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East Carolina did Conference USA no favors with its 31-28 victory over
Texas Christian. That much is evident by the national polls.
True, by beating the Frogs, the Pirates tightened the title race, giving
themselves, Louisville and Cincinnati a shot at sharing the crown, with the
strong possibility that the league hardware will be divided by three.
The side effect was the dismissal of TCU, now 8-2, from the rankings,
leaving the adolescent conference with zero representation in the opinion
polls.
That far outweighs any media hype a down-to-the-wire finish will create.
Such has become the trend for C-USA, which since the 1999 season has seen
its profile in steady decline.
That year, in retrospect, was the crown jewel in C-USA's brief history,
providing fans with a three-team race among the league's most high-profile
programs — Southern Miss, East Carolina, and Louisville — during a season in
which the Golden Eagles and Pirates were mainstays in the Top 25. When USM
and ECU squared off, it was billed as one of the weekend's top matchups,
attracting attention from several national media outlets.
Oh, how times have changed.
"You look and just about everybody is 6-6," Pirates coach Steve Logan
said. "We beat each other to death.
"This conference is unique more than any other one, save for the
Southeastern Conference. There are only about one or two teams that, when
you tee it up, you think, 'Well, if we don't turn it over, we'll win.' There
is just no difference."
The SEC is one of few leagues that can get away with parity. The ACC,
which was often ridiculed for having one dominant program — Florida State —
and a handful of decent offerings, has seen firsthand that parity does
little for conference prestige.
With their loss to N.C. State Saturday, the conference champion Seminoles
dropped to 8-4 overall and are now ranked 23rd. Few expect FSU to beat rival
Florida this weekend, meaning the once mighty 'Noles have a realistic shot
of finishing a mediocre 8-6.
In fact, if State, Maryland and FSU each lose their respective bowl
games, the ACC will likely be shut out of the final rankings. Judging by the
low number of quality non-conference opponents each school has beaten, that
scenario isn't a stretch.
For C-USA to place a member among the national elite, it must pin its
hopes on TCU, which must beat Memphis Saturday and follow that with a
victory over Colorado State in the Liberty Bowl. If not, consider 2002
another step back for the respect-hungry league.
When you factor in the Frogs' seven-turnover performance against East
Carolina, beating the struggling Tigers this weekend is anything but a lock.
"That's what you're going to get every week," Logan said. "It's hard on
the constituencies, and it's hard on the administrations, but baby, get used
to it. I just don't see anybody dominating this thing."
A couple of dominant programs which outside observers can identify with
is exactly what this league needs, especially if it is to make a push for
respect and a direct tie with the BCS. Otherwise, C-USA will remain on the
outside looking in.
Unfortunately, the current landscape lends itself to perpetuating the
latter, considering the uphill climb each league member faces.
East Carolina competes with North Carolina and North Carolina State for
the majority of its recruits. Southern Miss battles Ole Miss and Mississippi
State.
TCU goes head-to-head with Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech. Louisville
must face off against Kentucky, Tennessee, and, on occasion, Ohio State.
South Florida, which begins C-USA play next season, has access to the
nation's finest talent pool, the Sunshine State. But, at best, the Bulls are
fourth in the pecking order behind Miami, Florida, and Florida State.
Simply put, C-USA isn't hauling in the elite talent necessary to compete
at a national level and has just one notable non-league win this year —
Louisville's rain-soaked victory over Florida State.
"Everybody's got the same caliber player," Logan said. "They're pretty
good players. (There are) very few elite players are out there."
There are certainly no elite teams. And that's doing quite a number on
C-USA's image.
Game ball
Defensive coordinator Tim Rose hasn't placed many pigskins on the mantle
over the past two seasons.
But with his defense forcing seven turnovers against TCU, Rose more than
earned a game ball Saturday.
"I'll send him about a dozen of them," Logan said. "That's what that
effort was worth.
"The thing that we had to do (Saturday) that we had preached all week
long is that we had to slow down the explosion plays. They got one early in
the game on the option."
Rose made two adjustments that shouldn't be overlooked.
One, Kelly Hardy, who spent the first nine games this season at safety,
was moved back to his more familiar role on the corner. Two, the Pirates
blitzed often, which forced the immobile Sean Stilley into making quick,
hasty decisions.
The result? Stilley finished the day 16-35 for 177 yards, with four
interceptions and a fumble.
Make that a baker's dozen pigskins for Rose, Coach Logan.
Brown over 1,000
East Carolina has built a stout reputation off producing glamour-boy QBs,
including current Baltimore Ravens starter Jeff Blake and Jacksonville
Jaguars understudy David Garrard.
Slowly but surely, the Pirates are beginning to churn out high-profile
running backs, too.
With his 60 yards against TCU, Art Brown joined the 1,000-yard club,
marking the second-straight season the Pirates running back has eclipsed
that benchmark number. Last year, Leonard Henry, who is a member of the
Miami Dolphins practice squad, rushed for 1,432.
Brown's effort marks the fifth time in Logan's tenure that an East
Carolina rusher has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. Current Army assistant
Junior Smith did it three times.
Pirates RBs have also evolved into scoring machines. Henry holds the
single-season record for TDs with 18 last year. Brown, who is among the
national leaders in scoring, is one touchdown away from tying his former
mentor and has two games to surpass him.
Move over Leonard, this is "Touchdown" Art Brown's town, now.
Columbus, Ohio, and Raleigh take note: East Carolina demonstrated
Saturday that it doesn't take tear gas and nightsticks to fend off a raucous
crowd. Apparently, fuzzy math will do.
Judging by previous crowds this season, that figure seemed low. To the
naked eye, Saturday's attendance appeared to at least approach the number of
fans in the seats for the home opener against Tulane, which was listed at
35,300, despite wet, windy conditions — an estimate which seemed too high at
the time.
Thumbing through the Media Guide also suggests Saturday's announced
attendance to be inconsistent when comparing it to past crowd estimations.
Folks may remember the monsoon-like conditions in which the Pirates trounced
Syracuse in 2000 before one of the lighter crowds in the Logan era.
The announced attendance? 33,026.
Has something suddenly changed about the formula ECU uses for estimating
attendance at football games? Or does the old calculator need a tune-up?
