|
Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
 |
 |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU outside
receivers coach Dave
Nichol (left):
Replay
show... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
How good is ECU? |
|
GREENVILLE —
East Carolina became bowl
eligible for the eighth time in
the last nine seasons with a
31-21 American Athletic
Conference football win over
Connecticut at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium on Thursday night. The
Pirates improved to 6-1 overall
and 3-0 in the American Athletic
Conference ...
More from Al Myatt... |
|
 |
|
PURPLE
HEART: East
Carolina
coach and
alumnus
Ruffin
McNeill
joins in on
the fight
song in
front of the
"Boneyard"
in
Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium
after the
Pirates'
hard-fought
victory over
American
Athletic
Conference
foe UConn. ©Bonesville.net.
[W.A.
Myatt photo] |
|
 |
|
View more
pix in W.A. Myatt's
photo
gallery... |
|
|
|
Audio: Ruff Post-game |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke with the press
after the Pirates
defeated UConn 31-21
Thursday night
(recorded by W.A. Myatt;
file photo):
Select audio clip... |
|
|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
|
Kevin's Keys to the Game |
East Carolina
is back in action today
after its second bye week.
The opening in the schedule
came at a perfect time for
the Pirates. With just one
American Athletic Conference
game under its belt, it gave
the team the opportunity to
get healthy and recharge to
make its first run at the
American title.
...
More from Kevin Monroe... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MULTIMEDIA |
|
Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
 The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU hall of famer
and three-time Super
Bowl champion Robert
Jones (right):
Replay
show... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
|
SPC a model for success |
Football stadiums will be
buzzing again this weekend
as the second half of the
college football season
begins. But there will be
plenty of empty seats on
game day in many of the
student seating sections
around the country. ...
More from Greg Vacek... |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By
Brian Bailey
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
The debate rages on.
A team has to win convincingly in order to move up in the polls unless
the team plays a higher-ranked opponent, and then any victory will move
the needle upward.
East Carolina is a tough spot as the new College Football Playoff
rankings come into play. The idea is to run the table and hopefully be
the highest rated of the "Group of Five" and play in a major bowl.
Strength of schedule will factor into this equation. National rankings
play in. Unfortunately for ECU, some of the team's marquee wins have
turned out to be not so marquee.
Both Virginia Tech and North Carolina are in the midst of down seasons.
South Carolina is also struggling and that may turn out to be a "bad"
loss for the Pirates.
Do you ever wonder why there are very few one-loss and even fewer
unbeaten teams in college football?
It's because everything is so even in the sport. It doesn't matter which
teams are on the schedule. To win that many games in a year is rare.
I'm as guilty as anyone of comparing this season with the 1991 "dream
season" at East Carolina. That team won 11 games in a row after an
opening game loss at Illinois.
That team had several close calls. But somehow, some way, that Pirate
squad got the job done.
Those close wins set the Pirates up for the biggest win of them all, the
come from behind victory over North Carolina State in the Peach Bowl.
Coincidentally, the Peach Bowl is among the options for this East
Carolina football team in 2014.
There is still plenty of work to do, but the dangling carrot is out
there.
It is a sad state of affairs when fans not only have to hope for wins,
but hope for convincing wins. It's another reason the new playoff, even
though it's better, is still not the answer.
It should never come down to how much a team wins by in order to figure
out a ranking.
Pirate Coach Ruffin McNeill agrees.
“A couple weeks ago we didn’t even play and moved up two spots," said
McNeill at his weekly news conference. "That’s why I don’t focus on
them. I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I am informed. We
didn’t play a game and moved up."
The rankings are just a parameter, a source that changes with each week
of the season.
That's why a 16-team playoff is so much of a better plan. Everybody gets
to play. All of the major conference champions get automatic bids. That
still leads several at-large slots available.
In this system the Pirates only concern would be in winning the American
Athletic Conference title. A one-point win would truly be the goal. Just
get into the playoff and see what else can happen.
If it's good enough for the Football Championship Subdivision, then the
big boys should be able to handle it, right?
How exciting would that be! East Carolina in a first round matchup with
another conference champion or maybe an at-large team, say from the SEC.
A conference champion moving to the post-season would be much better
than trying to win games in convincing fashion.
For that matter, what amount counts? Are the Pirates, as a 7-point
favorite this Saturday over Temple, moving up if they win by 10? By 14?
Perhaps the Pirates coach put it best.
"We don’t coach for rankings," McNeill explained. "I’ve never coached
that way and I’m not going to start now. What we coach is playing our
best on every play and embracing our roles to make the team better.
That’s what we can control.”
Or in the words of the late Al Davis, "Just win, baby!"
BB
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at his weekly
press conference on Monday
(courtesy of Pirate Radio
1250; Bonesville file
photo):
