SB Nation - Norman Whitley

If College Football Had a Playoff: #15 East Carolina Pirates @ #2 Texas Longhorns

Jeremy Mauss — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:02:43 -0000

More photos » by Harry Cabluck - AP

Before we get to game four the previous matchup of #13 LSU against #4 TCU was a back in forth matchup with LSU leading by as many as 60 votes early this morning, but then the TCU fans came out and won by 150 votes. This matchup has the most votes with just under 800.

For the previous results go check out the section "If College Football had a playoff."

This should be as simple as the Troy vs. Alabama matchup with Texas mopping the floor with the Pirates. Had Houston won C-USA then they would at least make this game interesting.

Who knows maybe East Carolina could get a good pass rush on Colt McCoy and make this game interesting for a half. I would expect Colt McCoy to have a field day over ECU.

Now for the somewhat scientific view by using What if Sports to simulate this fine matchup. As expected What if Sports predicts a 43-14 blowout in favor of Texas. Texas was able to run and throw all over ECU with a balanced attack with 304 passing yards and 273 rushing yards.

Stop by to vote and comment on this matchup. Light hearted trash talk is highly encouraged.

Texas Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Garrett Gilbert	8	60.0	15	26	57.7	124	15.5	4.8	0	0	6	11	1.4	1.8	1	-	-
Colt McCoy	13	103.0	330	468	70.5	3512	270.2	7.5	27	12	128	348	26.8	2.7	3	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
John Chiles	11	7	29	2.6	4.1	0	34	319	29	9.4	3
Antwan Cobb	2	1	3	1.5	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Garrett Gilbert	8	6	11	1.4	1.8	1	0	0	0	0	0
Marquise Goodwin	11	2	8	.700	4	0	25	209	19	8.4	1
Sherrod Harris	1	1	4	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeremy Hills	2	9	86	43	9.6	0	0	0	0	0	0
Cody Johnson	13	84	333	25.6	4	12	7	42	3.2	6	0
Colt McCoy	13	128	348	26.8	2.7	3	0	0	0	0	0
Vondrell McGee	9	56	300	33.3	5.4	2	8	37	4.1	4.6	0
D.J. Monroe	9	20	110	12.2	5.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tre' Newton	11	102	513	46.6	5	6	12	106	9.6	8.8	0
Jordan Shipley	13	1	0	0	0	0	106	1363	104.8	12.9	11
Foswhitt Whittaker	10	52	207	20.7	4	4	13	51	5.1	3.9	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Dan Buckner	12	44	445	37.1	10.1	4
John Chiles	11	34	319	29	9.4	3
Marquise Goodwin	11	25	209	19	8.4	1
DeSean Hales	1	1	2	2	2	0
Cody Johnson	13	7	42	3.2	6	0
James Kirkendoll	12	48	461	38.4	9.6	6
Vondrell McGee	9	8	37	4.1	4.6	0
Tre' Newton	11	12	106	9.6	8.8	0
Philip Payne	1	1	7	7	7	0
Jordan Shipley	13	106	1363	104.8	12.9	11
Foswhitt Whittaker	10	13	51	5.1	3.9	0
Malcolm Williams	12	38	546	45.5	14.4	2

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Hunter Lawrence	13	-	-	-	-	-	22	25	90.0%	62	63	100.0%	128

East Carolina Stats

Passing

		Passing									Rushing					Sacks
	G	Rating	Comp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/G	Y/A	TD	INT	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Sack	YdsL
Josh Jordan	3	70.0	5	7	71.4	61	20.3	8.7	0	0	4	6	2	1.5	0	-	-
Rob Kass	3	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	-
Patrick Pinkney	13	60.0	242	407	59.5	2738	210.6	6.7	14	10	41	101	7.8	2.5	3	-	-

