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Notes, Quotes and Slants
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Pirate
Notebook No. 30
Monday, December 3, 2001
By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist |
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All's Not Happy in Mudville
for Bower;
Recalling '96, Logan Not Apologizing
©2001 Bonesville.net
Mud Bowl II ended just as sadly for Southern Miss as did the first.
If the past two seasons are any indication, Southern Miss coach Jeff
Bower might want to pull out the Farmer's Almanac prior to setting up
next year's schedule. Apparently, the Golden Eagles don't fly too well in
the rain.
In last year's season finale, the Golden Eagles fumbled and stumbled away
a second-place C-USA finish to rival East Carolina, which looked right at
home in the mud and muck at M.M. Roberts Stadium.
Last Thursday night in historic Legion Field against Alabama, USM could
have done something that those same Pirates couldn't do the week before,
which was clinch a berth in the GMAC Bowl with a victory. Instead, it was 'Bama
that did the clinching, as Southern Miss was washed away by a Crimson Tide.
One day later, the GMAC spot went to the pesky Pirates, who Southern Miss
had beaten just seven days prior.
Needless to say, Bower was a wee bit miffed at the selection.
When asked his thoughts on the Pirates' receiving the bid over his 6-4
Eagle club, Bower's face turned as Crimson as the Tide that drowned USM the
night before.
A 6-5 ECU team that lost its last two games didn't deserve a bid over the
Golden Eagles was his message.
Bower went on to rant, rave, and even said a few bleeping words about
this and that, while throwing a tantrum about how his team played a
"national" schedule, and thus was being punished.
True enough, the Golden Eagles did confront a few big names this year.
Though among Oklahoma State, Penn State, and Alabama, only one Alabama
was able to secure a winning record, while none have yet to receive a
post-season bid.
Compare that with East Carolina, which played Wake Forest, Syracuse, and
North Carolina, all of which notched more wins than losses. Both the
Orangemen and Heels finished in the top three in their leagues, and have
already begun prepping for the holiday bowl season.
If Bower is seeking sympathy in Greenville, he's probably come to the
wrong place. After sitting at home with an 8-3 record in 1996, ECU head
coach Steve Logan, for one, has no plans to start dishing out apologies.
"I knew this day was going to come," Logan said. "In 1996, we went on the
road and beat Miami, North Carolina State, and South Carolina, had an 8-3
football team, and sat at home.
"I knew that at some point we would be a 6-5 team [and get a bid]. That
year, I believe I counted five or six teams that went to a bowl at 6-5 while
we sat home. We're part of the system now and it's a compliment to
Conference USA. I will make an apology to no one."
Bower is also unlikely to receive comfort from GMAC selection committee,
which said last week that a decision would soon follow the USM-Alabama tilt.
That alone should have sent a clear message to Bower win and you're in
but that, more or less, didn't sink in.
"There were several teams in the mix with bowl-eligible records,"
bowl selection committee representative Murray Cape
said. "We knew that, with our game on December 19th, we had to come up with
a decision prior to this Sunday.
"We had our meetings and went back and forth and calls were coming from
all over the place. We felt at the end of the Alabama-Southern Miss game,
depending on that result, we would make our choice."
Southern Miss lost, of course, and the Pirates got the nod. Now, USM is
forced to beat TCU next Saturday in a winner-take-all showdown for the
galleryfurniture.com Bowl bid.
If the Golden Eagles lose and find themselves in Hattiesburg for the
holidays, you can rest assured Bower will be looking for answers.
Those Self-Destructive Bucs
East Carolina has done just about everything in its power to cloud what
was forecast as a mostly sunny season.
The self-destruction started in early September, back when expectations
among the faithful were astronomical. The Pirates' opening-day party was
crashed by some fella named Grobe, whose Demon Deacon football team cashed
in on a safety and three turnovers, which was more than enough to tote a
two-point victory back to Winston-Salem.
In one painful three-hour span, ECU was prescribed a season's worth of
reality, something which the Pirates would be administered healthy doses all
year long.
Trips to Syracuse and Chapel Hill were tough pills to swallow. The
Pirates were unable to protect narrow second-half leads, and in fact, looked
determined at times to squander them.
Consecutive home games with conference rivals Louisville and Southern
Miss could have sewn up a Conference USA championship, but instead the
Pirates managed to unstitch a broken heart, one that had taken four-straight
wins to heal after the North Carolina game.
