2013 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl Media Recap

2013 Media Recap Presented By

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Table of Contents Media Recap Summary

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Media Coverage

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Print & Online Media

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The Columbian

The Tampa Tribune East Carolina, Ohio in Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl at Trop

Fans and bands hit the beach for Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl party Plant City’s Patterson making most of Ohio opportunity

East Carolina wears down Ohio in Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl

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Tampa Bay Times USF’s new conference has plan for exit fee distribution

St. Petersburg’s Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, C-USA extend USA deal Ohio, East Carolina to meet in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

Ohio duo to bow out at Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl Things to do in Tampa Bay for the week of Dec. 23

Bowl fans soak up sun while tailgating at the Trop East Carolina beats Ohio 37-20 at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Beef O’Brady’s Bowl through the years

Tampa Bay Business Journal

Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl moves football event back into holiday week Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl secures final deal with conferences

Tampa Bay gets a good bowl draw

ESPN.com

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

Athens Messenger

Bowl Picture to be Clearer this Weekend Bobcats Land Spot in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Ohio Welcomes Surprise Opportunity Bobcats know who they have to contain

Bobcats’ bowl invite a pleasant surprise for fans Patterson relishing trip home Three athletic trainers will accompany Marching 110 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

Bobcats fall 37-20 in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Bobcats’ season left Ohio unfulfilled

News Observer

UNC heading to Belk Bowl, ECU gets Beef O’Brady ECU QB Carden ready to add to numbers in bowl game Furious fourth quarter pushes ECU to 37-20 DeCock: Hard to imagine better ending for Pirates

Star News Online ECU accepts invitation to play in Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

Beach Carolina Magazine

ECU Pirates To Play Ohio In The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl matchup: Ohio-East Carolina

SB Nation/ The Hustle Belt

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Ohio To Play East Carolina In St. Petersburg Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Predictions For Ohio vs. East Carolina

How To Watch 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, Ohio vs. East Carolina: ESPN, Gametime, Streaming, Radio Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Bobcats Tank Down the Stretch, Fall 37-20 To Pirates

Rant Sports

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Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl Preview and Prediction: East Carolina Pirates vs.

Ohio Bobcats

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WRAL Radio

Pirates accept invitation to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

WNCT- TV

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Pirates to Play in Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

WCTI- TV

Pirates Accept Invitation To The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

WECT- TV

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ECU headed to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

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Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl matchup: Ohio-East Carolina

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WFTS- TV WITN-TV

ECU To Face Ohio In Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

SB Nation

2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, East Carolina vs. Ohio: TV time, team profiles and more

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013 final score: ECU tops Ohio, 37-20

ProSportsBlogging.com

Welcome to St. Petersburg and the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Ohio Could Not Sink East Carolina Universty Ohio University could not sink East Carolina University

Pontiac Media Entertainment Network

Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl Coaches Welcome Event

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Table of Contents Dayton Daily News Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Ohio To Play East Carolina In St. Petersburg

The East Carolinian

ECU Captures Bowl Win

WTSP TV

Ohio, East Carolina sign contracts to play in Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Day in Tampa Bay: Fan fest starts at 10 a.m.

Creative Loafing

Bowled over: Why Tampa Bay is the ultimate place for a college football party

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Bonesville

Pirates hungry for a bowl win

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Tampa Bay Newspapers

Buses running to Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl

Naples News

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Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl road trip

Space Coast Daily

2014 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Set For 2 p.m.

New Bern Sun Journal

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ECU is 8-10 in postseason games

Column: Don’t let Ohio’s conference, record fool you

The Daily Reflector

All busines for Pirates Pirates are battle tested

Orlando Sentinel

ACC to play in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in 2014, 2016

St. Pete Patch

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Media Credentials

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Press Releases/ Daily Recaps

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Cooper Rushes for Bowl Record 198 Yards to Lead ECU Over Ohio 37-20 2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 22 2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 21 2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 20 2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 19 ESPN & ESPN Radio On-Air Talent Annouced for 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

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East Carolina Accepts Conference USA Invite to 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Extends Relationship with The American

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Ohio Accepts Invite to 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Arthur Ashe Courage Award Winner Dewey Bozella will be the 2013 Kickoff Luncheon Speaker Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Tickets To Go on Sale October 8 Sponsor Spotlight - American Marketing and Mailing Services, Inc.

39 Past Players from Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg on the NFL Rosters Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Reaches New Deal with Conference USA

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Moves to Holiday Weekfor 2013

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Final Game Statistics

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Partners with ACC

30 Bowl Alums Join NFL Ranks in April

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Sets 2013 Date

Examiner.com Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg changes date and time for 2013 game

Radio & TV Coverage

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108 108 ECU Pirates Radio 108 News Talk 820 AM 108 WTSP- TV 108 City of St. Petersburg TV 108 Bay News 9 109 Fox 13 109 WFTS - ABC 109 NewsChannel 8 109 620 WDAE- Tampa Sports Talk 1040- Tampa

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

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Media Recap Summary Trifecta Team is proud to present our Media Recap for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg.

Trifecta Team created and distributed 17 press releases and daily recaps on behalf of the bowl game to customized databases consisting of: Tampa Bay region Sports, Business and Entertainment media National college football media Media covering schools with the conferences affiliated with the bowl game Conference and School officials affiliated with the bowl game The initial bowl media event was the Team Welcome Press Conference on December 12. A full lineup of special guests was setup for Sports Talk Florida, which broadcast live from the press conference venue. The guests included Brett Dulaney (Exec. Director of the Bowl), Doug Polander (Bowl Beach Day Host), Mike Alstott (Honorary Game Chairman), Ruffin McNeill (Head Coach, East Carolina) and Frank Solich (Head Coach, Ohio). Additionally, Trifecta Team coordinated and scripted the entire press conference format hosted by ESPN college football play-by-play caller Drew Fellios.

For Bowl Week 122 media received credentials to cover the events leading up to the game as well as the actual contest on Dec. 23.

The following pages showcase the coverage that the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg received in 2013 plus all of the press releases and daily recaps distributed to the media. The recap concludes with the final statistics package from this year’s game with East Carolina and Ohio.

Trifecta Team looks forward to continuing to provide our services for year-round media relations and presss opeations.

Jack Heilig

Partner, Trifecta Team Jack@TrifectaTeam.com 954-634-2299

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Print & Online Media

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

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Page 1 of 1 December 9, 2013 By: Joey Johnston

East Carolina, Ohio in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Trop ST. PETERSBURG — The East Carolina Pirates and Ohio University Bobcats have not played in a Florida bowl game since the 1960s.

So the thought of spending some time on Florida’s Gulf Coast, on the week before Christmas, sounded pretty appealing to both schools.

Officials from East Carolina (9-3) and Ohio (7-5) were delighted to accept bids to the Dec. 23 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field.

East Carolina, which went 6-2 in Conference USA while posting nonconference victories against North Carolina and N.C. State, is making its 19th bowl appearance and third under coach Ruffin McNeil, who replaced Skip Holtz in 2010.

Ohio, a Mid-American Conference team that was tabbed to replace a choice from the American Athletic Conference, which couldn’t fill its quota, is making its fifth consecutive postseason appearance under coach Frank Solich, formerly of Nebraska.

“The location of this bowl in St. Petersburg is a tremendous destination for our players,’’ Solich said.

“We couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity.’’

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

The Bobcats, who were 4-4 in their league and already have defeated two C-USA schools (North Texas, Marshall) this season, are led by senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who owns 27 school records.

Meanwhile, the Pirates average 40.4 points per game. Junior quarterback Shane Carden has accounted for 42 touchdowns — 32 passing, 10 rushing — and is among the top five nationally in four categories, including No. 1 in completion percentage.

“East Carolina is a team that’s fun to watch and has a great reputation of traveling many fans to their bowl games,’’ Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl executive director Brett Dulaney said. “Ohio University football has a 100-year-plus tradition. So we think we’ve got a great matchup here.’’

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is in its sixth year. The University of South Florida Bulls won the inaugural game in 2008 and the University of Central Florida Knights, headed to this season’s Fiesta Bowl, captured last season’s contest.

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Page 1 of 1 December 22, 2013 By: TBO.com Staff

Fans and bands hit the beach for Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl party

http://tbo.com/pinellas-county/fans-and-bands-hit-the-beach-for-beef-o-bradys-bowl-party-20131222/

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl takes over Tropicana Field today at 2 p.m. as the East Carolina University Pirates face the Ohio University Bobcats for the title of Mid-American Conference champions.

However, the teams’ marching bands and mascots took the rivalry off the gridiron Sunday afternoon with a Battle of the Bands outside Tradewinds Island Grand Resort on St. Pete Beach. Cheerleaders, players and fans danced in the sand to the bands’ favorite songs.

Members also participated in an eating contest, cheerleader tug-of-war and a good, old fashioned tailgate cookout.

Fans can participate in a pre-game Fan Tailgate Extravaganza Monday before the game in Tropicana Field’s Lot 7. The event starts at 10 a.m. with marching bands and mascots joining in on games and contests before the 2 p.m. kickoff.

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Page 1 of 2 December 22, 2013 By: Nick Williams

Plant City’s Patterson making most of Ohio opportunity

Daz’mond Patterson, shown helping a student at Marshall Middle School in Plant City in 2011, is getting his chance at Division I football with Ohio.

ST. PETERSBURG — Daz’mond Patterson was praying someone would give him a chance at the Division I football level.

As college scouts from across the nation perused Plant City High’s football practices in 2011 in search of prospects, scouts overlooked Patterson, a running back for the Raiders. Though he was regarded as one of the top in the Tampa Bay area at his position, many coaches said he was too small or not fast enough.

Then, Ohio University assistant coach Keven Lightner showed up on Plant City’s campus.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

“Coach Lightner came in and said, ‘We could use him,’ ” Plant City coach Wayne Ward said.

The rest is history, or in Patterson’s case, history in the making.

Patterson, now a sophomore at Ohio, will make his return to the Tampa Bay area today as the Bobcats face East Carolina in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field at 2 p.m.

In 10 games this season, Patterson has rushed for 185 yards with two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 43 yards. He’s returned four punts for 44 yards and is fourth on the team in kick returns with 108 yards on five returns.

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If you ask those who know him best, Patterson’s “It was a big confidence boost,” he said. “I’m a pretroad to becoming a Division I college football player ty confident person but I’m a freshman and new to was more about belief than ability. college football. To be able to step back there, week after week, I got more confident back there.”

“I always told him, that no matter what people say, go and give your all,” said Kenyappa Shaw, PatterOne of only two players from Florida on the team, son’s mother. “I don’t think he allowed those things Patterson has reserved 80 seats for friends, family, to get to him. In spite of what people were saying, former coaches and teammates. Patterson said each he had inner confidence.” player was given four tickets to the game, but many of his teammates gave him their share. Among On the field, Patterson’s competitive nature never those 80 will be Shaw, who raised him, two younger let his size be an excuse for mediocrity. siblings and roughly 20 foster children as a single parent.

“He played the game of football like he deserved a chance,” Ward said. “That’s one of the things Patterson hardly saw his father growing up. His that drove his passion. Not the biggest kid but the father, Shaw said, was in and out of prison through biggest heart. He wasn’t the fastest, but no one ever Patterson’s childhood. ran him down.”

“He’s never really had a father figure in his life in His senior season at Plant City, Patterson finished his home,” Shaw said. “My father spent time with with 821 rushing yards and six touchdowns, far him. My brothers all took up time with him. He’s less than the 1,232 yards and 12 touchdowns he had men in his life that took time with him.” collected as a junior. Patterson graduated from Plant City in December 2011 to enroll early at Ohio Patterson will be conscious of the 80 people and participate in spring practice. wearing T-shirts with his name on the back today, including his mother. He just won’t acknowledge As a freshman at Ohio, Patterson appeared in 12 them until after the game. games and made one start and was the team’s top kickoff returner with 582 yards, averaging 24.2 “I have a job to get done,” he said. yards per return, and recorded his first career touchdown against Buffalo with a 100-yard kickoff Mom understands, although it’s to swallow. She return, which tied a school record en route to earn- offered a car for Patterson to drive back and forth ing conference special teams Player of the Week from the team’s hotel to Plant City. She also offered honors. He also finished the season fourth on the to stay at a hotel in St. Pete to see him. Patterson team in rushing with 195 yards, averaging 5.7 yards said no. per carry.

“He’s so mature and I’m so grateful he’s mature Finding his niche on special teams came as a surenough to realize that,” she said. “He has a goal and prise to Patterson, who had few opportunities to he’s reaching for that goal.” return the ball in high school.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

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Page 1of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Mike Camunas

East Carolina wears down Ohio in Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl

ST. PETERSBURG — They rewrote the record book, nearly cover to cover.

A record number of records — 19 to be exact — were broken in Monday’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl as East Carolina won its first bowl since 2007 by beating Ohio 37-20 in front of 20,053 at Tropicana Field.

“It was up and down on the field, just like it was all season,” said Ohio sophomore receiver Daz’mond Patterson, a Plant City High graduate. “It was a bit of a roller coaster, and I know we’re disappointed we lost five games because we Ohio’s Daz’mond Patterson, a Plant City High graduate, scores on a 17-yard reception during the thought we were better in the MAC and good enough to win, Bobcats’ 37-20 loss to East Carolina on Monday at but we didn’t have it.”

Tropicana Field.

East Carolina (10-3) and Ohio (7-6) combined for 1,003

yards of offense, which shattered the record set last year: 782 by UCF and Ball State.

The Pirates rode record-breaking performances from quarterback Shane Carden and running back Vintavious Cooper, the game’s MVP. Carden set records for attempts (44) and completions (29), and nine of those passes went to Justin Hardy, giving him another bowl record.

Hardy also set ECU’s career receiving yards record (3,047).

Cooper, who surpassed 1,000 yards rushing for the season in the first quarter, ran for 198 yards, another bowl record, while 90 of those came in the first quarter, a bowl record for rushing yards in a quarter.

“If you had told me I would come out and have 200 yards and be the MVP — I could imagine it, but didn’t think it would actually be that way,” said the 5-foot-9, 200-pound senior running back, who also broke the bowl record for rushing attempts (25). “Coach just kept feeding me the ball, and I’m pretty full now.”

And the records just kept falling.

East Carolina rushed for a bowl-record 281 yards and ran a bowl-record 87 plays.

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Ohio broke records, too, including passing yards (328). Donte Foster, who broke the bowl record for receiving yards (160), took a pass from Derrius Vick 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, a bowl record for the longest play from scrimmage.

“We had our fair share of big plays,” said Bobcats coach Frank Solich, who dropped to 2-3 in his team’s five straight bowl appearances. “I don’t feel like we played to our best capability the whole season, which is disappointing, but I’m proud of how the guys fought — they played their hearts out today.”

East Carolina grabbed a 14-0 lead in the first quarter as Cam Worthy pulled in a 5-yard pass from Carden and Breon Allen went 2 yards for a score.

Ohio countered in the second when Patterson grabbed a 17-yard pass for his first receiving touchdown this season, and the 80-yard touchdown by Foster.

ECU took a 17-14 lead into halftime behind a 41-yard field goal by Warren Harvey.

“I knew that we have to get into our OPAAT — One Play At A Time — mentality,” Pirates coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We had to keep chopping away late in the game and the guys have always done what they’ve been asked to do. They have been selfishly unselfish to get here.”

Ohio took a 20-17 lead in the third thanks to 29- and 28-yard field goals by Josiah Yazdani, who also executed a perfect onside kick the Bobcats recovered, but failed to capitalize on.

Then the Pirates turned to Cooper and Carden to close out the game.

After Cooper scored his first touchdown from 31 yards to make it 24-20, ECU pulled out a trick play. On a double-pass play, Carden threw it to Worthy, who then hit a double-covered Carden in the end zone for a 14-yard pass and a 31-20 advantage.

“Sometimes just got to throw it up and Cam’s going to make a play. Sometimes he’s going to throw it up to me and I’m going to make a play,” said Carden, who also set ECU’s single-season passing record (4,139).

Cooper added a late 21-yard touchdown run to seal the win, but ECU’s Michael Dobson set a bowl record for tackles in a game (14).

Even though McNeill got an early Christmas present — his first bowl win as East Carolina’s head coach — he also was happy to finish the season on a high note with his family.

“Everyone asked what I wanted for Christmas and I said every time I already got what I want,” McNeill added. “I had 125 of my sons here with me in St. Petersburg to play a bowl game, win or lose. I have my family here. This is all I wanted. The win was, which I’m very happy about, extra.”

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Page 1 of 2 May 20, 2013 By: Greg Aumen

USF’s new conference has plan for exit free distribtion PONTE VEDRA BEACH — Financial terms weren’t released, but Mike Aresco, commissioner of the Big East and soon-to-be Aerican Athletic Conference, said the league’s member schools have ironed out a plan to split the conference’s lucrative pot of exit and entrance fees, reportedly worth as much as $110 million.

Early reports had the three “incumbent” schools — USF, Cincinnati and Connecticut — receiving as much as $30 million each from that reserve, but the compromised figure is likely less substantial. With key football members leaving for other leagues and seven non-football members leaving (and taking the league’s name with them), the remaining football members had a windfall to split with the new arrivals.

“There were a lot of predictions (that) it would be rancorous, all that money. It turned out to be extremely smooth,” Aresco said at the league’s annual meetings. “We made a fair and equitable distribution plan for the realignment money and the (NCAA) units left behind. Everybody’s very happy with it. We had pretty much gotten that done before we came down. All we’re doing here is ratifying it.”

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OLD RIVALS: USF football coach Willie Taggart doesn’t know many of the other American coaches, but he has a rivalry with Memphis coach Justin Fuente — they met as rival quarterbacks in 1998 when Taggart’s Western Kentucky team played Fuente’s Murray State squad.

Taggart rushed for 101 yards and two scores and threw for another 104, but Fuente threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns in the Racers’ 36-31 victory.

STILL TBD: Schools will discuss potential venues for the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, with the Tampa Bay Times Forum being considered for both. Philadelphia (The Palestra) is seen as the favorite on the men’s side, with Hartford or the nearby Mohegan Sun casino a safe bet for the women. The men’s tournament will go from Wednesday

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

to Saturday, with two games on the opening night and a traditional eight-game bracket from there.

THIS AND THAT: USF’s “Around the Horns” booster tour will have a stop in Pinellas County on June 6, with Taggart and other coaches speaking at an evening reception at the Hilton St. Pete Bayfront. For information, visit mybullsclub.com. … Two years ago, UConn’s Paul Pasqualoni was a new coach in Ponte Vedra Beach. This week, he’s the only coach left from that group, with USF and Cincinnati hiring new coaches this offseason. … The league is showing its coaches and administrators its new logo, which will be publicly unveiled next week. The conference will also discuss changes to its bowl lineup, which could include a bigger role for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field, which has a Dec. 23 kickoff this year.

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Page 1 of 1 August 20, 2013

St. Petersburg’s Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, C-USA extend USA deal The Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, held annually at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, extended its agreement with Conference USA on Tuesday.

C-USA has sent a team there in each of the bowl’s five seasons. UCF, an incoming member of the American Athletic Conference this season, has played in St. Petersburg twice, including last year’s 38-17 victory over Ball State.

The bowl will take a Conference USA team in three out of six seasons beginning in 2014. Most bowl agreements end after this season as a new structure to replace the Bowl Championship Series is put in place.

The opponent in the bowl has been from the Big East, whose remaining members are in the rebranded American conference. A team from the American will face a C-USA team in this year’s game, scheduled for 2 p.m. on Dec. 23.

C-USA has six new football-playing schools this season including Florida Atlantic and Florida International.

season under a sublicensing agreement with ESPN. The deal, for 25 basketball games this season, runs through the 2019-20 basketball season. CBSSN will get defending national champion Louisville, in its last season before the school departs for the ACC, five times this season. The deal also includes five women’s basketball games per season including three appearances this season by defending champion Connecticut. League commissioner Mike Aresco is the former executive vice president of programming for CBS Sports.

Alabama: Coach Nick Saban suspended sophomore cornerback Geno Smith for the opener with Virginia Tech after a drunken driving arrest. Smith, a projected starter at nickel, was arrested Sunday and charged with DUI.

Notre Dame: Linebacker Danny Spond says he decided to end his playing career after suffering a paralyzing migraine headache for a second straight year.

The league also signed deals with the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, the Heart of Dallas Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque and the Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu. C-USA will send teams to three of those five games each year.

American TV deal: CBS Sports Network will air 13 to 15 American Athletic Conference football games starting in 2014 and up to 30 basketball games from the conference starting with the upcoming

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: Joey Knight

Ohio, East Carolina to meet in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Deprived of one of his conference tie-ins, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl executive director Brett Dulaney spent much of the weekend trying to nail down a Plan B. The B turned out to stand for Bobcats.

Mid-American Conference staple Ohio University (7-5) was chosen Sunday as the at-large opponent for Conference USA’s East Carolina (9-3) in the sixth edition of the contest, two weeks from today at Tropicana Field.

Both teams make their first appearance in the game, originally set to pit a C-USA team against an American Athletic Conference team. Problem was, the bowl was sixth in the American pecking order, and the league had only five bowl-eligible teams.

“We’ve always had a backup with the Sun Belt and MAC,” Dulaney said Sunday. “We knew (East Carolina) had a good offense and travels well. They’ll bring a lot of people down to the St. Petersburg area. Same thing with Ohio.”

Other at-large candidates included Toledo (7-5), a choice that would have allowed the bowl to market the game as a homecoming for Lakewood High alumnus Bernard Reedy. A second-team all-MAC pick, Reedy’s 840 receiving and 1,642 all-purpose yards led the Rockets.

But Dulaney said Ohio’s sprawling Florida alumni base, which he has been told numbers approximately 3,000 members, helped get the Bobcats the nod. The average attendance for Ohio’s seven home games was 20,671; Toledo’s average for six home contests was 18,467.

“We just thought from an attendance standpoint and (Ohio) bringing down fans, it was a good decision for us,” Dulaney said.

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Page 1 of 3 December 20, 2013 By: Joey Knight

Ohio duo to bow out at Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl

http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/ohio-duo-to-bow-out-at-beef-obradys-bowl/2157942

ST. PETERSBURG — They’ve spent the better part of their 23-year-old existences in the same town and a hearty portion in the same jersey. Often, they’ve bled, sweat, even sobbed in unison.

At dusk Monday, inside Tropicana Field, their collegiate careers will reach their respective benedictions — concurrently, of course. A few blocks to the west, on the Gulf of Mexico horizon, a sunset will be under way.

Fitting.

Beau and Tett will walk off into it together.

“I haven’t thought about it too much,” Ohio University running back Beau Blankenship said. “It’s going to definitely be a little different not playing with him. I guess it will be a little emotional.”

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Consider the chances of two youth-league counterparts starting four years in the same high school backfield. Stretch the odds a bit further, to where both reach the Division I-A level.

Keep pulling, to bungee-cord elasticity, and you’ve got the story of Blankenship and Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton. Born three months apart and reared 10 minutes apart, the senior co-captains’ final start for the Bobcats will be in Monday’s Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl against East Carolina.

“It’s awesome,” Blankenship said.

“We’ve been playing (together) ever since our freshman year in high school,” Tettleton said. “We know one another, and it’s just great to have him back there, a guy I can trust and know he’ll have my back.”

The collegiate juncture of this mutual journey ends several thousand yards — passing and rushing — from the chalk-lined Norman, Okla., fields where it began.

Tettleton, owner of 27 school records, is Ohio University’s all-time leading passer. The son of former bigleague All-Star catcher Mickey Tettleton has thrown for 2,500 or more yards and has led Ohio to a bowl in each of his three seasons as a starter.

Blankenship, an Iowa State transfer, set a Bobcats season record with 1,604 rushing yards as a junior. His numbers dissipated this season (183 carries, 844 yards) only because coach Frank Solich wanted to be sure Blankenship stayed upright for the entire season.

“Both guys are bright guys,” said Solich, a former Nebraska coach and Tom Osborne disciple who converted to a pistol formation in part because of the Blankenship-Tettleton skill sets.

“Both guys even talk to one another prior to the start of a play and so forth. They just know each other that well.”

No surprise, considering their paths first crossed as prepubescent youth-leaguers.

As far as they can recall, it started when they were 6 or 7 years old. Tettleton, also known as Tett, played for the Hawks of the Norman Optimist Club. Blanken­ship played for the Warriors of nearby Washington.

“Everybody knew how good of a player (Beau) was, even in (youth leagues),” Tettleton said.

By their freshman year of high school, both were starting for Norman North, leading the Timberwolves to three state quarterfinal appearances.

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Tettleton, at 6 feet hardly the prototypical pro-style quarterback favored by his hometown Di vision I school (Oklahoma), signed with Ohio. Blanken­ship, who used his wrecking-ball frame (5-feet-9, 206 pounds) to amass 5,000 rushing yards for Norman North, chose Iowa State.

But after one season tarnished by injuries and the departure of the Cyclones coach, Gene Chizik, who recruited him, Blankenship began looking elsewhere. After phoning his folks, he put in a call to Tett.

“He didn’t call me looking to come play here,” Tettleton recalled.

“And that’s when I immediately said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a running back leaving this year and don’t really have a set-in-stone guy for the next.’

I felt like he’d be able to have a chance to come in here and play because I knew his skill set and what he provided.”

A day later, Blankenship decided to move to Athens, Ohio.

“God opened the door and made it all work,” said Blankenship, who shares a four-bedroom off-campus apartment with Tettle­ton and two others. “It was pretty quick.”

Next thing they knew, Solich was transitioning from a triple-option approach to the pistol and both players were occupying the same huddle — again. Monday afternoon, they’ll join forces for one more stanza of sweat. Maybe blood. And most likely, tears.

“Our journey’s been awesome,” Blankenship said. “And it’s great that we’re finishing our career in a bowl game.”

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Page 1 of 1 Decmber 22, 2013 By: Kelly Smith

Things to do in Tampa Bay for the week of Dec. 23 Christmas: Santa’s big day is Wednesday, but Christmas events last all week. Jolly good thing, because the kids are out of school. Among a host of offerings: the iconic Rockettes’ Radio City show at the Straz in Tampa. $42.50-$105. (813) 229-7827.

Lots of snow at Christmas Town at Busch Gardens. $40, $25 pass holders, $10 children. buschgardens. com. Holiday Lights Dog Parade at Florida Botanical Gardens in Largo on Sunday. Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker on Saturday at the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg. $32-$190; (727) 893-7832. And Downtown on Ice in Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park, with outdoor skating on real ice that’s even open Christmas Day. $10 for 90 minutes. For more, see tampabay.com/things-to-do.

