Yes the Pirates are for real... not Pittsburgh but yes the Juggernaut that is East Carolina. Now some people might say they are just a fad or that they are the popular bandwagon to be on right now. That just is not the case. First off if anyone remembers who they played on their very first game of last season... Yes the same Virginia Tech that they beat this year. Last year they had to go to Blacksburg in an emotional game for everyone at Virginia Tech. It was a very big game for Va Tech and they were ready to play. If anyone remembers East Carolina almost won that game. It took a turnover late in the game to solidify the victory for Tech. East Carolina then went on to a 6-2 conference record last year and gutted out a tough win in the Hawaii bowl against an always good Boise State team. They are led with many juniors and seniors and their experience is starting to show.
This year the Pirates were on the other end of the close outcome vs Tech and added a little icing on the cake by beating Tech with a little Beamer ball... blocking the punt and returning it to the house late in the 4th. Then the Pirates just flat out dominated the team that could win the Big East this year. Pat White and the Mountaineers looked confused all game long, they couldn't find a rhythm, and ended talk of a Heisman for Pat White.
Now their remaining 2 non conference games are at Virginia (very winnable) and at N.C. State ( another winnable game). Then you have the rest of the conference schedule which should be a cake walk compared to beating Va Tech and West Virginia on back-to-back weeks. I can definitely see them going undefeated and if they do that... There is no question that they deserve to play for a national championship. They play in a weaker conference however, they scheduled 4 BCS teams for their non conference opponents. Beat a top 20 team and a top 10 team. They would deserve a shot.
This program has been built to win the last couple of years and Skip Holtz deserves a ton of credit. With that I would not expect to see him coaching at East Carolina next season. Sorry Pirates fans, but he will be the hottest prospect to coach a big program that needs to be revived. If you ask me Michigan would really benefit with a guy like Holtz, and I'm not sure that Rodriguez is going to be the guy to lead Michigan. I hope I am wrong because I would like to see him build that program and be the face of that program for many years but the money and the legitimate shot at winning a national championship every year will probably be too much to turn down. That being said he has built the program to be successful for many years and if he leaves he will leave East Carolina with the attitude that they can beat anyone and that is what will keep the program going.
Good luck to the Pirates this year I will be rooting for you.
Trash
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