Pirates playing for seniors, bowl bid

By Brian Bailey
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East Carolina and Cincinnati approach the regular season finale with similar records, but heading in different directions.

While the Pirates have had their disappointments, this Bearcat team heads to Greenville this week under .500 in league play after being picked in the preseason to win the East Division of the American Athletic Conference.

Things really got ugly Friday night at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

South Florida, picked fifth of six in that same preseason poll, blasted the ‘Cats 65-27. The Bulls led 51-3 at the half.

So while USF tries to catch Temple in the East Division, ECU and Cincinnati are relegated to a game that has to mean more to the Pirates than it does to Cincy.

East Carolina will be playing for that coveted sixth win and the possible postseason berth that could follow. The Pirates will also say goodbye to 18 seniors who will dress for the final time at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

“We see it as a great opportunity to get our sixth win and become bowl eligible,” said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill at his weekly news conference. [Open new window to select press conference audio clip...] “We’re looking forward to a great crowd and great fans to support our seniors and team. I’m looking forward to the preparation. That will be big for us.”

The Pirates certainly looked prepared in the 44-7 win over Central Florida last Thursday. I couldn’t really tell if the Pirates were that good or the Knights were that bad. It was probably a combination of both, but it was great to see the ECU offense look like the ECU offense again.

Likewise, I can’t believe Cincinnati was as bad as the Bearcats looked down in Tampa on Friday night. Sure, USF has a good football team, but the Bulls can’t be that much better than Cincinnati, can they?

Coach McNeill also said that some NFL scouts say the Bearcats have future professional talent on their squad.

“Cincinnati is a very talented football team,” said McNeill. “One NFL scout said they have as much NFL talent on their team as anyone in the country.”

That’s not just in the AAC. That scout said the entire country.

So despite Cincinnati’s meltdown at USF, the Pirates will have their work cut out for them.

The ECU program looks forward to celebrating Thanksgiving together this week. There’s just something about the holiday and the sport of football that many of us simply treasure. You could hear the importance of the day to Coach Ruff in his voice.

“This is a two-time week here,” said McNeill.“We’ll have a football gathering, but also a Thanksgiving gathering. I’ll look forward to seeing those happy faces on Thursday, and we’ll have Thanksgiving dinner for them. There will be kids and family, and there will be some full bellies after we practice Thursday morning.”

Thanksgiving, football and family — add in senior day on Saturday and you get a full buffet of emotions for the finale.

“It’s really emotional,” said McNeill. “Each day in the huddle when I talk to them, I have to make sure my eyeballs don’t sweat. Those guys sacrifice so much. They’ve done everything I’ve asked. You see some kids that have matured. It’s tough, it’s emotional, but I am their 'dad.' Some people use it as lip service, but I don’t. They are my sons.”

Those sons hope to do dad proud by getting to another bowl game.

Happy Thanksgiving!

BB

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