The Pirate defense smothered the potent Mountaineer attack, limiting WVU to 251 yards of total offense while holding West Virginia to a 3 of 12 conversion rate on third down; they also forced two turnovers and recorded six tackles for loss.

Two weeks ago, however, the ECU defense logged a lot of minutes and gave up a lot of ground against Houston. The Cougars gained 621 yards (220 on the ground) and averaged 7.4 yards per play, handing ECU its second loss in a row.

Despite its struggles against Houston’s offensive attack, defensive coordinator Greg Hudson’s group still holds down No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 Conference USA statistical rankings in the four major defensive categories: scoring defense (1st), total defense (2nd), rush defense (3rd), and pass defense (4th).

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