Kids and Family

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl: It’s the sixth year for a bowl game in Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, and today the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl features the Ohio University Bobcats from the Mid-American Conference and the East Carolina Pirates from Conference USA. Kickoff is at 2 p.m., and tickets start at $35.

(727) 290-9865.

Winter Break Best Trick Contest: Skaters attempt their most elaborate tricks to compete Friday at public skate parks in Brandon and Apollo Beach.

Free. (813) 671-7635.

Date Night

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Vodka Latke Luau: The annual party especially for young Jewish singles and couples — on Christmas Eve, natch — hits the beach. Wear luau chic and flip-flops for dancing, drinks and latkes Tuesday at Whiskey Joe’s Bar and Grill on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. Bring nonperishable food items for Tampa Jewish Family Services and Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services. $36. (813) 264-9000.

Deadmau5: Canadian house-music über-producer Joel Zimmerman, a.k.a. Deadmau5, hits Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on Thursday, with Adventure Club, Nervo, GTA and Nom De Strip. $50-$120.

(813) 350-6500.

ZZ Top: The bearded Hall of Famers bring classics Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man and Legs to Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on Friday. $55$125. (727) 791-7400.

Gilbert Gottfried: You know this comedian’s loud, distinctive voice as the Aflac duck (until jokes about the Japan earthquake ended that) and in movies like Aladdin and tons of TV shows. He’ll be at the revamped Capitol Theatre in Clearwater on Sunday. $25-$49. (727) 791-7400. more to explore

What are you doing New Year’s Eve? Check out this list of events and parties at tampabay.com/thingsto-do.

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Page 1 of 1 Decmber 23, 2013 Times Staff Writer

Bowl fans soak up sun while tailgating at the Trop Fans in town for the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field took advantage of warm, sunny weather to enjoy some tailgating in the parking lot before the kickoff.

The game pits Ohio (7-5, 4-4 MAC) and East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA). Kickoff was scheduled for 2 p.m.

Both teams and fans enjoyed a Beach Day Sunday at the Tradewinds Resort. It featured various contests, including a tug-of-war contest.

SCOTT KEELER | TimesFrom left: Ohio University football fans Marlene Stark of Riverview, Susan Fuller of Land O’Lakes, Bob Stewart of Athens, Ohio, and Skip Fuller of Land O’Lakes enjoy a tailgate lunch Monday next to Susan Fuller’s throw afghan, which shows various Ohio University campus landmarks. The afghan was attached to her car in the parking lot at Tropicana Field.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Joey Knight

East Carolina beats Ohio 37-20 at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

ST. PETERSBURG — It’s any observer’s guess as to who departed in a better mood after Monday’s proceedings at Tropicana Field: ESPN’s contingent or East Carolina’s.

The holiday programming coveted by the bowl-centric network this time of year came giftwrapped Monday afternoon in brisk tempos, bloated numbers, even bits of gadgetry.

“This group has not flinched all year,” ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said.

Among those opting to flourish instead of flinch was game MVP Vintavious Cooper, whose 31-yard TD run with 9:45 to play gave the Pirates a 24-20 lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Cooper’s career-best 198 rushing yards were among the bowl records. He dashed through gaping holes in his line for runs of 39 and 34 yards in the first quarter as ECU built a 14-0 lead.

When it ended, the Pirates (10-3) and Ohio University (7-6) had combined for 1,003 yards and 18 other Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl records. Among the few things that went unbroken: ECU’s resolve. Down by East Carolina offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley three with 13:34 to play, the Pirates finished with “fed me today,” said Cooper, whose high-tempo unit 20 straight points for a 37-20 triumph before an ran a bowl-record 87 plays. “And I’m pretty full.” announced audience of 20,053.

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Cooper still was digesting when his team sealed things with arguably the play of the day.

On second and 10 from the Ohio 14, ECU quarterback Shane Carden tossed behind the line to receiver Cam Worthy then sprinted for the right corner of the end zone, hounded by two defenders all the way.

Carden out-fought both for Worthy’s lob pass, giving the Pirates a 31-20 lead with 7:29 to go. “I still don’t know how he caught it,” Ohio linebacker Keith Moore said.

Carden set a bowl record for attempts (44) and completions (29) as the Pirates amassed 568 yards (another Beef mark). Yet ECU still found itself flustered midway through the game, managing only a field goal in six possessions during one stretch.

Seizing their defense’s momentum, the Bobcats nudged the throttle on their own tempo and answered with two quick second-quarter TDs.

The first, a 17-yard pass from Tyler Tettleton to Plant City High alumnus Daz’mond Patterson, was set up by a 26-yard Patterson catch on a flea flicker

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and ensuing roughing-the-passer penalty.

The second arrived courtesy of backup Derrius Vick, Ohio’s wildcat QB who found Donte Foster (bowl-record 160 receiving yards) isolated behind the secondary on a play-action pass for an 80-yard TD. Ohio never found the end zone again. Tettleton tossed two late interceptions, and a successful Jos­iah Yazdani onside kick with Ohio ahead 20-17 produced nothing.

“Not putting points on the board during that drive really hurt us,” OU coach Frank Solich said. “That was a critical point in the game for us.”

ECU scored TDs on three of the next four possessions.

“Execute,” McNeill said. “We talked about it all week, and doing it with clear minds and no hesitation. Clear minds mean fast legs. … I was proud of the way we finished.”

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Page 1 of 1 January 2, 2014

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl through the years

A year-by-year look back at the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, formerly the St. Petersburg Bowl.

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Page 1 of 1 May 13, 2013 By: Jo-Lynn Brown

Beef ‘O’ Brady Bowl moves football event back into holiday week Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg and ESPN Regional Television announced the 2013 game would take place Dec. 23 at 2 p.m.

“I feel that the change in date and time work to our advantage from a timing standpoint as school is out and the majority of the workforce in the Tampa Bay area take this time off from work, said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg executive director in a statement.

Played at Tropicana Field, the game showcases a team from the American Athletic Conference (formerly the Big East) against a team from Conference USA. Tickets go on sale for the event later in 2013, starting at $35.

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Page 1 of 1 October 11, 2013 By: Chris Wilkerson

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl secures final deal with conferences The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl has reached a new six-year contract with the American Athletic Conference that helps secure the bowl’s college football matchups until the 2019 season.

Officials with the bowl, which is played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, signed a deal with the Atlantic Coast Conference and Conference USA that secures a team from one of those conferences for three of the next six seasons each.

This means that between 2014 and 2019 there will be three American Athletic vs. ACC matchups and three American Athletic vs. Conference USA matchups. The ACC will definitely play in the 2014 and 2016 games and will be a backup during the remaining years in case Conference USA does not have enough teams to qualify to play in a bowl.

The American Athletic Conference is the former Big East and includes 11 schools: University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, Tulsa, Tulane, Temple, Southern Methodist University, Memphis, Houston, East Carolina, Connecticut and Cincinnati. The U.S. Naval Academy joins the conference in 2015, according to a release.

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Page 1 of 1 December 9, 2013 By: Chris Wilkerson

Tampa Bay gets a good bowl draw Tampa Bay has an opportunity to make a first impression on a lot of football fans this holiday season.

This season’s Outback Bowl will feature a matchup between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Louisiana State Tigers. This will be LSU’s first trip to Tampa since 1989.

The Hawkeyes last were here in 2009.

Early projections saw South Carolina taking on the Hawkeyes, but a busy weekend of upset football reshuffled the deck and Tampa will get a visit from a large fan base with a reputation of traveling well that has not been in the Outback Bowl in a quarter century. The Outback Bowl is played at Raymond

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James Stadium on New Year’s Day. Across the Bay, the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, to be played at Tropicana Field on Dec. 23, will feature the Ohio University Bobcats and the East Carolina Pirates. Ohio has been to a bowl game the past four years, but this will be the school’s first trip to Tampa Bay. ECU also has never played a bowl game in Tampa Bay. Of the four sets of loyal college football fans heading to Tampa Bay, three have not been here in at least 25 years. That could mean a high turnout from fans wanting to visit Tampa Bay for the holidays.

Chris Wilkerson is Deputy Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

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Page 1 of 2 December 8, 2013 By: Edward Aschoff and Mitch Sherman

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl East Carolina Pirates (9-3) vs. Ohio Bobcats (7-5) Dec. 23, 2 p.m. ET, St. Petersburg, Fla. (ESPN) EAST CAROLINA PIRATES BREAKDOWN

Shane Carden pulls the trigger for one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses.

For the seventh time in the past eight years, the Pirates are headed to a bowl game.

It wasn’t too tough for East Carolina to reel off nine wins with an offense that ranked second in the conference, averaging 459.8 yards per game. The Pirates also scored 40.4 points per game and reached 30-plus points in nine games.

All year, the Pirates offense moved behind the arm of quarterback Shane Carden, who led the conference with 3,866 yards and was second in the league with 32 touchdowns. Carden eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark seven times and tossed three or more touchdowns seven times as well.

AP Photo/Gerry Broome Shane Carden pulls the trigger for one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses.

Helping Carden this season has been running back Vintavious Cooper, who has rushed for 995 yards and 12 touchdowns.

-- Edward Aschoff

vs.

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Tyler Tettleton has thrown for 20 touchdowns this season.

OHIO BOBCATS BREAKDOWN Ohio is headed to a bowl game for the sixth time in nine years under coach Frank Solich and for the fifth straight season. It won the first bowl game in school history in 2011 over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl and followed with an Independence Bowl victory last year over Louisiana-Monroe.

Record-setting quarterback Tyler Tettleton, a third-year starter, struggled through November before leading Ohio to a season-ending victory over Massachusetts.

The Bobcats, after opening with a loss to Louisville, reeled off six wins in seven games, including a 34-31 thriller over Marshall on Sept. 14.

Solich’s squad is well rounded, ranking third in the 13-team Mid-American Conference in total defense and sixth in total offense.

Running back Beau Blankenship and top receiving target Donte Foster, a second-team All-MAC pick, help carry the load offensively.

Cornerbacks Devin Bass and Travis Carrie are strong in coverage a nd provide a threat in the return game. -- Mitch Sherman

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Joe Robbins/Getty Images Tyler Tettleton has thrown for 20 touchdowns this season.

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Page 1 of 2 December 5, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Bowl picture to be clearer this weekend Beginning tonight, after Northern Illinois faces Bowling Green in the 2013 Mid-American Conference Championship game, the Ohio University football team will begin to get a clearer picture on whether or not it will get to participate in a postseason exhibition.

Ohio (7-5, 4-4 MAC) did itself no favors with a three-game slide in November that dropped its chances from a bowl game being a certainty to now a distinctively unlikely scenario. The Bobcats wrapped the regular season on Nov. 29 with a 5123 home win over UMass.

Afterward, the Bobcats knew they’d be waiting a while to see if another game loomed on the calendar.

“It’s just kind of wait and see. We don’t know too much,” Ohio senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton said. “We’ve heard some different situations but it’s kind of out of our hands.”

Since the win over UMass, Ohio coaches have been out on the road recruiting. Ohio players have been working and running. Head coach Frank Solich said the plan is to have the players ready to go should Ohio get the word about a bowl invite on Sunday.

“We’re not assuming anything. When you’re 7-5, you can’t.”

So how does Ohio land a bowl invite? Any scenario

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begins with the MAC Championship game. Currently, Northern Illinios is slated to finish in the top 16 of the country in the BCS rankings and ahead of a winner from an automatically qualifying conference. That means the Huskies are in line to ‘crash’ the BCS for a second straight year.

If NIU beats Bowling Green, and the Huskies move up to a BCS bowl, then Ohio’s chances of landing a bowl game increase dramatically. IF the Falcons win the MAC championship game, then the Bobcats have little chance of landing a bowl invite.

Provided NIU wins, and gets the BCS spot, then the Bobcats will be keeping an eye on two other games on Saturday. At noon, SMU (5-6) will host AAC leader UCF (10-1). At 7:30 p.m., Rutgers (5-6) will host USF (2-9). In both cases, the Bobcats are looking for the 5-6 teams to lose — and thus ensure two less rivals for potential bowl bids.

As of right now, Ohio’s two probable destinations are the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl — as a secondary tie-in. The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla, and will be played on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m.

The Poinsettia Bowl will be held inside Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Cali., on Thursday, Dec. 26 at 9:30 p.m.

All bowl game match-up will be announced on Sunday evening.

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Bobcats fill six spots on All-MAC teams The MAC announced the 2013 all-conference teams on Wednesday, including the winners of the several specialty awards. Ohio had four different players named to the lists, and filled six spots.

As expected, Northern Illinois quarterback Jordan Lynce was named by the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and the winner of the Vern Smith Leadership Award. The Huskies’ QB may also yet receive an invite to New York City for the Heisman Trophy announcement later this month.

Buffalo linebacker Khalil Mack was named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year, while NIU firstyear coach Rod Carey took home Coach of the Year honors. Toledo kicker Jeremiah Detmer was tabbed the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and WMU WR Corey Davis won MAC Freshman of the Year honors.

As for Ohio, cornerbacks Devin Bass and Travis Carrie headlined the Bobcat honors. Bass, a sophomore, was named to the All-MAC First Team as a kick-off returner and Carrie — a sixth-year senior — earned first team honors as a punt returner.

Bass averaged 21.3 yards per kickoff return in 2013, and opponents avoided kicking in his direction during large stretches of MAC play. Carrie, meanwhile, led the MAC in punt return average with 12.7 yards per return.

Bass also earned Second-Team All-MAC honors for his work at corner, where he notched 15 passes defended this season. Bass had 1.4 passes defended per game, which ranked 12th nationally. Carrie,

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a second team all-conference honoree in 2011, landed on the 2013 Third Team at cornerback after tying a team-high with a career-high four interceptions this season.

Senior wide receiver Donte Foster and sophomore place kicker Josiah Yazdani also landed on the AllMAC Second Team. Foster posted a career-high 858 yards receiving with six touchdowns, and his 20 career TD receptions is an Ohio program record.

Yazdani did not miss a place-kick this season and went 12-for-12 on field goal tries to tie a single-season Ohio record for FG percentage (1.000). Yazdani was just one of four kickers nationally to not miss a kick this season.

Senior wide receiver Donte Foster and sophomore place kicker Josiah Yazdani also landed on the AllMAC Second Team. Foster posted a career-high 858 yards receiving with six touchdowns, and his 20 career TD receptions is an Ohio program record.

Yazdani did not miss a place-kick this season and went 12-for-12 on field goal tries to tie a single-season Ohio record for FG percentage (1.000). Yazdani was just one of four kickers nationally to not miss a kick this season.

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Page 1 of 2 December 8, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Bobcats land spot in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl The Bobcats’ wait turned out to be worth it.

After more than a week in limbo, the Ohio University football team learned Sunday that its 2013 season is not yet over. Ohio (7-5) has accepted a bid to play in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. The Bobcats will play in their fifth straight bowl game, and their sixth in the last eight seasons.

Ohio will face East Carolina (9-3) in the bowl, held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2 p.m. The game will broadcast live by ESPN. Like a year ago, a late-season losing skid put Ohio’s hopes of a bowl game in doubt. The Bobcats started the season 6-2 but dropped three-game games to open November — by a combined 123-16 score — before finishing the regular-season with a 51-23 win over UMass.

Ohio is just one of three programs in the Mid-American Conference to post five straight winning seasons.

“The Ohio University football program could not be more excited for an opportunity to compete in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “(It’s) a tremendous destination for our players, coaches and fans to close out the year.”

All told, six MAC teams landed bowl game invites.

MAC championship Bowling Green (Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl vs. Pitt), West winner Northern Illinois (Poinsettia Bowl, vs. Utah State), Ball State (GoDaddy Bowl, vs. Arkansas St.)

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and Buffalo (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, vs. San Diego St.) all also earned bids.

Across the country 79 teams Football Bowl Subdivision teams were bowl-eligible, but only 70 bowl game slots were available. Among the nine teams left out were MAC teams Central Michigan (6-6) and Toledo (7-5). Toledo beat Buffalo, Bowling Green and Central Michigan this season — all teams which knocked off Ohio — but lost its regular-season finale against Akron to see its record dip to the same as the Bobcats.

Ultimately, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl picked the Bobcats over the Rockets.

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“Ohio University football has a 100-plus year tradition,” said Brett Dulaney, the bowl’s executive director, in a statement.

“We look forward to hosting the Bobcats and their alumni and fans, many of which also reside in Florida.”

Ohio is 2-5 all-time in bowl games, and has won two in a row after defeating Lousiana-Monroe in the 2012 Independence Bowl in Shreveport.

East Carolina, which finished as the runner-up to Marshall in the Conference USA East Division, will be playing in its seventh bowl game in eight seasons. The Pirates have not won a bowl game since a 2008 win over Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl.

ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill is hoping his team can break that string and make some program history.

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“We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program,” he said.

The Pirates were blown out by Marshall, 59-28, in a showdown for the C-USA East Division title, but their other two losses were close affairs. ECU dropped a 15-10 non-conference decision against Virginia Tech, and lost 36-33 — in overtime — to Tulane. The Pirates also knocked off in-state foes North Carolina and North Carolina State this season.

Ohio is 2-0 vs. C-USA this season with home wins over Marshall and North Texas. ECU has won both previous meetings between the programs, including the most recent in 1998 (21-14).

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Page 1 of 2 December 9, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Ohio welcomes surprise opportunity

By: Louise Fish

Ohio University football fans weren’t the only ones surprised to learn the Bobcats had landed a bowl game invite Sunday afternoon.

The football team itself wasn’t sure if it would play another game this season after Bowling Green defeated Northern Illinois in the Mid-American Conference championship game Friday night. Most bowl predictions had the Bobcats not bowling after the Falcons defeated the Huskies for the MAC title.

Senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton admitted Monday he had to leave the TV during the MAC Championship game. It was frustrating to see a potential bowl game go by the wayside.

“Honestly I had to leave. We were watching the game and I was just getting too stressed out about it because I was obviously pulling for Northern,” Tettle

ton said. “It was tough because the belief around the locker room was that if Northern didn’t win then our chances probably weren’t that good.

“It was unfortunate for that to happen, but congrats to Bowling Green winning the MAC by the way,” he added. “We’re glad that everthing worked out the way it did.”

Ohio got word Sunday afternoon it would be going to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. The Bobcats (7-5) will face East Carolina (9-3) in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23 at Tropicana Field.

The game gives Ohio, and its seniors, a chance to craft a happy ending for 2013. The Bobcats lost their verve after a November loss at Buffalo and fell out of the MAC East race. The goal, like it was in 2012, is to finish strong.

“It’s going to be good to get another shot. We’ve had some up and downs this season,” senior RB Beau Blankenship said. “It feels like a fresh start in a way. We can end it the way we want to. And I think that’s the way we need to approach it.”

The Bobcats feel fortunate to be one of five MAC teams to receive a bowl game slot. They’re aware they were chosen over Toledo (7-5) for the spot in St. Petersburg. Again, most predictors had Toledo slotted ahead of Ohio in the overall MAC standings.

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Toledo beat both Bowling Green and Buffalo, which finished 1-2 in the MAC East, and played a tougher non-conference schedule with games at Missouri and Florida.

Ohio head coach Frank Solich he understands the frustration of the Rockets.

“That’s always difficult. We’d have not felt great about it if we were the team that gets left out. I understand where Toledo would be coming from,” Solich said. “They’ve got an excellent resume at 7-5.

“I think you can go back and forth with some of those scenarios and make a case either case. They certainly could have had a strong case.”

But the Rockets lost their season finale, to Akron, and dropped down into a tie (record wise) with Ohio. Solich hypothesized that the Bobcats’ own win over the Zips, and his program’s own recent success and fan support, may have pushed the bowl to decide in Ohio’s favor. Ohio averaged 20,671 fans in seven home games this season; Toledo averaged 18,647 in six home games. Like the Rockets, the Bobcats have now posted five straight winning seasons. Ohio will be playing in its fifth straight bowl game, and sixth in eight years.

“When it comes time for selecting, I think that enters into it some,” Solich said. “You look at our fan base and you look at the fact that national TV, when we are in bowl games, were either rated 1 or 2 in terms of viewerships in the MAC. “Whether that entered into it or not, I don’t know

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but I would presume those are the kind of things that to some degree are looked at. Going in, we weren’t sure how that was going to work. I know they are numerous people involved in making the decisions, from ESPN to the bowl people to our conference people, and so you just never know how that’s really going to unfold.”

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl executive director Brett Dulaney told the Tampa Bay Times that Ohio’s alumni base was also a factor. Normally the bowl takes a Conference-USA and an American Athletic Conference team for the game, but the AAC could not fill its slot.

“We just thought from an attendance standpoint and (Ohio) bringing down fans, it was a good decision for us,” Dulaney told The Times.

Solich said, due to finals at Ohio University, his team wouldn’t resume a full practice schedule until Friday. The Bobcats are slated to depart for St. Petersburg on Dec. 20.

Currently under construction next to Peden Stadium is the Walter Fieldhouse, an indoor practice facility. It will not be available for the Bobcats to use over the next two weeks.

“Practicing in these conditions is just something we’re accustomed to,” the coach said. “Eventually the indoor facility will come into play for teams here, but that’s not the case this year.”

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Page 1 of 1 December 14, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Bobcats know who they have to contain It took all of about three seconds for the Ohio University football team to determine who the most dangerous piece of the puzzle is going to be in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

That would be East Carolina junior quarterback Shane Carden.

Ohio (7-5) battles the Pirates (9-3) in the bowl game, to be played Monday, Dec. 23 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The game will be at 2 p.m. on ESPN. Carden’s name is the first to always come up when discussing East Carolina, and with good reason.

He was named the Conference USA Most Valuable Player this season — the last for ECU as a member of C-USA. “He’s a heck of quarterback,” Ohio coach Frank Solich. “He’s so accurate on the intermediate and short throws. He just keeps drive after drive alive.”

Carden was the easy choice for MVP honors. He led all Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks with a 71 percent (358 of 504) completion percentage. He led the conference with 3,866 passing yards and accounted for 42 touchdowns — 32 passing and 10 rushing. He broke the 300-yard mark seven times in 12 games.

“He’s a ball-player,” ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said of his QB. “Shane could be a starting linebacker here. He’s a football player, who’s tough as nails and he takes a lot of pride in it.”

Solich said the Pirates are more than a one-man show, however. ECU is a two-touchdown favorite.

“Now they can run the ball and run it better than

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you think, but they’re really into the throwing game,” Solich said. “They’ve got great skill people, but I’ve been impressed with their inside guys too.

They’re big and physical.”

Roster check Ohio began bowl practices on Friday, and will have five more practices before traveling to Florida next weekend.

The Bobcats started bowl prep with a couple of lingering injury issues. First, starting safety Josh Kristoff (foot) is questionable to play, and runing back Ryan Boykin sat out Friday’s practice with his continuing turf toe issue. Tight end Anthony Talbert (foot) is also questionable to play. Solich said he’s hopeful all three will be ready.

Senior OT Ryan McGrath has returned, and should play, after missing several weeks with illness. Cornerback Ian Wells (shoulder) and RB Daz Patterson (foot) also were cleared at the start of the bowl prep period.

Ohio will not get back DE Ty Branz (knee) or WR Matt Waters (shoulder) however.

OLB A.J. Grady has missed virtually the entire season after suffering a shoulder injury in the season opener. He has had shoulder surgery and is expected to miss the spring season as well.

DT Andrew Bennett has been dismissed from the football roster, Solich said Friday.

CB Jamil Shaw, who has not played since the road loss at Bowling Green, is still on the roster, Solich said. However, he is not practicing and is not expected to play in the bowl game.

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Page 1 of 2 December 15, 2013 By: Tyler Buchanan

Bobcats’ bowl invite a pleasant surprise for fans A roller coaster season of crushing victories and blowout losses was good enough to earn the Ohio University Bobcats a trip to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, and the Athens community is hoping for a third-straight postseason win.

The Bobcats are set to take on East Carolina in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23. The game, played at 2 p.m., will be broadcast on ESPN.

This marks the fifth consecutive season the Bobcats have earned a bowl game bid, but this was the first in that stretch where an appearance seemed seriously in doubt. The team is 7-5; though the Bobcats reached the requisite six wins needed to qualify for a possible bowl game, those losses weren’t pretty.

The fear was expressed that even with the seven victories, a meager 4-4 conference record and four losses by at least 27 points would prevent a bowl from inviting the Bobcats. In the end, the OU community was awarded with their fifth-straight trip, having split the previous four games dating back to

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2009.

The announcement, made a week ago, came as a surprise to some local fans, who viewed the team’s chances of playing on as very slim.

One OU student, Ben, said he has watched the team all season and the players deserved the invitation after winning bowl games in 2012 and 2013. Ben said he will definitely be watching the game from home.

“We’ve got a rising program” the sophomore education major said.

For others, the question became – What exactly is Beef ‘O’ Brady’s?

Anthony, a Hocking College freshman, said he wasn’t familiar with the name, but was excited for the upcoming game.

“As long as they keep up the defense, they should be fine. That’s what they’ve struggled on this year,” he said.

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Those concerns are shared my many following what appeared to be a late-season collapse. After starting out the season 6-2, including being 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference, the team dropped three straight conference games 30-3, 49-0 and 44-13.

A convincing 51-23 win over Massachusetts to close out the season put the team back into postseason contention and lifted the spirits of some fans, but others remain unconvinced following the rough stretch.

“The effort of this team during the three losses in a row has absolutely disgusted me,” reader Scott Martin wrote on The Messenger’s Facebook page.

Ohio Athletics is offering a roundtrip bus ride to students, a travel package which includes a game 1 ticket, a night’s stay at a beach resort hotel and transportation to and from the game. The rides are offered from four locations, including Avon in northeast Ohio, Columbus, Beavercreek in southwest Ohio and Athens.

Total cost is $50 per student and tickets are avail-

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able at the Convocation Center Ticket Office or by phone at 800-575-2287.

For others looking to stay north, a Tuesday afternoon in the warmth rooting for a third-straight bowl victory will be in order.

“There are so many bowls now ... that I would have been surprised if OU didn’t make one,” reader Dustin Goldsberry wrote on Facebook. “I look forward to watching them on TV and hope they bring back a win.”

