SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE
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Pirate Notebook No. 286 Monday, October 30, 2006 By Denny O'Brien

Defense the biggest difference under Holtz

©2006 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.

Skip Holtz arrived in Greenville with a reputation as an offensive innovator. Five-wide sets and a small dose of the option represent the different extremes that comprised his diverse philosophy.

That mentality made his hiring a sensible one considering the principles on which East Carolina's football foundation was built. An up-tempo aerial arsenal with a dynamic playmaker under center has been the program's emphasis since the early 1990's, a profile that seemed to fit Holtz like a new pair of Nikes.

While Holtz has successfully served the many flavors of his comprehensive playbook, the Pirates' continued success on offense hasn't underscored their ascension to the top of the Conference USA standings. Ironically, it has been the area outside of Holtz's expertise that has fueled the program's resurgence.

That notion was most evident in the Pirates' 20-17 win over Southern Miss on Saturday. After years of witnessing the Golden Eagles dominate the series with stingy defensive efforts, ECU turned the tides by surrendering a paltry 180 yards.

"I've been challenging the defense to win on defense," Holtz said after the victory. "I want to win on defense. I told them (Saturday) at my meeting at 2:00, I want to win 10-6.

"The defense was great tonight."

The numbers speak for themselves:

• The Pirates surrendered only 180 yards total and a measly 79 through the air. That mirrors the production of some ECU opponents prior to Holtz's arrival — in just one quarter.
• Southern Miss converted only one of its 11 third down attempts and moved the chains just nine times overall. It's a far cry from the weekly marathon workout the chain gang once suffered through courtesy of the ECU 'D.'
• The Pirates claimed only one turnover — Travis Williams' interception — but forced four fumbles. The Pirates now have caused 18 turnovers for the season, which ranks second in C-USA.

Not to be overlooked is what the stat sheet fails to capture:

• Williams' positioning against towering tight end Shawn Nelson on the game-sealing interception was picture perfect. And his swagger and flamboyance represents the new attitude the Pirates have displayed on defense.
• The Pirates' performance was punctuated by the fact that their leading tackler — Quentin Cotton — was on the mend. Van Eskridge stepped in and tallied five tackles, including two for losses.
• Aside from the secondary, the bulk of ECU's defense Saturday will be around for a while. All totaled, six freshmen saw snaps on defense for the Pirates.

And that doesn't even begin to tell the full story of East Carolina's 180 on defense.

The best way to summate that is with a long stare at Holtz. While defense is hardly his specialty, the shrewd hires he made on that side of the ball are ultimately the reason for ECU's improvement.

It's enough to make you wonder if Holtz missed his true calling.

New terrain

East Carolina has spent much of its gridiron history as a big-game hunter in search of high-profile opponents to slay.

After beating Southern Miss and claiming the pole position in C-USA's East division, Holtz found himself in a unique scenario. Instead of entertaining inquiries about the challenges of pulling an upset, Holtz found himself addressing ECU's readiness to handle being hunted.

"It's still one step at a time," Holtz said. "We hadn't even got to where we were in the hunt, let alone been the hunted. This game was big, there's no doubt.

"We talked to our team all week about, this was not a big picture game. This was a game about us and Southern Miss. This was a game about how we had been beaten 84-17 the last two years, 51-10 the last time the seniors came down here.

"This was a game of us against Southern Miss's program. This was just one at a time, focus on what we've got to get done out here, and they found a way to win."

Retaining that focus will be paramount when the Pirates face Central Florida next week. The potential of a hangover against a wounded opponent can't be ignored.

"We have to stay focused, stay hungry and stay humble," quarterback James Pinkney said. "It's the biggest win since I've been here.

"It puts us on top of the conference on our side. We can't let down."

Road Warriors

East Carolina's road to a possible C-USA title includes only one more stop in Greenville. Three wins — and a UAB loss — separate the Pirates from representing the East in the league title game, with two of them occurring on the road.

After a five-game home stretch in which the Pirates finished 3-2, the backend of the schedule is light on home appearances. Included are trips to defending C-USA East champion Central Florida, to Houston to face a Rice club that might be the league's most improved, and to Raleigh to face rival N.C. State.

But with Saturday's visit to Hattiesburg the biggest challenge during the closing stretch, East Carolina should have enough confidence in the tank to face the remainder of its road gauntlet.

"Huge," Holtz said of ECU's win at 'The Rock.' "Especially since four of the last five are on the road. If we're going to do anything special this season, we're going to have to win on the road. We've got to be road warriors.

"I said earlier this week that we had broken down this season — phase one, the first two on the road, phase two, the five games at home, and phase three, four of the last five being on the road. We talked about how we were going to approach it, how we were going to address it. This is big, winning here. There's not too many that can come into Southern Miss and win here."

East Carolina can certainly attest to that.

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02/23/2007 02:03:28 AM