Keys to the Game Friday, October 4, 2013 By Kevin Monroe

ECU at Middle Tennessee State
Saturday, Oct. 5, 2013 • 3:30 pm
Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium (cap. 30,788)
TV: Fox Sports Networks

By Kevin Monroe
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

East Carolina picked up a huge win over North Carolina last week. It was only the third time ECU has beaten the Tar Heels in the series and the first time in Kenan Stadium since 1975. That stat is a little misleading considering the Heels wouldn’t schedule the Pirates for about 20 years in the 80s and 90s.

Last week's victory is now in the past and the Pirates have to focus on another road challenge with a very talented Middle Tennessee State team. The Blue Raiders can win this game if ECU takes them lightly. The Pirates can beat MTSU if they perform well in these key aspects of the game:

PUT LAST WEEK BEHIND THEM

The Pirates managed one of the most emotional victories in the school’s history last week. The outcome was so meaningful not because the Tar Heels were such a good opponent — I would argue the Pirates got a tougher test from Old Dominion — but because of the futility ECU has experienced against the Heels over the years and the perception that the Heels don’t respect East Carolina. The fact is that the State Legislature had to step in and force North Carolina to schedule the Pirates. Those ingredients combined with the decisive manner in which ECU thrashed the Heels produced high fives around all corners of Pirate Nation. It’s one thing for the fans to linger with excitement over the win, but the players must move ahead and focus squarely on what's in front of them. Middle Tennessee State doesn’t care about what happened in Chapel Hill last Saturday. It will come into this week's Conference USA game ready to play and ECU needs to do the same.

EXECUTE A BALANCED OFFENSE

Through four games, the Pirates have had some pretty good offensive outings. When Vintavious Cooper gets 20 carries, East Carolina is particularly tough to beat. With the exception of the Virginia Tech game, Shane Carden has been been effective running the Air Raid offense and has allowed the Pirates to pile up points and make it tough on opposing teams to keep up. Last Saturday against the Heels, ECU ran the ball 54 times and passed it 47 times. That type of balance kept the North Carolina defense off balance and resulted in 603 total yards and 55 points. There is no question that this is a pass heavy offense, but using the run to open up the pass makes the Pirates tough to defend.

CONTINUE THE RED ZONE SUCCESS

The Pirates are one of the best red zone scoring offenses in the country. They have converted 95% of their red zone opportunities this season, going 19-20 with 16 touchdowns and 3 field goals. The one missed opportunity came on a fumble in the Florida Atlantic game. ECU was 6-6 with 6 touchdowns against Old Dominion and 8-8 with 6 touchdowns and 2 field goals against North Carolina. Executing in the red zone will be a key for the Pirates to bring back a triumph from Murfreesboro.

BOTTOM LINE

East Carolina is on a roll defensively. Since holding Florida Atlantic to 13 points, it has continued to put pressure on passers and play well against the run. The secondary is playing better, but has given up some big plays through the air. Safeties Chip Thompson and Damon Magazu are playing good football, but the corners need to raise their game to meet the level of the safeties. MTSU has two good running backs, a solid QB who started all 12 games last year and a quality receiving corps. Head coach Rick Stockstill was once a Pirate and will not take ECU lightly. He will have his squad ready to play. This will be a good game, but one that the Pirates should win.

E-mail Kevin Monroe.

PAGE UPDATED 10/04/13 05:16 AM.