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The Prophet
ECU's Pinkney, who predicted C-USA title, now wants Liberty Bowl victory
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Published: December 31, 2008
Back in September, after he had led East Carolina to two monumental upset victories, a 3-0 record and a No. 15 national ranking, senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney was put squarely on the spot.
During a telephone interview aired on ESPN, Pinkney was asked to complete the following sentence: "At the end of the year, the East Carolina Pirates will be...."
Pinkney hesitated for a moment, gave it some thought and said, confidently, "... conference champs."
Pinkney's word held true, despite a three-game losing streak in midseason.
During a recent practice in advance of Friday's AutoZone Liberty Bowl against Kentucky in Memphis, Tenn., Pinkney turned to wide receiver Alex Taylor when asked about his bold prediction.
"Hey, Alex, what did you say you were going to call me?" he asked.
"He's a prophet!" Taylor shouted with glee. "He called it at the beginning of the year. He said that's what we were going to do, and we did it."
Now, after all the buildup to their 27-24 victory in the Conference USA championship game at Tulsa on Dec. 6, the Pirates (9-4) are faced with the task of doing it one more time. And they'll have to avoid the trappings associated with any bowl week.
The team's outings started Monday with a trip to Graceland, the famous former home of Elvis Presley. They continue today with a visit to a children's hospital, a rodeo and an NBA game.
Coach Skip Holtz, who led the team to a win over Boise State in last season's Hawaii Bowl despite even more distractions, has urged his players to stay focused on winning one more time.
"Coach Holtz has done made that clear -- very clear," said C.J. Wilson, an all-conference defensive end. "We're going to Memphis to have fun, obviously, but this is for the bowl game. We're going out there to win."
A victory would mark a watershed moment in the program's recent history, which included one- and two-win seasons before Holtz's arrival. It would cap the best season at ECU since the fabled 1991 team went 11-1 and finished with a No. 9 ranking, the highest in school history.
Kentucky, with its 6-6 record, stands between the Pirates and their ninth bowl victory. The Wildcats were one touchdown away from beating fellow Southeastern Conference members Alabama, South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt to account for their deceptively mediocre record.
Both Holtz and Kentucky coach Rich Brooks said they anticipate a physical game on Friday, but it's the mental part ECU must negotiate after achieving one of its most coveted goals. The conference title was the Pirates' first since 1976, when they could've been greeted at Graceland's door by Elvis himself.
Before the team left for Memphis on Monday, ECU safety Van Eskridge said he was more excited about heading to Tennessee than he was Hawaii last December.
"If I was a tourist, then no," he said. "But since I'm a football player, then yes, because that does mean that we are the conference champions. We're playing in a better bowl."
The trip is a direct byproduct of having rebounded from a dismal, injury-filled stretch of the season to win the league and secure the Liberty Bowl berth. Wilson, a junior from Belhaven, said that getting there isn't enough.
"That was our goal at the beginning of the year, to make it to Memphis," he said. "We know it's about business. It's about winning."
Pinkney, the quarterback turned prophet, couldn't have said it better himself.
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