The one that slipped away

By Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
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This one slipped away in more ways than just the obvious.

East Carolina almost overcame several key turnovers but came up just short in a 31-24 loss to Florida at ‘The Swamp’ in Gainesville on Saturday night.

Quarterback Blake Kemp had his Pirates in position to beat the Gators late, but the football slipped out of his hands as he cocked his arm to fire a pass. Florida recovered and survived ECU's upset bid.

“The ball was wet and it just slipped out of my hand,” Kemp told reporters after the loss. “It was my fault. I should have gripped the ball better.”

Pirate head coach Ruffin McNeill had Sunday to digest the game’s finish and he reacted at his weekly news conference on Monday.

“Blake is a team guy, a leader,” said McNeill. “It bothers Blake, but he’s got a lot of pride about it, a lot of moxie. He and James (Summers) both had great attitudes on Saturday and they were great teammates. Blake is one of those guys who carries a team-first thought process. I think he’ll be ready to get back to it. All of us were. We dove into practice full speed and had a good one.”

Think about the last two losses to Florida. The Gators returned a pick-six against record setting quarterback Shane Carden in the Birmingham Bowl, and then secured the win with an interception in the end zone.

Fast forward nine months later and once again Florida gets a pick-six. The Gators also secured the victory with a defensive play, albeit not on their own accord.

That’s now in the rear view mirror. Next up is Navy, and all ECU fans know that the Middies have had the Pirates' number in the series.

Navy will end 134 years of football independence on Saturday with their debut in the American Athletic Conference.

Commissioner Mike Aresco will flip the coin at midfield of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium to help welcome Navy into the AAC.

Navy leads the series with East Carolina 3-1. The Pirates' only win came in Annapolis in 2011, 38-35.

Navy was responsible for a couple of the longest days in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium history.

In 2010 the Middies put up 76 points on Coach Ruff and Pirate defense in a 76-35 win. The last meeting between these two came in 2012, when Navy came to town and racked up 56 more points in a 56-28 win.

Navy’s offense is so unique that the ECU coaches worked on it at various times during camp in August. That option attack is just too difficult to defend with just a day or two to prepare.

“You try to touch on every opponent, but with Navy, it’s nothing like the live action you’ll see on Saturday,” explained Coach McNeill. “Our GA’s (graduate assistants) have done a really good job, yesterday and last night, simulating the offense as close to possible with our scout or 'victory' team.”

The Midshipmen are led by senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds. Reynolds has a 22-11 record as the Navy starter. He’s 11-2 at home. McNeill knows all about Reynolds and says he’s the key to that offense.

“With Keenan at quarterback, he understands the offense,” said McNeill. “The fullback position is key in this offense and they’ve got two to three guys they play there that really cause you to make sure you have your respect on the inside game. Then of course, you have to account for Keenan because he can throw the football, too.”

So with all of these weapons, what is the key to stopping Navy?

“You have to make sure you take care of all three options, and really, it’s four options when you include Keenan,” explained McNeill. “With Keenan, you have to account for play-action off of it. You have to be excellent on defense. You have to have some changeups on all the areas, such as who has dive, who has the quarterback and who has the pitch.”

Discipline is the big key. Ruff calls it "eye discipline”. The ECU defense has to stay in control and each player has to fulfill his assignment.

McNeill breaks it down with one simple phrase.

Ruff will tell his Pirates to ‘Go play, go react’.

I would add, ‘Stay disciplined!’

Navy was a great addition to the American Athletic Conference and the Midshipmen would like nothing more than to open with a win.

Every week is a different challenge and this one is certainly unique.

BB

E-mail Brian Bailey.