GREENVILLE — Coming off of two tough outings against Florida and Navy, the East Carolina football team’s defense has no shortage of confidence entering a matchup with Virginia Tech (2-1) at home this Saturday.

ECU (1-2) defensive coordinator Rick Smith felt that the team came into the week with some confidence problems, but things picked up as the week of practice went on.

“They were down after the game,” Smith said. “When we talked to them Sunday, (ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill) did a good job with them. Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery, you just have to learn from it.”

Senior field cornerback Josh Hawkins took McNeill’s words to heart after the loss to Navy and said that he has moved on from the past two weeks. Hawkins believes the team looks good and is well prepared for the Hokies.

“Wins don’t come easy, but losses don’t come easy either,” Hawkins said after Wednesday’s practice. “We’re going into this one thinking we’ve got to get this win, because it’s hard to see three L’s go under your belt this early. But the defense is looking good and the offense is looking great, so we’re prepared.”

Confidence hasn’t been an issue in recent years for fifth-year senior Zeek Bigger. The inside linebacker immediately put the losses to Florida and Navy behind him, something that Bigger learned over time to deal with. He said it’s a long season and there’s no reason for the defense to hold its head down just yet.

Bigger played a key role in ECU’s 28-21 victory against No.17-ranked Virginia Tech last season, tallying 13 tackles. He called the Hokies “the same old Virginia Tech,” though there are a few more wrinkles in the game this season.

“We’re going in there with our heads up high,” Bigger said. “We’re 1-2 right now and we’re getting ready to come back home. It’s lovely to come back in front of 50,000 of our fans and being able to bring in as good of a team as V-Tech and having a chance to win this game.”

Head coach Frank Beamer lost his starting quarterback Michael Brewer in the season-opener against Ohio State and has since turned to Brenden Motley. Motley had a strong outing in Tech’s 51-24 victory over Purdue last week with 220 yards on 15-of-24 passing. The redshirt junior has mobility as well, gaining 51 yards off the line of scrimmage last week, though he was dropped for 27 yards, as the offensive line struggled to hold up.

Perhaps the biggest threat facing the Pirates in this matchup is in the form of Hokies’ tight end pair of Bucky Hodges and Ryan Malleck. Malleck is the shorter of the two at 6-foot-5, while Hodges is the lightest at 241 pounds. The two pose major matchup problems for Smith’s defense.

“I think they’re the best two tight ends we’ll see as a combination,” said Smith following Wednesday’s practice.

Smith went on to say that Hodges will line up on the outside more often than on the line and is a serious goal line-fade threat. The redshirt sophomore had three receptions for just 11 yards but punched in two touchdowns against Purdue last week.

This is a critical game for ECU and could act as a swing game on the schedule. Following Saturday’s game, the Pirates will head back on the road for two contests against Southern Methodist in Dallas and Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. Entering the next two weeks with a 2-2 record would make things much less stressful, though Bigger does not look at this matchup that way.

“One game at a time, man, one game at a time,” Bigger said. “A team is just a team and a game is just a game. That’s how I look at it.”