Inside
Game Day
Saturday,
September 14, 2013
By Al Myatt |
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Hokies have the answers
Al Myatt
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All rights reserved.
GREENVILLE — The East Carolina
offense provided two leads Saturday against Virginia Tech and the Pirates
defense was not able to protect either one of them.
But the ECU defense wasn't to
blame. The Hokies won, 15-10, because of who they are in terms of coaching,
talent and tradition.
They didn't beat themselves,
other than a bad day for kicker Cody Journell, who missed two field goals
and an extra point that might have sealed the outcome well before a safety
accounted for the final points and gave Virginia Tech the ball with 1:31 to
play.
The Pirates, on the other
hand, could not overcome problems that culminated at the quarterback
position — seven sacks and three interceptions.
Shane Carden seldom had time
to go through his receiver progressions as the pass pocket continually
collapsed and Carden was quickly apprehended when he tried to scramble.
"That was a rough one," Carden
said. "That's a good team."
Virginia Tech played to its
strengths, which on this fall-like afternoon were quarterback Logan Thomas's
ability to execute on third down and the efforts of defensive coordinator
Bud Foster's unit to shut down ECU's passing attack.
Thomas converted nine of 20
third down situations compared to three of 11 for ECU. The Hokies completed
25 of 43 for 258 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Pirates had trouble
getting pressure on Thomas on obvious throwing downs and the 6-foot-6 senior
often was able to find open receivers.
The afternoon started
brilliantly for ECU with a 75-yard scoring drive. Vintavious Cooper had an
11-yard run to get the series going. Carden had a modest 3-yard pickup but
was hit as he went out of bounds, resulting in a 15-yard personal foul
penalty that put the ball at the Hokies' 46-yard line.
A screen pass to Cooper went
for 24 yards before Carden connected with sophomore Bryce Williams for a
22-yard touchdown. The Pirates led 7-0 and the game wasn't two minutes old.
"We didn't take the back out
of the backfield and we helped them a little bit in that first series and
they don't need help," said 27th-year Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. "
... After that, our defense played great."
The Pirates had 75 of their
204 total yards on their first possession.
Virginia Tech (2-1) didn't
make adjustments, according to Beamer.
"After the first series, Coach
Foster said we don't need to correct anything but we need to play the way we
practiced, the way we are supposed to execute," Beamer said. "Again, if you
don't make your assignments against these guys, they will hurt you. They're
good."
The Hokies have already faced
the top of the measuring stick in college football, losing 35-10 to No. 1
Alabama although Virginia Tech had more total yardage. The Tide returned two
kickoffs and an interception for touchdowns.
It says something about the
Hokies' confidence and focus that they don't mind playing ECU in
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Maybe it's a good sign for the Pirates that they were
a little more competitive than in a 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech in
Greenville in 2011. ECU was limited to 112 total yards in that game.
The net result for ECU (2-1)
was still a disappointing nonconference loss.
Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill
was proud of the effort. He said that the game film would be evaluated and
that mistakes would be fixed.
Among the items to be repaired
are pass protection for Carden.
ECU's pass defense also needs
to get some sandbags in place or it will be flooded in two weeks by North
Carolina senior quarterback Bryn Renner, whose second half passing allowed
the Tar Heels to expand a 10-6 halftime lead to a 27-6 win over the Pirates
last season.
Thomas made it look like a
Tuesday afternoon against the scout team when he hit Demitri Knowles for a
tying 30-yard touchdown with 3:42 left in the first quarter. The Hokies
converted three times on third down on the 70-yard drive.
ECU got as deep as the Tech 33
late in the first half but a sack and a penalty took the Pirates out of
possible field goal range.
Warren Harvey's 44-yard field
goal with 8:49 left in the third quarter gave the Piratesa 10-7 lead. A
23-yard punt return by Danny Webster provided the field position that
resulted in the go-ahead boot.
The Hokies answered with a
75-yard drive to take a 13-10 lead on Thomas's 3-yard pass to D.J. Coles.
Virginia Tech seemed to be able to do what it needed to do when it had to do
it.
"It's disappointing," said
Cooper, who ran eight times for 28 yards and had five catches for 32 yards.
"We worked hard. We expected to win."
The 24-hour rule and the bye
week will give the Pirates plenty of time to regroup for another upset bid.
But ECU will need to make more of its opportunities than it did Saturday.
"Montese (Overton) and I
dropped interceptions," said Zeek Bigger, who started for the injured Jeremy
Grove and contributed nine tackles. Brandon Williams, who filled in for Kyle
Tudor, was in on 12 stops.
"I played well but I can play
better," Bigger said. "I've got some things to work on."
He could have been speaking
for everyone in purple.
There were some anxious
moments as defensive back Josh Hawkins was taken off the field by rescue
personnel in the third quarter. The report from Vidant Medical Center was
that he was alert and responsive.
"They will compete for a
championship in their conference (ACC) and we'll compete for a championship
in ours (Conference USA)," McNeill said as he put Saturday's battle in
perspective.
The Pirates competed Saturday.
It just wasn't enough for an upset.
E-mail Al Myatt.
PAGE UPDATED
09/14/13 07:40 PM.
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