Last year the country learned where Boone, N.C., was when App State beat Michigan.  This year it's all about ECU.

But just because ECU has forced a couple of upsets, does that mean that they are the real deal?

When people list college football powerhouses, names like Ohio State, Georgia, and Penn State come to mind.  The ECU Pirates?  Not exactly in that category.

A victory over Virginia Tech and a trouncing of West Virginia are quite impressive.  So is the No. 14 ranking that the Pirates have earned themselves (or lucked out on, depending on how you look at things) in the AP Top 25.

Now that South Carolina has fallen out of the Polls and North Carolina is well...waiting for basketball season, it is no wonder that ESPN.com's Ivan Maisel asks the question, "If East Carolina is better than North Carolina or South Carolina, then why isn't East Carolina a state?"  (Ivan, take a trip out there, you will understand why East Carolina is still part of North Carolina.)

With a match-up against Tulane, a school known more for partying and evacuating than athletics, coming up next, it would not be surprising if ECU kept its winning streak going.

So is ECU the real deal?  Only time will tell.  I'm just hoping UNC can be next year's ECU.