News Nuggets, 10.01.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...
Previous Day Nuggets...
Next Day Nuggets...
Compiled from staff reports
and electronic dispatches
Punishing regimen hardens
Louisville's defense
PREVIOUS NUGGETS |
09.30.04: Deja
Vu ECU? Florida A&M prez fired amidst turmoil ... Marshall
hangs on to break into win column ... Pessimism wanes at SMU
after long skid ends
...
More... |
09.29.04: Herd
trying to head off worst start in decades ... C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP college football
poll
...
More... |
09.28.04: Bearcat
sack artist honored for disrupting Pirates ... C-USA teams
pepper preseason hoops poll
...
More... |
09.27.04: No Nuggets posted
because of technical issues. |
09.26.04: Gamecocks
formally unveil "Pops" in win over Troy ... Major football,
baseball changes under study
...
More... |
09.25.04: Duke
dealing with meager home crowds, QB issues ... Bush inks
legislation targeting shady agents
...
More... |
09.24.04: NCAA
gives thumbs up to South Carolina's "Pops" ... Imperfect
Miami manages win at Houston ... Hula Bowl's future in
question
...
More... |
09.23.04: Pirates
order up heavy hoops menu ... Miami seeks win and new
recruits in Houston
...
More... |
09.22.04: 'Pack,
Pirates in opposite BCA tourney brackets ... Knight
criticizes Olympic team's priorities ... Bowden Bowl again
pivotal for Clemson coach
...
More... |
09.21.04: USM
turns to former stars to fill athletics positions ... Tigers
take two of league's weekly awards ... UH students get more
ducats for ESPN game
...
More... |
09.20.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... Associated Press
college football poll ... USM, Cal reschedule Ivan-delayed
game ... Cowboys in party mode after long skid ends
...
More... |
09.19.04: Frogs
to collaborate with European reality TV show ...
Historically black schools get showcase game ... Cal under
the gun to fund stadium upgrades ... Legislation takes aim
at sleazy sports agents
...
More... |
09.18.04: Diamond
Pirates post 'Help Wanted' notice ... Stanford band's satire
finally goes too far ... Cincinnati vs. Syracuse: Preview of
the future ... Bulls poised for taste of BCS football ...
Wolfpack, Buckeyes try to live up to 2003 classic
...
More... |
09.17.04: Storm
refugees invited to FSU-UAB game on the house ... Coaches
ditch plan for 5th year of eligibility ... CSU cracks down
on alcohol in wake of death
...
More... |
09.16.04: Marshall
coach navigates hot water over remark ... Air Force locks in
DeBerry through 2009 ... Bowling Green football player dies
...
More... |
09.15.04: USM's
Bower blasts Cal handling of postponement ... More Ivan:
Tulane-Louisville game postponed ... Big bucks lure Hawaii
to Alabama in 2006
...
More... |
09.14.04: Ivan blows Southern Miss-Cal showdown off track ... Happy
days in Memphis over national ranking ... SMU, Texas A&M
agree to three-game series
...
More... |
09.13.04: C-USA
standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV ... AP Top 25: Memphis,
Louisville make the cut ... College football weekend: stars
& storylines
...
More... |
09.12.04: Southern
Miss bags big prey in Big 12 country ... Pitcher sues over
weight-training injury
...
More... |
09.11.04: Tulane football crisis turns into boon for program ...
Sooners licking chops over visiting Houston?
...
More... |
09.10.04: ECU
boomer Dougherty nominated for punting award ... Army's Ross
still fired up about coaching
...
More... |
09.09.04: Golden
Eagles in countdown mode for Nebraska ... ESPN branching out
with new ventures ... Tar Heels book trip to Maui
Invitational
...
More... |
09.08.04: It's
official: Holland the chosen one ... AP agrees: Holland the
chosen one ... Delayed start an unforgiving one for USM ...
Old skeptic Holtz goes positive
...
More... |
09.07.04: Storm-related
tragedy slams Bowden family ... Army AD Greenspan enlists
with Hoosiers
...
More... |
|
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LOUISVILLE — Louisville's defense
starts every practice from the sideline. At the sound of a whistle, the unit
races onto the field, forms a huddle and shouts ``Red Swarm!'' before the
players fan out to their positions.
