Houston comes in at #31 in phil steele's top 40 rankings
http://www.philsteele.com/

@PaulMeyerberg:
No. 92: South Florida Bulls' future looks promising. But the present sucks.

athlon:

usf 81
uconn 88
smu 96
memphis 98
tulane 99
temple 100
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ons-81-100

the last team in the athlon countdown
tulsa #102
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ns-101-128

(06-02-2014 10:04 AM)pesik Wrote:  athlon:

usf 81
uconn 88
smu 96
memphis 98
tulane 99
temple 100
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ons-81-100

Well, that looks pretty mid-major to me.

(06-03-2014 07:13 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  Well, that looks pretty mid-major to me.

it will preseason but lets wait till post season to decide ..some of our teams will surprise

(06-03-2014 07:13 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  

(06-02-2014 10:04 AM)pesik Wrote:  athlon:

usf 81
uconn 88
smu 96
memphis 98
tulane 99
temple 100
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ons-81-100

Well, that looks pretty mid-major to me.

That's becaause all of the overhyped P5 schools are above us. You didn't honestly expect the rankings to be fair when everything else isn't did you?

Added FanIq.

UCF #21 on Phil Steele

update the athlon rankings in the OP

(06-02-2014 10:04 AM)pesik Wrote:  athlon:

usf 81
uconn 88
smu 96
memphis 98
tulane 99
temple 100
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ons-81-100

that's quality right there....

now, somebody help me out here....how come we aren't P5 again?

lol wow

(06-08-2014 08:03 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(06-02-2014 10:04 AM)pesik Wrote:  athlon:

usf 81
uconn 88
smu 96
memphis 98
tulane 99
temple 100
http://athlonsports.com/college-football...ons-81-100

that's quality right there....

now, somebody help me out here....how come we aren't P5 again?

lol wow

who judges off preseason ..lets wait till post season

ECU has a tough schedule this year. Toughest I've seen in years... They'll either have a breakout out year in their inaugural year of the AAC or be a complete bust... we shall see.

Here's a video I did for ECU that will feature UCONN, UCF & Cincy

New appearances by Tulane (OS) and Tulsa (Myerberg)

I took the liberty of compiling the conference rankings at the halfway point for Myerbergs countdown. I included Navy in ours although they haven't been actually placed as of yet. Also anyone who thinks the Sunbelt will garner the access bowl with all teams but one ranked 63+ is just crazy IMO. Just not going to happen even if undefeated. American holding its own especially versus the other G5's.[/b]


Paul Myerberg USA Today
Total Teams Rnked Avg Rank % Ranked
Big 10 14 6 81.7 42.9%
SEC 14 4 83.8 28.6%
ACC 14 5 88.8 35.7%
American 12 7 94.1 58.3%
PAC 12 12 3 94.3 25.0%
Big 12 10 3 96.3 30.0%
MWC 12 8 97.5 66.7%
C-USA 13 10 98.2 76.9%
Sun Belt 11 10 99.4 90.9%
MAC 13 9 103.2 69.2%
Total 125 65
Indy 3 1
Total FBS 128 66 51.6%

Orlando Sentinel has the ECU Pirates at #49.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/bl...74608.post

Strengths: It's easier to run a spread offense when you have such a diversified receiving corps. Paced by two-time all-Conference USA receiver Justin Hardy, East Carolina ranked No. 11 in the country and No. 1 in the conference for passing offense (328.1).

That charge was led by Carden, who enters his senior season having set a school record with 4,139 passing yards and 33 touchdowns last season. Those efforts landed him Conference USA MVP honors.

On defense, the Pirates boast one of the most athletic group of linebackers the program has seen in a while with 6-foot-1, 240-pound inside linebacker Brandon Williams and 6-2, 228-pound inside linebacker Zeek Bigger. Together, the two tallied 146 tackles after moving into the starting lineup early last season.

Weaknesses: The biggest hole to fill for East Carolina is undoubtedly the lead running back position with the loss of two-time 1,000-yard rusher Vintavious Cooper.

The Pirates are looking at senior Breon Allen, who stands at 5-8 and 190 pounds, at the top of the depth chart. The South Daytona Warner Christian product finished the 2013 season with 321 yards and was the second-leading rusher behind Cooper. Running backs Chris Hairston, a junior, and Marquez Grayson, a redshirt freshman, will also look to fill Cooper's void but all three players are largely unproven.

The secondary will be a crop of new faces as three of the four defensive back starters have graduated.

Outlook: Expect East Carolina to challenge for a conference championship in its first year with the AAC thanks to an experienced quarterback and receiver duo

Paul Myerberg (USA TODAY) has ECU at #54

In a nutshell: ECU is going to be exciting. Is that a good thing? It could be: ECU is going to light up the scoreboard on one end – the offensive end, as this program tends to do – but seems very questionable nearly across the board defensively. This is a touch unfortunate, because we witnessed a season ago just how good this program can be when it teams an electric offense with a rock-solid defense; when working in tandem, the Pirates are a scary bunch. This year's group may have to settle for excitement, the back-and-forth style that can be electric, thrilling, exhilarating and – this most of all, perhaps – frustrating.

There's an imbalance. Don't worry about the offense: Carden's superb, the receiver corps is headlined by one of the nation's most productive targets, the backfield has options and the line, if a touch worrisome inside, has the potential to round into steady form by the start of conference play. It's the defense that should keep McNeill awake at night. What does ECU do well? I think the Pirates should stand up well at the point of attack against the American, thanks to sturdy front three, but the prognosis grows worse the farther we move from the line of scrimmage. As a whole, it's not a trustworthy group.

I worry that ECU digs itself into a hole in September. Let's remember that this team has issues to address; let's also remember that those three teams loom early, so ECU should be 1-3 before kicking off league play against SMU. Given the slightly tougher nature of the American – it's not wildly more difficult, but there's an uptick in competition – a sour performance in non-conference play should lead to a seven-win regular season. Having said that, let's consider the potential for more: ECU could find answers on defense early, stealing a game against a major-conference team, and then roll through much of the American with a balanced split of offense and defense. Yes, this team could win nine games – and they might expect to win nine games, which is something we can't ignore. I think it's more likely that the Pirates take seven during the regular season.

Dream season: ECU beats Virginia Tech and UNC before winning seven of eight games during American action.

Nightmare season: The Pirates start 1-3 and go 3-5 in league play.

Read it all - http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nca.../12719865/

I feel like our defense is going to be better than Myerberg thinks, but I also understand his reasons for concern. If you just look at the number of starters returning it looks bad, but it's also a little misleading. Bigger and Williams started over half the season and were probably better than Grove and Tudor. Overton didn't start a game but had more tackles, TFL, and sacks than Wollard and has a far higher upside. Allen and Hawkins split time as starting corners, so both corners have a good amount of experience and are pretty decent players and the backups have all played a decent amount. Only real cause for concern on that side for me is safety. There's no sugarcoating it there's no experience there, but I think the rest of the defense will be strong enough to hide them until they get their feet wet.

Agree Bonds. I think he's underselling our linebackers, but we shall see.

ECU

So correct me if I'm wrong...looks like the qb/wr passing attack is going to be great but there is a big question at running back. If this is accurate, what say you? If you can't run the ball, i don't care how great your passing game is, you are going to struggle.

discuss