090211 KEVIN MONROE ::: Keys to the Game: East Carolina vs. South Carolina [fb]

East Carolina vs. South Carolina
Saturday, Sept. 3, 2011, 7 p.m.
Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
TV: Fox Sports Net/ESPN3

For the sixth straight year, Kevin Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate ISP Sports Radio Network, provides “Kevin’s Keys to The Game,” his weekly breakdown of what East Carolina must do to beat its upcoming opponent. Monroe brings a unique perspective to the task as a member of the broadcast team and as a former star defensive back for the Pirates (1995-99).

East Carolina can defeat South Carolina if it accomplishes these key objectives:

The Pirate offense has to take the field on Saturday knowing that it needs to score on just about every drive to stay in this game. East Carolina enters the game led by one of the best passers in the country. Senior quarterback Dominique Davis surprised everyone last year with his command of the offense and his ability to put the Pirates in the end zone. ECU's passing offense in 2010 ranked 8th in the nation with 318.7 yards per game and the Pirates' 36.8 points scored per game was 16th nationally. Davis completed 29.8 passes per game and accounted for 46 touchdowns last season.

His favorite target from a year ago was standout wide receiver Dwayne Harris with 93 receptions, 1,055 yards and 10 touchdowns. Harris is now catching passes for the Dallas Cowboys. This season, Davis will rely on leading returning receiver Lance Lewis (89 receptions, 1,116 yards, 14 touchdowns) and a host of other talented pass catchers, including juniors Andrew Bodenheimer and Dayon Arrington, senior Joe Womack and true freshman Danny Webster.

The Pirates averaged 36 points per game last season. Assuming the offense remains productive, the defense will have plenty of assistance on the ECU side of the scoreboard. The struggles of the defense in 2010 were well documented. The Pirates ranked dead last (120th) in total defense, giving up 478.8 yards per game. The rushing defense allowed 226.6 yards per game and the passing defense allowed 252.1 yards per game. Scoring defense ranked 119th, giving up 44 points per game. The fact is, the Pirates truly couldn’t be any worse on defense in 2011 than they were in 2010.

After evaluating that 2010 defense, the coaching staff decided the personnel were better suited for a 3-4 scheme rather than the 4-3. In preparation for the move, the ECU staff met with the staffs of BYU and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The most immediate impact on the defense will be the return of linebackers Justin Dixon and Marke Powell and nose guard Michael Brooks, who all missed upwards of 5 games last year. Some new additions to the defense will hopefully help to provide a spark as well, among them junior transfer linebacker Chris Baker and freshman linebacker Jeremy Grove.

Regardless of personnel, the Pirates will be facing a superior offense in the Gamecocks. South Carolina possesses the nation’s best returning wide receiver in Alshon Jeffrey (88 receptions for 1,517 yards and 9 touchdowns) and one of the top running backs in sophomore Marcus Lattimore (1,197 yards, 4.8 yards per carry, 17 touchdowns). Both are on the watch lists for almost all post-season awards for their respective positions. You pick your poison when you decide to stop the run or the pass against the Gamecocks.

Fifth-year senior Stephen Garcia will run the show at quarterback and is more than capable of domination when he is on his game. It will take an aggressive approach with some blitzing, stunts and disguised coverages to keep the USC offense off its rhythm. The Pirate defenders must come out fast and fierce to let the Gamecocks know they are not intimidated by USC's preseason national ranking.

The Pirates have to execute crisply and take care of the football in order to have a chance against the Gamecocks. ECU turned the ball over 29 times last year, an average of more than 2 per game. The USC defense had 33 takeaways last season. Defensively, East Carolina needs to force some takeaways to keep the Gamecocks off balance. ECU suffered 22 turnovers in 2010, while USC gave up 19.

The Pirates have their work cut out for them on Saturday. South Carolina is ranked 12th in both major polls and returns a talented veteran at quarterback in Garcia and two of the nation’s best skill players in Jeffrey anf Lattimore. But those all-star candidates are just part of the challenge USC presents, with 7 returning starters on offense and 6 on defense. That being said, football games aren’t won on paper. It’s the first game of the season and that means both teams will have tons of emotion and also some jitters. With jitters come mistakes. The team with the fewer mistakes will win this game.