By Denny O'Brien
©2012 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.

GREENVILLE — East Carolina needs to ensure that Memphis remains a part of the annual football schedule.

With the Tigers set to join the Big East next season, they officially move off ECU’s regular Conference USA East Division docket following their 41-7 thrashing by the Pirates on Saturday. The Tigers’ departure also represents the loss of an almost-sure-fire annual victory in a climate where gimmes are few and far between.

That’s exactly why ECU AD Terry Holland should have spent most of Saturday negotiating an annual home-and-home series with the pushover Tigers. Their presence on future Pirates schedules would add a school from a more respected conference, while padding the win total in the process.

It would be the equivalent of a scheduling touchdown — actually multiple ones considering the ease with which ECU has handled Memphis historically.

“I think Justin (Fuente) is trying to build his team,” Pirates Coach Ruffin McNeill said about the Memphis program after the game. “I’ve been through what he’s going through. He’s trying to build depth and competition.

"I wish them well. But if we have some spots on the schedule, they can come back. Want some, get some. But I never have a mean streak about them. I wanted to beat them tonight, because they were the next game on the schedule.”

After Saturday’s runaway, you can certainly understand why McNeill would welcome Memphis back on the slate. And when you consider the Pirates’ series record against the Tigers — 15-6, with multiple blowout wins — it makes even more sense to negotiate a deal with the Memphis brass.

Because the Pirates can use the occasional non-conference breather.

Even on an evening when the Pirates’ play can be best classified as sloppy, the competitive gap was resoundingly clear. The only team capable of preventing ECU from hanging 50 points on the Tigers Saturday was the Pirates themselves.

Sacks, fumbles, and missed blocking assignments short-circuited several promising drives. Mistakes also fueled the mid-game lull that has become the most defining characteristic of the ECU offense to date.

Even so, the occasional blunders weren’t enough to make Memphis remotely competitive on ECU’s Homecoming.

That’s because Pirates quarterback Shane Carden delivered far more good plays than bad. Ditto for his receivers, running back Vintavious Cooper, and a defense that registered one of the best performances we’ve seen in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium of late.

“We had a simple game plan, a lot like we’ve had in the past,” Pirates safety Damon Magazu said. “We really just focused on keeping our eyes on where they need to be, reading our keys, running to the ball, and tackling well. I think our defense did a great job of that today.

"We have a fast team, and I think that played well for us today. Everybody was running to the ball. Those holes closed up really quick.”

The Pirates were so dominant defensively that Memphis could barely muster a first down as long as ECU was interested.

Offensively, the Pirates were equally as dominant when they didn’t get in their own way. Carden threw for 305 yards, Vintavious Cooper rushed for nearly 100, and the Justins — Hardy and Jones — were dynamic bookends at receiver.

Hardy finished with 137 receiving yards and two scores. Jones added 80 and three touchdowns of his own.

East Carolina’s overpowering victory clearly came at the expense of one of the nation’s worst football outfits. There is simply no debating that.

And if the Pirates were to continue playing the Tigers in the future, the results would likely remain the same.