Terrible news for #EastCarolina. Starting QB Kurt Benkert is out for the season due to a torn ACL. Heard they were really high on him.— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) August 26, 2015
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Man, that's terrible. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery. ...so close to the season too...
wow, that hurts.
I am sorry for them and hope the young man recovers well. But I also really want us to absolutely destroy ECU this year. I want a 45-3 score.
I'd be really happy if our offense scored 45 points in a single game....If they do it, I don't see it happening against ECU. Furman is our best shot at it. After that, maybe Purdue or lolUVA...ECU I could see 24-31 points
It is more likely against ECU and loluva
we've scored 36 points combined against them in the last 2 years. I don't see how that translates to scoring 45 points against them this year being likely
EDIT: Edited my number of combined points to 36. I did not quite remember correctly.
When was the last time we scored that many on loluva? They have a higher rated defense and that's what I'm going to base my thoughts on, not the ineptitude of our offense to score on an average defense.
38-0 bro
That is a game I think we could have scored 40+ if tried to run up the score.
I threw lolUVA in there as a jab at them in jest. I know they have a good defense and I don't think we'll score 45 points on them. If you had said "more likely Purdue and ECU" I would have given it to you...Purdue stinks. We like to make fun of lolUVA. Furman is FCS. If there are any teams on our schedule that I'm going to claim the possibility of scoring more than 40 points offensively, it's going to be out of those 3 (again, obviously I'm making fun of lolUVA). I don't expect us to score that many points on ECU.
I'm not really sure how relevant the score in 2014 (let alone in 2013) is to what the score will be in 2015.
that's like saying we can't count on Bud Foster to field a great defense this year
Over the last 2 years ECU has had a good enough defense to limit us to an avg of 18 points per game. I think we would be hard pressed to more than double our output. Of course, this is all speculation. I would love for us to drop 45 points on ECU. I would love for our offense to drop 45 points on a lot of teams. Based on what we have seen from our offense the last two years, I just don't see how anyone can legitimately expect that kind of production. I'm cautiously optimistic that Scot Loeffler will get this offense moving in the right direction and I'm hoping to see some progress this season. Patiently waiting and hoping for it to happen does not equate to expecting it to happen. I just don't see us scoring more than 40 points on very many teams this year. And given how ECU has stopped us in recent years with D Coordinator Rick Smith I don't expect our offense to drop 45 on them.
I think citing Scot Loeffler led offenses against Rick Smith defenses over the last two seasons is perfectly relevant while making the argument that it's unlikely we'll score 45 points on them this year.
You give ECUs defense too much credit. VTs offense got in its own way as much as the ECU defense gave it trouble.
But if you want to play that game, you could look at the last 36 minutes of the game last year. VT had 365 yards of offense from that point and scored 21 points (vs 170 yards and 7 pts for ECU).
And VT easily could have scored more over those final 36 min (don't forget that VT had a missed 37 yard FG, a drive that stalled at the ECU 2 yard line that otherwise would have been 3 pts if VT hadn't dug such a deep hole for itself, and another drive that stalled in ECU territory because of yet one more drive stalling early season holding penalty).
Other than the final "drive", ECU basically did nothing offensively in the last 36 min of that game - and the defense struggled to limit a less than stellar VT offense.
Nevertheless I would venture to guess that in general there is little correlation between the scores of the two previous year's games between two teams and the third in the series. Some scores would be similar but that would also occur at random.
Now I don't think VT will score 45 either but because it's not really the way VT is constructed offensively or defensively - not because of the scores of previous games. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a VT team with 30+ points vs ECU this year.
I mean..I know they're different teams playing in different seasons but they're coached by the same people. Just like we expect Bud Foster to field a defense that will limit opponents to 21 points or less more often than not, I expect our offense not to score 45 points on much of anybody. I hope I'm wrong but the general consensus seems to be that the jury is still out on SL and this offense. We haven't seen drastic improvements yet so what's to say that we will see drastic improvements this season? The argument that fans critical of Loeffler are making that he isn't right for the job since he can't field a productive offense is predicated on previous seasons' results. The correlation is used to make that argument and it's a pretty strong argument IMO. I don't think you can just totally throw out history as irrelevant. Historically, VT has been a good team defensively and has struggled offensively. If we deem that history to be irrelevant then why do we heap so much praise on Foster for his irrelevant accomplishments?
