2014 Southern Conference Power Rankings/Predictions - Week 10

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

I was 3-1 last week. Samford kept hope alive for one more week at making the playoffs. Here is where I have at after this week (Numbers in parenthesis represents number of wins versus D1 games remaining to secure at-large bid).

1) Western Carolina (3 of 4) - Off to their best start in a long time
2) Chattanooga (2 of 4) - Survived an incredible effort from Mercer
3) Wofford (OUT) - Picked up another important win vs. VMI
4) Samford (OUT) - Kept hope alive by crushing Furman
5) Furman (OUT) - Performance against Samford was shameful
6) Mercer (OUT)* - Nothing to be ashamed of against Chattanooga
7) The Citadel (OUT)* - Got mauled by the Catamounts
8) VMI (OUT)* - Got turned into a chew toy by Wofford
ETSU - Had another scrimmage in Kingsport
* eliminated from SoCon title contention

Predictions
Furman @ VMI - Paladins conquer the Keydets
Concordia College @ Samford (Beatdown of the Week) - Bulldogs take care of business at home
The Citadel @ Mercer - Bears maul the Bulldogs
Chattanooga @ Western Carolina (Game of the Week) - Mocs take control of SoCon title race

[The Cats]

1) Chattanooga - stays in top spot until the Catamounts beat them next Saturday
2) Western Carolina - Cats are 4-0 at home this year
3) Wofford
4) Samford
5) Mercer
6) Furman
7) The Citadel
8) VMI


Predictions
Chattanooga at Western Carolina (Cat continue winning at home)
The Citadel at Mercer
Furman at VMI
Concordia at Samford
Wofford - Bye

[kdinva]

1) UTC
2) WCU
3) Wofford
4) Samford
5) Mercer
6) Furman
7) The Citadel
8) VMI



UTC 31; WCU 28
The Citadel 34; Mercer 24
VMI 33; Furman 31
Samford 55; Concordia 20

[catamount man]

1-A) UTC
1-B) WCU
3) Wofford
4) Samford
5) Mercer
6) The Citadel
7-A) Furman
7-B) VMI

WCU - UTC : too close to make a prediction
Mercer over The Citadel in a close one
Samford destroys the LCMS school
Furman beats VMI on a last second field goal

GO CATS!!!

[tenNesseeCat]

1 - UTC
2 - WCU
3 - Wofford
4 - Samford
5 - Mercer
6 - The Citadel
7 - Furman
8 - (t)ETSU
8 - (t)VMI

picks

THE CITADEL @ mercer - the option wears the bears down 27-24
FURMAN @ vmi - furman is in trouble, but not as much as vmi 23-21
whoever @ SAMFORD - a lot-a little
utc @ WCU - inspired team and +capacity crowd help WCU squeak out a tough one 34-31

[chattanoogamocs]

The problem with trying to pick teams in this league is that none of them are that great...but most of them are not that bad...which makes it impossible to know who will show up each Saturday.

My only hope is that after a sub-par defensive effort on Saturday, the Mocs D will be really pissed off and out to prove something at Cullowhee.

[kdinva]

...but most of them are not that bad......

did you not see the VMI-UTC game? Or VMI-WOffy game?

[ElCid]

1) UTC - They are in the drivers seat still
2) WCU - They took care of business to set up the showdown
3) Wofford - Starting to play their kind of game again
4) Samford - Took out its frustrations
5) Mercer - Hung in there again
6) The Citadel - turnover bug bit at bad time
7) Furman - Sinking fast and appears to have collapsed against Samford
8) VMI - already sunk


Furman at VMI - Somebody has to win and VMI has not beaten Furman since 1979 - Furman 22-17
Chattanooga at Western Carolina - Will probably determine SOCON champ unless Chatty has a melt down - Mocs 31-20
Concordia at Samford - Samford takes a breather - 56-0
The Citadel at Mercer - As much as I want to say Mercer considering how we are playing, I think the Dogs will get it together - Dogs 31-25

[chattanoogamocs]

did you not see the VMI-UTC game? Or VMI-WOffy game?

Come on now, I was trying to be diplomatic. :)

[FUBeAR]

I guess since I showed my mental instability and lack of football knowledge last week by A) doing this and B) Putting FU @ #2...I'll try again this week.

1) Chatt - Unchanged - If Huesman goes down or has a bad game, the Mocs drop to middle of the pack (DL is as nasty-good as I thought though)
2) Mercer - Up 1 - I know "Complete Homer Pick" & "MORON!!!" - gotta go with my gut/heart/pancreas or whatever non-thinking organ is driving me to type this
3) Sammy - Up 2 - Dismantled the 'Dins, so they must be getting it together - this ranking will be proven on 11/8 (he said, shakily)
4) Woffy* - Unchanged - (still haven't seen them...could be 2, could be 7 or anywhere in between...dunno)
5) WCU - Up 1 (sorry Cats fans - I think the clock strikes 12 this Sat. and the Northern Purples lose 3 of their last 4)
6) Citadel* - Up 1 (still haven't seen them, but based on SoCon games/scores, I can't rank 'em any higher...yet)
7) FU - Down 5 - Hurts me deeply to put the 'Dins here as I have to think they are better than this - losing 45-0 on Homecoming forces me to go against my heart
8) VMI - Unchanged
9) ETSU - Unchanged
10) Marshall (1978-1983) - will never change

[chattanoogamocs]

I guess since I showed my mental instability and lack of football knowledge last week by A) doing this and B) Putting FU @ #2...I'll try again this week.

1) Chatt - Unchanged - If Huesman goes down or has a bad game, the Mocs drop to middle of the pack (DL is as nasty-good as I thought though)
2) Mercer - Up 1 - I know "Complete Homer Pick" & "MORON!!!" - gotta go with my gut/heart/pancreas or whatever non-thinking organ is driving me to type this
3) Sammy - Up 2 - Dismantled the 'Dins, so they must be getting it together - this ranking will be proven on 11/8 (he said, shakily)
4) Woffy* - Unchanged - (still haven't seen them...could be 2, could be 7 or anywhere in between...dunno)
5) WCU - Up 1 (sorry Cats fans - I think the clock strikes 12 this Sat. and the Northern Purples lose 3 of their last 4)
6) Citadel* - Up 1 (still haven't seen them, but based on SoCon games/scores, I can't rank 'em any higher...yet)
7) FU - Down 5 - Hurts me deeply to put the 'Dins here as I have to think they are better than this - losing 45-0 on Homecoming forces me to go against my heart
8) VMI - Unchanged
9) ETSU - Unchanged
10) Marshall (1978-1983) - will never change

I do love that every week Mercer loses...they manage to move up a spot. ;)

[MartletCat]

I'll start out by saying hello...even though I've read AGS for the better part of 4 or 5 years now without creating an account. So maybe I've finally admitted to being a forum stalker. Either way, I've been to every WCU home game for 8 years straight, and been there through it all. Gotta' stay loyal to the alma mater.

1A - Chatt
1B - WCU
3 - Wofford
4 - Samford
5 - Furman
6 - Mercer
7 - El Cid
8 - VMI

UTC @ WCU - Western pulls out a close one 28 - 27
FU @ VMI - Furman will be ready to hit somebody 35 - 17
El Cid @ Macon Bears - Mercer gets 1st conf. win at home 28 - 21
Concordia @ Samford - Sammy by about 42

[chattanoogamocs]

Western pulls out a close one 28 - 27

Considering the recent history with that score with the Mocs...that might be the most hurtful thing someone could ever say to a Moc fan. xbawlingx

I would rather the Mocs lose by 20 than lose another game 28-27.

EDIT: ....and welcome to the board!

[MartletCat]

Considering the recent history with that score with the Mocs...that might be the most hurtful thing someone could ever say to a Moc fan. xbawlingx

I would rather the Mocs lose by 20 than lose another game 28-27.

EDIT: ....and welcome to the board!

Sorry about that score prediction, but I'm thinking it's definitely going to be a close one. Aside from upcoming, I sincerely thought you guys were going to pull out those two season openers. I was watching both online and hoping you'd come away with wins, similar to how we blew a W against a struggling USF team.

Either way, I'm hoping for a great game this coming Saturday, it'll definitely be high intensity, and I'll be a nervous wreck starting tomorrow lol

Thanks for the welcome!

[chattanoogamocs]

Chattanooga Mocs 2011



Date
Opponent
UTC Rank
Opp Rank
Location
Results
Media
Tickets


Sat, Sep 03
Nebraska
21
10
at Lincoln, Neb.
7 - 40 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205265289)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/neb1.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205265291) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205265292)
BTN (http://www.bigtennetwork.com/generic/programming/Gamefinder) ESPN 105.1 (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=417254) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.huskers.com/newLiveStats/Football/index.dbml?GAME_STAT_ID=571174&db_oem_id=100)



Sat, Sep 10
Jacksonville State
23
10
Finley Stadium
38 - 17 (W) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205269437)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc0910.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205269438) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205269405)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=417557) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/newLiveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=17700&SPID=10577&SPORT_ID=10577&GAME_STAT_ID=567098)



Sat, Sep 17
Eastern Kentucky
14
-
at Richmond, Ky.
23 - 14 (W) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205273342)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc0917.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205273451) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205273345)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=418058) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.sidearmstats.com/eku/football/)



Sat, Sep 24
Appalachian State *
13
3
at Boone, N.C.
12 - 14 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205276943)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc0924.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205276945) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205276897)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=418539) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/newLiveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=17700&SPID=12811&SPORT_ID=12811&GAME_STAT_ID=571615)



Sat, Oct 01

The Citadel *
15
-
Finley Stadium
27 - 28 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205307266)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1001.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205306892) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205307267)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=419228) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/newLiveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=17700&SPID=10577&SPORT_ID=10577&GAME_STAT_ID=574688)



