THE GAME
October 09, 2007 | Football
Oct. 9, 2007
THE GAME
East Carolina will make its second-longest voyage in program history when the Pirates travel to UTEP to face the Miners in a clash matching Conference USA divisional leaders Saturday at the Sun Bowl. ECU's tough season-opening stretch of games continues, which includes prior games against three BCS opponents, two ranked among college football's top 10, defending league champion Houston and early season division favorites Southern Miss and UCF. The matchup against the Miners will mark the Pirates' fourth road game of the 2007 campaign but will also provide East Carolina an opportunity to put together a three-game win streak after back-to-back victories against the Cougars and Knights.
PIRATE RECORDS AND STREAKS
FAST FACTS
Record - 3-3 (.500); C-USA Record/East Division Standing - 2-1 (.667)/1st East Division; Last 5 Games - 3-2; Last 10 Games - 5-5; Last 15 Games - 9-6; Streaks - Overall, East Carolina will play the 31st game of the Skip Holtz Era when the Pirates face off against UTEP. ECU's contest against the Miners will be the Pirates' 724th since the start of football in 1932 (366-346-11/.514).
SCHEMES
UTEP utilizes a 1-Back offensive attack while a multiple 4-3 defensive alignment. ECU will line up in a multiple offense and use a multiple look when defending.
THE COACHES
Skip Holtz (Notre Dame `86) is 15-15 (.500) in his third season at East Carolina, while overall, he is in year eight as a collegiate head coach with a 49-38 (.563) record. When he became ECU's 19th all-time head football coach Dec. 3, 2004, Holtz officially finished a six-year stint as South Carolina's assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
While at South Carolina, Holtz helped lead the Gamecocks to back-to-back Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State (2001-2002) and was recognized as one of the winners of the Assistant Coach-of-the-Year Award by the All-American Football Foundation. From 1994 to 1998, Holtz guided the Connecticut program to unprecedented success in the school's 100-year history as its head coach. UConn was a consistent member of the NCAA I-AA Top 25 polls during his last four seasons, which included a school-record 10-win, post-season playoff campaign in 1998. Prior to his success at Connecticut, Holtz spent four seasons at alma mater Notre Dame and served as the Fighting Irish's offensive coordinator in 1992 and 1993 - a period which resulted in a 21-2-1 record and top 10 national ranks in total offense and scoring offense.
MIKE PRICE (Puget Sound `69) is in his fourth season heading the football program at UTEP and sports a 25-17 (.595) record. Overall, he is in his 26th year as a collegiate head coach with a 154-139 (.526) mark. Prior to his appointment to guide the Miners in 2004, Price compiled an 83-78 ledger in 14 campaigns at Pac-10 member Washington State (1989-2002) and led the Cougars to five bowl game appearances. He also directed WeberState to four winning seasons during his eight-year tenure (1981-88).
