EAST CAROLINA Pirates (3-2) vs. VIRGINIA Cavaliers (2-3)

Big Jim Modlin’s East Carolina Pirates have a big game on Saturday as they head up to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on the Virginia Cavaliers.

THE GAME
East Carolina will close out its 2008 non-conference schedule when it visits Virginia Saturday. The battle against the Cavaliers also represents the fourth of four matchups against Bowl Championship Series (BCS) members in ‘08 for the Pirates, who have split a pair of meetings with ACC members Virginia Tech and N.C. State, and defeated West Virginia already this season. The matchup against Virginia will serve as ECU’s only October road game and will provide an opportunity for the Pirates to snap a two-game losing skid after opening the campaign with three straight wins.

PIRATE RECORDS AND STREAKS
ô€˜ Nine winning or .500 seasons in the last 14 years (two straight) …
ô€˜ Six top three C-USA finishes in the last 11 years (two straight) …
􀁘 Have won five of the last seven, seven of the last 10 and 10 of last 14 games ..
ô€˜ Have won three straight against nationally-ranked opponents (first since ‘91) …
ô€˜ Have won five of nine games against ACC opponents in the Skip Holtz Era …
ô€˜ Have won six of 14 games against BCS opponents in the Skip Holtz Era …
ô€˜ At least two forced TOs in seven straight games (and 13 of the last 14, 16 of 18) …

THE COACHES
SKIP HOLTZ (Notre Dame ‘86) is 23-19 (.548) in his fourth season at East Carolina,
while overall, he is in year nine as a collegiate head coach with a 57-42 (.576) record.
When he became ECU’s 19th all-time head football coach Dec. 3, 2004, Holtz officially
finished a six-year stint as South Carolina’s assistant head coach, offensive coordinator
and quarterbacks coach.

AL GROH (Virginia ‘67) is in his eighth season heading the football program at Virginia
and sports a 53-40 (.570) record. Overall, he is in his 14th year as a collegiate head
coach with a 79-80 (.497) mark.

In 1981, he earned his first head coaching position at Wake Forest and guided the Demon
Deacons to a 26-40 record in six years before spending 12 seasons in the NFL.
*****from Tom McLellan and the ECU Athletices Department*****