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MEETING THE
CHALLENGE |
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 Terry
Holland (right) took an aggressive stance to
lining up non-league football opponents
after he was named ECU's AD in 2004, a
position in which he served until 2013. The
approach has continued and the results on
the field have electrified a program and fan
base that had fallen on hard times before
 Holland's
arrival. Holland is still under contract as
the Pirates' AD emeritus and his successor,
Jeff Compher (left), extended the scheduling
philosophy earlier this year when he
announced a 2015 date with SEC member
Florida. (ECU Media Relations file photo) |
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American Schedule |
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THURSDAY |
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UConn
at ECU, 7 pm (ESPNU) |
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FRIDAY |
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USF
at Cincinnati, 7 pm (ESPN2) |
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SATURDAY |
Memphis
at SMU, 12 pm (ESPNN)
Temple at UCF, 5 pm (CBSSN) |
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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
guest this week was
ECU hall of famer
and three-time Super
Bowl champion Robert
Jones (right):
Replay
show... |
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FOOTBALL |
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SPC a model for success |
Football stadiums will be
buzzing again this weekend
as the second half of the
college football season
begins. But there will be
plenty of empty seats on
game day in many of the
student seating sections
around the country. ...
More from Greg Vacek... |
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FOOTBALL |
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2nd half feeds into 2nd half |
The extended break between
games for the 2014 East
Carolina team amounts to
halftime in the regular
season for the Pirates, who
are 5-1 and ranked as high
as No. 16 in the major
polls. Halftime marked a
significant juncture
Saturday night at Raymond
James Stadium ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Future looks bright at RB position |
The pass-centric “Air Raid''
offense that Ruffin McNeill
and Lincoln Riley brought to
East Carolina from Texas
Tech back in January 2010
has from the very start
attracted talented recruits
at the quarterback and wide
receiver positions. ...
More from Sammy Batten... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Swamp Monster a dominant force |
Shane
Carden is “The Captain.”
Justin Hardy goes by
“Deuce.” Breon Allen is “Fun
Size.” Those nicknames can’t
compare with the moniker
Terry Williams goes by. The
6-1, 353-pound Williams is
nicknamed “The Swamp
Monster.” ...
More from Brian Bailey... |
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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
guest was ECU
director of football
administration Dale
Steele (right):
Replay
show... |
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Pirates End A Competitive Hex |
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TAMPA — East Carolina football
coach Ruffin McNeill has
acronyms for a variety of
things. He formulated TBA for
Trust, Belief and Accountability
to describe the foundation for
relationships among members of
the program. OPAT for One Play
At (a) Time evolved later as a
reminder for the mindset needed
to respond to immediate
challenges. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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By
Brett Friedlander
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
East Carolina has long subscribed to the philosophy of
playing anybody, anyplace, anytime on the football field.
It’s an approach that was accelerated back in 2005 when
then-athletic director Terry Holland, in an effort to help the program
recover from the disastrous John Thompson era, decided to become more
ambitious than ever in his nonconference scheduling.
The idea was simple. Nobody, with the exception of those
in the stands at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, pays any attention to blowout
wins against no-name FCS opponents. The only way to be the best is to
beat the best. And you can’t beat the best unless you play them.
But while games against the likes of South Carolina,
Virginia Tech and West Virginia allowed ECU to increase its regional
exposure and ultimately prepared it to win back-to-back Conference USA
championships in 2008-09, the challenging schedule wasn’t universally
popular among its loyal legion of fans.
The contention was that the disadvantages of spending the
first third of the season playing – and usually losing to – teams from
what are now known as the Power Five conferences far outweighed the
potential benefits. That argument has been all but silenced now that
coach Ruffin McNeill and his players have begun knocking off the
so-called big boys on a regular basis.
The Pirates are 6-2 in nonconference games over the past
two seasons, including a pair of lopsided victories against in-state
rival North Carolina and another at N.C. State. The two losses, to
Virginia Tech last season and South Carolina this Sept. 6, have come by
a combined total of 15 points.
The ante is only going to be raised over the next few
years with upcoming dates against Florida and BYU. Anything less would
be, as McNeill likes to say, microwaving the process and shortchanging
those who have poured their heart and soul into growing the program.
“The people that are committed to what we want here at
East Carolina will be ready to meet any expectation that is before us,”
McNeill said earlier in the season. “The expectation we have in our
rooms far exceeds the expectations outside. The expectations we have
will be met based on how well we stay focused on the team concept and
how well we stay dedicated to the vision.”
That vision is rapidly turning into a reality with the
Pirates perched at No. 18 in the latest AP media poll. It’s a lofty
status that probably wouldn’t have been possible against a lesser
nonconference schedule.
The next logical step is building on that early season
success and going on to win the American Athletic Conference title in
ECU’s first year as a league member.
There’s still plenty of work to be done before that goal
can be accomplished. But if McNeill and his veteran Pirates can pull it
off – and continue to be the highest-rated team from a non-Power Five
conference – the reward will be a guaranteed berth in either the Cotton,
Fiesta, Orange or Peach bowls.
There, the opponent would be a team ranked among the top
12 in the nation. Perhaps even one from the mighty SEC. But that won’t
be anything new for the Pirates. Thanks to their aggressive regular
season scheduling philosophy, they’re already well-acquainted with the
concept of playing and often beating the best.
It’s a challenge that has long defined their identity as
a program, but never more so than these past few years under former
coach Skip Holtz and current leader McNeill.
“That’s just kind of our mentality at ECU, that we’ve got
a chip on our shoulder,” senior quarterback Shane Carden said. “We don’t
care who we’re going to play, we’ll go out there and play them hard.”
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at his weekly
press conference on Monday
(courtesy of Pirate Radio
1250; Bonesville file
photo):
