Southern Methodist football coach Chad Morris hasn’t been bashful about touting his team’s nonconference schedule, saying multiple times this season that he thinks matchups against top-five squads Baylor and TCU make the schedule one of the most difficult in the country.
East Carolina’s schedule is typical of the Pirates’ style, featuring marquee matchups in and away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Pirates (2-2) lost a close contest at Florida on Sept. 12 but are coming off a home win against Virginia Tech to extend a winning streak against the Atlantic Coast Conference to five games.
Despite September’s outcomes, Morris and Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill both said this week that their teams need to focus on the importance of league play.