Montgomery Recalls Last Year's 70-13 Blowout Loss at Memphis
Scottie Montgomery says playing a more complete game and correcting the five or six plays both on offense and defense that tend to trip a team up could go a long way toward picking up a victory when ECU(2-5/0-4 AAC) hosts Memphis this Saturday at home.
Brady White has thrown for 1,966 yards and 17 touchdowns for Memphis while Darrell Henderson has already ran for 1,148 yards at running back for the Tigers. Patrick Taylor has added just under 500 yards of rushing. Damonte Coxie has 42 receptions for Memphis while John Williams and Tony Pollard have a combined 46 catches in a potent Tiger offense that will present a variety of challenges for the Pirates.
The high noon kickoff will be televised nationally on ESPN-U.
Coach Mo says offensively that he hopes to improve the run action passing game and allow true freshman quarterback Holton Ahlers execute what he can execute at this juncture of his early career.
From an injury standpoint, wide receiver Tahj Deans practiced on Sunday while center John Spellacy likely will not be available again this week. If Spellacy can't go, look for freshman Peyton Winstead to start his second straight game at center.
Both Duce Fuller and Tyler Sneed are both making big strides for the Pirates according to Montgomery. Both could provide support on special teams this week. Fuller is getting a strong look at running back too. Tank Robinson in the secondary should be back along with Corey Seargent and Marcus Robinson. All three benefitted from the open date last week.
The last time the two teams met, Memphis poured it on an a 70-13 rout inside the Liberty Bowl putting up 63 points in the first three quarters before ECU finally scored a touchdown. The extra point was even blocked.
Gardner Minshew threw a pair of touchdowns in the contest in a 351 yard passing performance but the Pirates couldn't find pay dirt with any degree of regularity.
ECU leads the overall series 15-7 including a seven game win streak that was snapped in last year's loss to Memphis(4-4/1-3 AAC).
Scottie Montgomery met with the press on Monday at Ward Building on the campus of ECU. PI was there to bring you complete audio the press conference.