A play is run and if first-year
defensive coordinator Mike Cassity doesn't like what he sees, he orders
punishing sprints before his players restart the drill.
During one August practice, Cassity
estimated the Cardinals ran about a half-mile worth of 100-yard dashes.
``They got the message pretty quickly,'' said Cassity, a journeyman
defensive coach at his 12th college stop.
So far, his methods are working well.
The No. 22 Cardinals (3-0, 1-0 Conference USA) have shut out two of their
first three opponents and rank third in the nation in scoring defense (7
points per game) heading into Saturday's game against East Carolina (0-3,
0-1).
Louisville coach Bobby Petrino is
pleasantly surprised, considering the Cardinals gave up an average of 40
points and 416 yards in the last five games in 2003.
``I probably didn't think they would
play this well when we started,'' Petrino said.
Petrino and middle linebacker Robert
McCune, the team's leading tackler, said experience is a major factor in the
improvement. Seven starters returned from last year's squad and six are now
seniors.
``It's slowed down a lot for a lot of
guys on defense,'' McCune said. ``Guys are comfortable playing the game out
there.''
Petrino also traces the turnaround to a
phone call with Cassity shortly after the Cardinals' 49-28 loss to Miami
(Ohio) in the GMAC Bowl. The two knew each other through Louisville
assistants Mike Summers and Greg Nord, who fish with Cassity in western
Kentucky every July.
When they spoke, Cassity had just been
fired after three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Illinois. That
didn't faze Petrino.
``In the middle of the conversation, I
was thinking, 'How do we get this guy here to help us out?''' Petrino said.
Louisville defensive coordinator Mike
Gillhamer was eventually hired by the Carolina Panthers, opening the
position for Cassity.
By the time spring practices began,
Cassity realized his task was more psychological than physical. ``It was a
group that lacked confidence,'' Cassity said. ``There was a lot of attention
given to how poorly they had played last year.''
He stressed the positives as he went to
work. ``When we saw one good play, we'd show it to them over and over and
say, 'Here it is. This is what we're looking for,''' he said. ``And then
that became two plays and then four plays. And then it just started to
roll.''
Senior safety J.T. Haskins said Cassity
excels at 1-on-1 instruction. ``He has a way of telling you what to do, when
to do it and how to do it,'' said Haskins, who has one of Louisville's six
sacks. ``On game days, all you have to do is execute.''
The Cardinals' defense dominated in an
opening 28-0 win over Kentucky, holding the Wildcats to 66 rushing yards.
Army sprang some big plays in a 52-21 loss to Louisville on Sept. 11, but
those came mostly against reserves.
Still, Petrino wasn't entirely
convinced of his defense's strength until last Saturday's 34-0 win at North
Carolina. The Tar Heels had averaged 478 yards in their first three games,
but the Cardinals held them to 222.
``Our defense did an outstanding job of
playing team defense and sprinting to the ball,'' Petrino said. ``We took
them out of what they wanted to do as far as the run game and got pressure
on the quarterback once they had to throw the ball. And then we came up with
plays.''
The big test for Louisville's improved
defense comes on Oct. 14, when the Cardinals play at Miami in a game that
could propel them to big things.
The defense is getting help from one of
the nation's most efficient offenses. The Cardinals average nearly 36
minutes of possession per game and have committed only two turnovers. And
facing an offense that averages 489 yards per game in practice every day is
another reason the defense is playing so well.
``We're very fortunate. That's a luxury
a lot of teams don't have,'' Cassity said. ``Defending this offense is a
real challenge.''
Gamecocks'
"Pops" goes late night
COLUMBIA — Sounds like David Letterman
is as big a Pops'' fan as most everyone else.
The media blitz of 39-year-old South
Carolina football freshman, Tim Frisby, hit Broadway on Thursday as the
Gamecocks wide receiver appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman."
The show was broadcast Thursday night.
"It was a great experience," Frisby
said. "This is unreal what's happening."
Frisby, recently retired from the U.S.
Army after 20 years, was invited to Letterman's show at the Ed Sullivan
Theatre after he made his college football debut with the Gamecocks last
week.
Frisby was in the for the final four
plays as South Carolina held off Troy 17-7 this past Saturday night. He had
been cleared to play by the NCAA a week ago.
