Number eight West Virginia came into their game against East Carolina today with their sites on going to a national championship game. But the Pirates had other ideas. From the first possession of the game for East Carolina, it was obvious that they were going to be able to move the ball on the Mountaineer defense. The first drive went for 80 yards and they chewed up over six minutes on the clock. From there, it was all East Carolina. The Mountaineers were able to break a couple big plays, but for the most part the Pirate defense tackled well all day long. They forced the Mountaineers into third and long situations and kept everything in front of them.
On the flip side of that coin, East Carolina was able to break tackles consistently and convert third downs. They held on to the ball and kept Pat White and Co. from getting in anything resembling a rhythm. Final score, East Carolina 24-3.
This marks the third straight ranked team that East Carolina has defeated going back to the bowl game last year against Boise St. Expect the Pirates to slide way up in the polls and West Virginia way down. Nothing is a guarantee, but the rest of the schedule looks much easier and much more BCS busting friendly for the Pirates. And I probably gotta write a song about this...