So what is Beef ‘O’ Brady’s after all? Those from Ohio’s biggest metro areas and from the southern part of the country may choose to watch a game from one – Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a chain of sports pubs with hundreds of locations throughout much of the country.

According to the franchise’s website, there’s two locations in St. Petersburg within 10 miles of the bowl sta dium. The Bobcats, if victorious, may have an appropriate place for their post-game celebration.

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Page 1 of 2 December 16, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Patterson relishing trip home To a man, the Ohio University football team is glad, thankful and appreciative of the opportunity to play in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

But there’s no doubt which Bobcat is the happiest with Ohio’s postseason destination. That honor belongs to sophomore running back Daz’mond Patterson.

“Let’s just say everybody on my street heard me yell,” Patterson said, explaining his reaction when he found out Ohio was playing in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. “I’m really excited about going home to play.”

Patterson is a product of Plant City, Florida, which is located less than an hour away from the Tampa/ St. Petersburg area. There is no other bowl game that could produce a location closer to his hometown.

The only other player on the Ohio roster from Florida is junior offensive lineman Mark Smith (Sarasota).

It will give most of his friends and family a chance to see him live and in person. Since joining the Bobcats, Patterson said only five people from “back home” have attended one of his games. However, he’s already lined up 70 tickets for friends and family for the bowl game.

Current teammates have been shuffling their allotted tickets his way, Patterson said.

“All the guys who aren’t playing, they really helped me out with the tickets,” Patterson said. “Right now, I’m at 70. Hopefully that’s a record.”

At 5-foot-7 and 185 pounds, Patterson is the smallest of Ohio’s stable of running backs. He’s rushed for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and caught seven passes for 43 yards. On special teams, he averaged 11.0 yards on four punt returns and averaged 21.6 yards on five kick-off returns.

As a freshman in 2012, Patterson combined for 898

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all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and returns); he has just 378 this season. Patterson has received more game day reps in 2013 however. Opponents severely limited his opportunities on kick-offs by kicking away from him, and it’s a reason by sophomore CB Devin Bass was able to get the chance to shine and early First Team All-MAC honors as a kick-off returner.

Patterson has been dinged by injury twice this season as well.

But he’s relishing the chance to play close to home, not that he expects to serve as a tour guide for the Bobcats.

“I don’t really know my way around St. Pete like that. I can only tell you how to get to the beach,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to it, but it’s something I have to put behind me once game day hits.

“I’ve got a job to get done and that’s what I need to focus on.”

Underdogs again Ohio (7-5) isn’t expected to win the game by many.

East Carolina (9-3) is a two-touchdown favorite in the game — as of Monday afternoon — after winning five of its last six regular-season games. The Bobcats lost three of their last four games.

It’s familiar territory for the Bobcats, who were more than a touchdown underdog to Louisiana-Monroe in the 2012 Independence Bowl but still managed to rout the WarHawks.

“You can’t really look at it from that standpoint.

Anything can happen,” said senior CB Travis Carrie.

“Being the underdog is not a bad thing.

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“Just look at us. Other teams were underdogs against us, and we weren’t able to pull it out during the season,” he added. “This is going to be two ballclubs that are going to go out and give everyone a good show.”

Great outdoors Still starting bowl preparation practice, the Bobcats have endured bone-chilling cold, biting winds, driving rain and even snow. The field inside Peden Stadium had to be cleared of the white stuff before Monday’s practice for example.

Next to Peden Stadium, construction continues on the still unfinished Walter Fieldhouse — an indoor practice facility. The Bobcats are practicing outside for a game that will be played inside a dome. It’s been a familiar thorn for the team in each of the last five years.

The facility should be completed in time for the spring football season. Meanwhile, the Bobcats will have to be content with looking forward toward warmer temperatures in Florida.

“It is what it is,” said senior linebacker Keith Moore.

“It is a factor. I’m not going to say it’s not.

“It’d be nice if that indoor was open, but that’s not up to me.”

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Page 1 of 1 December 18, 2013

Three athletic trainers will accompany Marching 110 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Just like the Bobcat football team, Ohio University’s high-energy band, the Marching 110, will have its own cadre of athletic trainers on hand at the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl on Dec. 23.

“Marching band routines, particularly those of the Marching110, are much more physical than most people realize,” said Jeff Russell, director the university’s SHAPe Clinic, a unique facility whose mission is providing healthcare for performing artists, from ballet dancers to tuba players. “Our clinic is founded on the principle that performing artists need and deserve medical attention just like traditional athletes.”

The Science and Health in Artistic Performance, or SHAPe Clinic, is a place where injured performers can be evaluated, treated and receive health and wellness advice from licensed athletic trainers who have the specialized equipment and knowledge to treat their injuries. The care is provided with no out-of-pocket costs to the performing arts student.

So riding on the band bus alongside cases of drums, trombones and clarinets will be crates of athletic tape, emergency splints, a folding massage table and heat pack warmer.

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“Of course, everyone’s much happier when we have nothing to do,” said Russell. “But the reality is that these performers get injured and often require taping, bracing, treatments and rehabilitation exercises.” Russell’s crew for the bowl will include two certified athletic trainers and a student clinician, all wearing their signature black scrubs.

The SHAPe Clinic is a unique partnership between Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions and the College of Fine Arts. Russell devised the program with support from faculty and staff across several Ohio University departments, as well as funding from a university grant.

“Virtually every performing artist sustains several injuries in the course of his or her career,” said Russell, who joined Ohio University in 2012 and has a Ph.D. in dance medicine and science. “And they have at least one horror story — if not more — about being underserved and marginalized by the medical profession.”

Ohio University’s Marching 110 will perform during halftime in the game between the Ohio University Bobcats and East Carolina Pirates at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday. ESPN is broadcasting the 2 p.m. game.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Bobcats fall 37-20 in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

AP photo by Chris O’Meara

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Bobcats played hard, dusted off near ly every trick in the book, and had positioned themselves for a bowl game upset.

But when it mattered most, the game slipped away from them.

East Carolina scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally past Ohio 37-20 in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in front of 20,053 at Tropicana Field on Monday afternoon. The loss snapped Ohio’s bowl-game winning streak at two as the Bobcats (7-6) fell to 2-6 all-time in bowl games.

And like the 2013 season in general, it was a frustrating day for Ohio. The Bobcats trailed 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, staged a comeback of their own in the middle and led 20-17 going down the stretch. But it fell apart inside the game’s final 10 minutes.

“We were up and down. One minute we were having a good drive, and then it was shut down by one silly play,” Ohio sophomore running back Daz Patterson said. “It felt like the whole season. It was the season in a nutshell.” East Carolina (10-3) won

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its first bowl game since 2007, and became just the second team in program history to reach 10 wins.

Running back Vintavious Cooper, named the game MVP for the winners, piled up a bowl-record 198 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

Cooper scored on a 31-yard run with just under 10 minutes to go to put the Pirates on top 24-20.

Two minutes later, ECU quarterback Shane Carden hauled in a touchdown catch on a trick play.

Carden, who completed 29 of 45 throws for 273 yards, broke the Bobcats for good with the reception. Carden threw a screen to the left, then raced to the right corner of the end zone. Carden made a fine leaping catch despite heavy coverage from Ohio safeties Nate Carpenter and Thad Ingol.

The TD gave the Pirates a 31-20 lead, and all but clinched it. Cooper added a 22-yard touchdown with 1:55 left to put on the flourishing touches.

“We had two guys there who were doing their jobs, and he just came down with a great catch. I give the credit to him,” Ohio linebacker Keith Moore said. “I still don’t know how he caught it.”

The Pirates and Bobcats slugged it out in an up-tempo game throughout. All told, 19 different individual and game records were set on the afternoon — including the 1,003 yards of total offense the two teams provided.

Ohio senior wide receiver Donte Foster was named the Bobcat MVP after he posted a bowl-record 160 receiving yards on six catches.

“A win would have made this a whole lot better.

It would have made it very tremendous,” Foster said. “I felt our guys fought their hearts out and I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys.”

Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton, who owns 27 Ohio passing records, completed 21 of 40 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown in his final Bobcat game. He was intercepted three times, however, including twice in the fourth quarter.

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Senior running back Beau Blankenship had 66 yards on 21 carries for the Bobcats, who finished just 8 of 22 on third-down conversions and were minus-3 in turnover ratio. Sophomore QB Derrius Vick completed all three of his throws for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Big plays and gumption gave Ohio a chance. But the fourth quarter fade — similar to the team’s threegame skid in November this season — took it away.

“It was a hard-fought football game and came down to making a frew plays in the fourth quarter. They did, we didn’t,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said.

ECU, a two-touchdown favorite, threatened to make it a blow out early. Cam Worthy, who later threw the TD to Carden, hauled in a 5-yard scoring pass from the quarterback to cap the Pirates’ second series. Breon Allen’s two-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter gave ECU a 14-0 lead.

The Bobcats then took their shots. Tettleton flipped a flare pass to Patterson for a 17-yard score early in the second quarter, and Ohio tied it less than five minutes later when Vick executed an option fake and launched an 80-yard bomb to Foster for a touchdown to knot it 14-14. That play is the longest offensive play, and touchdown, in the bowl’s history.

ECU tacked on Warren Harvey’s 41-yard field goal late in the first half for a 17-14 lead. Ohio tied it, then took a 20-17 lead, with 29 and 28 yard field goals from Josiah Yazdani.

Ohio followed up the second field goal with a gorgeous surprise onside kick that Devin Bass recovered. But that drive ended with Yazdani’s first miss of the season — he was 14 of 14 prior — on a 45yard field goal. It marked the beginning of the end.

On the ensuing drive, Ohio LB Ben Russell was called for a late hit, and CB Travis Carrie was whistled for pass interference. After the second penalty, Cooper scored on the next snap and Pirates never looked back. “(The penalty) did hurt. It was tough. We would

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have got them in third and long,” Solich said.

“And we didn’t convert when we had the onside kick. Not putting points on the board there really hurt us. That was a critical time in the game. No doubt about it.”

The game was the last for an Ohio senior class that authored the program’s only two bowl victories, and produced a streak of five bowl games in five years. The Bobcats didn’t finish the way they wanted to, but had no regrets about the effort in their finale.

“This was our last one. This was my last game. We were all playing like it was our last game. Defensively, I loved our energy,” Moore said.

“I’m upset, but I know we played hard. As hard as we could. It’s tough.”

East Carolina 37, Ohio 20 Ohio 0 14 3 3 — 20 East Carolina 14 3 0 20 — 37 E — Cam Worthy, 5-yard pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick), 10:04, 1st E — Breon Allen, 2-yard run (Warren Harvey kick), 0:27, 1st O — Daz Patterson, 17-yard pass from Tyler Tettleton (Josiah Yazdani kick), 14:39, 2nd O — Donte Foster, 80-yard pass from Derrius Vick (Josiah Yazdani kick), 9:54, 2nd E — Warren Harvey, 41-yard field goal, 1:01, 2nd O — Josiah Yazdani, 29-yard field goal, 6:42, 3rd O — Josiah Yazdani, 28-yard field goal, 13:34, 4th E — Vintavious Cooper, 31-yard run (Warren Harvey kick), 9:45, 4th E — Shane Carden, 14-yard pass from Cam Worthy (Warren Harvey kick), 7:29, 4th E — Vintavious Cooper, 22-yard run (kick blocked), 1:55, 4th

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Page 1 of 3 December 29, 2013 By: Jason Arkley

Bobcats’ season left Ohio unfulfilled

AP Photo/Chris O’Meara

Never before in Ohio’s history has a winning season packed less punch.

Yes, the Bobcats (7-6) stitched together a fifthstraight winning season in 2013. That in and of itself is a program rarity. Ohio capped the year with a bowl game for a fifth straight season — a program first that made the Bobcats just the third team in Mid-American Conference history to achieve that mark.

And while those are perfectly fine and good, and signal the program’s stability and growth into a consistent winner, there’s no way to look at the now completed season and feel like the Bobcats accomplished what they set out to do.

Not only did Ohio’s streak of years without a MAC championship extend — the last came in 1968 — but the Bobcats went down in spectacular fashion along the way. Ohio lost four of its last five games, counting the bowl loss to East Carolina, by a combined count of 160-36.

When things broke bad against the Bobcats this season, the ‘Cats couldn’t do much about to stop the carnage. Losses against Louisville (49-7), Buffalo (30-3), Bowling Green (49-0) and Kent State (44-13) would each earn a spot in the pantheon of

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worst Ohio losses during head coach Frank Solich’s nine-year tenure.

With one exception — a 26-23 homecoming loss to 6-6 Central Michigan — Ohio’s five other losses were by an average margin of 33.2 points per setback. It wasn’t the kind of season envisioned when the MAC East favorite opened fall camp with a three-year starting quarterback, record-setting running back and the most cohesive program in the conference.

“I don’t think we played up to our capability the whole season,” Solich admitted after the bowl loss.

“It was a little disheartening there in the middle of the year.”

Entering the season, Ohio’s biggest question marks were in the defensive front seven and on the offensive line. It’s clear, after the fact, that those two areas were a big reason why the Bobcats struggled.

Defensively, the reworked defensive line did some good things. Freshman DE Tarell Basham finished with 7.5 sacks and the Bobcats finished the year with 36 sacks. As a team, it was the second-highest total for a single-season in program history, and Basham’s total put him tied for fifth in a single season.

But Ohio never solved the issue of defending the run. Missed run fits, missed tackles, and mis-reads plagued the defensive in the second half of the season. Opponents rushed for 200 or more yards in six of the final eight games of the season.

On the flip side, the Bobcats never got their own run game on track. Senior RB Beau Blankenship had 910 yards in 2013, or nearly 700 yards less than he did in 2012. Ohio averaged just 3.8 yards per carry. Without that balance, and ability to grind out tough yards, the Bobcats’ third-down conversion percentage plummented thoughout the second-half of the season.

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Ohio couldn’t consistently move the chains and convert short yardage situations, and thus put its defense even more in harm’s way. A negative-two turnover ratio didn’t alleviate those concerns.

The reasons the run game struggled are easy to identify. The offensive line was in a state of flux all season as injuries — such as the senior ender to Sam Johnson — knocked four fifth-year projected starters out of the lineup. Complicating matters was the fact that the run game became predictable when QB Tyler Tettleton was a non-factor in the running game. Tettleton had just 43 rushing attempts on the year, and finished with only net 24 yards.

With no quarterback threat to keep defenses honest, and an offensive line dealing with inexperience, the ground game simply didn’t provide enough pop.

Fixing some of the issues, offensively, will be tougher to predict looking ahead. Ohio will have massive graduation losses on that side of the ball, with eight starting positions to be vacated.

The biggest loss, numbers wise, will be at quarterback. Tettelton, though his numbers dipped each of the past two seasons, leaves as the most accomplished quarterback in program history. Tettleton has the three best passing seasons in Ohio history, 27 Bobcat records, and more than 9,000 yards passing.

Blankenship will also depart after serving as the foundation for the offense for the two seasons; he amassed 2,974 rushing yards in three years in Athens.

Ohio’s third big offensive playmaker, WR Donte Foster, is also gone. Foster is the program’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions (21), and this season became just the second player in Ohio history to record 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.

The Bobcats will also have to replace their top two tight ends, the slot receiver spot, and three starters on the offensive line.

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Proven returning playmakers are in short supply.

Sophomore QB Derrius Vick is poised to take over the offense after two years of serving as the backup.

At running back, neither junior Tim Edmond (108 yards) or sophomore Daz Patterson (211 yards) received much work this season.

At receiver, Ohio will lost five of its top six receivers but does return deep threat Chase Cochran (37 catches, 689 yards, 4 touchdowns). Lucas Powell (center) and Mike Lucas (left guard) are returning starters on the offensive line, and a host of young players got experience this season — such as Mike McQueen, Troy Watson and Durell Wood.

Patterson, who has the inside track to be the No. 1 RB next spring, said he expects no massive rebuilding project.

“The guys who were playing behind all those guys were really hungry. I feel like we’re ready,” Patterson said. “We’ve been waiting on our chance for a couple years now. Now we’re ready to get out here and make some things happen.”

Defensively, less rebuilding is needed. Ohio will lose standout corner, and the team’s best pro prospect, Travis Carrie (4 interceptions), along with multiyear contributing safety Xavier Hughes. OLB Keith Moore has been a two-year starter in the middle tier of the defense. On the DL, Ty Branz will be a loss at DE but the bulk of the depth in the front four will return.

In fact, some of Ohio’s best young talent in on the defensive side of the ball. DEs Basham, Casey Sayles and Kurt Laseak all have three years of eligibility remaining. Sophomore MLB Ben Russell led the team in tackles (88) as a first-year starter. Sophomore CB Devin Bass has quickly developed into an All-MAC talent; his 17 passes defended this season were the second-most in a single season by an Ohio defender.

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Add in veterans like safeties Thad Ingol, Josh Kristoff and Nate Carpenter, and DTs Antwan Crutcher, Brandon Purdum and Cam McLeod, and Ohio should be able to improve its defensive numbers.

On special teams, Ohio may have settled on a place-kicker but appears to have need of a new punter. Sophomore Josiah Yazdani, sensational all season on kick-offs, took over place-kicking duties in the fourth game of the season and converted his first 14 chances.

Sophomore Matt Green replaced sophomore Grant Venham at punter for the final two games. Green’s numbers were better, and Venham worked out at scout team wide receiver during the bowl prep period. Whether Ohio is comfortable with Green — who started the year as the team’s kicker — at punter will likely be decided this spring.

Solich repeated called his 2013 recruiting class his best in nine years at Ohio, and early signs indicate that the 2014 group will be as good or perhaps better. The Bobcats will be looking to that youth more than ever next season with some many positions, especially offensively, up for grabs. Ohio played five true freshmen in 2013.

By any measure, Ohio’s 2013 season was a step back in terms of the program’s growth. It wasn’t a bad misstep, or a disaster, but it was a definite departure of the steady progress the team has shown during the bulk of Solich’s tenure.

Can the Bobcats retool, tinker and tweak things enough to get back into MAC contention with a younger lineup next fall? Solich said he believes so.

“We didn’t respond well to adversity this season,” Solich said earlier this month. “But I do like the young talent we have in the program.

“We’ll do what we always do: look for ways to get better, target what we need to do to make it happen, and work at it.”

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Page 1 of 2 December 8, 2013 By: Joe Giglio

UNC heading to Belk Bowl, ECU gets Beef O’Brady’s

East Carolina’s Justin Hardy (2) scores on UNC’s Tre Boston (10) after a six yrd pass completion from quarterback Shane Carden to give the Pirates a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Saturday September 28, 2013 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. ROBERT WILLETT

North Carolina is going to its home away from home for the bowl season and East Carolina is headed to Florida.

The Tar Heels (6-6) are going back to Charlotte for their fourth trip to the Belk Bowl. They will face Cincinnati (9-3), who won last year’s Belk Bowl, on Dec. 28 at Bank of America Stadium.

The Pirates (9-3) will play Ohio University (7-5) in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23. It’s the second straight bowl trip for ECU

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coach Ruffin McNeill and his third in four years.

UNC spent the postseason in Charlotte in 2004 (a 37-24 loss to Boston College), ’08 (a 31-30 loss to West Virginia) and ’09 (a 19-17 loss to Pittsburgh).

The Heels will be looking for their first bowl win in Charlotte against the Bearcats, who beat Duke, 4834 in last year’s game.

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It will be UNC’s first bowl game since a 41-24 loss to Missouri in the Independence Bowl in 2011. The Tar Heels won eight games last season under coach Larry Fedora but were ineligible for the postseason because of previous NCAA violations.

After a 27-23 home loss to Miami on Oct. 17, UNC’s bowl hopes looked dim. The Heels were 1-5 and in need of five wins in the final six games. Starting with a 34-10 win over Boston College on Oct. 26, UNC won five straight to qualify for a bowl for the sixth straight season.

“This is a resilient bunch of guys that kept believing in one another throughout the year and I’m glad they were rewarded with a bowl game,” Fedora said in a statement released by the team.

How the Heels finished the season, and their proximity to the Charlotte, was enough of a reason for Will Webb, the executive director of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, to choose the Tar Heels. ship,” McNeill said in a statement released by the school.

“They’ve always been good for us,” Webb said. “We look forward to having them in Charlotte for the fourth time.”

Cincinnati, which finished 6-2 in the American Athletic Conference, won six of its final seven games to get back to Charlotte. This is the last year of the Belk Bowl’s contract with the AAC, which was previously the Big East. Next year’s game will feature

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an ACC-SEC matchup.

The Heels dropped their final regular-season game, 27-25 against Duke last Saturday. The Pirates also lost their last regular-season game, 59-28 at Marshall. A win would have put the Pirates in the Conference USA championship game. Instead, Rice beat Marshall and got the conference’s slot in the Liberty Bowl opposite the SEC. The Pirates still have a shot at history in their final C-USA season before moving to the American Athletic Conference in 2014. This group can join the 1991 team, which finished 11-1, as the only ones in school history with at least 10 wins.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl champion ship,” McNeill said in a statement released by the school.

The Bobcats finished 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference but did what ECU couldn’t — beat Marshall, 34-31 on Sept. 14. Coach Frank Solich has led Ohio to a bowl game in five of his nine seasons, including wins in the past two bowl trips.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver. com/2013/12/08/3445290/unc-heading-to-belkbowl-ecu-gets.html#storylink=cpy

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Page 1 of 1 December 18, 2013 By: Nathan Summers

ECU QB Carden ready to add to numbers in bowl game GREENVILLE — East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden has been forced to throw the football into some tight coverages, and his results have mostly been positive.

The junior enters Monday’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl against Ohio (7-5) with just 10 interceptions in 12 games, and three of those came on deflected passes in a loss at Marshall in the C-USA title game.

Carden had 3,866 passing yards (first in Conference USA and sixth nationally) and 32 touchdown passes despite facing two of the top three pass defenses in the country – Florida Atlantic (second, 161.5 yards allowed per game) and Virginia Tech (third, 165.8 yards) – and six ranked in the top 50.

Six of ECU’s opponents also ranked in the top 50 in interceptions, so Carden enters the bowl game battle tested.

“Experience helps in anything, and the defenses we’ve faced and the fronts that the offensive line has faced is going to help us, and even continuing into next year, really,” said Carden, who faces a Bobcats pass defense ranked 29th, allowing 212.2 yards per game. “Ohio is a different defense, and we’ve prepared for them and we understand they might come in with some other stuff we haven’t seen.”

ECU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley knows the value of such high-quality repetitions, not just for Carden but for his entire offense.

“That helps a lot, and maybe more than just because of the defense we’re going against,” Riley said. “We’ve got a lot of guys now that have played a lot of ball, even young guys like (receiver) Isaiah

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Jones (second on the team with 54 receptions and five TDs) and (offensive lineman) Tre Robertson who really aren’t young guys anymore. Also, a lot of these guys have played in a bowl game before, and they know what we’ve done well and what we’ve got to do better.”

No matter how the Bobcat defense tries to scheme against the Pirates’ pass machine, Carden says his team’s wins have been a product of ECU taking the initiative.

“The times that we do good and our offense excels and scores points is when we worry about ourselves and not as much about what the defense is doing,” Carden said.

• The Pirates (9-3) enter their final game of the season ranked No. 30 nationally in total offense and total defense. ECU has churned out 459.8 yards per game while allowing an average of 363.2 yards.

ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill gives a good deal of the credit for that balance to Riley and defensive coordinator Rick Smith.

“Rick and Lincoln are great leaders and they do a good job of working with their (position) coaches,” McNeill said. “I don’t have to worry about them, and they work well together. I’ve been on some staffs where the coordinators didn’t work well together, where it was a competition. All it is here is them making sure that they help each other win games.”

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver. com/2013/12/18/3470569/ecu-qb-carden-readyto-add-to.html#storylink=cpy

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Nathan Summers

Furious fourth quarter pushes ECU to 37-20

East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden (5) celebrates with Will Simmons (70) after catching a touchdown pass from Cam Worthy during the fourth quarter. CHRIS O’MEARA — AP

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — East Carolina hit a grand slam at Tropicana Field.

The Pirates stormed Ohio for 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter Monday, including a spectacular touchdown catch by quarterback Shane Carden on a trick play pass from wide receiver Cam Worthy, to win the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

East Carolina’s 37-20 victory inside the home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays not only ended the Pirates’ four-bowl losing streak but also clinched the second double-digit win season in school history.

“It was a great feeling, and the first thing I thought about was the kids,” coach Ruffin McNeill said of the Pirates, who finished 10-3. “All of us got together and decided on a vision and a goal right after the end of the (2012 season). We fought for it.”

Trailing 20-17 early in the fourth after Ohio kicker Josiah Yazdani’s second field goal of the game, East Carolina senior running back and bowl MVP Vintavious Cooper (game-high 198 rush yards, two

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touchdowns) broke loose for a 31-yard score. The run revived a team that appeared to be headed for a fifth straight bowl defeat.

Two minutes later, East Carolina brought the house down when Carden (273 pass yards, TD) tossed a short screen pass to one-time junior college QB Worthy, then sprinted down field.

Worthy lofted a perfect pass to the back right corner of the end zone, where Carden jumped above two defenders for his first-ever TD catch and a 3120 edge with 7 minutes, 29 seconds left.

An interception by linebacker Brandon Williams set the stage for the final Pirates score, a 22-yard Cooper run.

East Carolina out-gained the Bobcats 568 to 435 in total yards.

“We just continued to work, continued to get better and better, and we had a few bumps here and there but we just kept fighting,” said Carden, who said the trick play was a product of trust among players and coaches.

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“(Worthy) just keeps getting better. You’ve just got to throw it to Cam and he’s going to make a play, and sometimes Cam will throw to me and I’ll make a play for him.”

The defense kept the Pirates in the game for long stretches while the offense struggled to relocate the momentum it had in the first quarter.

The Bobcats (7-5) were limited to just Yadzani’s two field goals the second half.

“It’s just perseverance, and you just can’t ask for anything else,” said senior linebacker Kyle Tudor, who made five tackles in his career finale. “It’s been a tough season and we didn’t accomplish all the goals we wanted to, but this was a big part of that and I’m just happy we got that 10th win.”

Also for the East Carolina defense, senior safety Michael Dobson had a game-high 14 tackles and an interception, followed by linebacker Jeremy Grove’s seven tackles and six each from linebacker Zeek Bigger and cornerback Adonis Armstrong. Senior safety Damon Magazu snared his fifth interception of the season in his final game.