Flashbulbs popped as Frisby, wearing a
garnet sweater, arrived at the Manhattan theater, he said. But they weren't
for South Carolina's newest football celebrity — he walked into the studio
alongside John Travolta, another guest on the late night program.
"That kind of took the edge off a
little," Frisby said. "Because I knew the papparazzi weren't there for me."
After Travolta's segment, Letterman
said, "At the age of 39, our next guest not only went back to college at the
University of South Carolina, he also signed up for the football team,
please welcome Tim Frisby, ladies and gentlemen."
Frisby then shared his story with one
of TV's most famous late night hosts — how Frisby was one of 60 walk-ons to
try for the team, how he worked out with the Gamecocks throughout the year,
and how he was among 12 selected to remain.
"It's 'Pops,' everybody," Letterman
said of Frisby's team nickname.
Frisby told Letterman when South
Carolina coach Lou Holtz first realized the receiver's age, the coach called
down to the trainer, "Do you know we have a 39-year-old who made the team?"
"Yeah," Frisby said, recalling the
trainer's reply, "he's sitting right in front of me. He looks like he's
about 22."
Letterman asked about Holtz. "This is a
no-nonsense guy," Letterman said. "This is a guy who will, I have actually
seen him eat a player."
"He don't eat players any more," Frisby
countered.
Frisby showed a little late-night punch
of his own. When Letterman asked about NCAA eligibility questions, Frisby
answered it was difficult verifying his high school records since they were
on "stone tablets." The host and audience broke up laughing.
Letterman wanted to know what Frisby
was doing on the field with players nearly half his age. "Aren't you worried
about really just getting thumped?" he asked.
Frisby remembered how safety Jermaine
Harris "knocked my helmet sideways" during an early practice. "I got up and
said, 'Hey, I can do this,"' Frisby said.
Letterman wondered if Frisby would keep
playing. "At least two of the years I'd like to play," Frisby said. "I'm
enjoying myself."
"Pleasure meeting you," Letterman
closed, ending Frisby's time in the TV spotlight — for now.
The Letterman appearance was the latest
national attention for the military man turned college football player. He
was profiled in The New York Times and has been beset with movie and book
offers for his tale.
"You watch the Letterman show growing
up," said Frisby, who graduated from an Allentown, PA, high school in 1983,
then went into the Army. "To be on it is unbelievable."
Frisby hit New York early Thursday
morning. He visited Times Square and took pictures with some Gamecock fans
who recognized him.
Frisby, granted an NCAA waiver to
appear on the late-night show, won't go to Alabama with the team. He said
he'll watch Saturday's game with the rest of the players not on the
traveling squad.
"It was good to represent the
university," he said. "Now it'll be good to get back to the team."
Ross's challenge at Army
proves to be a daunting one
WEST POINT — Army coach Bobby Ross knew
it wouldn't be easy.
His Black Knights (0-3) are in the
midst of an 18-game losing streak, longest in the nation. Last week they
fell to Connecticut 40-3. Saturday's matchup at home against Texas Christian
doesn't look any easier.
Army has struggled in almost every
phase of the game, especially on defense, where it's ranked last among 117
Division I schools, giving up an average of 42.3 points and 574 yards a
game. TCU's 26th-ranked offense generates 42.8 points and 432 yards a game.
Lured out of retirement to take over an
Army team that went 0-13 last year, Ross hasn't done any better than the
coach he replaced, Todd Berry.
"I said from day one to our squad that
we don't have much margin for error," the former NFL coach said. "We haven't
been as good as any of the teams we've played thus far. It doesn't mean we
can't win. We have to find a way to win."
Ross is considering replacing starting
quarterback Reggie Nevels. Army has rushed for an average of 168 yards a
game, but its QBs have completed just 35 of 80 passes for an average of 145
yards a game.
"The running is not the biggest
problem," Ross said. "It's the throwing right now and the catching and the
protection. We better (work) to be good in the protection this week because
TCU is a pressure team."
Army hasn't won at home since beating
Tulane 42-35 on Oct. 27, 2001.
News Nuggets are
compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member
schools, and from Associated Press and
other reports. Copyright 2004
Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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