East Carolina Ready To Defend C-USA Title

The East Carolina football team under Skip Holtz has had the same two goals every season: win a conference championship and win a bowl game. As Holtz enters his fifth season as ECU's head coach, the Pirates have accomplished both — just  not in the same season. Last year, ECU captured its first-ever Conference USA title after toppling Tulsa in the conference championship game. The Pirates then lost to Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl. Two years ago, ECU fell short of its C-USA title hopes, but beat Boise State in a memorable Hawaii Bowl. In Holtz' second season, the Pirates won seven games, but lost to South Florida in the Papajohns.com Bowl. ECU enters this season returning a wealth of talent on both sides of the ball, including sackmaster CJ Wilson and sixth-year senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney. Yes, sixth-year senior. Pinkney had shoulder surgeries each of his first two years in Greenville, so the NCAA granted Pinkney a sixth-year of eligibility. &qu...