Looking ahead to this Saturday's matchup with East Carolina, I have mixed feelings about what to expect. Two years ago, ECU got destroyed in Morgantown after Kay-Jay Harris ran for roughly 5,000 yards against them, even receiving Heisman attention by CBSsportsline shortly thereafter. (I ran into Kay-Jay at a bar the night of the game and offered to buy him a drink. He accepted the offer and ordered a golden strawberry margarita. Seriously. I knew our season was screwed at that point.)

Last year's showdown with ECU was a harrowing experience, as WVU won by a final score of 20-15, and the Pirates had the ball with a shot to win the game at the end. After the game was over, fans were somewhat frozen in their seats, astonished by what almost took place.

Fast forward to this season, where WVU's first road game pits them against ECU once again, albeit under different circumstances from last year. Last year, Pat White saw some action against ECU (throwing a TD pass in the time he actually played), but did not start. Additionally, Steve Slaton didn't play at all.

So obviously, things have changed.

This season's ECU team has a record of 1-2, with losses to Navy and UAB and a come-from-behind win against Memphis last week. Last week found the Pirates down 20-7 at halftime before they surged back on the shoulders of their own "Big 3" - RB Chris Johnson, QB James Pinkney, and their standout WR, the phonetically correct Aundrae Allison.

Three weeks into the season, ECU ranks 105th in the nation in rushing defense (allowing a staggering total of 622 yards), while WVU ranks #1 in the nation in rushing offense (racking up an equally staggering 1,046 yards in that time.) Based on these statistics alone, it doesn't look entirely likely that WVU will be relying on the arm of Pat White for a victory.

ECU does rank 20th in the nation in passing yards with 266.3 yards per game through the air. However, that stat may not be all that reliable considering that the Pirates have played from behind in every game they've played this year, and probably passed more often than they would under normal circumstances.

With these statistics in mind, it looks like the Vegas spread of 17.5 points in WVU's favor is right on the money. WVU should be able to run at will, resting their starters late in the second half, but ECU might be able to put up some points through the air to keep the score at least somewhat respectable.

Official Couch Prediction- WVU-35, ECU-17