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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates face ol' ball coach |
Steve Spurrier may be the
biggest active legend in
college football over the
last six decades. If you're
among the fan bases at
Alabama, Clemson or North
Carolina, you may regard him
as the biggest something
else. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guests were ECU
defensive
coordinator Rick
Smith (right) and
Mike Steele:
Replay
show... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Presser |
  East
Carolina coach
Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at
his weekly press
conference on Monday
(recorded by Brian
Bailey; Bonesville
file photo):
Select
clip... |
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Pirates check out personnel,
systems |
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GREENVILLE � College football
doesn't have scrimmages like high schools or exhibitions as
NFL teams do and financial circumstances haven't always
allowed East Carolina a tune-up outing as the 2014 season
opener with North Carolina Central provided at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium on Saturday night. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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Devaris
Brunson (34) and DaShawn
Benton (6) have a little
fun after East
Carolina's
season-opening win over
N.C. Central Saturday
night in Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium. Photo by W.A.
Myatt. ...
View W.A.
Myatt's complete
gallery... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Post-game... |
 East
Carolina coach Ruffin
McNeill met with the press
after the Pirates won their
season opener Saturday night
over N.C. Central (recorded
by W.A. Myatt; file photo):
Select
clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Kevin's Keys to the Game |
The first
game of the year is all
about fundamentals. No
matter the season, the coach
or the players, there are
certain things that have to
happen in order for a team
to win. Strategy and
schematics are important,
but none of that matters
without blocking, tackling
and protecting the ball.
...
More from Kevin Monroe... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Reformulated defense may
surprise |
We�ve all
heard that offense sells
tickets, so it shouldn�t
come as a great surprise
that earlier this week, East
Carolina � which already
ranks first in attendance
among programs in non-�Power
Five� conferences �
announced that it has
surpassed the 20,000 mark in
season ticket sales again
this year.
...
More from Brett
Friedlander... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Eye patch symbolizes blind
spots |
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Season openers have provided
some special moments in the
career of East Carolina
football coach Ruffin
McNeill. In his first start
at strong safety for the
Pirates at N.C. State in
1977, he made a
touchdown-saving tackle in
the final seconds of a 28-23
win. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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By
Greg Vacek
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's Football
Schedule
When you look back at the history of the South
Carolina-East Carolina series, it is one that has been competitive at
times � the Pirates have won five of the last nine matchups. The
gridiron relationship has also had ties that cross both programs.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier received a lot of
attention this summer comparing ECU to some Big Ten teams. Some say he
was poking fun at the Big Ten, but many think he was just stating that
ECU has a good football program.
While Saturday�s meeting between the teams in Columbia
will be Spurrier�s third against East Carolina as a head coach, the ol�
ball coach has been familiar with Pirates for a long time. During his
first year as an assistant on the Duke staff in 1980, ECU pinned a
season-opening 35-10 loss on the Blue Devils in Durham. In 2004,
Spurrier brought the Pirates some good luck to end a 9-game home losing
streak
when he was on hand for an ECU win against Tulane.
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill
was a sophomore defensive back for the first Pirate squad to play South
Carolina back in 1977. The Gamecocks won a close contest at
Williams-Brice Stadium by the score of 19-16 over Pat Dye�s then 4-0
Pirates � having to rally from a half-time deficit to overcome ECU�s
vaunted wish-bone offense. The Pirate finished 8-3 that year.
The Gamecocks later had
a string of successes against ECU through the 80′s. But the story was
much different the next decade, when South Carolina lost five times to
the Pirates � �91, �92, �94, �96 and �99 � with USC only winning in 1993
and 1998. In 1992, Coach Ruff served as an assistant on the Steve
Logan-coached ECU team that beat the Gamecocks 20-18 at Williams-Brice.
Older Gamecock fans may
still cringe when they hear the names Scott Harley and Junior Smith. In
a water-logged game in 1996, the Pirates trounced USC 23-7 mostly on the
back of Harley�s 291 yards on 41 carries. That came while the memory was
still fresh in the Palmetto State of Smith racing around and through the
Gamecocks for 192 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-42 Pirate victory in
1994.
For many Pirate fans,
they will never forget the week after Sept. 18, 1999. The two teams met
at Williams-Brice Stadium where ECU posted a 21-3 victory over the Lou
Holtz-coached Gamecocks. That South Carolina team had Holtz' son and
future ECU coach, Skip Holtz, as its offensive coordinator.
But the irony doesn't
end there.
After knocking off the
Gamecocks, the Pirates� stay in Columbia lasted an additional week
because of flooding associated with Hurricane Floyd in the Greenville
area. Gamecock AD and former ECU coach Mike McGee extended workout
privileges on the South Carolina campus to his old squad in preparation
for its next game against Miami (FL) � a emotional challenge ECU won
27-23 in a contest that had to be played in Raleigh because of the
breakdown of infrastructure in Floyd-ravaged Greenville.
Paulk brothers Leonard
Jr. and Rodney were on opposite sidelines in 2011 during the USC-ECU
game in Charlotte. Leonard Jr., started his first career game for ECU
and his older brother Rodney was a senior linebacker for the Gamecocks.
Their parents were in the stands, each wearing custom-made
Gamecock/Pirate jerseys with Rodney and Leonard�s numbers on them.
