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Intertwined history adds spice to matchup

By Greg Vacek
©2014 Bonesville.net
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When you look back at the history of the South Carolina-East Carolina series, it is one that has been competitive at times — the Pirates have won five of the last nine matchups. The gridiron relationship has also had ties that cross both programs.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier received a lot of attention this summer comparing ECU to some Big Ten teams. Some say he was poking fun at the Big Ten, but many think he was just stating that ECU has a good football program.

While Saturday’s meeting between the teams in Columbia will be Spurrier’s third against East Carolina as a head coach, the ol’ ball coach has been familiar with Pirates for a long time. During his first year as an assistant on the Duke staff in 1980, ECU pinned a season-opening 35-10 loss on the Blue Devils in Durham. In 2004, Spurrier brought the Pirates some good luck to end a 9-game home losing streak when he was on hand for an ECU win against Tulane.

ECU coach Ruffin McNeill was a sophomore defensive back for the first Pirate squad to play South Carolina back in 1977. The Gamecocks won a close contest at Williams-Brice Stadium by the score of 19-16 over Pat Dye’s then 4-0 Pirates – having to rally from a half-time deficit to overcome ECU’s vaunted wish-bone offense. The Pirate finished 8-3 that year.

The Gamecocks later had a string of successes against ECU through the 80′s. But the story was much different the next decade, when South Carolina lost five times to the Pirates – ’91, ’92, ’94, ’96 and ’99 – with USC only winning in 1993 and 1998. In 1992, Coach Ruff served as an assistant on the Steve Logan-coached ECU team that beat the Gamecocks 20-18 at Williams-Brice.

Older Gamecock fans may still cringe when they hear the names Scott Harley and Junior Smith. In a water-logged game in 1996, the Pirates trounced USC 23-7 mostly on the back of Harley’s 291 yards on 41 carries. That came while the memory was still fresh in the Palmetto State of Smith racing around and through the Gamecocks for 192 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-42 Pirate victory in 1994.

For many Pirate fans, they will never forget the week after Sept. 18, 1999. The two teams met at Williams-Brice Stadium where ECU posted a 21-3 victory over the Lou Holtz-coached Gamecocks. That South Carolina team had Holtz' son and future ECU coach, Skip Holtz, as its offensive coordinator.

But the irony doesn't end there.

After knocking off the Gamecocks, the Pirates’ stay in Columbia lasted an additional week because of flooding associated with Hurricane Floyd in the Greenville area. Gamecock AD and former ECU coach Mike McGee extended workout privileges on the South Carolina campus to his old squad in preparation for its next game against Miami (FL) — a emotional challenge ECU won 27-23 in a contest that had to be played in Raleigh because of the breakdown of infrastructure in Floyd-ravaged Greenville.

Paulk brothers Leonard Jr. and Rodney were on opposite sidelines in 2011 during the USC-ECU game in Charlotte. Leonard Jr., started his first career game for ECU and his older brother Rodney was a senior linebacker for the Gamecocks. Their parents were in the stands, each wearing custom-made Gamecock/Pirate jerseys with Rodney and Leonard’s numbers on them.

Now a younger Paulk, Darius, is a walk-on at South Carolina, but is ineligible due to transfer rules and won’t dress this year. “Leonard pulls for ECU, but since his brother is on the team, he’s pulling for his brother,” was the quote from Leonard Sr. in an article by David Cloninger from the Columbia (SC) State. “Blood’s thicker than water," he said.

Shane Carden got his first action as a Pirate QB against the Gamecocks on September 8th, 2012, in a 48-10 loss in Columbia. Replacing starter Rio Johnson, Carden threw for 140 yards, completing 12 of 18 with one TD and one interception. Nine current Pirates that recorded statistics in previous battles against South Carolina include Carden, Justin Hardy, Montese Overton, Chrishon Rose, Maurice Falls, Rocco Scarfone, Terry Williams and Warren Harvey.

A total of 10 South Carolina natives on East Carolina’s 2014 active roster will enjoy a reunion of sorts Saturday when ECU squares off against the Gamecocks. In addition to Mike McGee, Skip Holtz, and Leonard Polk Jr., let’s look at other coaches and athletic department personnel with ties to both programs.

