Time is on East Carolina’s side in this week’s game against Cincinnati.
The Pirates, winners of three straight, including an upset at BYU that made ECU bowl eligible at 6-3, 3-2 in the AAC, are coming off a bye week.
“It’s that fine line that we needed some time to recover,” said ECU coach Mike Houston. “It had been a pretty hard stretch of nine weeks straight in the regular season. So we needed a little bit of time, but at the same time, we’re playing so well. I think we had enough time off last week and we had three really good practices.”
Other than an extra hour of sleep last Saturday night, time hasn’t done the Cincinnati Bearcats many favors leading into the ECU game. Cincinnati played Navy last week. The service academy is one of the few remaining teams that runs the triple-option offense, so it requires extensive preparation leading into the game to familiarize defensive players with their responsibilities. Then the run-heavy offense tends to take a physical toll on the defense during the game. All of which means that a Friday night game against the Pirates, and a short week of recovery and prep, is coming at the worst possible time.
“I don’t know how it is for everybody, but Navy prep is a long, long week,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “It’s always a tough, tough game. Not saying I’m happy to get it behind us, but I’m happy to get it behind us. It’s always unique, but coming off of the Navy week is sometimes what’s most difficult. Just getting back to the things you do on a consistent basis, at least defensively, but offensively as well. It was a long week and then we get this accelerated week this week that doesn’t give you much time to (relax).”
The shift is from facing Navy, a run-first offense, to ECU, which is led by veteran quarterback Holton Ahlers. The Pirates have the No. 17 passing offense in the nation, and, despite a willingness to air it out, ECU has been very disciplined on offense. The Pirates lead the AAC in fewest turnovers lost and third-down success rate, and are second in the league in fewest penalties. The Pirates aren’t going to beat themselves, which puts more pressure on Cincinnati.
In addition to Ahlers and the passing game, ECU features the top rusher in the league in Keaton Mitchell.
“He’s a difference-maker,” Fickell said. “I think the uniqueness is, yes, you can see the big long runs where he can circle the defense because of his electric speed and quickness, to be honest with you, but there’s plenty of shots he hits it right up through the middle. He had one long one against BYU right through the A gap. So they have a really good one-two punch with him, meaning he can take it outside and make things happen, but he’s not afraid to stick that thing up the middle.”
On the other hand, even with a short week, Cincinnati’s defense will likely be up to the challenge presented by ECU. The Bearcats throttled the difficult Navy offense, holding it to 10 points and 3.3 yards per carry. The Bearcats lead the country in tackles for loss and are third in sacks and fourth in yards per play. Linebacker Ivan Pace is the nation’s leader with 18 tackles for loss and is in the top five in sacks and tackles. Cincinnati also leads all of college football with four defensive touchdowns on the year.
“It’s a defense that really puts a lot of pressure on you and you’re going to end up in some situations you’d like to avoid,” Houston said. “Traditionally they’ve been able to put some people in some situations where they’re behind the chains. I think that’s just the benefit of having experienced players.”
Both teams have plenty at stake in this late-season conference clash. Cincinnati, which last season became the first non-Power Five team to make the College Football Playoff, still has a chance to win its third straight league title. The Bearcats are a game behind Tulane and tied with UCF at 4-1 in the AAC. Tulane and UCF play each other on Saturday, leaving the door open for Cincinnati to move up in the standings with a win.
A loss, however, would drop the Bearcats behind East Carolina, which is currently in a three-team tie for fourth place at 3-2 in the league. The Pirates have never finished higher than fourth in the AAC. To try to end that drought, they’ll need to win in Cincinnati, something that no league team has done in the last 31 games.
“We all know that they played at a very high level here in the American Conference for quite some time,” Houston said. “I do think the experience at BYU helps our players. I thought that we didn’t flinch and that’s a very hostile environment there. I would say we’re going to see something similar Friday night. I do think it’s something that’s good for our kids to have that experience going into this.”
East Carolina hopes it’s time for a change near the top of the conference, and time is something that’s definitely in their favor.
