LuDawg's ECU vs Tulsa Sunday

Bookie...I am following both teams very closely and would be wary of ECU as they have a lot of unanswered questions.

1. New Coaching Staff - Ruffin hasnt ever been a HC before, OC Riley and DC Mitchell have never been in charge of any coordinator position.  Will be a transition here.   

2.  New Schemes on both sides of the ball - I have been handicapping a long time and know there is a transition period when moving to a spread as you have to recruit specific players to run it.  

3.  Replacing entire front 7 on defense.  You know Ruffin loves to blitz...with 7 new starters, there are going to be a lot of big plays against them.       

4.  QB situation...OC Riley came out and said 2 of the 3 QBs in the hunt for the starter have issues throwing the BALL!!!  Here is what OC Riley said on the 3 QBs yesterday (8/20):

Each of the three quarterbacks have their pros and cons. The key to winning the job will be whoever eliminates their respective flaws the fastest.

“I’m look for them to improve on their weaknesses,” Riley said. “I think Brad makes the best decisions but we continue to work on him physically throwing the ball. He’s not throwing it bad, but that’s his thing, he needs to work on throwing the ball and leadership. Dominique has the leadership and all that, he needs to work on the throws and the decisions. Rio throws the ball the best out of all of them, but he needs to work on maturity and decision making. They all have some strengths and they all have some weaknesses. We are looking for who can make their weaknesses better.” 

5.  Special teams...ECU kicker and punter have to be replaced...current kicker is 1 for 5 and punter has never had a punt.

On the other side...a lot of their issues offensively was the poor play of their offensive line.  A lot of injuries forced true freshmen to step in and play last year and they werent ready.  HC Graham has already stated the OL is much improved as their two top players (Holmes & Anderson) are completely healthy again.  HC Graham also stated this is the fastest group of WRs he has had and they add a big time transfer from Oklahoma (Jameel Owens..6'3/230).  QB Kinne (Texas transfer) is in his second full year and is looking better than ever in fall camp.  Also, OC Morris is running a fast break spread in which they will sprint to the line after each play (ECU better be 2 deep everywhere defensively)  Special Teams...UT has the best kicker and punter in CUSA as well as nationally.

There are way too many ??? on ECU for me and planning to play Tulsa when the line drops under 7.  Also planning on playing the over as the ball is going to be in the air most of the time with little time in between plays.  Still another week of practice for each team to study...    

I look at every possible angle when I handicap a game...just not buying ECU QB situation and unproven coaching staff just yet.

Quote Originally Posted by LuDawg:

Go put your money on Tulsa -7 and come back to talk to the forum on September 6th.  

 Lu

I plan to,,,can you help me out and drive the spread down to 6.5?

the dawg has spoken, BOL

I agree on the uncertainty....but would never place a bet where the opponent has a decided advantage at QB and HC (not to mention special teams)...Tulsa  has a HUGE advantage in all three in this matchup.

hhhmm...you need to separate fact from opinion...that will help you

Regarding HC Graham, in his first year as head coach in 2006, he turned a 1-10 team the previous year to a bowl game - the first in 45 years!  Regarding losing OC Malzahn....he went to Auburn - who isnt going to leave Tulsa for Auburn!!!  When you are successful, the big conference schools are going to get your assistant coaches.  Another assistant (Hand) went to the SEC and another coach left for the Big Ten...Perfect example - why did Skip Holtz leave for USF?  Bigger conference, more money, better recruits...

If you think there isnt a HUGE QB advantage in this matchup, you are sadly mistaken and probably the only one on this thread who thinks so.  Let me see the facts:

GJ Kinne - named to this 2010 Manning Award Watch List for top QB in the country (top 33 QBs were named), completed 61-percent of his passes for 2,732 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2009,

ECU QBs Davis, Wornick, & Johnson: OC Riley came out and said 2 of the 3 QBs in the hunt for the starter have issues throwing the BALL!!!  Here is what OC Riley said on the 3 QBs yesterday (8/20):

Each of the three quarterbacks have their pros and cons. The key to winning the job will be whoever eliminates their respective flaws the fastest.

“I’m look for them to improve on their weaknesses,” Riley said. “I think Brad makes the best decisions but we continue to work on him physically throwing the ball. He’s not throwing it bad, but that’s his thing, he needs to work on throwing the ball and leadership. Dominique has the leadership and all that, he needs to work on the throws and the decisions. Rio throws the ball the best out of all of them, but he needs to work on maturity and decision making. They all have some strengths and they all have some weaknesses. We are looking for who can make their weaknesses better.” 

RE: "The QB's at ECU went 32-50 for 541 yards through the air, 7 touchdowns and 1 pick.  Doesn't sound too bad to me.".....I would really be worried about your defense...if the QBs are putting these numbers up and OC Riley said their QBs have throwing issues, can only imagine what Kinne is going to do to them!

Sorry Lu, there is a transition when moving to the spread especially when there is a turnover in the entire coaching staff...it takes time getting in specific players who know how to run it...guys who have issues throwing the ball are not the answer.  ECU had a great two year run and Holtz knew when to bail!!!