Sat, Oct 08

Georgia Southern *
23
1
at Statesboro, Ga.
27 - 28 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205313244)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1008.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205313204) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205313205)
PBS (http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/SoCon_Sports_Network-Where_to_Watch-Football.pdf) ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=419660)





Homecoming





Sat, Oct 15
Western Carolina *
-
-
Finley Stadium
51 - 7 (W) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205317249)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1015.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205317321) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205317319)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=420435) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&LIST_SPORT_KEY=M_FOOTBALL)







http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/spacer.gif





Sat, Oct 22
Elon *
-
-
at Elon, N.C.
42 - 18 (W) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205320564)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1022.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205320566) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205320686)
PBS (WTCI-TV) (http://www.soconsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000&ATCLID=205180228) ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.sidearmstats.com/elon/football/index.htm)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/tkt/TicketIcon.gif (https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketHome.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&_MODE_=EVENTSELECT&SALE_TKT_EVENT_ID=249672)


Sat, Oct 29
Furman *
-
-
Finley Stadium
7 - 14 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205324286)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1029.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205324407) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205324508)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=420963) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/newLiveStats.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=17700&SPID=10577&SPORT_ID=10577&GAME_STAT_ID=567099)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/tkt/TicketIcon.gif (https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketHome.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&_MODE_=EVENTSELECT&SALE_TKT_EVENT_ID=238283)


Sat, Nov 05
Samford *
-
-
at Birmingham, Ala.
24 - 9 (W) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205328521)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1105.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205328522) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205328373)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.samfordsports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mfootbl.html?event=981678&school=samf&sport=mfootbl&camefrom=&startschool=&)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/tkt/TicketIcon.gif (https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketHome.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&_MODE_=EVENTSELECT&SALE_TKT_EVENT_ID=249575)


Sat, Nov 19

Wofford *
-
12
Finley Stadium
27 - 28 (L) (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205336077)
STATS (http://www.gomocs.com/fls/17700/stats/football/2011/utc1119.htm) NOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205336148) QUOTES (http://www.gomocs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&ATCLID=205336078)
ESPN 105.1 FM (http://www.espnchattanooga.com/) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/TVicon.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/HeadPhones.gif http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/PhotoAlbumIcon.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/PhotoAlbum.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&PALBID=423332) http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/17700/livestats.gif (http://www.gomocs.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&LIST_SPORT_KEY=M_FOOTBALL)
http://image.cdnllnwnl.xosnetwork.com/images/tkt/TicketIcon.gif (https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketHome.dbml?SPID=10577&DB_OEM_ID=17700&_MODE_=EVENTSELECT&SALE_TKT_EVENT_ID=238572)

[MartletCat]

From your 2011 Mocs schedule: Ouch...I had almost forgotten about those. Those were tough losses, and it definitely hurts more when it's that close. On my side, it was anytime from roughly 06-13 that I'd like to forget about.

[OrangeJuice]

Still not qualified but here goes . . .

1. UTC
2. Western Carolina
3. Wofford
4. Samford
5. Furman
6. The Citadel
7. Mercer
8. VMI
9. ETSU

UTC @ WCU - WCU dream season takes a bad turn
The Citadel @ Mercer - tired of close losses, Bears pull it out
Furman @ VMI - would not want to be wearing purple today at practice
Concordia @ Samford - Concordia sounds like a Mercer opponent
Wofford vs OPEN - Woffy rests their starters to prepare for Chatty to get back in race

[OL FU]

UTC @ WCU - Best of luck to the bottom feeders for oh so many years. That is not a slight. It is a pat on the back for changing that status.
The Citadel @ Mercer - I think Mercer gets its second SoCon win
Furman @ VMI - Who Knows. I will be a homer and I don't want the 20 year streak to end.
Concordia @ Samford -

[Smitty]

UTC @ WCU - WCU dream season takes a bad turn


Losing to UTC isn't a bad turn at all, we never expected to be this far to begin with.

[Ghost]

1) WCU- I think home field advantage is the difference in this one.
2) Chattanooga- not impressed by the Choo Choos this past week against a scrappy Mercer team. But the real test is this week in the Whee
3) Wofford- Quietly been one of the top teams in the league all year.
4) Samford- Talented but inconsistent.
5) Mercer- Again talented but inconsistant. one week they go 12 penalties for 200 and the next 2-20. Youth has shown.
6) Furman- I want to put the purple palidins higher but after their showing this week. Its tough.
7) The Citadel- It will be interesting to see how ElCid handles a tough mercer team at home this week. on homecoming.
8) VMI- Would not be surprised if VMI got one game in the SoCON. Cobb is a baller. the rest of the team needs to catch up.


Predictions
Chatty Choo Choo's vs. WCU- WCU wins by a FG at home.
VMI vs. Furman- My gut tells me go with FU but my heart says VMI could put together a perfect game to beat the Dins. Gotta go with my gut though.
Samford vs. Concordia- Samford scores more than 100 points in a combined two weeks.
Mercer vs Citadel- Homecoming+huge Crowd+ Mercer at home= Bears in a close one.

[Catamount87]

I guess since I showed my mental instability and lack of football knowledge last week by A) doing this and B) Putting FU @ #2...I'll try again this week.

1) Chatt - Unchanged - If Huesman goes down or has a bad game, the Mocs drop to middle of the pack (DL is as nasty-good as I thought though)
2) Mercer - Up 1 - I know "Complete Homer Pick" & "MORON!!!" - gotta go with my gut/heart/pancreas or whatever non-thinking organ is driving me to type this
3) Sammy - Up 2 - Dismantled the 'Dins, so they must be getting it together - this ranking will be proven on 11/8 (he said, shakily)
4) Woffy* - Unchanged - (still haven't seen them...could be 2, could be 7 or anywhere in between...dunno)
5) WCU - Up 1 (sorry Cats fans - I think the clock strikes 12 this Sat. and the Northern Purples lose 3 of their last 4)
6) Citadel* - Up 1 (still haven't seen them, but based on SoCon games/scores, I can't rank 'em any higher...yet)
7) FU - Down 5 - Hurts me deeply to put the 'Dins here as I have to think they are better than this - losing 45-0 on Homecoming forces me to go against my heart
8) VMI - Unchanged
9) ETSU - Unchanged
10) Marshall (1978-1983) - will never change

FUBeAR, I'm worried about you, drinking so much moonshine laced Kool-Aid isn't good for you. ;-) BTW, this Catamount will be cheering for your Bears this week.

Onto my Power Rankings and Predictions:

1. Chattanooga - still tops in the SoCon until they are beaten
2. WCU - a very good offense and a bend-don't-break defense continue to get it done
3. Wofford - quietly keeping themselves in the hunt
4. Samford - keeping hope alive
5. Mercer - holding their own every week and about to break through
6. Furman - stick a fork in them, their done
7. The Citadel - gave up 633 yards (291 passing, 342 rushing) and 4 turnovers to The Cats, maybe some stick 'em would help both sides of the ball
8) VMI - and we thought The Citadel had a porous defense


Predictions
UTC @ WCU - possibly the unofficial SoCon Championship game, I'm going with my heart here. What a shame that it's not on ESPN3.
Furman @ VMI - only because VMI doesn't have a defense
Concordia College @ Samford - 2nd mid/late season confidence booster in a row
The Citadel @ Mercer - a good offense against a non-defense, the Bears move that much further away from the cellar and the bellhops that much closer

[Ghost]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Western wins 3 of their last 4. This weekend will be the real test for them as Chatty will be ready after the scare they had this past week. But if they can pull it out this weekend I don't see them overlooking Samford.

on a side note: I think the Furple fans calling for Fowlers job should reconsider. the amount of injuries they have sustained over the year is astronomical. yes this past week seems pretty bad. but I think having some of your best players out for the season can be detrimental to a teams psyche and i'm sure a lot of the players might have mailed it in already. Once that happens to a team, its very difficult for coaches to motivate. Especially after the success he had last season.

[OL FU]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say Western wins 3 of their last 4. This weekend will be the real test for them as Chatty will be ready after the scare they had this past week. But if they can pull it out this weekend I don't see them overlooking Samford.

on a side note: I think the Furple fans calling for Fowlers job should reconsider. the amount of injuries they have sustained over the year is astronomical. yes this past week seems pretty bad. but I think having some of your best players out for the season can be detrimental to a teams psyche and i'm sure a lot of the players might have mailed it in already. Once that happens to a team, its very difficult for coaches to motivate. Especially after the success he had last season.

Just curious are you talking about anyone here or those on the uffp?

I like the uffp. I just generally stay off it during the down times.xpeacex

[tenNesseeCat]

I guess since I showed my mental instability and lack of football knowledge last week by A) doing this and B) Putting FU @ #2...I'll try again this week.

1) Chatt - Unchanged - If Huesman goes down or has a bad game, the Mocs drop to middle of the pack (DL is as nasty-good as I thought though)
2) Mercer - Up 1 - I know "Complete Homer Pick" & "MORON!!!" - gotta go with my gut/heart/pancreas or whatever non-thinking organ is driving me to type this
3) Sammy - Up 2 - Dismantled the 'Dins, so they must be getting it together - this ranking will be proven on 11/8 (he said, shakily)
4) Woffy* - Unchanged - (still haven't seen them...could be 2, could be 7 or anywhere in between...dunno)
5) WCU - Up 1 (sorry Cats fans - I think the clock strikes 12 this Sat. and the Northern Purples lose 3 of their last 4)
6) Citadel* - Up 1 (still haven't seen them, but based on SoCon games/scores, I can't rank 'em any higher...yet)
7) FU - Down 5 - Hurts me deeply to put the 'Dins here as I have to think they are better than this - losing 45-0 on Homecoming forces me to go against my heart
8) VMI - Unchanged
9) ETSU - Unchanged
10) Marshall (1978-1983) - will never change

Did you bump your head leaving the stadium after the WCU game? Since then, you seem little off. I'm just concerned.

