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FACTS & STATS: Site: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (43,000) -- Greenville, North Carolina. Television:WITN. Home Record: UCF 2-0, ECU 1-0. Away Record: UCF 0-1, ECU 0-2. Neutral Record: UCF 0-0, ECU 0-0. Conference Record: UCF 0-1, ECU 0-0. Series Record: East Carolina leads, 7-1.

GAME NOTES: The East Carolina Pirates begin defense of their Conference USA title this weekend, as they host the UCF Knights at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

The Pirates are off to a slow start to the season and ended a two-game road trip with a 31-17 loss at nationally-ranked North Carolina this past weekend. The team opened the road swing with a 35-20 setback at West Virginia, so the trip was obviously unsuccessful. ECU, which picked up its lone win over Appalachian State, now heads into C-USA play and that is certainly good news for the club. Last season, the Pirates won the East Division with a 6-2 record and they went on to defeat Tulsa in the C-USA Championship game.

As for UCF, it knows all about C-USA title game appearances, having made two itself, but the program is trying to rebound from a disappointing 2008 campaign. So far, the Knights have won two of three outings, including a 23-17 triumph of Buffalo this past weekend. The team however, suffered its lone loss in its C-USA opener, falling at Southern Miss (26-19) in its only road contest thus far.

UCF has also had issues with ECU over the years, winning just one of eight all-time meetings between the clubs. In Orlando last season, the Pirates clipped the Knights, 13-10, in overtime.

The Knights did enough to rally past Buffalo this past weekend, but the offense was by no means impressive, managing a modest 311 total yards with a pair of turnovers. Still, it was an improvement from the team's 262.3 total ypg average on the year and UCF did score all 16 points of the second half, including three field goals, for the 23-17 victory. Brynn Harvey led the way with 98 yards and two scores on 25 carries, and he paces the team with 246 yards and four scores on the season. Brett Hodges earned the start once again and responded by throwing for 141 yards on an efficient 15-of-20 tosses. He also added 71 yards on the ground, helping UCF accumulate 170 rushing yards in the game. A Wake Forest transfer, Hodges has assumed the starting role for the ineffective Rob Calabrese and he has provided a nice spark to one of the nation's worst offenses from a year ago.

Defensively, UCF was terrific last weekend and only allowed points in the second quarter. The unit limited Buffalo to 304 total yards, including 86 on the ground, while forcing four turnovers. The Knights, who are allowing just 98.3 rushing ypg this season, also added three sacks in last weekend's win. Defensive end Jarvis Geathers accounted for all three sacks and he also forced a pair of fumbles, while Derrick Hallman had eight tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. Hallman has the team's only pick on the season, to go with 20 tackles, and Geathers heads the squad with four sacks in three games.

The Pirates have yet to perform up to expectations and that is due in large part to an offense that has struggled to move the ball consistently. Last weekend, ECU manage only 247 total yards, including only 55 rushing, in being held to 13 first downs and 17 points by UNC. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney completed 19-of-30 tosses with one touchdown, but he ended the day with only 157 passing yards and that simply wasn't enough. A veteran leader, Pinkney was instrumental in last year's title run, yet has struggled at the onset of this season, completing only 49.0 percent of his pass attempts thus far. Dominique Lindsay, the team's leading rusher with 133 yards, missed last game with a shoulder injury and that could help explain why the ground game never got going. Brandon Jackson toted 12 times for a team-high 35 yards in the loss and he now has 118 yards in three games. Wideout Dwayne Harris showed a little of his versatility last weekend, as he rushed for 15 yards and a score and threw a 35-yard pass. He also had four receptions for 45 yards, giving him a team-high 12 catches on the season.

ECU's defense has been a bit vulnerable in the early going and last weekend the unit was beat for 433 total yards. UNC rolled up 148 yards on the ground against a defense that is now allowing 141.7 rushing ypg on the season. The Pirates, who have managed just three sacks thus far, applied very little pressure last weekend and allowed UNC to convert 21-of-26 pass attempts. Van Eskridge posted 6.5 tackles in the loss and he leads the team with 20 stops for the year. The Pirates though, are still looking for defensive lineman C.J. Wilson to emerge, as he has been held without a sack after recording 10.5 a year ago.

Despite having a losing record at this point, ECU is still a legitimate contender for the C-USA title and it will prove that this weekend. The Pirates' offensive struggles may continue this weekend, but the defense should be able to control UCF and set the stage for a late victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: East Carolina 17, UCF 13