ECU vs Central Florida

ECU vs. Central Florida

An odd game this was, and it reminded me vaguely of a high school game I once did a couple of years ago.

I didn’t even know the game was on ESPN until we happened to browse the channels and caught it in the 3rd quarter, and I was also watching the Colts/Patriots game. But I watched this game because there was some big implications for both teams.

Currently there are 2 teams in Conference USA that are out of any bowl eligibility. Remember, you have to win at least 6 Division I games (or a quality Division 1-AA) to qualify. Nobody in this conference is competing for a National Title, so it’s about the post season. You can’t get there until you first qualify, something neither team has done to this point. But a win gets you closer.

We all know about ECU’s magical start, defeating Virginia Tech and West Virginia in the first two games of the season. We also know how they fell apart when the crown was too heavy to wear, losing 3 straight games. But the win last night, defeating Central Florida, brings their record to 5-3, just one win away from qualifying for the post season bowls, and further, keeping then on top for the shot at the Conference USA Championship.

With 4 games left on their schedule, you can pretty much pencil them in, but I am going on record to say that ECU didn’t win that game…Central Florida totally flopped and delivered it unto the Pirates.

And because of that 13-10 overtime loss, the Knights now put themselves in a very difficult situation of having to win all their games just to qualify. They MUST defeat Marshall, Memphis, Southern Miss and UAB…or forget about post season.

If there is any hope in this, it is that the conference is very weak, as their schedule shows. Even the best of the conference, Tulsa, could not beat a mid-card team in Arkansas, and only 3 of the 12 teams have a current winning record. So there is a chance for Central Florida…but not much.

I watched that game and saw how it just seemed that Central Florida forgot how to play ball. Now I know ECU will say they “turned it up” and I won’t argue that. The better teams know when to step it up, and the lesser teams start playing not to lose…that’s how Central Florida lost that game. But even in their poor play, ECU did something that reminded me of how some high school games work:

A couple of years ago I was doing a high school playoff game with Hunt High School vs. Bertie High School in NC. I worked with a radio station doing live coverage, and I watched a close battle between the two. But as the game came near the end, Bertie High scored a touchdown to take a slim lead. I think it was less than one minute left in the game, and Hunt High had one of the best running backs in the state. You would assume that they would use him to push the ball up the field and try to get in field position for at worst, a field goal to win.

But at this late stage of the game, the coach for Hunt decided to put in a different quarterback…WHY? Why change what is working? The previous QB had not thrown an interception, and you have a great running back, and a good kicker. It didn’t make sense to substitute so late in the game, at such a critical time. But the coach did, and the very first pass that “cold” quarterback made was…you guessed it…

Interception. They lost the game.

Being from around the area I heard why the coach made that substitution. That quarterback’s dad was a wealthy dentist, and wanted his son to play. This sickens me because what this shows is that often times loyalties in football are not based on who is best for the position, but who has money. That kid, bless his heart, should have NEVER been on that field during such a critical time, but the coach gave in to what some ignorant dad wanted to see in his son. So thanks a lot, Hunt High gets knocked out the playoffs because the dentist had more influence than the importance of winning a post season game.

This ECU game smelled of the same thing. Why on earth do you put a cold quarterback in, who has not played in over an hour? 33 seconds left in the 4th quarter, on Central Florida’s 46 yard line, and you bring in a cold quarterback to throw a pass? WHY? It does not make any sense unless there was an effort to please somebody else. To me it was very unwise and it should have cost ECU the game, but were it not for UCF playing very poorly, they would have lost.

It’s a reminder that in many ways, college football is just like high school football because opportunities sometimes are given not because they are earned, but because in many cases, somebody paid for it. I could tell you lots of stories of high school football where that is the case, and we don’t have to think hard about how money influences college football. Do I think ECU did a bonehead play…yep, but who cares, they still won.

But that kinda mentality won’t get you far in college football, it may have also been why they are no longer in any chats about National Championship. To be the best, you have to have the BEST players in position to give you the best chance to win. So many teams fail on this because of politics on the campus and who’s daddy got the most money. I am reminded of Texas University several years ago and how Major Applewhite was a very good quarterback, but had to give way to a certain quarterback who’s dad happened to have played for the New York Giants (Simms). Simms wasn’t better, but he had more prestige. So I am happy to see that Texas, even with their loss recently, has Applewhite on their sidelines to help McCoy out. At least the university didn’t totally bail out on him.

But that’s another story, one of a million that we could chat about when it comes to money, influence and college sports. Until then, hope your favorite team wins. Mine did for a change (WCU).