Below is a chart of offense, defense and total production of the East Carolina Pirates football program during McNeill's tenure as head football coach, along with who would be the lowest ranked team during this time period (in purple) and the average team (sky blue). East Carolina has been trending upward since 2010 except for last season under McNeill. All rankings in this blog come from my Complex Invasion College Football Production Model. More details about the program under Ruffin McNeill are after the chart below.
Ruffin McNeill (2010-2015) [contract]
2010
During McNeill's first year at the helm of the Pirates football team, East Carolina finished the end of the regular season at 6-6 (and were bowl eligible) and lost to #28 Maryland (20-51) to finish 6-7 overall. East Carolina played against a "tougher" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that East Carolina was between one and two standard deviations lower of the "leagues" SOS. The Pirates best win was over #26 ranked Tulas (51-49), and their worst loss was to #105 ranked Rice by a score of (38-62). East Carolina had the #90 ranked team in total production with the #39 ranked offense and the #120 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model. In terms of overall production, this was McNeill's worst season while head football coach at East Carolina.
2011
At the end of the regular season the Pirates were 5-7 (and were bowl ineligible). East Carolina played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that their SOS was plus or minus one standard deviation of the "leagues" average SOS. The Pirates best victory was against #29 UCF (38-31) and their worst loss was to #97 ranked UTEP by a score of (17-22). East Carolina had the #83 ranked team in total production with the #89 ranked offense and the #72 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2012
East Carolina finished the end of the regular season at 8-4 (and were bowl eligible) but lost to #51 Louisana-Lafayette (34-43) to finish at 8-5. East Carolina played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS, meaning that East Carolina was between one and two standard deviations higher than the "leagues" SOS. The Pirates best win was over #67 ranked Marshall (65-59), and their worst loss was to #66 ranked Navy by a score of (28-56). East Carolina had the #75 ranked team in total production with the #54 ranked offense and the #98 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2013
At the end of the regular season the Pirates were 9-3 (and were bowl eligible) and defeated #82 Ohio (37-20) to finish 10-3 overall. East Carolina again played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Pirates best victory was against #40 Middle Tennessee State (24-17) and their worst loss was to #68 ranked Tulane by a score of (33-36). East Carolina had the #18 ranked team in total production with the #24 ranked offense and the #23 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2014
In McNeill's fifth year, the Pirates had its best overall production during his tenure as head football coach. The Pirates again finished the regular season at 8-4 and were bowl eligible, losing to #38 ranked Florida by a score of (20-28). East Carolina played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Pirates best regular season game was a victory (28-21) over #56 ranked Virginia Tech, and their worst loss was to #79 ranked South Carolina by a score of (23-33). Overall, the Pirates had the #14 ranked team with the #14 ranked offense and the #42 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
In McNeill's fifth year, the Pirates had its best overall production during his tenure as head football coach. The Pirates again finished the regular season at 8-4 and were bowl eligible, losing to #38 ranked Florida by a score of (20-28). East Carolina played against an "easier" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Pirates best regular season game was a victory (28-21) over #56 ranked Virginia Tech, and their worst loss was to #79 ranked South Carolina by a score of (23-33). Overall, the Pirates had the #14 ranked team with the #14 ranked offense and the #42 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.
2015
In what turned out to be McNeill's final season at the helm of the East Carolina football team, the Pirates finished the regular season overall at 5-7 making them bowl ineligible. East Carolina played against an "average" strength of schedule (SOS) as compared to the "league" average SOS. The Pirates best game again was their victory over #71 ranked Virginia Tech (35-28), and their worst loss was to #80 ranked Connecticut (13-31). East Carolina had the #59 ranked team in total production with the #68 ranked offense and the #49 ranked defense from the Complex Invasion College Football Production Model.