As East Carolina drained time off the fourth-quarter clock with a 19-7 lead, the Pirates moved the ball 62 yards to William & Mary’s 1-yard line. Only seconds remained, but it was time enough to pad the final score.
Impressive wins are important for a program trying to climb out of the depths of three straight 3-9 seasons. A 26-7 score sounds a little better – every little bit counts after previous one-sided losses to N.C. State (34-6) and Navy (42-10) — and more is expected of an AAC member among against a Football Championship Subdivision school.
Does ECU, playing at home, hurry up to punch the ball in the end zone? Or do the Pirates take a knee?
Well, with each game, we learn a little more about team’s new coach. In the William & Mary contest, we learned ECU’s Mike Houston isn’t about embarrassing opponents. The Pirates’ new head coach settled for a 19-7 victory to even his rebuilding team’s record at 2-2.
“What’s the purpose of sticking it in there at the end when we can kill the clock?” Houston said. “If there was more time on the clock, we could have punched it in. But with the situation what it was we could easily take a knee.
“William & Mary played really well. They’ve improved from last year when we (as James Madison’s head coach) played them. There was no point in doing that to them in that situation.”
In the uglier side of sports known to raise its head in a Barry Switzer or Jimmy Johnson manner , plenty of coaches would have run up the score in ECU’s circumstances. But Houston says he’s learned from being both sides of the fence of such a situation as a younger coach.
“I’ve had the other side do the same thing I did and I’ve had the other side stick it in,” he said. “I know how it felt.”
ECU, with the victory, has moved on to a tougher foe in its final non-conference game, facing Old Dominion (1-2) of Conference-USA on Saturday night at 21,944-seat Ballard Stadium in Norfolk, Va.
Old Dominion’s two losses were competitive games against ACC members Virginia Tech (31-17) and Virginia (28-17). The Monarchs played better than the Pirates in a step up in competition.
Houston has shown he doesn’t want to rub his opponent’s nose in a loss, but he remains committed to one that can metaphorically bloody an opponent’s nose in 60 minutes of play. He wants to utilize a spread scheme but be able to run the ball to balance the offense. On the other side its playing physical gap-control defense.
Through four games, the best example of what he envisions – the type team he had at James Madison while winning the 2016 FCS national title and a 2017 runner-up finish among three playoff trips – surfaced in the second half against William & Mary.
After struggling with consistency and leading only 10-7 at halftime, ECU’s ground game in the second half controlled the ball and managed three field goal drives for the two-score victory. In time of possession, the Pirates had the ball 18:41 in the second half for a 34:10 game advantage. The first half was about even with ECU holding the ball 15:16.
The difference was pounding the ball behind two backup running backs, Trace Christian and Tay Williams. Both players had all their yards in the second half. Christian carried 14 times for 91 yards with no lost yardage and Williams five for 72 with only 1 lost yard.
One of them may start at Old Dominion since starter Darius Pinnix is still recovering from a neck injury and Hussein Howe told Houston he is transferring out. He started the William & Mary game and had five carries for 20 yards – all in the first half.
“It is good to have some options,” Houston said of naming this week’s starter, “and I do think the competition right now will bring out the best in all of those guys in that room.”
Another depth chart change is at backup quarterback; redshirt junior Reid Herring also announced he is transferring. Bryan Gagg, a true freshman from Sarasota (Fla.) Braden River, is listed as backup to sophomore starter Holton Ahlers.
Gagg was an enrolled early and was impressive in spring drills. He was 6-of-10 passing for 56 yards and ran seven times for 19.
This is another week to learn about how Houston is developing his program.
“This game is huge for us because it’s the only one we play this week,” Houston said. “Our goal is going to be the same this year, next year, the year after. Every single day, we’ve got to work on being the very best that we can be. We’ve got to work on improving on the things we’re not doing well. We’ve got to work on playing better together. We’ve got to work on maximizing our God-given potential individually and collectively.”
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Tom Shanahan, Author: Raye of Light http://tinyurl.com/knsqtqu
— Book on Michigan State’s leading role in the integration of college football. It explains Duffy Daugherty’s untold pioneering role and debunks myths that steered recognition away from him to Bear Bryant.
http://shanahan.report/a/the-case-for-duffy-and-medal-of-freedom
Don’t believe the myths at Duffy Daugherty’s expense about Bear Bryant’s motivation to play the 1970 USC-Alabama game or myths about the Charlie Thornhill-for-Joe Namath trade. Bear Bryant knew nothing about black talent in the South while he dragged his feet on segregation.
http://www.shanahan.report/a/forty-four-underground-railroad-legacy-facts
http://shanahan.report/a/myths-that-grew-out-of-1970-alabama-game-with-usc
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