While having Virginia Tech and West Virginia in their first two games will prevent them from having a perfect record, there is a very good chance that the Pirates run the table the rest of the way.
That’s what Mark Scott said in his preview of East Carolina in June. Turns out he was a little wrong about one part, but if he’s right about the other, it could mean something special could be in store for the Pirates.
Two weeks into the new season, ECU is one of the best stories going right now, having beaten both Virginia Tech and West Virginia to jump into the top 15 of the new AP poll.
The loss of star speedster Chris Johnson (who had a nice debut with the Titans on Sunday) hasn’t hurt so far, as senior QB Patrick Pinkney has been extremely efficient (41 of 51, 447 yards, 2 TD, no INT), Jonathan Williams (117 yards, 3 TD) and Brandon Simmons (104 yards) have produced enough on the ground, and the defense has been terrific, holding Va. Tech to 243 yards and West Virginia to only 251.
While BYU, Fresno State, and Utah might have been considered the prime candidates from the non-BCS conferences to make a run at the BCS this year, East Carolina has positioned themselves to do it if they can just accomplish the small feat of going unbeaten.
Can they do it?
They have two more non-conference games, both on the road against mid-pack ACC teams in North Carolina St. (9/20) and Virginia (10/11). Those are definitely winnable, but they can be tripped up all the same.
If they can pass those two potential tests, there’s the matter of going 8-0 in Conference USA (the last team to do that was Louisville in 2004) and then winning the C-USA title game. A home game against Houston (9/27) could pose a problem with the high-powered offense that the Cougars have, and after that, their road to the East Division title could hinge on trips to defending C-USA champ Central Florida (11/2 - a Sunday night ESPN game) and Southern Miss (11/15).
And then there’s the C-USA title game, where they could face off against a Tulsa team that scores points in their sleep.
Continuing to be strong on defense is a must with some potent offenses on their conference slate, and so is continued efficiency from the offense, which may be called on to win a few games down the road.
Whether or not they wind up in a BCS bowl or ‘just’ win their first C-USA title and push for double-digit wins, it could result in Skip Holtz getting that big-time job and moving one step closer to getting that doctorate just like dear ol’ dad.
