By Al Myatt, Special to CNNSI.com
There have been several disappointments for the East Carolina football
team this season beginning with a 21-19 opening loss at home to Wake
Forest, traditionally a lower division ACC team. The Pirates' took
another non-conference hit with a 44-30 loss at Syracuse, a game ECU led
in the fourth quarter.
Then came the resumption of the series with North Carolina, a rivalry
that had been dormant for 20 years. Good fortune seemed to smile upon
the host Tar Heels all afternoon. Holding calls negated two ECU
touchdowns and an exceptional kickoff return was wiped out when the ball
was stripped a yard shy of the end zone. ECU had a likely interception
bounce out of a Pirates' defensive back's hands and into those of a
prone UNC receiver for a touchdown. It just wasn't ECU's day and the
Pirates were dealt a heartbreaking 24-21 loss.
What has been the net effect of all the frustration from those setbacks
within the context of the Conference USA race for the Pirates?
Apparently, none whatsoever.
ECU couldn't be any better than its 4-0 league record heading into a
game Saturday at Cincinnati, which is 4-1 in C-USA. Louisville, which
matches up with ECU in Greenville, N.C., in a Thursday night game on
on Nov. 15, is also 4-0 with a home game against Houston this Saturday.
ECU is 4-0 in league play for the first time since the Pirates went 7-0
in the Southern Conference in 1973. After years of orientation as an
independent, it looks like ECU's fans, players and coaches have grasped
the concept of consistency within a conference. It escaped the Pirates
in 1999 when a 27-25 win over then No. 9 Miami was followed by league
losses to Southern Miss and UAB. In four previous seasons in C-USA the
Pirates had never started better than 2-0 in the league.
"We've talked about putting conference first," said ECU coach Steve
Logan. "We've talked and talked about it. ... Adjusting to a conference
mentality has been a whole lot tougher than I ever dreamed it would be."
The teams ECU has beaten in league play have a combined C-USA record of
7-14. The teams remaining (Cincinnati, Louisville and Southern Miss)
have a combined league record of 10-3 so there is still a lot of work
left to do. Senior offensive guard Aaron Walker, who has helped power an
offense that has ECU leading the league in scoring with a 34.6-points
per game average, thinks the Pirates are ready to step up down the stretch.
"We're ready," Walker said. "We really are. The seniors, we've been
through a lot in our career here. We joined the conference our freshmen
year. ... Winning the conference championship -- that's something that's
been burning in us for four years now. To be this close, to be
undefeated in the conference this late in the season, I just think it
motivates us more."
The league title and the corresponding berth in the Liberty Bowl are in
the Pirates' hands.
"We control our own destiny," Walker said. "If we win, we win the
championship. If we don't, we don't. That's just where we're at right now."
That's where the Pirates seem to have been all season, as opposed to
dwelling on their non-conference disappointments."
 |
|---|
|
Gino Guidugli of Cincinnati is a true freshman but he isn't playing like
one.
Since taking over for the injured Adam Hoover the second game of
the season, Guidugli has guided the Bearcats to wins in five of seven
games. He was 13 for 24 for 245 yards with one interception and one
touchdown in last week's 45-28 win over Connecticut. He's leading the
league in passing yardage per game (262.9).
"He's leading the next wave of great quarterbacks in this league," said
ECU coach Steve Logan.
"He's played so well and with such a degree of maturity that we've
tended to forget that he is a freshman," said Cincinnati coach Rick Minter.
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
HOT:
Southern Miss RB Dawayne Woods
Ran 21 times for 127 yards in a
38-20 loss at Penn State.
NOT: Southern Miss' pass protection
Has allowed a league-high 28 sacks.
HOT:
East Carolina RB Leonard Henry
Leads C-USA with an average of 130.0
yards rushing per game.
NOT: Tulane's defense
Last in C-USA in points allowed, 408, and was
riddled again 52-7 by Louisville last week.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
ECU freshman Marvin Townes leads the league in kickoff returns with a
29.0-yard average. Other than misunderstanding instructions in the
Memphis game and taking a knee at his own 5-yard line, Townes hasn't had
problems on kickoff returns. But after his third muff this season on a punt return at TCU, Pirates
coach Steve Logan turned to sophomore Terrance Copper to return punts.
"Terrance will catch the ball," Logan said. "Marvin is a very
conscientious kid and his confidence is a little low right now."
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
 Louisville back Henry Miller
Became the third Cardinal to run for over
100 yards this season with 121 yards on just nine carries at Tulane.
Cincinnati back DeMarco McCleskey
Rushed for 101 yards in a 45-28 win
over Connecticut.
Louisville defensive end Dewayne White
Had five tackles for loss at Tulane.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
The challenge for East Carolina and Louisville will be to not get caught
looking ahead as each has league games prior to what is shaping up as a
showdown for the conference championship in Greenville, N.C., on Nov. 15. ECU and U of L are each 4-0 in league play.
The Pirates appear to have the greater potential for slipping up as they
visit Cincinnati, which is 4-1 in C-USA and still entertaining notions
of at least a share of the league title for itself.
The Bearcats' only league loss was 28-13 on Oct. 27 at Nippert Stadium
to Louisville, which is at home on Saturday against winless Houston. The
Cougars are coming off a 45-6 loss at South Florida, possibly the
knockout blow for this season in the rebuilding process coach Dana Dimel
is enduring.
"There's no reason for us to be distracted," said ECU coach Steve Logan. "We're in position to do something we've talked about for a long time."
ECU and Cincinnati didn't play last season. The Pirates took an 11-2
lead in the series with a 48-34 win in Greenville in 1999.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
The sixth consecutive field goal and six extra points for Cincinnati
kicker Jonathan Ruffin earned his C-USA special teams player of the week
honors. ... TCU's Casey Printers threw for 319 yards, all in the second
half, against ECU. LaTerance Dunbar of the Horned Frogs had 10
receptions for 136 yards. ... LeRoy Handy of Southern Miss had 11
catches for 109 yards at Penn State. ... ECU's Leonard Henry had 96
yards rushing at TCU, the first time in six games he did not run for
over 100 yards. ... Louisville (8-1) surged into both major polls this
week at No. 25. ... If two or more teams tie for the conference
championship, the Liberty Bowl (Dec. 31, Memphis) gets its choice
of teams. ... Houston's Orlando Iglesias has caught at least one pass in
40 straight games. Cincinnati's LaDaris Vann has a string of 28 such
games and Tulane's Terrell Harris has 27. ... ECU's Jarad Preston is
fifth nationally in punting with a 44.6-yard average. ... Louisville is
fourth nationally in turnovers gained with 27. ... Army's 436 total
yards in a 34-24 loss were the most ever for the Cadets in 17 games at
Air Force's Falcon Stadium. ... Memphis had an open date before this
week's game at No. 6 Tennessee. The Volunteers lead the series, 17-1.
... TCU's trip to UAB will be the first meeting between the two.
|
|
|
