ECU Pirates 2009 Season Preview/Prediction
The College Football season may be 3-4 weeks away but our man James Hayes has been deep in study and will provide his take and 2009 College Football Predictions on as many NCAA teams as he can before the 2009/10 season kicks off.
We start from the top and move our way down so keep checking in for more college football previews for the 2009-2010 NCAA Football Season!
Our 2009 NCAA Football Predictions – Teams | Analysis | Previews Online
Coach: Skip Holtz
2008 Record: 9-5
Early last season, ECU set the world on fire by starting 3-0 and beating strong favorites Virginia Tech (then ranked #17) and West Virginia (#8).
East Carolina Gambling Odds from Betus.com to win BCS: 25/1
Though they came back to earth and finished 9-5, Holtz is doing a great job here and has proved his boys can mix it up with anyone. The team finished 9-5 in 2008 with several injuries, so with better health luck this team will be in the thick of the Conf.-USA title.
The Pirates have a nice mix at pivot with the resourceful Patrick Pinkney and the rocket-armed Rob Kass. There will be help; leading receiver Davon Drew is gone, but everyone else returns including reliable possession man Dwayne Harris.
Defensively, the team will be represented by the D-line and the secondary: Jay Ross, CJ Wilson and Van Eskridge stick out on both units.
Team Strengths
Besides what’s already been mentioned, an improved offensive line sticks out. All five starters return, with the brightest spots being C Sean Allen and RG Doug Palmer.
Leading rusher Norman Whitley is back to reap the benefits and it should also lead to further success through the air.
Team Weaknesses
The team does lose 100-tackle impact linebacker Pierre Bell and DE Zack Slate’s five sacks, but there are no glaring weaknesses on East Carolina. To be sure, they don’t have the blistering explosiveness of RB Chris Johnson like a couple years ago (Johnson is now making NFL defenders miss), but this is a pretty steady team up-and-down.
Perhaps it could be noted that the secondary breaks in a couple new starters, though Eskridge is back to lead the charge.
The Pirates play six games on the road in 2009, but this is a balanced, well-coached outfit that is among the conference’s top dogs. There are other strong competitors in Conference USA like Southern Miss, Houston and UTEP, but the Pirates are always in the discussion.
West Virginia will definitely want redemption in Week 2, but the Nov. 28 tilt against Southern Miss is huge and should determine the divisional champ.
2009 ECU Pirates Record Prediction: 10-4
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James has been naming every player on the EA Sports NCAA video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. As always you’re comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!
