What does 2006 and 2014 have in common? East Carolina played in the Birmingham Bowl both years against a team from the Sunshine State.
ECU (8-4, 5-3 AAC) played in the inaugural Birmingham Bowl in 2006 as a member of Conference USA. It was humiliated 24-7, ironically, by current American Athletic Conference rival South Florida. The bowl now matches teams from the AAC and the Southeastern Conference, with the SEC winning the last two in blowout fashion.
The Florida Gators (6-5, 4-4 SEC) will ride into the Heart of Dixie making their first appearance in the Birmingham Bowl and fourth straight different bowl appearance. They’re also shooting for a seventh win in their last 10 bowl games.
Each team fell into the Birmingham Bowl after ending the season chewing sour grapes. The Pirates their with a loss to UCF on the hands of a miraculous Hail Mary as time expired. Florida was expected by most to lose to their playoff contending rivals Florida State, but giving up a 9-0 lead epitomized the programs underwhelming play in the latter part of the Will Muschamp era.
The Gators, now without Muschamp, have little to play for except a seventh win. Seven wins bring shoulder shrugs in Gainesville, not celebrations. ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill won’t have to be quite as creative with motivating his players against Florida. He just needs to remind his Pirate crew that they have a chance to go 3-1 against Power Five teams. Still, Birmingham is far from the allure of playing in Atlanta at the Peach Bowl, where the Pirates were set to play before stumbling down the stretch.
East Carolina will look to show off its Top-5 offense, and the Gators will have to ride their Top-10 defense if they hope to slow down the Pirates’ attack. Anytime a potent offense meets a strong defense, you know you’re in for a good time.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwPPzxbd0ZM] Video H/T: Ryan WeymannEast Carolina vs. Florida
Kickoff: Saturday, Jan. 3 at 12:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: ESPN2
Spread: Florida (-7)
Three Things to Watch
Top-10 Offense vs. Top-10 Defense
This game will show what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. Or at least something like that when East Carolina’s fifth-ranked offense meets the Gators ninth-ranked defense. The Pirates, led by 2014 AAC Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Shane Carden and third-team AP All-American wide receiver Justin Hardy, averaged 532.8 yards and 37.2 points per game in the regular season, while Florida surrendered only 311 yards and 21.2 points per game. South Carolina is the lone common opponent between the two squads. The Pirates gained 453 yards against the Gamecocks shaky defense, but allowed 441. Florida managed only 278 yards of offense (ouch!), but kept a decent ‘Carolina offense below 320 yards. What does all that mean? Somethings gotta give in this match-up.
Shane Carden to Justin Hardy
College football fans, no matter their allegiances, should tune into the Birmingham Bowl just to witness Shane Carden throw the pigskin to his No. 1 target one last time. The senior duo did their best Aiken-to-Irvin impression for most of their time in Greenville, North Carolina. ECU’s all-time leading passer was a key contributor in Hardy’s journey to become the NCAA’s career receptions leader; a feat he accomplished against Tulane. Hardy’s 1,334 yards receiving on 110 catches accounted for over 30 percent of Carden’s total passing yards (4,309) and he snagged nine of Carden’s 28 touchdown passes. Pirates’ fans will revere Carden-to-Hardy in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for years to come.
Where’s the Motivation?
Where are these teams going to find the motivation to play at their best in this game? Florida limped to a second consecutive disappointing season after the pollsters gave the Gators the brand-name treatment and placed them in the preseason Top-25 following a 4-8 season. They’ll be coached by an assistant and their playing in Birmingham instead of in an SEC bowl hotspot like Florida or New Orleans. East Carolina met preseason predictions almost head-on if you only look at its 8-4 record, but it was 6-1 and ranked in the Top 20 before losing three of its last five games.
The Pirates were expecting an AAC crown in their first season in the conference and a probable birth in a New Years Six bowl. Florida fans spoiled during the successful Urban Myer era won’t go bananas over winning the Birmingham Bowl, but players think differently than fans; players just want to win. ECU players and fans want two of their program’s most prolific players to leave with a bowl victory over an SEC team. It’ll be interesting to see how either team reacts if they find themselves down by a couple scores late in the game.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NymWQuuBdUM]Key Player: Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina
You can bet your life savings ECU quarterback Shane Carden will be motivated for this game – his team’s overall motivation is the point in question. The Texas native is arguably the top rated senior quarterback on the 2015 NFL draft board, but his stock drops because of the likelihood that Heisman Trophy winners Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston leave school early (both projected as first-round picks). Carden — along with Justin Hardy — was invited to play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl on January 24, 2015, but he doesn’t want to put his eggs all in one basket and use the Senior Bowl as his launching pad. Superb play against a Top-10 SEC defense would help Carden boost his draft stock before he takes the field in Mobile, Alabama, in late January. This game won’t affect Carden’s legacy as a Pirate – he’s one of the schools greatest players – but it will impact his draft standing. Look for Carden to use the Birmingham Bowl as another NFL audition.
Final Analysis
On paper, this year’s Birmingham Bowl should have enough offense and defense to whet the appetite on any college football fan, no matter what side of the ball they favor. But on the field, one unit is likely to flourish, while the other won’t. East Carolina’s offense has played more consistently than the Gators’ defense throughout 2014. The Pirates’ lowest yard total was 411 against the AAC’s top defense in UCF. Florida’s ninth-ranked defense played its worst against the two best offenses on its schedule; allowing 672 yards to Alabama and 460 in the rivalry with Georgia. But in Jacksonville, the Gators compensated for their below-average play on D by gaining 418 rushing yards in a dominating 38-20 win.
Florida is the more talented team. The Gators have at least nine players on the two-deep that have NFL draft potential (including underclassman), while Carden and Hardy are the only two Pirates receiving serious interest from scouts. Time and time again, however, the most talented team isn’t necessarily the best. ECU ended the season in the most heart-wrenching way possible, losing to UCF on a last-second Hail Mary. Florida is looking to push the reset button with new head coach Jim McElwain after this one.
My gut says the Gators should win, but I’m taking the better team rather than the most talented in this one. The Pirates won’t match their 37.2 point scoring average, but the Gators defense will play more like it did against Alabama. Having over a month to prepare for this one will give ECU plenty of time to get over the tragic regular season finale against UCF.
Prediction: ECU 28, Florida 20
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