The East Carolina Pirates and the NC State Wolfpack will face off at noon ET Sept. 3 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to kick off their 2022 seasons. East Carolina was on the positive side of .500 (7-5) last season and is hoping to kick off an even more successful year. Meanwhile, NC State finished last year at 9-3 and will now try to light the spark for another quality season.
A couple last-season defensive stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: The Pirates snagged 15 interceptions last year, the 14th most (top 6%) in the nation. The Wolfpack were completely their equal: they collected 15 interceptions, too.
Since the experts predict a loss, East Carolina will need to dig deep. Perhaps they'll be able to flip the script and come out with a big victory.