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Bailey's Take on Conference USA
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From the Anchor Desk
Friday, November 30, 2001

By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9

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ECU's Post-season Hopes Still Alive
After Thursday Night's Bowl Drama

©2001 Bonesville.net

They played in the rain in Birmingham with bowl bids at stake for both teams.

In the end, it was Alabama that improved its bowl chances, and it was Southern Miss that opened the door for East Carolina.

As I reported on the 11 p.m. news on Thursday night, we had conflicting reports on the on the intentions of GMAC officials for their bowl.

According to a source in Mobile, the bowl was going to wait until Friday morning to make it official. That person indicated that I would not be incorrect in saying that East Carolina was going to get the bid.

I was very confident in the story, until I talked with a source that was in the press box in Birmingham watching the Alabama win over Southern Miss.

That source indicated that both GMAC Bowl officials and those from Conference USA were saying that Mobile would take Southern Miss, regardless of the outcome of Thursday night’s game.

Also, the Associated Press story out of Birmingham on the game said that Southern Miss was expected to get the invitation from the GMAC Bowl.

If that indeed was the case, then why didn’t the GMAC Bowl make their announcement earlier in the week? The GMAC Bowl is set for December 19th, so time was certainly a key factor in any decision.

As I stated on the air, my “gut” feeling is that East Carolina will get the not from the GMAC Bowl. I really believe that they like that match-up between ECU and Marshal. The Pirates should be able to run the football at will, while the Herd would look to exploit the Pirate secondary.

But, by the time you read this, things may have changed. Predicting bowl pairings is certainly not an exact science. One man’s “done-deal” is another man’s “maybe”.

Here’s hoping that the Pirates will get a chance to play one more game. Personally, I’d rather go to Houston then Mobile, but at this point, any postseason game will do.


Conference USA This Week

Alabama 28 Southern Miss 15

Alabama helped the East Carolina cause by beating Southern Miss in the rain in Birmingham.  Ahmaad Galloway ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns to lift the Crimson Tide to their sixth win of the season.

With its third straight win, Alabama (6-5) became eligible for a bowl game, likely the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn.

The game was played in windy, rainy conditions and included six first-half turnovers, a safety, three botched extra-point kicks and three missed field goals.


Army vs. Navy

With all that has happened in our country since September 11th, perhaps we should all take time out to salute these two academies in this 102nd meeting between Army and Navy.

The series is tight, with the Black Knights leading 48-46-7. Navy, though, has won the last two games.

This year’s game moves back to Philadelphia, where 75 of the games in the series have been played.

Last year, Navy came into the game without a win, and picked up a victory over Army. This year, the Midshipmen come into the game without a win again.

Navy is working with an interim coach, as defensive coordinator Rick Lantz is 0-2 after taking over for Charlie Weatherbie.


Louisiana-Monroe at Cincinnati

Cincinnati needs a win to secure a second straight seven-win season and back-to-back bowl trips for the first time since the 1949-50 seasons.

Louisiana-Monroe is the former Northeast Louisiana. ULM is in its first season in the Sun Belt Football Conference. The Bearcats have won all four games in the series by 13 or more points.

Cincinnati should accept a bid to the Motor City Bowl to face Toledo on Saturday.


Houston at (16) Georgia

The Cougars go for the unwanted perfect season in this game. Houston is 0-10, and a big underdog against nationally ranked Georgia. This would be the first 0-11 campaign in the school's and Conference USA’s football history.

The last time Georgia hooked up with a C-USA team was in the league’s first season, the very first weekend of league play. In that game Houston beat the Bulldogs 11-7 in Athens.

Don’t look for a similar result this time out.

Send an e-mail message to Brian Bailey.

Click here to dig into Brian Bailey's Bonesville archives.

02/23/2007 01:19:54 AM
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