Keys to the Game Saturday, November 28, 2015 By Kevin Monroe

East Carolina vs. Cincinnati

12 pm | Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000) | TV: CBSSN

By Kevin Monroe
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Today's game between East Carolina and visiting Cincinnati should be an exciting one between two high-powered offenses. The Pirate offense has been underwhelming most of the year because of key injuries. The Bearcat offense has been good, but not always good enough to overcome deficiencies on defense.

ECU won't have it easy today, but the Pirates can win game if they follow this script:

SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN

The ECU offense finally got back on track a week ago against 0-10 Central Florida. Behind the play of quarterback Blake Kemp, the Pirates put up 44 points in three quarters and the reserves came in to finish off the game. Running back Chris Hairston rushed for over 100 yards and 12 different receivers caught passes. This offense had been struggling to find its way for weeks and had lost three straight games because of it.

Today's contest will feature a Cincinnati offense that has scored in big numbers all season, averaging more than 37 points per game. Even in their blowout loss to South Florida a week ago, the Bearcats managed to score 27 points. Cincinnati hasn't scored less than 24 points this year.

The Pirates will need to come out with the same mindset as last week, get on the scoreboard early and mix up the run and the pass. It will be important to get touchdowns instead of field goals.

HOLD THE 'CATS TO FIELD GOALS

On the flip side, the Pirates need to play even better defensively than they have over the last few weeks. With Cincy's high-octane, quick-strike offense, the ECU defense will need to be solid on first and second downs and force the Bearcats into third and longs. The Bearcats are converting 49 percentof their third downs, good enough for 7th in the nation.

Both quarterbacks, Gunner Kiel and Hayden Moore, are averaging more than 200 yards passing per game, and their three top running backs – Tion Green, Mike Boone and Hosey Williams – are combining for 188 yards rushing per game. Shaq Washington is the top receiving threat with 30 more catches than his closest teammate (73 receptions for 847 yards).

EMPLOY SENIOR LEADERSHIP

It's Senior Day for the Pirates and they will have 18 seniors take the field. I know from experience that your last time in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is a special time. On defense, big names like Zeek Bigger, Montese Overton and Terrell Stanley will line up on Bagwell Field for the last time. Offensively, Chris Hairston, Bryce Williams and three of the five starters on the offensive line will have their final outings on the turf they call home.

This game will be about those seniors. Their leadership will be key in how the game is played. The underclassmen will feed off of their emotion and spirit. As an underclassman, you never want poor execution on your part to contribute to a loss on Senior Day.

BOTTOM LINE

This game is big for East Carolina. A win today will get the Pirates to .500 on the season and secure a fourth straight bowl appearance. It has been a rough campaign because of all the injuries and a victory today will help heal some of those wounds. ECU has a good chance of winning if it can score touchdowns early and often, hold the Bearcats to field goal opportunities and get some good leadership from these seniors in their last home game.

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PAGE UPDATED 11/28/15 03:14 AM.