By Al Myatt
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The Thursday night college football games on ESPN are scheduled well in advance. That's why winless Central Florida hosts struggling East Carolina on national television on Thursday night at 7:30.

The matchup has the makings of a ratings fiasco.

The Golden Knights (0-10) have had a surprisingly disappointing season after sharing the American Athletic Conference championship with Memphis and Cincinnati in 2014.

Knights coach George O'Leary resigned during the season.

The Pirates have had their share of adversity as well. A preseason injury to projected starting quarterback Kurt Benkert has been compounded by inconsistent play by replacements Blake Kemp and James Summers as well as personnel losses on the offensive front.

ECU still has the motivation of playing for bowl eligibility. The 4-6 Pirates need a win after an open date to go into Senior Day against Cincinnati at noon on Nov. 28 with a shot at the six-win plateau for a postseason trip.

"The open date was needed, hopefully, getting some guys back healthy," said ECU coach Ruffin McNeill. "We have three O-linemen out. Quincy (McKinney) didn't pass the concussion protocol so he'll miss again. Dontae (Levingston), that shoulder, the second play of the season he got hurt and, of course, Christian Matau.

"We've got some guys who had nicks and bruises that were banged up through 10 games who are pretty healthy. We had great practices on the off week Wednesday and Thursday. We began game planning on Friday. Sunday was the heavy day. It was really good. Good practice on Monday. ... Real pleased with how practice has gone. Very fast and snappy. The coaches are doing a great job and the kids have responded so. ... I like the attitude we have."

The Pirates have been competitive with the exception of a 45-21 loss at Navy. A 31-13 setback at Connecticut got out of hand late as Kemp was picked off three times trying to spark a rally.

"We've had opportunity in every single game," McNeill said. "Even with the injuries. I've never had this many injuries in my whole career at any time. Key injuries. Nonplaying injuries and like out for the year. Kurt Benkert injured rolling out on a sprint out. ... Quincy � it wasn't a heavy day but being a lineman you have contact. He went down and we were hoping he could come back. Dontae, the second play of the season. There was just some freaky stuff going on.

"But we're right there each game. People ask me, 'What if you had Benkert?' I say, 'We'd be 9-1, maybe 8-2.' ... We're going back to the dual quarterback system. We tried to get one guy ready to go but that really wasn't fair to James (Summers). James worked all summer at Justin Hardy. He was running the same routes. His thought process was that but we had to move him (to quarterback). The only chance he had to get better was in a game week, which has been tough on him. He's such a prideful guy.

"But we're going to blend them together, Blake and James. We've got to get the ball to our skill kids outside. James is one of the skill kids. We've got a package for him when he feels comfortable. We can limit his vision. That's what you have to do. We try to open it up where he can see all of it but it's hard when you haven't gone through a spring, a summer and a fall camp. How we did when Dominique (Davis) was here, Shane (Carden) studied under Dominique. Kurt studied and watched Shane. That's how you get better at it. ... Those two kids (Kemp and Summers) have practiced well. We'll have James as a weapon to do some things he feels comfortable with and Blake feels comfortable getting the ball around, too."

Cody Keith's decision to leave the program in preseason camp may not have been a good one for him or the program.

"It's one of those things," McNeill said. "He's been hurt every year. ... He's a special quarterback and I wish Cody well. I'm sorry he left the program. I've had it happen before. I can remember we took over at Appalachian State after Sparky Woods left and we had 52 guys quit in the spring because they weren't happy with this or that. You have to deal with it. You learn to deal with it and you move on. You always wish the kids well."

The quarterback situation will be significantly deeper next year. Minnesota/Rutgers transfer Philip Nelson should figure in. John Jacobs will be a redshirt freshman. Reid Herring, an ECU commit from Millbrook High School in Raleigh, has been putting up good numbers.

"I can't talk about a commitment, but if he stays on we won't have to worry about this for awhile," McNeill said. "Philip's looking excellent. John is growing each day. Kurt is rehabbing well, ahead of schedule. ... We've got some good commits if they hang in there with us. Some skill commits. Some defensive commits. We've got a chance to keep it rolling."

The current adversity could be a temporary downturn.

"It's one of those bumps in the road," McNeill said. "I was thinking about Coach (Frank) Beamer (retiring Virginia Tech coach) and Coach O'Leary. I want to pick his brain. Coach Beamer, I can't wait to pick his brain. That sixth year at Virginia Tech. That's when he had that year. It was a tough year."

Beamer was 2-8-1 in 1992 in his sixth season with the Hokies. Virginia Tech was 9-3 the following year with a 45-20 win over Indiana in the Independence Bowl. The Hokies were No. 20 in the final coaches poll for the 1993 season.

"Twenty-three years later, he proved his point," McNeill said. "It's all good."

The forecast is calling for an 80 percent chance of rain on Thursday night in Orlando.

"I hope not but we've played in the rain in I don't know how many games," McNeill said. "We've faced it quite a bit. We'll work on trying to take care of the ball and trying to take it away from them."

The absences on the offensive front obviously affect the unit's effectiveness. It has been a tough indoctrination for Dave Nichol as a first year offensive coordinator for the Pirates.

"Tre (Robertson) has been here but he's been hurt for a large portion of the season with a shoulder," McNeill said. "He had a concussion, too, but he's back. J.T. Boyd has been a great leader. Messiah Rice as well. Kyle Erickson has been doing a really good job.

"Those young O-lineman � it takes a redshirt year, another year of growth and just about their redshirt sophomore year, honestly, that's when they take off, the kids we're able to get. ... We get the ones we have to develop. A lot of teams do that. Those guys in the second year are getting thrown into it quicker than you'd like but they have to be ready to step up."

A favorable outcome in Orlando depends on everyone taking care of their assignments.

"Focusing on the team role that you have and embracing that role will be important," McNeill said. " ... Focus on doing your assignment, doing your job, making routine plays and then dominating your space. What your space is, make sure you dominate that. Play fast and don't hesitate."

More production in the running game could take some pressure off Kemp and/or Summers.

"We need it to open up," McNeill said Tuesday afternoon. "The passing game can help it open up a little bit and give us a chance to make some plays. We need field position set up by our return and coverage units.

"I just left a 30-minute special teams meeting that we always have. We go special teams at the beginning of practice. Then we go offense and defense. (We need) all three sides contributing and playing well, feeding off one another and finding a way."

In addition to keeping bowl hopes alive, the Pirates don't want the Knights to break that goose egg in the win column at their expense. Losing on a Hail Mary in Greenville last year generated enough frustration for ECU in the series, which the Pirates lead, 9-4. The stunning 32-30 win in Greenville last Dec. 4 was UCF's last win.

The Pirates are looking to snap a three-game losing streak of their own.

"We're both looking for a win," McNeill said. "We're looking for a win just as bad as they are, too. Our kids are hungry for one. We'll go out there and handle what we can handle and just see what's what."