Keys to the Game Saturday, September 12, 2015 By Kevin Monroe

East Carolina at Florida

7 pm | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (cap. 88,548) | TV: ESPN2

By Kevin Monroe
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East Carolina will take on the Florida Gators for the second time in 2015 after losing to them In the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3 of this year. That game ended with the Pirates driving with an opportunity to tie the game. Having the game end with an interception in the end zone left the ECU players and fans hungry for this encore shot at the Gators.

Now it's a new season pitting new teams against each other. Both teams lost significant talent to graduation and the NFL, and both teams return some very good players. This time around its not a neutral site as the Pirates have to slog through the "Swamp," one of the toughest places to play in the country. In order to wrestle the Gators into submission, the Pirates will need to follow this script:

STRETCH THE FIELD

Blake Kemp had a solid performance in the opener against Towson, completing a high percentage of his passes and managing the game well. Every pass was accurate, intentional and on time. The one curiosity about his performance was not taking any shots down field to loosen up the defense. Coach Ruffin McNeill says Blake just took what the defense gave him. The Tigers sat back in zone coverage, so he took the short pass plays. On Saturday, the Pirates will face a tough man to man defense including the best corner in the country in Vernon Hargreaves III, the namesake of the former ECU assistant coach. The Gators will roll towards the line of scrimmage and try to take away the short throws and force the Pirates to throw the ball down field.

STOP THE RUN

East Carolina gave up 179 yards rushing to Darius Victor and Towson’s rushing attack. Florida rushed for 224 yards in its win last week over New Mexico State. The Gators had 4 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards per carry in that contest. The Pirate front seven was stout against the run last season, but the departure of Terry Williams looked to have made a difference last week. To win on the road in the Swamp, they will need to play much better against the run.

PLAY UNDER CONTROL

The first game of the season is usually a little sloppy and week one was no exception for the Pirates. The play on the field was good, but the penalties were excessive. To win on the road in a hostile environment, ECU will need to cut last week’s infractions in half. Road games provide plenty of disadvantages, but committing penalties only makes things tougher. Coach Ruff emphasized his disdain for penalties last week by benching a player for drawing a dead ball personal foul. Coach deemed it a selfish play.

BOTTOM LINE

Expect to see the Pirates play better tonight than they did against the Tigers. Coach Ruff always has his teams ready to play in big games. Winning on the road is tough against any foe, but the challenge in a hostile stadium against a Southeastern Conference team will present a tall task indeed. For a victory to materialize, the Pirates will need to stretch the field offensively, stop the run defensively and minimize the penalties. It should be a fun game to watch.

E-mail Kevin Monroe.

PAGE UPDATED 09/12/15 04:25 AM.