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Game
Slants
Saturday, October 13, 2012
By Denny O'Brien |
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Wanted: Yearly diet of Tigers
By
Denny O'Brien
�2012 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
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View box score and statistics on ecupirates.com
GREENVILLE � East Carolina
needs to ensure that Memphis remains a part of the annual football schedule.
With the Tigers set to join
the Big East next season, they officially move off ECU�s regular Conference
USA East Division docket following
their 41-7 thrashing by the Pirates
on Saturday. The Tigers� departure also represents the loss of an
almost-sure-fire annual victory in a climate where gimmes are few and far
between.
That�s exactly why ECU AD
Terry Holland should have spent most of Saturday negotiating an annual
home-and-home series with the pushover Tigers. Their presence on future
Pirates schedules would add a school from a more respected conference, while
padding the win total in the process.
It would be the equivalent of
a scheduling touchdown � actually multiple ones considering the ease with
which ECU has handled Memphis historically.
�I think Justin (Fuente) is
trying to build his team,� Pirates Coach Ruffin McNeill said about the
Memphis program after the game. �I�ve been through what he�s going through.
He�s trying to build depth and competition.
"I wish them well. But if we
have some spots on the schedule, they can come back. Want some, get some.
But I never have a mean streak about them. I wanted to beat them tonight,
because they were the next game on the schedule.�
After Saturday�s runaway, you
can certainly understand why McNeill would welcome Memphis back on the
slate. And when you consider the Pirates� series record against the Tigers �
15-6, with multiple blowout wins � it makes even more sense to negotiate a
deal with the Memphis brass.
Because the Pirates can use
the occasional non-conference breather.
Even on an evening when the
Pirates� play can be best classified as sloppy, the competitive gap was
resoundingly clear. The only team capable of preventing ECU from hanging 50
points on the Tigers Saturday was the Pirates themselves.
Sacks, fumbles, and missed
blocking assignments short-circuited several promising drives. Mistakes also
fueled the mid-game lull that has become the most defining characteristic of
the ECU offense to date.
Even so, the occasional
blunders weren�t enough to make Memphis remotely competitive on ECU�s
Homecoming.
That�s because Pirates
quarterback Shane Carden delivered far more good plays than bad. Ditto for
his receivers, running back Vintavious Cooper, and a defense that registered
one of the best performances we�ve seen in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium of late.
�We had a simple game plan, a
lot like we�ve had in the past,� Pirates safety Damon Magazu said. �We
really just focused on keeping our eyes on where they need to be, reading
our keys, running to the ball, and tackling well. I think our defense did a
great job of that today.
"We have a fast team, and I
think that played well for us today. Everybody was running to the ball.
Those holes closed up really quick.�
The Pirates were so dominant
defensively that Memphis could barely muster a first down as long as ECU was
interested.
Offensively, the Pirates were
equally as dominant when they didn�t get in their own way. Carden threw for
305 yards, Vintavious Cooper rushed for nearly 100, and the Justins � Hardy
and Jones � were dynamic bookends at receiver.
Hardy finished with 137
receiving yards and two scores. Jones added 80 and three touchdowns of his
own.
East Carolina�s overpowering
victory clearly came at the expense of one of the nation�s worst football
outfits. There is simply no debating that.
And if the Pirates were to
continue playing the Tigers in the future, the results would likely remain
the same.
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10/14/2012 04:25:11 AM |
