For all the firsts East Carolina experienced during its rapid rise to prominence last season, there's one thing it didn't do -- secure home-field advantage for the Conference USA championship game.
The Pirates (7-4, 6-1) can take care of that nagging detail by defeating Southern Mississippi on Saturday. Last seaosn's team, which vaulted up the national rankings and briefly threatened to bust the BCS before a midseason fade, had to go on the road to win its first league title.
But Coach Skip Holtz doesn't plan to use his pregame speech to tell his team how important this game is.
"I'm not going to talk to them Friday night about, ‘Look at everything riding on this game,'" Holtz said. "The last thing you want to do is mount more pressure on them so they go out there all tense and tight.
"I want them to understand what's on the table, what we're playing for ... but I don't want to turn and put those things on the table Friday night before they run out on the field," he added. "I'd like to put it out early in the week ... and then let's turn and put that stuff behind us and now let's just talk about Southern Miss."
For everything the Pirates can gain by defeating the Golden Eagles (7-4, 5-2), they have just as much to lose in the winner-take-all game for the East Division title. A win by Southern Miss -- which has dominated the rivalry -- would send Coach Larry Fedora's team to next week's C-USA title game.
The Golden Eagles have won 11 of 13 meetings and haven't lost in Greenville since 1994.
"There's a lot of great things that you can sit and motivate them with, but I think the biggest motivating factor is going to be to have the opportunity to play for a conference championship by winning this game, and it's going to have to be the opportunity to play Southern Miss," Holtz said. "All the other things on the outside are neat little tidbits and stats for everybody and the players to look at and go, ‘Wow, look at what these guys can accomplish."‘
The Southern Miss-East Carolina winner will face the C-USA West champion -- No. 25 Houston or SMU -- on Dec. 5 with a spot in the Liberty Bowl on the line.
ECU has had a significant measure of improvement since losing two of its first three and has reeled off at least 37 points in four straight league games.
"For these players, knowing the goals that they set, and knowing what's important to them, they want to play for a conference championship," Holtz said. "Here we are, walking into the 12th game of the season, and we still have an opportunity to fulfill that goal. That's a heck of a job by these players and a heck of a job that they've done."
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