C-Usa Breakdown

[IE]

Tulsa sports writer Bill Haisten analyzes Saturday's Conference USA championship game that matches the University of Tulsa and East Carolina.


Tulsa rushing game vs. East Carolina rush defense

At 259.1 yards per game, the Golden Hurricane is seventh nationally in rushing offense. TU by far is Conference USA's best ground-game team. The Hurricane averages 5.6 yards per attempt. Tarrion Adams is the featured back (1,196 yards and nine TDs), but TU gets widespread productivity. Of the seven Tulsa players who have at least 33 rush attempts this season, five ? Adams, Jamad Williams, Charles Opeseyitan, A.J. Whitmore and Damaris Johnson ? average at least 6 yards per attempt. East Carolina allows 132.6 rushing yards per game (ranking third in C-USA). During a 24-3 upset of then-No. 8-ranked West Virginia, the Pirates limited the Mountaineers to 179 rushing yards. For the season, West Virginia averaged 224. East Carolina goes to battle with an experienced defensive front. Ends Zack Slate and C.J. Wilson, nose guard Linval Joseph and linebacker Pierre Bell are the veterans of a combined total of 121 career starts.

Edge: Tulsa. The Hurricane has been consistently successful on the ground, and will be again on Saturday. In seven games this season, TU ran for at least three touchdowns.

TULSA PASSING GAME VS. EAST CAROLINA PASS DEFENSE

In his first and only season as the Hurricane's starting QB, senior David Johnson has been tremendous. He has thrown for 42 TDs and ranks No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency, sixth in passing yards (3,671) and eighth in total offense (317.4-yard average). Johnson and co-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn have done a masterful job of distributing the football. Damaris Johnson leads TU with 44 catches, followed by Brennan Marion (39) and Slick Shelley and Charles Clay (32 apiece). Protection could be an issue for TU as senior right guard Justin Morsey, who has started in every game this season, sustained what is believed to be a serious leg injury at Marshall last week. Expected to start in his place is a first-year freshman, Clint Anderson. The East Carolina defense has allowed only 16 TD passes while totaling 16 interceptions. The Pirates have recorded 26 sacks (the league's third-best total). Ends Zack Slate and C.J. Wilson have a combined total of 12 sacks.

EDGE: Tulsa. Johnson has completed 66 percent of his passes. East Carolina can't key on just one or two TU receivers and expect the Hurricane to falter. TU has too many weapons, and Malzahn's play-calling involves every receiver.

East Carolina rushing game vs. Tulsa rush defense

This would seem to be a pronounced advantage for the Golden Hurricane. TU has Conference USA's second-best rush defense (131.6 yards allowed per game), while the Pirates have had only modest success on the ground. In four games this season, East Carolina rushed for less than 90 yards. The Pirates average 126 rushing yards per game. They ran for 231 yards against UTEP last week, and that was by 51 yards their best performance of the season. Sophomore running back Norman Whitley (563 yards, 4.7 average) is ECU's primary ball-carrier, but he has scored only three touchdowns and hasn't broken a run of longer than 42 yards. TU middle linebacker Mike Bryan, end Moton Hopkins and strong safety James Lockett have a combined total of 34.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Against the Hurricane, Arkansas ran 31 times for 50 yards, UTEP 21 for 32, Tulane 35 for 73 and Central Florida 48 for 63.

Edge: Tulsa. With East Carolina having struggled to run effectively against most opponents, it's not likely that the Pirates will have sustained success against TU.

EAST CAROLINA PASSING GAME VS. TULSA PASS DEFENSE

Pirate quarterback Pat Pinkney has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,257 yards, but for only 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions. The East Carolina passing game was dealt a setback on Nov. 15, when wide receiver Dwayne Harris sustained a season-ending foot injury against Southern Miss. Harris (58 catches) was Pinkney's favorite target. On Saturday, Pinkney may frequently look in the direction of tight end Davon Drew, a 260-pound senior who has 35 receptions this season. A senior veteran of 30 starts, Drew averages 15.6 yards per catch. The Pirate offensive line has given up 26 sacks this season. Tulsa counters with a defense that leads Conference USA with 36 sacks. Hurricane senior Roy Roberts is a playmaking defensive back (10 career interceptions), but TU has allowed 269 passing yards per game and 31 passing TDs. Six opponents surpassed the 300-yard mark in passing.

Edge: Tulsa. This is not a big-play Pirate attack. East Carolina hasn't had a pass play of longer than 52 yards. Before a national TV audience, with a title at stake, TU's pass-rush specialists could make it a tough outing for Pinkney.

SPECIAL TEAMS

For Tulsa, there could be a big-play opportunity on kickoff returns. East Carolina is 10th in C-USA on kickoff coverage, while Hurricane freshman Damaris Johnson has set a school record with 1,273 kickoff-return yards (26.0-yard average). A team that leads the nation in total offense, as TU does, rarely has to punt and rarely settles for field goals. Michael Such has punted only 16 times all season and has done it effectively (44.4-yard average). Jarod Tracy is 8-of-11 on field goals, but missed on his only attempt from beyond 40 yards. East Carolina's Ben Hartman is 17-of-26 on field goals, but only 4-of-11 beyond 40 yards.