[PaladinFan]

Just curious are you talking about anyone here or those on the uffp?

I like the uffp. I just generally stay off it during the down times.xpeacex

When things aren't going well, the inmates take over the prison over there. You will find that perhaps a small handful of folks (four or five) do 90% of the chicken little posting.

Fowler's a good coach. He recruits well. He's been dealt a bad hand, IMO. I do think his offensive staff has a good deal more to be worried about. That was the fourth time in eight games Furman had been held to ten or fewer points. Only twice have they scored more than 20. That's not gonna get it done.

[SH_Moc]

1. Chattanooga - Defense had a down game against Mercer but the offense picked up their slack. I don't think the defense will be as bad next week.
2. Western Caroline - The Fightin' Speirs continue their unexpected season by taking out the Citadel. If it wasn't for the Presbyterian loss I would have to put them at 1.
3. Wofford - Mike Ayers team is always dangerous and is quietly having a good season. If it wasn't for their questionable out of conference schedule this is a team that could be a serious at large playoff contender.
4. Samford - Wow, beatdown of the season on the road. I am glad that the Mocs have already played this team. I suspect they will continue to get better as the season goes along.
5. Mercer - Gallant effort against the Mocs. Mercer continues to lose close games to SoCon opponents.
6. The Citadel - Still searching for their first conference win of the year. Will it come this weekend versus upstart newbie Mercer?
7. Furman - You just can't lose 45 - 0 at home
8. VMI - Just not very good and I don't see them winning another game this year.

Furman @ VMI - Furman picks themselves up from the knockout blow delivered by Samford and beats the hapless Keydets.
Concordia College @ Samford - Samford continues to roll and puts up big numbers against the Hornets. Why are they playing this game at this point in the season?
Mercer @ The Citadel - Maybe its me being a bit of a skeptic to think that Mercer in just its third year of having a football program can compete with SoCon teams, but I think Citadel takes this at home.

SoCon Game of the Week
Chattanooga @ Western Carolina - Mocs defense does not have two down games in a row and is able to slow down Troy Mitchell and the Catamount offense. Mocs win in the Whee.

[Ghost]

I lurk over on UFFP on occasion. so thats mainly where i've seen it yes. I haven't seen anyone on here calling for him gone yet.

[SU DOG]

1. UTC
2. WCU
3. WC
4. Samford
5. Furman
6. The Citadel
7. Mercer
8. VMI

WINNERS:
Furman - They did take Coastal into 2OTs, and had a decent game against SC. The HC game was probably something of a fluke, and they will prove that this Sat. A game like the 45-0 deal can mushroom with any team, but especially with young players. IMO, too much is being read into this score. I have been wrong much more than right, but the porous VMI defense will not be able to stop a mad Paladin offense. Furman fairly easily.

Samford - We have Concordia when we need a FCS game. Look for a 50 or better point spread for our HC.

The Citadel - These Bulldogs need a break, and Mercer will again be very competitive, but fall short. Glad I don't have to put money on it though.


UTC - It's great to see the Catamounts rise to the top. Those good fans have suffered long enough. Cats have exceeded expectations, but will lose 3 of the next 4.

[BearDownMU]

Mercer @ The Citadel - Maybe its me being a bit of a skeptic to think that Mercer in just its third year of having a football program can compete with SoCon teams, but I think Citadel takes this at home.



The game is at our place. Homecoming.

[kdinva]

deleted...

[Reign of Terrier]

I guess since I showed my mental instability and lack of football knowledge last week by A) doing this and B) Putting FU @ #2...I'll try again this week.

1) Chatt - Unchanged - If Huesman goes down or has a bad game, the Mocs drop to middle of the pack (DL is as nasty-good as I thought though)
2) Mercer - Up 1 - I know "Complete Homer Pick" & "MORON!!!" - gotta go with my gut/heart/pancreas or whatever non-thinking organ is driving me to type this
3) Sammy - Up 2 - Dismantled the 'Dins, so they must be getting it together - this ranking will be proven on 11/8 (he said, shakily)
4) Woffy* - Unchanged - (still haven't seen them...could be 2, could be 7 or anywhere in between...dunno)
5) WCU - Up 1 (sorry Cats fans - I think the clock strikes 12 this Sat. and the Northern Purples lose 3 of their last 4)
6) Citadel* - Up 1 (still haven't seen them, but based on SoCon games/scores, I can't rank 'em any higher...yet)
7) FU - Down 5 - Hurts me deeply to put the 'Dins here as I have to think they are better than this - losing 45-0 on Homecoming forces me to go against my heart
8) VMI - Unchanged
9) ETSU - Unchanged
10) Marshall (1978-1983) - will never change

Wofford beat Samford

[OL FU]

I lurk over on UFFP on occasion. so thats mainly where i've seen it yes. I haven't seen anyone on here calling for him gone yet.

If the uffp's any indicator of that type of sentiment, it will take at least 5 years for it to come to fruition.


Past experience should not be used to predict future results.

[OL FU]

deleted...

My sentiments exactlyxeyebrowx:D

[Reign of Terrier]

This past saturday was something of a separation saturday.

It's easily

Chattanooga
Western
Wofford (quietly getting better, still very young, fun to watch)
Samford (pretty much out of the playoff hunt)
Citadel
Furman (we have to stop making excuses and acknowledge that with all of the injuries of this year Furman is a bottom 3 team this year)
Mercer (They're 5-4 but 1-4 against the Socon. The only win was against a not-good VMI team)
VMI

Basically, the only teams in contention for a playoff spot are Western, Chattanooga, and Wofford. If Wofford wins out, and Western Carolina loses 2 conference games (which is possible), Wofford wins the autobid. Even if we don't, and we finish 7-4, I think Wofford may be the favorite going into next season with all of the experience we have coming back.

I would say the most likely scenario is Western and Chattanooga making the playoffs though.

[SH_Moc]

The game is at our place. Homecoming.

Sorry about that, but I still pick Citadel to beat the Bears, even in Macon.

[Mocs123]

Thoughts on last week:

It was a rough week for me on the scores and a surprising week in the SoCon. I haven’t seen a Huesman defense play that bad in at least three years. We are lucky that the offense showed up to bail the defense out. That being said, Mercer was better than I expected, especially the defense (I knew the Mercer offense had some weapons). I know it is hard to give a unit that gave up 550 yards kudos, but I really thought they played a decent game. They were much more physical on that side of the ball than I thought they would be. Mercer will be a SoCon Title Contender in two years.
On a side note, this was a really “chippy” game on both sides of the ball. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of hate between these two programs in years to come, and I mean that in a good way. Our biggest “rival” game has been against Jacksonville State the past ten years, and it will be nice to have a team to hate in our conference.

I was really surprised at the Furman-Samford Score. I thought it would be a close game, and never would have thought a SoCon team would put up 45 against a good defense. This has been a tough year for Furman after everyone (myself included) had high expectations.
I thought VMI would have put up more of a fight against Wofford. I knew VMI’s defense couldn’t keep the Terriers out of the endzone, but I thought Cobb would have had more success against what seemed to be a soft Wofford secondary.

Western and Citadel ended up being about the score that I expected, but holy cow, WCU had over 600 yards of offense. I have to admit that I am happy for Western fans. I set trough lots of disappointing, heck downright suicidal years here at Chattanooga before Huessman came. Of course, I hope that Catamount fans are disappointed this week :)


My Current Power Ranking:

1. Chattanooga – Still on top after pulling out a win when they didn’t bring their A game
2. Western Carolina – Things are good in Cullowhee
3. Wofford – Quietly starting to play Ayers football
4. Samford – Showed some life against Furman
5. Furman – Should be better than 5th
6. Mercer – Better than most of us expected
7. Citadel – Tough year in Charleston
8. VMI – Bottom of the barrel this year

Predictions on this week’s games:

Furman 24
VMI 7 - Furman rebounds against the Keydets

Concordia College 0
Samford 52 -Beat down of the week: Who the heck finds these schools anyways?

The Citadel 31
Mercer 34- Mercer gets a win on homecoming

Chattanooga 38
Western Carolina 34 - Game of the Week: Huge game this week. It’s time for the Mocs to win a close game on the road.

[FUBeAR]

Wofford beat Samford

Well...if you want to do it the 'boring' way with no team ahead of a team they've already lost to, then you come up with...



1
CHATT


1
WCU


3
WOFF


4
CIT


4
SAM


6
FU


7
MER


8
VMI



YAWN...but I said last week (the 1st time I did this) that my rankings are NOT based on historical outcomes (which is what truly matters...I know...I get that...no need to reiterate it...I understand, really I do....("SAY 'WHAT' AGAIN!")), but instead are based solely on my FEELINGS of the quality of the teams at the instant that I typed the rankings. And...I'm not going to let you invalidate my feelings because...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY

[Toby]

Thoughts on last week:


On a side note, this was a really “chippy” game on both sides of the ball. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of hate between these two programs in years to come, and I mean that in a good way. Our biggest “rival” game has been against Jacksonville State the past ten years, and it will be nice to have a team to hate in our conference.

.

I guess "chippy" is in the eye of the beholder, but I would not have thought that. Mercer had 2 penalties for 20 yards. One 15 yard penalty on Curtis Chandler when the ball slipped out of his hands after the play and the ref penalized him for 15 yards for "rolling" the ball" after about a 20 yard play down to UTC's 15 yard line late in the fourth quarter. That seemed questionable to me and had a significant impact on the game. But if the ref saw it, then the ref saw it.

UTC had several personal fouls called, but Mercer did not. Maybe the UTC players were caught responding as the second guy always seems to be the one caught. I dunno. I'd have to see the replay, but unfortunately the game was not broadcast in my hometown.

