Anticipation Builds For Season Opener With West Virginia
September 01, 2004 | Football
"Our guys are ready to play and hit somebody else," stated head coach John Thompson. "Everything is culminating toward heading to Morgantown. It has been a gradual progression, but this team has put in a lot of hard work and I'm really proud of them."
The Pirates will open the season against a top 10 opponent for the first time since 1995 when they opened the campaign against eighth-ranked Tennessee and quarterback Peyton Manning. ECU concluded that season with an overall record of 9-3 and ranked. Tennessee finished the season ranked third in the final Associated Press Poll.
"Over the next couple of days we need to continue to fine tune ourselves mentally," said Thompson. "We've got to decide how tough we're going to be and go over in our minds every possible scenario that can happen, and how you're going to respond.
Thompson also stated that Mickey McCoy and Damarcus Fox were both doubtful for Saturday's game.
"We could probably push them and get them for a little while, but from a risk and rewards standpoint, the risk is greater than the reward" he said. "It wouldn't be fair to them or their teammates for them to go out there and get hurt, and then we lose them for a few weeks. There are a lot of miracles that can happen and we're not giving up on miracles."
ECU will return to the practice field Thursday at 3:45 before departing for Morgantown on Friday morning. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Milan Puskar Stadium.
