Today's game was a reality check; the prior four opponents (with the possible exception of N. Texas) are FBS bottom feeders. The passing game was ECU's Achilles heel today; Houser was tentative and there were too many drops besides. Moreover, Navy made adjustments to ECU's early running success. Hopefully the Pirates will still draw an at least half respectable bowl opponent, but there's likely no hope now of it coming from a Power Four conference.

Ecu should beat Navy. Rice bested Navy 14-0. Rice is not strong. Navy is the only winning team that Ecu will have beaten, if a win plays out. Go Pirates.

Minus Army, the average of our other 3 losses was 92, and our worst performance was against 110 CHAR. NAVY is 49th and you would assume with a win our bowl opponent will be in top 60, so next two games will be a good preview of what the Pirates foundation for next season will be. The Navy game would have been an unfair requirement for Harrell considering the Pirates have never beaten Navy in Greenville. Hopefully the new/continued staff can take the program to the next level like Dabbo did when he took over Clemson. Not expecting National Championships with the comparison; would just like other schools to be fearful of scheduling the Pirates again. We have become to many opponents' choice for homecoming.

Don't disagree with Irish or with Reason, as both takes have merit. Is there an easy, sure way forward... no. I'm not sure Harrell is "THE ONE". But he might be the glue which can keep the program together. He's got a ton of energy. He has managed to piece together a decent defense using some young guys who have had to step up far too soon. Also, he was smart enough not to jump into JDB's lane when given the interim title. Rather, he simply told Baker to keep gettin' after it. So far, so good. Navy should be a better yardstick by which to judge just how far the Pirates have come as a team. For sure, Harrell has them playing hard. Most importantly, they clearly are believing the gospel according to Blake. If it is true about Coach Harrell, the Pirates could do far worse. The 2024 Pirates could have fallen apart completely following the firing of Coach Houston. Both Harrell and Baker deserve high marks setting the proper tone, and keeping the passion high.

We have to deal with the reality in front of us. Anybody but Blake means a complete overhaul of the roster which means throwing away next year. With a possibility that the other choice is a mistake. We have seen Blake and JDB win games. We have a quarterback that can play who won't be here if Blake and JDB are not. Blake and his staff have both recruited and transfer portaled as good a defense as we have had at East Carolina (I started watching in 1979). I believe offense players will come play for JDB and when he leaves, if he is successful, we will be able to get another good OC. There are no guarantees in college football anymore. In 5 years, the Sunbelt could be a better conference than AAC or ACC with the ACC being third of those 3. Or East Carolina could be in an ACC that is behind the Sunbelt. This is a good decision because of the strong performance over the last 4 games. I hope everyone will see this decision in a realistic light and support Blake and the team.

It's inarguable that Harrell has made a case for himself in a hurry, BUT this feels premature. What if the Pirates get toasted in their last two games? My quibble is based on a full perspective here; out of 134 FBS programs, the overall average current ranking of the 4 teams that ECU has beaten in their current streak is 116. This is NOT to take anything away from the man; the program certainly has a refreshingly new, competitive look and feel, but still... I could see them naming him if the Pirates get the dub this Fri.; they're actually slightly favored at home, so apparently people beyond Greenville are starting to take notice. taking

Both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde showed up for the Pirates in Texas. Fortunately, the good doctor got a little more playing time than his nemesis. The Pirates displayed all of the good and bad habits of the season to date, rolled up in a single game. Give credit where credit is due. When you spot the opponent 21 points, then put 40 of your own on the board while holding UNT to a single 2nd half score, you’ve earned the victory. The Pirates are not a great team, but when they manage to get out of their own way, the Pirates’ performance has been better than average. A lot of stupid penalties, which are the result of a disturbing lack of discipline, seems to dog this team. How good would the Pirates be without all of the yellow laundry? I hope they can clean up the mess before Navy comes to town. Regardless of what happens with Navy, you have to give the present staff a hard look at getting the full-time gig.

The Pirates showed a boatload of courage in how they reversed this game completely to seize the win; they've become an entirely different team overnight, including both sides of the ball. Major contributions have been made up and down the lineup; Harris' second touchdown to close the gap to one score, courtesy of being pushed and pulled by his own dudes out of a standing pileup, is a perfect metaphor for what ECU football has become, but special recognition should be given to Rahjai for all that he has endured leading up to what he is doing today. Bring on the Midshipmen.

The difference in the celebration dinners says so much about what was missing. Blake gets how much more significant it is than a meal, to sit everyone down together. It’s in part what creates the always talked about culture winning teams have. I noticed the gang tackling increased after he took over. That feeling that everyone is on the same page when playing together now.

Arrgh.

I cannot imagine that a Mike Houston coached team would have purposefully and aggressively played the two minute drill at the end of the first half, and they were duly rewarded for it with the made long field goal; there's a refreshing difference with Coach Harrell.

That was one of the worst officiating crews I have ever seen. The 71 yard Touchdown was reversed on a highly questionable holding penalty for example. Even the announcers thought it was ridiculous. Meanwhile they got away with several. The intentional grounding after they jumped offsides made no sense to me.

Give credit to the Pirates for the ‘W’, but not for how they got there. After two impressive wins, the Pirates were unruly and undisciplined for much of the game. At times, the Pirates performed as badly as they ever have this year, self-destructing time after time. Fortunately, Tulsa had the same problem. No matter, 6-4 is 6-4, with a chance to win out. The Pirates who played last night won’t get there. North Texas and Navy are much better than Tulsa. The Pirates better leave the chippy attitude in the locker room, and focus on cleaning up the unforced errors and penalties.

I think North Texas and our Pirates are evenly matched. Their defense looked capable enough against Army to be challenging for our men. Plus them having homefield advantage the Tulsa game feeling like a must win for Bowel eligibility. I'm hoping for strong finish wining last three games but think Thursday is our best chance at 6 wins.

"...a winning season isn't out of the question" is understating it, in my opinion. Tulsa is poor; ECU should take them handily. North Texas appears to be mediocre only, and Navy, now on a two game losing slide, including a not very good Rice team, might also prove to have earlier been a bit of a paper tiger. I try to keep reminding myself that the competition that of the past two games was poor, but Houser's accuracy, seeming comfort under center and even his running ability, is a source of genuine optimism, especially with two years of eligibility runway remaining ahead of him. This might the start of something big for Pirates Nation, finally.