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American Football
Schedule |
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FRIDAY |
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Memphis 16, Temple 13 (ESPNU) |
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SATURDAY |
SMU at Tulsa, 12 pm (CBSSN)
UConn vs. Army*, 3:30 pm (CBSSN)
*Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Tulane at Houston, 3:30 pm (ESPNU) |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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15 Questions
for Terry Whisnant |
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 Akeem
Richmond may be gone but
Terry Whisnant is set to
continue East Carolina's
outside shooting prowess.
Whisnant transferred from
Florida State after
averaging 2.1 points and 7.7
minutes for a Seminoles team
that won the Atlantic Coast
Conference Tournament his
freshman year. His numbers
at FSU improved to 5.2
points and 17.2 minutes as a
sophomore when he made 35.6
percent of his 3-point
tries. ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: ECU junior
Terry Whisnant is
ready for action
after sitting out a
year under NCAA
transfer rules. The
Cherryville native
played his freshman
and sophomore
seasons at Florida
State. His skill at
shooting from long
range is expected to
be a key asset for
the Pirates as they
make their debut in
the American
Athletic Conference.
(ECU Media Relations
photo) |
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Owls become Temple of Doom |
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PHILADELPHIA — The statistics
told a convoluted tale after 60
minutes of college football at
Lincoln Financial Field, home of
the Philadelphia Eagles, on
Saturday. When East Carolina
outgains an opponent 432 to 135
in total yardage, the assumption
would be that the Pirates won
handily. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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CHILLY
PHILLY: Fans
were sparse
on Saturday
at the East
Carolina-Temple
game in
dreary
Philadelphia.
Road games
before
meager
crowds have
typically
created a
difficult
environment
for the
Pirates to
perform
well, a
scenario
that was
punctuated
as the Owls
took
advantage of
penalties
and
weather-assisted
turnovers to
deal ECU its
first
American
Athletic
Conference
loss in
the cold,
rainy
conditions
at Lincoln
Financial
Field. The
announced
attendance
at the
69,176-seat
home of the
NFL's Eagles
was 22,130.
[Al Myatt
photo] |
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Audio: Ruff Post-game |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the press after the
Pirates' upset loss to
Temple on Saturday (recorded
by Al Myatt; file photo):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Kevin's Keys to the Game |
East Carolina
will face off against the
4-3 Temple Owls in
Philadelphia today. It will
mark the first time the
Pirates meet an American
Athletic Conference team
with a winning record and it
will also be their toughest
league test to date.
...
More from Kevin Monroe... |
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FOOTBALL |
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'Body of work' will matter
at the end |
There is a reason the FCS
football playoff and NCAA
basketball tournament
committees do not publish
weekly polls. College
Football Playoff organizers
state the early rankings are
to “condition the public”
prior to the final Dec 7
rankings. ...
More from Greg Vacek... |
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By
Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's Football
Schedule
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
The 24-hour rule that serves as a buffer between games
expired Sunday after East Carolina's 20-10 loss at Temple on Saturday.
The span increased to 48 hours and then 72 hours before the Pirates
finally got back on the practice field Wednesday.
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill wanted his players to take some
time off, rest and focus on academics at the outset of the 12-day period
between American Athletic Conference games that will culminate with a
contest at Cincinnati at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13.
"I told them to get away," McNeill said. "That was like
talking to a wall. They were over here after our meeting Sunday. Monday,
they were over here. Tuesday, they were hanging around.
"That's the kind of team we have, resilient."
The team's reaction is reminiscent of their mindset
following
the only previous loss,
33-23, at South Carolina on Sept. 6 when McNeill observed numerous
laptops playing game tape on the bus ride back from Columbia.
While some of the coaching staff was able to get out of
the office and make some efforts recruiting, McNeill, offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley and defensive coordinator Rick Smith were in
the office doing some evaluation following the loss to the Owls.
ECU beat Temple virtually everywhere but on the
scoreboard at Lincoln Financial Field, outgaining their hosts 432-135 in
total yardage.
Turnovers and penalties proved the equalizers on a
chilly, rainy and windy afternoon in Philadelphia.
"It gave us a chance to say, 'OK, where are we as a team
on offense and defense?' " McNeill said of the down time at the outset
of the week. "We came up with some positives and some negative things we
have to work on."
The ECU coach noted that his team had just nine turnovers
in its previous seven games before losing five fumbles at Temple.
"We've been very good on turnovers," McNeill said.
The Pirates had 12 penalties for 120 yards in Philly,
which prompted Ruff to do some comparisons.
"I talked to Art Briles (Baylor coach), who I coached
with," McNeill said. "They're at 82 total penalties (for the season).
Marshall is at 73 total penalties. We're at 74. UCLA is up there (74).
There are a lot of teams that are there and there are some teams that
are doing well at it. I'm not sure if it's because we're a fast-paced
offense. Art's a fast pace. UCLA is a fast pace.
"We work on them every day. We talk about them every day.
We'll continue to do that. Lincoln said we're running more plays and
therefore we're susceptible to more penalties."
ECU has been up and down in penalties during the McNeill
era.
In 2010, his first season, the Pirates were flagged 103
times, tied for sixth most in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
In 2011, ECU drew just 59 penalties for the season, which
was tied for 19th nationally for fewest in the FBS.
ECU was tied for 11th nationally for fewest penalties in
2012 with 55. The Pirates had 69 penalties last season. This year's team
has already committed five more penalties than last year's team did with
four games left in the regular season.
"We know we can't have penalties because it hurts us,"
McNeill said. "We'll keep watching film and fixing the controllable
ones. If there's a tough call made, we have to overcome that. ...
Everything we're doing we can fix and we will fix."
Among the positives is ECU's cumulative performance in
the fourth quarter. The Pirates (6-2, 3-1 AAC) have outscored all
opponents 83-31 in the last period and 41-0 in league games.
The defense has been effective although that side of the
ball tends to get overlooked because ECU can be so dynamic offensively.
The Pirates are allowing just 96.8 yards per game
rushing, which ranks seventh in the FBS. ECU is 24th nationally in total
defense at 339.4 yards per game. Scoring defense can be deceptive since
all points allowed are figured in. The Pirates yielded just two scores
to the Temple offense Saturday. The Owls' first score was on a fumble
return where it appeared a Temple defender was down with the ball in his
own territory before he was hit by an ECU player and the ball popped
free again.
The Owls fumbled four times and recovered all four.
"The conditions were there for both teams," McNeill said.
"We don't make excuses but it was a factor. It was wet and cold but
you've got to be ready to play in that. ... I know it's going to be cold
in Cincinnati."
Players who fumble go to the sandpit at ECU's practice
facility as a consequence.
The Pirates are at 23.0 in points allowed per game, which
ranks tied for 42nd in the FBS in scoring defense.
McNeill noted that ECU has made stops on 76 of 105
opponent possessions in 2014. The Pirates have gone three downs and out
36 times.
With conditions likely to be more severe the remainder of
the season, there are plans to be better dressed for the weather than
ECU appeared to be on Saturday. McNeill said that lined ponchos,
especially for skill players who handle the ball, have been discussed.
That item apparently wasn't transported to Temple. There were gloves and
hand pouches in Philly. Some players changed their under layers and
uniforms for dry jerseys during the game, McNeill said.
There hasn't been a lot of extremely cold weather to deal
with since McNeill became coach. The Military Bowl in Washington, D.C.
in 2010 was probably the lowest in terms of the chill factor.
McNeill said the Temple game can be a learning experience
when the Pirates are presented with similar circumstances.
"We'll make corrections and FIDO," McNeill said. "Forget
it and drive on."
