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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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A South wind at 13 miles per
hour could be a significant
factor as East Carolina
visits Tulsa for an 8:30
p.m. kickoff, Eastern time,
tonight. The temperature
will be a relatively-mild �
compared to recent trips to
Temple and Cincinnati � 54
degrees as the contest gets
under way on ESPNU. There is
a zero percent chance of
precipitation, according to
the forecast. The
temperature will remain in
the lower 50s for the
duration of the American
Athletic Conference matchup.
Humidity will increase from
a projected 62 percent to 74
percent during the game. The
Pirates will be on the East
sideline of Skelly Field.
The breeze will be blowing
from left to right as ECU
faces the synthetic playing
surface at H.A. Chapman
Stadium. (Filed by Al Myatt) |
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American Football
Scoreboard |
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FRIDAY |
UCF at USF, 12 pm
(ESPN2)
Houston at SMU, 12 pm (CBSSN)
ECU at Tulsa, 8:30 pm (ESPNU) |
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SATURDAY |
Cincinnati at Temple, 12
pm (ESPNN)
UConn at Memphis, 4 pm (ESPNN) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Familiar Foes Tangle |
 Familiar
foes clash in the 12th
meeting between Tulsa and
East Carolina. The Pirates
lead the series 6-5-0. East
Carolina has won the last
four meetings, including a
58-24 home victory last
year. ...
More from Greg Vacek... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Ruffin and stuffin' |
 East
Carolina's football team
observed Thanksgiving on
Wednesday and will fly to
Tulsa today for an American
Athletic Conference game
with the Golden Hurricane at
8:30 p.m. Eastern time on
Friday. The contest may be
seen on ESPNU. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Hawaii edges East Carolina |
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ESTERO, FL � East Carolina
overcame an 11-point second
half deficit to lead Hawaii
with 8:18 left in the
fifth-place game in the Gulf
Coast Showcase on Wednesday
before the Rainbow Warriors
responded with a 14-3 run en
route to a 75-73 win over
the Pirates. ...
More... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Tyson helps ECU hold off
Fresno |
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ESTERO, FL � Freshman guard
B.J. Tyson scored East
Carolina's last eight
points, including all six of
his free throw attempts down
the stretch, as the Pirates
held off Fresno State for a
58-52 win in the Gulf Coast
Showcase on Tuesday
afternoon. ...
More... |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU director of high
school relations
Harold Robinson:
Replay
show... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: Coach Ruff Weekly
Presser |
 ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the media at his weekly
press conference on Monday
as the Pirates prepare to
visit Tulsa for a Friday
night matchup (courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250):
Select
clip... |
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BASKETBALL |
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Green Bay tops ECU |
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ESTERO, FL � Short-handed
East Carolina opened play in
the Gulf Coast Showcase at
high noon on Monday and was
dealt a 66-49 setback by
Green Bay. The Pirates were
without versatile senior
wing man Paris
Roberts-Campbell due to a
knee ailment and post player
Marshall Guilmette because
of a hip flexor injury. ...
More... |
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By
Greg Vacek
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's Football
Schedule
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
Familiar foes clash in the
12th meeting between Tulsa and East Carolina. The Pirates lead the
series 6-5-0. East Carolina has won the last four meetings,
including
a 58-24 home victory
last year.
Friday�s matchup against
Tulsa marks the third of four non-Saturday contests this year for
East Carolina. It will also be the teams' second-straight
non-Saturday encounter at Tulsa�s Chapman Stadium � the last
occasion resulted in
a 44-17 ECU win on Sunday,
Nov. 15, 2009. The two also met on a non-traditional day, a Sunday,
in the 2010 season opener, which produced
a memorable 51-49 Hail Mary victory in Ruffin
McNeil�s debut as ECU�s head coach.
Thanksgiving is a time of
family gatherings and traditions (food and football). I remember
growing up eating turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and green bean
casserole and watching Dallas and Detroit. I also remember watching
college football the Friday after, which more often than not
included the annual Nebraska-Oklahoma game (my father�s team vs. my
mother�s team). The Pirate Nation has shared in that Thanksgiving
tradition, playing in six Black Friday games. Many families have
headed to Dowdy-Ficklen over the years tailgating with leftover
turkey sandwiches.
As fun as it can be to
road-trip with family and friends, playing a game on foreign turf
during Thanksgiving week two years in a row can be distracting for
the team.
Coach McNeill summed it up.
"It's different," he said.
"We will try to make it as family-appropriate as possible. We always
do. We will have a meal, invite the coaches' families and kids. As
coaches, we've done some things different with practice all year,
such as when to give them (days) off and when to give them rest
because it's been a very physical year for everyone, coaches
included.
"It's
very important that we have the right mindset, understanding that we
have to play a great game on the road."
Thanks-GIVING
The old adage, it�s better
to give than receive doesn�t apply to football unless the giving is
the delivery of a hit. The Pirate defense forced a season-high four
turnovers to spearhead last season�s victory over the Golden
Hurricane in Greenville. Dating back to the 2010, Tulsa went 48
straight games season with a turnover before stopping the streak
with zero turnovers at Temple.
After forcing only eight
turnovers in its first seven games (1.1 tpg), ECU has produced five
takeaways in its last two (2.5). This season East Carolina has
forced only 13 turnovers and converted 8 into scores. That is a
conversion rate of 61.5 percent. The Pirates need to force three
more TOs to avoid posting their lowest total in school history (16
in 2001).
The Pirates will need to
continue working on securing the ball. In the last seven contests,
the Golden Hurricane defense has forced 12 turnovers. Turning the
ball over 16 times in 2014 has given East Carolina opponents 16
extra opportunities, with opposing teams converting 9 into scores, a
56.3 percent success rate.
Lincoln Riley will surely
give Shane Carden some opportunities to throw the deep ball this
week. Tulsa opponents have had 42 plays of 30-plus yards this season
for an average of 51.4 yards per play and a total of 19 touchdowns.
That's an average of almost four big plays per game. According to
CFBstats.com, no other team in FBS has given up more 30-yard plays.
ECU�s record is 3-3 on Black
Friday. Last year my family took its first Thanksgiving football
road trip to cheer on the Pirates eating Thanksgiving dinner at
Huntington, West Virginia�s finest Golden Corral. Although the
outcome of last year�s game against Marshall was one to forget,
spending time with family and friends cheering on the Pirates is
something my kids will always remember. We won�t be making the trip
to Tulsa this year, but will once again be having a Thanksgiving
with family, food and Pirate football (on ESPNU).
Have a Happy and safe
Thanksgiving!
East Carolina�s Thanksgiving
Friday History:
Nov 24, 2000 � at Southern
Mississippi (W) 14-9
Nov 23, 2001 � SOUTHERN MISS (L) 21-28
Nov 28, 2007 � TEXAS-EL PASO (W) 53-21
Nov 26, 2010 � SOUTHERN METHODIST (L) 38-45
Nov 23, 2012 � MARSHALL (W) 65-59 (2OT)
Nov 29, 2013 � at Marshall (L) 28-59
Nov 28, 2014 � at Tulsa
