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| ECU and
senior quarterback Shane Carden, pictured
surveying the field against SMU last
Saturday, are bidding for bigger accolades
on the national stage after an impressive
early season run. (W.A. Myatt photo) |
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American Schedule |
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THURSDAY |
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UCF 31, BYU 24 (OT) |
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SATURDAY |
Cincinnati at Miami
Tulsa at Temple
Houston at Memphis
ECU at USF, 7 pm
UConn at Tulane |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates in jeopardy? |
Two games after a big win
has occasionally been a
letdown time for the East
Carolina football team. It
happened just a year ago
when the Pirates were
overcome 36-33 in triple
overtime at Tulane, the
second contest after the
elation of a 55-31 win at
North Carolina. There have
been other instances. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Fifteen Questions
for Breon Allen |
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 East Carolina
running back Breon
Allen is listed at 5
feet, 8 inches and
190 pounds. He once
referred to himself
as "Fun Size" and
teammates have made
the nickname stick.
The transfer from
Snow (Idaho) College
had 62 carries for
321 yards and five
touchdowns in 2013 ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Breon
Allen came to ECU as
a juco All-America
in 2013 and saw
action in 10 games
as a backup to
All-Conference USA
performer Vintavious
Cooper. Allen is
making his own bid
for honors this
season, rushing for
380 yards through
five games,
including a 211-yard
outing against North
Carolina. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates focused on Pirates |
Just like George Jefferson, the
Pirates are moving on up! That�s a
reference to the theme song from the
70s television show called �The
Jeffersons,� which was a spin-off of
�All in the Family.� It fits the
Pirates this week for sure. ...
More from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The
Brian Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU associate head
coach and inside
linebackers coach
coach John Wiley
(right):
Replay
show... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Presser |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with the media
at his weekly press
conference on Monday
(courtesy of Pirate
Radio 1250; file
photo):
Select
clip... |
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By
Brett Friedlander
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
Within the past week, East Carolina quarterback Shane
Carden has appeared live on Sirius XM College Sports Radio and � along
with favorite receiver Justin Hardy � was the subject of
a full-length national feature story
on SportingNews.com.
The senior captain is one of 13 players nationally
currently listed on the Heisman Trophy�s official web site as an
�aspirant� for the most prestigious award in college football � a
standing that will only be strengthened with news that trophy
frontrunner Todd Gurley of Georgia has been suspended indefinitely for
accepting an impermissible extra benefits.
Hardy, meanwhile, is currently the fourth-leading vote
getter in fan balloting for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation�s top
receiver.
After years, even decades of fighting and failing to gain
recognition outside a 90-mile radius of Greenville, people are finally
starting to stand up and take notice of those who play football for the
Pirates.
It�s a revelation that can be at least partially traced
to ECU�s entry into the higher profile American Athletic Conference. But
it would be na�ve to think that the new affiliation is only reason for
the Pirates� new-found notoriety, which includes a national ranking that
has climbed to No. 19 this week.
Of far greater importance in gaining the attention of the
folks in Bristol, Conn., and other college football image makers is
results � eye-catching results like road upsets
of Virginia Tech and
70-point eruptions
against fellow Power Five member North Carolina.
�I�ve never heard of a guy winning the Heisman on a bad
team,� Carden told SportingNews.com. �Right now, I�m in the business of
winning. I want wins for my team. When you win and win big, those things
take care of themselves.�
So far, so good.
Now here�s the catch: There�s absolutely no margin for
error when you�re a program such as ECU. In order to keep the clock from
striking midnight and having the college football establishment fall in
love with some other plucky underdog with its own core of
underappreciated stars, you have to keep winning.
You think Jordan Lynch would have been one of six Heisman
Trophy finalists invited to New York last December had his Northern
Illinois team not started the season at 12-0 a year after playing in the
Orange Bowl?
Not a chance.
That�s why games such as Saturday�s road contest at South
Florida are just as important to the Pirates, and perhaps even more
dangerous, than the upcoming showdowns against Cincinnati and Central
Florida that will presumably decide the AAC championship.
It doesn�t matter that coach Ruffin McNeill�s team is a
15�-point favorite against a team that has averaged only 233 yards per
game in losing three of its last four. From this point on, ECU is going
to get everybody�s best shot.
The situation is similar to the one the Pirates faced
last season when after a equally encouraging start punctuated by
another impressive drubbing of the rival Tar
Heels, they suffered a letdown that resulted in
an overtime loss at Tulane.
It�s a game that should be fresh on the minds of this year�s players,
even if McNeill and his staff aren�t going out of their way to bring it
up.
�We don't talk about the past because it's irrelevant,"
McNeill said earlier this week. �We can't control what happened in the
past. We talk about ourselves and what we have to do to get better.�
Fortunately for McNeill, he has an ally in spreading that
single-minded message in his star quarterback Carden.
The Pirates� field leader is so locked into the task at
hand that he didn�t realize he was even getting close to the school
record for passing yardage until the third quarter of
last week�s win against Southern Methodist,
when he was recognized over the Dowdy-Ficklen PA system for surpassing
David Garrard�s career mark of 9,029 yards.
That�s the kind of attitude McNeill said �exudes and
exemplifies what we want here.�
Carden is hardly unique in that regard. He�s just the
latest in a long line of ECU greats that have exhibited similar
qualities over the years.
The only thing that sets him apart from those others who
spent the majority of their careers toiling away in virtual anonymity is
that now, at least as long as the Pirates keep winning, people are
finally starting to take notice.
