News, Analysis and Opinion from Bonesville's Denny O'Brien

Pirate Notebook No. 144
Tuesday, September 23, 2003

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

At this point in the season, the Conference USA picture should be less muddy. It should be relatively easy to differentiate between the haves and have nots, the contenders and pretenders.

But aside from struggling Army — which appears destined for its familiar spot in the cellar — C-USA again is a league up for grabs. The primary difference this season is the level of competition, which has climbed a few rungs on the quality ladder.

Historically, C-USA always has been a league defined by parity and its mixture of mediocre to slightly-above average teams. In no other conference has the phrase “on any given Saturday” been more appropriate.

That Army beat Tulane and Houston beat Louisville last year supports that theory. It also is a prime indicator of C-USA’s overall perception as a mid-major league.

Judging by the outcomes of several out-of-conference contests, that label no longer applies. Following a weekend in which C-USA notched three wins against BCS foes, only the Big Ten (with 13) has tallied more victories in non-conference encounters with BCS schools.

C-USA currently has nine such wins, which speaks volumes about its pigskin progress.

The bad news? The league’s sudden climb to football legitimacy is a dollar short and a day late.

Sunday’s assembly of league CEO's was yet another sign of C-USA’s imminent implosion. Though no votes were taken, the overall message was clear: The days of C-USA as we know it are quickly approaching an end. Hence, the sudden meeting.

Louisville has all but punched its ticket for the Big East. Cincinnati hopes it can overcome a renegade image and do the same. There also are rumors that several basketball schools would like to satisfy their greener-grass cravings.

C-USA suddenly has become the league with which no school wants to be associated.

A quick comparison of C-USA and the Big East suggests there is little difference between the two on the hardwood. Subtract Miami and Virginia Tech from the equation – that would seem fair considering both are ACC bound – and the same assertion can be made for football.

If anything, it can be argued that C-USA will have the upper hand over the BCS ugly duckling next season. It most certainly would be the case if measuring by this year's standards, which would seem to be the type of leverage C-USA commissioner Britton Banowsky could use to salvage his league.

But the fact remains that the Big East is the league clinging to an automatic BCS bid — for now, anyway — and you can hardly blame Louisville for jumping ship.

"To a certain extent, we've got to understand how the Big East is going to go forward for us to be in a position to react," Banowsky said this summer. "I don't think we can be in a position to pre-empt anything relative to the Big East, and I'm not sure it would be appropriate, anyway, given where our members are.

"We'll just have to wait and see. I think we're prepared to do what we need to do to make the league stronger and that would include adding teams to the conference."

How about Pirates punter Ryan Dougherty, who not only is making waves with his booming right leg, but also has become an unexpected weapon in ECU’s arsenal.

Against Miami, he perfectly executed a fake punt with a dead-aim strike to Mickey McCoy for 11 yards and a first down. His nine-yard surge on a fake field goal Saturday moved the Pirates to within striking distance of Wake Forest and briefly shifted the momentum.

"We got a good push from the O-line," Dougherty said of the touchdown. "I got two good blocks, made some cuts and got into the end zone.

"I wanted to keep my feet moving. I got held up there for a second, but I got a good push, stayed low and got a few extra yards to get in the end zone."

But make no mistake, if Dougherty takes home the prize as the nation’s top punter it will be for his thunderous kicks. In just four games, he already has pinned opponents inside the 20 six times, to go along with a 45.5-yards per kick average.

"I worked hard all last year and took some good notes from Kevin (Miller) and Jarad (Preston)," Dougherty said. "I worked hard this summer and just wanted to make sure I could fill the shoes."

Despite its 0-4 record, East Carolina doesn’t appear to be sulking over the slow start.

"Sometimes when you see a team that is 0-4, you see a lot of pointing fingers," Pirates defensive tackle Damane Duckett said. "I don't see that in our locker room.

"We're dissatisfied with our performance (against Wake) and we know we have to get better. With this extra break, we need to get people healthy, watch more film on (Houston)."

There have been plenty of opportunities for finger-pointing this season, but the Pirates have remained tight in the dressing room. Even following uppercuts to the chin — such as the 79-yard toss from Cory Randolph to Jason Anderson against Wake — the Pirates have been supportive of their teammates.

"It was a big play," Duckett said. "But hey, you know big plays are going to happen in a ballgame. We learn to adjust from that. You give up a big play, that's fine... don't worry about it. Come back on the next play and just keep playing harder."

That’s exactly what East Carolina will attempt to do next Tuesday when it returns to C-USA play against Houston in what could be a make-or-break game.

"Right now we're just looking toward our conference," Duckett said. "We need to get some conference victories. We're 0-1 in the conference right now, but at 0-1, you can always turn it around. I think right now, that's what we can prove that we can do."