Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 144
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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Improving C-USA lays down on
realignment
©2003 Bonesville.net
At this point in the season, the Conference USA picture
should be less muddy. It should be relatively easy to differentiate between
the haves and have nots, the contenders and pretenders.
But aside from struggling Army — which appears destined for
its familiar spot in the cellar — C-USA again is a league up for grabs. The
primary difference this season is the level of competition, which has
climbed a few rungs on the quality ladder.
Historically, C-USA always has been a league defined by
parity and its mixture of mediocre to slightly-above average teams. In no
other conference has the phrase “on any given Saturday” been more
appropriate.
That Army beat Tulane and Houston beat Louisville last year
supports that theory. It also is a prime indicator of C-USA’s overall
perception as a mid-major league.
Judging by the outcomes of several out-of-conference
contests, that label no longer applies. Following a weekend in which C-USA
notched three wins against BCS foes, only the Big Ten (with 13) has tallied
more victories in non-conference encounters with BCS schools.
C-USA currently has nine such wins, which speaks volumes
about its pigskin progress.
That’s the good news.
The bad news? The league’s sudden climb to football
legitimacy is a dollar short and a day late.
Sunday’s
assembly of league CEO's was yet
another sign of C-USA’s imminent implosion. Though no votes were taken, the
overall message was clear: The days of C-USA as we know it are quickly
approaching an end. Hence, the sudden meeting.
Louisville has all but punched its ticket for the Big East.
Cincinnati hopes it can overcome a renegade image and do the same. There
also are rumors that several basketball schools would like to satisfy their
greener-grass cravings.
C-USA suddenly has become the league with which no school
wants to be associated.
A quick comparison of C-USA and the Big East suggests there
is little difference between the two on the hardwood. Subtract Miami and
Virginia Tech from the equation – that would seem fair considering both are
ACC bound – and the same assertion can be made for football.
If anything, it can be argued that C-USA will have the upper
hand over the BCS ugly duckling next season. It most certainly would be the
case if measuring by this year's standards, which would seem to be the type
of leverage C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky could use to salvage his
league.
But the fact remains that the Big East is the league
clinging to an automatic BCS bid — for now, anyway — and you can hardly
blame Louisville for jumping ship.
At the very least, though, you would expect Banowsky to put
up a fight.
"To a certain extent, we've got to understand how the Big
East is going to go forward for us to be in a position to react," Banowsky
said this summer. "I don't think we can be in a position to pre-empt
anything relative to the Big East, and I'm not sure it would be appropriate,
anyway, given where our members are.
"We'll just have to wait and see. I think we're prepared to
do what we need to do to make the league stronger and that would include
adding teams to the conference."
That mode of operation has C-USA headed for an early-round
TKO.
Dark horse boomer
Need an early-season favorite for the Ray Guy award?
How about Pirates punter Ryan Dougherty, who not only is
making waves with his booming right leg, but also has become an unexpected
weapon in ECU’s arsenal.
Against Miami, he perfectly executed a fake punt with a
dead-aim strike to Mickey McCoy for 11 yards and a first down. His nine-yard
surge on a fake field goal Saturday moved the Pirates to within striking
distance of Wake Forest and briefly shifted the momentum.
"We got a good push from the O-line," Dougherty said of the
touchdown. "I got two good blocks, made some cuts and got into the end zone.
"I wanted to keep my feet moving. I got held up there for a
second, but I got a good push, stayed low and got a few extra yards to get
in the end zone."
But make no mistake, if Dougherty takes home the prize as
the nation’s top punter it will be for his thunderous kicks. In just four
games, he already has pinned opponents inside the 20 six times, to go along
with a 45.5-yards per kick average.
"I worked hard all last year and took some good notes from
Kevin (Miller) and Jarad (Preston)," Dougherty said. "I worked hard this
summer and just wanted to make sure I could fill the shoes."
So far, the shoe fits.
No finger pointing
Despite its 0-4 record, East Carolina doesn’t appear to be
sulking over the slow start.
Don’t think for a second that tempers are flaring in the
locker room, either.
"Sometimes when you see a team that is 0-4, you see a lot of
pointing fingers," Pirates defensive tackle Damane Duckett said. "I don't
see that in our locker room.
"We're dissatisfied with our performance (against Wake) and
we know we have to get better. With this extra break, we need to get people
healthy, watch more film on (Houston)."
There have been plenty of opportunities for finger-pointing
this season, but the Pirates have remained tight in the dressing room. Even
following uppercuts to the chin — such as the 79-yard toss from Cory
Randolph to Jason Anderson against Wake — the Pirates have been supportive
of their teammates.
"It was a big play," Duckett said. "But hey, you know big
plays are going to happen in a ballgame. We learn to adjust from that. You
give up a big play, that's fine... don't worry about it. Come back on the
next play and just keep playing harder."
That’s exactly what East Carolina will attempt to do next
Tuesday when it returns to C-USA play against Houston in what could be a
make-or-break game.
"Right now we're just looking toward our conference,"
Duckett said. "We need to get some conference victories. We're 0-1 in the
conference right now, but at 0-1, you can always turn it around. I think
right now, that's what we can prove that we can do."
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02/23/2007 01:53:36 AM |