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Conference USA Previews
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From the Anchor Desk
Friday, November 9, 2001
By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Showdown in Cincy Can Set Stage for
Even Bigger Showdown in Greenville
©2001 Bonesville.net
East Carolina at Cincinnati
 The
Pirates hope to take care of business this weekend at Cincinnati and set up
a championship showdown with Louisville for Thursday night.
ECU will look to
continue its great success in the league in road games. The Pirates are 9-2
in their last 11 road contests in Conference USA. A small crowd is
expected, so the team may have to generate its own enthusiasm — which isn't
likely to be a problem, considering the stakes.
Look for the Pirates
to pound Leonard Henry at the Bearcats in the early going. Henry is the
nation’s seventh leading rusher, and he’s really not getting all that much
work. I think that changes this week.
If Henry is able to get
loose, that will open up the passing attack. David Garrard doesn’t have to
win the game; he just can’t afford to lose it.
I think Garrard learned
a valuable lesson against Texas Christian. You can’t fault his effort, but
his decision making on the fumble in the third quarter did leave a lot to be
desired.
On defense, the Pirates
will have to come up with the same type of effort that we saw against
Memphis and in the first half of the TCU game. ECU must get pressure on the
quarterback, to take some of the pressure off of the defensive backs.
Rarely do you get a
chance to play for an outright conference championship. But that’s the case
if the Pirates take care of business against the Bearcats.
Greenville will be
rocking next Thursday night either way. But you have to think the excitement
will be that much greater, if both teams are unbeaten in Conference USA
going into the game.
Houston at Louisville
The Pirates would
dearly love to get some help from the hapless Cougars.
A win for Louisville
would mark back to back nine win seasons for the school for the first time
in its history. Houston leads the all-time series 6-4, but the Cards have
won the last two games. Louisville lit up Tulane last week, and will
probably do the same this week to the Cougars. Houston will be big underdogs
to both Louisville and Georgia, with UAB the only game left.
Just what Conference
USA needs, a team that finishes the year 0-11.
Texas Christian at UAB
This is the only other
league game this week as both the Horned Frogs and the Blazers try to sneak
back into the bowl picture. The Frogs played an outstanding second half of
football against the Pirates, and hope to ride that momentum into
Birmingham. Like the Pirates, TCU still has Louisville and Southern Miss. to
play. UAB has just Houston in the league, with a non-conference match-up
against Pittsburgh scheduled for December 1st.
Memphis at Tennessee
This week’s chance for
the league to make some noise is in Knoxville, where the Volunteers host
Memphis. For whatever reason, the Tigers seem to always play Tennessee as
tough as anyone does. Last year, the Vols kicked a 34-yard field goal with
13 seconds to play to win 19-17. Two years ago, Tee Martin threw a touchdown
pass in the final minute as the Vols won 17-16. Also, the highest nationally
ranked team that Memphis has ever beaten was Tennessee in 1996, when the
Volunteers were ranked 6th.
Buffalo at Army
This is a match-up
between Conference USA and the MAC, which features bowl tie-ins in both the
GMAC Mobile Bowl and the Motor City Bowl in Pontiac,
Michigan. Both teams have just two
wins on the season. This is the last game of the season at Michie Stadium,
which will undergo a major renovation in the off season.
Tulane at Navy
The Green Wave goes
for its third win of the season, visiting Navy in Annapolis,
Maryland. Last year’s game featured
1,229 yards of total offense in the 50-38 win by Tulane. The home team is a
sparkling 10-1-1 in the series. Tulane leads the overall series at 8-5-1.
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02/23/2007 01:19:47 AM
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