Rushing

		Rushing					Receiving
	G	Rush	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD	Rec	Yds	Y/G	Avg	TD
Darnell Ballard	2	2	4	2	2	1	2	18	9	9	0
Justin Brockmeyer	2	2	23	11.5	11.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Darryl Freeney	10	2	2	.200	1	0	42	622	62.2	14.8	3
Dwayne Harris	13	31	149	11.5	4.8	5	79	914	70.3	11.6	6
Brandon Jackson	8	84	316	39.5	3.8	3	6	75	9.4	12.5	0
Josh Jordan	3	4	6	2	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dominique Lindsay	11	206	1029	93.5	5	5	18	138	12.5	7.7	1
Patrick Pinkney	13	41	101	7.8	2.5	3	0	0	0	0	0
J.R. Rogers	1	5	6	6	1.2	0	0	0	0	0	0
Justin Ruffin	2	15	95	47.5	6.3	1	0	0	0	0	0
Giavanni Ruffin	10	56	169	16.9	3	4	5	26	2.6	5.2	0
Norman Whitley	2	3	2	1	.700	0	1	9	4.5	9	0
Jonathan Williams	5	14	38	7.6	2.7	0	3	7	1.4	2.3	0

Receiving

		Receiving
	G	Rec	Yds	Y/G	AVG	TD
Darnell Ballard	2	2	18	9	9	0
Andrew Bodenheimer	3	4	72	24	18	0
Jamar Bryant	7	21	200	28.6	9.5	2
Darryl Freeney	10	42	622	62.2	14.8	3
Dwayne Harris	13	79	914	70.3	11.6	6
Brandon Jackson	8	6	75	9.4	12.5	0
Jacobi Jenkins	2	2	12	6	6	0
Dominique Lindsay	11	18	138	12.5	7.7	1
Korey Reynolds	1	1	12	12	12	0
Giavanni Ruffin	10	5	26	2.6	5.2	0
Alex Taylor	11	35	367	33.4	10.5	0
Norman Whitley	2	1	9	4.5	9	0
Jonathan Williams	5	3	7	1.4	2.3	0
Reyn Willis	6	6	107	17.8	17.8	1
Joe Womack	6	12	141	23.5	11.8	0

Kicking

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
Ben Ryan	3	-	-	-	-	-	0	2	0	4	4	100.0%	4
Ben Hartman	12	-	-	-	-	-	19	25	80.0%	32	32	100.0%	89

Poll

Who wins?

Texas Longhorns

37 votes

East Carolina Pirates

11 votes

48 votes | Poll has closed

Virginia Tech vs. East Carolina: Q&A with 200 Years Too Late

furrer4heisman — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:30:19 -0000

More photos » by Greg Eans - AP

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To prepare for Thursday's showdown, we asked ghostlikeswayze of the ECU blog 200 Years Too Late to answer a few questions about the Pirates. As a devout Parrothead, ECU has already won in the blog name category, but we'll see on Thursday if they can capture a second consecutive football game over the Hokies.

Update: My answers to his questions are up at 200YTL.

GC: Does this game being played toward the end of the season instead of at the beginning like the last two years benefit either the Hokies or Pirates?

200YTL: I think both teams have gotten a chance to look at each other throughout the year and try to develop a game plan...but according to Reflector.com, Skip isn't going to be changing the game plan after watching the VT/UNC game.

I think we both have a lot of film to study on each other and I think it will benefit both of us.

GC: What has caused Patrick Pinkney's struggles so far this year? His completion percentage and yards per attempt are down and he already has more interceptions this season than last.

200YTL: So far, he really hasn't had any pressure on him to lose the job this year. Last year's other QB, Rob Kass, has been playing TE this season. Dwayne Harris runs a couple of Wildcats. Josh Jordan (red-shirted freshman) has come in and taken some snaps but not really in the scenario that would make Pinkney think that he was close to losing the starting position.

Last year, he and Kass made up our two quarterback system. It made Pinkney fight harder and play smarter so he was always on top of his game. I think that the two quarterback system worked better for us. It changed the pace of the game each time and forced opposing defenses to stay on their toes and they had to study twice as much before the game.

