East Carolina @ Marshall

Pirates head to Huntington for CUSA East battle with Herd

The Pirates and Herd will kickoff at NOON on Saturday at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington.

Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009

Location: Joan C. Edwards Stadium (38,019); Huntington, WV

Time: NOON

Television: CBS College Sports

Records: East Carolina: 2-2 overall, 1-0 CUSA; Marshall: 3-1 overall, 1-0 CUSA

Rankings: None

All-Time Series: East Carolina leads 7-3

Last Meeting: November 8, 2008— Greenville, NC—ECU 19 Marshall 16 (OT)

Injury/Personnel Report:

East Carolina

RB JR Rogers, knee; out

WR Michael Bowman, arm; out

DT Antonio Allison, foot; out

RB Dominique Lindsay, shoulder; questionable/doubtful (pain tolerance)

General Overview

The football programs at East Carolina and Marshall will forever be linked to one another.

Unfortunately, the relationship is not about the great football series between the schools—which, make no mistake about it, has produced some thrillers despite the fact the schools have met just ten times.

The 1970 Thundering Herd team was returning from a game in Greenville against the Pirates when it and other people close to the program (fans, media, etc.)—75 total—perished in a plane crash that is widely considered to be the largest sports related disaster in U.S. history. The tragic story is told and remembered in the film We Are Marshall starring Matthew McConaughey, which was released in December of 2006.

East Carolina also acknowledged the horrific event when it unveiled a commemorative plaque in a ceremony prior to last season’s game. The marker is located just outside of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, which is where the 1970 Thundering Herd played its final game.

The series also features one of the more memorable games in college bowl history. In the 2001 GMAC Bowl—which has been replayed numerous times on ESPN Classic—Marshall and star quarterback Byron Leftwich rallied from a 38-8 halftime deficit to post a thrilling 64-61 double overtime victory over David Garrard and East Carolina.

The Pirates have taken three of the four meetings with the Thundering Herd since the programs became conference brothers prior to the 2005 season.

Marshall ’s lone victory against ECU, while a member of CUSA, came in 2007. The Pirates headed to Huntington with a 5-1 mark in CUSA and an opportunity to clinch a spot in the league’s title game. However, a one-win Marshall team dominated that contest from start to finish and took a 26-7 win behind 364 total yards from senior quarterback Bernard Morris.

Last season, East Carolina avenged that loss by posting a 19-16 overtime victory in Greenville. The Pirates led 16-9 late, but were unable to put away the Herd. Marshall took advantage of its opportunity and knotted the game with 1:21 to play when Mark Cann found Cody Slate for a 34-yard touchdown. However, the Bucs wouldn’t be denied as they stopped Marshall in overtime before Ben Hartman hit a game-winner from 27 yards out.

This season’s match-up of divisional foes is much earlier in the season and features clubs trying to stay atop the CUSA East Division. The Pirates and Herd are currently in a three-way tie atop the division with Southern Miss.

ECU encountered a disappointing 1-2 start where it suffered losses at West Virginia and North Carolina. However, the Pirates put themselves back in the win column last week when they captured a 19-14 win at home over UCF in their conference opener.

Meanwhile, Marshall will enter with a 3-1 mark and riding a two-game win streak. The Thundering Herd, which is in a potential make-or-break season for fifth year coach Mark Snyder, opened CUSA play by logging a 27-16 victory over Memphis at the Liberty Bowl last weekend.

East Carolina Offense vs. Marshall Defense

Advantage: East Carolina

Following consecutive weeks of less than 250 yards of offense, the Pirates put forth their best effort of the season against UCF. The unit amassed 403 yards and Patrick Pinkney had one of his best days ever through the air. ECU was an excellent 10-of-17 on third down and ran 79 plays to just 58 for UCF. This helped the Pirates control the ball for over 35 minutes. However, while the overall execution was better, the inability to execute in the red zone nearly came back to bite the Bucs.

Pinkney finished 27-of-40 for 293 yards and a touchdown. He did throw a second-half interception that came on an ill-advised throw that wasn’t near a receiver.

