Spring Break
History awaits?
C-USA title in ECU's grasp
Jared Jackson, Staff Writer
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Sports
The secret to the Golden Hurricane's success lies on the arm of senior quarterback David Johnson. He has thrown for 3,671 yards and 42 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions.
Johnson also leads the nation in pass efficiency with a 192.5 quarterback rating. That number puts Johnson above Florida's Tim Tebow, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas's Colt McCoy - all three potential Heisman finalists.
"He is going to present a very big challenge for us," Eskridge said. "Johnson is very efficient. They hit a lot of big plays and they have a lot of speedy guys at wideout so we're going to have to make sure [to] keep everything inside and in front and try to eliminate the big plays."
A week after putting up 53 points on the scoreboard - the most of the season, ECU hopes to recreate last week's effort against UTEP against the Golden Hurricane this week.
Against the Miners, ECU ran for 231 yards and passed for 244 more as the Pirates easily had their best day of the year on offense - even with the string of injuries and suspensions that had a good part of their opening day roster against Virginia Tech inactive.
"It gives us great confidence," said ECU senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney. "When you have your backup players stepping up and making big plays, you have everybody believing and just having fun out there."
Last week, Pinkney was 17-of-23 for 313 yards and two touchdowns, but this week he knows he faces arguably the toughest test of the season magnified by the lights of playing on a championship stage.
"They are very disciplined on defense and put up a lot of points on offense," Pinkney said. "But like I always say if we take care of ECU football then we will have a great day."
The Golden Hurricane rank No. 6 in C-USA in total and scoring defense, allowing only 400 yards and 29 points per game.
Defensively, Tulsa ranks No. 2 in C-USA, allowing only 131 yards per game on the ground. After a week when a stagnant running game exploded against UTEP, Pinkney knows that this week against the Golden Hurricane, running will be key.
Johnson also leads the nation in pass efficiency with a 192.5 quarterback rating. That number puts Johnson above Florida's Tim Tebow, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford and Texas's Colt McCoy - all three potential Heisman finalists.
"He is going to present a very big challenge for us," Eskridge said. "Johnson is very efficient. They hit a lot of big plays and they have a lot of speedy guys at wideout so we're going to have to make sure [to] keep everything inside and in front and try to eliminate the big plays."
A week after putting up 53 points on the scoreboard - the most of the season, ECU hopes to recreate last week's effort against UTEP against the Golden Hurricane this week.
Against the Miners, ECU ran for 231 yards and passed for 244 more as the Pirates easily had their best day of the year on offense - even with the string of injuries and suspensions that had a good part of their opening day roster against Virginia Tech inactive.
"It gives us great confidence," said ECU senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney. "When you have your backup players stepping up and making big plays, you have everybody believing and just having fun out there."
Last week, Pinkney was 17-of-23 for 313 yards and two touchdowns, but this week he knows he faces arguably the toughest test of the season magnified by the lights of playing on a championship stage.
"They are very disciplined on defense and put up a lot of points on offense," Pinkney said. "But like I always say if we take care of ECU football then we will have a great day."
The Golden Hurricane rank No. 6 in C-USA in total and scoring defense, allowing only 400 yards and 29 points per game.
Defensively, Tulsa ranks No. 2 in C-USA, allowing only 131 yards per game on the ground. After a week when a stagnant running game exploded against UTEP, Pinkney knows that this week against the Golden Hurricane, running will be key.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
tim hamrick
posted 12/16/08 @ 12:45 PM EST
nice catch big 13 TD TD TD!!!!!
Post a Comment