Holtz praises Boise

ECU coach says his team faces a big challenge Sunday

HONOLULU -- Listen to East Carolina football coach Skip Holtz and you'll wonder if the Pirates even belong on the same field with No. 24 Boise State for Sunday's Hawaii Bowl.

"Our offense is going to have to play dang near perfect in order to compete," Holtz said, "and I think our defense is going to have to play way over their heads against a very talented football team."

Holtz, whose team has won six of its past eight games, swears he's sincere in his overwhelming praise for the Broncos.

His dad, Lou Holtz, was known for hyping even the worst of opponents.

"It's easy to talk up your opponent when you're playing Boise State," Skip Holtz said. "It's not like I have to sell them. They've sold themselves with the way they've played."

But aren't his players getting sick of hearing their coach hype the opponent?

"They may be tired of hearing about it," he said, "but at the same time, when they put on the film, I just tell them, 'Argue with me. Debate me. Tell me why I'm wrong.'

"They understand that it's going to be a heck of a challenge for us. We are going to have to play one of our best games if we're going to be competitive."

Holtz said the Pirates (7-5) drew the best bowl opponent of any Conference USA team. C-USA champion UCF plays unranked Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl, but C-USA's Southern Miss faces No. 20 Cincinnati in the PapaJohns.com Bowl.

"When I first got all the statistics, I asked [sports information director] Tom McClellan to send me the real ones because I thought it was a joke," he said. "I don't think there's any doubt, not only from a reputation standpoint that we got the best draw of the conference, but from the quality of opponent on the field as well."

Holtz's Broncos cheerleading at this week's Hawaii Bowl news conference left Boise State coach Chris Petersen with an uneasy feeling.

"We've got a heck of a challenge here, we really do," Petersen said. "These guys are a good football team. They've played a heck of a schedule and they've got as much talent as anybody we've played this year. They're explosive on offense. I think people are underestimating those guys. The good news is, our players know what type of team this is."