Now a younger Paulk,
Darius, is a walk-on at South Carolina, but is ineligible due to
transfer rules and won�t dress this year. �Leonard pulls for ECU, but
since his brother is on the team, he�s pulling for his brother,� was the
quote from Leonard Sr. in an article by David Cloninger from the
Columbia (SC) State. �Blood�s thicker than water," he said.
Shane Carden got his
first action as a Pirate QB against the Gamecocks on September 8th,
2012, in a 48-10 loss in Columbia. Replacing starter Rio Johnson, Carden
threw for 140 yards, completing 12 of 18 with one TD and one
interception. Nine current Pirates that recorded statistics in previous
battles against South Carolina include Carden, Justin Hardy, Montese
Overton, Chrishon Rose, Maurice Falls, Rocco Scarfone, Terry Williams
and Warren Harvey.
A total of 10 South
Carolina natives on East Carolina�s 2014 active roster will enjoy a
reunion of sorts Saturday when ECU squares off against the Gamecocks. In
addition to Mike McGee, Skip Holtz, and Leonard Polk Jr., let�s look at
other coaches and athletic department personnel with ties to both
programs.
� After being relieved
of his duties as head coach at East Carolina in 2004, John Thompson was
co-defensive coordinator at South Carolina in 2005. He is currently the
defensive coordinator at Texas State University.
� Charles Bloom, current
USC Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs served as
ECU Sports Information Director/Assistant Athletics Director from
1988-95. Bloom spent 17 years as director of the Southeastern Conference
office's media and public relations efforts, his last 10 years as
Associate Commissioner.
� Jeff Barber was named
the Director of Athletics at Liberty University in 2006. Barber, an ECU
graduate, came to Liberty after spending 10 years at South Carolina,
including his last three years as Senior Associate Athletic Director for
Development/Gamecock Club Executive Director. He also worked for four
years in the East Carolina athletic department.
� Former ECU assistant
and head coach Art Baker (1983; 1985�1988) was recently profiled in an
article by Ron Morris in the Columbia (SC) State. He was Associate
Athletics Director for Development and Gamecock Club Director at the
University of South Carolina for six and a half years, retiring on June
30, 1995.
� Dave Odom received his
Masters degree from East Carolina and had a record of 16-11 in a
three-year stint as head basketball coach at East Carolina (1980-82).
After a successful run as head coach at Wake Forest, Odom left to accept
the job as head coach at South Carolina in 2001. He coached his final
game for USC on March 14, 2008, in the SEC tournament.
� Eddie Payne, current
head basketball coach at the University of South Carolina-Upstate, was
the head coach at ECU from 1991-95 (assistant coach 1979-81). He led the
Pirates to 56 wins in his four years and won the program�s only Colonial
Athletic Association tournament championship in 1993. His 1994-95 squad
went 18-11 and his teams won 33 games in the final two seasons he was
the head coach. ECU defeated James Madison in the conference
championship game to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 1993, the
Pirates' last date at the Big Dance. Prior to his stint at East
Carolina, the trail of history shows that Payne was an assistant
(1986-91) for George Felton and the Gamecocks.
AMERICAN SNAPSHOT
American Athletic
Conference members Tulsa, Tulane, and Temple helped kick off the season
Thursday, Aug. 28. ... Tulsa and Tulane provided college football fans a
double-overtime thriller with Tulsa prevailing 38-31. Former Tulane
player Devon Walker made his first appearance at Tulsa�s Chapman Stadium
two years after he suffered a paralyzing, career-ending injury during a
game against the Golden Hurricane. ... Temple added a statement win,
routing SEC opponent Vanderbilt 37-7. ... Friday was not as kind to the
AAC as Connecticut fell to Brigham Young (35-10) and Houston�s new
stadium debut was spoiled by Larry Coker and Texas-San Antonio 27-7. ...
Saturday showcased a Central Florida-Penn State matchup in Ireland with
the Knights storming back to take the lead � only to lose on a last
second field goal. ... Memphis (bashed Austin Peay 63-0) and East
Carolina (steam-rolled N.C. Central 52-7) cruised to opening day
victories against lesser opponents, but South Florida struggled at home
in a 36-31 win over a scrappy Western Carolina squad. ... Sunday closed
opening weekend with Southern Methodist offering little resistance in a
45-0 loss to Baylor. ... Cincinnati is idle until it opens on Friday,
Sept. 12, against Toledo. The Bearcats will be the last major college
team to begin their season, with two open dates to start the year.
The slogan �American
Rising� emphasizes the opportunity this conference has if it takes care
of business against non-conference opponents. UCF's profile has been
boosted by its Fiesta bowl victory and the Knights look to be a league
favorite. ... Temple made the most of an opportunity by handing the SEC
its only non-conference blemish of the weekend. ... East Carolina will
face the first of three-straight �Power Five� foes when it goes on the
road to take on No. 21 South Carolina on Saturday. The Pirates travel to
Virginia Tech the following Saturday and return home to face a UNC-Chapel
Hill team that may be ranked in the top 20 when it arrives in
Greenville.
The next two weeks offer
opportunities for the league in some interesting matchups highlighted by
UCF's collision with Missouri on Sept. 13. Some of the pending clashes:
� Oklahoma-Tulsa
� Maryland-USF
� Georgia Tech-Tulane
� UCLA-Memphis
� Houston-BYU
� UCF-Missouri
� Boise State-UConn
� N.C. State-USF
Those pairings offer the
American an opportunity to define itself. If league teams can
capitalize, it will go a long way in confirming the hashtag #AmericanRising.
