2014 East Carolina Pirates football team

The 2014 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Ruffin McNeill and played their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. This was East Carolina's first season as part of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 8–5, 5–3 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they lost to Florida.

2014 East Carolina Pirates football
Birmingham Bowl, L 20–28 vs. Florida
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	8–5 (5–3 The American)
Head coach	Ruffin McNeill (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Lincoln Riley (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Rick Smith (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium
Seasons ← 2013 2015 →

2014 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 25 Memphis +		7	–	1					10	–	3
Cincinnati +		7	–	1					9	–	4
UCF +		7	–	1					9	–	4
East Carolina		5	–	3					8	–	5
Houston		5	–	3					8	–	5
Temple		4	–	4					6	–	6
South Florida		3	–	5					4	–	8
Tulane		2	–	6					3	–	9
Tulsa		2	–	6					2	–	10
UConn		1	–	7					2	–	10
SMU		1	–	7					1	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	8:00 pm	North Carolina Central*		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNews	W 52–7	42,758
September 6	7:00 pm	at No. 21 South Carolina*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPNU	L 23–33	80,899
September 13	12:00 pm	at No. 17 Virginia Tech*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 28–21	63,267
September 20	3:30 pm	North Carolina*		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNU	W 70–41	51,082
October 4	12:00 pm	SMU	No. 22	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNU	W 45–24	45,029
October 11	7:00 pm	at South Florida	No. 19	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL	ESPNU	W 28–17	31,567
October 23	7:00 pm	UConn	No. 18	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPNU	W 31–21	40,152
November 1	12:00 pm	at Temple	No. 23	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPNews	L 10–20	22,130
November 13	7:00 pm	at Cincinnati		Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN2	L 46–54	19,113
November 22	3:30 pm	Tulane		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN3	W 34–6	48,433
November 28	8:30 pm	at Tulsa		Chapman Stadium Tulsa, OK	ESPNU	W 49–32	15,126
December 4	7:30 pm	UCF		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN	L 30–32	41,259
January 3, 2015	12:00 pm	vs. Florida*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Birmingham Bowl)	ESPN2	L 20–28	30,083
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 28) - Released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[1]

Game summaries

North Carolina Central

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	0	0	7
Pirates	10	21	7	14	52

See also: 2014 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	6	10	0	7	23
#21 Gamecocks	7	13	10	3	33

See also: 2014 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	21	0	0	7	28
#17 Hokies	0	7	0	14	21

See also: 2014 Virginia Tech Hokies football team

North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	13	7	7	14	41
Pirates	14	21	21	14	70

See also: 2014 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mustangs	0	7	17	0	24
#22 Pirates	14	14	7	10	45

See also: 2014 SMU Mustangs football team

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
#19 Pirates	7	0	7	14	28
Bulls	7	10	0	0	17

See also: 2014 South Florida Bulls football team

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	7	0	14	0	21
#18 Pirates	14	0	7	10	31

See also: 2014 UConn Huskies football team

Temple

	1	2	3	4	Total
#21 Pirates	0	3	0	7	10
Owls	14	0	6	0	20

See also: 2014 Temple Owls football team

Cincinnati

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	6	14	7	19	46
Bearcats	14	17	7	16	54

See also: 2014 Cincinnati Bearcats football team

Tulane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Green Wave	0	3	0	0	3
Pirates	10	7	3	14	34

See also: 2014 Tulane Green Wave football team

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	14	7	14	14	49
Golden Hurricane	14	0	11	7	32

See also: 2014 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

Central Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Knights	6	17	3	6	32
Pirates	6	3	0	21	30

See also: 2014 UCF Knights football team

Birmingham Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pirates	7	0	10	3	20
Gators	7	14	7	0	28

See also: 2014 Florida Gators football team and Birmingham Bowl

Rankings

Further information: 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	RV	23	22	19	18	18	21	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—	—	—	RV	24	21	19	16	17	19	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—
CFP	Not released									23	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released