Been there, done that

By Brian Bailey
©2014 Bonesville.net
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Shortly after East Carolina's upset win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg two Saturdays ago, someone with the school told me he wished the football team would "act like they had been there before."

This past Saturday the Pirates did just that.

East Carolina had certainly been down this road before. The Pirates followed last year’s 55-31 pasting of North Carolina with a 70-41 drubbing this time out.

Add in a school record 789 yards of total offense and there is no mistaking which program is better at this stage of the game.

The Pirates may not be in a so-called Power 5 conference, but they have back to back wins over teams that are. These were signature wins, victories over a pair of schools picked to compete for the ACC championship this season.

I’ve been to plenty of games at Power 5 schools. I’ve been to games in the SEC, ACC, Pac 12, etc.

I have never seen an atmosphere as electric as what I saw on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

East Carolina’s best shot at the ‘big time’ is East Carolina. The Pirates have to keep winning. The fans have to keep showing up. It’s a great recipe.

The American took notice and is glad they did. ECU's success will only help the AAC in its bid to move amongst the Power 5.

“I’m very excited about the win,” said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill afterwards. “I keep talking about our team and our ability to focus. That was evident again. I keep asking the players to improve in those two aspects. I thought we did a good job of relying on our team intangibles and team chemistry.

"When we work as one breath, one mind, one heartbeat, one spirit and one Pirate, we’ll be okay.”

I didn’t get a chance to go to UNC Coach Larry Fedora’s press conference afterwards, but I was told by many that it was extremely short.

“We were out-coached and outplayed,” said Fedora. “I take full responsibility for it.”

It was a purple party in G-Vegas!

Give credit to the ECU student body. They came early and stayed late. They were loud and proud and were certainly a major part of a larger team effort. School proud swelled to an all-time high in that fourth quarter.

I hope you’ve seen some of the pictures of the sky, that somehow stepped in line with the proceedings, producing a purple and gold haze when the game was no longer in doubt.

The Pirates have it rolling folks, and the trick now is to stay focused and keep on rolling.

It’s a great time for a bye week. Coach Ruff has a 24-hour rule for wins and losses, but with the free Saturday this week, perhaps he’ll let his team go into hour 25 or 26!

Needless to say, Southern Methodist is now on the clock. It’s on to the second season for the Pirates, as ECU makes its debut in the American Athletic Conference when the Mustangs visit Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4.

If this second season is anything like September, get ready. The Pirates could be on their way to making this a most special football season.

BB

E-mail Brian Bailey.