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Game No. 11: ECU 17, UAB 13 |
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Game
Slants
Sunday, November 23, 2008
By Denny O'Brien |
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Bucs end ‘Bama, C-USA blues
By
Denny O'Brien
©2008 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
BIRMINGHAM — Maybe there was some
legitimacy to the Curse of Legion Field. Or maybe East Carolina historically
had reserved some of its most disappointing performances for the House that
Bear built.
If you’re looking for sound reasoning
behind the Pirates’ series of Birmingham blunders, the latter is the more
rational explanation. ECU has historically underperformed against the
fledgling Blazers, especially when it travels to UAB’s empty home venue.
For most of their 17-13 breath-holder over
the Blazers, it looked as if the Pirates were still subscribing to those
Black Magic theories. It wasn’t until Brandon Simmons plunged into the end
zone with 2:22 remaining that East Carolina seemed poised to break this epic
hex.
On a night during which the Pirates ended a
double-dose of futility – both the Birmingham blues and a history of letting
Conference USA East Division supremacy slip away – there was no shortage of
blown opportunities that could have kept both streaks alive.
It started on the first offensive play with
a Davon Drew fumble, and it persisted with a missed field goal and two
Patrick Pinkney interceptions.
That was in the first half alone. Shortly
after intermission, there was a fumble by Darryl Freeney deep in ECU
territory, another botched field goal, and a Pinkney fumble that came
dangerously close to thwarting any momentum the offense had mustered.
It was a theme consistent to all of East
Carolina’s fatal voyages to Birmingham. Mistakes, missed opportunities, and
other self-inflicted blunders cast doubt over ECU’s championship quest, but
not too much that the Pirates couldn’t eventually concoct a winning potion
of their own.
“It wasn’t easy,” Pirates coach Skip Holtz
said. “Not only was it not easy, it was ugly. I mean, five turnovers
offensively.
"I was looking at one point and I think we
had punted only twice and we had missed two field goals and had five
turnovers. Anytime you come in here, you know it’s going to be a hard-fought
game. This isn’t an easy place to come down here and play.”
For East Carolina it had been downright
impossible until Saturday.
It was clear early that, even with ECU’s
no-name depth chart, the Pirates had enough firepower to beat the Blazers by
simply executing. The UAB secondary was no match for ECU’s unheralded
receivers who found plenty of open space downfield.
They created the type of separation that
sparks a banner day by almost any Division I marksman.
For much of the night, Pinkney exploited
the Blazers’ defensive deficiencies between the 20's but struggled to keep
the offense in rhythm when it approached the red zone. That set the stage
for three Ben Hartman field goal attempts, only one of which made it through
the uprights.
“We’ve worked extremely hard,” senior
defensive end Zack Slate said. “With the limited numbers that we have, as
far as depth and all the players that we’ve had injured, we’ve kind of
thrown it out of our mind.
“It was a great team win tonight. It gets
to a point where the offense is struggling. But you know what, they’re going
to finish the game and we know it. So, we’re not exactly panicking. That’s
why we stay together.”
For UAB to win this game, the Pirates
essentially had to give it to them. They almost did. In the process they
almost fumbled away another opportunity to clinch a spot in the C-USA
championship game.
That would have been hard to swallow for a
team that started 3-0, found itself ranked in the Top 15, and was riding a
two-year run of missing the league title showdown despite controlling its
own destiny late. It also would have added a new, and perhaps the most
disappointing, chapter to ECU’s bewitching failures in Birmingham.
The Pirates avoided that peril by marching
55 yards in eight plays, a drive keyed by the unlikely heroic tandem of
Simmons and quarterback Rob Kass. Neither is noted for their sorcery, but
each made championship-salvaging plays during that crucial five-minute
journey.
The wounded but resilient ECU defense made
its share as well. The game-clinching interception by Pierre Bell was the
perfect exclamation for a defense that yielded only 258 yards. That
defensive unit is the primary reason the Pirates now have a game scheduled
for December 6.
Where exactly the Pirates will be that day
hasn’t been determined yet. It won’t be until Saturday.
What has been revealed is that this East
Carolina team has the guts and grit to overcome unbelievable adversity,
maybe even enough to wear the conference crown in two weeks.
The Pirates also dispelled the notion that
an unbreakable spell was the logical explanation for their Alabama gloom.
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11/23/2008 04:25:04 AM |
