Offense lovers: give me Liberty

Sporting News, The, Dec 18, 1995 by Michael Bradley

You will have to forgive East Carolina Coach Steve Logan if he seems blase about the potential for a yardage-gobbling Point frenzy at the liberty Bowl. After watching his high-scoring offense get smothered by Illinois last year in Memphis, Logan is understandably hesitant to think about a shoot" between his Pirates and Stanford.

"We've got to do better than we did last year," Logan says. "We have to play well on national TV and do our program right."

Logan need not worry. Unless the Pirates run into injury problems or nasty weather, they will get into the end zone. East Carolina, averaged 31.6 points during the final five games and won't find anything resembling Illinois' sting defense. Stanford finished near the bottom of the Pac-10 in every defensive category and allowed 26.2 points per game.

Of course, Stanford can score, too. In fact, the Cardinal was even more consistent on offense than East Carolina quite a distinction given the Pirates' history of point production. Stanford led the Pac-10 in scoring (30.1 ppg) and posted the fourth-highest point total in school history. Senior quarterback Mark Butterfield emerged to run a diverse attack that had only 16 turnovers. Coach Tyrone Willingham junked the pass-first philosophy and crafted a more versatile outlook that responded to defensive weaknesses. The Cardinals 7-3-1 record is a pretty good indication Willingham's strategy was successful.

KEY MATCHUP

When Eddie Logan took over in 1992, eager opponents couldn't decide whether they wanted to run or pass first against his 105th-rated defense. Things have changed considerably, and the Pirates will pit the nation's 35th-best unit against Stanford's productive offense

It starts with the Pirate front seven, which has been Logan's main recruiting focus (along with quarterbacks) since he took over. Led by senior linebacker Mark Libiano (122 tackles), East Carolina has allowed opponents to rush for just 3.4 yards per carry and has picked up 30.5 sacks this season. If Stanford wants to keep its generous defense off the field, then it must find a way to control the ball against Libiano and his mates.

"If somebody decides to run the ball at us, they aren't going to win," Logan says. "That's a big step forward for our program."

WHAT IT MEANS

A Stanford triumph caps a tremendous first season for Tyrone Willingham, who improved immeasurably on last year's 3-7-1 mark, and helps build momentum in recruiting. But the Pirates need the victory more. As an independent East Carolina operates on the margins of Division I-A and needs continued success to make itself attractive to a conference suitor.

SKULL SESSION

Despite an overly charitable defense, Stanford wasn't blown out of a single game, a testament to its offense and special teams.

The Cardinal boasts the Pac-10's best kicker, senior Eric Abrams, whose late field goal beat Arizona State. It also has all-Pac-10 return man Damon Dunn, who averaged 28.4 yards bringing back kickoffs, and whose 91-yard TD dash was the difference in the victory over Oregon.

East Carolina's special teams weren't so successful. The Pirates averaged only 18.2 yards per kickoff return (Stanford allowed 18.4), and Pirate kicker Chad Holcomb made just 10 of 17 field-goal attempts, including 4 of 9 beyond 30 yards.

"We spend a great deal of time on special teams," Willingham says. "Some days in preseason camp we designated especially for special teams and spent only about a half-hour on everything else."