For Cooper, who charged for a bowl-record 104 yards in the first half, it was a memorable finish.

“We wanted to come out today and show exactly what type of team we’re capable of being,” said Cooper, who clinched consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in his MVP outing. “It feels amazing. Everybody wants to have a six-win season and become bowl eligible. We had higher goals than that, we held ourselves to a higher standard and it showed today.”

East Carolina’s Justin Hardy led all receivers with nine catches for 66 yards, followed by Isaiah Jones’ eight grabs for 48 yards. Worthy, meanwhile, caught one TD pass and threw the first one since he took snaps for Yuba Community College.

“The corner was trailing (Carden down the field), so the safety was rolling over and I felt like I could make that throw and I felt Shane could adjust to it,” Worthy said of the 14-yard trick play TD. “I’m not shocked at all that he made that play.”

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The loss for Ohio erased a big game by receiver Donte Foster, who made six catches for 160 yards, including an 80-yard TD catch in the first half. Bobcats starting quarterback Tyler Tettleton managed 228 yards and a TD but was picked off three times.

“It taught us something, taught our young men something,” McNeill said of the Pirates’ ability to rise above a disappointing loss to Marshall that kept them out of the Conference USA championship game. “Having a great attitude and working as one, doing things with no ego involved, no entitlement and teamwork first.”

The Pirates blitzed the Bobcats for 14 points in the first quarter, but saw the game quickly deadlocked at 14-14 in the second. Warren Harvey’s 41-yard field goal nudged ECU back into the lead, 17-14, at the intermission.

A handful of records were set by the Pirates as they crafted their 14-0 lead.

Hardy broke Dwayne Harris’ school record for career receiving yards in the half, while Carden became the first Pirates quarterback to eclipse 4,000 passing yards in a single season.

That didn’t keep it from being a tight half.

Dobson’s interception gave the Pirates in good field position to start their second drive, and a 34-yard blast up the middle by Cooper set the stage for Carden’s 5-yard fade pass to Worthy to open the scoring. Later in the first, Breon Allen capped another Pirates scoring drive with a 2-yard TD to run the score to 14-0.

Ohio came to life in the second, however, as Tettleton zipped a swing pass to Daz’mund Patterson, who strolled 17 yards to the end zone to cut the lead to 14-7.

The Bobcats’ next drive lasted just one play. Reserve QB Derrius Vick threw to Foster on a post route, and the wide-open receiver reeled in the ball and dashed to the end zone for an 80-yard TD and a tie game, 14-14.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Luke DeCock

DeCock: Hard to imagine better ending for Pirates

East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden (5) celebrates with Will Simmons (70) after catching a touchdown pass from Cam Worthy during the fourth quarter of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl NCAA college football game against Ohio Monday, Dec. 23, 2013, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Vintavious Cooper stood at midfield, the MVP trophy cradled securely in his hands. East Carolina may have had bigger dreams, bigger goals than the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, but if this was some kind of consolation prize, it didn’t feel like it. Not at all.

“We held ourselves to a higher standard,” Cooper said. “It showed today. It showed throughout the season.”

Amid the celebration on the turf at Tropicana Field, as stacks of championship hats were torn from boxes and the fight song blared in the aftermath of the 37-20 win over Ohio, the second 10-win season in school history felt pretty good. So did winning a bowl game for the first time since 2007.

“We shot for the sun and the moon,” East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We fell short of our conference championship, but we made a lot of other things happen along the way, grabbed a bunch of stars along the way.”

The only other time East Carolina won 10 games was 1991, also known as The Peach Bowl Season. This bowl destination wasn’t as prestigious as Atlanta was nor the opponent as compelling as N.C. State was that year, and the 11 wins in 1991 remain the school record.

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But 10 wins is 10 wins, and to hit that mark for only the second time at a school with as long and proud a football tradition as East Carolina is nothing short of significant – especially when those 10 wins include bragging-rights victories at North Carolina and N.C. State.

The Pirates were close to so much more, only to stumble along the way: a narrow early loss to Virginia Tech at home, a baffling triple-overtime loss at Tulane and a disheartening blowout at Marshall with a chance to play for the Conference USA title on the line.

“We know what type of team we are, and playing against Marshall, that wasn’t us,” Cooper said. “We wanted to come out today and show exactly what type of team we’re capable of being every Saturday in and out.”

The Pirates got a chance to do exactly that during the game’s decisive sequence in the fourth quarter. Justin Hardy’s catch at the Ohio 2-yard-line was ruled incomplete after a video review. The Pirates, up only four at that point, desperately needed a score, and it looked like their best chance might just have slipped away.

Coming out of the delay, McNeill gave offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley the green light to go for the win.

He called for an option pass from Cam Worthy to quarterback Shane Carden, who went up in traffic to pull down the ball in the end zone.

“We had some road bumps here and there, but we just kept fighting, the whole season,” Carden said.

Carden wouldn’t let that pass slip away, and the Pirates wouldn’t let this win slip away. They safely reached double digitwins, ended their bowl skid and went home happy.

After the trophy presentation, athletics director Jeff Compher put his arm around McNeill after the trophy presentation. Neither of them could stop smiling. McNeill was part of a bowl win as an East Carolina player, the Independence Bowl in 1978, but had gone 0 for 2 as the Pirates’ coach.

“To get to 10 wins for only the second time in school history means a whole bunch, not just this year but for the future,” Compher said, his left arm still locked around McNeill’s shoulders. “This guy is leading us in the right direction.”

It may not have been a straight and narrow path to this point for East Carolina, but it’s hard to imagine an ending any more satisfying.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/12/23/3482642/decock-hard-to-imagine-better. html#storylink=cpy

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: Brett Friedlander

ECU accepts invitation to play in Beef O’Brady’s Bowl The East Carolina football team will have a chance to soothe some of its disappointment from failing to qualify for the Conference USA Championship Game and end the 2013 season on a high note by playing in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.

The Pirates formally accepted an invitation to play in the game, which will be held on Dec. 23 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, on Sunday.

ECU’s opponent will be Ohio University of the Mid-America Conference, which is 7-5, but has lost three of its last four games. The America Athletic Conference has a tie-in with the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl, but won’t have enough eligible teams to fulfill the commitment.

Whoever they play, the Pirates (9-2) will have an opportunity to get into double-digit wins in a season for only the second time in school history.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season,” ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said in a statement. “And allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

Kickoff for the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl is scheduled for 2 p.m. with television coverage by ESPN.

Tickets are available through ECU’s online postseason ticketing platform with prices ranging from $35$55 for the general public and $20 for students.

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: Michael Hudson

ECU Pirates To Play Ohio In The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl ECU To Face Bobcats at Tropicana Field On Dec. 23

GREENVILLE, NC December 8, 2013 - East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23, according to a joint announcement by

platform, or by placing orders over the phone or in Get Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Tickets person at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ticket pricKickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. against Ohio, es of $55 and $35 have been established for lower which will enter the bowl season with an overall (100 and 200) and upper (300) level seating areas, mark of 7-5 and a Mid-American Conference record respectively, while a $20 ticket is available for purof 4-4. The Pirates and Bobcats have faced off twice chase by ECU students. In addition, the Miller Lite previously as ECU posted 55-45 and 21-14 wins Party Deck ($200) location is also available. during the 1996 and 1998 campaigns, respectively.

For additional information, such as travel packag“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ es and a schedule of events, fans are encouraged Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team to visit ECU’s devoted bowl page – Pirates In the and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area Post-Season. will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win seaseventh bowl appearance in the last eight years. son, something that has only been done once in The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl the history of our program, and allowing a special in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in 2007, the group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl chamAutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 pionship.” seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Bowl tickets are on sale now via Bowl Ticket CenCarriers New Orleans Bowl last December. tral, East Carolina’s online post-season ticketing

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl matchup: Ohio-East Carolina ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Ohio University is headed to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl to face East Carolina of Conference USA. It’s the second straight season that the Mid-American Conference will be represented in the pre-Christmas game held at Tropicana Field, home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. Ball State made the trip last December, receiving the bid when the Big East was unable to fulfill the league’s bowl commitments.

This time, the American Athletic Conference was unable to supply a team, and Ohio (7-5) will face East Carolina (9-3) on Dec. 23.

It will be the fifth straight bowl trip for the Bobcats under coach Frank Solich.

East Carolina will be making its 19th bowl appearance. The Pirates last appeared in a Florida bowl in 1965, when they beat Maine in the Tangerine Bowl.

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: Bryan M. Vance

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Ohio To Play East Carolina In St. Petersburg

Ohio is going bowling after all. The ‘Cats get a chance to take on the ECU Pirates two days before Christmas on ESPN.

It’s official, the Ohio Bobcats (7-5, 4-4 MAC) are going bowling for a fifth straight season. After some strange wheeling and dealing behind the scenes Ohio squeezed in ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan as the fifth and final Mid-American Conference team to go bowling this season. The Bobcats will face Conference-USA’s East Carolina in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg on Monday Dec. 23.

The game is scheduled to be be aired on ESPN at 2 p.m. (ET).

The ‘Cats struggled down the stretch, dropping four out of five (including a loss to CMU) before pounding UMass on Black Friday to secure a winning season for the fifth straight year. Winners of two consecutive bowl games, and with the winningest senior class in program history set to graduate, it appears the people behind the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl found Ohio to be a sexier pick for the game than Toledo (which lost its season Finale to Akron)

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

and Central Michigan (Which finished the season 6-6).

The MAC has a secondary tie-in with the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, which is in its fifth year. A spot for the MAC opened up after the American Athletic Conference was unable to fill its bowl allotments.

Ohio’s opponent for the game is East Carolina.

The Pirates concluded a 9-3 (6-2 C-USA) season with a 59-28 loss at Marshall on Black Friday.

Outscoring opponents by an average of 40.4 to 25.2, ECU’s three losses came to opponents with a combined record of 24-13. ECU features one of the most prolific passing offenses in the nation, led by junior quarterback Shane Carden. The Houston native has thrown for 3,866 yards and 32 touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes and tossing just 10 picks.

ECU has been to a bowl game in six of the last seven seasons, but has lost four straight bowl games. The Pirates last win in a bowl game came in 2008. They beat Boise State 41-38 in the Hawaii Bowl.

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Page 1 of 1 December 23, 2013 By: Brian M. Vance

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Predictions For Ohio vs. East Carolina

Ohio and Ebeef ‘ast Carolina are set to square off in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl later today, so let’s take a look at what the experts think of this one.

SB Nation: Oh, it’s so pretty, it may just distract Bobkittens from the fact that all six of the SB Nation college football experts picked ECU in this one.

Even MACtion creator himself, Spencer Hall. Have ye’ little faith Spencer!? Oh, and Bill Connelly did one of his big, numbers-based previews, with yet another ugly prediction for Ohio fans.

Dr. Saturday: Yahoo! Sports college football blog took a stab at predicting the game, with ECU winning by no less than two scores in any of the three predictions. Even more insulting to Ohio’s ego, the Doc’s think Rufus would lose a mascot fight to Pee Dee Pirate.

CBS Sports: Their six college football experts all picked ECU straight up in this one. J. Darin Darst went so far as to include a score prediction, with Ohio falling to the Pirates 38-24 in his mind.

Athlon Sports: Mark Ross did a nice little preview of the game for our friends over at Athlon Sports,

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

but Ohio fans may want to shield their eyes. He provides some chilling facts about the ‘Cats performance down the stretch, and performances against top talent, and has the Pirates offense outlasting the senior Bobcats 41-28.

Bleacher Report: Sean Frye of Bleacher Report broke down the matchup as well, giving an ole tip of the cap to Ohio and Frank Solich for making it to their fifth straight bowl game. But then he stomps on the hearts of ‘Cats fans with his prediction that ECU rolls to a 48-17 victory, which may be more painful than having to sit through a slideshow just to see the prediction.

Hustle Belt: Time for the only predictions that matter: Our staff’s. Here at the Belt, its not often we all agree on something. Such was not the case with this game. Having seen Ohio play all season, we all have a solid grasp on who this team is. It is not the team we all thought it would be, and is not one any of us think is capable of slowing down an offense far superior to those it was torched by down the stretch of the season. We spared any score predictions in this one. Let’s just say, we have little faith it will be interesting past halftime.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Brian M. Vance

How To Watch 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, Ohio vs. East Carolina: ESPN, Gametime, Streaming, Radio

Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

It didn’t look like Ohio would be here. After going 4-4 in conference play, including three straight blowout losses, it appeared the ‘Cats season was over. But, somehow Ohio worked its way into the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s bowl, and now we’re here. It’s gameday. The Bobcats get one shot to prove they deserved to be here, regardless of record, and here’s how you can watch.

By The Numbers:

ECU comes into this game sitting at 9-3 (6-2 C-USA) and is looking for its first 10-win season in 22 years.

The Pirates feature one of the nation’s best offenses, averaging more than 40 points-per-game, mostly through the air via the prolific duo of Shane Carden and Justin Hardy. Oh, and the defense isn’t too bad either. ECU is allowing right around 25 points-per-game, but is in the Top 30 nationally for total defense.

This is the seventh bowl appearance for the Pirates in the past eight seasons, but has lost six of their last seven, including four straight.

Ohio stumbles into this one sitting at 7-5 (4-4 MAC) and is looking for its third straight bowl win. The ‘Cats aren’t particularly good at anything, ranking in the bottom half of the nation in both points scored and points allowed per game. In fact, Ohio is averaging just 1.3 more points-per-game than it allows. It’s rushing attack is almost non-existent as well, ranking 96th in the nation in yards per game. This is the fifth straight bowl appearance for the Bobcats, who have won their previous two (The first two in school history).

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Names To Know:

We already did a big breakdown of the game’s impact players yesterday, which you can read here. But for the purpose of this piece, we’ll give you a little breakdown of the team’s coaches.

Frank Solich: In his ninth season in Athens, Fearless Frankie is a well known name around the MAC, and in the national coaching world. He spent the better part of three decades in Lincoln, Nebraska, including a stint as the Cornhuskers’ head coach before winding up in Athens. Since he’s arrival he’s taken the ‘Cats from the basement of the MAC, to a perennial contender. His Bobcats are playing in their fifth straight bowl game, having won the previous two. Nearing 70, Ohio is definitely his last stop, but there has been recent grumblings that this could be his last game. Don’t be surprised if he calls it quits after a ‘Cats win.

Ruffin McNeill: In his fourth season with the Pirates, McNeill is also a veteran of the college coaching ranks. Since 1985 the former ECU defensive back has been working his way up the college coaching ranks. Before joining his alma mater in 2010, he worked at Texas Tech for nine seasons, including as the defensive coordinator for the final two seasons. He worked under former Red Raiders head coach Mike Leach, being named the interim head coach after Leach was fired over allegations of player mistreatment. In four seasons at the helm of the Pirates, they’ve gone 29-22, with a trip to a bowl game in three of those years. A defensive mind by nature, his teams have actually featured strong offenses, and after winning 17 games these past two seasons, could be on his way up to a higher level job.

How To Watch:

This game will air on ESPN at 2 p.m. EST. It can also be streamed via the WatchESPN app and ESPN3. com with a valid cable subscription. Eamon McAnaney and Anthony Becht have the call for ESPN. How To Listen:

The game’s radio broadcasts can be streamed online via OhioBobcats.com and ECUPirates.com.

Ohio fans can hear Russ Eisenstein and Rob Cornelius on the call on the Ohio Bobcats Radio Network on the ‘Cats flagship station, 105.5 FM in Athens, Ohio.

ECU fans can hear the official game broadcast on 107.9 FM in Greenville, N.C. Follow Along:

We’ll be providing up-to-the-minute coverage and analysis of the game right here in our Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl StoryStream. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter: Follow @OhioFootball for Ohio Bobcats for in-game updates and information.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Brian M. Vance

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Bobcats Tank Down the Stretch, Fall 37-20 To Pirates

Tyler Tettleton’s career as a Bobcat came to an end Monday evening amidst a frustrating performance. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

ever a game could serve as a microcosm of a season as a whole it was the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Just like the Ohio Bobcats’ 2013 season the game started off horribly before showing real signs of promise and hopes of glory, ultimately crashing in a giant ball of flames. A fitting end to a season and game full of so many highs and lows.

Ohio’s senior-laden team entered the 2013 season with high-hopes, but after the clock hit zero on the scoreboard of Tropicana Field Monday evening all that was left was a legacy muddled in a confusing mix of successes and letdowns. The greatest senior class in Ohio Football history chocked in the end, and it was ugly. ECU put up 568 yards of total offense, and scored three touchdowns in the final 10 minutes to take home the 38-17 win.

Similar to the end, the beginning of the game was less than attractive for Bobcats fans. On the Pirates’ second drive of the game quarterback Shane Carden orchestrated a masterful short-pass drive resulting in a five-yard touchdown pass. At the end of the first Ohio had given up nearly 200 yards of offense, and a pair of touchdowns.

But just as the season went, so too did this game. After finding themselves in an ugly hole early, the scrappy ‘Cats fought back. Tyler Tettleton started looking like the Tettleton of old, and the offense opened up thanks to the use of Daz’ Patterson in the play action. Five minutes into the second quarter we had ourselves a tie ball game.

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From there on it was an all out fight. Not picked to win by anyone, the senior class that accomplished so much in seasons prior, refused to go down. Tettleton and the offense clawed their way into the game. The defense, led by Travis Carrie, who locked down ECU stud receiver Justin Hardy, was stopping the Pirates vaunted offense. Sure, they were settling for field goals, but the Bobcats were in charge of the game. Early in the third quarter Ohio tied the game up at 17 all. Then after smothering ECU by forcing a fumble and blocking a field goal, the Green and White took a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter and it seemed like the team was well on its way to a third straight bowl victory.

Just like the ‘Cats’ season, it all went downhill from there. It started with that lead-changing field goal. They kicked an onside kick after the score, recovering it and taking over at mid-field. A few plays later the Ohio drive stalled at the ECU 28. No big deal, Frank Solich just turned to kicker Josiah Yazdani, his perfect kicker who had yet to miss a single kick on the season, including two earlier in the game. Then he missed.

That field goal, which went slightly left, shot the Bobcats off course. On the very next drive Vintavious Cooper scampered into the end zone on a 31-yard scamper, his first of two on the night, to give ECU a 24-20 l ead. He finished the game with 198 yards, a career high, on 25 carries.

Ohio’s confidence vanished. The ‘Cats defense looked flustered, and got caught up in some trickeration on the next ECU drive. Pirates’ quarterback Shane Carden hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass, tacking on to his 273 yards and score throwing the ball. Two Tettleton picks and a 22-yard touchdown run by Cooper later and it was all over.

Ohio’s two-game bowl streak, snapped. It’s greatest senior class, defeated. All in a brief 10-minute span.

The great Ohio senior quarterback looked good at times throughout the game, but also did some things that have come to drive ‘Cats fans insane. Like in the fourth when he scrambled out to his right, hanging onto the ball, and dipping out of bounds for a massive loss. He looked sporadic, completing just 52 percent of his passes and throwing three picks to one touchdown.

Ohio’s stellar senior running back Beau Blankenship finished with just 66 yards on 21 carries, and no touchdowns. The team finished with its worst season since 2008, before the senior class stepped foot on the field. And a legacy built on accomplishing several firsts, ended in a a broken pile of dreams, back where it all began.

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Page 1 of 2 December 14, 2013 By: Joseph Lisi

Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl Preview and Prediction: East Carolina Pirates vs. Ohio Bobcats

Jim Coswert-USA TODAY Sports

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersberg will feature two teams showcasing high powered passing attacks. For the East Carolina Pirates (9-3), this game offers an opportunity to pick up their 10th victory of the season and finish with the most wins since the 1991 season (11). For the Ohio Bobcats (7-5), a victory will give seniors Tyler Tettleton and Beau Blankenship the chance to end their Bobcat careers with a third straight bowl win.

East Carolina has the 10th best passing offense in the country averaging 331.5 passing yards per game. Junior quarterback Shane Carden has a big arm and is having a very solid season. Carden has completed 71 percent of his passes for 3,866 yards with 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He is extremely accurate and in 12 games this season has been held under 60 percent completion percentage only one time (last game of year vs. Marshall).

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

The Pirates have been able to score points at will and are ranked 11th in the nation in scoring offense (40.4 points per game). Look for the Pirates to stretch the field against a Bobcat offense surrendering 212.2 passing yards per game. Wide receiver Justin Hardy is Carden’s favorite target as the junior has 102 receptions on the season for 1,218 yards and eight touchdowns.

A weakness of the Pirate offense could be the offensive line. East Carolina has given up 28 sacks through 12 games this season and must contain a Bobcat defensive front that has registered 33 sacks through 12 games.

The Bobcats have been one-dimensional offensively this year with their inability to rush the football consistently. Quarterback Tyler Tettleton has carried the team on his back as the Bobcats are averaging 238.5 passing yards per game (58th in the nation). Tettleton is completing 63.1 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and nine interceptions on the year.

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The offensive line has been erratic and failed to open up holes for the running backs. The Bobcats are ranked 96th overall in rushing offense averaging 136.3 rushing yards per game. Running back Beau Blankenship has had a disappointing season gaining 844 yards with five touchdowns. However, in the last game of the season, Blankenship broke out for a 124 yards performance and one touchdown in the victory over UMASS. The Bobcats will look to challenge a Pirate defense giving up 25.2 points per game (51st in the nation).

East Carolina is yielding 245.8 passing yards per game and is surrendering 117.5 rushing yards per game. Ohio has been very good at rushing the passer and will look to force Carden into quick reads and throws.

The defense has created 22 turnovers (eight fumbles, 14 interceptions) and must be able to create

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turnovers in this match up to give Tettleton and company a short field.

East Carolina has been very opportunistic on defense and is plus-5 in turnover margin.

Prediction: While East Carolina has the better offense, the Ohio Bobcats are a veteran team with a senior quarterback in Tyler Tettleton. Head coach Frank Solich has won two straight bowl games and the pressure could fall onto East Carolina into picking up the victory. Look for the Bobcats to test the middle of the Pirates’ defense as Tettleton and Blankenship end their careers with a bowl victory.

Ohio 42 – East Carolina 31 Read more at http://www.rantsports.com/ ncaa-football/2013/12/14/beef-obradys-bowl-preview-and-prediction-east-carolina-pirates-vs-ohio-bobcats/?yDUeFXrTdsW4We51.99

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Pirates accept invitation to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

Copyright 2013 Capitol Broadcasting Company East Carolina Pirates running back Vintavious Cooper (21) and East Carolina Pirates wide receiver Justin Hardy (2) during todays game. East Carolina defeats UAB Blazers 63-14 on Saturday, November 16, 2013 in Greenville, NC (Photos By Anthony Barham)

East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23, according to a joint announcement by bowl officials and Conference USA Sunday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. against a still to be determined opponent.

“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

Bowl tickets are on sale now via Bowl Ticket Central, East Carolina’s online post-season ticketing platform, or by placing orders over the phone or in

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person at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ticket prices of $55 and $35 have been established for lower (100 and 200) and upper (300) level seating areas, respectively, while a $20 ticket is available for purchase by ECU students. In addition, the Miller Lite Party Deck ($200) location is also available.

For additional information, such as travel packages and a schedule of events, fans are encouraged to visit ECU’s devoted bowl page - Pirates In the Post-Season.

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its seventh bowl appearance in the last eight years.

The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last December.

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Page 1 of 1 December 29, 2013 By: Brian Bailey

Pirates to Play in Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

http://www.wnct.com/story/24166034/pirates-to-play-in-beef-o-bradys-bowl

GREENVILLE, N.C. The East Carolina Pirates accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The game set for December 23 will kick off at 2:00 p.m.

East Carolina will meet Ohio University in the game.

“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its seventh bowl appearance in the last eight years. The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last December.

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Page 1 of 1 December 9, 2013 By: WCTI Staff

Pirates Accept Invitation to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl

http://www.wcti12.com/news/pirates-accept-invitation-to-the-beef-o-bradys-bowl/-/13530444/23384162/-/ yfh9wsz/-/index.html

GREENVILLE, PITT COUNTY East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23, according to an ECU news release.

“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

Bowl tickets are on sale now via Bowl Ticket Central, East Carolina’s online post-season ticketingplatform, or by placing orders over the phone or in person at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office Monday through

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ticket prices of $55 and $35 have been established for lower (100 and 200) and upper (300) level seating areas, respectively, while a $20 ticket is available for purchase

by ECU students. In addition, the Miller Lite Party Deck ($200) location is also available.

For additional information, such as travel packages and a schedule of events, fans are encouraged to visit ECU’s devoted bowl page - Pirates In the Post-Season.

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its seventh bowl appearance in the last eight years.

The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last December.

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: John Smist

ECU headed to Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23, according to a joint announcement by bowl officials and Conference USA Sunday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. against a still to be determined opponent.

“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

Bowl tickets are on sale now via Bowl Ticket Central, East Carolina’s online post-season ticketing platform, or by placing orders over the phone or in person at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ticket prices of $55 and $35 have been established for lower (100 and 200) and upper (300) level seating areas, respectively, while a $20

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

ticket is available for purchase by ECU students. In addition, the Miller Lite Party Deck ($200) location is also available.

For additional information, such as travel packages and a schedule of events, fans are encouraged to visit ECU’s devoted bowl page - Pirates In the Post-Season.

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its seventh bowl appearance in the last eight years.

The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last December.

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Page 1 of 1 December 9, 2013 By: Associated Press

Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl matchup: Ohio-East Carolina ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Ohio University is headed to the Beef `O’ Brady’s Bowl to face East Carolina of Conference USA. It’s the second straight season that the Mid-American Conference will be represented in the pre-Christmas game held at Tropicana Field, home of baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays. Ball State made the trip last December, receiving the bid when the Big East was unable to fulfill the league’s bowl commitments.

This time, the American Athletic Conference was unable to supply a team, and Ohio (7-5) will face East Carolina (9-3) on Dec. 23.

It will be the fifth straight bowl trip for the Bobcats under coach Frank Solich.

East Carolina will be making its 19th bowl appearance. The Pirates last appeared in a Florida bowl in 1965, when they beat Maine in the Tangerine Bowl.

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_south_pinellas/st_petersburg/ beef-o-bradys-bowl-matchup-ohio-east-carolina#ixzz2oyWZG6MT

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Page 1 of 1 December 11, 2013

UPDATE: ECU To Face Ohio In Beef O’Brady’s Bowl

East Carolina has accepted an invitation to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl against Ohio University at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Dec. 23, according to a joint announcement by bowl officials and Conference USA Sunday.