[utcfan]

1. UTC
2. WCU
3. Wofford
4. Samford
5. Furman
6. Mercer
7. Citadel
8. VMI

Furman > VMI

Samford > Concordia

Mercer > Citadel

UTC > WCU

[ElCid]

Well...if you want to do it the 'boring' way with no team ahead of a team they've already lost to, then you come up with...



1
CHATT


1
WCU


3
WOFF


4
CIT


4
SAM


6
FU


7
MER


8
VMI



YAWN...but I said last week (the 1st time I did this) that my rankings are NOT based on historical outcomes (which is what truly matters...I know...I get that...no need to reiterate it...I understand, really I do....("SAY 'WHAT' AGAIN!")), but instead are based solely on my FEELINGS of the quality of the teams at the instant that I typed the rankings. And...I'm not going to let you invalidate my feelings because...

I like experimentation. No single method seems to work for the SOCON this year, so why not.

[chattanoogamocs]

I guess "chippy" is in the eye of the beholder, but I would not have thought that. Mercer had 2 penalties for 20 yards. One 15 yard penalty on Curtis Chandler when the ball slipped out of his hands after the play and the ref penalized him for 15 yards for "rolling" the ball" after about a 20 yard play down to UTC's 15 yard line late in the fourth quarter. That seemed questionable to me and had a significant impact on the game. But if the ref saw it, then the ref saw it.

UTC had several personal fouls called, but Mercer did not. Maybe the UTC players were caught responding as the second guy always seems to be the one caught. I dunno. I'd have to see the replay, but unfortunately the game was not broadcast in my hometown.

Chippy doesn't necessarily mean personal fouls or penalty yards...I definitely agree with the assessment though. I think Mercer came out and tried to set the tone by getting right up in UTC's face...lots of bumping and pushing and jawing after plays (starting literally on the first play of the game)...I think Mercer went out of their way to show they weren't going to be intimidated. I think there might have been a play or two were Chattanooga did in fact get caught retaliating...not because Mercer did something blatant, but because they had might have gotten into a players head a little bit.

I will say though, the personal foul on Davis Tull was a flop (and a pretty obvious one). Davis Tull is one of the most in control defensive players I have ever seen. He rarely gets emotional even on big sacks and I never seen him lose his temper on the field. All it was was him getting up and he gave the Mercer play a bump with his arm and the guy flopped like Christian Laettner. :)

Personally, I think its good...I like a little to see a little chippy from time to time as long as it doesn't get out of hand...after all, this is football, not knitting.

[FUBeAR]

I guess "chippy" is in the eye of the beholder, but I would not have thought that. Mercer had 2 penalties for 20 yards. One 15 yard penalty on Curtis Chandler when the ball slipped out of his hands after the play and the ref penalized him for 15 yards for "rolling" the ball" after about a 20 yard play down to UTC's 15 yard line late in the fourth quarter. That seemed questionable to me and had a significant impact on the game. But if the ref saw it, then the ref saw it.

UTC had several personal fouls called, but Mercer did not. Maybe the UTC players were caught responding as the second guy always seems to be the one caught. I dunno. I'd have to see the replay, but unfortunately the game was not broadcast in my hometown.

Didn't think it was overly chippy. All-in-all, I thought both teams played good, clean, hard football. The Unsportsmanlike call on MU's #13 may have been a 'make-up call' for the Unsportsmanlike call on UTC's #90 the play before...which was 'drawn' by, obviously, an A+ student in Mercer's Drama Department. I think he also 'drew' the earlier one on UTC's #66. I don't think I condone 'flopping' to draw these penalties, but I think he (who is a paid official...in his spare time...seriously) may have figured out the prior week that SoCon Officials call what they THINK they see, rather than what they ACTUALLY see...and decided to take advantage of that. I've watched a lot of tape on UTC's #90 and he is a hard-nosed, clean-playing old-school FOOTBALL PLAYER...just got 'outsmarted' by a smarter-than-your-average Bear on that little post-play exchange. The Unsportsmanlike on UTC's #29 (I think) after he made the pick on the deflected pass was completed warranted. He stood up at the end of the play and spiked the ball into MU's #3 (the intended receiver) as he was still lying on the ground after being in on the tackle.

Last week was not nearly as chippy as the MU-FU game and, probably less so than Samford & WCU as well. I think (and I understand that this might raise a few hackles) the chippiness in these games has resulted from MU playing these Defending Champions or Conference Leading long-time SoCon schools tooth-and-nail from the opening whistle through 4 quarters....AND...Just like people on this board expected MU's fans to be deferential and 'earn their SoCon stripes,' I think the Players from other SoCon schools (with the exception of VMI) have felt the same way...and then found that these upstart Bears aren't going to back down or 'know their place' during the play nor after the whistle (wish they would do this though - better last week, finally...hope it continues this week). I'm not saying MU started less or more of the extra-curricular activity than the other teams. This stuff happens in every game these days (unfortunately!), but I do think the Veteran SoCon Players' responses have been different toward Mercer than other 'established' teams. By 'response,' I mean response to instigation by a Mercer player and/or response to the response of a Mercer player who has been instigated upon....if that is not too confusing to understand.

I think we will see a normal amount of chippiness in Mercer's SoCon games next year...with the exception of the FU game....lots of sub-stories around that game this year and even more created before, during, and after the game. Women and children may not be allowed to attend that match-up in GreenVegas next Fall! :)

[Toby]

like Christian Laettner. :)

Duke, I am Your Father…. (Darth Vader voice).

http://shop.tagmelon.com/products/whos-your-daddy-duke

[The Cats]

Wofford beat Samford

Wins and losses mean absolutely nothing in FUBeAR's power ranking. He ranks the SoCon teams the way he wishes things were, not as reality actually has things. xchinscratchx

I think those guys in white coats are looking everywhere for him.

[ElCid]

Wins and losses mean absolutely nothing in FUBeAR's power ranking. He ranks the SoCon teams the way he wishes things were, not as reality actually has things. xchinscratchx

I think those guys in white coats are looking everywhere for him.

His theme song?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXZMZ-XvvzI

[FUBeAR]

His theme song?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXZMZ-XvvzI

Now you're getting personal ElCid - When I was about 6 years old, my older (by 4 years) brother drove me crazy (so to speak) picking on me with that song one day...just kept singing it in my face over and over....I should have gotten chippy with him! Nice PsychOps ploy on game week...I'll try to recover before Sat.!

And "The Cats'...not how I 'wish'...how I FEEL...honestly. If it was only about wins/losses, we could just post the conference standings each week and have a much shorter thread...but look at all the fun we wouldn't be having if we did that!

[walliver]

Power Ratings:
1) Chatty - the cream of the not so potent crop, but should be favored in all their remaining games.
2) WCU - so far they have created the breaks they need to win games, can they keep it up?
3) Wofford - getting better every week, but still inconsistent
4) Samford - big statement against FU, but we will see what happens this week
5) Mercer - I hate moving them up without winning a game, but everybody below them lost
5b) Reinhardt - if they went D-I
6) The Citadel - like many, I expected much more from them this year.
7) Furman - I hear they have gone to the day care center looking for linemen - they aren't as bad as last week's score, but they aren't good either
8) VMI - Last SoCon win was November 23, 2002

9) ETSU

Predictions:
Chatty at WCU - Huesman has had trouble with big games. He knows that, and I suspect he comes prepared this time. The team will pull a Huesman at some point, but I suspect that is a few weeks away and Mocs win this one 35-21
Concordia at Samford - meaningless game won by Bullpups 56-3.
The Citadel at Mercer- This will probably be the first time the Bears have seen a decent triple option team, and Citadel takes advantage 38-35.
BYE at Wofford - reinvigorated Terrier defense holds BYE to less than 300 yards passing.
FU at VMI - 3 months ago this would have been seen as a warm-up game for the horsie's final stretch towards a championship, but now is the battle for last. Purple Pukes pullout a 17-13 win.

Playoff Prediction:
Chattanooga gets auto bid - WCU, SU, and WC kept out by horrible OOC scheduling.

[chattanoogamocs]

Predictions:
Chatty at WCU - Huesman has had trouble with big games. He knows that, and I suspect he comes prepared this time. The team will pull a Huesman at some point, but I suspect that is a few weeks away and Mocs win this one 35-21

If you keep saying that every single week...at some point you will be right.

I think Huesman has figured it out...don't play any close games. ;)

[chattanoogamocs]

Predictions:
Chatty at WCU - Huesman has had trouble with big games. He knows that, and I suspect he comes prepared this time. The team will pull a Huesman at some point, but I suspect that is a few weeks away and Mocs win this one 35-21

If you keep saying that every single week...at some point you will be right.

I think Huesman has figured it out...don't play any close games. ;)



Playoff Prediction:
Chattanooga gets auto bid - WCU, SU, and WC kept out by horrible OOC scheduling.


Of all the teams with winning records in the SoCon...Chattanooga is the only one with zero Non DI's...after Samford plays Concordia on Saturday, everyone else has at least two each.

I would put that out for more ridicule, but I realize that part of it just because of Elon, ASU, and GSU leaving with only one years notice left a big hole in everyone's schedule. Though on the other hand, Chattanooga was stuck in an even worse boat because Ga State also backed out of their game and the Mocs (all four of those were home games) and still managed to put together an all DI schedule, so some of it was just taking the easy way out.

[BearDownMU]

We had to schedule some wins so the guys didn't get totally demoralized and just quit.

[Mocs123]

We had to schedule some wins so the guys didn't get totally demoralized and just quit.

I certainly would expect Mercer to play some non DI's since you are only in your second year of the program. Your program needs wins to bring excitement to the program and bring in the fans. The year before Huesman came to Chattanooga we were 1-11 (and our 1 win was against a non D1) and we opened the Huesman era against Glenville State and that was just what we needed, a win. At that point it didn't matter if it was against App State or Hixson High School we just needed a win.

