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
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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.

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PAGE UPDATED 09/05/15 02:25 PM.