Opinion: Pirates pass multiple tests in road win

ECU got a taste of its own medicine Saturday afternoon at the Louisiana Superdome.

For years, and in this season's first two games, the Pirates have played with a chip on their shoulder and have thrived in the underdog role. But against Tulane, ECU found out how it feels to be on the other side of that scenario.

After beating Virginia Tech and West Virginia to open the 2008 campaign, ECU came into the Tulane game ranked No. 14 in the nation, the highest of any team from a non-BCS conference. But Tulane, which was a 13-point underdog and looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since 1982, gave ECU all it could handle this past weekend-and the Pirates needed a late fourth-quarter touchdown drive to escape New Orleans with a 28-24 win.

ECU came out sluggish on offense, making a slew of mental mistakes. They turned the ball over four times and committed seven penalties for 60 yards in the game.

ECU coach Skip Holtz couldn't pinpoint the reason for the sluggish start, but did say he felt his players were emotionally and mentally prepared for the game.

"It just seemed like it was really hard to get into a rhythm," he said. "I don't know what to throw that on. Was it the environment? Was it the pace of the game? I don't know.

"We have to eliminate those type of mistakes. Whatever reason it was for, we have to eliminate it."

Despite the mistakes and miscues, the Pirates came away with a win, and that's all they needed to do this week-especially in the situation they were put in.

This schedule set up the Tulane game to be a perfect trap. After opening the season with two very physically and emotionally challenging games, and playing N.C. State in week four, it's pretty hard to imagine the Pirates playing real well and real motivated against Tulane.

A college football season is full of ups-and-downs. Holtz called the win over West Virginia the most complete game ECU has played in his tenure. The same can't be said for the Tulane game, but good teams know how to win games when things don't always go right.

"Great teams and championship-caliber teams find a way to win, even when they don't play their best," said linebacker Pierre Bell. "We definitely didn't play our best, but we found a way to win, and that's all that matters."

ECU can learn from this game, because one thing that comes with being ranked is receiving the opposition's best shot each week. The Pirates, now ranked No. 15, should be favored in every regular season game the rest of the season, and should expect the same type of output that Tulane displayed this past weekend the rest of the way.

"I think it was an eye-opener for us," Bell said. "With us being ranked, we know that we're going to get everybody's best shot. It was also our first game on the road and it was a good experience for us. It was a great win in that situation because we could've easily lost, but we pulled it out."

Not only was it ECU's first true road game of the season, but it was the first game not in the national spotlight.

The stadiums in each of the Pirates' first two games were packed, and ESPN covered each of the wins. But against Tulane, the stadium was nearly empty and lacked emotion.

It was a scene that the Pirates weren't used to, and a situation they hadn't been faced with in 2008.

ECU has a shot at a conference title and possibly a BCS Bowl this season. The past teams who managed to make it to BCS Bowls from non-BCS conferences didn't dominate each week during the regular season, but they won.

ECU didn't dominate Tulane and didn't play very well, but did win and will head to Raleigh this weekend with a zero in the loss column-something some other college football teams from around the nation would love to say right now.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.