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GAME DAY WEATHER |
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The weather forecast for
Tampa at the 7 p.m. kickoff
time for East Carolina's
football game at South
Florida is calling for a
temperature of 87 degrees
with 41 percent humidity and
no chance of precipitation.
Winds are expected to be
North at seven miles per
hour during the American
Athletic Conference contest.
The temperature will drop to
78 degrees during the game
and humidity will increase
to 67 percent. (Filed by Al
Myatt) |
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Full-size radar loop |
Scientific
forecast... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates in jeopardy? |
Two games after a big win
has occasionally been a
letdown time for the East
Carolina football team. It
happened just a year ago
when the Pirates were
overcome 36-33 in triple
overtime at Tulane, the
second contest after the
elation of a 55-31 win at
North Carolina. There have
been other instances. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Fifteen Questions
for Breon Allen |
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 East
Carolina running back Breon
Allen is listed at 5 feet, 8
inches and 190 pounds. He
once referred to himself as
"Fun Size" and teammates
have made the nickname
stick. The transfer from
Snow (Idaho) College had 62
carries for 321 yards and
five touchdowns in 2013 ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Breon
Allen came to ECU as
a juco All-America
in 2013 and saw
action in 10 games
as a backup to
All-Conference USA
performer Vintavious
Cooper. Allen is
making his own bid
for honors this
season, rushing for
380 yards through
five games,
including a 211-yard
outing against North
Carolina. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates focused on Pirates |
Just like
George Jefferson, the
Pirates are moving on up!
That�s a reference to the
theme song from the 70s
television show called �The
Jeffersons,� which was a
spin-off of �All in the
Family.� It fits the Pirates
this week for sure. ...
More from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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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 associate head
coach and inside
linebackers coach
coach John Wiley
(right):
Replay
show... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Presser |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with the media
at his weekly press
conference on Monday
(courtesy of Pirate
Radio 1250; file
photo):
Select
clip... |
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View Mobile Alpha version of this page.
By
Kevin Monroe
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
The
Pirates arrived in Tampa to a sunny 87 degrees on Friday. Somebody
forgot to tell Florida that it was almost the middle of October. The
weather will still be sunny and 80-plus at kickoff time today. Those
kind of conditions bode well for East Carolina's Air Raid passing
attack. Offensively the Pirates continued to play well last week, but
defensively they struggled a bit. ECU is favored and will win this game
if it follows this script:
BRING ENERGY TO TAMPA
Raymond James Stadium is the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but
the NFL team shares the facility with USF. On Sunday afternoons it's
not unusual to see the stadium packed to its 65,000 seat capacity.
On Saturdays its a different story. The Bulls have struggled to get
20,000 fans in the stadium and their 2-3 record won't entice them to
come today. The Pirates can't afford to let an empty stadium bring
them down. They must rise to the occasion and make their own noise.
STAY
IN RHYTHM
There is no better rhythm passer in college football than Shane
Carden. When Carden gets time to throw and the offense is clicking,
he is capable of completing double-digit passes in a row with no
incompletions. It's not just Shane producing gaudy numbers. When the
receivers see him in one of those zones, they step their game up and
catch everything they can get their hands on. Getting out to a fast
start offensively and maintaining that quick pace is very important
to the success of the ECU offense.
CONTAIN MARLON MACK
The
Bulls have struggled offensively this season, averaging only 283
yards of production per game. The offensive bright spot is freshman
running back Marlon Mack. Mack is rushing for 107 yards per game and
5.4 per carry. He has 5 of the teams 9 offensive touchdowns. Mack
has run the ball more times (99) than quarterback Mike White has
thrown it (80). That type of stat is unheard of in this age of
spread offenses and pass happy teams. The Bulls go as Mack goes. If
ECU can slow him down, it can win this game.
BOTTOM LINE
The
Bulls are fighting to stay relevant in the 2014 season, it's
Homecoming and the team sits at 2-3 through 5 games. Their wins came
over Football Championship Subdivision foe Western Carolina by 5
points and by a 17-14 margin over struggling American Athletic
Conference rival Connecticut. If the Pirates bring their own energy,
get out to a fast start and into a good offensive rhythm � and not
allow Mack to hurt them running the ball � they will prevail. Expect
fireworks in Raymond James Stadium. After all, it is the home of the
Bucs.
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