Houston Football: Preseason game-by-game predictions for 2017 season
By Zach Bigalke
That begins with a chance to restore order against East Carolina. The two teams have not played one another since 2012, when they were both still in Conference USA. Though they are in the same conference once again, ECU and the Cougars had not been scheduled against one another until this season.
The Pirates have one of the least experienced rosters in the country. Half of last year’s starters are gone from what was already a 3-9 team. Scottie Montgomery enters his second season with little hope of returning East Carolina to a bowl game in 2017. They could well be 0-7 already by the time they face the Cougars.
Their non-conference schedule includes West Virginia, Virginia Tech, BYU and FCS national champion James Madison. Before Houston, the Pirates face South Florida, Temple and UCF in conference play. Given that they will probably already be out of bowl eligibility, all East Carolina will have left is to play spoiler.
Thus Houston will look to gain an upper hand early in the contest to prevent ECU from gaining any momentum. The defense should be able to clamp down on the Pirates, preventing things from getting out of hand as the Cougars get their eighth win of the season.