GC: No one on ECU has more than four rushing touchdowns this year, but five players have at least three. Who do we need to watch out of the ECU backfield in this game and are any of them in the Chris Johnson mold?

200YTL: Dominque Lindsay and Brandon Jackson are the two guys in the backfield that you should normally look out for. They can find the holes in the defensive line and make the bursts that they need for the first down. Jackson can make that additional burst to breakaway. It all depends on what injuries plague us this week to tell who will be in the backfield for us.

Dwayne Harris is the other guy who you should look out for in the backfield. We have been using him in the Wildcat and the guy has an arm if he ever gets into any trouble. He is just an incredible all-purpose player that I think will be a force in the NFL.

Norman Whitley is one of the RBs that I think has a lot of potential but there has been some team politics going on and he has barely gotten any touches this year. He has the speed to break off huge runs and I am hoping that Skip will put him in. I don't know what happened but it must have been something pretty bad to get him in the doghouse like he is.

GC: The Pirates have been pretty strong against the run this season. How do you see them stacking up against Virginia Tech's run game?

200YTL: We haven't been tackling well all season. If we cannot do it on Thursday, we could find ourselves in a nightmare position on national television. I think we should be able to slow Virginia Tech's running game down but our Achilles' heel is coverage in the secondary which has been almost non-existent this year.

GC: Does the VT-UNC game have you more confident about beating the Hokies or worried they'll show up a more focused team on Thursday?

200YTL: Our play is so different from UNC that I am not sure how much, if any, confidence ECU fans should get from that game. If there was a game that we should look to for confidence, it would be the Duke game earlier this year in which Duke showed how to shut down the running game and score against the Hokies. The only problem was that the Blue Devils' secondary couldn't contain Tyrod and he shredded their defense with the passing attack. I hope we took notes from that game and have let both sides of the Pirate football team study the film from it.

2009 Liberty Bowl: A look at the East Carolina Pirates

Ken Howlett — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:11:24 -0000

Kentucky fan itinerary: Graceland, Beale Street, barbecue, B.B. King's joint, the blues, and a big bowl win (actually, any size bowl win will do). The Liberty Bowl may not be what Rich Brooks and Crew dreamed of after Kentucky's 5-2 start, but after an avalanche of injuries and one pre-season forced defection, the 'Cats managed to scratch their way to a 6-6 record and a third straight bowl bid.

One thing the Liberty Bowl provides the football 'Cats is a chance to redeem themselves after disappointing losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee which ended the regular season. But, as with everything football related this year, it won't be easy; Randall Cobb is recovering from knee surgery, and running back Moncell 'Turtle" Allen has been deemed academically ineligible for the game. Neither Dicky Lyons nor Derrick Locke will be available, although Dicky allegedly pulverized 'em with his pulsating pelvis in winning the Elvis impersonator contest earlier in the week.

Alas, UK is not alone in having no vacancies on the training table. East Carolina has suffered through an unusually high number of injuries and suspensions, as well: Wide receivers T.J. Lee and Dwayne Harris endured season-ending surgeries; projected starting running back Dominique Lindsay was lost in the pre-season; top wide-out Jamar Bryant was suspended for a violation of team rules in mid-season; running back Jon Williams was suspended for violating team rules in late October.

ECU offensive coordinator Todd Finch bemoaned his fate; "Our top five skill guys haven't played the second half of the season for us." Join the club, coach Finch. I say we rename the 2009 Liberty Bowl, the M.A.S.H. 4077 Bowl. But, enough of the pity party.

Instead, let's take a look at the East Carolina Pirates, beginning with ...

Head Coach Skip Holtz

Holtz took over a program that has a tradition of winning (ECU has produced two NFL quarterbacks in Jeff Blake and current Jaguar David Garrard), but was only 7-28 the three seasons leading up to his hiring. Since Holtz was hired in 2004, the Pirates have posted the following records: 5-6, 7-6, 8-5, and this years 9-4. As with UK, the Conference USA champs are playing in their third straight bowl game. Last year they defeated #24 Boise State 41-38 in the Hawai'i Bowl for ECU's first bowl win in seven years.