Despite the disappointment, despite the unimpressive 6-5 record, junior
place kicker Kevin Miller refuses to accept the label of mediocrity for this
team. The Virginia Beach native points to the Pirates' collection of close
calls as evidence that ECU was a representative squad.
"You look at all five of our losses number one they are all close
games," said Miller. "To me that means we are not a bad team.
"It's not a lack of effort. It's not a lack of coaching. It's just a lack
of execution, and we didn't go out and take care of the football the last
two games, and really all year."
With one final chance at redemption, Miller hopes the Pirates have
learned their lesson.
"We have nobody to blame but ourselves," he said. "Hopefully we can learn
from our mistakes."
One thing is for certain, the Pirates have plenty of mistakes from which
to learn:
- Against Wake Forest, quarterback David Garrard batted a ball forward
from his own end zone, costing the Pirates a safety, which proved to be
the winning margin. Later, Garrard threw a perfect strike to receiver
Derrick Collier, who bobbled the ball just long enough for a Wake
defensive back to pick it off. The final straw came came in the fourth
quarter, when Garrard kept the ball on the two-point conversion attempt
instead of pitching the ball to running back Leonard Henry, who had
nothing but real estate separating him from the end zone. Final score
Wake 21, ECU 19.
- In the Carrier Dome, running back Leonard Henry was well on his way to
a touchdown on the Pirates' opening drive, but was stripped from behind
after a 42-yard gain. After taking a 30-29 third-quarter lead, Logan
elected to try an onside kick, which failed. Syracuse scored moments
later, and the Pirates would never recover. Final score 'Cuse 44, ECU
30.
- At Carolina, two touchdowns were nullified by penalties. Leading 10-0,
the Pirates seemingly had Tar Heel quarterback Darian Durant wrapped up
for a safety, but the freshman launched a high floater that was caught by
Zach Hilton. The Heels would later score on the drive. ECU defensive back
Brandon Rainer bobbled what looked to be an easy interception, but the
deflected ball found the waiting arms of Hilton for the go-ahead
touchdown. Art Brown's fumble on an 81-yard kick-off return not only kept
the Pirates from the end zone, it gave the Heels the ball. Final score
Carolina 24, ECU 21.
- Hosting Louisville, ECU appeared ready to up its lead in the second
half when H-back Richard Alston floated a pass to a wide-open Arnie
Powell. But the ball had too much air under it and was intercepted,
setting up the go-ahead score. On the Pirates' ensuing possession, they
were again driving toward the end zone, but a fumble by Henry gave
Louisville the ball in excellent field position. The Cardinals would score
to up their lead to 32-21. Final score U of L 39, ECU 34.
- In their final home game, the Pirates would cough up the ball five
times against Southern Miss, which lead to 12 Golden Eagle points. Final
score USM 28, ECU 21.
With mistakes like that, it's no wonder the Pirates lost five times this
season. Yet, it's hard to understand how the hard-luck Bucs kept each game
so close.
"This is one of the most competitive football teams we've had here,"
Logan said. "We did not make or create enough breaks for ourselves and we
been beaten by two, been beaten by three, been beaten by five."
And if the Pirates aren't able to make enough breaks for themselves
against Marshall, Logan may have to add another margin to that lengthy list.
Offense Maintaining Fourth Quarter Pace
If there is one thing for which Logan's team has been criticized the
most, it would have to be the Pirates' lack of offensive production in the
second half, specifically the fourth quarter.
But according to Logan, those who criticize have most likely failed to do
their research.
"We have scored 98 points in the fourth quarter of this year," he said.
"That's more fourth quarter points than we scored last year and the year
before."
In 2000, the Pirates scored 94 points in the fourth quarter.
Logan noted, however, there is a noticeable difference in the first
quarter when comparing '00 to '01.
In 2000, the Pirates managed just 55 points in the first quarter, while
yielding 60 to their opponents. This year, East Carolina is outscoring its
foes 112-25 during the opening period.
"Our fourth quarter production, in actuality, hasn't fallen off at all,"
Logan said. "It's just, what people are seeing and able to separate is the
incredibly fast starts.
"The only difference has been very, very positive from the standpoint of
the explosions that we have gotten in the fourth quarter. That's what the
numbers will tell you if you go back and look at it."
Logan hopes to see the numbers rise for both the first and fourth
quarters later this month when the Pirates travel to Mobile to face Marshall
in the GMAC Bowl.
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02/23/2007 01:41:36 AM
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