Keys to the Game Friday, November 1, 2013 By Kevin Monroe

ECU at Florida International
Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013 • 6 pm
FIU Stadium (cap. 20,000)
TV: WITN

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

East Carolina is on the road again this week in Sunny Miami where it will face a struggling Florida International team that is trying to find its identity. After a big win over Southern Miss two weeks ago, this game is important for ECU in the context of staying on track in pursuit of team goals.

In order to avoid stumbling, the Pirates must come hungry and play well from beginning to end. FIU (1-6, 1-2 Conference USA) wants another victory and if ECU (3-1, 5-2) shows weaknesses, the Panthers will take advantage of the opportunities.

If the Pirates execute the following assignments, they should win this game:

DICTATE THE INTENSITY

East Carolina flourishes in big games in front of big crowds either at home or on the road. The opposite could be said, however, in front of smaller crowds. Over the years, traveling to places like UAB and Tulane has proven tough. There is something to be said for playing in front of small crowds. Players can’t draw energy from the crowds in these sparsely-filled stadiums. The Pirates need to change that trend on Saturday. There will be less than 15,000 in attendance in FIU Stadium, but ECU must play like it is playing in front of 100,000. The Pirates must bring intensity out of the locker room in the first quarter and not the third. Starting slowly and allowing the Panthers to hang around would invite trouble. Dictating the intensity and taking it to FIU is the quickest way to victory.

MINIMIZE MENTAL MISTAKES

Physical mistakes are expected and understood throughout the season. Mental mistakes are a different story. Mental mistakes indicate a lack of preparation and concentration. Coaches have very little tolerance for these mistakes. Off sides or illegal procedure penalties are mental, dead ball personal fouls are mental, running out of bounds when the team is trying to run the clock is mental. These are the type of miscues that get teams beaten in games they should win. Receivers running the wrong routes, running backs going the wrong way or defensive backs playing the wrong coverage are also mental mistakes. Winning on the road leaves little room for errors of this sort.

DOMINATE THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE

FIU has one victory this season. It came when the Panthers scored a season-high 24 points in a one-point win over a bad Southern Miss team. FIU has struggled all season to run the football, pass the football and score the football. It is averaging only 11 points per game. In this day and age of spread offenses, 11 points per game is almost unheard of. When the Pirates are on defense, they must put pressure on the quarterback and close the running lanes of the running backs. They cannot allow the Panthers to gain any momentum on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, FIU has been better lately, but on the season it is giving up close to 40 points per game. The Pirates must establish the run early and impose their will on the FIU defensive line.

BOTTOM LINE

East Carolina can pave its own road to the Conference USA championship game in December. The Pirates have three conference games against opponents they should beat before finishing up with Marshall in Huntington. The Panthers are first on the list of obstacles. ECU must take these games one by one and take care of business on Saturday just as it did two weeks ago against Southern Miss.

E-mail Kevin Monroe.

PAGE UPDATED 11/01/13 01:39 AM.