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PRE-GAME ANALYSIS
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Keys to the
Game
Saturday,
October 4, 2014
By Kevin Monroe |
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For the ninth
straight year,
Kevin Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate
IMG Sports Network, provides “Kevin’s
Keys to The Game.” In his weekly breakdown of
what East Carolina must do to beat its
upcoming opponent, Monroe brings a unique
perspective as a member of the
broadcast team and as a former star
defensive back for the Pirates (1995-99).
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East Carolina vs. Southern Methodist
Noon | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (cap. 50,000) | TV: ESPNU
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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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The forecast for East
Carolina's home game at noon
today with Southern
Methodist is calling for
sunny skies and a
temperature in the low 70s.
Humidity is projected to
drop from 56 percent to 45
percent during the Pirates'
first American Athletic
Conference football contest.
Wind could be a factor as a
breeze from the west ranging
from 11 to 14 miles per hour
is expected. That would be
blowing toward the big
scoreboard or Boneyard end
of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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Full-size radar
loop |
Scientific
forecast |
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PREVIOUS FOOTBALL
GAME CENTER:
EAST CAROLINA 70,
NORTH CAROLINA 41 |
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Inside Game
Day | Photos |
Ruff Post-game
Audio |
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THIS
WEEK'S
AMERICAN
SCHEDULE |
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THURSDAY: |
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UCF
17,
Houston
12 |
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SATURDAY: |
SMU
at
ECU,
Noon
(ESPNU)
Tulsa at Colorado State, 3 pm (MN)
Memphis at Cincinnati, 7 pm (CBSSN) |
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FOOTBALL |
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American opts for eight
officials |
The NCAA Football Rules
Committee is allowing every
Football Bowl Subdivision
conference the option to use
eight-person officiating
crews in 2014. The American
Athletic Conference is one
of four FBS conferences to
follow the Big 12's lead by
trying eight officials
instead of seven. ...
More from Greg Vacek... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Teams going in opposite
directions |
The last time Southern
Methodist came to
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, the
Mustangs were in the midst
of a football revival under
coach June Jones. The date
was Nov. 26, 2010 and East
Carolina was in its first
season with alumnus Ruffin
McNeill as head coach. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Drowning out the positive noise |
Successful
college football teams often
have a bunker mentality
during the season. It’s us
against the world, with
every man putting the team
first. It’s a great outlet
in bad times and it’s often
very effective during losing
seasons to try and drown out
the negative comments from
the outside. ...
More from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest was college
football referee
Darrell Harrison
(right):
Replay
show... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Right time, right place,
right man |
Ruffin
McNeill is a humble man
clearly uncomfortable when
talking about his feelings,
especially as they pertain
to his East Carolina
football team. So it should
come as no surprise that
even after the most
emotional victory of his
five-year tenure with the
Pirates, McNeill tried his
best to downplay the
significance of Saturday’s
70-41 dismantling of rival
North Carolina.
...
More from Brett
Friedlander... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates live Dye's dream |
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Pat Dye went undefeated
(6-0-1) his last seven games
at East Carolina. The tie
(24-24) came at North
Carolina on Oct. 27, 1979.
ECU always had to play
in-state ACC teams on the
road in those days. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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15 Questions for
Warren Harvey |
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 Warren
Harvey (5-11, 225)
is in his third
season as the East
Carolina kickoff
specialist and
placekicker. Harvey
is an ECU legacy as
his father, Charlie
Harvey, played
soccer as a Pirate
and also was the
program's head coach
in 1987. ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: ECU
kicking specialist
Warren Harvey is
climbing his way up
the career record
charts in points
scored and PATs
made. The senior
from Greenville, who
once converted 86
PATs in a row, has
posted 11
multi-field goal
games. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Been there, done that |
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Shortly
after East Carolina's upset
win over Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg two Saturdays
ago, someone with the school
told me he wished the
football team would "act
like they had been there
before."
...
More from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
 The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest was ECU
offensive line coach
Brandon Jones
(right):
Replay
show... |
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Work pays off as Pirates party |
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GREENVILLE — North Carolina's
second trick play for a
touchdown, a 29-yard pass from
holder Tommy Hibbard to a wide
open Eric Albright from field
goal formation, momentarily
subdued the excitement at rowdy
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on
Saturday. The score came with
12:15 left in the first half and
gave the Tar Heels their last
lead at 20-14. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
East
Carolina will have a second straight home game this week when it faces
Southern Methodist. The Mustangs have had a rough start to the 2014
season, going 0-4 with losses to North Texas and three nationally-ranked
teams in Texas Christian, Texas A&M and Baylor. SMU has scored only one
touchdown this season, against North Texas. The Mustangs' season took a
turn for the worse in week two when head coach June Jones resigned. The
Pirates are favored in a big way and will win this game if they follow
this script:
STAY
FOCUSED
Coach Ruffin McNeil preaches about the process. The team is told to
play one play at a time, one quarter at a time, one game at a time.
It’s all about staying focused on that one particular game and not
looking ahead. It’s easy to look past the Mustangs because of their
early struggles. The Pirates have to challenge themselves and not
let SMU dictate how they play. The only thing ECU can control is how
it plays offensively and defensively.
STEP
ON THE GAS
Quarterback Shane Carden and the Pirates need to get off to a fast
start and not look back. The receiving corps has been outstanding
all season with only a few drops. Isaiah Jones, Cam Worthy and
Justin Hardy have all had big games at different times this year.
Worthy has to sit another game on suspension, but Trevon Brown has
stepped up and played well in his absence. The running game has also
come up big in the last couple of weeks. Breon Allen rushed for over
200 yards in
the romp over North Carolina.
Getting out to a quick start like they have in the last three games
and keeping their foot on the pedal is imperative for the Pirates.
INTENSE PRESSURE
SMU
has endured 30 sacks in its first four games. That is an average of
nearly 8 sacks per game. ECU's linebacking group of Zeke Bigger,
Brandon Williams, Montese Overton and Maurice Falls has been
terrorizing quarterbacks all season. The Pirates' defensive line has
also done a good job controlling the line of scrimmage. If ECU can
put pressure on the Mustangs and produce sacks and pressures and
force turnovers, it will be in good shape. The Mustangs have fumbled
11 times this year — losing 7 of them — and thrown 4 interceptions.
Applying unrelenting pressure through stunts and blitzes will keep
the Pirates in command of SMU's offense.
BOTTOM LINE
I
know ECU fans have enjoyed playing three straight top 25 teams, but
now that the Pirates are in conference play they will face some
teams that aren’t on that elite level. ECU's objective should be to
go out and win in impressive fashion. The Pirates should have no
problem against the Mustangs if they stay focused, get out quickly
on offense and maintain defensive pressure. It should be a fun day
in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
10/04/2014 04:13 AM
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ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at his weekly
press conference on Monday
(courtesy of Pirate Radio
1250; Bonesville file
photo):