Edge: Tulsa. Only a slight advantage for the Hurricane. Damaris Johnson has a chance to pop a big return and have an impact on field position. Neither team has a dynamic punt-return game.

 

[IE]

East Carolina sportswriter,

Title within reach for ECU



One play at a time, one game at a time, East Carolina has arrived today at an important mile-marker in its football journey.

ECU will play at noon for the Conference USA championship at Tulsa, a destination the team began charting four seasons ago when head coach Skip Holtz arrived.

Earning their way in the door to H.A. Chapman Stadium for today's game creates an opportunity for the Pirates to do more than just show up, despite being a double-digit underdog.

But to do more than merely play in today's game, C-USA's East Division champion Pirates (8-4 overall, 6-2 C-USA) must find a way to lasso the mightiest offense in the West.

Tulsa, in fact, is the offensive kingpin of the entire nation. The Golden Hurricane ranks in the NCAA's top five in total offense (578.9 yards/game), scoring offense (49.3 points/game) and pass offense (319.8 ypg.).

?They're video game numbers,? Holtz said of Tulsa's season-long offensive outpouring, which also includes being 60 percent on third down. ?They're almost unrealistic when you look at what they're doing from a numbers standpoint.?

The Pirates have won five of their last six games, including their sudden offensive burst in a 53-21 shelling of UTEP to close the regular season last week.

Still, playing in today's championship game and winning it are two different things.

?They've scored 81 touchdowns, which I thought that was a misprint. We've scored 33,? Holtz said of Tulsa. ?To put it in perspective, (ECU kicker) Ben Hartman has kicked 78 PATs in his career, and he's a junior, and they've scored 81 touchdowns this season alone.?

The Hurricane (10-2, 7-1) is a classic three-headed monster with the ball in hand, featuring a 1,000-yard rusher, a 1,000-yard receiver and a bona fide passer in senior David Johnson, who has pulled the trigger on 3,671 yards and 42 touchdown strikes.

Brennan Marion leads the Tulsa pass-catchers with 1,058 yards and eight touchdowns on 39 receptions, but ECU's young cornerbacks certainly can't key on him.

Damaris Johnson (44 receptions, 588 yards, nine TDs), Slick Shelley (32-564-7) and Clay Charles (32-453-9) are all key components.

Making space for the Hurricane pass storm is senior running back Tarrion Adams (200 carries, 1,196 yards, nine TDs), but he too has help in running backs Jamad Williams (69-457-3), Charles Opeseyitan (45-356-2) and fullback Courtney Tennial (43-216-7).

?They're huge on their offensive line,? Holtz said of the Hurricane. ?They're a great zone-blocking team. They're big, they get on you and they've got a very accurate passer in Johnson.?

The ECU defense will get a boost today with the expected return of corner Dekota Marshall (groin), middle linebacker Pierre Bell (head), outside linebacker Cliff Perryman (shoulder) and defensive end Scotty Robinson (wrist).

Also expected to be in the lineup are linebacker Jeremy Chambliss (ankle), safety J.J. Milbrook (ankle) and defensive ends C.J. Wilson (foot) and Josh Smith (neck).

They will rejoin the Pirate defense that soared above the adversity of injuries to carry its team across the finish line and into today's title tilt.

Starting up front with Zack Slate and Wilson on the ends are Linval Joseph and Jay Ross in the interior, the Pirates are tops in the league in total defense (allowing 329.4 yards/game), and are third in both pass and rush defense.

?Those four are becoming the pillar of strength for us as a defensive unit,? Holtz said. ?They controlled the (UTEP) game early with all of the sacks and the pressure. It affected they way (UTEP) called plays during the rest of the game.?

Behind the line, linebackers Bell (team-high 82 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two interceptions, five pass breakups) and Nick Johnson (76 tackles, 10 TFL, two INTs) banded together with hard-hitting junior safety Van Eskridge (80 tackles, two INTs, two forced fumbles) to pull ECU to the top of the conference.

The biggest question for ECU is whether or not its 53-point outburst last Friday ? just the second time the Pirates cracked the 30-point barrier all season ? was a sign of things to come.

Against UTEP, the Pirates were their old selves again, with senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney (2,257 pass yards, 11 TDs) unloading 228 yards through the air for a couple of first half touchdowns.

With none of their opening day starters left at wide receiver, the Pirates also continued to re-grow their pass attack behind senior tight end Davon Drew (35 receptions, 547 yards, three TDs), junior Alex Taylor (22-304-1) and freshmen Darryl Freeney (16-219-1) and Joe Womack (14-183).

Senior running back Brandon Simmons had a career day in his final game inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, barreling through the Miners for 111 yards and four total touchdowns.

Sophomore Norman Whitley remains the team's top rusher with 563 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Tulsa is ranked sixth in total defense in C-USA, but that might be misleading considering the Hurricane boasts the second best rush defense, allowing 131.6 ground yards a game.

Middle linebacker Mike Bryan leads the team with 104 tackles, 10 for lost yards.

James Lockett is the wild card at the spur position in the secondary, making 72 stops, and surging to team highs in tackles for loss (14.5), sacks (8.5), QB hurries (five) and forced fumbles (five).

Up front, defensive end Moton Hopkins has 68 tackles, 9.5 for loss and a couple of fumble recoveries.