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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: Coach Ruff Presser |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with the news media on
Thursday about the Pirates'
Jan. 3 matchup with
 Florida in the
Birmingham Bowl
(courtesy of Pirate
Radio 1250 via Brian Bailey):
Select
clip... |
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American Bowl Schedule |
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Miami
Beach
Bowl
Marlins
Park
Miami,
FL
Dec.
22 �
2
p.m.
�
ESPN
Memphis
vs.
Brigham
Young
Bitcoin
St.
Petersburg
Bowl
Tropicana
Field
St.
Petersburg,
FL
Dec.
26 �
8
p.m.
�
ESPN
Central
Florida
vs.
N.C.
State
Northrop
Grumman
Military
Bowl
Navy-Marine
Corps
Memorial
Stadium
Annapolis,
MD
Dec.
27 �
1
p.m.
�
ESPN
Cincinnati
vs.
Virginia
Tech
Lockheed
Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Amon
G. Carter Stadium
Fort
Worth, TX
Jan.
2 � Noon � ESPN
Houston
vs. Pittsburgh
Birmingham
Bowl
Legion
Field
Birmingham,
AL
Jan.
3 �
Noon
�
ESPN
East
Carolina
vs.
Florida
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BASKETBALL |
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Pirates surge past JMU |
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 GREENVILLE
� Florida State
transfer Terry
Whisnant scored 14
of his 24 points in
the second half and
Caleb White had all
16 of his points
after intermission
as East Carolina
overcame a 28-25
deficit at the break
for a 70-58
nonconference win
over James Madison
at Williams Arena in
Minges Coliseum on
Saturday ...
Story
& photo... |
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Pictured: ECU junior
guard Terry Whisnant
scores a layup over
JMU defender Hari
Hall in the first
half of a 70-58 win
on Saturday. (Photo
by W.A. Myatt) |
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Next: ECU at UNW |
Saturday, 7 pm |
The Season |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
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 The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Brian's guests this week were
Birmingham Bowl executive director
Mark Meadows and ECU inside
receivers coach and recruiting
coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick:
Replay
show... |
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By
Brett Friedlander
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
College football bowl games aren�t always won by the team
with the better record or the better, more highly-regarded players.
They�re usually won by the team that�s more motivated to play.
So who does that favor in East Carolina�s Birmingham Bowl
matchup against Florida?
Neither team has to be particularly happy about playing
in Alabama, two days after Jan. 1 in a stadium that. while historic, is
a crumbling relic in a bad neighborhood.
The Pirates, in particular, had aspirations of bigger and
better things after getting off to a promising 6-1 start. But their
hopes for an American Athletic Conference championship and a trip to one
of the so-called �New Year�s Six� bowls as the nation�s best non-Power 5
team were derailed by a pair of self-inflicted November losses.
In spite of that disappointment, coach Ruffin McNeill�s
team still has plenty of reasons to do more than just show up in
Birmingham � not the least of which is the desire to send a senior class
the coach described as �special� out on a winning note.
Those 19 upperclassmen, many of which arrived with
McNeill back in 2010, had their collective heart ripped out two weeks
ago when Central Florida spoiled their Senior Night celebration with
a game-winning, 51-yard Hail Mary as time
expired.
They�ve been chomping at the bit ever since to get back
out onto the field and make amends � regardless of who and where they�re
playing. The fact that the opponent is a brand-name program from the
most hyped conference in college football � the kind of team ECU has
always thrived on beating � has only added fuel to the Pirates� fire.
�We�re very motivated for this game,� quarterback Shane
Carden said. �It�s a great challenge against a great team. We�re looking
forward to getting down there, playing against an SEC defense and really
finishing the season off right. I want to leave this program right and
give the rest of the seniors something to look back at.�
While Carden and his teammates have their sights set
squarely on enhancing their their legacies with one final signature
victory, it�s anybody�s guess where the Gators� heads or hearts will be
come Jan. 3.
They�ve played so poorly this season on the way to a 6-6
record, with the glaring exception of an unexpected rout of Georgia,
that their school�s administration didn�t even wait for the regular
season to end before firing coach Will Muschamp.
Although Colorado State�s Jim McElwain has already been
hired as Muschamp�s replacement, he�ll be nothing more than a spectator
at Legion Field while defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and a lame duck
staff lead the team against the Pirates.
It�s the kind of situation ECU nose tackle Terry Williams
said can bring a team together, which is why he said he expects Florida
�to come out ready to play and prove something.�
History, however, suggests the opposite might be true.
Remember back in 2011, when on the verge of NCAA
sanctions, with a 6-5 record and an interim coach that had already been
told he wouldn�t be retained, North Carolina showed up in Shreveport,
LA, for an Independence Bowl game it really didn�t want to play and got
trounced 41-24 by Missouri?
Or how about N.C. State�s performance at the Music City
Bowl 12 months later? With coach Tom O�Brien having already been
dispatched and newly hired Dave Doeren watching from the stands, the
disinterested Wolfpack barely went through the motions for offensive
coordinator Dana Bible in a 38-24 loss to Vanderbilt.
That doesn�t mean a team can�t rally around its interim
coach and put together a winning effort, as Texas Tech did with McNeill
at the 2009 Alamo Bowl. It�s just not that easy with staff members
distracted by their own job searches and players struggling to motivate
themselves for an opponent and a bowl they consider beneath them.
Despite its struggles this season, Florida has the talent
� including soon-to-be NFL draft picks Vernon Heargraves III and Dante
Fowler on defense � to be the exception to the rule.
The question is, does it have the motivation?
It's
a pretty bold statement to
compare any receiver to East
Carolina's Justin Hardy, who
this season became the
all-time leader in catches
for the Football Bowl
Subdivision. But it's an
even bolder statement when
that receiver is still in
high school. ...