Upset specialist ECU hosts West Virginia in Greenville

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09/03/2008 - Greenville, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The East Carolina Pirates will try to knock off a Top 25 opponent for the third straight time, as they entertain the eighth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this weekend.

In arguably the biggest upset of the opening week, ECU used a late punt block to knock off ACC favorite and 17th-ranked Virginia Tech, 27-22, last weekend. It was the second straight win against a ranked opponent by the Pirates, who closed out last season by upending No.22 Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl. ECU has now won five of 12 games against BCS opponents under head coach Skip Holtz, and he was certainly proud of his team's effort in the season-opener last weekend.

"What a great win," said Holtz. "I'm so proud of these players. I can not say how proud I am of them. The way they competed, the way they hung in their. The way that they tried, they never gave up."

Holtz will hope for the same kind of performance this weekend, although the task is a little tougher. The Mountaineers storm into the game fresh off a convincing 48-21 season-opening victory over Football Championship Subdivision member, Villanova. It was the fifth straight season opening win by WVU, as head coach Bill Stewart had a successful home debut. Stewart took over for Rich Rodriguez prior to the Fiesta Bowl last season and led the Mountaineers to a 20-point triumph over Oklahoma, but last weekend's opener was his first appearance since being given the head coaching job on a full-time basis.

WVU has owned ECU over the years, holding a 17-2 advantage in the head-to-head series. As a matter of fact, the Mountaineers have won the past seven meetings against the Pirates, including a 48-7 trouncing in Morgantown last season.

Behind the arm and legs of quarterback Pat White, the Mountaineers were able to score at will against Villanova last weekend. The senior gunslinger that has been a dynamic dual-threat all his career, but more known for his running ability, showed everyone he can be an effective passer, throwing for 208 yards and a career-high five touchdowns in the win. He also paced the ground attack with 63 yards and earned the praise of coach Stewart with his effort.

"Pat White was on target - bulls eyes all day. He could have been 31-of-33 with no picks."

White finished the game 25-of-33 with one pick and his main target was Jock Sanders, who logged eight catches for 62 yards and two scores. Alric Arnett added four receptions for 70 yards and a pair of scores, while tailback Noel Devine chipped in with six receptions for 37 yards. Devine also toted nine times for 47 yards, but expect those numbers to increase significantly in a more important game this weekend.

Defensively, WVU surrendered a few too many yards, but it certainly made up for that by forcing three turnovers and recording seven sacks. The Mountaineers, who allowed 133 rushing and 266 passing yards, spent nearly 37 minutes of the game on the field and that had coach Stewart concerned.

"I was a little concerned the defense was on the field a lot," Stewart said. "Defensively, we came out a little better in the second half and we stopped them from big plays. We played a lot of people today, and we wanted to do some things with a lot of people."

Mortty Ivy put forth an all-around effort in the win, recording five tackles to go along with a sack, fumble recovery and a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown. "Boogie" Allen paced the defense with nine tackles and he also had a sack.

Facing what is usually one of the top defenses in the nation, ECU did a rather good job of gaining 369 total yards in its upset of VT this past weekend. The Pirates used a balanced attack of 158 rushing yards and 168 passing to overcome a pair of costly turnovers for the win.

Quarterback Patrick Pinkney won the starting job in the offseason and he showed his potential in the opener, completing an efficient 19-of-23 pass attempts for 211 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 24 yards and a score and his success was not a big surprise to coach Holtz.

"I said he was having a great camp, we gave him some time to sit back there. He's been throwing the ball accurately, he's elusive, he's been doing some great things to lead this team offensively."

Davon Drew was on the receiving end of five passes that led to 65 yards, while Dwayne Harris snared four balls for 68 yards. Brandon Simmons paced the ground game with 54 yards on 17 carries, as the bruising back helped ECU hang onto the ball for over 33 minutes.

The defense was outstanding for ECU last weekend, but the special teams made the biggest play of the game. With under two minutes to go, the Pirates' T.J. Lee not only blocked a punt, but he also returned it 27 yards for the game- winning touchdown. VT got the ball one more time, but failed to even convert a single first down against the stout defense of the Pirates.

Overall, ECU limited Tech to only 243 yards and 12 first downs, while recording a pair of turnovers and sacks. Pierre Bell led the charge with 11 stops, while Quentin Cotton logged five tackles and an interception.