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Ruffin McNeill |
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Brian Mitchell |
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Damon Magazu |
(ECU SID
images) |
Harris Poll
For the fifth year in a row, Denny O'Brien is a member
of the voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. As a
service to readers of this site, O'Brien's ballot will
be published in this space each Monday throughout the
rest of the season.
A senior
columnist for Bonesville.net, Bonesville The Magazine
and The Pirates' Chest Magazine, O'Brien was nominated to the
Harris Poll panel by Conference USA. The
Harris Poll is a component of the BCS Standings.
View the panel
of 114 voters in the 2010 Harris
Interactive College Football Poll.
|
Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll Ballot
(Ballot cast
10.17.10)
1.
Oregon
2. Auburn
3. Boise State
4. Texas Christian
5. Oklahoma
6. Michigan State
7. Wisconsin
8. Ohio State
9. Alabama
10. Utah
11. Stanford
12. Louisiana State
13. Nebraska
14. Arizona
15. Iowa
16. Oklahoma State
17. Florida State
18. South Carolina
19. Virginia Tech
20. Miami
21. Arkansas
22. Missouri
23. Texas
24. Mississippi State
25. West Virginia
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This Week's Inaugural 2010 BCS Rankings |
This Week's Harris, AP and Coaches Polls |
|
|
By
Denny O'Brien
©2010 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
GREENVILLE — You had to figure there
would be brighter days for the East Carolina defense, days underscored
by better statistical performances and finer showings on the scoreboard.
It just didn't seem logical for it to
occur against N.C. State. Not against an offense that possessed a
multitude of weapons and a penchant for scoring at will.
Certainly not against a quarterback in
the midst of a Heisman campaign, or against a receiving corps that is as
deep and talented as any around.
It seemed more like the appropriate
setting for the Wolfpack to mercilessly name its score.
Had the Wolfpack dropped 50 or 60 on its
in-state rival, not many of the 50,410 who were in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
would have exited in complete shock. The fact that State produced far
short of that in a
thrilling 33-27 ECU win left
many who were familiar with the Pirates' previous defensive struggles
astonished by the sudden turnaround.
Save for maybe ECU head coach Ruffin
McNeill.
“You see them growing up,” McNeill said
after the biggest win in his six-game tenure. “It was something that
magically couldn't happen. They could only develop through experience
and repeating situations. They are doing that now.
“They are developing. The first game, we
had nine new starters. We've got to remember that. We had three starters
missing today. You see, and I've mentioned it before, the development of
the defense can only happen through situations and experiences like
today and like
last week at Southern Miss.”
That East Carolina produced its best
defensive effort with three key ingredients missing from the lineup is a
testament to how much the Pirates have matured through the first half of
the season. The defense that often looked out of sorts and unsure about
positioning, apparently has grown more comfortable in defensive
coordinator Brian Mitchell's aggressive system.
The Pirates clearly took a significant
step forward last week after spotting Southern Miss 20 points in the
opening quarter. They added another layer to that foundation by holding
a State offense to its lowest point total to date.
And, for the most part, the Pirates
limited the big play. Except for a couple of long distance connections,
you didn't see too many Pack receivers wandering uncovered behind the
secondary.
Those short underneath routes that had
routinely burned the ECU linebackers earlier this year were often met
with thunderous hits and harmless four-yard gains.
The Pirates performed well enough to
disguise a 322-yard passing effort by Russell Wilson, largely because
they made him incredibly inefficient. Credit that to a solid defensive
plan tailored to disguising coverages and keeping Wilson in the pocket,
where he often looked uncomfortable during a three-interception day.
“We did a good job of trying to mix up
coverages,” McNeill said. “With an experienced quarterback, the rule of
thumb is you blitz the young guy and defend the veteran.
“He's the veteran. So, with a veteran
you have to mix coverages, and you also have to blend some blitzes,
which Brian (Mitchell) did.”
Against the Pack, Mitchell threw man and
zone coverage packages at Wilson in an effort to keep him guessing. And
on occasions when he called for a blitz it provided just enough pressure
to cause discomfort for State's celebrated quarterback.
It was altogether impressive when you
consider this is still a defense minus nine starters from last season's
unit and with three regulars either suspended or on the mend. The
attrition left a thin and green defense even more depleted and less
experienced at key positions on the field.
To put it in proper perspective, the
game-clinching interception was snagged by a freshman first-time starter
who saw his first significant action last week. Damon Magazu is so new
to the routine of college football that he was unsure during postgame
interviews about which questions he could answer without “giving our
secrets away.”
Magazu and his teammates are definitely
guilty of revealing the secret that they are better than we thought.
Just when when many of us left the East Carolina defense for dead, it
came to life with a solid effort against an offense most figured would
bully it around.
East Carolina's young defense grew up a
little on Saturday. And it's largely the reason for the Pirates' victory
over N.C. State.