East Carolina Pirates 2009 College Football Predictions, Picks & Odds: Head Football Coach Skip Holtz and East Carolina were the darling of college football in early September. The team knocked off Virginia Tech and West Virginia, both of whom were ranked in the top 15 at the time. But things got a little more tumultuous after that. After starting 3-0, the Pirates lost their next three games. They recovered from that little slide quite nicely and managed to win the C-USA Championship, but for a while ECU had big dreams. Odds makers at Sportsbook.com have the East Carolina Pirates 50-1 odds to win the BSC 2010 National Championship.
The offense returns quite a few players as well, most notably quarterback Patrick Pinkney, who was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA. Having his steadying presence in the pocket should help out an offense that was consistently inconsistent in 2008.
Coach Holtz has led the Pirates to three straight winning seasons and number four is on the way thanks to a dominating defense. Defensive end C.J. Wilson is a monster and tallied 10.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles-for-loss last season. With the return of tackles Linval Joseph and Jay Ross, both of whom are capable of tallying a sack or two, nobody is going to have much time to do anything in the backfield. The linebacker corps will miss Pierre Bell, but Jeremy Chambliss and Nick Johnson are back. Johnson is the leader of the defense from his middle linebacker position and if somebody gets past the front four, Johnson will make sure they do not make it much further. The secondary is just as talented as the rest of the defense, led by safety Van Eskridge.
The kicking game is in good hands, uh, feet with seniors Ben Hartman and Matt Dodge. Hartman set a school record with 21 field goals while Dodge ranked 14th nationally with a 43.9-yard punt average. ECU’s special teams should again be strong. Remember, the Pirates beat Virginia Tech with a blocked punt for a score.
Bet on College Football Predictions this season at Sportsbook.com and receive a 100% WIN Bonus.
