Associated Press
GREENVILLE ó It hasn’t taken long for East Carolina to go from talk of college football to afterthought, and the Pirates don’t have much time to correct what’s wrong if they want to regain control of their season.
The Pirates hope to end a three-game losing streak today when they host Memphis in Conference USA play, the first of six straight league games to close the regular season. With a league loss to Houston already on their record, East Carolina (3-3, 1-1) can’t afford to fall further behind in the league race.
“We have had our opportunities and just have not been able to capitalize on them,” coach Skip Holtz said. “A year ago, we won eight games in the fourth quarter, four of them on the last play of the game. In college football, the difference between winning and losing is a very fine line. We’ve got to be able to find a way to finish these opportunities we’ve had in the fourth quarter.”
The Pirates started the year with wins against ranked opponents Virginia Tech and West Virginia, which propelled them to No. 14 in the national polls. Then came a come-from-behind win at Tulane that seemed to show East Carolina was ready to build on its fast start.
Instead, the Pirates lost in overtime to North Carolina State on the road, then allowed more than 600 yards to the Cougars at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Last week, East Carolina fell behind 28-6 at halftime of its 35-20 loss at Virginia.
More league losses, however, would end the Pirates’ hopes of finally reaching the league championship game after coming close in each of the past two seasons.