WINSTON-SALEM — If Wake Forest is a true barometer by which to measure the state of East Carolina's football program, first-year coach Skip Holtz should now have a firm handle on the rebuilding task he's facing.

From the opening drive to the final horn, the Deacons outran, out-hit, and out-witted the Pirates on Saturday. Wake was superior in every aspect of the game — just as it has been during each of the last five meetings between the two.

On the contrary, East Carolina never truly appeared comfortable, let alone in any kind of rhythm. And the final tally — 44-34 — hardly summarizes the ease with which Wake manhandled the Pirates physically for most of the game.

The Deacs had the better athletes and better overall plan. They exposed East Carolina's weaknesses against the run early and never released the throttle.

"I thought coach (Jim) Grobe did a great job preparing his team," Holtz said. "I thought they played extremely physical. I was really impressed with the way that they came off the ball.

"I think the bottom line in this game was they won the battles up front. They won the battles on their offensive line and were able to control the line of scrimmage. I think they've got a couple of excellent backs. They do a great job of running their zone scheme."

That Wake managed 407 yards on the ground should have come as no major surprise. Despite showing overwhelming improvement against Duke, the run was one area in which the Pirates appeared overmatched.

And if Duke can bully you around in the trenches, rest-assured that a Jim Grobe-coached attack could have overwhelming success. By design, the Deacons are a run-oriented attack that features a buffet of misdirection, and they have a stable of runners that would start for most of the opponents that ECU plays.

"We didn't play real well and I thought Wake Forest played an excellent game," Holtz said. "I give Coach Grobe a lot of credit.

"I told him before the game. He's four years ahead of where we're starting. He was in the same boat four years ago, and he's done a great job of building this program with toughness, with athletes, and we're trying to follow his lead right now."

No question, Wake has a giant head start on ECU as a program. Grobe has had four years to recruit and develop talent around his system.

Holtz, on the other hand, must play the hand he has been dealt and try to make do until he can add more playmakers to the deck.

Even so, there are some positives that can be taken from the defeat. The biggest is the Pirates' refusal to wave the white towel like they have in the past. At no point did ECU cry 'Uncle' or even look as if it had lost intensity.

Despite facing a 21-point margin, the Pirates continued to play with spirit and purpose, which is marked improvement over the past two seasons. The fact that East Carolina pieced together a late third-quarter touchdown drive exclusively on the ground is a testament to both the the resilience with which the Pirates played and Holtz's maturity as a head coach.

Following that with a pair of defensive stops and a touchdown pass from James Pinkney to Aundrae Allison gave the Pirates a chance to win a game in which they otherwise had no business being competitive.

"I'm very proud of our football team for the way they fought, the way they hung in there," Holtz said. "It would have been real easy to hang it up during a lot of points during that game. But I was real proud of the way they fought and hung in there."

That said, the most immediate challenge still awaiting Holtz is the emotional state of his team. How it responds next Saturday against West Virginia and the following week in the conference opener against Southern Miss could set the tone for the remainder of the season.

East Carolina will be a heavy underdog in both cases, but this isn't a scenario in which winning should be used as the primary judgment for how much the Pirates have progressed. If East Carolina can remain mentally healthy and show that it is a more competitive outfit, the next two weeks should be considered a success.

That is the reality in which ECU currently resides. Bottom line, the Pirates still have a long way to go.