GAME DAY ANALYSIS
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Kevin's Keys to the
Game
Saturday, October 14, 2006
By Kevin Monroe |
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Game 6: Tulsa at ECU
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Each week, Kevin Monroe, Sideline Reporter for the Pirate ISP
Sports Network, provides “Kevin’s Keys to The Game,”
outlining what East Carolina must do to beat its opponent.
Monroe brings a unique perspective to the task, not only as an
analyst on the radio broadcast, but also as a former defensive
back for the Pirates (1995-99). |
©2006 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
East
Carolina can defeat Tulsa if it accomplishes these key objectives:
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The Air Up There:
Even
though the Pirates have shown the ability to run the football versus
Memphis and again last week against Virginia, their bread and butter is
still the passing game. Senior quarterback James Pinkney has 20 career
200-yard passing games, tying him with QB great David Garrard and
leaving him just one shy of Marcus Crandell’s school record. With the
probable return of Aundrae Allison to the lineup, the Pirates need to
throw the football well. Tulsa leads the conference in pass defense and
is second in the nation, giving up only 115 yards per game through the
air. Pinkney and the Pirates are averaging over 250 yards per contest.
-
Ready for
Anything:
The Golden Hurricane has one of the most explosive offensive units in
the country. They possess a balanced attack that has been slowed but not
shut down all season long. Tulsa is scoring 28 points per game by
averaging 158 yards on the ground and 265 yards through the air. Behind
one of the nations most experienced offensive lines, quarterback Paul
Smith is charging to the top of the record books in nearly every
category. The East Carolina defense has shown it can stop the run, as it
did versus West Virginia, and stop the pass, as it did against Memphis
in the second half. It will take those two efforts combined to contain
the high powered offense of the Golden Hurricane.
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The other 1/3:
We can talk about offense and defense all day, but the team that makes
things happen on special teams will probably win this game. Last week,
punter Ryan Dougherty was named Conference USA's special teams player of
the week after averaging 55 yards per punt and scoring a touchdown on a
fake field goal. Kicker Robert Lee has had a sub-par year, but after
missing only three field goals all last year the Pirates know he can be
deadly when he gets it going. With Allison hurt last week, receiver
Bobby Good took over the punt return duties and proved he is a threat to
make a big play. Tulsa has a dangerous returner of its own in Idris Moss
and the Pirates must contain him.
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Time of
Possession: This
is an overused stat in most cases, but when playing against a team like
Tulsa, which features a really good offense, the longer you can keep the
ball away from them, the better. Against UVA, ECU maintained the ball
for 38 minutes — more than 16 minutes longer than the Wahoos. If East
Carolina can duplicate that feat against Tulsa, a victory will be almost
certain.
The
Bottom Line:
Tulsa, 4-1 overall, is 1-1 on the road this year with the victory coming in
overtime in Annapolis against Navy. A weak schedule may have given the
Golden Hurricane a false sense of confidence that ECU can exploit. The
reigning C-USA champs are talented but beatable. However, in order for the
Pirates to win, they will have to play 60 minutes of their best football of
the year.
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02/23/2007 10:32:27 AM
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