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Greg's Game Day Breakdown

East Carolina at Southern Mississippi

Sept. 15, 2012

By Greg Vacek
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Tale of Two Backups: Both East Carolina and Southern Miss are coming off road losses to ranked teams, and both teams feature first-time starters at quarterback with something to prove. USM will be turning to freshman Anthony Alford while sophomore Shane Carden gets the nod for ECU. After leading his high school team to three straight Texas 4A State Championship Game appearances, Carden was hand-selected by the Pirate  coaching staff for his proficiency in running the air raid offense. The Pirates go into the matchup with a history of struggling against reserve quarterbacks that become starters for opposing teams (i.e., South Carolina last week.) ECU will have its hands full again this week with Alford, a true dual-threat high school All-America out of Petal, MS. Can the Pirates contain Alford? Can the secondary eliminate the big play? Can the offense eliminate the costly turnovers? The Pirates need to meet those challenges if they expect to win in Hattiesburg, where they have dropped 11 of 18.
USM TALE OF THE TAPE* ECU
43rd/185.0 Rushing Offense 97th/109.0
118th/75.0 Passing Offense 30th/287.5
116th/260.0 Total Offense 64th/396.5
96th/20.0 Scoring Offense 88th/22.5
119th/278.0 Rushing Defense 56th/125.0
120th/212.49 Pass Efficiency Defense 99th/148.81
119th/632.0 Total Defense 102nd/473.5
117th/49.0 Scoring Defense 89th/30.5
88th/-1.0 Turnover Margin 96th/-1.5
T-89th/1.0 Sacks 78th/1.5
92nd/3.0 Sacks Allowed 14th/0.5

*2012 FBS National ranking

TOP PERFORMERS AT A GLANCE

PASSING  ATT. CMP. INT. YDS. TD
USM - Anthony Alford 5 1  0 6 0
ECU - Shane Carden 18 12 1 140 1

RUSHING ATT. YDS. AVG. TD
USM - Anthony Alford 15 84 5.6 0
ECU - Michael Dobson 25 88 3.5 0

RECEIVING NO. YDS. AVG. TD
USM - Tracy Lampley 2 27 13.5 0
ECU - Justin Hardy 14 149 10.6 2

TACKLES UT AT TT TFL SACKS
USM - Jamie Collins 7 6 0 0 0.0
ECU - Kyle Tudor 8 8 0 0 0.0
 

WORTH NOTING
• The Pirates will go after the program's overall win No. 400 against Southern Miss Saturday. No 300 was a victory over Stanford in the St. Jude Liberty Bowl on Dec. 30, 1995.
• ECU’s offensive line has
allowed the second-fewest sacks (one) of any FBS unit so far this season. ... On the other hand, ECU’s defense netted sacks by Daniel Drake, John Lattimore and Montese Overton and recorded TFLs vs. South Carolina. ... The Pirates have registered 11 sacks in their last four games (dating back to 2011).
• East Carolina has yet to score in the first quarter of play this year while giving up 21 points during the opening frame. ... ECU has surrendered a score on its opponent's first possession in four consecutive games (UCF and Marshall to close out 2011, and Appalachian State and South Carolina to open 2012).
• The Pirates have forced a turnover in 20 of their last 22 games. In all, they have forced two or more turnovers in six of the last nine games, including three against Appalachian State in the season opener. ... In the Ruffin McNeill era, ECU is 10-5 when it forces two or more turnovers but is only 2-10 when it doesn’t.
• East Carolina’s inexperience at the quarterback position has had a price in the turnover department as the Pirates share the national lead for most interceptions thrown after two contests. ... First-year starter Rio Johnson (four) and Shane Carden (one) have combined for five picks.
• ECU has won four-straight games (and 32 of 37) when scoring 30 or more points, but has lost 12-straight games when scoring 20 or less points. The Pirates have won 10 of their last 14 road games against Conference USA East Division opponents.

Read Greg Vacek's Complete Analysis of Today's Opponent on Boneyard Banter.

Key Links: Kevin Monroe's Keys to the Game  |  ECU Recruiting  |  ECU Schedule & Scores

GAME DAY WEATHER: The National Weather Service is calling for a high of 88 degrees in Hattiesburg on Saturday afternoon with 43 percent humidity and East winds at 6 miles per hour. Cloud cover will range from 66 to 77 percent during the game and there will be a 10 percent chance of precipitation. Although it will be warm, this projects as the coolest of three games to date for East Carolina, shifting the priority slightly for the Pirates from endurance to execution in terms of the forecast. (Filed by Al Myatt)

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PAGE UPDATED 09/15/12 01:27 AM.

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