ECU vs Gardner-Webb this Saturday!

From iHeart Podcast, Supreme the Battle for Roe tells the story of the unlikely champions behind the landmark case Roe v. Wade, starring Maya Hawke as 26-year-old lead attorney Sarah Weddington. We're challenging the Texas abortion laws in federal court.

And Academy Award nominee William H. Macy as Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. Time is not the most important factor. Getting it right is.

Listen to the podcast Supreme the Battle for Roe on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Not all 0-3 starts are created equal. Sometimes you're a product of your schedule. And not that I want to give the ECU Pirates 0-3 start a pass. I don't want to give them a waiver because they have played a scheduling, a challenging schedule. But I don't know that anybody has had it more difficult in terms of the opponent than ECU.

Trips to Ann Arbor and Boone sandwiched in around a game against Marshall. So as we say hello to ECU head coach Mike Houston, as we do every Tuesday, does that factor into how you look at 0-3? Well, bottom lines, you know, none of us are happy with the way the season has started. You know, we all want to be sitting here with a different record after three weeks. I knew that we had a challenging schedule. It is what it is.

You know, I don't control that stuff. But, you know, you line up and play who's on your schedule. And the thing that I've learned is, you know, I've got a bunch of tough kids that are very motivated and they're frustrated just like me. And, you know, they want to finish these games off and get the wins. You know, we've played well at times and then we've struggled at times. And, you know, the whole thing is just putting an entire ballgame together and playing with consistency. And the kids are very motivated to do that.

Mike Houston is joining us here on the Adam Gold Show. The last two weeks you've had leads well into the second half. I think Marshall was into the fourth quarter. What has been the difference in those deciding moments? Well, I think, you know, each game is different.

Each situation is different. But at the end of the day, it's been, you know, whether it's offense, defense, special teams, whatever, it's been some mistakes that we can't make. And then there's been some opportunities to make plays that we didn't make. And, you know, so we've got to continue to do a better job as coaches of preparing our players and, you know, continue to grow from our mistakes. And, you know, the biggest thing is continue to compete at a high level and continue to, you know, play our tails off. You know, if you play hard and you try to do things right and you stick together, you got a shot. And, you know, certainly we had a great shot last week and we just, you know, we didn't generate enough offense in the second half and gave up a couple of big plays. And, you know, that was what did us in. Again, I don't think people should lose sight of the fact that in Michigan you played a team that very well could be playing for a national championship. Marshall is a very good program and has a very good team. And App has a tradition.

I know that you are trying to get to where they are at the other end of the state. But that also is a difficult place to play. You guys set a record for attendance at Kidd-Brewer Stadium. So, I think people should understand that you guys have played as challenging an opening season schedule as anybody. Listen, at the end of the day, nobody cares. That's the way it is. That's the way sports are. And so, there's no use in trying to make excuses or sit here and talk about anything other than the fact that we got to play better. And we got a big ball game at home this week.

And our kids are excited about the opportunity. You know, they responded very well the last couple of days. And, you know, our coaches and players are very motivated to continue to improve and get the Pirates where they need to be. Before we get to Gardner Webb, so in these three weeks as you've been making progress, I know you're not happy with the penalties. I know you're not happy with the turnovers.

But where have been the signs of progress that you have seen that you know we're getting better at this, we're getting better at that? Well, I think we have seen improved execution from week to week offensively. And, you know, we struggled up at Michigan with that. That's understandable against that defense to a degree. But, you know, we have had our issues with moving the football and getting the ball in the end zone.

And, you know, we did play better on that side of the football, particularly in the first half last week against Appalachian. Wait, are you gaming on a Chromebook? Yeah, it's got a high res 120 hertz display, plus this killer RGB keyboard. And I can access thousands of games anytime, anywhere. Stop playing. What? Get out of here. Huh? Yeah, I want you to stop playing and get out of here so I can game on that Chromebook.