“While it is an honor to compete in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, the opportunity to take our team and Pirate Nation to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area will make this trip even more exciting,” ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge of accomplishing a 10-win season, something that has only been done once in the history of our program, and allowing a special group of seniors a chance to play for a bowl championship.”

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making its seventh bowl appearance in the last eight years. The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010 and the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl last December.

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

Previous story:

The ECU football team has accepted an invitation to the Beef O’ Brady’s bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Pirates do not yet know who they’ll be playing.

The game will be played on Monday, December 23rd at 2:00 pm at Tropicana Field.

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Page 1 of 3 December 8, 2013 By: Steven Muma

2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, East Carolina vs.

Ohio: TV time, team profiles and more

Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

East Carolina announced it’s headed to St. Petersburg, while ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reports Ohio will join.

For the longest time, the college football landscape

lacked a postseason game played in a baseball stadium and sponsored by an apostrophe-laden restaurant chain, but no longer are we so deprived.

Since the inception of this contest, teams from four different conferences have made appearances, led

by Conference USA’s five appearances.

This season, the game features teams from C-USA

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

and the MAC.

Date and time, ET: Dec. 23, 2 p.m. ET TV channel: ESPN

Location: St. Petersburg, Fla.

Stadium: Tropicana Field (42,735) Tickets: Find available seats here.

Last year’s score: Central Florida 38, Ball State 17

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Last year’s attendance: 21,759

Last year’s TV rating: 1.3 (1.9 million viewers) Last year’s payout for each school: $537,500

Team with the most all-time appearances: Central Florida (2) Team with the most all-time wins: UCF, Marshall, Louisville, Rutgers and South Florida each have won the bowl once.

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA)

East Carolina had a fine regular season, coming in at 9-3. While the Pirates will play in a bowl for the seventh time for eight seasons, they were close to so much more. They nearly knocked off Virginia Tech for a marquee win against an ACC team, falling 15-10 on Sept. 14. After suffering only a 36-33 overtime loss to Tulane through the first seven Conference USA games, they blew a chance to advance to the C-USA title game with a 59-28 loss to Marshall in the regular-season finale.

ECU fields one of Conference USA’s best offenses.

The Pirates average 40.4 points and 459.8 yards per game, ranking second in both categories among C-USA teams. Quarterback Shane Carden and wide receiver Justin Hardy are the big playmakers.

Carden has completed 71 percent of his passes for

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

3,866 yards, 32 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Hardy has 105 catches for 1,218 yards and eight scores.

The Pirates haven’t been quite as good on defense, but they’re still respectable. They allow 25.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the conference, and their 363.3 yards per game allowed ranks sixth. Linebackers Derrell Johnson and Montese Overton have anchored the defense, combining for 23 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks.

Last bowl game: 2012 New Orleans Bowl vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, 43-34 loss Last year without a bowl: 2011 All-time bowl record: 8-10

Head coach’s bowl record: Ruffin McNeill, 1-2

Ohio (7-5, 4-4 MAC)

The MAC was a very curious affair this season, with three double-digit win teams and four double-digit loss teams. A large portion of the conference was either very good or very bad, with not many programs occupying the space in between.

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One of those few teams that didn’t have a remarkably good or bad seasons? The Ohio Bobcats, who won a pair of solid non-conference games but were blown out by the only two solid MAC opponents they faced.

Non-conference wins against North Texas and Marshall seemed to set the Bobcats on the right track heading into MAC play, and a 43-3 win over Akron in the conference opener further solidified those dreams. They dropped their next game to Central Michigan in a tight one before wins over lowly Eastern Michigan and Miami (OH). A crucial three-game stretch in early November resulted in three Ohio losses by a combined score of 123-16.

A season-ending win over Massachusetts ensured a winning record for the Bobcats, who are led at quarterback by Tyler Tettleton, the son of former Major League Baseball player Mickey Tettleton.

Last bowl game: 2012 Independence Bowl vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 45-14 win Last year without a bowl: 2008 All-time bowl record: 2-5

Head coach’s bowl record: Frank Solich, 4-6

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/12/8/4849596/beef-obradys-bowl-2013ecu-ohio

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Page 1 of 1 December 23, 2013 By: Steven Muma

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013 final score: ECU tops Ohio, 37-20

The Pirates subsequently put together a 71-yard drive capped by a 31-yard touchdown run by Vintavious Cooper, then grabbed a two-score lead midway through the final quarter with this bit of trickery: 829282866_medium Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

East Carolina piled up more than 560 yards of offense on the way to a 37-20 victory over Ohio in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl on Monday afternoon. The Pirates started and finished strong in this one, though the game was in doubt well into the fourth quarter.

Shane Carden hit Cam Worthy for a five-yard score to get things started, Breon Allen added a rushing score late in the first quarter, and East Carolina had a 14-0 lead after the first 15 minutes. Ohio rallied with a couple of touchdowns in the second quarter to even things up, including an 80-yard strike from Derrius Vick to Donte Foster.

ECU ended that Ohio scoring run with a field goal, giving the Pirates a 17-14 edge headed into halftime.

The game bogged down a bit in the third quarter, with both offenses struggling to piece together scoring drives. Ohio grabbed its first lead of the day, 20-17, with a field goal early in the fourth, and then successfully converted an onside kick. The momentum had clearly shifted in Ohio’s direction, but that possession ended in a missed field goal, and from there, things fell apart for the Bobcats.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

(Via @EyeOnCFB)

This time it was Worthy hitting Carden, and it was all the cushion that ECU would need.

Box Score Hero:

Cooper had a huge day on the ground, setting a new career-high with 198 rushing yards. He averaged 7.9 yards per carry and scored twice.

Rankings Ramifications:

Coming in, neither team had received votes in the latest editions of the AP and Coaches polls. It’s unlikely that winning this game will be enough to get ECU into the top 25.

But Did They Cover?

East Carolina was a 14 or 14.5-point favorite, depending on the sportsbook, but either way, the Pirates covered.

For More On This Game:

Head over to our MAC blog, Hustle Belt.

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Page 1 of 2 December 20, 2013 By: Mel Suiter

WELCOME TO ST. PETERSBURG AND THE BEEF O’BRADY’S BOWL! “Where is it played?”

Well, the good folks of ESPN Regional Television decided that a bowl game desperately needed to be played in the city of St. Petersburg, at Tropicana Field and the bowl game has been around since 2008.

“Ok, then we will be there!” Solich said. “I will see you soon, please stop by and we will talk about the glorious history of Ohio University football.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —- How did Uncle Mel get an invitation, somebody must of made a mistake?

Your uncle from the other side of the family was working hard in the office of the News Gathering Center of the South, busy shifting through and reading stories, filling out expense account when his concentration was interrupted by a long distance phone call.

A voice from the past that Uncle Mel remembered, an old friend from the Mid-American Conference and a football coach that likes to mix the new wave of thinking with the old ways of playing football on the field.

Speaking into the phone, Ohio University football coach Frank Solich, he knew that his old buddy from the conference was living in the state of Florida and Solich needed some help.

“What is this Beef O’Brady’s Bowl?” Solich asked.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Ohio University packed up their gear, the players, the coaches and boarded the plane for the Sunshine State and all of the great hospitality that St. Petersburg can offer.

The 2013 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl will feature from the Mid-American Conference, Ohio University and the newest member of the American Athletic Conference but will be representing for the last time, Conference USA, East Carolina University.

The Bobcats have an overall record of 7-5 and leading the offense is quarterback Tyler Tettleton and running back Beau Blankenship. The Bobcats are led on defense by red-shirt sophomore linebacker Ben Russell and by junior free safety Josh Kristoff.

Both teams like to spread the field with multiple offensive scheme and the both teams will rely on speed and quickness on defense. The Bobcats will play defense with a 4-3 look while the Pirates will deploy a 3-4.

Tettleton just needs 104 yards passing, to become the first Bobcat quarterback to throw for 9,000 yards during his Ohio University career and he needs two touchdown passes for 68 in his career, surpassing former Northern Illinois University quarterback Chandler Hamish.

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“Hopefully we’ll have a chance to score a lot of points and see what happens,” Tettleton said. “Historically they’re a great program. Obviously, anybody that makes it in to the postseason is going to be good.”

“It was hard fought football game, it came down to making a few plays in the fourth quarter they did and we didn’t,” Ohio University football coach Frank Solich said. “We had our fair share of big play. We were able to get third down conversions going into the third quarter be we couldn’t carry that on in the fourth quarter.”

Like a real swash-buccaneer, Tettleton seemed to take chances, he ran the ball and he threw the ball but it looked like he might have been trying to get too much and it looked like he struggled.

Tettleton was 40-of-21 for 228 yards and he threw three interceptions that Solich said did not help the offense or the Bobcats.

“It was a hard fought football game,” Solich said. “0

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

for 3 in the turnover ratio was a factor in our loss.”

The running game for the Bobcats did not have a good day, running back Beau Blankenship struggled to get away from the Pirates’ defense.

Blankenship ran 21 times for 66 yards and he did not catch a pass.

The Bobcats offense ran 81 plays for 435 yards, including just 107 yards on the ground from the tailbacks.

Leading the Bobcats offense wide receiver Donte Foster, he caught the ball six times for 160 yards including a pretty 80 yard reception from Derrius Vick scored the tying touchdown in the first half.

“ECU is a very physical football team,” Solich said.

“Especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

East Carolina University finished the season with 10 wins and McNeill said that he is going to just relax for a cou ple of weeks and enjoy the win.

McNeill also said that he got his Christmas present early, by just looking at the smiles of his team.- a treasure worth finding.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Mel Suiter

OHIO COULD NOT SINK EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. —It a story of two buccaneers sailing across the seas looking for treasure, it happen in the city that is nestled next to the bay, with sand as golden as the sunshine.

Ohio University’s quarterback Tyler Tettleton and East Carolina University quarterback Shane Carden dueling under the roof of Tropicana Field and each trying to take the spotlight at the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Game.

The sea settled on to the green carpet under the dome, the sun sat in the west splashing the horizon with a brilliant display of reds and yellows a sailor‘s delight, East Carolina University sailed away with the 37-20, victory over Ohio University.

Carden set a Beef O’Brady Bowl record, he threw the ball 45 times completing 29 passes for 273 yards and he caught a touchdown pass when Cam Worthy tossed the ball back to Carden on a wide receiver option pass.

East Carolina University coach Ruffin McNeill said after the game, he was proud of all of his sons and

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

the captain.

“Very proud of our team proud of our players. This group of men, what we talked about it is about life, it is not what happens to you 10 percent of it but it is the 90 percent how you react to it,” McNeill said.

“This group has not flinched all year adversity has hit them through out different ways and they don’t flinch.”

Like a good captain, a team needs to have a good crew, a good first mate and some luck, the Pirates were able to over come a successful on side kick and a Bobcat lead for the win.

Leading the rest of the crew for the Pirates first mate and running back Vintavious Cooper. He ran through the Ohio defense for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

When Carden wanted o throw the ball he found wide receiver Justin Hardy open, he found him nine times for 66 yards.

It turned out the best defense for the Pirates was the ability of the offense to keep the ball especially in the first half.

“They had 60 plays in the first half, that is unheard of,” Bobcat linebacker Keith Moore said.

Actually, the Pirates ran 57 offensive plays in the opening half and finished the game with 87 plays for 568 yards.

With the opportunities with the ball limited for the Bobcats, Ohio University did manage to tie the game at half time 14-14 and looking to make adjustments for the second half.

Blankenship needs just 90 yards to become the fourth tailback in Ohio University history to run for 3,000 yards.

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“They’re really good,” Blankenship said about facing East Carolina. “They’re a great team, they have some great wins this year and we’re excited to play a team like that!”

The Bobcats defense will have a tough task trying to contain the Pirate offense, they’ve scored 40.4 points per game during the season and won five of their last six games.

Pirates quarterback Shane Carden has thrown for 32 touchdown passes and he also has ran for 10 touchdowns. He is accurate when he is throwing the ball, his 71 percent of completing passes leads the country.

The Pirates top receiver Justin Hardy has caught 105 passes for 1,218 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Pirates defense is the toughest in their conference when stopping the run and have sacked the opponent quarterback 35 times.

East Carolina University linebacker Derrel Johnson leads the Pirates defense with 79 tackles, 13.5 tackles for losses and 3.5 sacks.

“I did get a chance to look at some film on them.

They have got a great combination of things,” Solich said. “You don’t have great passing stats without having a great quarterback that is poised. He’s a great thrower, he is knowledgeable about the game and read things well.”

Solich plan is for his offensive line to play physical and open up holes, because Solich would likes to control the clock and the tempo of the game with a punishing running game.

Tettleton will throw the ball, but just to keep the Pirate defense honest but make no mistake, the Bobcats will use a ground game.

The Bobcat defense will have to contain the Pirate’s offense, they like to get the ball down the field in a hurry and catch the defense with the wrong people on the field.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

Carden said he is just happy to be in Florida and with a chance to play in front of a national television network.

“I’m excited about all of the activities and to get back on national TV to show what we are all about,” Carden said. “I’m happy it’s sunny with no clouds, 75, and to get out of the rain.”

The Bobcats appearance in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl will be the fifth consecutive bowl appearance In the history of Ohio University, the Bobcats have made seven bowl appearance and have only a 2-5 record.

East Carolina University football coach Ruffin McNeill is currently in his fourth year on the sideline for the Pirates.

The Beef O’Brady Bowl is the seventh bowl game appearance for the Pirates in the last eight years.

“The team and staff were excited to get down here and have a chance to used to the environment,” McNeill said about his team’s anticipation about playing in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl. “Our team has done a great job embracing the process. This by far is one of the best bowl venues.”

The game plan for the Pirates defense will be to contain Tettleton from making the big play and shutting down the running ability of Blankenship.

“I think offensively, they play an up-beat, NASCAR offense like we do,” McNeill said about the preparing his team against the Bobcats. “They have a quarterback that has a lot of snaps under his belt so we have to be ready to change looks. You can’t stay in the same thing versus him. Defensively, they’re sound. We have to work hard on execution and keeping clear minds, so we have to be fast legs and we can play fast Monday.”

With invitation in hand, a map to find Tropicana Field and when Monday afternoon arrives your old Uncle will be witnessing two good football programs, playing in a respectable bowl game, in a beautiful city-and that is no mistake.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Mel Suiter

OHIO UNIVERSITY COULD NOT SINK EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

ST PETERSBURG, Fla. —It a story of two buccaneers sailing across the seas looking for treasure, it happen in the city that is nestled next to the bay, with sand as golden as the sunshine.

Ohio University’s quarterback Tyler Tettleton and East Carolina University quarterback Shane Carden dueling under the roof of Tropicana Field and each trying to take the spotlight at the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Game.

The sea settled on to the green carpet under the dome, the sun sat in the west splashing the horizon with a brilliant display of reds and yellows a sailor‘s delight, East Carolina University sailed away with the 37-20, victory over Ohio University.

Carden set a Beef O’Brady Bowl record, he threw the ball 45 times completing 29 passes for 273 yards and he caught a touchdown pass when Cam Worthy tossed the ball back to Carden on a wide receiver option pass.

East Carolina University coach Ruffin McNeill said after the game, he was proud of all of his sons and the captain.

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

“Very proud of our team proud of our players. This group of men, what we talked about it is about life, it is not what happens to you 10 percent of it but it is the 90 percent how you react to it,” McNeill said.

“This group has not flinched all year adversity has hit them through out different ways and they don’t flinch.”

Like a good captain, a team needs to have a good crew, a good first mate and some luck, the Pirates were able to over come a successful on side kick and a Bobcat lead for the win.

Leading the rest of the crew for the Pirates first mate and running back Vintavious Cooper. He ran through the Ohio defense for 198 yards and two touchdowns.

When Carden wanted o throw the ball he found wide receiver Justin Hardy open, he found him nine times for 66 yards.

It turned out the best defense for the Pirates was the ability of the offense to keep the ball especially in the first half.

“They had 60 plays in the first half, that is unheard of,” Bobcat linebacker Keith Moore said.

Actually, the Pirates ran 57 offensive plays in the opening half and finished the game with 87 play for 568 yards.

With the opportunities with the ball limited for the Bobcats, Ohio University did manage to tie the game at half time 14-14 and looking to make adjustments for the second half.

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“It was hard fought football game, it came down to making a few plays in the fourth quarter they did and we didn’t,” Ohio University football coach Frank Solich said. “We had our fair share of big play.

We were able to get third down conversions going into the third quarter be we couldn’t carry that on in the fourth quarter.”

Like a real swash-buccaneer, Tettleton seemed to take chances, he ran the ball and he threw the ball but it looked like he might have been trying to get too much and it looked like he struggled.

Tettleton was 40-of-21 for 228 yards and he threw three interceptions that Solich said did not help the offense or the Bobcats.

“It was a hard fought football game,” Solich said. “0 for 3 in the turnover ratio was a factor in our loss.”

The running game for the Bobcats did not have a good day, running back Beau Blankenship struggled to get away from the Pirates’ defense.

Blankenship ran 21 times for 66 yards and he did not catch a pass.

The Bobcats offense ran 81 plays for 435 yards, including just 107 yards on the ground from the tailbacks.

Leading the Bobcats offense wide receiver Donte Foster, he caught the ball six times for 160 yards including a pretty 80 yard reception from Derrius Vick scored the tying touchdown in the first half.

“ECU is a very physical football team,” Solich said.

“Especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

East Carolina University finished the season with 10 wins and McNeill said that he is going to just relax for a couple of weeks and enjoy the win.

McNeill also said that he got his Christmas present early, by just looking at the smiles of his team.- a treasure worth finding.

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Page 1 of 1 By: Paul Golding

Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl Coaches Welcome Event As the sun sets, on this breezy December day in St. Petersburg, the 2013 College Football Bowl Season has begun. The Head Coaches from OHIO and East Carolina have arrived here in St. Petersburg, FL for the 6th Annual Beef O’Brady’s bowl.

The Executive Director of the Bowl, Brett Dulaney, had these comments to make. In a jovial tone “We look to invite the coldest colleges to come and share the sunshine”, this was followed with laughs, but than directed towards how he and his staff chooses the teams to invite. “We work close with the conferences, we have standing relationships with” He continues and mentions how it is a little nerve racking, because the Beef O’Brady’s bowl is a lower ranked Bowl, they are waiting till about 3 hours before the official Bowl announcements are made.

In short order, the Head Coaches and Athletic Directors came up with OHIO’s Coach Frank Solich and AD Jim Schaus, than with East Carolina’s Coach Ruffin McNeil and AD Jeff Compher, begin to answer questions.

The OHIO Bobcats representatives believe that this is a great opportunity for our student athletes to play in this bowl. Coach Solich had this to say “Over 9 years of being Head Coach, I have a great support structure to motivate and grow the program.”

When it comes to winning this bowl, “A win would

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

be great for our Seniors to send them off.” As for the game itself, Coach Salich believes it is going to be a great game and he is looking forward to it.

The East Carolina Pirates representatives in turn had this to say, “It is a tremendous honor to be here.” Coach McNeil said. AD Jeff Compher says “We have a great fan base and are excited to see all of them at Tropicana Field on the 23rd.” In regards to winning the Bowl, Coach McNeil “I have been proud of our Seniors and will be a great feeling with getting our first 10 win season for our program” Talking to Mr. Dulaney, he also had to say the he is excited and looking forward to the game. This being the 6th year of this bowl, the future looks brighter for the area. This year, it is the only bowl game on, and it is the game before Monday Night Football.

In short the city of St. Petersburg is excited to welcome these two teams to Tropicana Field. The Beef O’Brady’s bowl has consistently provided an economic boost to Pinellas County, and this year will be no different. It certainly looks like the city and local boosters from these schools are going to certainly enjoy the activities planned.

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Page 1 of 1 December 8, 2013 By: Bryan M. Vance

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl 2013: Ohio To Play East Carolina In St. Petersburg Ohio is going bowling after all. The ‘Cats get a chance to take on the ECU Pirates two days before Christmas on ESPN. It’s official, the Ohio Bobcats (7-5, 4-4 MAC) are going bowling for a fifth straight season. After some strange wheeling and dealing behind the scenes Ohio squeezed in ahead of Toledo and Central Michigan as the fifth and final Mid-American Conference team to go bowling this season. The Bobcats will face Conference-USA’s East Carolina in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg on Monday Dec. 23.

The game is scheduled to be be aired on ESPN at 2 p.m. (ET).

The ‘Cats struggled down the stretch, dropping four out of five (including a loss to CMU) before pounding UMass on Black Friday to secure a winning season for the fifth straight year. Winners of two consecutive bowl games, and with the winningest senior class in program history set to graduate, it appears the people behind the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl found Ohio to be a sexier pick for the game than Toledo (which lost its season Finale to Akron)

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Recap 2013

and Central Michigan (Which finished the season 6-6).

The MAC has a secondary tie-in with the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, which is in its fifth year. A spot for the MAC opened up after the American Athletic Conference was unable to fill its bowl allotments.

Ohio’s opponent for the game is East Carolina.

The Pirates concluded a 9-3 (6-2 C-USA) season with a 59-28 loss at Marshall on Black Friday.

Outscoring opponents by an average of 40.4 to 25.2, ECU’s three losses came to opponents with a combined record of 24-13. ECU features one of the most prolific passing offenses in the nation, led by junior quarterback Shane Carden. The Houston native has thrown for 3,866 yards and 32 touchdowns while completing 71 percent of his passes and tossing just 10 picks.

ECU has been to a bowl game in six of the last seven seasons, but has lost four straight bowl games. The Pirates last win in a bowl game came in 2008. They beat Boise State 41-38 in the Hawaii Bowl.

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Page 1 of 2 January 13, 2014 By: Dan Hunt

ECU captures bowl win ECU captured its second 10-win season in school history by defeating the Ohio Bobcats, 37-20, in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, FL on Dec. 23.

The Pirates ended a four-bowl losing skid with the victory. They received a boost from seniors playing in their final collegiate game. Safeties Michael Dobson and Damon Magazu both recorded interceptions and running back Vintavious Cooper was named the bowl’s most valuable player after rushing for a career-best 198 yards on 25 carries, a 7.9 average per carry.

Junior Justin Hardy caught eight passes for 59 yards and became ECU’s all-time leading receiver, breaking Dwayne Harris’ record. Hardy is now sitting on 3,040 yards through three seasons.

Meanwhile, Shane Carden made his season the most prolific for a passer in school history, finishing with 4,139 yards – a school record. Carden threw for 297 yards and a touchdown on the night and the versatile junior even caught a touchdown pass on perhaps the play of the game (and season).

Midway through the fourth quarter, with ECU leading, 24-20 at the Ohio 14-yardline, Carden swung a lateral pass left to receiver Cam Worthy.

Worthy proceeded to throw it back in the direction of Carden, who was running towards the end zone.

The Bobcats were ready for the play and had it double-covered, but ECU’s captain high-pointed the ball, securing a highlight-reel touchdown-grab and a giving the Pirates a lead that they never surrendered.

Before the season, the Pirates set four goals for themselves: win a conference championship, beat

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an ACC opponent, win a bowl game and record 10 Photo by Drew Carter

wins. With the victory in St. Petersburg, they sealed three out of four, making even the most pessimistic of Pirate fans smile.

The Pirates capped off their own 2013 campaign on a positive note, but they also did their part to cement what was a successful, or at least top-heavy, season for Conference-USA.

Three C-USA squads (ECU included) finished with ten wins. The team that knocked the Pirates out of C-USA championship contention, Marshall (10-4), finished its season with a 31-20 victory over ACC opponent, Maryland in the Military Bowl. Star quarterback Rakeem Cato will be returning as a senior for the Herd, who will most likely be in contention for the conference crown in 2014.

Conference USA Championship Game.

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The 2013 champion of C-USA, Rice had a disappointing finish due to a 44-7 throttling handed down by Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl. The Owls had previously secured their third 10-win season in program history by defeating Marshall, 41-24 in the

North Texas earned its first bowl victory since 2008 with a 36-14 victory over UNLV in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. The Mean Green made their case to justify their entry into Conference-USA after going 6-2 in the league and 9-4 overall.

Another first year member, Middle Tennessee State (8-5) reached a bowl game this season but was sent home by standout quarterback Keenan Reynolds and the Navy option-attack in the Armed Forces Bowl. With the 24-6 loss, the Blue Raiders finished the year with eight wins for the second year in a row.

Tulane was edged out by in-state foe Louisiana-Lafeyette 24-21 in the New Orleans Bowl, which was an exciting battle inside the Superdome.

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The Green Wave (7-6) lost a heartbreaker, but compared to their struggles in recent history, they will head to the American Athletic Conference trending in a positive direction under second-year coach Curtis John son.

The Pirates will be joining the Green Wave in their conference transition riding with momentum of their own. Shane Carden will be back with a plethora of offensive weapons at receiver, but ECU will likely have to go through young and talented teams like Cincinnati and Houston next season – not to mention UCF coming off a 52-42 Fiesta Bowl upset over Baylor, en route to a 12-1 dream season.

UCF’s star quarterback Black Bortles has elected to enter the NFL draft and running back Storm Johnson has made the same decision, rendering the 2014 AAC race wide-open, as teams like, SMU, UConn, South Florida, Temple and Memphis look to redeem from sub-par 2013 seasons as the Pirates get ready for their first season of AAC play.

This writer can be contacted at news@theeastcarolinian.com

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Page 1 of 1 December 16, 2013

Ohio, East Carolina sign contracts to play in Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl

http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=2938296580001

St. Petersburg, FL -- Ohio University and East Carolina signed contracts to play the Dec. 23 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.

Ohio head coach Frank Solich and East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill, along with Bowl supporters, gathered at the PUSH ULTRA lounge St. Petersburg, to make everything official.

East Carolina finished the regular season 9-3, and is headed to its 7th bowl game in the last 8 years.

The Ohio Bobcats were 7-5 in 2013, and the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl will be their 5th straight bowl game.

The Beef O’Brady’s Bowl will kick off at 2 pm Dec. 23, at Tropicana Field.

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Page 1 of 1 December 23, 2013 By: Grayson Kamm

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Day in Tampa Bay: Fan fest starts at 10 a.m.

St. Petersburg, Florida -- The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl kicks off Monday afternoon in St. Pete and it’s bringing football fans from around the country along with it.

