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East Carolina Pirates vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Preview

By Michael Owens

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Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 13, 12 p.m.

Location: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia

TV: ESPN

Talk about an opportunity for a rebound.

The East Carolina Pirates found themselves on the short end of last Saturday’s matchup with South Carolina, as the Gamecocks powered through the second half to give ECU their first loss of the year.

The defeat comes for the Pirates despite putting up nearly 450 yards on the Gamecocks, 321 of those yards coming from the arm of Shane Carden.

Now ECU will travel to Blacksburg for a date with the newly-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, who are coming off upsetting Ohio State in Columbus last Saturday night.

A Rivalry Renewed?

The East Carolina Pirates and Virginia Tech Hokies have met 18 times since 1956, with Virginia Tech leading the series, 13-5. ECU has only won twice in Blacksburg (1987 and 1991), and the most recent win came in Greenville in 2011.

Hokies win if…

The focal point for the Hokies on offense will be on junior quarterback Michael Brewer, who completed nearly 65% of his passes for right around 200 yards in the Hokies’ win at Ohio State.

He also seems to be focused coming off the biggest program win in recent history, saying that if not level-headed, a dangerous team like ECU could come in and win on the road.

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    • Whether Brewer and the Hokie offense can continue their performance remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see how their offense adjusts to ECU’s 3-4 look as opposed to Ohio State’s 4-3.

    Tech will rely on a feisty defense as well, particularly in the secondary with Kendall Fuller and Kyshoen Jarrett in tow. ECU is one of the most efficient offenses in the nation,  but if the Hokies can play Beamer Ball, the Pirates may find themselves stymied on more than one occasion.

    Pirates win if…

    Blacksburg is one of the toughest places to play, granted they just got back from Columbia, South Carolina, which is becoming another one of those places in that category.

    If ECU’s offense can get clicking early and take out the crowd, then the Pirates have a chance.

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    Carden has to continue to be on his A-game, and weapons like Justin Hardy are going to be essential against a tough, experienced Virginia Tech secondary.

    The Hokies also have a big, experienced offensive line that will allow Brewer time to make things happen. ECU will have to hope for some sort of lapse in the o-line transitioning from playing against the 4-3 to the 3-4.

    Prediction

    This one could go either way, even though the Hokies are listed as 10-point favorites at home. Again, if the Pirates’ offense gets going and stays consistent, then this could be close and they could very well pull off the upset.

    That said, I feel that Virginia Tech is on a huge wave of momentum, and I don’t see that wave slowing down any time soon. This will be one of the better games on Saturday, and like I said, anything can happen.

    Virginia Tech – 35

    East Carolina – 21

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