East Carolina vs. Kentuky

Pirates -3 vs. Wildcats

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It was quite a memorable year for East Carolina and its football fans this season. It got even sweeter when coach Skip Holtz decided to stick with the program he has build so well, so fast. He had been in consideration for the Syracuse job, but pulled his name from contention. The Pirates will have a chance (9-4) at a 10 win season for the first time since 1991 when they play Kentucky (6-6) in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on January 2nd.

East Carolina appeared on the national map when they upset two Top 25 teams in consecutive weeks by beating Virginia Tech and West Virginia. The Pirates jumped to number 14 in the polls, but were quickly forgotten as they descended rapidly with three straight losses. They righted the ship and finished with six wins in the last seven contests, including a 27-24 victory over Tulsa on December 6th to claim the Conference USA title, their first in that conference and first conference title since 1976 when they were a member of the Southern Conference.

Statistics tell a story and East Carolinas tell the story of a great coaching job by Holtz. The East Carolina Pirates won despite having the 83rd best offense in the nation. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney was effective, but not flashy. He threw for 2370 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven picks. Pickney started all 13 games for the Pirates this season.

The Kentucky Wildcats are not as lucky. They will have backup signal-caller Mark Hartline starting in place of starter Randall Cobb, who underwent knee surgery one month ago. Hartline actually went into the season as starter but lost the job to Cobb when he struggled against Florida and Mississippi State. He has thrown eight scores against seven picks on the season while completing just over half of his passes.

Kentuckys season hit the skids by losing three straight to end the season. In the first half of the season, the Wildcats held opponents to 11.9 points, but in the last five games that stat ballooned to 35.4 points per game in the final five, largely because of surrendering 63 to the Gators and 42 to Georgia.

The programs have met only once with Kentucky coming out on top 6-3 on November 13, 1993.

East Carolina has an 8-6 bowl record and will be playing in their third consecutive bowl game, winning last years Hawaii Bowl 41-38 over Boise State. Kentucky is appearing in their third consecutive bowl game as well, tying a school record set in the early fifties. Last season the Wildcats beat Florida State in the Music City Bowl.

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