I am not sure that most "fans" know the difference between Middle Tennessee, Wofford, and Carson Newman anyways. I think they consider them all "DII"

[FUBeAR]

put together an all DI schedule

I have it on good authority that Mercer's schedule will be all D1 FCS opponents in 2015...and that's without Reinhardt taking walliver's suggestion to move from NAIA to FCS.

[tenNesseeCat]

I'm not a fan of the two D-II games this year, but don't act like beating APSU is doing something grand. I'm pretty sure Catawba and Brevard could beat them, no joke! That's like getting a hooker after prom to brag about getting laid. It counts, but it shouldn't.

[BearDownMU]

I have it on good authority that Mercer's schedule will be all D1 FCS opponents in 2015...and that's without Reinhardt taking walliver's suggestion to move from NAIA to FCS.

I can unofficially confirm we have all D1's next year.

[FUBeAR]

I'm not a fan of the two D-II games this year, but don't act like beating APSU is doing something grand. I'm pretty sure Catawba and Brevard could beat them, no joke! That's like getting a hooker after prom to brag about getting laid. It counts, but it shouldn't.

Agreed - APSU is certainly no Reinhardt!

[chattanoogamocs]

I'm not a fan of the two D-II games this year, but don't act like beating APSU is doing something grand. I'm pretty sure Catawba and Brevard could beat them, no joke! That's like getting a hooker after prom to brag about getting laid. It counts, but it shouldn't.

I might agree with you on Catawba would give APSU a game...but you've been drinking the "The Cats" kitty litter koolaid if you think Brevard is better...they're an 0-8 DII team (on a side note, APSU has 1 DI win this year, Mercer has 2...one of them being APSU :) )

Of course, the difference is...and the point Walliver was making...is that schools like WCU and Wofford (and Samford) have screwed themselves out of an at-large bid by playing two Non-DI's. Don't get mad because another school scheduled smarter (like I said a week ago, no one really thought WCU would have this kind of year, so they weren't thinking about at-large bids when they made the schedule).

Plus, while Chattanooga might have APSU on their schedule (it was on the road, which trumps a DII at home) they also had Jacksonville State, which is better than any game (FBS excluded) WCU has on their schedule.

[chattanoogamocs]

Agreed - APSU is certainly no Reinhardt!

It is going to be a shame when the greatest team in NAIA history doesn't even make the playoffs this year.xdohx

:)

[tenNesseeCat]

I might agree with you on Catawba would give APSU a game...but you've been drinking the "The Cats" kitty litter koolaid if you think Brevard is better...they're an 0-8 DII team (on a side note, APSU has 1 DI win this year, Mercer has 2...one of them being APSU :) )

Of course, the difference is...and the point Walliver was making...is that schools like WCU and Wofford (and Samford) have screwed themselves out of an at-large bid by playing two Non-DI's. Don't get mad because another school scheduled smarter (like I said a week ago, no one really thought WCU would have this kind of year, so they weren't thinking about at-large bids when they made the schedule).

Plus, while Chattanooga might have APSU on their schedule (it was on the road, which trumps a DII at home) they also had Jacksonville State, which is better than any game (FBS excluded) WCU has on their schedule.

I'm in no way mad. Quite the opposite actually. I also don't think WCU screwed themselves. The Cats needed wins this year, and the schedule helped with that. Not to mention we can still make the playoffs and win the SoCon despite "screwing ourselves" with the schedule. I think WCU is in great position to further the program in the future. Now my question would be, which hurts worse, WCU's wins over 2 D-II or UTC's loss to JSU. Maybe not for ya'll, but I think two more wins helped our program more than a loss to a good team.

[walliver]

Most Terrier fans were very unhappy with our schedule. Our home SoCon games are Citadel, VMI. And Mercer and play at UTC, WCU, and FU for the second year in a row. Jacksonville backed out with short notice.

I don't like the D2 games since they are generally poorly attended.

Next year we have 2 FBS games: one pure money game at Ol Miss, and an inexplicable game at Idaho.

To be honest, we played so poorly in September that we might not have beaten D-1 competition.

Our only hop at the playoffs this year is for Chatty to beat WCU in a high-scoring game, and we beat Chatty in a low scoring game.

[catamount man]

I might agree with you on Catawba would give APSU a game...but you've been drinking the "The Cats" kitty litter koolaid if you think Brevard is better...they're an 0-8 DII team (on a side note, APSU has 1 DI win this year, Mercer has 2...one of them being APSU :) )

Of course, the difference is...and the point Walliver was making...is that schools like WCU and Wofford (and Samford) have screwed themselves out of an at-large bid by playing two Non-DI's. Don't get mad because another school scheduled smarter (like I said a week ago, no one really thought WCU would have this kind of year, so they weren't thinking about at-large bids when they made the schedule).

Plus, while Chattanooga might have APSU on their schedule (it was on the road, which trumps a DII at home) they also had Jacksonville State, which is better than any game (FBS excluded) WCU has on their schedule.

Brevard is the best 0-8 team in d2. You should go to their website and check out their offensive production. If they had ANY defense, they'd be in the d2 top 25. GO CATS!

[chattownmocs]

1. Chattanooga
2. Wofford
3. Samford
4. Western Carolina
5. The Citadel
6. Furman
7. Mercer
8. VMI

Chattanooga 31 Western 14

[catamount man]

1. Chattanooga
2. Wofford
3. Samford
4. Western Carolina
5. The Citadel
6. Furman
7. Mercer
8. VMI

Chattanooga 31 Western 14

WiFi at Subway eh? email me a tuna on wheat. GO CATS!

[Catamount87]

Chippy doesn't necessarily mean personal fouls or penalty yards...I definitely agree with the assessment though. I think Mercer came out and tried to set the tone by getting right up in UTC's face...lots of bumping and pushing and jawing after plays (starting literally on the first play of the game)...I think Mercer went out of their way to show they weren't going to be intimidated. I think there might have been a play or two were Chattanooga did in fact get caught retaliating...not because Mercer did something blatant, but because they had might have gotten into a players head a little bit....

Agreed, chippy doesn't necessarily mean drawing penalties. Mercer came out in a similar fashion against WCU, lots or bumping, pushing and jawing between plays. It's not unexpected as any team looking for respect will have a bit of a chip on their shoulder, be it Mercer, UTC, WCU or anyone else up against a strong, successful opponent. Any bets on how chippy early games against ETSU will be?

[PaladinFan]

Agreed, chippy doesn't necessarily mean drawing penalties. Mercer came out in a similar fashion against WCU, lots or bumping, pushing and jawing between plays. It's not unexpected as any team looking for respect will have a bit of a chip on their shoulder, be it Mercer, UTC, WCU or anyone else up against a strong, successful opponent. Any bets on how chippy early games against ETSU will be?

That was our experience too. Mercer was the "chippiest" team that I have seen Furman play in years. Lot of after the whistle shoving, guys in faces, etc. Even had a kid ejected for personal misconduct.

I think that is just some of the tone Lamb is trying to set there. I recall in week 1 against Reinhardt they had a kid finger-wagging on the opponent's sideline and some other such shenanigans. I don't think it is just a "only in SoCon games" thing.

[tenNesseeCat]

Brevard is the best 0-8 team in d2. You should go to their website and check out their offensive production. If they had ANY defense, they'd be in the d2 top 25. GO CATS!

Which is why i made the statement that i did. I really do think BC would beat APSU. It's not like APSU is stopping anyone, or scoring many points.

[BearDownMU]

That was our experience too. Mercer was the "chippiest" team that I have seen Furman play in years. Lot of after the whistle shoving, guys in faces, etc. Even had a kid ejected for personal misconduct.

I think that is just some of the tone Lamb is trying to set there. I recall in week 1 against Reinhardt they had a kid finger-wagging on the opponent's sideline and some other such shenanigans. I don't think it is just a "only in SoCon games" thing.

I think a lot of that had to do with the storylines in the Furman-Mercer game, and it being our first home conference game.

And the Bailey ejection to which you are referring: I would only say go watch the video of that play and see if you think that was warranted. The ref citing "fighting" as the reason for being ejected. I personally took issue with how that play was adjudicated.

[chattanoogamocs]

I'm in no way mad. Quite the opposite actually. I also don't think WCU screwed themselves. The Cats needed wins this year, and the schedule helped with that. Not to mention we can still make the playoffs and win the SoCon despite "screwing ourselves" with the schedule. I think WCU is in great position to further the program in the future. Now my question would be, which hurts worse, WCU's wins over 2 D-II or UTC's loss to JSU. Maybe not for ya'll, but I think two more wins helped our program more than a loss to a good team.

I will type this one more time...slowly...WCU screwed itself out of an AT LARGE bid with their schedule. I never said they had screwed themselves out of the playoffs.

This difference between Chattanooga and WCU's schedule is that win or lose on Saturday, the Mocs still have a chance at an AT LARGE. WCU's only option is to win the SoCon title.

But I have said before...I fully understand and can appreciate that WCU needed those games to gain confidence with a young team that hasn't won a lot of games in the past. And also like I said earlier...the admin probably wasn't thinking about AT LARGE bids as even a remote possibility this year, so they didn't scheduled accordingly.

All that being said...Non DI games suck. The SoCon is no longer the top dog in FCS (or anywhere close), we are now fighting for relevancy...and weak schedules hurt the conference as a whole.

[OL FU]

I will type this one more time...slowly...WCU screwed itself out of an AT LARGE bid with their schedule. I never said they had screwed themselves out of the playoffs.

This difference between Chattanooga and WCU's schedule is that win or lose on Saturday, the Mocs still have a chance at an AT LARGE. WCU's only option is to win the SoCon title.

But I have said before...I fully understand and can appreciate that WCU needed those games to gain confidence with a young team that hasn't won a lot of games in the past. And also like I said earlier...the admin probably wasn't thinking about AT LARGE bids as even a remote possibility this year, so they didn't scheduled accordingly.

