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Keys to the
Game Saturday,
October 3, 2015
By Kevin Monroe |
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East Carolina at Southern Methodist
4 pm | Gerald J. Ford Stadium
(32,000) |
TV: ESPNN
By
Kevin Monroe
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East Carolina comes
into today's game at Southern Methodist with a hard-to-decipher 2-2
record. After opening at home with a with
a win over FCS opponent Towson
in a game that was a lot closer than expected, the Pirates traveled to
Gainesville and
outplayed expectations in a close loss
to the Florida Gators. It has been that type of season through four
games. SMU has had similar ups and downs after going toe to toe with
Baylor for a half and then losing to FCS foe James Madison last week.
Both ECU and SMU have a
lot to prove. Who will show up and get the much needed win? To bring a
win back from Dallas, the Pirates will need to follow this script:
STAY
FOCUSED
Observers of the
Pirates, from media to fans, have directed much of their attention
during the past week to what a great victory ECU had over Virginia Tech
last Saturday. It was
an important win over a Power 5 opponent,
but this week is a new week and SMU isn't thinking about what the
Pirates did last week. The Mustangs have a goal to beat ECU in an
American Athletic Conference game and have been game-planning all week
to do just that.
The Pirates must move
on from last week's glory and come into this game focused solely on what
they have to do to defeat the Mustangs on the road. A lack of
concentration by any one player on any one play might mean the
difference in the game.
MAKE WAY
FOR THE RUNNING BACKS
In game one vs. Towson,
the Pirates ran the ball very well with Chris Hairston. ECU has recorded
less than 100 yards total from the running back position over the
three-game span since then.
The good news is the
Pirates were able to get a running game going last week against the
Hokies – but the running game came from the quarterback position. Both
Blake Kemp and James Summers had rushing touchdowns. Summers ran for 169
yards, averaging around 10 yards per carry.
Tech had no answers for
the QB run, but now that it's on film SMU will have some defensive
adjustments ready for it. The Pirates will have to block better up front
and the quarterbacks will need to carry out their fakes in order to find
a way to give the running backs some space.
FINE
TUNE THE QB PLAY
It's too early to say
that ECU has a quarterback controversy. Both Kemp and Summers are trying
to find their way after being forced to step up after designated starter
Kurt Benkert went down with a knee injury.
Kemp has had his ups
and downs. In his debut against Towson he was accurate and protective of
the football, but he had a fumble and a pick in each of the next three
games.
Summers played very
little in the early contests but had his coming out party against the
Hokies last week. That being said, he wasn't forced to throw the ball
much and hasn't had the pressure of playing as the starter yet.
Both guys seem to get
along well and ECU will probably need both of them to play well if they
are going to be successful this season.
BOTTOM
LINE
This is a big game for
both teams. The Mustangs need a win because they had a bad loss last
week against James Madison and their season is heading in the wrong
direction. The Pirates need this win to get their first back-to-back
victories and to fuel their conference aspirations.
ECU will win this game
if it comes in focused, gets some production from the running back spot
and gets solid play from its quarterbacks. It should be a fun one
to watch. The Mustangs have some good talent on offense and can score at
any moment, but so can the Pirates.
E-mail Kevin Monroe.
PAGE UPDATED
10/03/15 03:10 PM.
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