Eight players were ejected and an official was bleeding from a cut on his face following a late scuffle between East Carolina and NC State in Saturday’s Military Bowl, which the Pirates won 26-21.
During the altercation, an ECU player shoved an NC State player from behind, and the NC State player’s helmet hit the ref in the face, causing the cut. The official, umpire Rod Tucker, used a towel to wipe himself off, and a team trainer looked at him.
Here is the key to the ugliness at end of ECU-NCST. ECU player takes a cheap shot at NC State player, shoves helmet from behind. The helmet hits ref in the face. pic.twitter.com/So8sOZCuAh
— Cork Gaines, Ph.D. (@CorkGaines) December 29, 2024
The drama around the game’s in-state matchup built in the weeks leading up to the contest, as the teams and their fan bases traded barbs. ECU fans have long felt disrespected by the state of North Carolina’s Atlantic Coast Conference schools and have seized upon the infrequency with which those schools have scheduled the Pirates since ECU won six straight games against ACC opponents from 2013 to ’16, including two victories each against NC State and North Carolina. NC State and East Carolina have played four times in the last seven seasons and will open the 2025 season against each other in Raleigh.
WATCH: ECU Football Coach Blake Harrell after the victory over NC State in the Military Bowl “I don’t think you can look at our fans and tell them it’s not a rivalry. And it’s an hour and 15 minutes up the road. And there’s a couple other schools about the same distance. And… pic.twitter.com/H4kRC2g4O1
— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) December 29, 2024
ECU led 20-7 entering the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game, but NC State scored two quick touchdowns to take a 21-20 lead.
ECU appeared to return a fumble for a touchdown and the lead with just over two minutes to play, but officials said the NC State runner was down and then that his forward progress was stopped, though replay showed he wasn’t down and a whistle hadn’t blown.
On ECU’s ensuing possession, running back Rahjai Harris took a handoff 86 yards for the go-ahead touchdown. The Pirates intercepted an NC State pass on the next drive to secure the win.
When ECU ran the ball on its last drive to run out the clock, two players behind the play began wrestling with each other. Both sidelines cleared and multiple scuffles broke out as coaches and officials tried to keep them apart.
Five of the ejected players were from NC State, while three were from East Carolina. The penalties offset, and a final kneeldown ended the game.
“A great game, hate that it ended that way,” ECU head coach Blake Harrell said. “We’ve got to be smarter to finish the game. But a huge win for the Pirates.”
These teams will next square off at the Wolfpack’s Carter-Finley Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025. NC State leads the all-time series 19-14, which dates to 1970.
(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / Imagn Images)
