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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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There is a 60
percent chance of a
shower in the
afternoon in
Gainesville, FL,
today, diminishing
to 45 percent at 7
p.m. when East
Carolina is
scheduled for
kickoff against
Florida. The chance
of precipitation is
40 percent at 8
p.m., 15 percent at
9 p.m. and 10
percent at 10 p.m.
Temperature is
projected to be in
the low 70s
throughout the game
with humidity in the
90-plus percent
range. Southwest
winds at the outset
of the nonconference
contest are forecast
at six miles per
hour decreasing to
three miles per hour
and shifting
slightly to
south-southwest
during the game. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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ECU lands Georgia
stalwart |
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 Locust
Grove (GA) TE/OLB
Aubry Payne has
signaled his intent
to sign with East
Carolina. He also
had offers from
Cincinnati, Georgia
State and
Presbyterian. After
playing significant
roles on offense and
defense last season,
Payne started the
2015 campaign with 4
receptions for 107
yards in the
Wildcats' first two
games. ...
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sketches... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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DE Futrell stays close to home |
Rangy Greenville (NC) South Central
defensive end Kendal Futrell will
follow in the path of former
teammate Shawn Furlow and play his
college football at East Carolina.
Futrell was also being courted by
Clemson, N.C. State, North Carolina,
Old Dominion and Purdue. ...
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sketches... |
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Towson tests Pirates in opener |
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GREENVILLE � East Carolina coach
Ruffin McNeill tells his players
not to apologize for wins. The
Pirates were challenged Saturday
night in a 28-20 win over Towson
at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium but
that might have been just what
ECU needed. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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Ruff & players post-game
audio |
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  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
Saturday night after the
Pirates defeated Towson
(recorded by W.A.
Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East
Carolina will take on the Florida Gators for the second time in 2015
after losing to them In the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3 of this year. That
game ended with the Pirates driving with an opportunity to tie the game.
Having the game
end with an interception in the end zone
left the ECU players and fans hungry for this encore shot at the Gators.
Now
it's a new season pitting new teams against each other. Both teams
lost significant talent to graduation and the NFL, and both teams
return some very good players. This time around its not a neutral
site as the Pirates have to slog through the "Swamp," one of the
toughest places to play in the country.
In order to wrestle the Gators into submission, the Pirates will need to follow this script:
STRETCH
THE FIELD
Blake
Kemp had a solid performance in
the opener against Towson,
completing a high percentage of his passes and managing the game well.
Every pass was accurate, intentional and on time. The one curiosity
about his performance was not taking any shots down field to loosen up
the defense. Coach Ruffin McNeill says Blake just took what the defense
gave him. The Tigers sat back in zone coverage, so he took the short
pass plays. On Saturday, the Pirates will face a tough man to man
defense including the best corner in the country in Vernon Hargreaves
III, the namesake of the former ECU assistant coach. The Gators will
roll towards the line of scrimmage and try to take away the short throws
and force the Pirates to throw the ball down field.
Article continues after the following ad...
STOP THE
RUN
East
Carolina gave up 179 yards rushing to Darius Victor and Towson�s rushing
attack. Florida rushed for 224 yards in its win last week over New
Mexico State. The Gators had 4 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards
per carry in that contest. The Pirate front seven was stout against the
run last season, but the departure of Terry Williams looked to have made
a difference last week. To win on the road in the Swamp, they will need
to play much better against the run.
PLAY
UNDER CONTROL
The
first game of the season is usually a little sloppy and week one was no
exception for the Pirates. The play on the field was good, but the
penalties were excessive. To win on the road in a hostile environment,
ECU will need to cut last week�s infractions in half. Road games provide
plenty of disadvantages, but committing penalties only makes things
tougher. Coach Ruff emphasized his disdain for penalties last week by
benching a player for drawing a dead ball personal foul. Coach deemed it
a selfish play.
BOTTOM
LINE
Expect to see the Pirates
play better tonight than they did against the Tigers. Coach Ruff always
has his teams ready to play in big games. Winning on the road is tough
against any foe, but the challenge in a hostile stadium against a
Southeastern Conference team will present a tall task indeed. For a
victory to materialize, the Pirates will need to stretch the field
offensively, stop the run defensively and minimize the penalties. It
should be a fun game to watch.
Send an e-mail message to
Kevin Monroe.
Dig into Kevin Monroe's
archives.
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill addressed
members of the media on Monday in
his weekly press conference. (Audio
courtesy of Pirate Radio 1250; file
photo by Al Myatt:
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guest this week was ECU
running backs & special teams coach
Kirk Doll (right):
