The 2021 Military Bowl features the 7-5 East Carolina Pirates against the 6-6 Boston College Eagles. Here is the 2021 Military Bowl Preview.
The Pirates won four of their last five games to help them qualify for a bowl game. Their wins over Marshall and Memphis give them two wins over bowl-eligible teams. They only lost to bowl-eligible teams in the 2021 season.
The offense is solid at 29.7 points per game, which ties them for 56th in the country. East Carolina rushes for 162.4 yards (ranked 67th) and pass for 270.8 yards per game (ranked 24th).
Holton Ahlers has led the Pirates at quarterback and has had a fine season. He has passed for 3,126 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 61.8 percent completion. Four pass-catchers have at least 400 receiving yards and six have at least 200. Tyler Snead leads the team in catches and yards with 67 and 855 respectively. When the Pirates need a touchdown, they often target their tight end, Ryan Jones, who has five touchdowns on the season.
Keaton Mitchell has had a fantastic season at running back for East Carolina. He has carried the ball 174 times for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns. When he needs a break, Rahjai Harris fills in. Harris has changed the pace with his 579 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
East Carolina’s defense has been decent, allowing 25.7 points per game, which is tied for 61st in the country. They give up 161.3 rushing yards (ranked 82nd) and 233.1 passing yards per game (ranked 73rd). Linebacker Bruce Bivens leads the team with 57 tackles. Their star on defense has been cornerback Ja’Quan McMillan, who has 56 total tackles, 15 passes defended and five interceptions.
Boston College hit a skid in the middle of the season, but won two of their last four games to qualify for a bowl. They defeated two teams that made a bowl game in Missouri and Virginia Tech. Their losses to Syracuse and Florida State give them two against teams that didn’t make a bowl game.
The Eagles score 24.7 points per game, ranking 93rd in the country. They rush for 165.2 yards (ranked 61st) and pass for 184.8 yards per game (ranked 106th).
Phil Jurkovec has been the quarterback for the Eagles when healthy. He has only played in six games, but has passed for 914 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions on 54.2 percent completion. Five pass-catchers have over 200 receiving yards. The top receiver is Zay Flowers, who finished the regular season with 44 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns. Tight end Trae Barry has been a matchup problem with 21 catches for 362 yards and four touchdowns.
The lead running back for the Eagles has been Pat Garwo. Garwo has rushed for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Alec Sinkfield has backed him up with 350 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jurkovec has shown his rushing ability with 322 yards and five touchdowns in just six games played.
Their defense has been solid, allowing 22.2 points per game, which is tied for 33rd in the country. They give up 173.5 passing yards (ranked fourth) and 170.8 rushing yards per game (ranked 95th). Linebacker Kam Arnold has led the team with 61 total tackles. Defensive end Marcus Valdez has a team lead with five sacks.
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