East Carolina @ Virginia Tech preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2013 ) Virginia Tech 15, East Carolina 10

A two-touchdown thrashing of then-No. 7 Ohio State on the road last weekend has Virginia Tech riding high going into Saturday's encounter with visiting East Carolina. The 19th-ranked Hokies squandered all of a 14-point first-half advantage before pulling ahead for good on Michael Brewer's 10-yard touchdown pass to Bucky Hodges with 8:44 remaining. Virginia Tech prevailed despite turning the ball over three times and missing a field goal.

The Hokies will now shift their focus to a Pirates team that dropped a well-fought 33-23 decision to South Carolina last weekend. East Carolina is led by standout quarterback Shane Carden, who has thrown for 604 yards and four touchdowns through his team's opening two games. Carden racked up 321 yards through the air against the Gamecocks, but threw a pair of second-half interceptions that South Carolina turned into 10 pivotal points.

TV: Noon ET, ESPN. LINE: Virginia Tech -11

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (1-1): Both the Pirates and Hokies have instituted 24-hour rules - players must "move on" from the previous game no later than 24 hours after it finishes - but head coach Ruffin McNeill said his players didn't need that long. "I saw lights on from laptops (following the South Carolina game)," he told the Raleigh News & Observer. "They were already finishing watching the game and watching Virginia Tech." Aside from Carden's interceptions, which came on back-to-back drives in the third quarter, East Carolina hung tough with the Gamecocks despite holding the ball for fewer than 24 minutes.

ABOUT VIRGINIA TECH (2-0): Brewer was lauded by teammates and coaches following his performance against the Buckeyes last week. "We got a lot of confidence in him," Hodges told reporters of Brewer, who went 23-of-36 for 199 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions versus Ohio State. "He never has a bad demeanor. He's always up. He never got down at any point. ... he's a real good leader." The win was the first for an unranked non-conference opponent at Ohio Stadium since Florida State prevailed 34-17 back in 1982.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Hokies are 5-3 in games following a win over a ranked opponent in the past five years.

2. Virginia Tech has won the last four meetings, allowing 10 or fewer points three times over that stretch.

3. Pirates WRs Justin Hardy (220) and Isaiah Jones (196) rank second and fifth, respectively, in the AAC in receiving yards.

PREDICTION: Virginia Tech 38, East Carolina 24