East Carolina gets no O in loss to Hokies

East Carolina Pirates 2009 ... Head Coach: Skip Holtz

2009 Preview
CFN Prediction: 8-4
2009 Record: 5-4

9/5 Appalachian St W 29-24
9/12 at West Virginia L 35-20
9/19 at North Carolina  L 31-17
9/26 UCF W 19-14
10/3 at Marshall W 21-17
10/10 at SMU L 28-21
10/17 Rice W 49-13
10/27 at Memphis W 38-19
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/5 Virginia Tech L 16-3
11/15 at Tulsa
11/21 UAB
11/28 Southern Miss

2008 Preview
CFN Prediction: 6-6
2008 Record: 9-5

8/30 Virginia Tech W 27-22
9/6 West Virginia W 24-3
9/13 at Tulane W 28-24
9/20 at NC State L 30-24 OT
9/27 Houston L 41-24
10/4 OPEN DATE
10/11 at Virginia L 35-20
10/18 Memphis W 30-10
10/25 OPEN DATE
11/2 at UCF W 13-10 OT
11/8 Marshall W 19-16 OT
11/15 at Southern Miss L 21-3
11/22 at UAB W 17-13
11/29 UTEP W 53-21
C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
12/6 Tulsa W 27-24
Liberty Bowl
1/2 Kentucky L 25-17

East Carolina Pirates

Nov. 6
Virginia Tech 16 ... at East Carolina 3
Matt Waldron hit three field goals and Tyrod Taylor ran for a 13-yard score as Virginia Tech got past the Pirates with a running game and a big defensive effort. East Carolina managed just a 24-yard Ben Hartman field goal at the end of the first half and was held to 277 rushing yards, while Virginia Tech rumbled for 242 rushing yards led by 179 yards from Ryan Williams. Cody Grimm made 12 tackles and a sack with a fumble recovery for the Hokies.
Player of the Game: Virginia Tech RB Ryan Williams ran 26 times for 179 yards
Virginia Tech: Passing: Tyrod Taylor, 17-30, 137 yds
Rushing: Ryan Williams 26-179, Receiving: Danny Coale, 6-60
East Carolina: Passing: Pat Pinkney, 16-33, 167 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Dominque Lindsay, 13-69, Receiving: Alex Taylor, 5-60
What It All Means: The defense did a nice job of keeping the Hokies under wraps, but the offense couldn't get any control of the game as Pat Pinkney couldn't move the chains and RB Dominique Lindsay didn't have much room to move. ECU was outmatched, but it held tough and stayed in the game, proving that the team isn't that bad overall. Now the offense will rebound against a Tulsa defense that will give up yards and points in bunched. If ECU plays defense like it did against Tech the rest of the way, it'll be in the Conference USA title game.

Oct. 27
East Carolina 38 … at Memphis 19
Pat Pinkney ran for touchdowns from three and 23 yards out and he threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Darryl Freeney as ECU had few problems with the Tigers. The Pirates got up 21-3 in the first half before Memphis got in the end zone on a 14-yard Carlos Singleton catch, but wasn’t able to get close. ECU outgained Memphis 275 yards to 84.
Player of the Game: East Carolina RB Dominique Lindsay ran 22 times for 139 yards
Memphis : Passing: Will Hudgens, 33-48, 313 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Curtis Steele, 15-79, Receiving: Duke Calhoun, 9-91
East Carolina: Passing: Pat Pinkney, 14-26, 216 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dominque Lindsay, 22-139, Receiving: Darryl Freeney, 5-116, 1 TD
What It All Means: Having a healthy Dominique Lindsay is the difference for an offense that needs a steadying force. The running game dominated the game, while the punting of Matt Dodge kept MU pinned deep, highlighted by a 73 yarder. While the Conference USA season is first and foremost on ECU’s minds, but it would be nice to come up with a good performance against Virginia Tech. It would make a big statement before going to Tulsa. ECU should roll through the final three games of the conference season, but beating the Hokies would be the highlight of the season.

