Nearly three weeks have passed in the college football season (and yes, I've been slacking considerably with my entries lately), but if you had any doubts about how good East Carolina could be this year, you might want to start reconsidering Skip Holtz's team now.

Conference USA hasn't been known much for its football prowess since Louisville and Cincinnati bounced and moved over to the Big East in 2005, yet the Pirates might just have the right combination of talent and experience this season to win over a few BCS voters when December rolls around.

ECU, after all, has its toughest games behind them and a 2-0 record to show for it - along with a No. 14 ranking in this week's AP poll.

It just goes to show you what two good weeks of football can do for you.

In the first week, it was a punt block with two minutes remaining that led to a go-ahead touchdown and a 27-22 upset over then-No. 17 Virginia Tech in Charlotte, N.C.

Then last Saturday, the Pirates treated their fans to an absolute beat down of West Virginia, a team ranked No. 8 at the time that had its BCS national championship hopes spoiled at home in the final week of the season last year by arch-rival Pittsburgh. 

It was one of the main reasons why Pat White didn't test the NFL draft waters last spring and decided to return to school in hopes of contending for another national title with his teammates.

But that dream has nearly all been lost in a 24-3 embarrassment at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

"There are some things that need to be ironed out and there will be things that are ironed out," West Virginia coach Bill Stewart said after watching ECU fans storm the field in celebration of its first win over a top 10 team since 1999, when Steve Logan manned the sidelines for the Pirates.

"We will work hard and learn from this game. We need to get better defensively and work on our receivers. It is a long season and the naysayers cannot end our players' season after two games."

Yeah, I'm sorry to inform you Bill, but I happen to be one of those naysayers.

I mean, come on, are you serious?

ECU has a better chance at reaching the BCS national championship game than your team does after the a-whooping that they got handed.

Depending on who wins Saturday's mini national championship game between No. 1 USC and No. 5 Ohio State at the L.A. Coliseum - and my bet's on the Trojans after that annihilation of Virginia Aug. 30 in Charlottesville - the Mountaineers would have to hope that Georgia, Florida, Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma and USC all lose at least once (maybe even twice for the SEC champ) before getting any reconsideration for this year's title game.

And at this point in the season, all six of those teams are far and above better than the Mountaineers.

In addition, their quarterbacks are also proving to be superior.

White, a senior and preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, couldn't throw the ball a lick against the Pirates' defense, and it showed in the box score with just 72 yards in the air in comparison to 179 on the ground.

"I told them it wasn't going to take an out-of-body experience to beat West Virginia," Holtz, the third-year coach, said.

It certainly didn't even with East Carolina throwing for 243 yards in the air (386 in total compared to WVU's 251) and recording eight more first downs than the Mountaineers, but afterward, it was more of an out-of-mind experience for ECU fans and the rest of the nation.

"I don't think you can put it into words," Holtz further added about the win. "I am so proud of these players the way they have come out and competed the last few weeks. We played two elite programs and I am just proud of the way our team has grown. They are playing with desire, passion and togetherness. It is so fun right now to stand on that sideline and watch our defense play as good as it is. Every facet of our team from the offense to special teams was fantastic tonight. The players really believe in themselves right now."

And for some fans, who were accosted and then beaten excessively by police officers - it was later confirmed by several local Charlotte TV stations that ESPN viewers could in fact see a Lenoir County deputy punching a fan with a closed fist as other students and fans rushed the field in celebration of the win - it was an ugly finish to a memorable moment in ECU football history.

Fortunately, the now No. 14-ranked Pirates won't have to worry about any similar incidents this weekend, as they head to the Big Easy for their first Conference USA game against a Tulane team that lost last week, 20-6, to Alabama in its season opener.

The Green Waves, with all due respect, don't stand much of a chance if the Pirates play like they did in their first two contests, but Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Tulane most likely won't be the only wins Holtz's team will be seizing this year.

Because with a winnable schedule the rest of the way, including non-conference games at N.C. State and Virginia and an innocuous C-USA slate (and Tulsa, the one league threat, not on it unless the two meet on Dec. 6 in the conference championship game), ECU may have finally found that silver slipper as the next BCS Cinderella playing in early January.