GREENVILLE, N.C. - Today's Marshall-East Carolina game is a barometer on how far the two coaches, the Herd's Mark Snyder and the Pirates' Skip Holtz, have come with their building efforts.

Both arrived at their respective schools before the 2005 season. Holtz has the upper hand in number of victories (25 to 16) and bowl games (two to zero). 

"I don't think he had quite as far as we had to go," Snyder said.

Well, Snyder did take over after an underachieving team full of seniors went 6-6, and did have the yoke of NCAA sanctions handed down in 2001. But he would have an interesting oh-woe-is-me debate with Holtz.

"We won three games in the two years before I got here," Holtz said. "We beat Army twice and Tulane, and neither were on the schedule. We looked on our schedule and there was nobody we've beaten in the last two years."

Holtz probably had his first program-turning victory in 2005 over Marshall in Joan C. Edwards Stadium. The Pirates, who entered the game 3-6, rallied from behind to win 34-29, and finished that season 5-6.

Other big Holtz victories include those in 2006 against Virginia and North Carolina State and one in 2007 in North Carolina. The Pirates finished that season with a 41-38 win over Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl.

Snyder has had a few milestone wins, notably the 26-7 upset of ECU last season. Coming off an impressive victory over Houston, the Herd is shooting for new heights today.

"We're there now, and it should be very, very exciting," Snyder said.

ECU is coming off a 13-10 overtime victory over Central Florida. The game was tied at 10 in regulation.

Don't expect a game that low-scoring today, even if the defenses dominate. It has been a long time since either team was involved in a contest that offensively challenged.

West Virginia fans might remember the Pirates last such game. It was Sept. 14, 1996 in Morgantown, when the Pirates scored to close the gap to 10-9. Coach Steve Logan decided against going to overtime and went for the 2-point conversion, which failed.

Marshall's last game with that few points came in 2004, in a 13-3 loss to Georgia. The last time Marshall won a game with 20 or fewer combined points at regulation was Nov. 2, 1991, when the Herd was tied with Western Carolina 10-10 after four quarters. Marshall won 27-24 in three overtimes.

Marshall's Albert McClellan has come back from the knee injury that cost him his 2007 season, but his best contribution this season may not be on the field.

No, McClellan's most valuable contribution could be toward the development of Michael Janac, who has started on the opposite end in two of the past three games. Janac had a monster game against Houston, collecting nine tackles, 31/2 for loss, and 11/2 sacks.

"Albert McClellan had done an awesome job with him," Snyder said. "Before the Houston game, I told Albert I saw a maturity in Mike, and it showed Tuesday night, and hopefully that will continue. It seems like he's got a little confidence."

Some fans may be wondering: Is McClellan all the way back from his ACL injury, enough to pull off the out-of-his-mind game he had in 2006 at ECU? The last time Marshall played in Greenville, the Pirates won 33-20 despite McClellan's 31/2 sacks and 61/2 tackles for loss.

"He's freeing up some other guys," Snyder said. "I'll be shocked if that game [with multiple sacks] doesn't come at some point."

Among the top suspense items on the ECU side involves quarterbacks James Pinkney and Rob Kass. For much of the 2007 and 2008 seasons, Holtz has rotated the two, seemingly on impulse.

Pinkney is more mobile, but Kass has a stronger arm. Beyond that, their usage is tough for opponents to handicap.

"As you look at the UCF film, when Pinkney came in, he gave them a spark," Snyder said. "I thought he threw extremely well. I'm sitting here in my office wondering why Kass was even starting, and then when you go back and watch the Houston game, Patrick might have been off a little bit and Rob played well.

"It gives them two options, and it's a change of pace."

However the Pirates use the quarterbacks, rest assured that the receivers will keep tabs on who is in the game. They have gotten used to the different deliveries.

"You've got to watch out," said receiver Dwayne Harris. "Rob Kass, if you're not ready, he'll break your fingers with a pass. He's more of a Brett Favre type."

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.