Oct. 17
at East Carolina 49 … Rice 13
Dwayne Harris ran caught touchdown passes from 16 and seven yards out and he answered an 80-yard Toren Dixon touchdown catch with a 92-yard kickoff return for a score to give the Pirates an easy win. Up 28-13, the Pirates dominated the fourth quarter with 21 points on three short scores. The two teams combined for six turnovers.
Player of the Game: East Carolina WR Dwayne Harris caught nine passes for 128 yards and two scores, and he returned a kickoff for a touchdown
Rice: Passing: Nick Fanuzzi, 25-43, 231 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Jeramy Goodson, 9-41, Receiving: Toren Dixon, 8-115, 1 TD
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 18-26, 231 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Dominique Lindsay, 12-78, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 9-128, 2 TD
What It All Means: The offense continues to struggle with its consistency, and after RB Dominique Lindsay went down with an ankle injury, the running game went nowhere. Rice can’t stop anyone, and while there was enough pop from the attack and a big game from Dwayne Harris, this is still a work in progress. With Memphis up next before dealing with Virginia Tech, there are two more games before dealing with a big road trip against Tulsa. ECU might not be pretty, but it has the return game and the run defense to be in the Conference USA title hunt. 

Oct. 10
at SMU 28 … East Carolina 21
The SMU defense and special teams made up for a struggling day for the offense with Bryan McCann returning a blocked field goal 63 yards and a touchdown and Rock Dennis returned an interception 53 yards for a score. The offense got into the act, too, with Aldrick Robinson taking a pass 96 yards for a touchdown and Terrance Wilkerson caught a 17-yard scoring grab. ECU answered the Wilkerson score with a 77-yard Dwayne Harris kickoff return for a score, but couldn’t tie up the game in the final five minutes.
Player of the Game: SMU LB Chase Kennemer made 14 tackles with two tackles for loss.
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 20-34, 181 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Dominique Lindsay, 24-144, Receiving: Jamar Bryant, 5-58
SMU: Passing: Bo Levi Mitchell, 17-29, 266 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Shawnbrey McNeal, 15-35, Receiving: Terrance Wilkerson, 5-39, 1 TD
What It All Means: This was disastrous for East Carolina. The offense isn’t producing consistently enough to be able to overcome a slew of mistakes. The defense did a decent job of keeping the Mustangs under wraps, but the defensive touchdown and the special teams gaffe proved too costly. Dominique Lindsay ran well, running for 144 yards, but the offense couldn’t keep moving. The points aren’t coming, but they should flow against Rice next week. 

Oct. 3
East Carolina 21 … at Marshall 17
Patrick Pinkney ran for a 30-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter and Dominique Lindsay and Brandon Jackson each ran for short scores as ECU won a tough battle. Marshall got Darius Marshall touchdown runs from one and 20 yards away, but the offense couldn’t produce in the fourth quarter with the ECU defense holding firm. The two teams combined for 18 penalties.
Player of the Game: East Carolina LB Nick Johnson 16 tackles and a tackle for loss
Marshall: Passing: Brian Anderson, 16-31, 127 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Darius Marshall 28-141, 2 TD, Receiving: Cody Slate, 9-88
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 14-23, 131 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Dominique Lindsay, 18-76, 1 TD, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 6-57 
What It All Means: The Pirates aren’t pretty, the offense is the worst in Conference USA, and the special teams have been inconsistent, but the results are there with a 2-0 league record. But to beat SMU, either the defense has to be better at getting into the backfield on a regular basis, or Patrick Pinkney and the passing game have to be far more efficient. The penalties have to slow down after committing ten for 65 yards.

Sept. 26
at East Carolina 19 … UCF 14
Dwayne Harris ran for a 25-yard touchdown and caught a three-yard scoring pass as East Carolina took a 19-7 lead late into the fourth quarter. The UCF offense that has been sputtering all year started off the scoring with a 19-yard Brynn Harvey run, and scored with just over a minute to play when Kamar Aiken caught a ten-yard scoring pass, but ECU held on. The Knights turned it over five times with four interceptions thrown by Brett Hodges.
Player of the Game: East Carolina WR Dwayne Harris caught ten passes for 121 yards and a touchdown, and he ran three times for 27 yards and a score.
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 27-40, 293 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 20-88, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 10-121, 1 TD
UCF: Passing: Brett Hodges, 21-34, 266 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Rushing: Brynn Harvey, 16-71, 1 TD, Receiving: A.J. Guyton, 9-119
What It All Means: The East Carolina offense has been having problems all season long, and it has to do a better job of closing out drives. The O moved the ball well on UCF, but it came up empty on too many good, deep ventures into opposing territory. Dwayne Harris has been a nice all-around playmaker and Patrick Pinkney threw well, but ECU will go as far as the defense can carry it. With a line as good as the Pirates have, there should be more pressure into the backfield.
What It All Means: Give UCF credit for battling. It was an ugly performance against ECU with five turnovers with four interceptions thrown by Brett Hodges, but there were chances late to pull out the win. The mistakes have to stop and the offense has to get even more out of Hodges and the passing attack. A.J. Guyton had a nice day opening things up a little bit with nine yards, but at the moment, UCF is all about its swarming defense that’s doing a nice job of getting into the backfield. The next month is critical with three home games in the next four, with the road trip to Rice. Forget the home game against Miami, but this is where the run has to come for any hope of a bowl game.

