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FACTS & STATS: Site: Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000) -- Dallas, Texas. Television: Local. Home Record: ECU 2-0, SMU 1-0. Away Record: ECU 1-2, SMU 1-2. Neutral Record: ECU 0-0, SMU 0-0. Conference Record: ECU 2-0, SMU 1-0. Series Record: East Carolina leads, 2-0.

GAME NOTES: The East Carolina Pirates and the SMU Mustangs are both unbeaten in Conference USA play, but that will change for one of them as the two teams are set to square off at Ford Stadium in Dallas on Saturday night.

After earning a conference title last season, ECU got off to a rough 1-2 start. But the Pirates have come on lately with hard-fought victories over UCF (19-14) and Marshall (21-17) to open their league slate. This weekend's bout wraps up a stretch of four road games in five weeks for ECU.

Meanwhile, SMU hasn't played a home game in more than a month. The Mustangs opened the season with a win at home over Stephen F. Austin, then went on the road for three straight games and went 1-2 in that stretch. They were dealt a 39-14 loss from TCU last weekend.

East Carolina has won both previous meetings in the series with SMU, the most recent of which being a 38-21 decision in 2006.

Against Marshall last weekend, ECU scored all 21 of its points on rushing touchdowns. And none of those touchdowns was bigger than a 30-yard scamper by quarterback Pat Pinkney on the final play of the third quarter, which turned out to be the game-winner. Pinkney finished the day 14-of-23 for 131 yards and an interception. His only rushing attempt was on that 30-yard end zone dash. Dominique Lindsay carried 18 times for 76 yards and a score. The Pirates haven't put up eye-popping numbers as they rank 110th in the nation in total offense (298.6 ypg), but lately they've found ways to win. In their previous game, the Pirates scored 19 straight points in a 19-14 win over UCF. Pinkney is averaging a modest 177 passing ypg and has thrown just four touchdown passes against five interceptions. But he has developed a nice rapport with wideout Dwayne Harris, who leads the team with 28 catches for 295 yards.

With the Pirates clinging to a 21-17 lead over Marshall, the defense came up with two big turnovers in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. Sophomore defensive back Emanuel Davis intercepted MU quarterback Brian Anderson to stall a drive with 11 minutes to play. Senior linebacker Jeremy Chambliss came up with another pick in the final minute to squash the Thundering Herd's hopes. While the Pirates were able to hold Marshall to 127 passing yards and also come up with some big plays, it was a bit of a different story for the run defense. Herd tailback Darius Marshall ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns against the ECU defense. On the season, the Pirates are yielding 134.8 rushing ypg.

For opposing teams trying to stop the SMU offense, Public Enemy No. 1 continues to be wideout Emmanuel Sanders, who leads the nation with an average of 10.8 catches per game. Sanders ranks eighth in the nation with 116.5 receiving ypg, and his 29 career touchdown receptions is tied with Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant for tops among active players. In last week's loss at TCU, he managed 74 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. Those numbers could have been better if quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell was on top of his game. Mitchell completed just 17-of-38 passes and finished with 240 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw a pair of interceptions and was sacked four times. The sophomore signal-caller is averaging 305 passing ypg this season, but he has thrown 10 picks against eight touchdown passes.

The Mustangs defense has proven to be a very opportunistic unit, as evidenced by their nation-leading 12 interceptions so far on the season. In all, they've registered 17 takeaways and have forced multiple turnovers in four straight games. However, if it weren't for those takeaways, the team could very well be staring at an 0-4 record entering this game. SMU ranks 95th in the nation in total defense (400.5 ypg) and 100th in scoring defense (31.25 ppg). What makes those 12 interceptions so impressive is the fact that the front-seven hasn't been able to generate a ton of pressure. In fact, SMU has just four sacks on the season. And it's not as if there are no playmakers up front. Linebacker Chase Kennemer leads the team with 41 tackles and is coming off an 18-tackle game against TCU. It will be interesting to see if they are able to generate some takeaways from Pinkney, who is a sixth-year senior.

Neither one of these teams is particular dominant in any particular area. But they've both been able to come up with some big plays when they are needed most. A couple of big plays down the field to Sanders, combined with another turnover or two for the SMU defense, should be enough to propel the Mustangs to a win at home.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: SMU 27, East Carolina 21