Keys to the Game Wednesday, October 3, 2012 By Kevin Monroe

ECU at Central Florida
Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012 • 8 pm
Bright House Networks Stadium (cap. 45,323)
TV: CBSSN

By Kevin Monroe
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

East Carolina can defeat Central Florida Thursday night if it performs well in these key aspects of the game:

ESTABLISH THE RUN

The Pirates had their best rushing day of the season last week against Texas-El Paso. That ground attack was led by Vintavious Cooper, who had 23 carries for 151 yards and a touchdown. Cooper averaged over 6 yards per carry against the Miners. Quarterback Shane Carden complimented Cooper nicely, gaining 63 yards on 9 carries (7 yards per carry) and scoring on a pair of touchdown runs. Central Florida has a solid front seven on defense that gets after the quarterback, so having a solid running game will help to slow that rush on passing downs.

PROTECT THE QUARTERBACK

UCF has amassed 11 sacks through the first 4 games, led by defensive end Troy Davis who has 4 of those sacks. Davis certainly isn’t alone when it comes to getting after the passer. Six other defenders have at least half a sack this season. The defense rotates and comes at you from every angle. Lyle Dankenbring has 3 sacks from his safety position. East Carolina’s offensive line had a big turnaround from the UNC-Chapel Hill game to the UTEP game. Carden was given more than ample time to throw the ball against a stout Miner front four. Keeping Davis and his band of brothers off of Carden will be priority number one Thursday night.

PLAY SOLID ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Punter Trent Tignor has been a breath of fresh air for the Pirates this season. Coming into a season with a new punter is nerve-racking for any coach, but Tignor has dispelled those worries by averaging 42 yards per punt with 7 of the boots landing inside the 20-yard line. Kicker Warren Harvey is 4-of-8 on field goal attempts, but has made 4 of his last 5 tries after missing his first 3. ECU's return game started with a bang in the season opener against Appalachian State. Lance Ray returned a kickoff 90 yards for a TD and Justin Hardy returned a punt 43 yards to set up the go-ahead score. Since that game, there haven’t been any highlight-film returns but the Pirates have been solid enough. Conversely, a gap was exposed in ECU's kick return defense last week when UTEP's Autrey Golden ran one back for 96 yards and a score. The Pirates can’t afford a slip-up like that against Central Florida. The team that performs best on special team’s Thursday night will probably win this game.

WIN THE TURNOVER BATTLE

It's hard to get away from turnovers being a key with the Pirates each and every week. The team had a 5-turnover game against South Carolina and was unable to get any takeaways from the Gamecocks, resulting in a lopsided loss. Last week against the Miners, Carden threw 3 interceptions, but the ECU defense managed 4 takeaways of its own. Coming out on the plus side of the turnover battle can make the difference between winning and losing in Orlando.

BOTTOM LINE

This will be a road game for the Pirates against one of the best teams in Conference USA. The path to victory is to be sharp in all facets of the game. Coach George O’Leary’s teams are always big, strong and fast. The Knights will be well-coached and ready to play. The Pirates will have to "bring it" to win.

E-mail Kevin Monroe.

PAGE UPDATED 10/03/12 02:40 AM.