th in the American Conference in rushing offense with 148.8 yards per game. Take away the opening game loss at Alabama when the Pirates had two rushing yards on 22 carries and ECU is averaging 185.8 yards per game. Last week, with a heavy emphasis on the run game, ECU had a season-best 234 rushing yards on 41 carries. It wouldn’t be surprising for the Pirates to take a similar offensive approach on Thursday. That begins with increasing the load for third-year running back TJ Engleman Jr., who has 364-yards on 40 carries with three touchdowns over the past three games. The speedy 5-foot-9, 190-pound running back had an 88-yard touchdown run against North Carolina Central and his 43-yard scoring burst last week against Rice built a fourth-down cushion in the 28-12 win. Overall, Engleman averages a robust 8.6 yards per carry. He shares the backfield with 6-foot, 220-pound North Texas transfer Ashton Gray (170 yards on 37 carries) and 5-foot-11, 209-pound hometown product Michael Allen, who played at Marshall, North Carolina State and UNLV before returning home. Gray had 99 yards rushing, including a 45-yard touchdown, in a loss to Appalachian State earlier this season. Limiting the run success is important for a UAB defense that allows 190 rushing yards per game. Four of UAB’s six opponents gained more than 200 yards against the Blazers. The only time UAB limited an opponent to under 100 yards was when Samford managed 90 yards on the ground against the Blazers. It should be an active day for UAB safety Jo’Tavion Pierce, who had 12 tackles against Memphis, and linebackers Muaaz Byard and Ike Esonwune. ECU emphasized the pass in a 42-9 win over North Carolina Central. Quarterback Emory Williams Jr. was 25-of-36 for 341 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the win. Ray Ray Joseph Jr., who played with Williams at Miami, had 10 catches for 141 yards in that game and six catches for 68 yards with two touchdowns last week in the win over Rice. UAB has one of the best pass defenses in the country, which helps them lead the American Conference in total defense.
When UAB has the ball: The first half last week against Memphis might have been UAB’s best offensive half of the season. The second half was forgettable at best. So how do they put a pair of halves together against one of the best defenses in the American Conference? As usual it begins with the running game. The Blazers are at their best when the running game is successful. The Memphis game is a good example. UAB had 167 yards on 31 carries in the first half and led 13-10 at halftime. The Blazers had 12 yards on 18 carries in the second half and were outscored 28-0. That’s not to say that the passing game doesn’t need to start working to maximize the offensive output. The passing game definitely needs to help but it starts with the running game. Lining up and running straight at ECU will be difficult. The Pirates have are stout up front, have active linebackers in DJ Johnson (37 tackles, 3.5 TFL) and Crews Law (37 tackles, 4 TFL) and a run-stuffing nickel in Kevon Merrell (31 tackles, 3.5 TFL). Diversifying the run game with reverses that include the receivers has been successful at times this season for UAB but the bottom line is UAB has to win at the line of scrimmage. The possible absence of center Adam Lepkowski makes that a tougher task. Lepkowski limped off the field in the second quarter against Memphis and did not return. Alex Mortensen said getting Lepkowski back with a short week was improbable, which means that Cooper Young is likely to get his first start at UAB. Getting the passing game to click would certainly be helpful. That starts with Burton getting comfortable in the pocket. ECU had eight sacks in the win over North Carolina Central and followed with four sacks last week in the win over Rice. The Pirates had just three sacks in the other three games. UAB allowed an American Conference High 16 sacks in six games. If Burton gets comfortable perhaps the passing game will shake from the slumber. To this point, Burton is 72-of-130 for 922 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. Ty Mims, EJ Reid and CJ Smith are reliable targets but haven’t had the opportunity to break out. UAB is also facing an ECU secondary that is second in the conference in passing yards allowed per game (172.6) and relied on the same five starters in all five games.
Special teams: Jonah Delange and Oliver Straw have become one of the best kicker-punter duos in the American Conference. That was expected of Delange, who is 14-of-16 this season and set a school record with a 57-yard field goal last week at Memphis. Straw didn’t join the roster until just before the season opener and his first two punts in a UAB uniform traveled 32 and 21 yards. The West Virginia transfer averaged 37.5 yards on four punts at Louisiana. Since then, he has been one of the most effective punters in the conference. Straw averaged 49.5 yards per punt over the past three games. He had punts of 50 yards or more on eight of his past 10 kicks and seven of those were caught inside the 20-yard line. He also drew a key roughing the punter penalty last week at Memphis.
Trend to follow: UAB is one of four teams in FBS without a red zone stop this season. Fourteen touchdowns and five field goals have been scored in 19 red zone trips by UAB opponents this season. ECU, on the other hand, is tied for 128th in the country in red zone offense with 12 scores in 17 opportunities. The Pirates have eight touchdowns and four field goals in the red zone. UAB’s offense has 12 scores in 15 red zone trips with seven of those scores coming on field goals. ECU’s defense has allowed 16 scores in 17 red zone drives, which is 125th in FBS. ECU opponents have 10 touchdowns and six field goals.
Hello my name is: KJ Daniels. The speedy Oklahoma transfer has 74 yards on three carries and three catches for 18 yards this season. Getting the ball into his hands a few more times could lead to some explosive plays.
How ECU wins: Win the running game, get some timely passing from Emory Williams and score when red zone opportunities arise.
How UAB wins: Offensive balance is critical. As usual, it’s also important to minimize penalties, which has been a strength the past two games, and win the turnover battle. Defensively, the Blazers can’t let ECU control the clock with the running game.
Coach’s corner: Both head coaches spent time as interim head coaches before taking over. ECU’s Blake Harrell took over when Mike Houston was fired during the 2024 season. East Carolina won its first four games with Harrell and the interim tag was taken away. The Pirates closed the regular season with a loss to Navy and came back to beat NC State in the Military Bowl. Overall, including the four interim head coach games, Harrell is 16-7 with two bowl victories. Alex Mortensen was 2-4 last season after taking over as interim head coach following the firing of Trent Dilfer. Mortensen became the permanent head coach in December.
One more thing: Thursday’s game offers a chance for a national advertisement for the UAB football program, the university and Birmingham. The game will not only be telecast nationally on ESPN but the network’s SportsCenter on Campus will also be in Birmingham. The SportsCenter on Campus show runs from 4-4:30 p.m. and will be set up outside Protective Stadium.