By By BRIAN HAINES, Brian@wdnweb.com, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — A wounded animal can be a dangerous one, even if it’s just a Terrapin. Maryland enters its Military Bowl matchup with East Carolina embroiled in controversy as it has not only publicly voiced its displeasure about playing in the bowl game, but is also playing under the guidance of a lame duck coach who will be unemployed as soon as the game clock strikes zero.
Soon after Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin accepted the head gig at Vanderbilt, the school announced that it no longer had interest in retaining 10-year coach Ralph Friedgen despite the fact that he is coming off of one of his most successful years with the program.
Friedgen, who has named the ACC Coach of the Year, has guided his Terps to an 8-4 record and the second-best turnaround in the nation this season.
Maryland finished tied for second in the Atlantic Division, but was extended the conference’s eighth best bowl bid which led to them reluctantly accepting their Military Bowl bid.
So when the two teams kickoff today at 2:30 p.m. inside RFK Stadium, Maryland will be fielding a team that isn’t exactly thrilled to be there led by a coach that desperately wants to stay.
The big question is how will all of this affect the team’s play. Will Maryland come out with a little extra fire in its belly or has there been too many distractions to overcome?
Gauging the Terps’ intensity may be tough to do but there is no doubt that East Carolina, led by first-year coach Ruffin McNeill will come out swinging as it will try to win its first bowl game since 2007 when Chris Johnson led the Pirates to a 41-38 win over Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl.
McNeill and the Pirates repeatedly voiced their approval of their bowl destination and look forward to the challenge of representing Conference USA against an ACC team.
“There are 35 bowl games and only 70 teams playing in bowl game. We’re one of them. I feel very proud about that fact. We didn’t care who we played, where we played, what time we played or what date we played. It didn’t matter to us and doesn’t matter to me,” McNeill said.
“To be chosen to play in a bowl game and be one of only 70 FBS teams practicing at this time is an honor. Our kids are really excited about playing in and preparing for the Military Bowl. Our coaches started diving into Maryland once we found out who we were playing.”
It’s been over a month since ECU last took the field and maybe some time off is a good thing for the Pirates who after starting off the season 5-2, but lost four out of their last five games to finish at 6-6.
Injuries and a youthful defense contributed greatly to their late season plunge and if East Carolina wants to end the season with a winning record it must step up its defensive effort.
Under McNeill and first-year defensive coordinator Brian Mitchell, the Pirates ended the regular season ranked dead-last in total defense (120th, 478 ypg) and 118th in scoring defense (43.4).
The Terps attack is powered by quarterback Danny O’Brien, the ACC Offensive Freshman of the Year, and is posting 31.4 points per contest.
The ECU coaching staff described Maryland’s offense as a mix between N.C. State’s shotgun, spread attack and UNC’s more traditional under-center style.
“Offensively, they’ll present a spread to our defense,” McNeill said. “But they can also go big with two tight ends and try to pound the ball running.”
Maryland prefers to air the ball, but after watching film of the Pirates getting manhandled by other teams’ rushing attacks there is a good chance they might stick to the ground a bit more.
Davin Megget is the team’s leading rusher with 658 yards, while Da’Rel Scott has tallied 508.
The Terps’ biggest weapon is wideout Torry Smith, who earned a spot on the all-ACC first-team. Smith is a 6-3 receiver with good speed who has 65 catches for 1,045 yards and 12 TD receptions.
No matter how the Maryland offense attacks, the key for ECU will be the play of its defensive line. The Pirates must be able to get some penetration by its front four of freshman DE Derrell Johnson, senior DT Josh Smith, sophomore DT Robert Jones and freshman DE Matt Milner.
If the ECU defense can not come up with some stops, it will put even more pressure on an offensive unit that has had to carry the team for most of the season.
Guided by first-year coordinator Lincoln Riley, the East Carolina offense is posting 38.2 points per game, which is the 12th best total in the nation.
Junior quarterback Dominique Davis has had a record setting year for ECU as his 36 TD passes are not only a school record, but is the best total in the country.
Davis’ success is founded by the play of senior wide receiver Dwayne Harris and junior wideout Lance Lewis.
Harris, who is playing in his final game as a Pirate, will leave the school as the program’s all-time leader in receptions (260) and receiving yards (2,933) and must be a factor today for ECU.
Lewis, a junior transfer, has been a great compliment to Harris and has racked up 78 receptions and 979 yards to go along with his school-record 13 TD catches.
Looking to slow down the Pirates’ dynamic duo will be a Maryland defense that has let up only 22.4 points per game (38th in the nation) and is led by three time all-ACC lineback Alex Wujciak who has a team-high 112 tackles.