Purple pride returns

After beating nationally ranked Virginia Tech and West Virginia, the Pirates fell into a funk after losing to N.C. State, but they came back strong to earn C-USA championship game bid

It almost felt like the Louisiana Superdome roof was caving in on East Carolina's football team that mid-September afternoon.

The14th-ranked Pirates trailed Tulane 24-21 late in the fourth quarter. The clock was ticking. The end zone was 80 yards away. Defeat was lurking in the shadows.

But nine plays later, ECU's anxiety turned to euphoria as quarterback Patrick Pinkney spiraled a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jamar Bryant with 1:47 left for a 28-24 Pirates victory.

It was East Carolina's first Conference USA win of the season, the beginning of a drama-filled march toward eight victories and into today's league-championship game at Tulsa.

Winning the C-USA title is the crowning touch the Pirates have coveted since coach Skip Holtz arrived four years ago. A victory today, against a Tulsa team favored by almost two TDs, would be the school's sixth league crown in 73 seasons of football -- and first since ECU won the 1976 Southern Conference championship. ECU played as an independent from 1977 until joining C-USA for the 1997 season.

But start at the beginning of this year, back on Aug. 30.

Before pulling out that pulsating triumph at Tulane, East Carolina had launched the season by upsetting Virginia Tech, dominating West Virginia a week later, and catapulting to No. 14 in the polls.

Suddenly, the Pirates were a national story, the media darlings, and a team dreaming of playing in a BCS bowl.

USA Today featured them twice. Sports Illustrated sent a writer to Greenville. There wasn't enough room on the bandwagon to accommodate everybody.

East Carolina officials also excitedly announced a revised six-year contract for Holtz, who could earn $9.4 million with incentives if he remains in Greenville.

Big expectations

While embracing the lofty ranking and publicity, it created a new, different challenge for these Pirates -- how to handle enormous hoopla. Holtz sought input from several of his coaching cohorts, such as Chris Petersen at Boise State and Florida's Urban Meyer, who had experienced a similar situation at Utah.

But the Pirates soon discovered fame can be fleeting. They lost three straight games -- to rival N.C. State 30-24 in overtime, to Houston 41-24, and to Virginia 35-20. Just like that, they dropped to 3-3 and out of the polls.

Losing to N.C. State hit like a dagger. The Pirates had led the Pack most all game and were ahead 24-17 in the fourth quarter. Losing in that gut-wrenching fashion shattered their BCS bowl hopes, riled their emotions and ignited player discord.

East Carolina became a team in turmoil.

"We had some incidents," Holtz said. "There were some heated arguments between teammates, things along those lines, things we needed to repair. One of the biggest challenges was to build a bond."

Holtz met with players individually. He talked with the seniors, challenging them. Zach Slate, C.J. Wilson and Pierre Bell were among the locker-room leaders who helped restore unity.

"We started living the dream,'' Bell said. "[Then] we started losing, and we lost our focus. We lost our goals. [Coach] told us adversity can tear you apart, or unite you. The seniors talked to the younger guys. We got together."

After re-bonding, the Pirates rebounded. They won five of their last six regular-season games and captured the East Division title, overcoming an avalanche of adversity.

Fifteen starters -- or projected starters -- have missed one or multiple games because of injuries. And two regulars -- Bryant and running back Jon Williams -- were suspended.

The depth chart began to look like a jigsaw puzzle. Holtz had to adapt to changing personnel, tweak schemes, and alter play-calling almost weekly.