THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608250379
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: V21 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: College Forecast
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 74 lines
East Carolina University's Pirates were on a mission last season.
Win the bowl they lost in 1994. Gain some respect. Join a conference.
Mission accomplished.
ECU won the St. Jude Liberty Bowl, upsetting Stanford, 19-13. The Pirates finished 9-3, their best record since 1991, and were ranked 23rd in the final CNN/USA Today poll.
Finally, over the summer, ECU gained admission to Conference USA, along with Army, as a football-only member beginning in 1997.
So what can the Pirates do for an encore?
Do it all again, says coach Steve Logan.
``We need to continue to slam away at the door to gain respect,'' Logan said. ``I'm sure that Bobby Bowden went through this at Florida State. . . . We're trying to break into the club and we just can't lose any of the momentum that we've got rolling.''
With nine offensive and seven defensive starters back, the Pirates appear to have the right stuff to keep it rolling. But there are still many questions.
What is the Pirates' strong point?
In a word, offense, especially quarterback Marcus Crandell. He holds most ECU passing records and is a fringe All-American candidate. He was named North Carolina's top football player last season. The line is big, the backs and receivers talented and experienced. This team will score a lot of points.
What is the weak point?
The schedule. The Pirates play a lot of games in hostile stadiums - at Miami, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, West Virginia and Memphis. The home schedule is weak, with Southern Miss on Oct. 10 being the best of a bad bunch.
Will the schedule get better?
Yes. Beginning in 1997 it gets much better. Conference USA opponents such as Houston, Army and Louisville soon will begin dotting the slate. North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Duke all come on board, including visits to Greenville, within the next five years.
Check out the 1999 home schedule: West Virginia, Duke, Temple, Memphis, Houston, Miami and Southern Miss.
If ECU has a good year, in which bowl is it likely to play?
The Liberty Bowl, for the third year in a row. ECU will compete against Conference USA members, based on total victories, for a Liberty Bowl bid. The other bid goes to the Big East. Only if they receive a bid from a coalition bowl can the Pirates forsake the Liberty.
ECU has traditionally recruited well in Hampton Roads. How many Pirates are from Tidewater?
ECU is the closest Division I-A program to Hampton Roads, has a large local alumni following and has traditionally mined a mother lode of talent here. But as of late the Pirates have focused elsewhere, primarily North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland and Florida. Only two players are from Hampton Roads - wide receivers Marcellus Harris and Linwood DeBrew from Ferguson High in Newport News.
What's the biggest game of the season?
Are you kidding? N.C. State, Nov. 30 at Panther Stadium in Charlotte. The game is a rematch of the storied 1991 Peach Bowl, in which the Pirates rallied from a 17-point deficit with 8:41 to go.
This is a grudge rivalry that drew record crowds to Raleigh before the Wolfpack refused to schedule the Pirates following the 1987 season. When the state legislature threatened to force them to play ECU, both N.C. State and North Carolina reluctantly agreed to do so by the end of the century. A sellout is expected, despite horrendous ticket prices - $25 for nosebleed seats, $38 for lower-level seats. The game will be televised by ESPN.
Win this one and the Pirates can say ``mission accomplished'' once again. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
East Carolina
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KEYWORDS: SPECIAL SECTION PREVIEW by CNB