2008 EAST CAROLINA FOOTBALL SCHEDULE + Predictions

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Aug. 30 - Virginia Tech @Charlotte (ESPN/ESPN2)
Sept. 6 - WEST VIRGINIA (ESPN/ESPN2)
Sept. 13 - *at Tulane
Sept. 20 - at N.C. State
Sept. 27 - *HOUSTON
Oct. 11 - at Virginia
Oct. 18 - *MEMPHIS
Nov. 2 - *at UCF (ESPN/ESPN2)
Nov. 8 - *MARSHALL
Nov. 15 - *at Southern Miss
Nov. 22 - *at UAB
Nov. 29 - *UTEP
Dec. 6 - C-USA Championship Game @highest-seed campus site (ESPN/ESPN2)

VT - W (We played em hard last year and we now know who our QB is while also having 2 great RBS even with johnson gone)
WV - L (I want to see them win this game but i ain't stupid after last year)
Tulane - W (C-USA )
NC State - W (Revenge from this past season)
Houston - W (C-USA )
Virginia - W (Going to be close)
Memphis - W (C-USA )
UCF - Toss-Up (Going to be a good game)
Marshall - W (C-USA )
Southern Miss - Toss-Up (always a great game)
UAB - W (C-USA )
UTEP - Toss-Up (high scoring good game)

Anywhere from 11-1 to 8-4, I'll go with 9-3

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ECU releases 2008 Football Schedule
By PirateIllustrated.com

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Contests against seven bowl qualifiers, including a home matchup against Fiesta Bowl winner West Virginia, and battles against North Carolina State, Virginia Tech and Virginia highlight East Carolina’s 2008 football schedule released Tuesday by Conference USA.

After the Pirates open the campaign on Aug. 30 by continuing its 13-game series with Virginia Tech at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, the Mountaineers will make their second visit in three years to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Sept. 6. ECU will face off against North Carolina State for the third consecutive season on Sept. 20 before the Pirates head to Charlottesville for the first time since 1975 when they meet Virginia on Oct. 11.


The matchup against the Hokies, who wrapped up the 2007 season with a No. 9 national rank and an appearance in the Orange Bowl, will be East Carolina’s fourth all-time contest in Charlotte dating back to 1996. ECU and West Virginia, which closed out the ‘07 season with a No. 6 rank after a 48-28 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, will clash for the 20th time in history a week later in a battle which will also represent the Pirates’ home opener. In addition, both games are scheduled to be aired in front of a national television audience on either ESPN or ESPN2.

East Carolina’s trip to Raleigh two weeks later will extend a 25-game series with N.C. State that dates back to 1970. Although the Wolfpack lead the all-time ledger 15-10, ECU has captured five of the last eight meetings since 1987 - including a 21-16 triumph during its last visit to Carter-Finley Stadium in 2006. The Pirates will close out their non-conference slate against the Cavaliers hoping to extend their current win streak in the series to three straight after earlier victories in 1975 and 2006.

In addition to playing three BCS-member programs who earned bowl invitations a year ago, the Pirates will face four of last season’s five Conference USA bowl qualifiers on their schedule. Meetings against Houston (Texas), Memphis (New Orleans), UCF (Liberty) and Southern Miss (Papajohns.com) will complete ECU’s slate against post-season participants.

“Needless to say, we’re all excited to play our out-of-conference schedule,” fourth-year East Carolina Head Coach Skip Holtz said. “I know all of us embrace the challenge of moving this program forward, and (ECU Athletics Director) Terry Holland has continued to provide us with that opportunity. Facing two teams who finished in the top 10 a year ago in Virginia Tech and West Virginia to open the season speaks for itself. Without question, we’re certainly looking forward to continuing our renewed rivalry with N.C. State for a third-straight year and having the chance to see Virginia again after playing them two years ago in Greenville. I think our Conference USA schedule is set up in a fair manner and, although it presents familiarity with the same divisional format as a year ago, it remains as challenging as ever.”

Sandwiched between the West Virginia and N.C. State tilts, East Carolina will travel to Tulane Sept. 13 for its C-USA opener before making a visit to defending league champion UCF for another nationally-televised contest on Sunday, Nov. 2. The 2008 season will also mark the last year of play in C-USA’s existing out-of-division scheduling arrangement as the Pirates will face the Green Wave, Houston and UTEP for one more year before beginning a new two-year rotation with contests against Rice, SMU and Tulsa in 2009.

After closing out the month of September against Houston in Greenville on the 27th, ECU will enjoy a pair of October open dates that will bookend the Virginia and Memphis (Oct. 18) games before finishing out the campaign with five straight contests in the month of November.

After a road date at UCF and a home tilt against Marshall (Nov. 8), the Pirates will visit Southern Miss (Nov. 15) and UAB (Nov. 22) on consecutive weekends before wrapping up regular season play by hosting UTEP for the first time ever at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Nov. 29.

ECU releases 2008 Football Schedule - NCAA Football - Yahoo! Sports

[TyPenn613]

I really don't think ECU is a favorite to beat three ACC teams.

[TyPenn613]

Also, last year Marshall faired pretty well against ECU if I recall.

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I still think C-USA football and basketball is a joke outside of the top tier teams in each sport(Football: ECU, UCF, UTEP, Houston Basketball: Memphis)