East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill knew his team's psyche might need some reinforcement after the disappointment of a 48-28 loss to Southern Miss last Saturday.

The Pirates were playing for the Conference USA East Division lead but were their own worst enemy, surrendering a total of four touchdowns on turnovers and special teams breakdowns against the Golden Eagles.

The team met Sunday evening to get focused on Saturday's game at Texas-El Paso.

"They go on my leadership," McNeill said. "I understand that, so I regrouped Saturday. I got a little bit of sleep, not much. I watched the film. I made my notes. I went into the team meeting at 6 (p.m.) on Sunday. I was ready to go. They go on how I go.

"They were waiting on me at the team meeting. They had their eyes focused forward and they were ready to go. They were in there seven minutes early. They were sitting in there waiting on me. That was a big positive in my eyes.

"They were ready to go — let's make the corrections and get on the field. That night we had a very good Sunday practice."

The team took its customary day off on Monday and came back with a strong workout on Tuesday.

"We had a very good day on Tuesday, which is usually the toughest day of the week," McNeill said. "You're installing new things on the field."

Beat up offense

It's more of a challenge to be upbeat when your offense is beat up but that has been the situation for the Pirates for much of the 2011 season.

"The offense hasn't played with the same lineup two games in a row," McNeill said. "We're trying to get some guys healthy. (Offensive lineman) Grant Harner is still banged up. (Offensive lineman) Doug Polochak won't play this week. (Running back) Reggie Bullock won't play again. (Wide receiver) Lance Lewis is out. (Tight end) Justin Jones is trying to get to where he can get a cast or something on his hand where he can perform, but right now he's still banged up."

Early departure on Friday

The ECU team will leave campus at 11:15 a.m. on Friday for a 1 p.m. flight out of Kinston for El Paso, TX.

UTEP is located on the western tip of Texas. It's closer to Tucson, Arizona, and Chihuahua, Mexico, than McNeill's former home in Lubbock, when he was at Texas Tech.

"Shane Carden, our freshman quarterback, is from Houston," McNeill noted. "From Houston to El Paso is halfway to Los Angeles. When you think of it in those terms, it's a pretty good trip. ... It's a good ride. I'm looking forward to the trip though and getting our guys on the field again, getting a chance to tee it up again."

The Pirates should arrive around 3 p.m. Friday (local time in El Paso), which will be 5 p.m. on the East Coast.

"We usually have a walk through but we may have a little run through there at the hotel," McNeill said. "We won't go to the stadium but just stretch their legs a little bit. It's a four-hour flight. We'll stretch their legs, feed them. We'll go to a movie and then come back and meet some more. We'll put them down to bed pretty early. They can sleep in about an hour later the next morning because we play at 6:05 (p.m.) their time, which is 8:05 our time."

What's at stake?

The Pirates (4-5) must win two of their last three games to become bowl eligible. ECU returns home to take on Central Florida on Nov. 19. The last game of the regular season is Nov. 26 at Marshall.

"I talked about that Sunday," McNeill said. "Finishing strong was the first thing — making sure we finish on a high note. We know we have bowl eligibility left to earn and we want to finish up as high as we possibly can in the conference. The last thing I told them was, 'Let's put all of our focus on UTEP.' As coaches and players, here's what we've got left, here's what we can accomplish. Everybody understand that? They said, 'Yes.' So now let's every one of us put our focus on UTEP only."

The Miners work from a spread set on offense and will try to pressure the Pirates defensively with various blitz packages.

State Line Power Rankings™

1. Clemson ... At 8-1, the Tigers have the best record of any FBS team in the Carolinas.

2, South Carolina ... Coming off a 44-28 loss at Arkansas, the Gamecocks face a regrouping task at home against Florida.

3. N.C. State ... Wolfpack delivers a broadside to the "flagship." State should keep it going at BC.

4. North Carolina ... Heels have some time to contemplate their shutout in Raleigh before a Thursday night game at Virginia Tech.

5. Wake Forest ... Deacons let an opportunity slip away against Notre Dame in Winston-Salem.

6. East Carolina ... Pirates head for the wild west and UTEP after making a mess against Southern Miss.

7. Duke ... Blue Devils are overdue for some happier times at Virginia this week.