Interesting Holtz tidbit -- He was hired in December of 2004 by former Virginia Cavaliers head basketball coach Terry Holland (yeah, the guy who recruited Ralph Sampson away from UK) who is now the athletic director at ECU.

The Pirate Season

Wins -- #17 Virginia Tech 27-22, #8 West Virginia 24-3, Tulane 28-24, Memphis 30-10, Central Florida 13-10, Marshall 19-16, UAB 17-13, UTEP 53-21, Tulsa 27-24.

Losses -- N.C. State 30-24, Houston 41-24, Virginia 35-20, Southern Miss 21-3.

ECU began the season with the two upset victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. They then beat Tulane, which was followed by three straight losses. Since their 3-3 start they have bounced back to win six of their final seven games.

Pirate Offensive Personnel

Quarterback Pat Pinkney: 6'0", 198 lb senior -- This season Pinkney was 205 of 327 (62.7%) through the air, for 2,379 yards, with seven interceptions and 12 touchdown passes. He ran the ball 80 times for a gross of 206 yards, but he lost 156 yards due to his 18 sacks, so he posted only 50 net yards rushing. As I noted, Pinkney has been sacked 18 times this year (Virginia got to him six times), but he's only been sacked four times in the last seven games (a result of a change in the offensive game-plan, due to injuries).

Pinkney, having lost his top receivers, relies heavily on the running game to set up the pass. Pinkney has endured multiple shoulder surgeries, but has been injury-free this year.

Running back Norman Whitley: 5'9", 187 lb sophomore -- Whitley rushed 135 times for 667 yards (4.9 yards per carry). He averaged 51.3 yards rushing per game, and scored four rushing touchdowns.

Whitley ran a 4.47-40 in high school.

Running back Brandon Simmons: 6'1", 223 lb, senior -- Simmons rushed 124 times for 430 yards (3.5 ypc). He averaged 33.1 yards rushing per game, and scored six rushing touchdowns. He also caught 24 passes for 149 yards (6.2 yards per catch) and three touchdowns.

Whitley and Simmons (a former walk-on) form quite a formidable combination in the Pirate backfield. With the loss of so many receivers, Holtz has gone to a two-back set on most plays, relying on the run more than ever.

Receivers and Tight end

Tight end Davon Drew: 6'4", 260 lb senior -- Drew pulled in 38 receptions for 575 yards (15.1 ypc) and three touchdowns. He averages 44.2 receiving yards per game.

Wide receiver Alex Taylor: 6'4", 210 lb junior -- He snagged 23 catches for 310 yards (13.5 ypc) and one touchdown. He averages 23.8 receiving yards per game.

Wide receiver Darryl Freeney: 5'11", 196 lb redshirt freshman -- Freeney made 17 catches for 240 yards (14.1 ypc) and one touchdown. He also returns punts -- 13 on the year, for a 7.3 yard average return.

Freeney ran a 4.47-40 in high school.

Wide receiver Joe Womack: 6'1", 195 lb true freshman -- Womack grabbed 16 receptions for 215 yards (13.4 ypc).

Field goal kicker Ben Hartman: 5'11", 210 lb junior -- Hartman was 19 of 29 (65.5%) on his field goal attempts. He was 15 of 18 from 20 to 39 yards, but only 4 of 11 beyond 40. For his career Hartman is 35 of 56 (62.5%).

He bears a remarkable likeness to UK's own Dicky Lyons, Jr.

Pirate Defensive Personnel

Defensive end C.J. Wilson: 6'4", 271 lb junior -- Wilson is fourth on the team with 64 tackles. He also has an incredible 18.5 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, and five quarterback hits.

Wilson was named First Team All-Conference USA. He was also named Conference USA Defensive Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News.

Defensive end Zack Slate: 6'5", 221 lb senior -- Slate recorded 45 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five sacks and five quarterback hits.

