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How good is ECU?
Al Myatt View Game Day Photo Gallery... GREENVILLE � East Carolina became bowl eligible for the eighth time in the last nine seasons with a 31-21 American Athletic Conference football win over Connecticut at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday night. The Pirates improved to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the American Athletic Conference while the Huskies fell to 1-6 for the season and 0-4 in the league. Those are things we know seven games into the 2014 season. One thing that escapes a handle at the moment is just how good is ECU? The Pirates are ranked No. 18 by the Associated Press and No. 17 in the coaches poll. Despite the seeming disparity between the two teams that tangled on ESPNU, ECU had to step it up a notch with the score tied at 21 with less than seven minutes to play. The Pirates got stops and scores to deflate the Huskies' upset hopes. Too-often erratic Warren Harvey kicked a much-needed 31-yard field goal for the lead with 6:15 to go. A crowd of 40,152 could exhale after Breon Allen squirted nine yards into the end zone with 1:25 left to complete a 76-yard drive. Pirates corners Detric Allen and Josh Hawkins each fell down on UConn scoring passes in the second half or ECU might have emerged with a more comfortable win. At least, it made good television. It isn't what a program would want as a dark horse in the national playoff picture. "I told (the players) do not dare try to defend a win," said Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill. "The main thing is to win and we did that." Are we expecting too much from the Pirates based on their performance during the nonconference portion of the schedule? The Pirates outgained South Carolina in a 33-23 road loss and were without run stopper Terry Williams when the Gamecocks went on a clock-consuming drive in the fourth quarter that put the game away. ECU stunned Virginia Tech 28-21 in Blacksburg when the Hokies were coming off an attention-grabbing win at Ohio State. The Pirates beat North Carolina decisively for the second straight year. That 70-41 win at home has been the zenith thus far for ECU and was the triumph that catapulted the Pirates into the polls. That trio of games looked to be a pretty formidable walkup to the AAC but ECU's power five opponents have done little since to help themselves or boost the Pirates' strength of schedule. The Gamecocks have stumbled late in losses to Missouri and Kentucky. The Hokies have crumbled, most recently on ESPN in a 30-6 loss to visiting Miami simultaneous to ECU's matchup with the Huskies. The Heels have been humbled, losing twice before edging Georgia Tech last week. UNC took another salvo on the academic/athletic front this week with the release of information from an investigation into so-called paper classes. If South Carolina, Virginia Tech and UNC are run of the mill, then what does that tell us about the Pirates? It may mean we shouldn't have expected the ensuing AAC wins over Southern Methodist, South Florida and the Huskies to be easier than they were. What the league wins have shown, as well as the triumphs over the ACC teams, is that ECU is capable of responding well to adversity. Thursday night's black-out provided a background for another ECU gut check. Despite jumping out to a 14-0 lead, the Pirates faced a tie at 14 early in the second half. The Pirates got the ball on their 9-yard line after true freshman Anthony Scott bobbled the return following UConn's tying touchdown. A 53-yard pass from Shane Carden to Cam Worthy was the big mover on a 91-yard drive that was completed on a fourth down carry by Breon Allen from a yard out with 8:58 left in the third quarter. That put the Pirates ahead, 21-14. ECU corner Josh Hawkins slipped down on an 88-yard scoring pass from Chan Whitmer to Deshon Foxx that allowed UConn to tie the score at 21 with 3:43 left in the third quarter. Things started well for the Pirates with scoring drives on their first two possessions. ECU, taking the opening kickoff for the 30th time in the last 31 games, converted twice on third downs on a game-opening 79-yard drive. Carden passed to Trevon Brown on a screen play for 15 yards in a third-and-nine situation at the Pirates 49. On third-and-goal at the UConn 13, Carden connected with Justin Hardy for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead on Harvey's conversion kick with 10:52 left in the first quarter. Carden completed 38 of 64 passes for 445 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. "We made plays when we had to," Carden said of ECU's performance down the stretch. The conditioning work of Jeff Connors can't be overlooked as a factor late in games. Brown left the game with a first-half knee injury. McNeill didn't know his status after the game. "Just pray," said the Pirates coach. Hardy had 14 catches for 186 yards with a score. Isaiah Jones caught 10 passes for 75 yards and Worthy had seven receptions for 138 yards. After the Pirates defense turned in a three and out on the Huskies' first series, ECU picked up first downs twice when faced with fourth downs on its second possession. Carden threw to Jones for five yards on a fourth-and-three at the UConn 29. On fourth-and-one at the Huskies 15, Breon Allen ran for five yards. Bryce Williams hauled in a 10-yard toss from Carden as the Pirates went ahead 14-0 with 5:41 left in the first quarter. A 43-yard gain on a play action pass from Chan Whitmer to Thomas Lucas got UConn untracked offensively. The visitors pulled within 14-7 as Whitmer pushed forward for a score from a yard out on a fourth down call with 1:53 left in the first quarter. ECU had good field position after an interception by Terry Biles at the Huskies 33 with 12:35 remaining in the first half. The Pirates got as close as the UConn 6 but Carden was intercepted in the end zone by Byron Jones to spoil the opportunity. ECU drove 90 yards to the Huskies 5 late in the first half but Carden lost six yards on a keeper and a delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the UConn 16. Harvey missed left on a 33-yard field goal attempt with six seconds left in the first half. The Pirates were the dominant team in the first 30 minutes, holding a 302-124 lead in total yardage and getting 17 first downs to eight for the Huskies. ECU led 18:06 to 11:54 in time of possession but the difference was not as pronounced on the scoreboard as the statistics might indicate. The situation was not as dire as a 17-7 halftime deficit in the previous game at South Florida but there were some focus adjustments necessary at the locker room break. "We needed to get back to what we do," McNeill said of the halftime emphasis. "We were concerned too much with Connecticut." The Pirates finished with a 580-397 lead in total yardage. ECU converted nine of 20 third downs and three of five fourth downs. The Pirates were five of seven on scoring chances in the red zone. "Hard-fought game," said mike linebacker Zeek Bigger, who tied for the ECU team lead with nine tackles. "We're going to get everybody's best shot. I think everybody is seeing that now. "I couldn't be more happy for this team � the offense and the defense in that fourth quarter played their hearts out. We fight for each other. We pulled out this win and we go on to the next one." The Pirates begin preparing Sunday night for a noon kickoff at Temple on Saturday, Nov. 1. We'll find out more about ECU against the Owls but it wouldn't be surprising to see another American grind. PAGE UPDATED 10/24/14 02:24 AM. |
