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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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As East Carolina
kicks off the 2015
football season at
home tonight against
Towson at 6 p.m.,
the forecast is
calling for a
temperature of 78
degrees at the start
of the game with 73
percent humidity and
a 30 percent chance
of a shower. North
winds are expected
to be nine miles per
hour. The mercury
will drop into the
low 70s during the
contest and the
chance of a shower
will diminish.
Humidity will
increase slightly
and winds will
continue out of the
north at around
eight miles per hour
by 8 p.m. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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ECU Pirates 2015
Football Schedule |
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DATE |
TIME |
OPPONENT |
TV |
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Sept 5 |
6 pm |
Towson |
ESPN3 |
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Sept 12 |
7 pm |
at Florida |
ESPN2 |
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Sept 19 |
3:30 pm |
at Navy |
CBSSN |
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Sept 26 |
TBA |
Virginia Tech |
TBA |
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Oct 3 |
TBA |
at SMU |
TBA |
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Oct 10 |
TBA |
at BYU |
TBA |
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Oct 17 |
TBA |
Tulsa |
TBA |
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Oct 22 |
7 pm |
Temple |
ESPN2 |
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Oct 30 |
7 pm |
at UConn |
ESPNU |
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Nov 7 |
TBA |
USF |
TBA |
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Nov 19 |
7:30 pm |
at UCF |
ESPN |
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Nov 28 |
TBA |
Cincinnati |
TBA |
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Dec 5 |
12 pm |
Championship |
ABC/ESPN |
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FOOTBALL |
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Did Riley leave parting gift? |
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 Lincoln Riley got busy when two
quarterbacks who had committed to
East Carolina for the 2014
recruiting class went elsewhere.
"When they get fidgety, I get
fidgety," Pirates coach Ruffin
McNeill said of the sequence of
events ...
More from
Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates must adjust at QB |
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The
concept of developing depth and position competition at East
Carolina may be facing its biggest test in the tenure of Ruffin
McNeill as he enters his sixth season as football coach of the
Pirates. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
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What a difference a week makes |
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 The
offensive timing was back for East
Carolina’s final scrimmage of the
preseason on Saturday. That timing
was a big part of five scores for
the offense in the scrimmage. It was
a far cry from a week before, when
the Pirate defense dominated play.
...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
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  The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guest this week was ECU
offensive coordinator Dave Nichol
(right):
Replay
show... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates generate alarming numbers |
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For
a fan base that counts the hours to the start of the football
season, there is a paucity of statistics this time of year. The
only numbers generated since preseason camp started at East
Carolina earlier this month were from a scrimmage Saturday at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East
Carolina will host the Towson Tigers on Saturday night to open the 2015
season. The Pirates went 8-5 in 2014 after starting the season 6-1, then
losing 4 of their last 6 contests. ECU came out on the short end of some
tough, close games during the campaign and is intent on prevailing in
those types of encounters in 2015.
Towson comes into Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium after going 4-8 in 2014. The
Tigers, members of the Football Championship Subdivsion, are not new
to going on the road to play Football Bowl Subdivsion opponents.
They have traveled to take on FBS foes in 4 of the last 7 years. In
2013 they went to Connecticut to open the season and won 33-18. That
year the Tigers went 13-3 and played for the FCS national
championship.
Both
teams will be hungry to start the season with a win. Towson has the
added incentive that comes with the opportunity to spring another
upset on an FBS opponent.
In order to dispense of the Tigers, the Pirates will need to follow this script:
PROTECT THE FOOTBALL
Unless
you have been living under a rock, you know that ECU quarterback Kurt
Benkert was lost for the season with a knee injury within days of being
named starter. The QB duties now go to junior Blake Kemp. The most
important thing for Kemp will be taking care of the ball and getting the
ball into the hands of the playmakers at running back and receiver and
letting them make plays. East Carolina was 8th in the American Athletic
Conference in turnover margin in 2014, finishing the season in the
negative. Throwing interceptions or fumbling the football over to Towson
could potentially keep the Tigers in the game. Giving an underdog
confidence could prove detrimental.
KEEP THE TIGERS CAGED
The
Tigers have several really good athletes on offense. Running back Darius
Victor is 8th on the all-time rushing list at Towson and averaged 5.2
yards per carry last year with a long of 53. They also have more than
four receivers averaging more than 8 yards per reception. Giving up a
big play to the Tigers on the ground, through the air or on special
teams could change the complexion of the game. Game one usually has some
surprises, so the Pirates have to be careful of trick plays as well.
Towson will break out all the stops to get this win.
CONTAIN THE PENALTIES
The
first game of the season is usually a little sloppy. Offenses aren’t
normally firing on all cylinders and defenses struggle some with
tackling and coverages, but the biggest concern for a lot of coaches is
silly penalties. There will be some false starts or offsides whistles
and probably some holding and pass interference flags. The Pirates will
just have to minimize those penalties and avoid the bad ones like
personal fouls or late hits. ECU was penalized more than 8 times per
game last year, which ranked them 11th in in the AAC. Early in the
season they had several games with double-digit penalties, but as the
season went on they got better.
BOTTOM
LINE
The
Tigers will be out-matched and out-manned in this game. The size and
speed of ECU should overwhelm them. That being said, Towson isn't
new to this. The Tigers won’t be intimidated and can win if the
Pirates don’t protect the ball, minimize penalties and avoid giving
up big plays. The play of new quarterback Kemp will be under immense
scrutiny on Saturday and he will need to deliver.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill addressed
members of the media on Monday in
the first of his regimen of press
conferences that will be conducted
each game week. The Pirates kick off
the season on Saturday at home
against Towson. (Recorded by Brian
Bailey; file photo by Al Myatt:
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guest this week was ECU
defensive coordinator Rick Smith
(right):