The ground game managed to eclipse the 100-yard mark (110 yards and 2.9 ypc) for the first time since the Appalachian State game, but the production came in spurts and wasn’t nearly consistent enough. After a good first half effort, the Pirates had essentially no running game in the second 30 minutes yet controlled the ball for nearly 21 minutes. This resulted in ECU facing several long down situations, which they were fortunate enough to convert. However, the failure to run the football effectively really cost the Pirates in the red zone. They scored only one touchdown and tallied just 12 of a possible 35 points on their five trips inside the 20.

ECU scored its first second half touchdown of the season, but it left many points on the field and didn’t take advantage of its average starting field position being its own 43.

Another area the Pirates must shore up is protecting the football. They laid it on the ground five times, but were fortunate enough to lose just two of those fumbles.

Brandon Jackson, the team’s leading rusher with 206 yards, had his most productive day as a Pirate. The sophomore accumulated 88 yards on 20 carries and also had two receptions for 31 yards. Perhaps Jackson’s biggest contribution was when Pinkney eluded the rush and connected with him on a check down route. He proceeded to rumble 21 yards to convert a third and 17 on a critical fourth quarter scoring drive.

ECU also continued to increase the number of touches that junior playmaker Dwayne Harris received. The Wildcat worked well for a second straight week, as the Pirates’ first touchdown came when Harris cut back and ran it in from 25 yards. Harris also had a chance to throw the second touchdown pass of his career in the third quarter, but overshot wide open Rob Kass when a UCF defender pressured him up the middle to hurry the throw.

In addition to his production behind center, Harris hauled in ten passes for 121 yards—which included a key three-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

With Jamar Bryant being held to two receptions for three yards, Alex Taylor and Reyn Willis stepped up with several key catches. Taylor, who is second on the team with 14 receptions, caught six balls for 58 yards and could have had an even more productive day without a couple drops. Willis had two receptions for 34 yards and was close to making a circus catch on an underthrown deep ball.

The Pirates will meet a Marshall defense that is much better than its numbers indicate. The Herd is allowing 26.5 points and 415 yards per contest, but those stats are skewed by the 52 points and 605 yards it allowed at Virginia Tech. No other offense has more than 393 yards.

The Hokies rushed for 444 yards against the Herd, but Marshall has limited its other three opponents to 119 yards or less—including just ten to Bowling Green. Besides the Virginia Tech game, it has not allowed explosion plays on the ground as none of the other three opponents had a run longer than 19 yards.

Herd opponents are throwing for nearly 250 yards per game, which was inflated when Bowling Green threw it 62 times to amass 383 yards.

The ECU offensive tackles will have to be wary of senior defensive end Albert McClellan. McClellan, the 2006 CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, is a two-time first-team All-CUSA player. He has 25 tackles and a team-high three sacks this season. McClellan’s 20 career sacks rank sixth all-time at Marshall.

Junior linebacker Mario Harvey has totaled 29 stops while ranking second with 2.5 sacks.

The secondary has produced four interceptions. Junior corner DeQuan Bembry has two picks while strong safety Ashton Hall leads the team with 30 tackles and four pass break-ups.

> Find a great selection of East Carolina Pirates hats & apparel as well as ECU Merchandise!

 

Marshall, which went to seven bowls in eight seasons from 1997-2004, is looking to post its first winning season in five years under current Head Coach and Marshall alum Mark Snyder.

Marshall Offense vs. East Carolina Defense

Advantage: East Carolina

After giving up over 430 yards and 30 points in consecutive weeks, the Pirate defense delivered its best performance of the year against UCF. The Knights finished with 336 yards, but managed very little after halftime until they scored in the final couple minutes when East Carolina was playing much more loosely in an effort to not allow a quick strike.

ECU limited UCF to 70 yards rushing, but the biggest difference was the amount of pressure placed on the passer. The Pirates sacked Knights’ quarterback Brett Hodges four times and hurried him six. The heat was largely responsible for three of ECU’s four interceptions. The improvement was due to defensive coordinator Greg Hudson utilizing a “nickel scheme of sorts” where he brought linebackers off the edge rather than a defensive end. Linebacker Chris Mattocks led the way with 7.5 tackles and a sack.

The secondary allowed one deep ball, but was much more effective with the return of safety Levin Neal and corner Emmanuel Davis.

The Pirates have done a decent job against the run this year, as they rank fifth in CUSA by allowing 123.8 yards per game. They will face a tough ground game in Huntington that’s built around the explosive Darius Marshall. The Herd has rushed for 240-plus yards in each of the last two games against Bowling Green and Memphis.

