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Unstoppable force vs. immovable object

By Brett Friedlander
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

The crawl at the bottom of the screen on ESPN Saturday will note that the football game being played at noon in Blacksburg, VA, will be between East Carolina and Virginia Tech.

But that’s only true in the strictest sense of the word.

In reality, the outcome of the key nonconference contest will actually be decided by the matchup between the Pirates’ offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and his defensive counterpart with the Hokies, Bud Foster.

Based on previous results, it’s a chess match that doesn’t favor ECU. Though it would be unfair to suggest that Foster has Riley’s number, since the sample size is still quite small, history is clearly working against the Pirates’ boy wonder and his high-octane attack.

And not just because Tech is coming off an impressive upset of Ohio State in Columbus.

Consider that in three previous meetings since 2010, all Hokie victories, ECU has averaged only 15.7 points and 225.7 yards per game. Compare that to the much-more-productive 33.8 points and 428 yards Riley’s offenses averaged in the other 48 games the Pirates played during his first four seasons in Greenville with head coach Ruffin McNeill.

Some of that dominance can be attributed to the abundance of talent Foster and head coach Frank Beamer have been able to recruit to Blacksburg. Tech’s defensive units have long featured some of the quickest, strongest and smartest players in college football — including current stars Luther Maddy, Deon Clarke, Kendall Fuller and Brandon Facyson.

Having talent, however, is only half the battle.

As Beamer pointed out earlier this week, another major element to the Hokies’ winning equation has been Foster’s ability to adjust and adapt defensive game plans specific to each week’s opponent.

“He really has a great understanding, a great mind for football,” Beamer said of the man who has been his defensive coordinator since 1995. “He's very good at the game, what are they trying to do to us and he has enough experience where he can get an adjustment going very quickly.

“There's nothing better. I think if you asked across the country, number one or top defensive coordinators, Bud would be in every single one of them. To me he's the best defensive coordinator in the country.”

Beamer won’t get any argument from Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, whose Buckeyes got Fostered to the tune of seven sacks and three interceptions last week. Unlike the strategy that used constant pressure to rattle young quarterback J.T. Barrett, Tech figures to take a more cerebral approach against ECU’s more experienced Shane Carden.

The Hokies were successful in disrupting the rhythm of the Pirates’ timing-based offense a year ago at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium while holding a unit that set school records in both scoring and total offense to just 10 points and 204 total yards.

But as the familiar disclaimer on those late-night infomercials reminds us, past results do not always guarantee future performance – a fact ECU proved in Chapel Hill against another ACC rival a week after last season’s disappointing 15-10 loss to Tech.

“People forget that before North Carolina last year, we hadn’t played worth a damn versus them either,” Riley said of his team’s 55-31 demolition of the Tar Heels.

Using that game as an example, the Pirates’ play caller aggressively dismissed his head-to-head matchup with Foster as nothing more than a narrative to keep the fans and media talking until game time. He contends that the key to beating teams like Tech has more to do with execution than planning.

.“When we go play (well), I think the results will show,” he said. “Hopefully we can do that Saturday.”

The Pirates had a chance to prove Riley’s point last week at South Carolina. But despite running the ball effectively and not allowing a sack while outgaining the Gamecocks 453-441, ECU still came out on the wrong end of a 33-23 score because of two interceptions, a blocked field goal and a pair of missed early opportunities in the red zone.

Riley and his offensive staff have spent this week working to eliminate those damaging, self-inflicted mistakes. Chances are, he’s also been adding a few new wrinkles to an already diverse game plan in an effort to outwit his better-known Hokie counterpart Foster.

“That's the beauty of being a play caller,” Pirate head man McNeill said. “Lincoln and Bud both play to their strengths.”

Those strengths are what makes each among the best in the business at what they do and what makes the cat-and-mouse game they’re about to play all the more interesting to watch – no matter how hard Riley tries to downplay its importance on the outcome of Saturday’s game.

Contact Brett Friedlander

PAGE UPDATED 09/12/14 03:46 AM.

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