Harris Poll

For the seventh year in a row, columnist Denny O'Brien is a member
of the voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. O'Brien was nominated to the panel by Conference USA.
His weekly ballot will
be published in this space each Monday throughout the
rest of the season.
The
Harris Poll is a component of the BCS Standings. O'Brien's
ballot below was filed in conjunction with this week's Harris Poll.
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Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll Ballot
Editor's note: Because of
logistical issues, Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll ballot
for Oct. 29, 2012, was not available at press time.
O'Brien's ballot will be posted in this space when it is
available.
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This Week's Bowl Championship Series Standings |
This Week's Harris, AP & Coaches Polls |
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By
Denny O'Brien
©2012 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
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With three winnable games remaining on East Carolina’s 2012 schedule,
it’s premature to pass judgment on Ruffin McNeill’s tenure as head
coach. Win out, and the Pirates finish McNeill's third season on the job
with an 8-4 regular season record, an outside chance at the Conference
USA championship game and a guaranteed slot in one of the league’s
postseason bowls.
Given the competition awaiting ECU, that’s a realistic scenario.
But considering the Pirates’ most recent performance, a puzzling 56-28
home
blowout loss to Navy, any pause
fans might have about the state of the program is understandable. When
you combine that loss with the overall body of work, the criticisms fans
are expressing on radio call in shows and Internet message boards seem
reasonable.
There simply is no debating that the East Carolina football program
hasn’t advanced over the past three seasons. There also is no debating
that ECU football has taken a competitive step back from the day Skip
Holtz departed for South Florida in 2010.
At this stage, the most glaring program weakness seems to center on game
preparation and management, areas that historically have been the
Pirates’ overwhelming strengths. It was certainly an advantage when
Steve Logan and Holtz patrolled the sideline, with each demonstrating a
unique capability to identify an opponent’s weaknesses, prepare a game
plan to exploit them, and make adjustments as required.
While never void of decent talent, neither Logan nor Holtz enjoyed an
overwhelming surplus, thus relying on an astute, experienced staff that
could script enough wrinkles into the game plan to close the personnel
gap. On most occasions, they stayed a step ahead of their competition
with a keen ability to anticipate the opposing staff’s next step.
In the current climate of college athletics, that’s the proven model
that must be followed for ECU to succeed, but it has been the biggest
shortfall of the current coaching staff. Saturday’s loss to Navy
provides the framing example that supports that argument.
By all measures, East Carolina’s performance against Navy was a
collective no-show by the defense. Had the Pirates turned the ball over
with the same frequency they did against the Midshipmen in 2010, perhaps
the triple option would have eclipsed
the 76 points it scored then.
No one is debating that the Pirates defensive staff spent the past week
studying the triple option and crafting a game plan to at least contain
the Middies. There also is no debating that the defensive alignment and
sets we saw on the Pirates’ final defensive plays weren’t much different
than the ones that opened the game.
The net result? Navy could have left its punter in Annapolis.
Even more damaging is the fact that a vocal segment of East Carolina's
fans haven’t seemed this discouraged since John Thompson was coach.
Of course, all of this could become moot Thanksgiving weekend. Houston,
Tulane, and Marshall are far from unbeatable, and the two toughest games
within that trio will be played on Bagwell Field.
The Pirates also should have a talent advantage in those three games, so
running the table is not an unrealistic objective.
A full evaluation of McNeill to date would be unfair without mentioning
his recruiting success and his unique ability to connect on a personal
level with fans. Save for a couple of positions, there is no shortage of
capable athletes, and you simply won’t find a better ECU ambassador to
tour the rubber chicken circuit.
Bottom line, everybody loves Ruff, and wants him to succeed.
In a results business, though, you can’t deny that there are questions
and concerns. While the 5-4 record is hardly the embarrassment that
defined Thompson’s tenure, the conference has been competitively gutted
since then, and the Pirates’ four FBS wins this season came against
opponents with a 4-29 record.
Given his status as an alum and his overall loyalty and passion for the
program, McNeill deserves the benefit of the doubt for the next three
games. But there also is no denying that Saturday’s game against Houston
is a critical test for Ruff and his staff.