Classic Rewind Preview: ECU Travels To UTEP (2007)
July 15, 2020 | Football
| Classic Rewind Preview: ECU at UTEP (2007) | |
| Re-Air Date: | Saturday, July 18, 2020 |
| Re-Air Time: | 1 P.M. (EDT) |
| Game Location: | Greenville, N.C. |
| Game Coverage: | Internet: ECUPirates.com |
| In-Game Hashtag: | #ECURewind |
| Official Web Sites: | ECU | UTEP |
| Rosters: | ECU | UTEP |
GREENVILLE, N.C. – 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.
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 Weber State to four winning seasons during his eight-year tenure (1981-88).
THE SERIES
Saturday's contest will mark the first meeting (0-0) between East Carolina and UTEP in the sport of football ...In regards to other sport matchups since the two programs have both been members of Conference USA , the Pirates and Miners have split a pair of men's basketball contests while the Lady Pirates have taken both women's basketball tilts.
HOLTZ VS. PRICE
Saturday's matchup will also mark the first time that East Carolina's Skip Holtz and UTEP's Mike Price have stood on opposite sidelines during a contest ... While Holtz' was at Colorado State and Notre Dame, the Rams and Fighting Irish never played Washington State (1989-1993) while the same held true during his stays at Connecticut (1994-1998) and South Carolina (1999-2002). The Gamecocks also did not face Price during his first year at UTEP (2004).
FACING THE LONE STAR STATE ONCE AGAIN
The Pirates have won 12 of 17 all-time matchups (12-5) against programs from Texas ... ECU is 5-3 against Houston, 2-1 vs. TCU, 2-0 vs. SMU, 1-0 vs. Texas Tech, 1-0 against North Texas and 1-1 vs. Rice ... As previously mentioned, East Carolina has never faced UTEP prior to Saturday's tilt and also has never met Baylor, Texas A&M or Texas on the gridiron.
PLAYING THE WILD WEST ... YEAR NO. 3
East Carolina will play the second of three C-USA West Division opponents this season when it squares off against the Miners at the Sun Bowl ... After handing defending league champion Houston a 37-35 setback two weeks ago at Robertson Stadium, the Pirates now own a 4-3 mark (2-2 on the road, 2-1 at home) against the "other side" since the league began divisional play in 2005 - defeating SMU twice, Houston once, splitting with Rice and dropping both matchups against Tulsa ... ECU "dropped" the Golden Hurricane, Mustangs and Owls from its schedule after 2006 and "added" Houston, Tulane and UTEP for 2007 & 2008.
THAT MAGICAL THIRD QUARTER
East Carolina has outscored its opponents 80-45 in third quarter action this season - an average just shy of two touchdowns per period (13.3 ppq) ... The Pirates have racked up 20+ points in the third stanza twice already in 2007, ringing up 21 vs. Southern Miss to erase a 14-0 deficit before tallying 28 against the Knights last Saturday, which wiped out an 11-point UCF lead at intermission ... On the other hand, East Carolina has gotten into the habit of starting slow out of the gates this year - falling behind first in every game ... In fact, the Pirates have been outscored 44-14 in the first quarter and are on the short side of a composite 117-61 halftime ledger.
DOUBLE VISION UNDER CENTER
The Pirates have gone to a two-quarterback look during the past two games as junior Patrick Pinkney and sophomore Rob Kass have taken turns directing ECU's offense ... Pinkney led the Pirates on three first-half TD drives at Houston, while Kass guided ECU to scores on three of the first four second-half drives ... Kass had the upper hand vs. UCF, throwing for 201 yards and three TDs to rally the Pirates past the Knights ... Pinkney turned in the program's second-highest single-game passing total in history with a 406-yard effort vs. North Carolina in his first start Sept. 8, which earned national (ESPN Game Day Final Helmet Sticker) and C-USA honors (offensive player-of-the-week) ... On the other hand, he has struggled statistically as of late - averaging just 32.3 passing yards per game in his last three outings ... Meanwhile, Kass has worked his way up the depth chart since missing the opener, experiencing his first action of the year at West Virginia (game-ending TD drive) before combining on 18-of-35 passing for 311 yards against the Cougars and Knights.
CHRIS JOHNSON - RECORD-BREAKER '07
After adding a quartet of ECU career records and milestones to his portfolio against West Virginia (kickoff return yards, passing Tony Collins' mark of 1,939 set from 1977 to 1980), Southern Miss (all-purpose yards, eclipsing Collins' mark of 4,463; TD catches by a running back, surpassing Art Brown's total of six) and Houston (100th career reception), senior Chris Johnson set another standard against UCF (372 single game all-purpose yards, wiping out Scott Harley's previous record of 356 set in 1996).
DROPPING PEOPLE BEHIND THE LINE
East Carolina has already booked 48 tackles for lost yardage this season (-182) which ranks 16th nationally and second among all C-USA squads ... Included in the total are 15 sacks which have resulted in a loss of 78 yards ... The Pirates turned in season-high totals in both categories at Houston with 10 TFLs and 4.0 sacks but followed with season-lows against UCF (6.0, 1.0) ... A total of 22 players have been credited with stops behind the line of scrimmage in '07(7.0 by Zack Slate tops unit) ... In all, ECU has been credited with 66 tackles (7.3 pg) for lost yardage in its last nine games dating back to '06.
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