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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday,
November 1, 2011
By Brian
Bailey |
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On to the make or break month of November
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East
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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USM
ECU
Marshall
UCF
Memphis
UAB |
3-1
3-1
3-2
2-2
1-4
1-4 |
7-1
4-4
4-5
4-4
2-7
1-7 |
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West
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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Houston
Tulsa
SMU
UTEP
Rice
Tulane |
4-0
4-0
3-2
1-3
1-4
1-4 |
8-0
5-3
5-3
4-4
2-6
2-7 |
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By
Brian Bailey
�2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Football is a sport where
everyone wants to be undefeated, but very few can pull off the trick.
The real trick is to be in line to make sure those November games really
matter.
That�s where East Carolina
finds itself as we turn the calendar to the next to the last month of
the year.
This November features
four more games. Four wins moves the team to 8-4. Four losses and the
Pirates limp home at 4-8.
As we have already seen,
either one of these scenarios is certainly a possibility.
There�s not a team left on
the schedule that the Pirates can�t beat. Likewise, there�s not a team
left that can�t win against the purple and gold.
The bottom line is that
East Carolina controls its own destiny, and that�s really all you can
ask for when the calendar turns to November.
�I think in life as a
whole if you�re able to control your own situation you�re OK,� said ECU
head coach Ruffin McNeill at his weekly news conference on Monday. �If
you�re able to drive your own car, that�s always a positive. We just
have to stay focused and stay within the moment. We have to enjoy the
journey and understand that we�re making progress.
"We�re not there yet,
though. That�s my job and our job as coaches is to keep them focused.
Our players and coaches are doing a great job of that so far.�
First up is perennial
nemesis Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are the best team of the four
and are ranked nationally
in the polls.
�We know what�s at stake,�
explained McNeill. �I talked to the players about our overall goals, but
then get immediately back to what�s at hand. Our biggest game is this
week�s because it�s the only one we have.
"I�m better at making sure
we�re darn good at one thing than trying to be OK at ten things. I�d
rather focus on what we�re doing right now.�
Central Florida is the
other home game this month. Road trips at Texas-El Paso and Marshall
also provide still challenges.
Still, the games in
November matter and that�s part of the formula for a winning season or a
bowl berth.
East Carolina enters the
month on a three-game winning streak, with two of those wins coming on
the road.
This past week the Pirates
took care of business after a little bit of a slow start and
beat Tulane for homecoming
34-13.
Thus, ECU opens November
after winning its final three games of October.
Beating Southern Miss
won�t be easy. McNeill compared the Golden Eagles to the likes of
South Carolina and
Virginia Tech, early season
heavyweights on the Pirate schedule.
�They�re one of the
fastest teams, on offense and defense, we�ll play,� said McNeill. �They
can flat-out run. (USM coach) Larry (Fedora) has been there for a while
and kept most of his coaching staff intact. The defensive scheme has
changed, but it remains nearly the same on offense. All Larry has done
is add to the offense.
"I see some Oklahoma State
flavor there, but also some things Larry has expanded to.�
The poem goes that the
�Autumn wind is a pirate, blustering in from the sea��
Those blustery late
October winds made for a cold day at the stadium last week. Now it's on
to November.
The Pirates hope to heat
things up and take a huge step towards a possible
Conference USA East Division
title with a win on Saturday against Southern Miss.
BB
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Brian Bailey Archives
11/01/2011 03:13 AM |
Replay
Monday night's BRIAN BAILEY SHOW,
with guest ECU offensive
line
coach BRANDON JONES. Eastern North Carolina's longest running
sports radio call-in show airs each Monday
night at 7 p.m. on Pirate Radio 1250 and
930.