ECU at Southern Miss on Saturday

from Jim Modlin GREENSBOROSports.com:

THE GAME
East Carolina will open a two-game Conference USA road swing
when it faces off against Southern Miss Saturday beginning at
3:00 p.m. (EST). The Pirates, who reached bowl-eligible status
for the third-straight season after posting a 19-16 overtime victory
against Marshall last week, will also try to make it four in a
row for the first time since 2006. ECU opened the ‘08 campaign with a similar threegame
win streak after triumphs against No. 17 Virginia Tech (27-22), No. 8 West
Virginia (24-3) and Tulane (28-24) before dropping consecutive battles to N.C. State,
Houston and Virginia. The Pirates will also attempt to move their C-USA road record to
3-0 when they face the Golden Eagles and record a second-straight win in Hattiesburg.

FAST FACTS
Record – 6-3 (.667); C-USA Record/East Division Standing – 4-1 (.800)/1st East
Division; Last 5 Games – 3-2; Last 10 Games – 7-3; Last 15 Games – 10-5;
Streaks – Overall, East Carolina will play the 47th game of the Skip Holtz Era when the
Pirates face off against Southern Miss. ECU’s contest against the Golden Eagles will be
the Pirates’ 740th since the start of football in 1932 (377-351-11/.518).
SCHEMES
Southern Miss utilizes a spread offensive attack while employing a 4-3 defensive alignment.
ECU will line up in a multiple offense and use a multiple look when defending.
THE COACHES
SKIP HOLTZ (Notre Dame ‘86) is 26-20 (.565) in his fourth season at East Carolina,
while overall, he is in year nine as a collegiate head coach with a 60-43 (.583) 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.
While at South Carolina, Holtz helped lead the Gamecocks to back-to-back
Outback Bowl wins over Ohio State (2001-2002) and was recognized as one of the
winners of the Assistant Coach-of-the-Year Award by the All-American Football Foundation.
From 1994 to 1998, Holtz guided the Connecticut program to unprecedented
success in the school’s 100-year history as its head coach. UConn was a consistent
member of the NCAA I-AA Top 25 polls during his last four seasons, which included a
school-record 10-win, post-season playoff campaign in 1998. Prior to his success at
Connecticut, Holtz spent four seasons at alma mater Notre Dame and served as the
Fighting Irish’s offensive coordinator in 1992 and 1993 – a period which resulted in a
21-2-1 record and top 10 national ranks in total offense and scoring offense.
LARRY FEDORA (Austin College ‘85) is in his first season heading the football program
at Southern Miss and sports a 4-6 (.400) record. The appointment to the top Golden
Eagle football position, which was announced Dec. 12, 2007, also marks his first
collegiate head coaching assignment. Prior to his arrival in Hattiesburg, Fedora spent
three years on the Oklahoma State staff as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator. He has
also served as an assistant at Florida, Middle Tennessee State, Air Force and Baylor.