East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill (US Presswire)

East Carolina has developed into a solid program, appearing in bowl games five of the last six years, yet there's nothing like taking a shot against the big boys from within its home state.

East Carolina ran out of its ticket allotment for this week's game at North Carolina on Tuesday morning. Winning games against teams like Southern Miss, which East Carolina did last week, is a nice accomplishment but it doesn't come with daily bragging rights.

East Carolina used to play UNC regularly, and then the series took a 20-year hiatus before it returned in 2001. The Pirates have won twice in 14 meetings, in 1975 and on a last-second field goal in 2007. They also were awarded a win from the 2009 game because North Carolina vacated all of its wins from that season, but that doesn't compare to beating the Tar Heels on the field. Ask Western Kentucky, which scored a monumental win against Kentucky last week that will live on for decades among its fans.

Maybe tickets are being gobbled up by Pi