These aren't your average Pirates
 

Ouch. Sitting nine rows behind the ECU bench on the 30 yard line (thanks, Ralph) in Charlotte surrounded by Pirate fans was going so well until T.J. Lee decided to make up for a wretched game by blocking Brett Bowden's punt with just 1:52 remaining on the clock in Bank of America Stadium and scooping the ball and running into the end zone for a touchdown. After dropping into my seat, crestfallen, my head in my hands, I looked up for a moment and saw nothing but Pirate hats being shoved in my face. What a way to end a game. Now I know what it's like for all the other teams that have had to watch as the Hokies snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with the stellar special teams' play known as Beamerball. It's a freaking punch in the gut. It sucks. So badly. The walk out of that stadium was one of the longest ones I've ever had the displeasure of making, the main exceptions being the 27-7 loss to Miami in Blacksburg in 2005 and the 16-13 loss to Auburn in the Sugar Bowl at the end of the 2004-5 season.

Here's the thing, sports fans. I thought ECU was going to have a pretty good season, but I don't know of anyone that expected the start the Pirates have had so far this year. Knocking off two ranked teams in consecutive weeks got the Pirates a #14 ranking in the AP poll and a #20 ranking in the USA Today poll. And I have to tell you, in the six years I've been watching Pirate football, six very long years for the most part, I have never seen ECU whip up on anyone the way they did West Virginia. By the way, thanks a bunch for that, Pirates. There are only a few things that make me happier then seeing West Virginia fans in utter misery. ECU dominated WVU in every aspect of the game and it was glorious. These two wins beg the question; just how good is ECU? Pretty damn good, to be sure, but as many a Pirate fan knows, ECU has a habit of tripping up against inferior competition in multiple instances. Anyone happen to remember the NC State game last year? Marshall just a few weeks later? And let's not even bother with the Steve Logan years, which would be a little too painful to recollect.
Don't let me put a damper on your joy, Pirate Nation. I'm just throwing a word of caution out there before I tell you that it's entirely possible that ECU just may go undefeated this year. That's right, undefeated. Many of you are looking at the remainder of the schedule and secretly thinking about it yourselves, and I'm here to tell you why you've got every right to think that way.

Reason #1. Patrick freaking Pinkney. This kid is playing out of his mother-loving mind. He is only one of two quarterbacks in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision to have attempted at least 50 passes and completed over 80% of them (the other one is Nate Davis of Ball State). Pinkney looked incredibly poised in the pocket against two teams that traditionally have highly rated defenses and he's making great decisions for the most part.

Reason #2. As Woody Paige from Around the Horn is fond of saying, Look at the schedule! The remaining teams ECU has to face are a combined 6-13 with some of the wins coming against programs like William & Mary (NC State only beat them by 10), Richmond (UVA was only able to score 16 points against the venom-less Spiders), and perennial celler-dwellers UL-Lafayette (Southern Miss). UCF could still pose a problem, but it's not entirely out of the question for the game against the Knights to be the only one the Pirates have left in the regular season that will come against a team that will have a winning record at the end of the year.

Reason #3. The Pirate defense is just absolutely sick. They held the Mountaineers to a mere three points. The last time WVU didn't score a touchdown in a game was against Miami in 2001. And while the Hokie's offense is obviously going to be terrible this year, ECU held VT to 243 yards of total offense, 62 of which came on one play. I said in the last article that the Pirate D was going to be good, but I had no idea they were this good.

Reason #4. Jonathan Williams. I thought the running back position was going to be a problem for the Pirates this year, and with Dominique Lindsay out of the picture before the season even started, I was even more worried. Williams has taken care of any concerns I had. The former J.H. Rose star has risen to the occasion and is averaging over four yards a carry and already has three touchdowns under his belt. And by the way, Williams is just a sophomore, folks, so it should be fun to watch this kid over the coming years.

There you go, Pirate Nation. Live the dream. Perhaps this will be the season that wipes away all of the UNC, Duke, and NC State gear off of ECU's campus. Frank Beamer was able to do that at Virginia Tech and hopefully Skip Holtz can do the same for East Carolina. Be proud, Pirates. This is shaping up to be quite the year in Greenville.  Until next time, sports fans,
 
Aaron Carpenter

The author of this article can be reached at aaronraycarpenter@gmail.com.