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BASKETBALL |
AAC hoops has its
day |
ORLANDO, FL —
The
three-year-old American
Athletic Conference
continues to make a name for
itself. The league currently
has three of the Football
Bowl Subdivision's unbeaten
football teams.
Houston, Memphis and Temple are all 7-0. The Tigers are
ranked No. 16 by the Associated Press, the Cougars are No. 18 and the
Owls are No. 21 going into a high profile matchup on Saturday in
Philadelphia with Notre Dame.
As good as its going on the gridiron, the AAC has been
even better in basketball. ...
Story, pictures & audio
from Al Myatt...
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Pictured: The
American Athletic
Conference
basketball
championship trophy
was on display at
the league's media
day on Tuesday at
the Amway Center in
Orlando, FL. (Photo by
Al
Myatt; more pictures
on this page...) |
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MULTIMEDIA |
Audio: Ruff Weekly
Presser |
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
met with reporters on Monday
at his weekly press
conference
(audio courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250; file photo):
Select audio clip... |
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Infographic: Dowdy Disappointment |
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14 |
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24 |
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Good
teams find a way to win and P.J.
Walker helped Temple demonstrate the
finer points of that adage Thursday
night at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The
Owls QB connected with Robby
Anderson three times on the decisive
drive that lifted the Owls to a
comeback victory over East Carolina. ...
Details and data from Greg Vacek... |
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Ruff post-game
audio |
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ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
after the Pirates'
Thursday night loss to
Temple
(recorded by Al Myatt):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
Payback not officially on agenda |
The symmetry of tonight's
Temple-East Carolina game compared
to the two teams' 2014 matchup is
pretty remarkable. A year ago, the
Pirates were a ranked team playing
on the road. This year, the Owls
(6-0) come in for a 7 p.m. kickoff
at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ranked No.
22 by the Associated Press and No.
24 in the coaches poll.
...
More from
Al Myatt... |
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By
Al Myatt
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
It was not a happy group of East Carolina football players that left
Bagwell Field after
a 24-14 loss to No. 21 Temple
(7-0) on Thursday night. The Pirate supporters among a crowd of 39,417
at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium were frustrated, too.
One of Ruffin McNeill's tenets as ECU coach will be tested Friday night
as the Pirates visit Connecticut for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
As Ruff says, ECU must play the next play. Keep moving forward in other
words.
Aspirations for the American Athletic Conference East Division
championship were dealt a big hit by the Owls, who scored twice in the
final 3:31 thanks to the passing of P.J. Walker to Robby Anderson and a
blocked punt.
The Pirates, 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the league, can still reach the
six-win plateau for bowl eligibility. There are four conference games
remaining and stranger things have happened than a division title for
ECU, although it would take some help.
So play the next play.
With eight days between the disappointment of a second straight loss to
Temple and the trip to UConn, there was some time off.
"It was good to get away from the game," McNeill said. "Those days were
helpful I know for the team but for me personally. We kept a similar
schedule we had (vs. Temple) as far as Sunday night practice and Monday
night practice. We went a little bit later Tuesday. We normally start at
2:25 (p.m.). We went to 3. It doesn't seem like much but I felt like it
was good mentally.
"Wednesday gave us that extra day that we didn't have last Thursday
where we can go through a complete game rehearsal. We'll travel (today).
The kids have done a good job. The coaching staff, they've done a great
job, too, as well, getting the game plan in and getting ready to travel
and knowing we're facing a Connecticut team that has played a tough
schedule as well."
The tough schedule for the Pirates is a verifiable fact. The teams that
have beaten ECU – Florida, Navy, Brigham Young and Temple – have a
combined record of 24-4. Their losses – all on the road – have been to
LSU, Notre Dame, UCLA and Michigan. Those four teams have an aggregate
record of 23-5.
So ECU has been competitive with some solid opponents. The Pirates are
still finding their way to a degree in the AAC. ECU won its Conference
USA championships in 2008 and 2009 after joining the league in 1997.
Titles can take time.
"This is a different league," McNeill said. "It's not Conference USA.
The athletes are bigger. I heard Coach (Jeff) Lebo (ECU coach) talking
last night about basketball. They found that the players in this league
are a couple of inches bigger, taller and 15 to 20 pounds heavier. The
football is the same way. I learned that against Connecticut."
ECU was favored by four touchdowns at home against the Huskies
in a Thursday nighter last season and won, 31-21.
UConn corner Byron Jones was a first round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in
2015.
The Huskies secondary still appears formidable, especially since ECU
doesn't have the same degree of experience at quarterback as when Shane
Carden was captain of the Pirate ship last year.
ECU also must deal with a dinged-up offensive front. Christian Matau,
who had played center in recent weeks, is out for the season with a left
arm ailment.
"Tre (Robertson, tackle) is coming back slowly," McNeill said. "We hope
he's ready to go. ... One thing about Brad Davis (first-year offensive
line coach), with anybody else at the helm I would be worried.
"We're fortunate to have Brad. He is a special, special guy. He's taught
the front to play multiple positions. For example, J.T. Boyd can play
center and guard. Garrett McGhin can play left guard or right guard.
Kyle Erickson can play center or guard. (Coach Davis) has done a good
job of developing guys at multiple positions to give us depth. So next
man step up and be ready to go. Be ready versus Connecticut."
McNeill said ECU has worked on punt protection. One boot was
partially-blocked by Temple last week and another was more substantially
deflected, giving the Owls a 15-yard field that led to the last score.
The challenge for the Pirates this week may be more on mindset, getting
past the disappointment of the Temple game and getting ready to go
again. McNeill already has credited the resiliency of his players this
week and the contagious effect it had on him as a coach.
"You've got to move on," McNeill said. "You've got to look forward. If
you look backwards, that's where you'll go. If you look forward, that's
where you'll go, so we're looking forward."
ECU needs to regroup with a complete team effort at UConn (3-5, 1-3).
"We have to have three sides of the ball playing all together in all the
games and especially this next game," McNeill said. "There's a lot of
season left. There's a lot of things we can accomplish as a football
team. We've got to have great first-down efficiency, offensively and
defensively. We need great third down success, both offensively and
defensively. Not stop ourselves or hurt ourselves in drives. Critical
makes at critical times. Stay away from the critical errors at critical
times. Routine plays. Competitive plays. Let's continue to make sure we
improve fundamentally. Never neglect the fundamental part of the game."
So block, tackle and, of course, play the next play.