THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501010203
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MEMPHIS, TENN. LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
All the intangibles appeared to favor East Carolina Saturday in its showdown with Illinois in the 36th annual Liberty Bowl.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, intangibles can't block, run or tackle. Consequently, the Fighting Illini rolled to a 30-0 victory while offering convincing evidence that one can't judge how a team will play based on the pre-game hype.
The Pirates, thrilled to be in a bowl game of any kind, spent the week talking about how this game would be the start of a tradition of making postseason play an annual event.
They talked about how, in only their fifth appearance on national television since 1991, they planned to enlighten the nation about one of the least heralded yet best offensive teams in the college game.
And they talked about how they planned to avenge being snubbed for admission in a proposed new 10-team conference.
Illinois players, meanwhile, said little, except how they were disappointed in not qualifying for the higher profile - and much higher payday - Rose Bowl.
Instead, the Fighting Illini let their play speak for them.
``For six weeks, I've been hearing about how we didn't want to be here,'' Illinois coach Lou Tepper said. ``I don't know who wrote that column. We've had a great time.''
The way things played out, the Pirates came away with the distinct impression they'd been suckered.
``That talk about them not wanting to be here, it was all a front,'' ECU linebacker Mark Libiano said. ``I thought they'd be a little down, but they came out on fire.''
LESSON LEARNED: The Fighting Illini knew better than to let down after building a 24-0 halftime lead. In their second-to-last game of the season, they led Penn State, 21-0, in the first quarter and 28-14 at the half, only to see the Nittany Lions rally for a 35-31 victory.
``We just kept saying we're not going to let this be another Penn State,'' linebacker Dana Howard said. ``No way were we going to let this one get away.''
UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN: The Pirates won't have to wait long to try to get a little payback. The teams meet again Sept. 23 in Champaign, Ill.
``I promise you, this 30-0 score is going to burn inside of us the whole off-season, ECU linebacker B.J. Crane said. ``And when we go in there in September, it's going to be a whole different story.''
It would help if Crane and his mates could force a turnover or two. The East Carolina defense could hardly be considered stingy, but had excelled at producing takeaways this year. The Pirates forced 33 turnovers during the regular season, which led to 104 points. Saturday, however, they just made turnovers. They didn't force one.
SQUEAKY CLEAN: Illinois quarterback Johnny Johnson gave his offensive line most of the credit for his fine passing day, and rightly so. The junior was never sacked and rarely hurried.
``I really didn't even get dirty,'' he said.
Pirates quarterback Marcus Crandell wasn't afforded the same type of protection. Although he was sacked just once, Crandell was repeatedly harassed by linebacker Simeon Rice (16 sacks on the season). Two of Crandell's interceptions were thrown off his back foot while trying to avoid getting dropped.
FAN FARE: After last year's disappointing crowd of just over 21,000 for the Louisville-Michigan State game, Liberty Bowl officials moved the game's start from night to noon Central time in an effort to boost attendance. The shift worked, as 33,280 took in Saturday's game. Still, 46,532 tickets were sold. Apparently, the threat of rain and the fact that the game coincided with the first round of the NFL playoffs made many choose to pass the game up. by CNB