Sports News, Nuggets and Notes from East Carolina and Beyond

PREVIOUS NUGGETS

09.08.03: Hurdles ahead get more ominous for struggling Pirates... .. AP Top 25... .. TV exposure plentiful for Marquette basketball... .. USC baseball team schedules mid-winter excursion to Cuba... .. More...

09.07.03: Tigers' win over Ole Miss highlights C-USA Saturday action... .. Coastal Carolina debuts football program with dramatic win... .. Tidbits of interest from college football... .. More...

09.06.03: Standing room only for debut of Chanticleers' football program... .. No. 25 TCU faces unconventional attack after abnormal week... .. TV capsules: Houston at No. 5 Michigan; Mississippi at Memphis... .. More...

09.05.03: ECU game added to Army's national radio package... .. Pirates finalize football game times... .. Conference USA busy promoting and hiring... .. More...

09.04.03: WVU to screen 'Running Rampant II'?... .. Older Bowden counsels younger Bowden... .. Wake methods become focus of skull sessions... .. C-USA players of week and TV schedule... .. More...

09.03.03: Cowen's battle to bring down BCS moves to Capitol Hill... .. NCAA graduation rates on the upswing... .. 'Official Station' puts together TV syndicate for ECU-UNC game... .. More...

09.02.03: Capsule: TCU withstands all-out charge by Wave... .. J.T. to hook up with fans in Cyberspace... .. Losman, Rivers contend for Unitas Award... .. Deceased coach remembered fondly... .. Labor Day Weekend scores of interest... .. More...

09.01.03: ECU-Cincinnati TV Capsule... .. TCU-Tulane TV Capsule... .. Labor Day Weekend scores of interest... .. Logan takes talents to Campbell... .. More...

08.31.03: College football scores of interest... .. Sunday TV Capsules for C-USA Teams... .. Construction alters access to Nippert Stadium... .. More...

08.30.03: Holtz in full worry mode... .. Saturday TV capsules for C-USA and Carolinas teams... .. Heralded quarterback transfers to Tulane... .. More...

08.29.03: ECU, U of L coaches establish new pre-game traditions... .. Pirates' Dougherty, Houston's McClary on Guy Award list... .. TCU establishes separate baseball booster organization... .. More...

08.28.03: Muse pushes Pirates' cause with ACC chief... .. Nix wins national coaching honor... .. Revered former TCU football coach passes... .. More...

08.27.03: Logan teams up with Hinton on weekly sports show... .. Injury no barrier to recognition for Art Brown... .. Southern Miss, LSU schedule two-game series... .. More...

08.26.03: J.T. set for Cyberspace hookup with fans... .. Early TV exposure plentiful for C-USA teams... .. Nevels wins scramble for Army starting QB job... .. Green Wave elects team captains... .. Attrition depletes Billikens' projected hoops roster... .. More...

Following its come-from-behind 44-34 win over Ole Miss on Saturday, Memphis took two of the three Conference USA Player of the Week honors, with QB Danny Wimprine and K Stephen Gostkowski being honored on offense and special teams. Defensive honors went to Etric Pruitt of Southern Miss after he helped the Golden Eagles to a win at UAB.

OFFENSE: Danny Wimprine QB Memphis
Wimprine tied a school-record with 355 passing yards in the Tigers come-from-behind 44-34 win over Ole Miss. He completed 18-of-32 passes and threw three touchdowns. Wimprine threw the second-longest TD pass in school history, a 92-yarder to Tavarious Davis, that proved to be the winning score.

DEFENSE: Etric Pruitt S Southern Miss
Pruitt recorded 16 tackles, including nine solo stops and one tackle for loss in USM’s 17-12 win at UAB on Sept. 4. He also recovered a fumble and had a pair of pass breakups.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Stephen Gostkowski K Memphis
Gostkowski accounted for 14 points in the Tigers win over Ole Miss, including three fourth quarter field goals. He connected from 21, 42 and 27 yards and also hit all five of his extra points in the game. Of Gostkowski’s nine kickoffs, four were touchbacks and two were returned from the end zone.

Following a 17-3 win over Navy on Saturday night, Texas Christian moved up in both national polls, climbing to 22nd in the Associated Press poll and moving into the top 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time this season at No. 23.

The 2-0 Horned Frogs gained 64 additional points in moving from 25th to 22nd in the A.P. poll, tallying 195 points to rank between No. 21 Washington (286) and No. 23 Iowa (184). The No. 22 ranking for TCU in the writers' poll matches the high point for the 2002 Horned Frogs. That squad was ranked 22nd in the nation on November 17 when it had an 8-1 record.

TCU went from 79 points to 157 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll to move up from 28th to No. 23. The Frogs rank between No. 22 North Carolina State (221) and No. 24 Washington (153) in the poll.

Oklahoma continues to lead both polls, followed by Miami, Ohio State and Southern Cal.

With two games under its belt in six days to start the season, Tulane (1-1) plays its third straight home game, hosting SEC foe Mississippi State (0-1) on Saturday at the Louisiana Superdome in a 7 p.m. inter-league battle.

Although they have not played since 1994, the Bulldogs are among the Green Wave's oldest rivals. The two teams first met on November 9, 1901, in New Orleans, with Tulane claiming a 24-6 win. Saturday's game is the 54th overall between the programs. Tulane has met only LSU (94) and Ole Miss (69) more times in its history.

Nineteen of the Wave's meetings with the Bulldogs came when the two schools were members of the Southeastern Conference. MSU established an 11-8 edge in those games and holds a 27-24-2 lead in the overall series. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings, with the Wave's last victory coming in 1988 by a 27-22 score.

After a season-opening home loss to defending Conference USA champion Texas Christian, Tulane evened its record last Saturday with a 27-24 overtime victory over Northwestern State at Tad Gormley Stadium. Mississippi State had a bye week after opening on Aug 30 with a 42-34 loss at home to Oregon.