Sept. 19
at North Carolina 31 … East Carolina 17
Erik Highsmith caught a 16-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and Jheranie Boyd made a 59-yard scoring grab in the second for North Carolina, but East Carolina hung around with a seven-yard Jamar Bryant touchdown catch and a six-yard Dwayne Harris run. The Tar Heels pulled away with a two short Ryan Houston touchdown runs, while the defense held the Pirates out of the end zone in the second half.
Player of the Game: North Carolina QB T.J. Yates completed 19-of-24 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 19-30, 157 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 12-35 , Receiving: Alex Taylor, 5-46
North Carolina: Passing: T.J. Yates, 19-24, 227 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Shaun Draughn, 19-84, Receiving: Erik Highsmith, 6-113, 1 TD
What It All Means: ECU has to find something that works in the second half. The offense has gone flat after halftime, and it wasn’t exactly explosive to begin with. The ground game was overwhelmed by North Carolina’s front seven, while Patrick Pinkney and the passing game once again failed to show enough pop to open up the D. Things ease up with Conference USA play starting next week against UCF. Any early scores against the Knights should get the job done, but a complete game would be nice.

Sept. 12
at West Virginia 35 ... East Carolina 20
West Virginia spotted ECU ten points in the first quarter, and then Jarrett Brown took over with four touchdown passes, with two to Alric Arnett and a 58-yarder to Tavon Austin in the third quarter to put the game away. ECU pulled within one on a four-yard Jamar Bryant touchdown catch with 11 seconds to play in the first half, the offense sputtered the rest of the way.
Player of the Game: West Virginia QB Jarrett Brown completed 24-of-31 passes for 334 yards and four touchdowns with an interception, and he ran ten times for 73 yards.
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 16-39, 175 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Jackson, 10-37, Receiving: Jamar Bryant, 5-41, 1 TD
West Virginia: Passing: Jarrett Brown, 24-31, 334 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Noel Devine, 19-80, 1 TD, Receiving: Jock Sanders, 9-99
What It All Means: ECU's offense couldn't come up with anything in the second half even when the chances were there. West Virginia turned the ball over four times and there were 11 penalties, but the Pirates couldn't take advantage. Patrick Pinkney was too erratic and the defense didn't generate enough pressure into the backfield, but the biggest problem was the second half without any running game to count on to steady the team. Now comes North Carolina; the ground attack isn't going to start producing. 
 
Sept. 5
at East Carolina 29 … Appalachian State 24
Appalachian State was without its star QB Armanti Edwards, but it wouldn’t go away with a 17-point fourth quarter to pull within five. But the ASU offense stalled on its final drive as the East Carolina defense held firm when it absolutely had to. The Pirates got a 39-yard touchdown run from Brandon Jackson and a 21-yard dash from Dominique Lindsay on the way to a 29-7 lead, but the offense sputtered in the fourth quarter forcing the D to hang on.
Player of the Game: East Carolina RB Dominque Lindsay ran 15 times for 105 yards and a score.
Appalachian State: Passing: DeAndre Presley, 7-15, 89 yds, 1 INT
Rushing: Devon Moore, 17-37, 1 TD, Receiving: Devon Moore, 4-41
East Carolina: Passing: Patrick Pinkney, 12-27, 131 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Dominique Lindsay, 15-105, 1 TD, Receiving: Dwayne Harris, 4-37
What It All Means: The ECU offense failed to keep its foot on the gas as the running game couldn’t grind out the win in the fourth quarter, and the defense had to come up with a stop late to hold on. The biggest problem going into the tough schedule over the next few weeks is the passing of Patrick Pinkney. A veteran of his caliber should be better than 12-of-27 with two interceptions, and he didn’t do much on the ground. Fortunately, the running of Dominique Lindsay and Brandon Jackson made the attack go. Now there needs to be more balance.