That improvement will be tested this week as explosive East Carolina (3-2) visits LaVell Edwards Stadium for a 5:30 p.m. MDT encounter on Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPNU. The Pirates' "Air Raid" offensive attack cranked out 49 points against SMU last week and had 35 against Virginia Tech the previous week. Mendenhall, who calls the defensive plays, said he has simplified his strategy somewhat because of injuries to key defensive players.
"I am working to make it as simple as possible," he said. "The last game was as simple as we've had yet, but they played it fast and they played it better.