|
Keys to the
Game Saturday,
September 5, 2015
By Kevin Monroe |
|
East Carolina vs. Towson
6 pm | Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium (cap.
50,000) | TV: ESPN3
By
Kevin Monroe
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East Carolina will host
the Towson Tigers on Saturday night to open the 2015 season. The Pirates
went 8-5 in 2014 after starting the season 6-1, then losing 4 of their
last 6 contests. ECU came out on the short end of some tough, close
games during the campaign and is intent on prevailing in those types of
encounters in 2015.
Towson comes into
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium after going 4-8 in 2014. The Tigers, members of
the Football Championship Subdivsion, are not new to going on the road
to play Football Bowl Subdivsion opponents. They have traveled to take
on FBS foes in 4 of the last 7 years. In 2013 they went to Connecticut
to open the season and won 33-18. That year the Tigers went 13-3 and
played for the FCS national championship.
Both teams will be
hungry to start the season with a win. Towson has the added incentive
that comes with the opportunity to spring another upset on an FBS
opponent.
In order to dispense of the Tigers, the Pirates will need to follow this script:
PROTECT
THE FOOTBALL
Unless you have been
living under a rock, you know that ECU quarterback Kurt Benkert was lost
for the season with a knee injury within days of being named starter.
The QB duties now go to junior Blake Kemp. The most important thing for
Kemp will be taking care of the ball and getting the ball into the hands
of the playmakers at running back and receiver and letting them make
plays. East Carolina was 8th in the American Athletic Conference in
turnover margin in 2014, finishing the season in the negative. Throwing
interceptions or fumbling the football over to Towson could potentially
keep the Tigers in the game. Giving an underdog confidence could prove
detrimental.
KEEP THE
TIGERS CAGED
The Tigers have several
really good athletes on offense. Running back Darius Victor is 8th on
the all-time rushing list at Towson and averaged 5.2 yards per carry
last year with a long of 53. They also have more than four receivers
averaging more than 8 yards per reception. Giving up a big play to the
Tigers on the ground, through the air or on special teams could change
the complexion of the game. Game one usually has some surprises, so the
Pirates have to be careful of trick plays as well. Towson will break out
all the stops to get this win.
CONTAIN
THE PENALTIES
The first game of the
season is usually a little sloppy. Offenses aren’t normally firing on
all cylinders and defenses struggle some with tackling and coverages,
but the biggest concern for a lot of coaches is silly penalties. There
will be some false starts or offsides whistles and probably some holding
and pass interference flags. The Pirates will just have to minimize
those penalties and avoid the bad ones like personal fouls or late hits.
ECU was penalized more than 8 times per game last year, which ranked
them 11th in in the AAC. Early in the season they had several games with
double-digit penalties, but as the season went on they got better.
BOTTOM
LINE
The Tigers will be
out-matched and out-manned in this game. The size and speed of ECU
should overwhelm them. That being said, Towson isn't new to this. The
Tigers won’t be intimidated and can win if the Pirates don’t protect the
ball, minimize penalties and avoid giving up big plays. The play of new
quarterback Kemp will be under immense scrutiny on Saturday and he will
need to deliver.
E-mail Kevin Monroe.
PAGE UPDATED
09/05/15 02:00 PM.
|