Tampa Bay’s warm weather and hopefully booking some vacations.

The fan tailgate extravaganza for both out-of-town fans and locals from Tampa Bay opens at 10 a.m.

Monday outside Tropicana Field. That leads up to kickoff at 2 o’clock.

There are plenty of critics of those numbers -- not just for this event, but for all big sporting events like this.

It’s bowl day in the Bay area.

It’s still a bit weird and cool to see a football gridiron wedged onto the baseball turf at the Trop. This is the sixth year for the gamethat started out simply called the “St. Petersburg Bowl.”

The Ohio University Bobcats are taking on the Pirates of East Carolina University in the 2013 edition.

ESPN will air the game -- the sports network actually owns the game and puts it on.

People all over our cold country will be seeing

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After the 2011 bowl game, Visit St. Pete-Clearwater said the economic impact on our area was just under $2 million.

But there’s no arguing that there will be several hundred hotel rooms booked because of this game, plus thousands of local folks get to go to a fun football game.

And ESPN will certainly spend the entire broadcast at 2 p.m. Monday talking about how warm and sunny it is in St. Petersburg and how miserable it is just about everywhere else the country.

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Page 1 of 4 December 31, 2013 By: Chris Girandola

Bowled over: Why Tampa Bay is the ultimate place for a college football party

East Carolina RB Vintavious Cooper broke the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl record for yards rushing with a career-best 198 yards and also scored two touchdowns. He also became the first East Carolina player to win a MVP award in a bowl game since Tennessee Titans star Chris Johnson ran for 223 yards against Boise State in the 2007 Hawaii Bowl.

A little over a week ago, Raymond James Stadium was chosen over five other venues as the site for the 2017 college football national championship game. AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will host the first title game in 2015, the first year the NCAA uses a four-team college football playoff, and Glendale’s University of Phoenix Stadium, the site of the Fiesta Bowl and home of the Arizona Cardinals, will be the site for the Jan. 11, 2016, game.

The selection of Raymond James Stadium as a site for the title game is interesting, considering the venue has never been included in the previous Bowl Championship Series events. Ever since the stadium’s 1999 opening, the Outback Bowl has hosted a yearly contest between teams from the SEC and the Big Ten conferences.

Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff, said Tampa was almost a no-brainer for the bid, considering the committee wanted the contest to be held in three separate time zones in the first three years. More importantly, though, Tampa presents an ideal location for the game.

“The Tampa Bay area is committed to hosting big events in a gracious and thorough manner,” said Hancock, who was director of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four when it was held at St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field in 1999. “There’s economic impact and other (financial) factors, but part of it, too, is how a community can just feel good about itself.”

The upcoming Outback Bowl between LSU and Iowa will take place on New Years Day and undoubtedly mirror the experience had by East Carolina and Ohio this past week at Tropicana Field, which was the site for the Beef O-Brady’s Bowl.

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East Carolina’s victory over Ohio on Monday in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl was one of the last games on the early slate of bowl events and came off as “the best bowl experience” for players, coaches, band members, cheerleaders, family and friends. After listening to several people describe their experience with the festivities leading up to the game, it is fairly obvious why the Tampa Bay area is such an ideal area for hosting big-time sporting events.

Here is a pictorial snapshot of the bowl game and some notes and observations from the game:

Tropicana Field hosted the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl this past Monday when East Carolina beat Ohio.

1. The organizers of this bowl do a wonderful job catering to the participants and giving them the ultimate experience when it comes to bowl games.

The players, coaches, staff and other administrative personnel stay at two downtown hotels — the Vinoy Renaissance and the Hilton St. Petersburg Bayfront while the visiting media, bands, fans and families stay primarily at the St. Pete Beach hotels.

In addition, a majority of the events leading up to the game occurred on St. Pete Beach, specifically at the Tradewinds Resort where everyone involved with the two teams had a chance to enjoy a giant

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water slide, beach volleyball, water trikes, paddle boarding, a dunk tank and more. The two teams and bands also participated in a Beach Bash at the Tradewinds pool and beach area where bragging rights were up for grabs with multiple head-tohead competitions including the popular and hotly contested belly flop contest, won by Ohio offensive lineman John Prior.

2. The game itself was played inside the stadium normally reserved for the Tampa Bay Rays. On a day when the game-time temperature was 82-degrees outside with few clouds and low humidity.

And at a quirky kickoff time of 2 p.m., due to Monday Night Football being played on ESPN. With a whole slew of bowl games slated for the network known as the worldwide leader in sports, I guess the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl gets the shaft when it comes to a day and time for its game. Thus, the announced crowd of 20,053 at Tropicana Field came close to the 2012 game played between UCF and Ball State when an announced attendance of 21,759 watched the Knights beat the Cardinals.

Ohio offensive lineman won the Belly Flop contest, one of several contests held during BeachBash day at Tradewinds Resort.

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Ohio junior running back Tim Edmond: On bowl week and the difference between St. Petersburg and Shreveport, Louisiana, where Ohio beat

what was going on and what there was to do.”

Players also appreciated the chance to visit wounded soldiers at the Bay Pines VA Hospital in St. Petersburg, which is a departure from the typical visit to children’s hospitals during bowl weeks.

Ohio senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton: “It means a lot to see the veterans who served our country and for us to give back. It’s a very humbling experience and I’m grateful to be here. I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone is high in energy and full of spirit.”

The East Carolina band competes in the Battle of the Bands portion of BeachBash, a contest event between the two teams in the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.

Louisiana-Monroe in the 2012 AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl.

“This was a really big experience for our team. Last year’s bowl we had 23-degree weather in Louisiana. This is my third time ever being on the beach, so I’m enjoying every minute,” said Matthew Scarborough, junior tuba player for the East Carolina Marching Pirates band when asked to compare this year’s experience with the one at at last year’s New Orleans Bowl, where East Carolina lost to Louisiana-Lafayette.

“It just feels like a bowl-like atmosphere. There’s a lot more activities to do (than New Orleans). We stayed on the beach at the Tradewinds and so did the other band so and the weather was outstanding so we were able to meet other band members and form a lot of new friendships. The organizers really planned it out well and we always had an idea of

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After talking to a number of players, band members, coaches and fans, I concluded this location for a game is excellent. You have great weather, the beaches, the improved entertainment value of downtown St. Petersburg and the hospitality approach that is built in with workers at area hotels, restaurants, shops and bars. Whereas in New Orleans, coaches have to “consistently be on the upand-up with players and making sure players don’t get into trouble,” according to one coach who asked to be unnamed.

That being said, from looking at the crowd, a majority of the fans clearly were associated in some way with East Carolina or Ohio and a small number were local residents there just to watch the game.

Whoever it was, though, enjoyed having the game at Tropicana Field.

“It’s a great thing to put a game here in the Trop,” said Drew Heuertz, associate head coach for the Northeast High School football team. “They should have more games here, including possibly the state playoffs and the Mayor’s Cup (a game featuring two of the best teams in St. Petersburg).”

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An announced crowd of 20,053 watched East Carolina beat Ohio at Monday’s Beef O’Brady’s Bowl.

Allie Cochran, a sophomore at Ohio University, has been to three straight bowl games to watch brother play. Bobcats junior wide receiver Chase Cochran coincidentally kept a daily blog for the Ohio athletics website.

“This is the best bowl game experience, by far,” Allie said. “There wasn’t much to do in Shreveport.

This has all been kind of surreal realizing how warm it is and it’s around Christmas-time. It’s definitely a great place to go for a bowl game.”

East Carolina Head Coach Ruffin McNeill: “First, I want to thank the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl for what a great experience and the city of St. Petersburg.

They treated our team first class. I have been blessed to have been to a lot of bowl games and this is one of the top venues.”

Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich: “It was a first class bowl. We had a great time and we’re proud to represent our team in the bowl. It was a hard fought football game. 0-3 in turnover ratio was a factor in our loss. ECU is a very physical football team especially on the defensive side.”

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Page 1 of 2 December 10, 2013 By: Brian Bailey

Pirates hungry for a bowl win East Carolina will soon be packing for St. Pete and its December 23 date with Ohio in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field.

The Pirates were relegated to the trip to Florida after falling to Marshall on “Black Friday.”

While there was some talk that a Rice upset win over the Thundering Herd in Saturday’s Conference USA championship game might send ECU to the Liberty Bowl, that never materialized. When everything shook out, the Pirates were headed south.

The only real confusion was on the Pirates’ opponent. Most experts had East Carolina matched up with Toledo from the Mid-American Conference.

Instead, the Pirates will get a 7-5 Ohio team in St. Petersburg. The Bobcats are also from the MAC. Toledo ended up not getting a bowl berth at all.

Ohio beat Marshall and started the year at 6-2, but the Bobcats stumbled down the stretch, losing three of their last four games.

The Pirates went back to work on Sunday on a cold, dreary day in Greenville. Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill spoke to his team about strong leadership during the bowl season. Like most coaches, McNeill wants to use the bowl preparation time to not only get ready for the game, but to also develop some of his younger players that will be such a key part of the spring season.

“Today’s practice was good and it was great to get around them,” said McNeill after the first workout.

“These are what we call ‘varsity sharps’ where it’s a high tempo pace, each rep is valuable like they all are but even more valuable right now because it’s almost an NFL type situation. We want to keep our

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old guys and starters fresh but we use the latter part of practice after they finish to work our young guys so they can get a head start on spring.”

The Pirates haven’t won a bowl game since the Hawaii Bowl in 2007. Add in the loss to Marshall to end the regular season and it’s a very hungry Pirate football team that heads to the postseason.

“We’ve had a loss earlier this year against Virginia Tech,” said Carden. “We had a week off then and I just wanted to play the next game and we had a week off and I thought that was a turn needed to play the next game. This is obviously a lot longer than that and this past week has been really weird.

Usually we’re up here Monday watching film on the next opponent and we haven’t had anyone to watch.

I’m kind of glad to get back out there to throw the ball around and work a little bit.”

Carden also looks forward to heading south.

“It will feel good,” he added. “It’s going to be warm down there. It’s been a little chilly here so it will be nice to get down there with the warm weather.”

Tropicana Field seats 43,772 and is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball. I had a chance to go the Final Four there in 1999 and my media seat was in one of the dugouts.

I always thought that a place as nice as the Tampa/ St. Petersburg area should have an outdoor stadium. The many rain showers and intense summer heat prompted the indoor facility. Just down the road sits tiny Al Lang Stadium, which is a beautiful facility that sits next to the water. There have been proposals for an outdoor stadium, but Tropicana Field carries on.

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“We are looking forward to playing in a dome again,” said Pirate linebacker Zeek Bigger. “It will be warm down there so it will be nice to get into the warm weather.”

Coach Ruff knows Florida is a recruiting hotbed and his Pirates will get a chance to perform in one of the Sunshine State’s biggest stages.

“We hit that area hard in recruiting,” said McNeill.

“We are certainly looking forward to playing there.”

Bowls before Christmas are always a bit of a tough sale. The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season just isn’t conducive with a bowl trip.

Still, it’s a bowl in which the Pirates haven’t played.

And it’s a chance for ECU to break its bowl losing streak.

Add in a shot at a 10-win season and this football team will head to Florida with plenty to play for.

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Page 1 of 1 December 19, 2013

Buses running to Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl ST. PETERSBURG – Kickoff Christmas week with easy, affordable and hassle-free transportation to the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field Monday, Dec. 23.

This year, Pinellas County will host fans and players from Ohio and East Carolina Universities for the annual college gridiron tradition. Kickoff is scheduled for shortly after 2 p.m., which will give fans and revelers the opportunity to take PSTA to and from the game.

The Central Avenue Trolley runs every 15 minutes and stops at the Pinellas Trail by Ferg’s Sports Bar, which is only a short easy walk to the Trop.

First-time riders can plan their trip by visiting www.PSTA. net and using the Google Trip Planner or by calling the PSTA InfoLine at 727-540-1900.

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Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl road trip

Page 1 of 1 December 18, 2013

Two words for Ohio University football fans: Road trip!

Those supporting the Bobcats heading to the Beef ‘O’Brady’s Bowl (link: http://www.stpetersburgbowl. com/) in Florida have plenty of options for places to stop along the way. Those who aren’t Bobcat fans might also find some gems along our Roadtrippers.com map of hot spots.

OU alum know the bricks of Court Street and College Green are a hard to leave, but add a couple local southern smokehouses and two breweries in the mix and it is a great escape.

Here is Roadtrippers’ unique route from Athens, Ohio to St. Petersburg. Click here or check out the map below.

The first stop on the list is Sam’s Hot Dog Stand in Charleston, W. Va. for its secret chili sauce. Before hitting the game at Tropicana Field and Ferg’s Sports Bar in St. Pete, there are two smokehouses and NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte, N.C., a local brewery specializing in premium microbrewed beers.

In between some diners and a look at the University of Florida Gators football stadium, take a tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Jacksonville, Fla. Visitors there will sample some of the company’s beers, including an Athens drinker’s staple, Natural Light.

After the game fans may soak up the sun on the St. Pete beaches.

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Page 1 of 2 December 23, 2013 By: Ron Lighthall

2014 Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Set For 2 p.m.

The teams feature pass-oriented, high-scoring offenses led by quarterbacks Shane Carden for East Carolina and Ohio has Tyler Tettleton under center, which will surely give us an entertaining contest.

The teams feature pass-oriented, high-scoring offenses led by quarterbacks Shane Carden for East Carolina and Ohio has Tyler Tettleton under center, which will surely give us an entertaining contest. A win for the Pirates will close their season at 10 victories; the second highest total in school history, and marks the end of their CUSA affiliation. Ohio, is the second straight Mid-American Conference team to close its season in St. Petersburg, Last year The Ball State Cardinals fell to the UCF Knights. The Bobcats are trying to finish with at least eight wins for the fourth consecutive season.

Odds makers have ECU a two touchdown favorite over Ohio, But AP and Sporting News give five reasons this will be an entertaining view.

HOLDING THEIR OWN

Ohio owns a pair of victories over Conference USA teams, beating North Texas and eventual C-USA East Division winner Marshall at home in September. East Carolina lost its regular season finale 59-28 at Marshall, the only common opponent the Pirates shared with the Bobcats.

SACK CITY

One of the key to the game figures to be getting defensive pressure on the quarterback. East Carolina led Conference USA in rushing defense has 35 sacks. Ohio has 34 sacks, four shy of the school record.

PLAYMAKERS

Like Carden, Tettleton is surrounded by some impressive playmakers. Wide receiver Donte’ Foster has 63 receptions for 858 yards and six touchdowns, while running back Beau Blankenship has rushed for 844 yards and five TDs while closing in on the 3,000-yard career rushing mark.

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SUCCESSFUL COACHES

East Carolina’s Ruffin McNeill has his alma mater in a bowl game for the third time in his four seasons. Solich took over at Ohio in 2005, and the Bobcats have made six of their eight overall bowl appearances under him. They’ve won the past two.

FLORIDA FUN

East Carolina is playing in a bowl in Florida for the first time since 1965, when the Pirates beat Maine in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. On Ohio’s last trip to the Sunshine State for a bowl game, the unbeaten Bobcats lost to Richmond in the 1968 Tangerine Bowl. One The Knights and the Pirates have both of the key local reasons to really pay attention to ECU is history. represented the conference in the The Pirates will become the newest member of the American Athletic Conference, officially joining July 1, 2014.

Championship Game each winning twice. (UCFKnights.com)

The Knights and the Pirates have both represented the conference in the Championship Game each winning twice. (UCFKnights.com) The Knights and the Pirates have both represented the conference in the Championship Game each winning twice. (UCFKnights.com)

Next season the ECU / UCF rivalry will be renewed. The Pirates have enjoyed an ongoing rivalry with the Knights while both were in CUSA since the 2005 season.

The Knights and the Pirates have both represented the conference in the Championship Game each winning twice.

UCF played in 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012, winning titles in 2007 and 2010. While ECU won in 2008 and 2009.

Prior to annual conference matchups, the Pirates and Knights had faced off in 1991, 1993, 1994, and 1996, with pirates holding a 9-3 advantage over the Knights.

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Page 1 of 2 December 12, 2013 By: Adam Thompson

ECU is 8-10 in postseason games

East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden (5) is lifted by Lance Ray (3) and Bryce Williams (80) following Carden’s touchdown against North Carolina on Sept. 28. East Carolina will play Ohio on Dec. 23 in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla.

GREENVILLE – Chris Johnson set an NCAA Bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards the last time the East Carolina Pirates won a postseason game.

In 2007, Johnson ended his college career with 223 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Pirates’ 4138 upset win over No. 24 Boise State in the Sherton Hawaii Bowl.

ECU’s bowl history, of recent, is strong. It just hasn’t been on the winning end of many season finales.

The Pirates will attempt to stop that trend on Dec. 23 against Ohio in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. “We haven’t won a bowl game in a while. We also want to end this season with 10 wins and send these seniors out with a win,” ECU quarterback Shane Carden said.

“We are playing for a lot. We are looking forward to going down to St. Petersburg and playing our best.”

The Pirates are 8-10 all-time in bowl games, but are winless in their last four attempts. They lost to Louisiana, 43-34, last season in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

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And before that, it was a defeat in 2010 to Maryland in the Military Bowl, and a loss to Arkansas in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl following the 2009 season and a loss to Kentucky in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl to conclude the 2008 campaign.

“It’s a new season, a new team. We have to have that mindset,” said ECU wide receiver Isaiah Jones. “We’ve done great things in the past and we’ve struggled in the past.

“We are not going to let those things affect us. We are going to take this game one play at a time and focus on beating Ohio.”

The Pirates (9-3) have qualified for a bowl game in seven of the last eight years. They have only two bowl victories since 2000.

Wide receiver Justin Hardy said he hopes to help the Pirates turn it around in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl.

“We have a good program here. Being able to go to bowl games nearly every year, and having good seasons, that’s really good,” said Hardy, who has 1,218 receiving yards. “We haven’t won one in a while, so now we are getting a chance to go back to a bowl game.”

The Pirates have other aspirations to play well. They are gunning to be the first ECU team with 10 wins.

They also want to erase the taste out of their mouth from the 59-28 loss at Marshall Nov. 29.

“That’s another reason we want to play well,” said Carden, who has passed for 3,866 yards and 32 touchdowns. “The last time we were out, that was not the team we are. That is not a good representation of what we can do.

“We want to go out and show what this team is all about.”

Jones, a freshman with 556 receiving yards and five touchdowns, is excited about suiting up in his first college bowl game.

“I think it is every players dream to want to play in a bowl game,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing experience with the crowd, the atmosphere, just being able to keep playing football.”

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Page 1 of 2 December 17, 2013 By: Adam Thompson

Column: Don’t let Ohio’s conference, record fool you

Senior wide receiver Donte Foster and the Ohio Bobcats will play East Carolina on Dec. 23 in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla.

While waiting to find out who East Carolina’s bowl opponent was going to be, last week, I admit, I was pretty excited.

The two opponents I was hearing the most were from the Mid-American Conference – Ohio and Toledo.

I was hoping it would be Toledo, a school I received my Bachelor’s Degree from. Instead, it was Ohio.

The Pirates will take on the Bobcats, a 7-5 team from the MAC, on Dec. 23 at the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. Sure, for Pirates’ fans, they would like to play an opponent from one of the six automatic qualifying conferences. Marshall is preparing to take on Maryland in the Military Bowl and Rice is getting set to play Mississippi State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

There’s no shame in the Pirates being assigned to challenge Ohio. The Bobcats have wins over Marshall and North Texas.

Had the Pirates defeated Marshall, then they would be playing a higher-caliber program. So, let’s not be too picky.

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Page 2 of 2 The Mid-American Conference, historically, is a very good league, with very good football programs.

It’s a league that has produced Byron Leftwich, Randy Moss, Chester Taylor, Ben Roethlisberger, Greg Jennings, Lance Moore, Jack Lambert and Heisman Finalist Jordan Lynch.

Some of the greatest college coaches got their start in the conference – Lou Holtz, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and Gary Pinkel.

Northern Illinois played in the Orange Bowl last season, and was in the Top 20 for the majority of the season.

The MAC is not as bad as people think.

I’ve always believed that the Mid-American Conference was on the same level as Conference USA, and I could argue that when I attended school at Toledo, it was even better.

That was around the same time that Marshall beat East Carolina, 64-61, in the GMAC Bowl behind the offensive outbursts by Leftwich, of the Thundering Herd, and Pirates’ David Garrard.

As a fan of college football, I want to see my team play the best possible opponent. Many Pirates’ fans many feel that Ohio is not that team, seeing that the Bobcats have some pretty bad losses as well.

No matter the conference, and the record, it’s still a quality match-up for East Carolina, and another game on the schedule.

The Bobcats are led by senior quarterback Tyler Tettleton (2,623 passing yards, 20 touchdowns), the son of former Major League Baseball All-Star Mickey Tettleton, and an experienced coach in Frank Solich, a former head coach at Nebraska.

They have played in five-straight bowl games, and won their last two.

The Pirates shouldn’t simply take Ohio’s conference, and its 7-5 record, lightly.

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Page 1 of 1 December 17, 2013 By: Nathan Summers

All business for Pirates The East Carolina football team had its last light day of the season on Monday, and it’s all business from here to the finish line.

The 9-3 Pirates conducted a walkthrough of game sequences as they continued to prepare for this Monday’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla., where they will clash with 7-5 Ohio.

Today, it’s back to the practice field for more traditional game prep for coach Frank Solich’s Bobcats, and on Wednesday the Pirates will conduct their final home practice of the season before departing for Florida on Thursday.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.

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Page 1 of 1 December 18, 2013 Nathan Summers

Pirates are battle tested

Aileen Devlin/The Daily Reflecto East Carolina’s Shane Carden (5) prepares to catch the ball during practice on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. (Aileen Devlin/ The Daily Reflector)

All season, East Carolina quarterback Shane Carden has been forced to throw the football into some very tight windows in terms of opponent coverage, and his results have mostly been remarkable.

The junior passer enters Monday’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl against Ohio with just 10 interceptions in 12 games, and three of those came on deflected passes in the team’s loss at Marshall to end the regular season.

Carden’s 3,866 pass yards (first in Conference USA and sixth nationally) and 32 touchdown passes are the end result of a campaign in which the QB faced two of the top three pass defenses in America — Florida Atlantic (second, 161.5 yards allowed/game) and Virginia Tech (third, 165.8 yards) — and six ranked in the top 50.

For the complete article, please pick up a copy of The Daily Reflector. Current home delivery and electronic edition subscribers may log in to access this article at no charge. To become a subscriber, please click here or contact Customer Service at (252) 329-9505.

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Page 1 of 1 August 7, 2013 By: Paul Tenorio

ACC to play in Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in 2014, 2016 The ACC has agreed to a deal to send a team to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg in 2014 and 2016, a bowl official told the Orlando Sentinel.

A formal announcement is expected later this afternoon.

The ACC will also serve as the first conditional choice for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in the other four years if either of the bowl’s primary partners are not able to provide a team. The bowl game is run by ESPN regional television.

American Athletic Conference commissioner Mike Aresco has said that the league is confident it will retain a relationship with the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, however the bowl official said that deal is not finalized yet. The bowl is expected to announce an agreement with Conference USA is in the coming days.

The American currently has a six-year agreement with the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. beginning in 2014 in which it will play an opponent from the ACC. The American has not finalized any other bowl partnerships for 2014-19, however.

Aresco has spoken optimistically about options, including the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl, Birmingham Bowl and Liberty Bowl, as well as potential agreements in Hawaii, Texas and New Orleans. He has also said the conference is far along in organizing a bowl game in Miami, but that deal has not yet been announced.

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Page 1 of 1 May 31, 2013 By: William Mansell

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Sets 2013 Date The 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will be held at 2 p.m., Monday, Dec. 23 at Tropicana Field.

According to the bowl, the game will air live on ESPN and will feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (formerly the Big East) and Conference USA.

“I feel the change in date and time work to our advantage from a timing standpoint as school is out and the majority of the workforce in the Tampa Bay area take this time off from work,” said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Executive Director in a news release. “The date also benefits the competing schools fan-bases as many of the bowl’s surrounding festivities will now be held during the weekend.”

Last year, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Bowl hosted the University of Central Florida and Ball State. The Knights, making their second appearance in the bowl, defeated the Cardinals 38-17.

The American has increased its membership to ten teams for the 2013 season. New to the conference are UCF, Houston, Memphis and SMU. These schools join returning teams in Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, Temple and USF.

Conference USA also has lineup changes for the 2013 season. Joining the returning teams of East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP are FAU, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas and UTSA.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will go on sale later this year with prices starting at $35, a news release said.

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Page 1 of 1 May 14, 2013

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg changes date and time for 2013 game ESPN Regional Television and the Beef O’Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg announced Monday the 2013 game will be played Monday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m. at Tropicana Field. The game will air on ESPN and features an American Athletic Conference (formerly the Big East Conference) school against a Conference USA team.

“I feel the change in date and time work to our advantage from a timing standpoint as school is out and the majority of the workforce in the Tampa Bay area take this time off from work,” said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Executive Director. “The date also benefits the competing schools fan-bases as many of the bowl’s surrounding festivities will now be held during the weekend.”

Attendance at the game has averaged around 25, 000 during its tenure at the Trop. Tampa Bay’s other bowl game, the “Outback Bowl” held at Raymond James Stadium, has a longer history, is played on New Year’s Day and draws more than twice the amount of fans that the “Beef O’Brady’s Bowl” does.

Last year, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Bowl hosted UCF representing Conference USA against Ball State of the Mid-American Conference. The Knights, making their second appearance in the bowl, defeated the Cardinals 38-17.

The American has increased its membership to ten teams for the 2013 season. New to the conference are UCF, Houston, Memphis and SMU. These schools join returning teams in Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, Temple and USF. Conference USA also has lineup changes for the 2013 season. Joining the returning teams of East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP are FAU, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas and UTSA. Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will go on sale later this year.