• After being relieved of his duties as head coach at East Carolina in 2004, John Thompson was co-defensive coordinator at South Carolina in 2005. He is currently the defensive coordinator at Texas State University.

• Charles Bloom, current USC Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs served as ECU Sports Information Director/Assistant Athletics Director from 1988-95. Bloom spent 17 years as director of the Southeastern Conference office's media and public relations efforts, his last 10 years as Associate Commissioner.

• Jeff Barber was named the Director of Athletics at Liberty University in 2006. Barber, an ECU graduate, came to Liberty after spending 10 years at South Carolina, including his last three years as Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development/Gamecock Club Executive Director. He also worked for four years in the East Carolina athletic department.

• Former ECU assistant and head coach Art Baker (1983; 1985–1988) was recently profiled in an article by Ron Morris in the Columbia (SC) State. He was Associate Athletics Director for Development and Gamecock Club Director at the University of South Carolina for six and a half years, retiring on June 30, 1995.

• Dave Odom received his Masters degree from East Carolina and had a record of 16-11 in a three-year stint as head basketball coach at East Carolina (1980-82). After a successful run as head coach at Wake Forest, Odom left to accept the job as head coach at South Carolina in 2001. He coached his final game for USC on March 14, 2008, in the SEC tournament.

• Eddie Payne, current head basketball coach at the University of South Carolina-Upstate, was the head coach at ECU from 1991-95 (assistant coach 1979-81). He led the Pirates to 56 wins in his four years and won the program’s only Colonial Athletic Association tournament championship in 1993. His 1994-95 squad went 18-11 and his teams won 33 games in the final two seasons he was the head coach. ECU defeated James Madison in the conference championship game to advance to the NCAA Tournament in 1993, the Pirates' last date at the Big Dance. Prior to his stint at East Carolina, the trail of history shows that Payne was an assistant (1986-91) for George Felton and the Gamecocks.

AMERICAN SNAPSHOT

American Athletic Conference members Tulsa, Tulane, and Temple helped kick off the season Thursday, Aug. 28. ... Tulsa and Tulane provided college football fans a double-overtime thriller with Tulsa prevailing 38-31. Former Tulane player Devon Walker made his first appearance at Tulsa’s Chapman Stadium two years after he suffered a paralyzing, career-ending injury during a game against the Golden Hurricane. ... Temple added a statement win, routing SEC opponent Vanderbilt 37-7. ... Friday was not as kind to the AAC as Connecticut fell to Brigham Young (35-10) and Houston’s new stadium debut was spoiled by Larry Coker and Texas-San Antonio 27-7. ... Saturday showcased a Central Florida-Penn State matchup in Ireland with the Knights storming back to take the lead — only to lose on a last second field goal. ... Memphis (bashed Austin Peay 63-0) and East Carolina (steam-rolled N.C. Central 52-7) cruised to opening day victories against lesser opponents, but South Florida struggled at home in a 36-31 win over a scrappy Western Carolina squad. ... Sunday closed opening weekend with Southern Methodist offering little resistance in a 45-0 loss to Baylor. ... Cincinnati is idle until it opens on Friday, Sept. 12, against Toledo. The Bearcats will be the last major college team to begin their season, with two open dates to start the year.

The slogan “American Rising” emphasizes the opportunity this conference has if it takes care of business against non-conference opponents. UCF's profile has been boosted by its Fiesta bowl victory and the Knights look to be a league favorite. ... Temple made the most of an opportunity by handing the SEC its only non-conference blemish of the weekend. ... East Carolina will face the first of three-straight “Power Five” foes when it goes on the road to take on No. 21 South Carolina on Saturday. The Pirates travel to Virginia Tech the following Saturday and return home to face a UNC-Chapel Hill team that may be ranked in the top 20 when it arrives in Greenville.

The next two weeks offer opportunities for the league in some interesting matchups highlighted by UCF's collision with Missouri on Sept. 13. Some of the pending clashes:

• Oklahoma-Tulsa
• Maryland-USF
• Georgia Tech-Tulane
• UCLA-Memphis
• Houston-BYU
• UCF-Missouri
• Boise State-UConn
• N.C. State-USF

Those pairings offer the American an opportunity to define itself. If league teams can capitalize, it will go a long way in confirming the hashtag #AmericanRising.

E-mail Greg Vacek

PAGE UPDATED 09/05/14 05:30 AM.

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