All that being said...Non DI games suck. The SoCon is no longer the top dog in FCS (or anywhere close), we are now fighting for relevancy...and weak schedules hurt the conference as a whole.

I'm suggesting Furman schedule Ave Maria next yearxembarrassedxxsmiley_wix

[chattanoogamocs]

Brevard is the best 0-8 team in d2. You should go to their website and check out their offensive production. If they had ANY defense, they'd be in the d2 top 25. GO CATS!

I can't tell if this is sarcasm...or you're serious.

And I thought the Mercer fans trying to talk up Reinhardt was funny.

[PaladinFan]

I think a lot of that had to do with the storylines in the Furman-Mercer game, and it being our first home conference game.

And the Bailey ejection to which you are referring: I would only say go watch the video of that play and see if you think that was warranted. The ref citing "fighting" as the reason for being ejected. I personally took issue with how that play was adjudicated.

I don't doubt that there were high emotions in that game, but I was also referring to the three other instances just mentioned. UTC fans thought so, WCU fans thought so, Furman fans thought so, and I saw evidence in the Reinhardt game to suggest perhaps they thought so as well.

Perhaps warranted, perhaps not. One you have one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the game, you probably should not get close to that line again. Even if you are a saint out there, the refs are already looking out for you.

I realize that was a big game for Mercer and emotions were high. I think Furman expected that. Still, I have probably seen Bobby Lamb coach more football games than you have (perhaps you were a closet Furman fan before Mercer started a team). In my view, these comments are not completely inconsistent with watching a Lamb-coached team. They play until the whistle, and sometimes beyond.

For what its worth, I like that brand of football.

[tenNesseeCat]

I will type this one more time...slowly...WCU screwed itself out of an AT LARGE bid with their schedule. I never said they had screwed themselves out of the playoffs.

This difference between Chattanooga and WCU's schedule is that win or lose on Saturday, the Mocs still have a chance at an AT LARGE. WCU's only option is to win the SoCon title.

But I have said before...I fully understand and can appreciate that WCU needed those games to gain confidence with a young team that hasn't won a lot of games in the past. And also like I said earlier...the admin probably wasn't thinking about AT LARGE bids as even a remote possibility this year, so they didn't scheduled accordingly.

All that being said...Non DI games suck. The SoCon is no longer the top dog in FCS (or anywhere close), we are now fighting for relevancy...and weak schedules hurt the conference as a whole.
i really don't care how slow you type, it still reads the same. Like I said a week ago, WCU didn't screw themselves with their schedule. They shot their chances for an at large bid with losses to USF and more so to PC. Change one, or both of those L's into W's and this conversation wouldn't exist. Had we scheduled CCU instead of BC, and lost. Would we be in any better shape? I typed it slowly, so maybe that will help your reading comprehension.

[chattanoogamocs]

i really don't care how slow you type, it still reads the same. Like I said a week ago, WCU didn't screw themselves with their schedule. They shot their chances for an at large bid with losses to USF and more so to PC. Change one, or both of those L's into W's and this conversation wouldn't exist. Had we scheduled CCU instead of BC, and lost. Would we be in any better shape? I typed it slowly, so maybe that will help your reading comprehension.

If...if...if...if.

Your the one with reading comprehension problems because you are taking what I said and then making a completely different argument. xcrazyx

And yes, you would be in better shape if you had lost to CCU than beat Brevard...that's why Chattanooga is in the top 25 at 5-3 and WCU isn't at 6-2. A quality loss to a top 10 FCS team is always better than beating up on an 0-8 DII teams...even if it is "the best 0-8 DII team in the country."

[Smitty]

If...if...if...if.

Your the one with reading comprehension problems because you are taking what I said and then making a completely different argument. xcrazyx

And yes, you would be in better shape if you had lost to CCU than beat Brevard...that's why Chattanooga is in the top 25 at 5-3 and WCU isn't at 6-2. A quality loss to a top 10 FCS team is always better than beating up on an 0-8 DII teams...even if it is "the best 0-8 DII team in the country."

So would you drop out of the top 25 if you lose this weekend?

[SH_Moc]

So would you drop out of the top 25 if you lose this weekend?

I would think it would be tough to hold on to a Top 25 spot if the Mocs were to lose on Saturday. So I guess UTC will just have win the game, get to 5-0 and continue to keep WCU out of the rankings.

[tenNesseeCat]

If...if...if...if.

Your the one with reading comprehension problems because you are taking what I said and then making a completely different argument. xcrazyx

And yes, you would be in better shape if you had lost to CCU than beat Brevard...that's why Chattanooga is in the top 25 at 5-3 and WCU isn't at 6-2. A quality loss to a top 10 FCS team is always better than beating up on an 0-8 DII teams...even if it is "the best 0-8 DII team in the country."

it's not a completely different argument. you are saying our scheduling hurt us, and i'm saying it didn't. it's just a different stance on that argument. You're claiming that a 5-3 WCU team, with a tougher schedule, would more likely be ranked than the current 6-2 team? i don't agree with that either. had we won against a much higher quality team like CCU i would agree. i would bet we moved up in ranking systems after wins over catawba and brevard, and down after the PC loss. Now i'm done with the village idiot.

[Catamount87]

If...if...if...if.

Your the one with reading comprehension problems because you are taking what I said and then making a completely different argument. xcrazyx

And yes, you would be in better shape if you had lost to CCU than beat Brevard...that's why Chattanooga is in the top 25 at 5-3 and WCU isn't at 6-2. A quality loss to a top 10 FCS team is always better than beating up on an 0-8 DII teams...even if it is "the best 0-8 DII team in the country."


So would you drop out of the top 25 if you lose this weekend?

I have to agree with chattanoogamocs on here. No matter how you slice it, two D-II schools, doesn't help our strength of schedule. The fact that Brevard is 0-8 definitely hurts it even more. But what really sucks for us, losing to PC. Even if we win the next three and lose to AL, we have a 7-2 record against a somewhat soft slate of competition. Chances are we'd be seeded fairly low in the playoffs thus having some pretty stiff competition right off the bat.

If we win on Saturday, I do think that would push us into the top 25 and bring the Mocs down to around 20 or so.

[AshevilleApp2]

I have to agree with chattanoogamocs on here. No matter how you slice it, two D-II schools, doesn't help our strength of schedule. The fact that Brevard is 0-8 definitely hurts it even more. But what really sucks for us, losing to PC. Even if we win the next three and lose to AL, we have a 7-2 record against a somewhat soft slate of competition. Chances are we'd be seeded fairly low in the playoffs thus having some pretty stiff competition right off the bat.

If we win on Saturday, I do think that would push us into the top 25 and bring the Mocs down to around 20 or so.

Win Saturday, and manage to beat VMI in a couple of weeks, and Western should be in the playoffs. I wouldn't worry about seeding at this point.

[chattanoogamocs]

So would you drop out of the top 25 if you lose this weekend?

Depending on which poll, yes, they probably would...I think they would fall out of the AGS and would end up in the bottom 5 of the Sports Network and around 20th in the Coaches Poll.

There are a number of 3 loss teams in the polls and the reason they are able to stick in the Top 25 longer with a poorer records is because voters are giving them credit for playing tough schedules.

I also think if WCU wins, they would end up getting into the top 25.

[chattanoogamocs]

SoCon Standing and Remaining SoCon Schedules

4-0 Chattanooga: @WCU, Wofford, @Furman
4-0 Western Carolina: UTC, @Samford, VMI
3-1 Wofford: @UTC, @Furman, Mercer
3-2 Samford: WCU, @Citadel
1-2 Furman: @VMI, @Citadel, Wofford, UTC
1-4 Mercer: Citadel, @Wofford
0-3 Citadel: @Mercer, Furman, Samford, @VMI
0-4 VMI: Furman, @WCU, Citadel

SoCon Scores

Furman
VMI
1:30pm / ESPN3 - WatchESPN.com (http://WatchESPN.com)

Chattanooga
Western Carolina
2:00pm / SoCon Digital Network

Concordia College
Samford
3:00pm / SoCon Digital Network

The Citadel
Mercer
4:00pm / ESPN3 - WatchESPN.com (http://WatchESPN.com)

SoCon Rankings

Coaches Poll
12. Chattanooga
33. Western Carolina

Sports Network Poll
14. Chattanooga
29. Western Carolina
45. Wofford
47. Samford

AGS Poll
18. Chattanooga
30. Western Carolina

Massey Composite Index
16. Chattanooga
27. Western Carolina
39. Samford
46. Wofford
60. The Citadel
67. Mercer
75. Furman
107. VMI

[FUBeAR]

One you have one unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the game, you probably should not get close to that line again.

C'mon PaladinFan...if you're going to comment, you know you have to have your facts straight or everything else you claim to have observed is suspect. The Mercer player was not ejected for picking up his 2nd unsportsmanlike penalty as you are intimating here. He was ejected for 'throwing a punch.' It was his 1st penalty, but throwing a 'punch' is an automatic ejection. I may have done a version of this before, but since you brought it up ONCE AGAIN, I'm going to Peay everyone else off by describing exactly what happened in 'gory' detail...

The play was the Mercer KO in the 3rd Quarter just after Mercer had taken the lead 14-13. The later-ejected Mercer player (I won't use names or numbers...but I could) was one of 6 Mercer players in on the tackle at the FU 19 yard line. He was on top of the pile at the end of the play. The FU player, who had missed his block on another Mercer player in on the tackle, reached into the pile, snatched (only word for it - looked like he was trying to set a PR for his Dead Lift) the later-ejected Mercer player by the back of his jersey as he was getting up off the pile, and yanked him into the air (both feet came off the ground) and he landed on his feet. When his feet hit the ground, he reached out with an open hand and pushed the FU player who had yanked him off the pile. His open hand contacted the FU player on the right sleeve, where the Diamond F is. At that point, a 2nd FU player, who had missed his block on the later-ejected Mercer player, stepped in and gave a full 2-hand chest push to the later-ejected Mercer player knocking him backward. While he was stumbling backward from the push, he threw out an open hand and tapped the 2nd FU player on the top of the helmet, at about the top of the Diamond F, with almost no force and just the slightest contact. Offsetting Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties were called on the 2nd FU Player and the soon-to-be-ejected Mercer Player.

