Like Brent Musburger once said, this one is for all of the Tostitos. Marshall travels to ECU on Friday with bowl eligibility in the balance. Win, and the Thundering Herd will play in December but, a loss secures head coach Doc Hollliday’s second losing season in three years. The Pirates also have something to shoot for, with a victory over Marshall and a UAB win at UCF, the boys from Greenville will represent Conference USA’s Eastern division in the league championship game.
ECU runs a high scoring spread offense conducted by first year starting quarterback Shane Carden. The Texas native has thrown for 2,399 yards and 18 touchdowns with 9 interceptions. Although you won’t see it often, Carden will pull the ball down and run, he has recorded five rushing touchdowns this year.
Carden’s favorite target is wide receiver Justin Hardy. Only a sophomore, Hardy has caught 67 passes for 875 yards and ten touchdowns. No other ECU pass catcher has over 58 receptions or 301 receiving yards.
On the ground, ECU is lead by junior college transfer Vintavious Cooper. Averaging 5.5 yards per attempt, Cooper has run the ball 177 times for 978 yards and five touchdowns.
Looking at the Pirates defense, ECU is allowing 28.1 points per game, good for fourth in C-USA. ECU has struggled against the pass, giving up 2,856 yards through the air, ranking next to last in the league. Compounding the problem, the Pirates have only picked off seven passes. ECU does a good job against the run, giving up just 139 rushing yards per game. In contrast, Marshall allowing 211.
The Pirates don’t have one player that standouts out defensively but, linebacker Jeremy Grove, an all C-USA first team preseason selection, and safety Damon Maqazu lead the team with 65 tackles.
On special teams, kicker Warren Harvey has converted 12 of 17 field goal attempts including a long of 54 yards. Punter Trent Tignor is averaging 42.1 yards per attempt and has not had a punt blocked this year.
Kickoff is scheduled for 2pm with TV coverage provided by the CBS Sports Network.
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