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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Wednesday,
November 23, 2011
By Brian
Bailey |
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Win and you're in
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C-USA Standings |
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(Through games of 11.19.11) |
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East
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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USM
ECU
Marshall
UAB
UCF
Memphis |
5-2
4-3
4-3
3-5
2-5
1-6 |
9-2
5-6
5-6
3-8
4-7
2-9 |
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West
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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Houston
Tulsa
SMU
Rice
UTEP
Tulane |
7-0
7-0
4-3
3-4
2-5
1-7 |
11-0
8-3
6-5
4-7
5-6
2-10 |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
This 2011 football season
comes down to those simple words. Win and you’re in.
East Carolina needs one
more victory in order to make bowl plans. It’s basically comes down to a
one-game playoff, with Marshall facing the exact same scenario.
I’ll say again that I’m
not in favor of 6-6 football teams being rewarded with a bowl game.
However, that’s the way it is in college football these days and so the
Pirates will have a shot at a sixth consecutive bowl trip.
East Carolina made enough
winning plays to
slip past Central Florida last
Saturday night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Perhaps this team is
growing up right before our eyes.
Sophomores Torrance Hunt,
Damon Magazu and Reese Wiggins were the stars in the must-win victory
over the Golden Knights.
Hunt galloped 56 yards
with just over two minutes to play for the game winning touchdown.
Magazu came up with 12 big
tackles in the game — and the game-clinching interception. In a play
very similar to the play he made to finish off the
overtime win against N.C. State
last year, Magazu jumped a slant route and preserved the Pirates win
over UCF with the interception.
Wiggins caught two
touchdown passes and had one called back because of a penalty. He
electrified the crowd with his play. Wiggins can flat out fly and looks
like he might be a star in the future.
"Reese is one of those
guys who were mature enough to play last year,” said Coach Ruffin
McNeill. “I've told him that. He was on the scout team for us.
"He has a great mentality
right now. He's believing in himself and working hard. The key is doing
the little things. He's putting in the extra work with Coach (Jeff)
Connors and doing additional film study to better understand coverages
and routes.
"He's making sure he does
all those things. He has to make sure he stays that course. He has a
chance to be a good one. I'm proud of him and his progress."
Now the Pirates head to
Huntington, WV, with a trip to a bowl game as the prize for the winner.
"We know Marshall has the
same goals in sight that we do,” said McNeill. “They're also playing for
a bowl game. It'll be a battle. [Head coach] Doc Holliday has done a
great job. I've known him for a long time. He's a really good football
coach who is building his program the same way we want to build ours
here."
East Carolina is simply a
better offensive team when it can run the football. Despite a plague of
injuries, the Pirates were able to use a “blended” running game in the
victory.
"We wanted to blend
Dominique (Davis), Torrance (Hunt), Zico (Pasut) and (Michael) Dobson,”
said McNeill. “We wanted to use Dobson and Torrance on specific plays.
Zico's strength is downhill running and we wanted to mix that in, too.
"We wanted to establish
the running game. We still want to throw the football for a living.
That's not changing. We wanted to establish that running game with a
blend.”
McNeill said the blending
brought dividends in the end.
"I think it paid off for
us,” McNeill explained. “On the last run, Torrance was still fresh. He
was able to make one cut and go downhill. Torrance is one of the fastest
guys around and was fresh when he touched the ball.
"Every back was a
different mold. Dobson presents a different look because he's able to
catch the ball out of the backfield. Dobson is a slasher and Torrance is
a speed guy. Dominique is also a dual threat at quarterback.”
McNeill hopes that
successful “blend” does the trick one more time, as the Pirates play for
a bowl berth this Saturday in Huntington.
BB
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Brian Bailey Archives
11/23/2011 04:30 AM |
Replay
Monday night's BRIAN BAILEY SHOW,
with guest, ECU defensive
line
coach MARC YELLOCK. Eastern North Carolina's longest running
sports radio call-in show airs each Monday
night at 7 p.m. on Pirate Radio 1250 and
930.