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GREENVILLE, N.C. The robust defense East Carolina fans had longed to see throughout this season surfaced Thursday night in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
There was only one problem. Against Virginia Tech, the Pirates confronted an opponent that thrives on defense year after year.
The result was a 16-3 Hokies win that left Skip Holtz and his Pirates 5-4 overall and out of big names to hunt unless they can return to Conference USA play and do enough to run across another Bowl Championship Series conference school to engage in the postseason.
To some extent, the game against the ACC's Hokies was much like the Pirates' early-season losses to West Virginia of the Big East and North Carolina. Again, the Pirates were hardly outclassed but could not produce the kind of big plays needed to make some noise.
The difference against Frank Beamer's No. 22 Hokies (6-3) was that East Carolina's defense did enough to put the upset within reach. Although roundly overworked and dealing with several injuries, the defense generally contained speedy Hokies quarterback Tyrod Taylor and prolific running back Ryan Williams as well as could have been expected.
But as has been the case this season, the Pirates simply couldn't put one and one together. The offense that posted 49 and 38 points in previous C-USA wins against Rice and Memphis could not crack the Hokies.
When an apparent 20-yard scoring run by former Independence standout Dominique Lindsay was nullified by a holding penalty in the second quarter, the Pirates' offense lost its edge. Instead of taking a 7-6 lead, the Pirates went to intermission down 13-3 and fighting uphill against a defense that wouldn't budge.
For a loud, spirited Pirates crowd, it was another reminder of how difficult it can be to consistently knock off nationally significant programs. A year ago in Charlotte, East Carolina upset the Hokies and bolted into the national rankings, only to stumble later.
"I've said this many times the last few years we've played them. Their program is kind of the blueprint for what we would like to do and how we would like to build this program," Holtz said this week.
"When you look at where Coach Beamer has taken that program and the things he has done with it, that's where we want to go and where we aspire to be. I think this will be a great measuring stick for where we are right now."
This time, the Pirates measured up short on offense. Unlike most of last season, quarterback Patrick Pinkney couldn't create big plays or find many playmakers.
The remainder of this season - at Tulsa on Nov. 15, then back in Greenville for Alabama-Birmingham on Nov. 21 and Southern Miss on Nov. 28 - will hinge on how much that offense can produce against teams without Virginia Tech's defensive potency.
If the offense comes around, the Pirates should be back in the Conference USA championship game, probably against Houston. The defense seemingly has arrived.
