Pirate Football Gameday Central
August 31, 2009 | Football
Aug. 31, 2009
THE GAME
Defending Conference USA champion East Carolina will face the first of three BCS member on its 2009 schedule when the Pirates travel to Morgantown Saturday to meet West Virginia at Mountaineer Field/Milan Puskar Stadium for a non-conference matchup.
PIRATE RECORDS AND STREAKS
- Ten winning or .500 seasons in the last 15 years (three straight) ...
- Nine bowl appearances since 1990; five since 2000 (three straight) ...
- Have won seven of the last nine, 12 of the last 18 and 14 of the last 20 games ..
- Have won six of 15 games against BCS opponents in the Skip Holtz era ...
- Have won 12 of the last 13 games when holding its opponent to 24 points or less ...
- At least two forced TOs in 12 of 17 games (and 18 of the last 24, 21 of 28) ...
FAST FACTS
Record - 1-0 (.000); C-USA Record/East Division Standing - 0-0 (.000)/none East Division; Last 5 Games - 4-1; Last 10 Games - 7-3; Last 15 Games - 10-5; Streaks - Overall, East Carolina will play the 53rd game of the Skip Holtz Era when the Pirates face off against West Virginia. ECU's contest against the Mountaineers will be the Pirates' 746th since the start of football in 1932 (379-354-12/.517).
SCHEMES
WVU utilizes a spread option offensive attack while employing a 3-3-5 stack 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 30-22 (.577) in his fifth season at East Carolina, while overall, he is in year 10 as a collegiate head coach with a 64-45 (.587) 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.
Prior to leading the Pirates to three-straight bowl appearances and earning Conference USA Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2008, Holtz helped guide the Gamecocks to back-to-back Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State (2001-2002). From 1994 to 1998, Holtz steered the Connecticut program to unprecedented success as its head coach and layed the foundation for the school's move to the Division I-A (FBS) level. UConn was a consistent member of the I-AA (FCS) Top 25 polls during his last four seasons, which included a school-record 10-win, 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.
BILL STEWART (Fairmont State `75) is in his second season heading the football program at West Virginia and sports an 11-4 (.733) record. Overall, he is in his fifth year as a collegiate head coach with a 19-29 (.396) mark. Prior to his official appointment to guide the Mountaineers on January 3, 2008, Stewart led WVU to a 48-28 victory over Oklahoma in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl as interim head coach. He was 8-25 at VMI from 1994 to 1996 during his only other previous tenure as a collegiate head coach.