This may be sarcasm I guess, but to counter your point...the defense can't get much better, where as the offense has plenty of room to improve...
oh certainly! And I'm really hoping our offense does improve. I'm expecting some improvement there, but not 24 points worth. I think our offense will be able to score 24-31 points on ECU. 45 seems like a bit of a pipe dream. Trust me, I'll gladly eat crow if our offense lights up the scoreboard. I just don't see it happening, realistically. And all of this is based on previous years' results. Without that historical context, there is really no argument that can be made for or against the likelihood of scoring 45 points on ECU and that is what this debate has turned into. Is historical data relevant to this conversation or not? I believe it is. Without it we couldn't even have this debate..
I agree.
shoot, I'll take 30
I'd be happy if the offense scored 24-31 points and the defense/special teams started scoring at least 1 TD a game again.
I don't think it's too unreasonable. VT's offense should be much improved. ECU is never known for having a strong defense. And their offensive style leads to lots of possessions for both teams.
As for Furman, I suspect our starters will play 2.5 quarters at most and the coaches will spend most of the game trying to fine tune the running game. Add in the short week, and it's not a recipe for a high-scoring affair.. I think something in the high 30's is more reasonable for that game.
these are all valid points. I will say, though, that our offense was supposed to be much improved last year too and it was relatively status quo. I am expecting our offense to improve this year, but I'm not counting on being able to drop 45 points on a team like ECU. They don't have Bud Foster but they're no slouch either. They have always played us tough. It will be interesting to see what their style of offense will be without their QB. I suspect they will run it more than they'd like to. IF they find success on the ground (I sincerely hope not and I personally doubt they will) that could factor into us having less opportunities offensively. This game could go all kinds of ways. It could be a one-sided blowout, a shoot-out, or a punt-fest. If I had to bet on one of those three I would go with punt fest purely based on how we've performed both defensively and offensively in recent years.
Man, I almost felt like I was reading the OSU elevenwarriors site where a few fans seething with revenge want the score run up. We fans are not so different after all.
That said, why just 45-3? I want a shutout. Wish the kid a full and speedy recovery.
You could probably make a good argument that OSU:VT::VT:ECU. First I'm pretty sure that is the first time I have used that notation since the SATs. Second, the big difference right now is the massive loss of talent ECU experienced this offseason.
FTFY.
Oops! Thanks. Fixed it on mine.
Here is the entire release from ECU, which is where Feldman got his information.
East Carolina sophomore quarterback Kurt Benkert, who was named the Pirates' starter on Aug. 19, will be sidelined during the 2015 season because of a right knee injury according to an announcement from head football coach Ruffin McNeill on Wednesday.
Benkert experienced discomfort after practice Tuesday which prompted additional evaluations and testing Wednesday morning that revealed the specific nature of his injury.
"Everyone in college football is affected by injuries and we are no different," McNeill said. "I am disappointed for Kurt because he has worked so hard for this opportunity. We've got a lot of talent on this team and we'll be asking everyone to step up."
He played in three games as a redshirt freshman behind Shane Carden in 2014, completing eight-of-10 passes for 58 yards and suffering one interception. He also scored a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
Junior Blake Kemp, who was redshirted a year ago after transferring into the ECU program from Mesa (Ariz.) Community College, will compete with junior Cody Keith for the starting position in the wake of Benkert's diagnosis. Keith returned to action Tuesday after missing two weeks of preseason camp because of a foot injury.
thanks for posting full release. That's unfortunate for the kid. Hate to see someone work hard just to end up hurt like that before the season even starts. Hope for a speedy recovery.
Godbless, young man. Get well, and we'll see you when the Hokies play ECU next year, and the year after that, and the one after that, and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that,and the one after that...
Grrrrrrrrr.
Classic Leonard.
Anyone else?
I'll bet Patrick Dosh still has eligibility
Can or would Whit get us out of this annual date with ECU? Does he care? It is boring to me win lose or draw. Do we gain some financial advantage? Weaver was a tight wad that I imagine money had something to do with it. I hope as we all do that this young man recovers well and continues to play the game he loves! I wonder how many knee injuries end a season for college football players?
that was suppose to be a reply to the guy above me...