So, if you believe an unprovoked snatch and a full shove by an uninvolved 3rd player is less chippy than an open-hand 1-hand push to the shoulder in response to an unprovoked snatch and an open hand graze to the helmet in response to a 2-hand chest push, then so be it. I not-so-respectfully disagree. The ref missed the snatch, but saw the push and that's why the penalties were offsetting on the play, but he 'ruled' that the Mercer Player had thrown a 'punch' and tossed him.....which you have now mentioned about 45 times on message boards...while neglecting to mention there were off-setting penalties as there were in all (or almost all - you can check) occasions when those penalties were called during that game. Next time you feel compelled to mention the Mercer player being ejected during the Furman game in a public forum, please include this detailed description of the event with your comment, so your readers will have the full story.


I have probably seen Bobby Lamb coach more football games than you have.

In my view, these comments are not completely inconsistent with watching a Lamb-coached team.

You can say that to my BearingDown freen, but I don't think you want to try to make that claim with me...and I do not entirely agree with you. I won't elaborate further on my thoughts here, but I do not concur.


They play until the whistle, and sometimes beyond.

Great - exactly how I Coach my Players - "Play through the echo of the whistle!" If they aren't doing that, they are probably stopping short...and quitting before the whistle loses football games.



For what its worth, I like that brand of football.

On that, my freen...we can fully agree!

[Toby]

Massey Composite Index
16. Chattanooga
27. Western Carolina
39. Samford
46. Wofford
60. The Citadel
67. Mercer
107. VMI[/QUOTE]

Where is Furman? Did they drop out of the FCS?

[chattanoogamocs]

Massey Composite Index
16. Chattanooga
27. Western Carolina
39. Samford
46. Wofford
60. The Citadel
67. Mercer
107. VMI

Where is Furman? Did they drop out of the FCS?[/QUOTE]


LOL...whoops. It has now been properly edited.

[chattanoogamocs]

Looks like it will be a cool day in Cullowhee...

Day Nov 1
http://s.imwx.com/v.20131006.214956/img/wxicon/120/14.png 44°FHigh
AM Snow Showers

Chance of snow:70% Wind: NNW at 15 mph Humidity:74% UV Index:3 - Moderate Sunrise: 7:54 am Moonrise: 3:19 pm Moonphase:Waxing Gibbous

[ElCid]

Looks like it will be a cool day in Cullowhee...

Day Nov 1


http://s.imwx.com/v.20131006.214956/img/wxicon/120/14.png 44°FHigh
AM Snow Showers

Chance of snow:70% Wind: NNW at 15 mph Humidity:74% UV Index:3 - Moderate Sunrise: 7:54 am Moonrise: 3:19 pm Moonphase:Waxing Gibbous

Great, and I still have a burned face from last Saturday when it 80 in Cullowhee and we faced into the sun all game.

[chattanoogamocs]

Great, and I still have a burned face from last Saturday when it 80 in Cullowhee and we faced into the sun all game.

I hear ya. I had my 18 month old son at the Mercer game and spent the whole time moving up the rows to hide from the sun so he wouldn't get burned.

Here he is giving his best Davis Tull game face impersonation...

19930

[PaladinFan]

I hear ya. I had my 18 month old son at the Mercer game and spent the whole time moving up the rows to hide from the sun so he wouldn't get burned.

Here he is giving his best Davis Tull game face impersonation...

19930

We had a similar issue with a two year old back in September.

Mercer has a pretty park, but most of those trees they have planted have a long way to go before they even think about providing shade. Most of the fans before the Furman game were sitting on the asphalt behind the pressbox to get out of the sun.

[Smitty]

Great, and I still have a burned face from last Saturday when it 80 in Cullowhee and we faced into the sun all game.

Yeah...

On the East side it is pretty brutal.

[tenNesseeCat]

Looks like it will be a cool day in Cullowhee...

Day Nov 1


http://s.imwx.com/v.20131006.214956/img/wxicon/120/14.png 44°FHigh
AM Snow Showers

Chance of snow:70% Wind: NNW at 15 mph Humidity:74% UV Index:3 - Moderate Sunrise: 7:54 am Moonrise: 3:19 pm Moonphase:Waxing Gibbous

weather.com now says 41 for the high with 40% am snow showers. I always wanted to see a battle for the jug in the snow in Cullowhee. I'll take a battle for 1st place in snow in Cullowhee instead! This is getting interesting.

[OrangeJuice]

I might agree with you on Catawba would give APSU a game...but you've been drinking the "The Cats" kitty litter koolaid if you think Brevard is better...they're an 0-8 DII team (on a side note, APSU has 1 DI win this year, Mercer has 2...one of them being APSU :) )

Of course, the difference is...and the point Walliver was making...is that schools like WCU and Wofford (and Samford) have screwed themselves out of an at-large bid by playing two Non-DI's. Don't get mad because another school scheduled smarter (like I said a week ago, no one really thought WCU would have this kind of year, so they weren't thinking about at-large bids when they made the schedule).

Plus, while Chattanooga might have APSU on their schedule (it was on the road, which trumps a DII at home) they also had Jacksonville State, which is better than any game (FBS excluded) WCU has on their schedule.

Not that it makes much of a difference but Mercer officially has 3 D1 wins . . . Stetson, APSU, & VMI. For the record, Reinhardt is probably better than Stetson & APSU.

[BearDownMU]

Reinhardt is better than the '85 Bears.

[chattanoogamocs]

Unfortunately, we'll never know if the best 0-8 team in DII or the soon to be NAIA champions are better than Austin Peay...because APSU plays an all DI schedule (unlike most of the SoCon). ;)

[Catamount87]

Unfortunately, we'll never know if the best 0-8 team in DII or the soon to be NAIA champions are better than Austin Peay...because APSU plays an all DI schedule (unlike most of the SoCon). ;)

Sure, it sucks that we played 2 D-II games this year (an anomaly I might add) and that most everyone in the SoCon has at least 1 on their schedule annually. But the reality of the situation is, a) there are a plethora of D-II schools that are very local to almost all the SoCon schools which makes for good local interest and b) we can't say no D-II and then turn around and expect FBS/BCS schools to play us, doing that would be pretty hypocritical.

[chattanoogamocs]

Sure, it sucks that we played 2 D-II games this year (an anomaly I might add) and that most everyone in the SoCon has at least 1 on their schedule annually. But the reality of the situation is, a) there are a plethora of D-II schools that are very local to almost all the SoCon schools which makes for good local interest and b) we can't say no D-II and then turn around and expect FBS/BCS schools to play us, doing that would be pretty hypocritical.

Actually, it's not hypocritical. I don't expect FBS schools to play us, but if you can work something out that is mutually beneficial (they get a home game, we get money), that's fine. But just because that happens does not mean it should be expected that we play a DII in exchange. This is a competition, not social work.

As for the SoCon playing DII's...this league is slipping fast...and playing a lot of DII's isn't helping. The way a conference gets multiple bids is to get wins against quality OOC opponents. The SoCon is becoming a one bid league and no one really seems to care.

And honestly, I don't care if the Mocs play any FBS teams. I actually broached the subject last week on Mocfans about whether it was worth playing P5 (my argument, it would be better to play all FCS opponents and have a better chance at a higher win total and thus increasing your chance of at-large bids to the playoffs)...personally, I think it is a waste of time to play Alabama, or Auburn, etc. All it does is "prove" to the fans of FBS that FCS is small time "DII" football. Outside of money, there is no real upside. I applaud a school like CCU for basically not scheduling anything but FCS games.

[longtimemocfan]

Actually, it's not hypocritical. I don't expect FBS schools to play us, but if you can work something out that is mutually beneficial (they get a home game, we get money), that's fine. But just because that happens does not mean it should be expected that we play a DII in exchange. This is a competition, not social work.

As for the SoCon playing DII's...this league is slipping fast...and playing a lot of DII's isn't helping. The way a conference gets multiple bids is to get wins against quality OOC opponents. The SoCon is becoming a one bid league and no one really seems to care.

And honestly, I don't care if the Mocs play any FBS teams. I actually broached the subject last week on Mocfans about whether it was worth playing P5 (my argument, it would be better to play all FCS opponents and have a better chance at a higher win total and thus increasing your chance of at-large bids to the playoffs)...personally, I think it is a waste of time to play Alabama, or Auburn, etc. All it does is "prove" to the fans of FBS that FCS is small time "DII" football. Outside of money, there is no real upside. I applaud a school like CCU for basically not scheduling anything but FCS games.


I'm with you for the most part. If your going to schedule FBS teams, at least schedule some that you can win and are competitive like Central Michigan. You get a winnable game plus a little bit of loot to go along with it.

[PaladinFan]

I'm with you for the most part. If your going to schedule FBS teams, at least schedule some that you can win and are competitive like Central Michigan. You get a winnable game plus a little bit of loot to go along with it.

Depends on the money. The FBS games are the least interesting game to me, and least important game on the schedule. Still, one has to recognize the economics of college football, and if LSU wants to pay Furman half a million to show up in Baton Rouge, then who am I to say otherwise?

[chattanoogamocs]

I'm with you for the most part. If your going to schedule FBS teams, at least schedule some that you can win and are competitive like Central Michigan. You get a winnable game plus a little bit of loot to go along with it.

I completely agree on playing G5 teams if you can still get a decent payday (and have a legit shot at a win). The Mocs were really lucky to get $350k out of CMU (I think they were pretty desperate for a game and it upped the price). Most G5's are only paying $175k tops (that is what the Citadel is getting to play at GSU next year...and I think WCU got $150k to play at Middle last year)

[walliver]

...

