By
Denny O'Brien
©2008 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
Harris Poll
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For the third year in a row, Denny O'Brien is a member
of the voting panel
for the Harris Interactive College Football Poll,
commissioned by the Bowl Championship Series. As a
service to readers of this site, O'Brien's ballot will
be published in this space each Monday throughout the
season.
The
Harris Poll is a component of the BCS Standings. This
season's first Harris poll will be released on Sept. 28.
The first 2008 BCS Standings, which also take into
account the USA Today Coaches Poll and an average of six
computer service rankings, will be released on Oct. 19.
A senior
columnist for Bonesville.net, Bonesville Magazine and
The Pirates' Chest, O'Brien was nominated to the Harris
Poll panel by Conference USA. View a list of the
Harris Poll panel members
on this week's national polls page. |
Denny O'Brien's Harris Poll Ballot
(Ballot cast
09.28.08)
1.
Alabama
2. Oklahoma
3. Missouri
4. LSU
5. Texas
6. Penn State
7. Texas Tech
8. Brigham Young:
9. Southern Cal
10. Georgia
11. South Florida:
12. Florida
13. Auburn
14. Ohio State
15. Oklahoma State
16. Utah
17. Boise State
18. Oregon
19. Kansas
20. Wisconsin
21. Fresno State
22. Vanderbilt
23. Virginia Tech
24. Maryland
25. North Carolina |
View this Week's Complete
Harris, AP & Coaches Polls |
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There is a silver lining
behind the stormy week that East Carolina just endured. In case you
haven’t noticed, that doesn’t happen that often anymore.
At least not since Terry
Holland and Skip Holtz hopped aboard. Since their arrival, the Pirates
have experienced relatively smooth sailing as the football program has
ascended from the bottom depths of Division I-A to an annual postseason
threat that now fills Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium regardless of the opponent.
Still, there is no denying
that the past seven days have been frustrating Down East. And with the
mounting frustration of consecutive upset losses and a midweek AD
squabble, there is no shortage of questions — fair and legitimate ones —
that warrant pondering.
Here are a few to gnaw on:
Did Quentin Cotton make that
much of a difference?
There is no question that
Cotton was a difference maker for the ECU defense. He was an emotional
leader who led both verbally and with his play on the field.
But at this stage, there
should be a steady flow of capable backups to help fill the void,
especially when you consider the experience of ECU’s regulars at
linebacker.
Cotton, Pierre Bell,
Jeremy Chambliss, and Nick Johnson have all been significant
contributors for three years running. That means each played a
meaningful role as freshmen or sophomores in 2006, a year that marked
one of the most impressive defenses in ECU history.
There is no reason why the
Pirates shouldn’t have enough capable bodies to help fill that void. The
ECU staff is filled with proven recruiters with a track record for
developing players to reach their potential.
Why the Pirates are in a
position where a walk-on — Matt Pick — started on Saturday is a mystery.
What is ECU’s offensive
identity?
That’s too hard to tell.
Last year it was a tale of multiple personalities, all depending on the
trigger man that ECU had under center.
With Rob Kass in the
huddle, the Pirates adopted a true drop-back approach that included a
healthy dose of play-action passes and vertical throws. Under Patrick
Pinkney’s direction, ECU took more of a spread approach and included
some elements of the read option to take advantage of his mobility.
Having decided on Pinkney
as the starter in the off-season, it seemed the Pirates might subscribe
more to the same principles they used last season against Memphis and
Boise State. In both cases, ECU used a spread approach and took
advantage of Pinkney’s greatest physical asset — his nimble feet.
Instead, the Pirates have
gone a more vanilla route that perhaps over-emphasizes the bubble screen
and inside power running. As a result, opponents are growing more
comfortable defending an ECU offense that seems reluctant to take its
shots downfield.
Where are the playmakers?
In the NFL isn’t a sufficient response. Granted that Aundrae Allison and
Chris Johnson carried the majority of the offensive load the past couple
of seasons, using them as an excuse for ECU’s offensive struggles this
year would be overlooking the point.
In Dwayne Harris, Jamar
Bryant, Davon Drew, Jonathan Williams, and Norman Whitley, there is no
shortage of playmakers who can move the chains in a variety of ways. The
problem is that, aside from Harris, the Pirates aren’t figuring out
enough ways to get the ball into their playmakers’ hands.
Take Drew and Whitley.
They provided much of the offensive spark against N.C. State, with each
scoring from long range.
Against the Cougars, the
two combined for three touches, all Whitley runs. Add to that the fact
that Bryant and Williams heard their names called only four times
combined.
Meanwhile running back
Brandon Simmons logged a season-high 19 carries and hauled in a
team-high five catches Saturday. While Simmons’ passion and
determination are refreshing, he is the least likely member of the ECU
offense to dial long distance.
Is the emotional tank dry?
It shouldn’t be. It’s true
that it has been an emotional journey to open the season, but is it
really that much different than 2007?
The Pirates opened last
season with a trio of emotional outings, giving Virginia Tech everything
it could handle in Blacksburg before returning home to face rivals North
Carolina and Southern Miss. All three came down to the final moments
before the outcome was decided.
The major difference this
year has been the amount of attention the program received following
victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. It brought with it many
distractions that perhaps overwhelmed a roster of players who are
unaccustomed to the spotlight.
Even so, it’s hard to
rationalize the Pirates being emotionally and mentally unprepared
Saturday. Though the loss to N.C. State was no doubt disappointing,
there was still plenty for ECU to play for.
The goal of winning that
elusive Conference USA championship was still well within reach and the
fourth largest crowd in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was on hand. Seems like
that should have provided plenty of competitive fire.
Does ECU have the horses to win
C-USA?
It’s too early to tell,
but Saturday wasn’t an encouraging sign.
C-USA offenses are
designed to spread out defenses and dictate the tempo by throwing the
ball. That is ECU’s glaring weakness defensively, which was first
exposed in its league opener at Tulane.
If ECU is going to
represent the East Division in the league title game, it will likely
need to win a shootout or two. That means the Pirates have a lot to do
during the bye week to find some offense to compete with their
gimmick-heavy foes.
Is it time to panic?
Not even close. Holtz and
his staff are worth every penny that ECU is paying them, and there is no
reason to believe they won’t right the ship.
Sure there are
frustrations and legitimate questions that must be explored. But if
those questions are being asked from the press box and in the stands,
you can rest assured even more are being asked from the sidelines.
Holtz fixed a much bigger
mess when he arrived in Greenville. Something tells me he can handle
this one.