Wilson and Slate have been honored with a nickname: "Lumber and Lightening." Wilson is the "Lumber" and Slate is the "Lightening." In ECU's 4-3 defensive set they have proved to be quite an effective combination in rushing and pressuring the quarterback; they have combined for 109 tackles, 26.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks.

Linebacker Pierre Bell: 6'2", 233 lb senior -- Bell leads the team with 92 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, one sack two interceptions and five pass break-ups.

Bell was named Second Team All-Conference USA.

Linebacker Nick Johnson: 6'1", 215 lb junior -- He is tied for second on the team with 89 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and three pass break-ups.

Free safety Van Eskridge: 6'0", 200 lb junior -- Eskridge also had 89 tackles, four interceptions and three pass break-ups. He returned one of his INT"s for a touchdown.

He was named First Team All-Conference USA.

Defensive back Emanuel Davis: 5'11", 190 lb freshman -- Davis recorded 42 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and seven pass break-ups. He also returned one of his INT's for a touchdown.

Davis was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. The Sporting News named him to their national All-Freshman Team.

Punter Matt Dodge: 6'2", 220 lb junior -- Dodge punted 65 times for an average of 43.5 yards (16th nationally). He had 22 punts travel over 50 yards. He also kicks-off: 66 kick-offs, with four touch-backs.

Dodge was named an Honorable Mention All-America by SI.com.

UK National Ranking Comparison to ECU

Total Defense -- UK - 34th (327 yards allowed), ECU - 43rd (334 yards allowed) ... Scoring Defense -- UK - 38th (21.7 points allowed), ECU - 31st (20.8 points allowed) ... Rushing Defense -- UK - 66th (142 yards allowed), ECU - 52nd (138 yards allowed) ... Pass Defense -- UK - 28th (184.6 yards allowed), ECU - 48th (196.7 yards allowed) ... Team Interceptions -- UK - 56th (12 INT's), ECU - t5th (21 INT's) ... Total Offense -- UK - 105th (298.4 yards per game), ECU - 83rd (336.0 yards per game) ... Scoring Offense -- UK - 87th (22.4 points per game), ECU - 79th (23.8 points per game) ... Rushing Offense -- UK - 78th (129.3 yards per game), ECU - 83rd (128.3 yards per game) ... Pass Offense -- UK - 98th (169.2 yards per game), ECU - 64th (207.7 yards per game).

Miscellaneous ECU Information

ECU is +5 in the takeaway department, but they've turned the ball over 27 times ... In the red zone ECU has converted 35 of 41 chances (85%), but they've only scored touchdowns on 22 of those 41 opportunities (54%) ... ECU's red zone defense has been effective; in 42 opportunities their opponents have scored a touchdown 20 times (48%) ... ECU has executed 30 sacks in 13 games ... ECU averages 3.4 yards per rush as a team.

Tennessee Titan rookie, and former ECU Pirate Chris Johnson, was recently named to the Pro Bowl.

ECU's victory over Boise State in last year's Hawai'i Bowl, coupled with the two season-opening victories over ranked opponents this year, marks the first time in Pirate history that they have defeated three straight ranked teams.

Thoughts and a Prediction

This is a game with two teams who are going to attempt to execute very similar game-plans; both teams are going to look to run first, and pressure, pressure, pressure the quarterback on passing downs.

I think the game hinges on UK quarterback Mike Hartline's performance. If Hartline plays up to the praise he's been recently receiving, then I feel UK wins the game. But, if he goes 12 for 25, for 140 yards (or something similar) the the 'Cats are in for a long evening. With ECU knowing that Kentucky wants to run, if Hartline and his receivers aren't on the same page, then Holtz will stack eight in the box and dare UK to handoff.

There are reports that say that Hartline and his stable of colts have progressed nicely over the last few weeks. I want to believe, but in a year as strange as this, I'm hopeful, but not expectant.

Three straight bowl wins for the first time in school history? I can't pick against that -- UK 23 ECU 20.

Thanks for reading, and Go 'Cats!