Marshall, who ran for 123 yards against ECU in ’08, has had a touchdown run of at least 60 yards in all of his three starts after missing the Southern Illinois game due to an off-season incident. Against Memphis, the junior ran for 203 yards and three scores. The previous week, he totaled 186 against Bowling Green. His average of 166 yards per game leads the nation. The playmaker has reached pay dirt five times on the ground.

Marshall ’s presence has resulted in first-year starting quarterback Brian Anderson not needing to shoulder as much responsibility.

Anderson, a 6’3, 212 pound junior, is completing 59.4 percent of his attempts and has thrown for 629 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He stepped his game up in the opener and threw for over 300 yards when the offense lacked Marshall’s big play ability in the rushing attack. However, he has not thrown for more than 130 yards since. Against Memphis, he was 10-of-18 for 97 yards.

His top target is all-conference tight end Cody Slate. Slate, who had the game-tying reception in last year’s game, has caught 17 balls for 201 yards and two scores.

Chuck Walker and Antavio Wilson are other top options. Walker has 13 catches and averages nearly ten yards per catch. Wilson has produced over 15 yards per reception and two touchdowns.

Special Teams

Advantage: Marshall

The Pirates have been good in the kicking, but give Marshall a slight edge because of the damage they’ve done in the return game.

Herd freshman Andre Booker is averaging 26.2 yards on four returns since replacing Troy Evans. Booker has 44 and 52 yard efforts on consecutive punts against Memphis.

On kickoffs, the Pirates will need to be wary of Darius Marshall. Marshall is averaging 25 yards per return and has a long of 43.

The Pirates’ biggest weapon in the kicking game is punter Matt Dodge. Dodge, who is averaging 45.1 yards per boot on 21 attempts, is netting 37.4 and has pinned the opponent inside the 20 eight times.

Marshall punter Kase Whitehead is only averaging 37.8 yards, but has forced six fair catches and pinned the opposition inside its 20 on seven occasions.

Both offenses have had their share of struggles in the red zone, but have reliable options to ensure that they get three. East Carolina’s Ben Hartman is 7-of-10—including 5-of-6 from 30 yards in. His lone miss from that range came on a bad snap at West Virginia. Marshall kicker Craig Ratanamorn, who has had five kickoffs that have resulted in touchbacks, is 5-of-5 on the year.

Corner Travis Simmons has done an excellent job returning punts for the Pirates and is averaging 21.5 yards on four returns.

The kickoff return game hasn’t produced as much, though. Dwayne Harris is averaging just 20 yards and had only 30 yards on two returns against UCF.

Intangibles

Advantage: Marshall

Give the Herd a slight edge here because of the game being in Huntington. Joan C. Edwards Stadium is a very difficult place to win, but it’s not the home field advantage it was early this century prior to some poor seasons. However, make no mistake about it, it will be a tough task no matter how you look at it.

Both teams have won close games this year, but the Pirates possess a tremendous amount of experience from a league title team.

Final Prediction and Analysis

Last year, this game was similar to the Pirates’ victory over UCF in that there were missed scoring opportunities that nearly came back to bite the Pirates.

In order for East Carolina to win at Marshall against a confident Herd team that has won its last two, it will need to play its sharpest game to date. It must run the football more consistently and if it can do so, it should help improve the poor red zone efficiency. Defensively, the Pirates will need to eliminate the big play by Darius Marshall and force the Herd to drive the field to score. ECU has started quick in each of its first four games and it would greatly benefit the Pirates to do so again being that they’re playing on the road against a team that’s tough at home. The Herd has been outscored 21-3 in the first quarter this season.

The Pirates have done a decent job of slowing down the run so it’d be beneficial for Anderson to loosen up the talented ECU front with the pass. Defensively, the Herd should attempt to stymie the ground attack and force Patrick Pinkney to win it with his arm the way he had to in the second half versus UCF.

Expect this one to be decided in the fourth quarter. The Pirates will build on last week’s win and capture a tough road victory in Huntington on the strength of an improved effort in the red zone. Pinkney threw for 287 last year and don’t be surprised if he puts up 225-250 yards again this season.

East Carolina 24 Marshall 17