Four quarters of total team effort; offense, special teams, defense (still “defense-light” but improved). In truth, ECU beat a not very good, injury riddled team, but perhaps it’s what the Dr. ordered to get the Pirates back on track.

Well stated! ECU precedence tomorrow should be keeping the ECU defensive unit off the field with offensive, clock devouring, sustained drives. Big plays? Other than unleashing their impressive punter and providing “gunner” return defense, I am not looking forward to any “big” plays.

Speed? Going back to when forward passing started, football is a game and quickness and speed. ...always was; always will be. Big plays? Well, those are nice, but the way ECU's constituted, I'd FAR AND AWAY prefer to see sustained drives. That's the only way they'll have a hope to control the clock, and w/ the ECU defense, clock control should be a major priority. Of course, for that they'll have to be able to mix in a healthy dose of running. Leadership? Definitely. It is time to get the ship headed in the right direction. If the Pirates can find a way tomorrow, there are at least a couple of other games remaining that are definitely winnable.

Excellent question. BYU has played only 1 top 20 team (Wisc.), while ECU has played 3 (VA Tech, USF and UCF.) ECU has also played no. 1 FCS ranked JMU, which arguably could sneak into the FBS rankings if it played at that level. ECU has also played no. 23 WVa, though BYU has played no. 24 Boise State, so those two cancel one another out. Anyway, despite Wisc. being at no. 5, while ECU's heavies are outside of the top 10, the objective data still argues pretty convincingly for ECU, not BYU, having the harder road thus far. More than anything, the Pirates performance vs. Temple is a huge cause for concern. That was a game that appeared to be tailor made for the guys to have some success and gain some confidence, especially with the Owls coming in with a statistically poor offense. ...but the Pirates offense laid an egg, being unable to handle the pressure of a four man rush. Note that Temple actually lost to UConn last weekend. ...like, wow. Looking ahead, Sat. offers a similar scenario. Hopefully the o shows up this time, and the d can make at least SOME stops!! On balance, BYU is a reputable program, and in fact has had it tough this year, so this game could be a valuable catalyst for the Pirates going forward; there would at least SEEM to be a couple or three winnable games on the slate afterward.

BYU is FBS not FCS.

My wife and I, both ECU grads, have been trying to decide whether to go to the game this weekend or not. I want to go to support the players and our school. I realized that we likely were not going to set the world on fire this season, but I was hoping to see something that makes me think that we are an improving team and possibly good team next year. I plan to go and if we lose, I at least hope it is not the royal butt kicking that has been the norm so far. GGOOO...PIRATES!!

Hi Brian, how do you figure BYU has played a tougher schedule? 5 teams we lost to are nationally ranked.

I disagree. If there is a comparison in the article....this point should be discussed!

Did you read the column? I didn't compare him to Mack Brown. I compared him to John Thompson, which is why ECU can't afford to have the same kind of patience UNC did with Brown. Go back and read it again.

Unrelated, unnecessary, unproven... Concentrate on building our house, and keeping it clean!

Montgomery is lost and it is disgusting for you to compare him to Mack Brown. Mack was formerly a head coach and was coaching football at a basketball school. Here FOOTBALL drives the revenue engine. I find it interesting that you did not reference the 3 ton elephant in the room of decade low attendance and apathy. With season ticket sales down by the thousands already this year the threat of financial collapse looms if a change is not made immediately to give season ticket holders and the top 10-15% of donors a reason to continue to invest in this very poor commodity. With a new new coach with HC experience, a name and a track record of success...then there will be NO HOPE and financial collapse draws closer. ECU has to part ways with this failed hire.

Also remember that while at UNC, Mack Brown had the luxury of keeping athletes academically eligible in the form of no-show classes. The football program and basketball program at UNC from 1993 to 2011 was built on a foundation of academic fraud designed to keep star basketball and football players eligible. And who was the AD when this started, John Swofford. It makes decisions like keeping Mack easier when you know his star recruits wont ever have to worry about violating "academic policy" (what that really means at UNC, no one will ever know).

ECU’s MVP for the game, or for the year? No question in my mind, it’s the punter Austin Barnes. Saturday, punting out of the end zone, Barnes crushes another punt 60+ yards with 4.8 second hang time. That’s next level NFL performance ECU fans! 4.8 sec. hang time out of the end zone and no ECU “gunner” coverage downfield and no ECU player within 15 yds. when the catch is made. The returner first runs the width of the field (in time for ECU players to get downfield in position to miss tackles - and they did) before going vertical and taking it for a touchdown. The coaches comment? “Barnes was supposed to punt it out of bounds.” Say what; you told Barnes to punt it 30 yd., 35 yd. or 40 yd. out of bounds from the end zone? Oh yeah, that’ll work. BS! THAT ridiculous coaches comment speaks volumes about the mentality of this inept ECU coaching staff. Seems that coaching staff finger pointing time has arrived. Big time player talent and coaches are clueless how to use it! Stay tuned fans. Coming soon, ECU QB will be limited to throwing 5 yd. passes and RB’s will be asked to take a knee after a 5 yd. gain. But, on second thought, that might keep the “well coached” ECU defense off the field a little longer.

Maybe the trustee meeting Tuesday will produce a. Hangs somewhere.

We obviously have a broken team and a lot of problems. If I had a car that was broken or having problems, I would change mechanics if that is what is needed. I realize that is a simple analogy, I realistically did not expect a great season, but I do expect our team to be competitive - outside of UCONN, it has not been competitive. And by-the-way, UCONN beat Temple this week. At least they are making progress. It is past a "come to Jesus meeting" time. TIME to see some immediate and sustained progress! If I go see the BYU game this weekend, I will have to spend a lot of money with travel, meals and hotels. Please tell me it is going to be worth it.