CHRONICLING EAST
CAROLINA & CONFERENCE USA
SPORTS
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View from the East
Friday, December 7, 2012
By Al Myatt |
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Been there — haven't done that
By
Al Myatt
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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East Carolina's 2012
football team has been to the Big Easy, but the R+L Carriers New
Orleans Bowl promises to be a different experience than
a 28-23 Conference USA win over Tulane
in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Nov. 17.
The Dec. 22 date with
Louisiana-Lafayette should draw a significantly larger crowd to the big
time building that has hosted multiple Super Bowls, BCS championships
and Final Fours. The dome is where Michael Jordan hit a jumper against
Georgetown with 17 seconds left to help North Carolina coach Dean Smith
to his first national championship in 1982.
It's where Alabama avenged
an earlier loss to LSU last season to win the BCS title. It's where the
NFL champion will be decided in Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3, 2013.
Getting a ticket to those
games takes some resources.
In contrast, when Tulane
plays a home game, there is no shortage of good seats. In fact, when the
Green Wave plays at home, there are entire sections sans fans.
When the Pirates played
there last month, the announced attendance was 14,041, but the crowd
appeared smaller. Tulane football is a tough draw in a city that has the
Saints in the NFL and the Hornets in the NBA, especially with the Green
Wave in a seemingly perpetual rebuilding mode. That's one reason Tulane
is in the process of building a campus stadium. That way when there are
14,000 at a game, the facility will be at roughly 50 percent occupancy
rather than appearing empty in the vastness of the Superdome.
When ECU was at the dome
this year, the entire upper deck was closed and the smattering of
spectators were sprinkled around the lower level.
The Pirates may not
recognize the dome on their pending visit based on its virtual emptiness
earlier.
Louisiana-Lafayette's
presence in the 2011 New Orleans Bowl in a 32-30 win over San Diego
State helped the event draw a record crowd of 42,841 for the bowl which
began in 2001. No wonder the bowl extended an encore invitation to the
program 135 miles away a week before most of the bowl berths were locked
down.
The New Orleans Bowl and
the Ragin' Cajuns have more history. When Hurricane Katrina rendered the
dome unplayable in 2005, the bowl was moved to ULL's Cajun Field, where
Southern Miss topped Arkansas State 31-19.
East Carolina and
UL-Lafayette both have 8-4 records and one common opponent. The Ragin'
Cajuns beat Tulane 41-13 at home on Oct. 6.
None of ECU's eight wins
came against a FBS program with a winning record. The combined record of
ECU's FBS conquests was 22-62. ULL represents an opportunity for the
Pirates to change that status with a triumph over an opponent with a
respectable ledger.
"They're a good football
team," said ECU coach Ruffin McNeill of the Ragin' Cajuns. "They're
balanced offensively. Defensively, they're based in a 4-3 but they can
go to multiple looks. They're real solid on special teams. They're a
very talented team with great size on the offensive line and they've got
some kids who can run at the skill positions."
Alonzo Harris, a 6-foot-1,
220-pound sophomore who was the Sun Belt Conference's freshman of the
year in 2011, is the team's leading rusher with 761 yards and eight
touchdowns.
The Ragin' Cajuns had a
change at quarterback this season as Terrance Broadway, a transfer from
Houston, replaced Blaine Gautier, the 2011 New Orleans Bowl MVP, after
Gautier went out with a broken hand in late September. Broadway has
completed 161 of 245 passes for 2,053 yards and 13 scores with eight
interceptions. Senior Harry Peoples is the top receiver with 61 catches
for 774 yards with five TDs.
Placekicker Brett Baer won
the New Orleans Bowl last season with a 50-yard field goal as time
expired. Now a senior, Baer has connected on 17 of 20 attempts this
season with a longest of 52 yards.
Louisiana-Lafayette has
averaged 34.8 points per game while yielding 27.6 against a schedule
that ranks 108th nationally. The Ragin' Cajuns' strength of schedule is
boosted by a Nov. 10 matchup with No. 3 Florida (11-1), which won 27-20
in Gainesville on a blocked punt with two seconds remaining.
ECU is averaging 31.3
points and allowing 30.7 against a strength of schedule rated No. 123 by
Jeff Sagarin of USA Today. The Pirates' slate is highlighted by
a 48-10 loss at No. 9 South Carolina,
which took place the second game of the season before ECU had settled on
Shane Carden at quarterback.
Carden has completed 248
of 371 passes (66.8 percent) for 2,838 yards with 21 touchdowns and nine
interceptions. Vintavious Cooper has run 191 times for 1,030 yards with
seven scores. Justin Hardy has 83 catches for 1,046 yards with 10 TDs.
It looks like a
competitive matchup and McNeill certainly counts ECU's previous trip to
the Superdome as an advantage.
"We're familiar with the
stadium, which is big for me," said the Pirates coach. "We've played on
it (artificial turf). The lighting is different in the dome and our
skill people have had an opportunity already to get acclimated to that."
McNeill said the Pirates
would stay at a different hotel this trip, one that is closer to the
dome.
ECU appeared to have as
many fans as Tulane at the earlier game, and McNeill said fan support is
a factor.
"(Louisiana-Lafayette) has
already sold their allotment of tickets and more," he said. "We need our
Pirate fans to continue their strong support. ... They'll have a great
crowd. We need to match that with Pirate Nation."
That will be a challenge
for ECU considering Louisiana's proximity.
The Pirates resumed
practice on Tuesday and McNeill planned a lot of scrimmaging this week.
The top players will have their repetitions reduced in order to stay
fresh for the bowl. The younger players get more reps as the program
focuses on their development during the additional workouts allowed by
bowl participation.
McNeill termed last week's
recruiting efforts by himself and his staff as productive.
"Those guys are bulldogs
on the road," McNeill said of his assistants' pursuit of potential
players.
The Beach Boys and Bad
Company will be in concert the evening before the bowl at Champions
Square near the Superdome, but McNeill said the Pirates will follow
their game week routine and take in a movie.
"It will be just like
we're playing at home the way we have it scheduled," said the Pirates
coach.
With its second trip to
New Orleans in five weeks approaching, the Big Easy should feel a little
bit more like home to ECU.
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12/07/2012 03:34 AM
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