As for the SoCon playing DII's...this league is slipping fast...and playing a lot of DII's isn't helping. The way a conference gets multiple bids is to get wins against quality OOC opponents. The SoCon is becoming a one bid league and no one really seems to care.

...

SoCon OOC scheduling has never been that great. The App-Montana series was an outlier. The difference was that in the past, you could get notable wins in the conference by beating ASU and/or GSU.

I don't think the SoCon is slipping fast. The SoCon traditionally (last 15 years or so) has had 3 very good teams every year (ASU, GSU and either FU or WC), 3 mediocre teams, and 3 bad teams. The last two years, we had not had dominant teams, but the bottom for the most part has improved - trading a one-hit wonder Elon for VMI wasn't a big loss. Losses to CSU, PC and GWU are disturbing.

One scheduling problem this year is that we have a 12 game season and only 7 conference games. When we get back to 8 conference games and 11 game seasons, scheduling will improve. As the incredibly young players dominating most SoCon rosters mature, the Big South losses will go away.

[tenNesseeCat]

i think they got over 400K for the USF game this year, and a little more than that for alabama.

[longtimemocfan]

Depends on the money. The FBS games are the least interesting game to me, and least important game on the schedule. Still, one has to recognize the economics of college football, and if LSU wants to pay Furman half a million to show up in Baton Rouge, then who am I to say otherwise?


I'm with you playing the big time FBS teams.(P5) I wish when we have to play them and it seems to be a necessity for us in recent years for money, that at least try and schedule them at the first of the year so it doesn't interfere with the important part of your slate of games. The Alabama game last year couldn't have come at a worse time for us. Due in part to all the injuries we had going in and being at the end of the season when a possible playoff game was looming.

[citdog]

i think they got over 400K for the USF game this year, and a little more than that for alabama.

I SERIOUSLY doubt that South Florida is paying over 400k for a game.

[catamount man]

I SERIOUSLY doubt that South Florida is paying over 400k for a game.

Actually believe they did. I know Bama is $480K. GO CATS!

[Catamount87]

I do believe it was around $425K from South Florida.(I'll have to ask around to confirm.) Alabama is paying us $480K. As I recall the MTSU payout was quite a bit less, in the $200K range.

BTW, those are the amounts that are also cited in this Asheville Citizen Times article, http://www.citizen-times.com/story/sports/2014/10/27/western-carolina-football-enjoys-amazing-turnaround/18019455/

[chattanoogamocs]

In case anyone is interested, on Mocfans we started tracking the payouts Chattanooga received. You can see that South Florida does pay more than you would expect...

Previous Schedule Payouts

2006 Memphis $150,000
2007 Arkansas $325,000
2008 Oklahoma $475,000
2008 Florida State $460,000
2009 Alabama $400,000
2010 Auburn $425,000
2011 Nebraska $475,000
2012 South Florida $435,000
2013 Alabama $450,000



Future Schedule Payouts

2014 UTK $450,000
2014 Central Michigan $350,000
2015 Florida St $550,000
2016 Alabama $500,000

[citdog]

South Florida is giving away free money. how can they afford that?

[chattanoogamocs]

SoCon OOC scheduling has never been that great. The App-Montana series was an outlier. The difference was that in the past, you could get notable wins in the conference by beating ASU and/or GSU.

I don't think the SoCon is slipping fast. The SoCon traditionally (last 15 years or so) has had 3 very good teams every year (ASU, GSU and either FU or WC), 3 mediocre teams, and 3 bad teams. The last two years, we had not had dominant teams, but the bottom for the most part has improved - trading a one-hit wonder Elon for VMI wasn't a big loss. Losses to CSU, PC and GWU are disturbing.

One scheduling problem this year is that we have a 12 game season and only 7 conference games. When we get back to 8 conference games and 11 game seasons, scheduling will improve. As the incredibly young players dominating most SoCon rosters mature, the Big South losses will go away.

Chattanooga has played JSU multiple times over the last decade and they have almost always been ranked...SoCon teams play CCU who is also almost always been ranked. Samford played SELA last year. I am not saying that teams have to schedule Montana...but teams need to schedule top 50 FCS teams.

And you're right...9 times out of 10 GSU and ASU was ranked top 10 which helped the schedule and we don't have that anymore...and adding ETSU next year will fill a spot in the schedule, but it isn't going to help the SoCon, for the near term, it will pull it down a little bit more.

Granted, I agree that this is a low-ebb year either way...lots of young teams that will no doubt be better next year...but it still doesn't change the fact that the SoCon is going to have to start scheduling better OOC's and getting some wins. Sorry, I get frustrated because I think some schools in the SoCon are just lazy when it comes to scheduling (because it is definitely not easy putting a good schedule together). Some may argue that is it an anomaly, but it is no different in SoCon basketball scheduling too.

[FUBeAR]

South Florida is giving away free money. how can they afford that?


The opening Furman-Mercer line [NOTE: FU was favored by 26, I believe - FUBeAR] was straight free money. Not sure how much its moved since then.

USF's AD signed up his organization as a client of youwouldno's "Stone Cold Locks Football Betting Service." He's rolling in FREE MONEY!


(BTW - no posts by youwouldno since FU lost to PC - hope he didn't get a 'margin call' from his own bookie and end up at the bottom of the Reedy River in concrete work boots)

[The Cats]

I SERIOUSLY doubt that South Florida is paying over 400k for a game.

Next time don't be so SERIOUS when you don't know what you are talking about.

Oh well, that would be most of the time. xeyebrowx
Guess we can forget that.

[citdog]

Next time don't be so SERIOUS when you don't know what you are talking about.

Oh well, that would be most of the time. xeyebrowx
Guess we can forget that.

Yep you are right I bow to the font of knowledge from Fayetteville, Ga. I'll clear all of my thoughts with you before I have them. Personal attacks aside any idea how South Florida can afford to pay that? We played them in their first ever football game in '97.

[utcfan]

31,000 people attended the WCU game. Tickets range from $15 to $90, so go with $30 a ticket. $930,000 (leaves $500,000 after paying WCU) + parking + concessions + tshirt and jersey sales, etc...they get an extra home game which saves them a travel date....

[chattanoogamocs]

31,000 people attended the WCU game. Tickets range from $15 to $90, so go with $30 a ticket. $930,000 (leaves $500,000 after paying WCU) + parking + concessions + tshirt and jersey sales, etc...they get an extra home game which saves them a travel date....

And they had 41,285 when Chattanooga played them in 2012

[utcfan]

$44,000,000 athletic budget.

[citdog]

Don't follow FBS at all really and I guess I still think of them as the team we played in '98 in front of less people than Chattanooga draws. They only sold tickets in those days on the bottom of the bowl. I stand corrected. Thanks

[chattanoogamocs]

Don't follow FBS at all really and I guess I still think of them as the team we played in '98 in front of less people than Chattanooga draws. They only sold tickets in those days on the bottom of the bowl. I stand corrected. Thanks

http://www.gousfbulls.com//pdf7/130575.pdf

[chattanoogamocs]

Check out USF's first schedule...they have some crazy opponents and scores. Most interesting to me is that they actually traveled to Lebanon, TN to play Cumberland College.

http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=37331&SPID=2981&Q_SEASON=1997

[The Cats]

Personal attacks aside any idea how South Florida can afford to pay that?




SCHOOL

STATE

TOTAL REVENUE

TOTAL EXPENSES

TOTAL SUBSIDY

PERCENT SUBSIDY

CONFERENCE






















South Florida
Florida
$41,948,123
$43,494,246
$16,561,617
39.50%





http://collegead.org/college-athletic-department-budgets/

[OL FU]

USF's AD signed up his organization as a client of youwouldno's "Stone Cold Locks Football Betting Service." He's rolling in FREE MONEY!


(BTW - no posts by youwouldno since FU lost to PC - hope he didn't get a 'margin call' from his own bookie and end up at the bottom of the Reedy River in concrete work boots)

I am guessing he is now betting against Furmanxembarrassedx

[Toby]

Week 9 College Performance Awards - FCS Performers of the week (SoCon reps)

Wide Receiver Performer of the Week - Karel Hamilton - Samford
Wide Receiver - Honorable Mention - Terryon Robinson - WCU
QB Honorable Mention - Jacob Huesman - UTC
TE Honorable Mention - Robert Brown - Mercer
DB Honorable Mention - Trey Morgan - WCU

http://collegefootballperformance.com/performers-of-the-week/2014-2/

[Ghost]

http://www.gousfbulls.com//pdf7/130575.pdf
Whoa. Bill Gramatica the kid brother of Martin was kicking in that game. haha

[Sandlapper Spike]

Check out USF's first schedule...they have some crazy opponents and scores. Most interesting to me is that they actually traveled to Lebanon, TN to play Cumberland College.

http://www.gousfbulls.com/SportSelect.dbml?SPSID=37331&SPID=2981&Q_SEASON=1997

80-3 is a funny score.

[PaladinFan]

Announced today that 6th year DE Shawn Boone and FR OT Aaron Black have been dismissed from Furman's team. Black was a 3 star recruit out of Paulding County.

This season has been abysmal. Between unbelievable bad luck with injuries and now four team dismissals, I hardly even recognize the names of the guys on the field.

[chattownmocs]

Furman is done playing this year.

[CID1990]

Announced today that 6th year DE Shawn Boone and FR OT Aaron Black have been dismissed from Furman's team. Black was a 3 star recruit out of Paulding County.

This season has been abysmal. Between unbelievable bad luck with injuries and now four team dismissals, I hardly even recognize the names of the guys on the field.

Yeah well now your posts are shorter so that's a plus.

[PaladinFan]

Furman is done playing this year.

I rarely agree with you, but that's what it looks like.