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Radio & TV Coverage

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620 WDAE - TAMPA Dec. 11 Steve Duemig Show Frank Solich Ron & Ian Show Ruffin McNeill

SportsTalk 1040 - Tampa Dec. 12 Whitney Johnson Experience LIVE REMOTE Ruffin McNeill Frank Solich Mike Alsott Doug Polander Brett Dulaney

ECU Pirates Radio Dec. 9 Brett Dulaney

Dec. 10 Whitney Johnson Experience Brett Dulaney

NewsTalk 820 Dec. 13 The Dan Maduri Show Brett Dulaney

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WTSP - TV Dec 13 Dave Wirth - Sports Ruffin McNeill Frank Solich On Location Bowl Week Coverage

City of St. Petersburg TV Dec. 13 Ruffin McNeill Frank Solich

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Bay News 9 On Location Bowl Week Coverage In Studio Interview Brett Dulaney

NewsChannel 8 On Location Bowl Week Coverage

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Fox 13 On Location Bowl Week Coverage

WFTS - ABC On Location Bowl Week Coverage

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Media Credentials

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2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Media Credential List 10 News Dave Wirth 10 News Christopher Fischer 10 News Robert Lewis 10 News Adam Vance Associated Press Chris O’MEARA Associated Press Fred GOODALL Associated Press Mark Didtler Associated Press Bob Bellone Associated Press Corey Long Bay News 9 Trevor Pettiford Bay News 9 Melissa Eichman Bay News 9 Josh Rymes Bay News 9 Paul Mueller Bay News 9 Cheryl Glassford Bay News 9 Virginia Johnson Bay News 9 Amy Mariani Bay News 9 Chris McDonald Bay News 9 Eddie Jackson Bay News 9 Pete Stoeck Bay News 9 Quintin Wynn Bay News 9 Marty Martin Bay News 9 Bobby Collins Bay News 9 Matthew Apthorp Bay News 9 Tina Karagiannis Bonesville.net William Myatt Bonesville.net Al Myatt Brunswick Beacon Jim Moore CAL Sport Media Romeo Guzman CEA Marketing Eric Gwatney CEA Marketing Brittany Doyle CEA Marketing Trace Williams CEA Marketing Gayle Hill CEA Marketing Kelly Bosetti City of St. Petersburg Linda Kinsey City of St. Petersburg Kim Tyre City of St. Petersburg Andy Gregory City of St. Petersburg Bergis Petsch City of St. Petersburg John Havens City of St. Petersburg Tony Leno City of St. Petersburg Paul Stellrecht City of St. Petersburg Jenelle Bunton City of St. Petersburg Robert Danielson College Football Universe Justin Burnette Creative Loafing Tracy May Tampa Bay Storm David Wilson

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Tampa Bay Storm Austin Wilson Tampa Bay Storm Lawrence Samuels Ohio University Rick Fati Ohio University Athletic Dpt. Daniel Kubus Pewter Report Magazine James “CLIFF” Welch Pirate IMG Sports Network Meghan Heinchon Pirate IMG Sports Network Jeff Charles Pirate IMG Sports Network Marty Feurer Pirate IMG Sports Network David Ho Pirate IMG Sports Network Corey Bass Pirate IMG Sports Network Kevin Monroe Pirate IMG Sports Network Shawn Heinchon Pirate Radio 1250 & 930 Troy Dreyfus Pirate Radio 1250 & 930 Allen Thomas prosportsblogging.com Mel Suiter Raleigh News & Observer Chris Wright SaskatchewanRoughriders Craig Smith Scout.com Josh Graham Scout.com Kathryn Jessick Tampa Bay Storm Jeff Gooch Ohio IMG Sports Network Rob Cornelius Ohio IMG Sports Network Grant Burkhardt

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2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Media Credential List (Cont.)

Creative Loafing Chris Girandola ESPN Radio Eamon McAnaney ESPN Radio Anthony Becht ESPN Radio Ian Fitzsimmons ESPN Radio Justin Ware ESPN Radio Russ Din ESPN Radio BJ Casserly ESPN Radio Paul Shrager Fayetteville Observer Sammy Batten Hoist The Colours (247Sports) Stephen Igoe Horrow Sports Ventures Rick Horrow Icon Sports Media Mark Lomoglio MAC Report Online Eric Singer NBC4 Matt Barnes NEWS & OBSERVER Luke Decock News 14 Carolina Jason Lucas Ohio IMG Sports Network Russ Eisenstein Tampa Bay Storm Chris Hovan Tampa Bay Storm Doug Kay Tampa Bay Storm Doug Miller Tampa Bay Storm Chris Ramenda Tampa Bay Times Joey Knight Tampa Bay Times John Pendygraft Tampa Tribune Joey Johnston Tampa Tribune Mike Camunas Tampa Tribune Nick Williams The Athens Messenger Jason Arkley The Athens Messenger Nate Smallwood The Daily Reflector Nathan Summers The East Carolinian Drew Carter The East Carolinian Dan Hunt The Post Brandon Kors The Post Christian Hopens The Sports Xchange Tom Layberger USA Today Kim Klement USA Today Matt Stamey Visit St. Petersburg Clearwater Leroy Bridges WCTI-TV Brian North WCTI-TV Allen Fairbanks WCTI-TV Robert Deskins WFLA-TV/NBC Robert Hansen WFTS-TV John Sabol WITN-TV Billy Weaver WITN-TV Chris Obarski WNCT-TV Brian Bailey WNCT-TV Storm Davis

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WOUB-TV Seth Austin WOUB-TV Tyler Rosten WTMY Radio Doug Miles

WTVT Fox 13 News Josh Cascio

WTVT Fox 13 News Doug Johnson

WTVT Fox 13 News Jon Galed

WTVT Fox 13 News Kim Kuizon

WTVT Fox 13 News Steve Nichols

WTVT Fox 13 News Tom Stebbins

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Press Releases/ Daily Recaps

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Press Release Dec. 23, 2013

For Immediate Release

Cooper Rushes for Bowl Record 198 Yards to Lead ECU Over Ohio 37-20

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. -- It was a good start and an even better finish for Vintavious Cooper, Shane Carden and East Carolina as the Pirates scored the game’s final 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Ohio, 37-20, in the sixth annual Beef O’Brady’s Bowl at Tropicana Field Monday afternoon.

East Carolina (10-3, 6-2 C-USA) jumped to a 14-0 first quarter lead but the Pirates found themselves trailing 20-17 early in the fourth quarter following a Josiah Yazdani 28-yard field goal that temporarily put Ohio (7-6, 4-4 MAC) in the lead for the first time.

Ohio appeared to be in position to extend the lead when the Bobcats recovered an onside kick at their own 48 following the Yazdani field goal. But the ECU defense stiffened and made its biggest stop of the game, forcing Yazdani to attempt and miss a 45-yard field goal.

Cooper, who was named ECU’s MVP, rushed for a career-best and Bowl record 198 yards on 25 carries. He turned the game back in ECU’s favor following the missed field goal. The senior back capped a 5-play 71-yard drive with a 31-yard touchdown scamper, his first of two TD runs on the day.

“In the first half the offensive line played way beyond what was expected,” said Cooper. “But for us, that’s the standard that we hold for our team. We hold ourselves to a high standard, and we understand definitely what it takes to make plays on any given Saturday or like today, any given Monday.”

Ohio went three-and-out on its next possession and the Pirates quickly added to their four-point lead. Carden, who set Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl passing records for completions and attempts (29-45, 273 yards), added to his big statistical day by catching a 14-yard touchdown pass on a flea flicker pass from wide receiver Cam Worthy with 7:29 left in the game.

ECU finished the scoring just past the two-minute mark when Cooper completed his record-setting afternoon with a 22-yard run to push the lead to 37-20.

The Pirates, who became the third straight Conference USA team to win this six-year event in St. Petersburg (Marshall in 2011 and UCF in 2012), took control of the game in the opening minutes and appeared to be on their way to a decisive victory.

ECU jumped ahead less than five minutes into the game on a 5-yard scoring toss from Carden to Worthy. The 55-yard drive was set up by the game’s first turnover, an interception by Pirates’ safety Michael Dobson.

The Pirates pushed the early lead to 14-0 when Breon Allen finished off an 11-play, 76-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run with 27 seconds left in the opening period.

Ohio answered quickly after ECU’s second score with a 4-play, 74-yard scoring drive that finished with a 17-yard scoring pass from Tyler Tettleton to Daz’ Patterson. The key play of the drive was a 26-yard pass off a double reverse from Tettleton to Patterson. That play gained the Bobcats an additional 15 yards when a roughing the passer penalty was tacked on and put Ohio at the 17-yard line, from where Tettleton and Patterson again hooked up for the Bobcats’ first score of the game.

ECU’s next drive stalled at the Ohio 39 and after a Pirates punt, Ohio tied the game on a Beef O’Brady’s Bowl record 80-yard touchdown pass from Derrius Vick to wide receiver Donte Foster, Ohio’s Most Valuable Player. That play helped bolster Foster’s numbers as he finished the game with six catches for a bowl-record 160 yards and the one score.

Continued

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ECU regained the lead with 1:01 left in the half on a 41-yard field goal by Warren Harvey.

The Pirates had opportunities to widen their lead in the opening half but were stopped on downs twice inside the Bobcats’ 15-yard line. A 7-play, 62-yard possession was halted on fourth down at the Ohio 15 in the first quarter, and the Pirates again were stymied in the red zone at the Ohio 14 after an 11-play, 61-yard drive late in the second period.

“First, I want to thank the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl for what a great experience and the city of St. Petersburg,” said ECU Head Coach Ruffin

McNeill. “They treated our team first class. I have been blessed to have been to a lot of bowl games and this is one of the top venues.”

SCORING SUMMARY First Quarter ECU - Cam Worthy 5-yard pass from Shane Carden (Warren Harvey kick), 10:45 ECU - Breon Allen 2-yard run (Warren Harvey kick), 0:27

Second Quarter Ohio - Daz’ Patterson 17-yard pass from Tyler Tettleton (Josiah Yazdani kick), 14:39 Ohio - Donte Foster 80-yard pass from Derrius Vick (Josiah Yazdani kick), 9:54 ECU - Warren Harvey 41-yard field goal, 1:01 Third Quarter Ohio - Josiah Yazdani 29-yard field goal, 6:42

Fourth Quarter Ohio - Josiah Yazdani 28-yard field goal, 13:34 ECU - Vintavious Cooper 31-yard run (Warren Harvey kick), 9:45 ECU - Shane Carden 14-yard pass from Cam Worthy (Warren Harvey kick), 7:29 ECU - Vintavious Cooper 22-yard run (kick blocked), 1:55 BEEF ‘O’ BRADY’S BOWL ST. PETERSBURG GAME NOTES

ECU’s victory extends C-USA’s winning streak in the game to three, following up victories by Marshall (2011) and UCF (2012).

The 80-yard touchdown reception by Ohio’s Donte’ Foster from QB Derrius Vick in the second quarter is the longest play from scrimmage and longest touchdown in the history of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg.

ECU’s Vintavious Cooper set the bowl single-game rushing yards record with a career-high 198 yards in today’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. The previous mark was set by Southern Miss’ Desmond Johnson, who rushed for 107 yards against Louisville in 2010. Cooper also established a new bowl record with 25 rushing attempts, surpassing the 21 attempts by UCF’s Latavius Murray against Ball State in 2012.

As a team, ECU rushed for a bowl-record 281 yards, besting the previous mark of 232 by USF against Memphis in 2008. The Pirates also gained 6.9 yards per rush, breaking the previous record of 5.3 by UCF against Ball State in 2012. ECU scored a bowl-record three rushing touchdowns, breaking the previous record of two.

Ohio WR Donte’ Foster set the bowl single-game receiving yards record with 160 yards in today’s game. The previous mark was set by Rutgers’ Tim Brown, who had 99 yards receiving against UCF in 2009.

ECU and Ohio combined for 1,003 total yards of offense, shattering the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg record. The previous mark was set in 2012 between Ball State and UCF, who combined for 782 yards. ECU’s 568 total yards also is the most in bowl history, breaking the mark of 496 total yards by USF in 2008.

Shane Carden set a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg single-game record with 29 completions and 44 attempts. The previous marks belonged to Marshall’s Rakeem Cato, who completed 27 passes on 39 attempts against FIU in 2011.

ECU WR Justin Hardy set a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg single-game record with nine receptions. FIU’s T.Y. Hilton held the previous mark with eight receptions (for 88 yards) against Marshall in 2011.

Michael Dobson set a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg single-game record with 14 tackles, breaking the mark of 13 tackles by Jordan Hunt of FIU in 2011 against Marshall.

ECU’s 20 points in the fourth quarter were the second-highest in any period in bowl history, one shy of the 21 points scored by Louisville in the second quarter of the 2010 game (31-28 Louisville victory over Southern Miss).

Ohio passed for 328 yards, the highest in bowl history. Rutgers had held the record with 294 passing yards against UCF in 2009.

ECU ran 87 plays, the most in bowl history. The previous best was 79 plays by USF in 2008. The Pirates set bowl marks for completions (30) and attempts (46), breaking the previous records of completions (27 by Marshall in 2011) and attempts (39 by Marshall in 2011).

ECU RB Vintavious Cooper had 90 yards rushing in the first quarter, the most in a single quarter in the history of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. Cooper had runs of 39 yards and 34 yards during his record-setting first quarter, which are the second and fourth longest rushes in bowl history. The longest running play in bowl history was 62 yards by Southern Miss’ Desmond Johnson against Louisville in 2010.

ECU WR Justin Hardy set ECU’s career receiving yards record on a 15-yard reception in the first quarter.

ECU QB Shane Carden set the ECU single-season passing yards record on a 13-yard completion to Isaiah Jones in the first quarter.

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2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 22

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Daily Recap - Sunday, Decemeber 22

Weather Today St. Petersburg: Sunny, 83 High, 69 Low Athens, OH: Cloudy, 64 High, 38 Low Greenville, NC: Cloudy, 82 High, 66 Low

St. Petersburg Forecast for Dec. 23 Game Day: 72 degrees (inside Tropicana Field) Today’s News Bay Pines VA Hospital Visit Kickoff Luncheon Battle of the Bands Bowl Block Party

Gameday Schedule - Monday, December 23 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Fan Tailgate Extravaganza Lot 7 - Tropicana Field 11:00 a.m.

Media Will Call - Gate 4 Press Box Opens

12:30 p.m.

ESPN Talent Availability Media Dining Room, adjacent to the Press Box - Tropicana Field

The ESPN telecast will be called by Beth Mowins, analyst Joey Galloway and reporter Paul Carcaterra, while the ESPN Radio broadcast will be called by Eamon McAnaney, analyst Anthony Becht and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons. The entire crew for both broadcasts will be available for interviews at this time.

2:00 p.m.

Kickoff - 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Ohio vs. East Carolina Today’s News - Dec. 21, 2013 Bay Pines VA Hospital Visit Quotes: On the VA Hospital Visit

ECU QB Shane Carden “It was fun to meet people who have served our country. These people have given our country so much and I’m honored to meet with them.

They are all friendly and we are very grateful to be out here.”

ECU Cheerleader Sally Thornton “I loved coming out here and meeting the people that served our country. It’s been by best bowl experience so far.”

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Page 2 of 2 Ohio QB Tyler Tettleton “It means a lot to see the veterans who served our country and for us to give back. It’s a very humbling experience and I’m grateful to be here. I didn’t know what to expect, but everyone is high in energy and full of spirit.”

Ohio TB Beau Blankenship “We’ve visited kids in the past, but this awesome. The vets have some great stories and I am so glad I got to meet them.”

Kickoff Luncheon Quotes:

Dewey Bozella Kickoff Luncheon Speaker ESPY Arthur Ashe Courage Award Winner On his life experience “I’m happy to have the opportunity to talk to these students and let them know their greatest gift is youth. I want to share to the students that they have the final decision. In life you make the final decision, do something with yourself. If I can do it then what excuse do you have? At the end of the day your decisions fall back on you, no one else.”

Honorary Chairman Mike Alstott On the bowl “I’ll be at the game tomorrow. Football is my life, I enjoy being able to be a part of something so special and bringing the community together. I want the student-athletes to know football is important but you can also learn life lessons.”

ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill On Dewey Bozella “He’s inspirational, what I like about him is he’ll talk to them, not at them. This has been a first-class bowl. We’re all anxious to get the game going. The team and staff have handled the transition well. I was asked what I want for Christmas and this is it, I’m here with 125 of my sons.”

On O hio Head Coach Frank Solich “I have great respect for Coach Solich, even with our running competition.”

Ohio Head Coach Frank Solich On ECU “They’re a strong team, they play hard and physical. We’re going to take care of the ball and try to create some turnovers. I woke up this morning with the realization the game is right around the corner. We are at the point where we want to get it done. Our practice yesterday was one of the better ones we’ve had. Tropicana Field is a great field to play in. It’s remarkable how they turned a baseball field into a football field. We have our hands full but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Battle of the Bands The Battle of the Bands took place at the TradeWinds Beach Resort today. The bands went head-to-head in multiple events including a dance and a tug-of-war competition.

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2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 21 Daily Recap - Dec. 21

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Weather Today St. Petersburg: Sunny, 84 High, 69 Low Athens, OH: 63 High, 58 Low Greenville, NC: 78 High, 63 Low

St. Petersburg Forecast for Dec. 22-23 Sunday: Sunny, 81 High, 69 Low Game Day: 73 degrees (inside Tropicana Field) Today’s News East Carolina Practice Ohio Practice Beach Bash Team Cruise

Sunday’s Schedule 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Bay Pines VA Hospital Visit 10000 Bay Pines Blvd.

Bay Pines, FL 33744 11:30 a.m. - Noon Media Availability Both Head Coaches Renaissance Vinoy Resort Noon Kickoff Luncheon Renaissance Vinoy Resort

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Ohio Practice (CLOSED TO MEDIA) Tropicana Field 2:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Battle of the Bands TradeWinds Beach Resort 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

ECU Practice (CLOSED TO MEDIA) Tropicana Field 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Bowl Block Party Ferg’s Sports Bar 1320 Central Avenue Today’s News - Dec. 21, 2013

East Carolina holds third practice at Clearwater Central Catholic HS Quotes: Head Coach Ruffin McNeill

On the team’s afternoon practice “Another good practice today. The boys have done a good job compartmentalizing and really enjoyed themselves.”

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Page 2 of 3 RB Vintavious Cooper On final practices and last career game “It’s been crazy, it’s gone by so fast. You try not to get too emotional but it’s bittersweet. I’m definitely excited about Monday. It would mean a lot to win the last game. I’ve met a lot of amazing people, everyone is family. Everyone’s bonded which makes our team click. It would be nice to end on a good note, to win would be amazing.”

K Warren Harvey On being in St. Pete“It’s good to have fun but this is a business trip, we’re here to win. We’re here for one reason, but we’re not afraid to have fun and it makes for a nice atmosphere to be around.”

QB Shane Carden On the Bowl experience “It’s crazy how fast this experience has gone by. Seniors have earned a team to be remembered by. It has been an awesome Bowl experience, it’s my favorite so far.

FB Jimmy Booth On being in St. Pete“It’s been a pleasure being here, time has flown by. We’re going to put out the best product we can on gameday. These guys are my brothers, this has been a great experience.”

Ohio holds second practice at Tropicana Field

Quotes: WR Donte Foster On how it feels to play in a dome “There is a big difference in the perception. When we first got out here, it looked like the defense was two miles away. It shouldn’t be hard to adjust but it was a good to get a practice here.”

On playing his final game “It’s been great career for me and I am going to have all the emotions come game day. The Bowl Committee has treated us amazingly. I am sure all the guys will be ready to help the seniors get one more win.”

CB Devin Bass On East Carolina’s team “They have a very good wide receiver. There is not really a drop off between the best guy and the last guy; they are all pretty good. The QB is very efficient. He is really good at seeing what you’re doing and making the right throws. We are going to disguise what we do and catch him off guard.”

CB Travis Carrie On today’s practice “We definitely feel confident. The last day of preparation is always trick play day. The coaches are putting things into order to get your mind going. We had great energy and it was good to get a practice inside the dome.”

On shutting down the ECU offense “Frustrating the quarterback is going to be the key. We want to ma ke sure he doesn’t feel comfortable, we do not want to allow him to sit back in the pocket. If you allow him to sit back in the pocket, he will pick you apart.”

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Beach Bash at TheTradeWinds Beach Resort

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Competitions:

Hula Hoop Participants: ECU - J.T. Boyd, Terrell Stanley, Jonathan Powers Ohio - John Prior, Antwan Crutcher, Jon Lechner Winner: Ohio - John Prior Coaches Crazy Leg Participants: ECU DL Coach - Marc Yellock Ohio OL Coach- Keven Lightner Winner: ECU

Water Balloon Toss Participants: ECU - Isaiah Jones, Lance Ray, Cam Worthy Ohio - Jordan Reid, Chase Cochran, Sebastian Smith Winner: ECU Dance Contest Participants: ECU - DaShawn Benton, Reece Speight Ohio - Tim Edmond, Dyquan Stewart Winner: Ohio

Belly Flop: Participants: ECU - Christian Matau, J.T. Boyd, Drew Gentry Ohio -Watson Tautuiaki, John Prior, Antwan Crutcher Winner: Ohio - John Prior Quotes:

Ohio RB Tim Edmond On bowl week “This was a really big experience for our team. Last year’s bowl we had 23-degree weather in Louisiana. This is my third time ever being on the beach, so I’m enjoying every minute.”

Ohio DL Watson Tautuiaki On his preparation for the Beach Bash Belly Flop competition “Oh my stomach hurts! My form, I used my imagination, took about 10 seconds, and it just came into my head. The pregame meal helped, though.”

On the Ohio team camaraderie “We are all having a great time just hanging out with friends and teammates making memories. Since I’m only a sophomore, I’m excited to learn from the older guys for future bowl games.”

ECU OL Drew Gentry On Beach Bash Belly Flop competition “I enjoyed participating; it was so much fun for me and the team. The judging had to be skewed though!”

Friday Night’s Team Cruise Recap

The first Bowl Week event that brought the two teams together took place on Friday evening. As the sun was setting the teams boarded the Yacht Starship at the Renaissance Vinoy Boat Dock for a cruise tour along Tampa Bay providing stunning views of downtown St. Petersburg and the holiday lights dotting the shoreline. Following a dinner on the main floor of the yacht, the teams headed up to the top deck where a DJ provided music and the remainder of the cruise turned into an opportunity for players on the two teams to show off their dance moves in an impromptu dance-off that’s becoming a Bowl Week tradition.

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2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 20

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Daily Recap - Dec. 20

Weather Today St. Petersburg: Sunny, 80 High, 68 Low Athens, OH: 55 High, 51 Low Greenville, NC: 68 High, 51 Low

St. Petersburg Forecast for Dec. 21-23 Saturday: Sunny, 83 High, 70 Low Sunday: Sunny, 80 High, 69 Low Game Day: 73 degrees (inside Tropicana Field) Today’s News Ohio Arrival East Carolina Practice Team Cruise

Saturday’s Schedule 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Media Center /Credential Pickup Sirata Beach Resort - Date Palm Room, 3rd Floor Conference Center 11:45 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

East Carolina Practice Clearwater Central Catholic High School 2750 Haines Bayshore Rd 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Ohio Practice Tropicana Field

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Beach Bash (open to the public) TradeWinds Beach Resort

**Schedule Update for Monday** 12:30 p.m.

ESPN TV Talent Availability The ESPN telecast will be called by Beth Mowins, analyst Joey Galloway and reporter Paul Carcaterra. The ESPN Radio broadcast will be called by Eamon McAnaney, analyst Anthony Becht and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons.

There will be media availability with the ESPN crew on Monday, prior to kickoff. The crew will be available at 12:30 p.m. from the press meal room. They can help preview the game, talk specifics on the teams or about the overall football landscape.

Today’s News - Dec. 20, 2013 Ohio Arrives in St. Pete

Ohio University arrived in St. Petersburg this afternoon and were greeted with sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s. The Ohio Bobcats will be practicing Saturday from 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Quotes: Head Coach Frank Solich On the arrival of the team “The trip was smooth, we were organized, got here and the weather is great. We enjoy being representatives of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and want to play really well and conduct ourselves well down here and enjoy the city and the bowl.”

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Dwayne Dixon “It feels really good to be back in the Florida sun. Our guys are looking forward to this opportunity, I recruit this area so I’m familiar with it. I have family here and l look forward to get a win. We came down here ready to perform at a high level.”

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Quarterback Tyler Tettleton “We are so excited to get down here and have another chance to play in another bowl game, especially in Florida. This team is so for fortunate and blessed to be in this bowl game. I’ve heard such great things about St. Petersburg.”

CB Travis Carrie “I am overwhelmed right now. I’m glad we have this opportunity to come down and play in Florida. I think it’s a great experience for a lot of the players that haven’t been able to travel a lot. Personally, I am here to have fun and to win the game. The biggest thing for us is the adjustment to the weather. We are excited that we’ll be able to see the beaches and the overall Florida experience.”

East Carolina holds second practice at Clearwater Central Catholic HS ECU held its second practice on Friday afternoon.

Quotes: Head Coach Ruffin McNeill On the team’s afternoon practice

“We had a good day. It was a short practice. Yesterday was a big adjustment day. I’m really pleased with what we did today. We need to control what we need to control. It’s called OPAAT, one play at a time.

One play, one series, one quarter, one half, when that is over, we move to the next.

On playing against Ohio.

“Ohio has a spread concept. They have a long resume on film. They are very physical and cover blends with blitzes.”

LB Jeremy Grove:

On today’s practice:

“It was a good practice. We got a lot done to get ready for Monday. This is a big game for many reasons, getting our tenth win and going into the offseason with a win. Ohio has a very physical offense. The running back is a great player and he finds a lot of holes.”

Beach Bash at The TradeWinds Beach Resort

The teams will have free time to enjoy the wonderful scenery and setting of St. Pete Beach for fun and friendly competition. Activities start at 4:00 p.m. with a giant water slide, beach volleyball, water trikes, paddle boarding, a dunk tank and more. At 5:00 p.m., the teams will gather at the main pool area where the first round of bragging rights are up for grabs with multiple head-to-head competitions including the popular and hotly contested belly flop contest and talent competition.

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2013 Daily Bowl Update Dec. 19 Daily Recap - Dec. 19

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Weather Today St. Petersburg: Sunny, 74 High, 62 Low Athens, OH: 50 High, 40 Low Greenville, NC: 60 High, 41 Low

St. Petersburg Forecast for Dec. 20-23 Friday: Sunny, 80 High, 67 Low Saturday: Sunny, 83 High, 68 Low Sunday: Sunny, 81 High, 67 Low Game Day: 73 degrees (inside Tropicana Field) Today’s News East Carolina Team Arrival

Friday’s Schedule 1:00 p.m.

