East Carolinian

Issue date: 9/25/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Aileen Devlin

Media Credit: Aileen Devlin

A loss can be a hard thing to bounce back from, but that is just what No. 23 ECU (3-1, 1-0) is hoping to do this weekend when the Pirates resume Conference USA play at Dowdy-Ficklen Saturday against Houston(1-3, 0-0) at 3:30 p.m.

"You build off your wins and losses," said ECU senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney. "It was a tough one but at the same time you have to think about the task at hand and that's a conference game against Houston."

But last week wasn't just any loss.

The Pirates never trailed in regulation against N.C. State, but eventually lost a 30-24 heartbreaker in overtime. ECU was looking to start 4-0 for the first time since 1999 but instead saw a five-game winning streak snap, dating back to last season. The Pirates fell eight spots in the AP Poll and had presumably a chance to be BCS buster shattered.

"A lot of doing it [overcoming the State loss] has to do with keeping the season in perspective," said junior defensive back Van Eskridge. "The only thing we lost last week was maybe a BCS championship and a chance to go undefeated. The rest of our goals are still intact for this season as far as a conference championship and a bowl championship.

"That is what we're focused on right now. We just have to come out and put the loss against N.C. State behind us and get it done."

For ECU, putting last week's loss in the past could end up being easier said than done. However, if history is any indication, then the Pirates should be able to get back to their winning ways. Over the last two years, ECU has an 8-2 record the following week coming off a losing effort.

It certainly doesn't hurt the Pirates' chances in having the opportunity to rebound in front of a home crowd.

"We're excited to have the opportunity to come back home," said ECU coach Skip Holtz. "We've played three of our first four on the road, so we're excited to come back here and play in front of our home crowd. Especially with the environment that we had the last time we were here, which was absolutely exciting."

Instead of Big East powerhouse West Virginia, this week the Pirate Nation will be cheering on ECU against Houston, a program with rich tradition, but not so good results so far this year.

"Houston is coming in here as a 1-3 football team," Holtz said. "But as I said last week, you can never look at records and say, `These people are good and these people are not very good.' Houston has lost to Oklahoma State, and has lost their last two games by three points each."

Last year, the Pirates traveled to Houston and came away with a 37-35 victory after the Cougars' kicker missed 37 and 38-yard field goals in the final three minutes.

This year, the Cougars come to Greenville with the hopes of playing spoiler and putting a roadblock in the Pirates' conference championship aspirations.

The Cougars feature the second best passing offense in C-USA with almost 400 yards through the air per game as well as the second best scoring offense, averaging around 36 points per game.

"They are very explosive," Eskridge said. "They have very talented, skilled guys and a quarterback that doesn't put the ball in trouble a lot. He makes a lot of great decisions. It's just a great offense that can put up a lot of points if given the chance. When I look at this football team, I think it's scary what they're doing offensively right now."

Houston's offensive attack is led by sophomore quarterback Case Keenum, who has already thrown for over 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns, in only four games this season. The two most dangerous receivers for the Cougars are senior Mark Hafner and freshman Patrick Edwards. Both are currently averaging over 65 yards receiving per game to go along with multiple touchdown receptions.

ECU currently ranks 36th in the nation in pass defense, allowing 176 yards per game through the air. The Pirates have, however, looked shaky in the secondary the last two weeks against Tulane and N.C. State. The units' biggest challenge all season might be this week against the Cougars who primarily throw the ball.

"It's going to be a hell of a challenge," Eskridge said. "They come out with a lot of four and five wide receiver sets and have a real good quarterback. He has a quick release and does a great job of scanning the field. They have some guys that know how to get open and when they catch it they know how to make plays with the ball in their hands."

As for the Houston defense, that unit is currently ranked in the middle of C-USA when it comes to statistics. The Cougars rank eighth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing almost 30 points per game. In total defense, Houston ranks ninth, allowing an average of 438 yards per game.

"Their strength is really their defensive front and their secondary," Holtz said. "They return three of their four starters on the front, led by Phillip Hunt, who has 20 sacks in his career. He's very aggressive. Their two defensive ends are definitely the strength of their four inside. But it's probably what they get the most work on in practice every day, going up against their offense. They can come off the edge, disrupt a lot of things coming off the edge and make a lot of things happen."

Even though the Houston defense might give ECU multiple chances to score, the Pirates best defense may be their offense. The Cougars can put up points on the board quickly, so it will be key for ECU to sustain long drives and run the ball effectively to give the Pirate defense a rest.

"It's very important," said Eskridge. "All three phases of the game go hand-in-hand-special teams, offense and defense. If the offense goes out there and can have some success running the ball then that will help to keep us off the field and keep us rested."

ECU must also be prepared to go from relatively low scoring contests to what could be high scoring ones in C-USA play.

"It's still a game of football," Pinkney said. "You're going to have your high scoring games and your low scoring ones. You just have to worry about it one play at a time. We have to execute on both sides of the ball. The defense cannot give up big plays and we have to control the ball. If we have the mindset to just score every time then we will be fine."

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools