ECU looks forward to home title game

GREENVILLE — Getting to the Conference USA championship game is a feat in itself.

Getting the game to come to you — logistically, beneficially and historically speaking — is an entirely different matter, East Carolina Skip Holtz said.

The Pirates, who won the league’s East Division and home field advantage with a hard-fought 25-20 victory over Southern Miss last weekend, play host to No. 18 Houston on Saturday as they try for their unprecedented second straight C-USA title.

As the end of the fall semester brings with it a slew of distractions and classroom obligations, Holtz is especially happy that his players don’t have to get on a plane this week.

"Travel will take some wear and tear on you, especially with the long trip to Houston,” the fifth-year coach said Monday.

“It’s great to be in the championship game, but it’s definitely more gratifying to the senior class to have the opportunity to have this game in Greenville than it is to have to go to Houston.”

Instead, the West Division champion Cougars (10-2, 6-2 C-USA) will fly halfway across the country for a noon kickoff. Unfortunately for the Pirates (8-4, 7-1), Houston is not likely to leave its quarterback on the tarmac.

Case Keenum, a junior Heisman Trophy candidate, leads the nation in several major passing categories. He directs the NCAA’s top offense, which is averaging 44.9 points and 583.3 total yards per game.

Holtz compared the frenetic pace of Houston’s offense to a NASCAR vehicle, speeding up at will when it senses a tiring defense. He said it brings to mind his team’s experience last season, when ECU went on the road and stifled Tulsa’s top-tier offense for an upset win in the league title game.

While Houston’s style is not as complex as Tulsa’s was, Holtz said last year’s victory should give his players confidence.

“It’s not going to be the first time that they’ve seen it,” he said.

It will be the first time the Pirates — or anyone else — have seen a conference championship game at Greenville’s Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, where Holtz believes the normally raucous crowd gives his team a significant advantage.

The game is the latest in a long line of firsts for ECU, which has increased its win totals every season and played in four bowl games under Holtz. The run followed one- and two-win seasons under John Thompson before Holtz and his current crop of seniors arrived in 2005.

Bringing the title game to Greenville, Holtz said, means more than just staying home.

“To keep with the momentum of the program, I think that’s huge,” he said.

“It is arguably one of the most exciting times in ECU football history.”