Ohio Team Arrival Hilton Bayfront Hotel Coaches and Players available for interviews upon arrival in hotel lobby.

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

East Carolina Practice Clearwater Central Catholic High School 2750 Haines Bayshore Rd.

**Schedule Update for Monday** 12:30 p.m.

ESPN TV Talent Availability The ESPN telecast will be called by Beth Mowins, analyst Joey Galloway and reporter Paul Carcaterra. The ESPN Radio broadcast will be called by Eamon McAnaney, analyst Anthony Becht and reporter Ian Fitzsimmons.

There will be media availability with the ESPN crew on Monday, prior to kickoff. The crew will be available at 12:30 p.m. from the press meal room. They can help preview the game, talk specifics on the teams or about the overall football landscape.

Today’s News - Dec. 19, 2013

East Carolina Arrives in St. Pete

An excited East Carolina University team arrived at Tampa International Airport this afternoon at 3:45 p.m. and headed directly to the Renaissance Vinoy Resort to check-in before jumping back on the buses for an evening 90-minute practice.

ECU arrived a day before the traditional arrival date. Ohio is scheduled to arrive on Friday at 1:00 p.m.

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Quotes:

Head Coach Ruffin McNeill On the team coming to the Bowl a day early “The team and the staff were excited to get down here and have a chance to get used to the environment.

Our team has done a great job embracing the process. This by far is one of the best bowl venues. We’re looking forward to begin.”

Quarterback Shane Carden “I’m glad to be here. I’m happy it’s sunny with no clouds, 75, and to get out of the rain. I’m excited about all of the activities and to get back on national TV to show what we are about.”

LB Jeremy Grove “The weather is a lot warmer down here. We’re excited to get out to practice andget into a routine. This is a big game for us, it’s an honor and says a lot about our team. We want to win. We’re ready.”

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

ESPN & ESPN Radio On-Air Talent Annouced for 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 13, 2013) - The 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will have the ESPN television announce team of Beth Mowins (play-by-play)and Joey Galloway (analyst) with Paul Carcaterra on the sidelines. East Carolina will meet Ohio in this year’s game that will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2:00 p.m. and air on ESPN as well as WatchESPN, accessible online via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members.

In addition, the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg can be heard nationally on ESPN Radio with Eamon McAnaney calling the play-byplay and Anthony Becht handling the analysis.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Fans can enjoy the pregame festivities in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where fans can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage served at this premiere event. For tickets in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for more information.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN. ###

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Ohio Accepts Invite to 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 8, 2013) - Ohio, fresh off its 51 point scoring explosion in its season finale, has accepted an invitation to the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg marking the fifth consecutive bowl game appearance for the school and sixth in the last eight years. The Bobcats will face East Carolina from Conference USA in the sixth edition of the bowl gamefrom Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

The Bobcats, from the Mid-American Athletic Conference (MAC), fill the slot contracted to the American Athletic Conference, which didn’t have enough teams to fulfill its bowl commitments. Ohio will be the second MAC team to play in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl. Ball State represented the MAC last season in St. Petersburg filling the spot that could not be filled by a BIG EAST school.

“Ohio University football has a 100-plus year tradition,” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg.

“We look forward to hosting the Bobcats and their alumni and fans, many of which also reside in Florida.”

“We are very honored and excited to be invited to the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl in St. Petersburg,” said Jim Schaus, Ohio Director of Athletics.

“The bowl has a national reputation of doing things first class and taking great care of the participating teams. I am ecstatic for our team, coaches, fans and university. These opportunities benefit our program and in so many ways. We can’t wait to get to St. Pete!”

Ohio (7-5, 4-4), will be looking for its third win over a C-USA team this season. The Bobcats had back-to-back games with C-USA schools in early September defeating North Texas 27-21 and then Marshall 34-31.

“The Ohio University football program could not be more excited for an opportunity to compete in the 2013 Beef O’ Brady’s Bowl,” said Ohio University head coach Frank Solich. “The location of this bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. is a tremendous destination for our players, coaches and fans to close out the year. I believe our program has shown a great deal of consistency with this being our fifth-consecutive bowl appearance.”

Solich is in his ninth season as the head coach at Ohio and has led the program to five consecutive bowl appearances. The Bobcats explosive offense, which has scored 34 or more points six times this season, is led by senior QB Tyler Tettleton who owns 27 school records.

Tettleton’s top target is senior WR Donte Foster who has pulled in a career-best 63 receptions and six touchdowns. The kicking game has been a consistent asset all season with place kicker Josiah Yazdani who finished the year by not missing a field goal, going a perfect 12-for-12. He is one of only four kickers in the country that have not missed a field goal all year. His perfect field goal percentage is the highest in school history.

Ohio and East Carolina have met only two times in the past, with the Pirates winning both contests. The last time the two met was in 1998 with ECU winning 21-14.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Fans can enjoy the pregame festivities in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where fans can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage served at this premiere event. For tickets in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for more information.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN. ###

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

East Carolina Accepts Conference USA Invite to 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 8, 2013) - East Carolina, which has won nine games this season including a sweep of in-state rivals North Carolina and NC State, will be the Conference USA representative in the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg after accepting the bid. The Pirates will face a to be determined team in the sixth edition of the bowl game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. “East Carolina is a team that’s fun to watch and has a great reputation of travelling many fans to their bowl games,” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “The Pirates will be playing in our bowl for the first time, and we are glad to welcome the great enthusiasm ECU and their fans bring.”

“On behalf of the entire East Carolina University community, I want to thank the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl for the opportunity to bring our football program and Pirate Nation to St. Petersburg and Tropicana Field,” said Jeff Compher, East Carolina Director of Athletics. “The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl provides an opportunity to finish an already outstanding season with the second-highest single-season win total in 80 years of East Carolina football. I am sure our loyal fan base will show up in force and enjoy the post-season experience of coming to a destination city for a premier bowl game.”

The Pirates are led by head coach Ruffin McNeill, who is in his fourth year at East Carolina. McNeill, a graduate of ECU, has 28 years of coaching experience at the collegiate level. McNeill has led his team to its third bowl appearance in his four years as coach.

“I consider representing East Carolina in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl an honor, one our players and coaches are certainly looking forward to,” said McNeill. “I expect this experience to provide us many wonderful memories, especially for a group of seniors that offered this program quality leadership and guidance through their careers. It is also gratifying that this class, in particular, can play for a bowl championship and capture one of our goals this season.”

East Carolina (9-3, 6-2 C-USA) will be making the 19th bowl appearance in school history and first in the state of Florida since 1965 when they appeared in the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, defeating the University of Maine 31-0.

ECU touts an explosive offensive team that averages 40.4 points per game. Junior QB Shane Carden has accounted for 42 touchdowns - 32 passing, 10 rushing - and is among the top five nationally in four categories, including a No. 1 ranking in completion percentage.

Junior WR Justin Hardy is sixth among all FBS pass catchers in receptions per game, and for the second consecutive season, has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. The Pirates also boast a strong ground game led by senior running back Vintavious Cooper who enters the Bowl needing five yards to record back-to-back 1,000 rushing yard seasons.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Fans can enjoy the pregame festivities in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where fans can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage served at this premiere event. For tickets in The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727-290-9865 for more information.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN. ###

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Arthur Ashe Courage Award Winner Dewey Bozella will be the 2013 Kickoff Luncheon Speaker

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (December 2, 2013) - Dewey Bozella, the 2011 Arthur Ashe Courage Award winner and boxer will serve as the keynote speaker for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Kickoff Luncheon on Sunday, Dec. 22 at Noon at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort. The Luncheon takes place the day prior to the kickoff of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg featuring an American Athletic Conference team against a representative from Conference USA at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday, Dec. 23, at 2:00 p.m.

Bozella, who joined an impressive group of past Arthur Ashe Courage Award winners including Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Billie Jean King, spent 26 years of wrongful imprisonment in a 1983 murder case where he maintained his innocence the entire time and exhausted every appeal. He was even offered more than four separate chances for an early release but he refused to admit a guilty.

He was proven innocent and released from jail in October 2009 when new evidence was uncovered that exonerated him.

While in jail Bozella earned his GED, bachelors and masters degrees, working as a counselor for other prisoners. He also found strength and purpose through boxing, becoming the light heavyweight champion of Sing Sing Prison. Bozella always had dreams to have just one professional fight and his wish was granted on October 15, 2011 when he fought and beat opponent, Larry Hopkins, 30, of Houston, in his first and only professional boxing match.

“The keynote speaker at our Kickoff Luncheon is an important component of the bowl week experience we provide for our teams” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “We are honored to have Dewey as our featured speaker at this year’s Kickoff Luncheon. Dewey’s story is truly inspirational and I’m sure everyone at the luncheon will be moved by his tragic story of injustice and the perseverance, courage and faith.”

A limited number of tables are still available for the Kickoff Luncheon. For more information on availability, please contact the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg office at 727.290.9865.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg game are on sale now and start as low as just $35. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster atwww.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 1-800.745.3000.

Fans can enjoy the pregame pageantry in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck, the only on-field hospitality village in all of professional or college football. Fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the hard- hitting action. It will be the only Beef ‘O’ Brady’s location where you can literally be in the huddle and still enjoy all the food and beverage any fan would want. For tickets in the Party Deck, fans may contact Carlos Padilla at 727.290.9865 for more information.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN. ###

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Extends Relationship with The American

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (October 10, 2013) - The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg and the American Athletic Conference have reached an agreement for a new six-year term. With the new agreement, The American will continue to be a primary selection through the 2019 college football season.

The American, previously known as the BIG EAST Conference, has been a primary conference associate for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl since the inaugural game in 2008. Beginning next football season, The American will have the following 11 schools in the league: Cincinnati, Connecticut, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF and USF. In 2015 the league adds the U.S. Naval Academy to its lineup.

During the new six-year term that begins with the 2014 college football season, The American representative will be paired up against a team from either the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) or Conference USA. Earlier this summer the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and the ACC reached an agreement where the ACC will be a primary selection for the bowl in 2014 and 2016 and then will be a backup in the remaining seasons over the six-year agreement. Conference USA, which has also been a partner of the bowl since its inception, will provide a team for the bowl three times over the six-year period.

“We’re happy to be able to continue to have a relationship with The American,” said Brett Dulaney, executive director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “We look forward to continuing to work with the exceptional leadership of The American and its school administrators and football coaches to make sure they have a great home in St. Petersburg every December.”

“The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl has been a terrific partner for us and has quickly become one of the most attractive bowl destinations in the postseason landscape” said Mike Aresco, commissioner, the American Athletic Conference. “The city of St. Petersburg and the entire Tampa Bay area have embraced this event to make it a special experience for our student-athletes and fans.”

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is owned by ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN.

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Tickets To Go on Sale October 8

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (October 7, 2013) - Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will go on sale Tuesday, Oct. 8 and start as low as just $35. Tickets can be ordered through Ticketmaster or by phone at 1-800-745-3000. The sixth edition of the ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, owned bowl game features an American Athletic Conference team against a representative from Conference USA at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“With this year’s game kicking off in the afternoon it should attract more Tampa Bay area families that will be able to enjoy our event,” said Brett Dulaney, executive director, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg. “Additionally, the day and time of the game lends itself well for local business owners to reward their workers with game tickets or to take advantage of our terrific packages for staff holiday parties.”

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, which began in 2008, already boasts an impressive number of players who have advanced to the NFL. Currently there are 39 former bowl participants on NFL rosters, including impact wide receivers T.Y. Hilton (FIU) of the Indianapolis Colts and Aaron Dobson (Marshall) with the New England Patriots.

A unique option which has received tremendous interest over the years has been the Bowl’s one-of-a-kind on-field hospitality village, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Lounge presented by American Marketing. This is the only on-field hospitality village in pro or college football where fans can sit right behind the team bench and hear all of the action. In addition to the choice vantage point for watching the game, a ticket to this area includes all the food and beverage any fan would want. The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Lounge has sold out each of the past five years, so be sure to reserve your tickets early. To secure tickets or to learn more about The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Lounge, please contact Carlos Padilla at 727.290.9865.

Four bowl membership packages are also available. The Kickoff, First and Ten, Goal Line, and Touchdown packages provide a variety of desirable benefits. Depending on which membership you choose, you can receive premium game tickets, tickets for the all-inclusive ultra-premium Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Lounge, parking passes, passes to the ESPN VIP pre-game tailgate, recognition in the official game program and invitations to exclusive Bowl events.

For more information on the variety of ways to attend and enjoy the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg, call 727-290-9865 or email info@stpetersburgbowl.com. ###

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Sponsor Spotlight - American Marketing and Mailing Services, Inc.

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Bowl Sponsorship....

American Marketing & Mailing Services Inc. is in its first year as the presenting sponsor for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck.

“Our partnership with the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl is ideal in that it enables our company to gain valuable exposure while expanding our involvement in supporting events in our community.

As the presenting sponsor for Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl Party Deck we are able to be a part of one of the best environments to watch a college football game and enhance our employee team building efforts. Our employees are very important to us and we plan on rewarding them by providing them the opportunity to experience the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl from the party deck and enjoy all the perks that goes along with these premium tickets.”

-Chuck Fest, CEO American Marketing & Mailing Services, Inc.

About ....

American Marketing & Mailing Services, Inc. is a turn-key, direct marketing company. We offer Direct Marketing solutions for New Customer Acquisition, Customer Retention, Automated LifeCycle Marketing and more. Every aspect of the direct marketing process is handled in-house.

Effective, Accountable and Affordable Direct Marketing Solutions The DIRECT MAIL MARKETING services we offer include: Variable Data Printing Data Processing Database Direct Marketing B2B Direct Mail B2C Direct Mail Loyalty Campaigns Mailing List Services Trigger Mail 9427 Corporate Lake Dr. Tampa, FL 33634 USA Phone: 813.886.5597 Fax: 813.886.5862

www.AmericanMarketingUSA.com

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

39 Past Players from Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg on the NFL Rosters

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (September 12, 2013)– The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg has hosted five games since its inception in 2008 and 39 players who have appeared in past bowl games are currently in the National Football League (NFL). The 39 players are represented on 22 NFL teams with the New England Patriots roster leading the way with five of the players.

“We’ve hosted hundreds of terrific student-athletes over the past five years and it’s great to be able to watch an NFL game and know there’s a strong possibility we’ll see at least one of these talented players,” said Brett Dulaney, Executive Director of the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg.

Rutgers, which defeated UCF in 2009, has a bowl-best 12 players from that team currently in the NFL led by DB Devin McCourty (New England Patriots) and WR Mohamed Sanu (Cincinnati Bengals). UCF, which is the only team to appear in two Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl games, is next best with six players. Two of those six players, CB A.J. Bouye (Houston Texans) and RB Latavius Murray (Oakland Raiders) were in last year’s win over Ball State.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg is an ESPN Regional Television (ERT) owned bowl game featuring teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and Conference USA. The game will be played Monday,Dec. 23,2013 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., at 2:00 p.m.

ET on ESPN. Players in the Pros - 39 (as of September 12, 2013) 2012 Game (2) UCF (2) A.J. Bouye Latavius Murray Ball State (0) 2011 Game (7) Marshall (3) Omar Brown Vinny Curry Aaron Dobson

CB RB

DB DE WR

FIU (4) Johnathan Cyprien S Caylin Hauptmann OT T.Y. Hilton WR Tourek Williams DE

Houston Texans Oakland Raiders #

Baltimore Ravens * Philadelphia Eagles New England Patriots Jacksonville Jaguars Cleveland Browns * Indianapolis Colts San Diego Chargers

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2010 Game (8) Louisville (5) Alex Kupper Bilal Powell Johnny Patrick Greg Scruggs Byron Stingily

C RB DB DE OT

Houston Texans * New York Jets San Diego Chargers Seattle Seahawks # Tennessee Titans

Southern Mississippi (3) Jamie Collins OLB New England Patriots Austin Davis QB Miami Dolphins * Lamar Holmes OG Atlanta Falcons 2009 Game (16)

Rutgers (12) Steve Beauharnais LB Marcus Cooper CB Anthony Davis OT Ka’lial Glaud LB Khaseem Greene OLB Duron Harmon S D.C. Jefferson TE George Johnson DE Joe Lefeged DB Devin McCourty CB Mohamed Sanu WR Tim Wright TE UCF (4) Bruce Miller Adam Nissley Jah Reid Josh Robinson

New England Patriots San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers Tampa Bay Buccaneers * Chicago Bears New England Patriots Arizona Cardinals Tampa Bay Buccaneers Indianapolis Colts New England Patriots Cincinnati Bengals Tampa Bay Buccaneers

FB TE OT CB

San Francisco 49ers Atlanta Falcons # Baltimore Ravens Minnesota Vikings

CB CB CB DE

Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins Minnesota Vikings Dallas Cowboys

OL DT

Dallas Cowboys Seattle Seahawks

2008 Game (6)

USF (4) Nate Allen Jerome Murphy Mistral Raymond George Selvie

Memphis (2) Ronald Leary Clinton McDonald # Injured Reserve *Practice Squad

About Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a national franchise of family sports pubs that achieves its success by building relationships with the local schools, youth sports leagues, and other community organizations in each and every Beef ‘O’ Brady’s neighborhood market. The “kid appeal” of this unique concept is reinforced by a very moderately priced kids menu and video games. Ironically, despite what the name implies, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is actually best known for its Buffalo-style chicken wings. The company, headquartered in Tampa, Fla. has more than 214 locations in 22 states. An award-winning franchise system, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise opportunity is consistently recognized by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 in the category of Full-Service Restaurants. For more information, visitwww.beefobradysfranchise.com.

Continued

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ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN Regional Television (ERT), owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes two Labor Day weekend college football games; 10 college bowl games and eight college basketball events, which accounts for approximately 200 hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over a half a million attendees each year. With satellite offices in Boise, Birmingham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

A subsidiary of ESPN, ERT is also the production headquarters forESPNU; syndication rights-holder and producer of national and regional shows for college conferences (American,Big 12,Mid-American,SEC) and manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football

AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth) ;Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Heart of Dallas Bowl Presented by PlainsCapital Bank (Dallas-Fort Worth); Las Vegas Bowl; MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Texas Bowl (Houston); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu) and The Home Depot College Football Awards Collegiate Basketball

Armed Forces Classic (Camp Humphreys, South Korea); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s & Women’s Basketball Classics presented by Corona Extra (Madison Square Garden & Durham, N.C.); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan, PR); State Farm Champions Classic (United Center, Chicago) and Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.)

For more information, visitwww.espnevents.comor follow onTwitterandFacebook.

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Reaches New Deal with Conference USA

Starting in 2014 Conference USA Team to Appear in bowl three times over six-year period

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (August 20, 2013) - The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg has established a new agreement with Conference USA which will extend the bowl’s relationship through the 2019 football season. In this new deal that starts in 2014, Conference USA will provide a team for the bowl three times over the six-year period, with the determination being done as a regional selection.

Conference USA has been associated with the bowl since its inception in 2008 and is currently riding a two-game win streak courtesy of Marshall (2011) and UCF (2012).

“We have enjoyed working with the Conference USA executive team and its schools over the past six years and we are happy to be able to continue this relationship,” said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Executive Director.

In 2014 Conference USA will have the following teams in the league: FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and Western Kentucky. ###

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Press Release

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Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Partners with ACC New bowl agreement brings ACC team to St. Pete multiple times

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (August 7, 2013) - The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg and The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) have signed an agreement that will bring an ACC team to St. Petersburg at least two times over a three-year period. In this new deal, the ACC will be a primary selection for the bowl in 2014 and 2016.

The ACC will have 15 teams available in its bowl process: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

“We are excited to announce this new relationship and look forward to hosting an ACC team in our game,” said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Executive Director. “We are sure the ACC teams and their fans will thoroughly enjoy their bowl week experience that showcases our beautiful beaches and downtown waterfront to go along with our first-class hospitality.”

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg is owned by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.

About Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a national franchise of family sports pubs that achieves its success by building relationships with the local schools, youth sports leagues, and other community organizations in each and every Beef ‘O’ Brady’s neighborhood market. The “kid appeal” of this unique concept is reinforced by a very moderately priced kids menu and video games. Ironically, despite what the name implies, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is actually best known for its Buffalo-style chicken wings. The company, headquartered in Tampa, Fla. has more than 214 locations in 22 states. An award-winning franchise system, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise opportunity is consistently recognized by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 in the category of Full-Service Restaurants. For more information, visit www.beefobradysfranchise.com.

About ESPN Regional Television ESPN Regional Television(ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates collegiate sporting events worldwide, including two Labor Day Kickoff college football games; seven college bowl games and eight college basketball events. These account for approximately 200 hours of programming, reach almost 64 million viewers and attract nearly half a million attendees each year. The owned and operated events build relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as provide unique experiences for teams and fans.

In addition to event ownership, ERT manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football BBVA Compass Bowl(Birmingham, Ala.); Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl(Dallas-Fort Worth); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Las Vegas Bowl;MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney(Orlando, Fla.); Texas Bowl(Houston); AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl(Honolulu) and The Home Depot College Football Awards Collegiate Basketball Armed Forces Classic(TBD); Charleston Classic(S.C.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic(Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s & Women’s Basketball Classics presented by Corona Extra(Madison Square Garden & Durham, N.C.); Old Spice Classic(Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off(San Juan, PR); State Farm Champions Classic(United Center, Chicago) and Wooden Legacy(Orange County, Calif.)

For more information, visit espnplus.com. ###

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Press Release

For Immediate Release

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Moves to Holiday Week for 2013 Sixth Annual Game set for Monday, Dec. 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Tropicana Field

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (May 13, 2013) – ESPN Regional Televisionand the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg announced the 2013 game will be played Monday, Dec. 23, at 2 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The game will air on ESPN and features an American Athletic Conference (formerly the BIG EAST Conference) school against a Conference USA team.

“I feel the change in date and time work to our advantage from a timing standpoint as school is out and the majority of the workforce in the Tampa Bay area take this time off from work,” said Brett Dulaney, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Executive Director. “The date also benefits the competing schools fan-bases as many of the bowl’s surrounding festivities will now be held during the weekend.”

Last year, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg Bowl hosted UCF representing Conference USA against Ball State of the Mid-American Conference. The Knights, making their second appearance in the bowl, defeated the Cardinals 38-17.

The American has increased its membership to ten teams for the 2013 season. New to the conference are UCF, Houston, Memphis and SMU. These schools join returning teams in Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers, Temple and USF.

Conference USA also has lineup changes for the 2013 season. Joining the returning teams of East Carolina, Marshall, Rice, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB and UTEP are FAU, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee State, North Texas and UTSA.

Tickets for the 2013 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg will go on sale later this year with prices starting as low as just $35. Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster atwww.ticketmaster.comor by phone at 1-800-745-3000.

About Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a national franchise of family sports pubs that achieves its success by building relationships with the local schools, youth sports leagues, and other community organizations in each and every Beef ‘O’ Brady’s neighborhood market. The “kid appeal” of this unique concept is reinforced by a very moderately priced kids menu and video games. Ironically, despite what the name implies, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is actually best known for its Buffalo-style chicken wings. The company, headquartered in Tampa, Fla. has more than 214 locations in 22 states. An award-winning franchise system, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchise opportunity is consistently recognized by Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 in the category of Full-Service Restaurants. For more information, visitwww.beefobradysfranchise.com.

About ESPN Regional Television ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates collegiate sporting events worldwide, including two Labor Day Kickoff college football games; seven college bowl games and eight college basketball events. These account for approximately 200 hours of programming, reach almost 64 million viewers and attract nearly half a million attendees each year. The owned and operated events build relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as provide unique experiences for teams and fans. In addition to event ownership, ERT manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football BBVA Compass Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg; Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Las Vegas Bowl; MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Texas Bowl (Houston); Texas Kickoff Classic (Houston); Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu) and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Collegiate Basketball Armed Forces Classic (TBD); Charleston Classic (S.C.); Anaheim Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Classic presented by Corona Extra (Madison Square Garden); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (TBD) and State Farm Champions Classic (United Center, Chicago) For more information, visit espnplus.com. ###

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Press Release

30 Bowl Alums Join NFL Ranks in April

For Immediate Release

Thirty more players who have played in past Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl St. Petersburg games have joined the NFL ranks. Eight of the players were selected in the NFL Draft and 22 additional players signed free agent contracts. Leading the list of drafted players is FIU’s FS John Cyprien who was the 33rd player selected (Jacksonville Jaguars). Marshall WR Aaron Dobson, the Bowl MVP for the Herd, was a 2nd round pick of the New England Patriots.

Players from all past five years of the Bowl game are included on this list, including two USF players from the inaugural game in 2008.

The Rutgers team from 2009 produced nine players to lead the list.

2012 Game (8) UCF vs. Ball State UCF (7) A.J. Bouye, CB, Houston Texans Troy Davis, DE, New York Jets Theo Goins, OG, Atlanta Falcons Kemal Ishmael, CB, Atlanta Falcons Quincy McDuffie, WR, Denver Broncos Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders Ray Shipman, OLB, New Orleans Saints Ball State (1) Austin Holtz, OT, Detroit Lions

2011 Game (8) Marshall vs. FIU Marshall (3) Aaron Dobson, WR, New England Patriots Andre Snipes-Booker, WR, Detroit Lions Antavious Wilson, WR, New York Jets

FIU (5) Jose Cheeseborough, CB, Baltimore Ravens Johnathan Cyprien, S, Jacksonville Jaguars Caylin Hauptmann, OT, Cleveland Browns Junior Mertile, CB, New York Giants Tourek Williams, DE, San Diego Chargers

Continued

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2010 Game (3) Louisville vs. Southern Miss Louisville (2) Mario Benavides, C, Kansas City Chiefs Alex Kupper, OT, Houston Texans Southern Miss (1) Jamie Collins, OLB, New England Patriots

2009 Game (9) Rutgers vs. UCF Rutgers (9) Steve Beauharnais, LB, New England Patriots Marcus Cooper, CB, San Francisco 49ers Ka’Lial Glaud, LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Khaseem Greene, OLB, Chicago Bears Mark Harrison, WR, Chicago Bears Duron Harmon, S, New England Patriots D.C. Jefferson, TE, Arizona Cardinals Brandon Jones, CB, New England Patriorts Tim Wright, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2008 Game (2) USF vs. Memphis USF (2) Maikon Bonani, K, Tennessee Titans Danous Estenor, OL, Indianapolis Colts

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Final Game Statistics

East Carolina vs.

Ohio December 23, 2013 Tropicana Field

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