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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday,
November 8, 2011
By Brian
Bailey |
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Bad time for a bad day
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A streaker is
apprehended at
midfield during Saturday's
ECU-Southern Miss game at
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
(Photo: W.A. Myatt)
View game day photo gallery |
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BRAIN BAILEY SHOW |
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BRYANT, NICK ANDERSON, PAUL
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C-USA Standings |
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(Through games of 11.05.11) |
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East
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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USM
ECU
Marshall
UCF
Memphis
UAB |
4-1
3-2
3-2
2-3
1-4
1-5 |
8-1
4-5
4-5
4-5
2-7
1-8 |
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West
Division |
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SCHOOL |
C-USA |
ALL |
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Houston
Tulsa
SMU
Rice
UTEP
Tulane |
5-0
5-0
4-2
2-4
1-4
1-5 |
9-0
6-3
6-3
3-6
4-5
2-8 |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Did anyone else find it
fitting that a streaker graced Bagwell Field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
just after the East Carolina special teams got caught with their pants
down a couple of times on Saturday?
In another chapter to a
series known for the odd and bizarre, Southern Miss built a 21-7 lead
over East Carolina with a grand total of seven yards of offense.
I witnessed the events
from field level and it was tough to stomach.
Lightning struck on the
game’s second play, when Dominique Davis hit Reese Wiggins on a little
screen pass that turned into a 72-yard connection to give the Pirates
the early lead.
After a Southern Miss
punt, Davis drove the Pirates down the field again. East Carolina was in
the shadow of the Southern Miss goal line when Davis’s slant pass was
deflected and picked off by Jamie Collins. Collins went 97 yards for the
touchdown to not only tie the score, but to also effectively take the
near-sellout crowd out of the football game.
The “pick-six” was bad
enough. What followed may keep Ruffin McNeill awake until the flight
leaves for El Paso on Friday.
After a three-and-out for
the ECU offense, Phil McNaughton sent a line drive punt towards Tracey
Lampley. Lampley weaved his way through the Pirate defenders for a
60-yard return for a touchdown.
Just when you thought it
was safe to get back in the game, the Pirates were forced to punt again.
This time McNaughton’s attempt never had a chance. The Golden Eagles
blocked the punt, and Emmanuel Johnson picked up the football and ran 15
yards for a 21-7 Southern Miss lead.
Southern Miss racked up 21
points with just seven yards of offense. The Golden Eagles picked up one
more gift before the end of the half when Deron Wilson picked off a
Davis pass and raced 79 yards for a touchdown to give the Golden Eagles
a 38-14 halftime lead.
Every time Davis throws an
interception it seems like it goes all the way back for a touchdown for
the opponent. Interceptions are bad enough, but the Pirates have made an
art into turning an interception into automatic points for the
opposition.
Can’t anyone on offense
make a tackle?
After the avalanche of
miscues, Southern Miss coasted the rest of the way to
the 48-28 win.
Coach McNeill must have
watched the tape a million times over the weekend. He opened his weekly
news conference Monday by going through each one of the scores that his
defense had to sit on the sidelines and watch. (Select
audio clip to replay press conference...)
“The four non-offensive
touchdowns killed us,” explained McNeill. “On the first one, the ball
bounced off Joe Womack’s hands, ricocheted off a defender’s shoulder
pads and was returned for a score. The punt return was a directional
kick. We knew Tracey Lampley and what he could do. We tried a
directional punt away from him. Phil McNaughton hung it up and it didn’t
hit the ground. We wanted it to hit and roll away from Lampley.”
“On the punt block,"
McNeill continued, "William Smith, our normal deep snapper, went down
and we had to insert Charlie Coggins, our backup. Our guys were so
focused on the coverage following the return for a score that Southern
Miss blocked it on us. Phil got the punt off well and Coggins’ snap was
not a problem. They just blocked it on us.
"The last interception was
a tough throw by Dominique [Davis]. Southern Miss doubled down on Justin
Hardy. We felt good about that route and connected on it a few times
within that coverage.”
McNeill wears the
frustrations openly. You can see it in his eyes and on his face.
Last year his defense kept
him from winning football games. This year, it’s the turnovers, as the
Pirates continue to be their own worst enemy.
The coaches say the
mistakes are fixable. Those corrections need to come soon as the season
is down to three final games, and two of them are on the road.
Next up is UTEP, and that
long trip to El Paso, Texas. I don’t think it’s the long flight there
that will be the problem, but coming home so late Saturday makes Sunday
almost an impossible day to get any work done with Central Florida
heading to town for the home finale the following Saturday. [Editor's
note: ECU announced Monday that the game time for the Nov. 19th UCF game
will be 7 p.m.]
Turnovers, and the
immediate reaction to them, may be the key to making a bowl game, or
sitting home for the holidays.
BB
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