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The
Final Showdown
It�s the game on the
schedule that both
programs, the league
and TV executives
circled. East
Carolina and
Marshall delivered
on those
expectations,
setting up today's
matchup in
Huntington for the
Conference USA East
Division title and a
spot in next week's
league championship
game. Marshall coach
Doc Holliday
commented on the
looming clash from
his team's
perspective. �I
think we�re right
there, where we need
to be, at this
point, and now we�ve
got to go do it," he
said. "Again, we�re
playing an excellent
football team, a
team I�ve got great
respect for, and
those have been two
wild games the last
two years."
Those last two
meetings produced
overtime thrillers,
with each team
winning on its home
field.
�Two evenly matched
teams are going to
go at it," Holliday
added. "It�s going
to be a heck of an
atmosphere and I�m
looking forward to
looking up there and
seeing all that
Kelly green in the
stands. Let�s pack
that house and let�s
go play and see what
happens, but it�s
going to be a lot of
fun."
The Pirates enter
today's game with
the nation�s
11th-best scoring
offense (41.5 points
a game) looking to
put up points
against Marshall's
25th ranked scoring
defense. With the
eighth-highest
scoring offense in
the country (43.3
ppg), the Thundering
Herd faces the
Pirates' 32nd ranked
scoring defense.
"It's always been a
game where it's been
two really good
football teams ...
and always been a
game of big plays
and of teams that, I
feel, really are
built similarly,
from the fans and
the support we have
and the kids who
love their
universities and
love playing for
them," said ECU
coach Ruffin
McNeill. "It all
ties in and makes it
just a really
exciting game."
Today will probably
be the last time
East Carolina and
Marshall will play
such a meaningful
game with the
Pirates leaving for
the American
Conference next
season.
"It will be sad,�
Marshall AD Mike
Hamrick said. �We�re
sorry to see them
(ECU) leaving the
conference. They
have such a class
program, and we do
too, and we have
such a history,
Marshall and East
Carolina, in many
ways. ... And our
fans here at
Marshall tell me
when they have gone
to East Carolina,
they�ve been treated
so well, and all my
friends from East
Carolina who have
come up here the
last couple of times
have told me the
same thing about
Herd fans.
�So, it�s kind of
rare, in this day
and age when there�s
not a whole lot of
sportsmanship � or
as much as you�d
like to see � it�s
really special when
these teams get
together.�
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