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Access content from each server separately. Offer valid for eligible subscribers only. Terms apply. You know, that's a positive. We've got to build on that. You know, defensively, we've had some really, really bright spots. And, you know, we've given up some big plays. And, you know, we've continued to improve from the standpoint of getting more guys involved. We've got to continue to get more players involved. You know, that way we can, you know, keep those guys fresh out there on the field. We're fresh. You know, we got a shot.

You know, we got a pretty good bunch. But, you know, with all three phases, it just comes down to consistency with performance. And it's, you know, play after play after play. And, you know, playing a great half or playing a great three quarters, you know, doesn't get it done. You've got to play a complete game. And so we've got to stress finishing, you know, these ball games and not just, you know, having a shot to win, but, you know, getting into the win column. Alex Flynn got the start at quarterback at App. Are you going to stay with him?

Well, you know, we'll see. And it's, you know, with the program here, you've got to compete every day and you've got to be ready to go every day. And I thought, Alex, you know, he's had a great spring. He had a really good preseason camp.

I kept talking about him. I don't know how much anybody listens when I talk sometimes about guys that they don't know, but, you know, he had a really good week of practice last week. And I thought, you know, he gave us the best chance to win on Saturday, you know, starting that game out. And I thought he did some really good things on Saturday. And I thought that, you know, he made some big mistakes that he's going to grow and learn from because he's a very sharp football player with a sharp football mind. And so I think he will grow from that experience. And I think he will play better, you know, next time out. You know, that being said, Mason's very motivated. You know, he's got a lot of ability and he did some really good things against Marshall.

He came in this past Saturday and had a couple of, you know, very positive plays. So, you know, we're going to need both those guys, you know, all throughout this season. And, you know, then they're going to, they're going to both play. So it's, you know, that's, we have a lot of competition in that room. We have a lot of competition across the board in a lot of rooms. Let me ask you about the Gardner Webb game coming up six o'clock and I am not in any way diminishing Gardner Webb. But what are you looking for out of this game against the team playing at the FCS level, albeit one that has some pedigree?

Tell me what you're looking for out of this game. Well, we want to try to get a win. I mean, it's, this is a team that at Appalachian in the opener had the lead at the end of the third quarter.

You know, this is a team that's sitting here playing very much like we are, you know, coming out of the Appalachian game. They had a shot to win it in the fourth quarter. You know, they, they took Liberty to a one point loss at Liberty last year.

They played Coastal Carolina to one or two points at Coachella last year. They took Marshall to the wire last year at Marshall. You know, this is a veteran football team with a lot of old guys. They start four seniors up front on defense, a lot of grad students and juniors and seniors on the back end. They return a lot of production from last year offensively, but they have a lot of last year offensively.

One of the all-time leading rushers in school history at running back. This is an old football team that's won a lot of ball games and played really, really well in these situations. So our goal this week is to go 1-0.

That's it. Do you have to worry about, and we'll kind of close on this one with Mike Houston, head coach at ECU Gardner Webb, six o'clock this week at Dowdy-Fookland. Are you concerned at all about confidence of your players when you're 0-3?

And is that another benefit maybe of getting a win if you can work that out against Gardner Webb? Well, I think confidence is key to, you know, playing at a high level. And I think that's, I don't care what your record is, and I don't care how old your players are, how young your players are, confidence is key. And, you know, you want to try to help build as much confidence as you can in your players. You know, at the end of the day, confidence comes from doing things well. And so we've got to continue to build our guys up and stay positive with them. And, you know, as they continue to have some successes on the field, they will continue to gain more confidence. And, you know, nothing would help that more than going out and playing really well this weekend. Mike Houston, good luck against Gardner Webb on Saturday, and we'll talk to you next week. Thanks a lot.

Go Pirates. From iHeart Podcast, Supreme the Battle for Roe tells the story of the unlikely champions behind the landmark case Roe v. Wade, starring Maya Hawk as 26-year-old lead attorney Sarah Weddington. We're challenging the Texas abortion laws in federal court. And Academy Award nominee William H. Macy as Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. Time is not the most important factor.

Getting it right is. Listen to the podcast, Supreme the Battle for Roe on the iHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.