TSN SOCON 2015 PREDICTIONS

[catamount man]

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

Just throwing it out here. GO CATS!

[PaladinFan]

Well, not a lot of analysis.

Not sure I get the Wofford love. Terriers do not defend the pass, and there is as deep a crop of quarterbacks as we've seen in the league in probably 10 years. Wofford lost by double digits to WCU, Furman, and UTC last season. I would flip WCU and Wofford.

Other than that, it looks about right.

[catamount man]

I'm not getting the Wofford love either but you guys, provided you stay healthy, should be good again. Never seen a team so snake bit as Furman in 2014. Good luck.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Well, not a lot of analysis.

Not sure I get the Wofford love. Terriers do not defend the pass, and there is as deep a crop of quarterbacks as we've seen in the league in probably 10 years. Wofford lost by double digits to WCU, Furman, and UTC last season. I would flip WCU and Wofford.

Other than that, it looks about right.

Better than 2007 with two Payton Award-winning QBs in Jayson Foster and Armanti Edwards, the SoCon's all-time leading passer in Scott Riddle, Duran Lawson, Renaldo Gray, and Josh Collier?

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just thought that was an interesting remark.

I think Wofford, Furman, and Samford here are the wild cards and any of them could finish in the top 2 IMO. Furman has the injured players coming back, Wofford is always a wild card, and if nothing else Chris Hatcher always gets off to a good start with his teams.

[SU DOG]

TSN also puts the Western at UTC game as the headliner or "Best In Conference" game in the SoCon for 2015. WHAT??? No disrespect to the Catamounts, who will be tough to beat this year, but their game is in Chatty and at home last year they were totally blown out by the Mocs. Who knows what will happen, but just plain logic says that there is a game on Sept 19 that brings UTC to Samford, that probably should be considered for that honor.

[PaladinFan]

Better than 2007 with two Payton Award-winning QBs in Jayson Foster and Armanti Edwards, the SoCon's all-time leading passer in Scott Riddle, Duran Lawson, Renaldo Gray, and Josh Collier?

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just thought that was an interesting remark.

I think Wofford, Furman, and Samford here are the wild cards and any of them could finish in the top 2 IMO. Furman has the injured players coming back, Wofford is always a wild card, and if nothing else Chris Hatcher always gets off to a good start with his teams.

It is an interesting argument. I do think Huseman, Mitchell, Eubanks, and Hannon are a good group of QBs. The kid from VMI, Cobb, and Russ from Mercer are strong as well.

The group you cited led some offensive juggernauts. In my opinion, a lot of those guys were "system" quarterbacks. This current crop of SoCon signal callers are far more the type to drop back, see the field, and all have good arms.

In either event, it has been a few years since the SoCon sported this many quality players at the position.

[PaladinFan]

I'm not getting the Wofford love either but you guys, provided you stay healthy, should be good again. Never seen a team so snake bit as Furman in 2014. Good luck.

We are working internally to reverse that juju.

As I've said a bunch, it is hard to predict what Furman will do. I think if the OL takes it up a notch and we can find a couple guys to fill some shoes at DE, we'll be pretty good.

[tenNesseeCat]

Well, not a lot of analysis.

Not sure I get the Wofford love. Terriers do not defend the pass, and there is as deep a crop of quarterbacks as we've seen in the league in probably 10 years. Wofford lost by double digits to WCU, Furman, and UTC last season. I would flip WCU and Wofford.

Other than that, it looks about right.

I would like to think that returning 20 starters from last years, tied for 2nd team, could get a little more love. We also have Tyson Dickson coming back, who started early in the season before injury. Which gave time to Daniel Riddle. We lost a great LB in Gill, but in a way we still have 3 starters coming back at that position. Not to mention the growth that we should have along both lines. The OL in particular, I hope to see make strides this year. Typically, an OL plays better, the longer they are together. This will be the 3rd-4th year with most of these guys together. If the OL can make good progress over last year, I think this years offense will be really good.

With that said, I agree that WC and WCU should be flipped. Personally, I'd put Sammy at 2nd, until WCU proves we can get over that hump. I think Furman will be right there, but we have to see how they respond after last year. Facing a tough schedule to do it with.

[OL FU]

I will state my agreement with most posters here. Over the years it has been hard to pick against Wofford and two less than stellar years in a row is out of the norm (hard to imagine a 3rd). But I agree, I would put Samford 2nd WCU 3rd and drop WC to 5th. I do think Wofford might surprise.

I also think Furman has a possibility of making a run at it although this is the year that the "tougher" games will be on the road. And even with all of the injuries, I don't think you can put Furman higher (and could possibly put them lower) considering last year stunk so badly.

[PaladinFan]

Furman returns 36 players that have been in the starting lineup. Not lettered. Started.

[PaladinFan]

I would like to think that returning 20 starters from last years, tied for 2nd team, could get a little more love. We also have Tyson Dickson coming back, who started early in the season before injury. Which gave time to Daniel Riddle. We lost a great LB in Gill, but in a way we still have 3 starters coming back at that position. Not to mention the growth that we should have along both lines. The OL in particular, I hope to see make strides this year. Typically, an OL plays better, the longer they are together. This will be the 3rd-4th year with most of these guys together. If the OL can make good progress over last year, I think this years offense will be really good.

With that said, I agree that WC and WCU should be flipped. Personally, I'd put Sammy at 2nd, until WCU proves we can get over that hump. I think Furman will be right there, but we have to see how they respond after last year. Facing a tough schedule to do it with.

I'm not as worried about Furman's schedule. According to Massey, we have the toughest SoCon schedule and one of the toughest in the FCS.

I kind of stopped looking at the difficulty of the schedule in 2013. Furman was 2-4 and still had App State, Georgia Southern, LSU, Samford, and Wofford left on the schedule. Paladins basically ran through that group like crap through a goose. Only lost to LSU and the only FCS team to stay within double digits was GSU in Statesboro (and really only because Furman kneeled on the ball on the Eagle 2 yard line at the end of the game).

Kind of frustrating as a fan, though. We have no idea what the team will look like. If that 2013 team shows up (many of the same players), we could be a top 15 team. If we struggle like we did last year, we aren't worth spit.

[chattownmocs]

Chattanooga ran the table by, I believe, 26 ppg in the league last year. That number is going up in 2015.

[PaladinFan]

Chattanooga ran the table by, I believe, 26 ppg in the league last year. That number is going up in 2015.

Weakest SoCon in decades. Will not be that easy.

[FUBeAR]

Chattanooga ran the table by, I believe, 26 ppg in the league last year. That number is going up in 2015.

Wow! 26 ppg!! Absolute domination of the SoCon...almost.

Does that number include their 7 point win at home over Mercer, in which the Mocs led Mercer by more than 7 points for only about 11 total minutes of the game & trailed or were tied with the Bears for almost 30 minutes of the game?

[longtimemocfan]

That 26 point margin of victory average is going to go down this year I believe. The conference as a whole is going to be quite a bit better.I think we could still be better overall than last year, but not going to run through the schedule this year without at least 1 loss In my opinion.

[PaladinFan]

That 26 point margin of victory average is going to go down this year I believe. The conference as a whole is going to be quite a bit better.I think we could still be better overall than last year, but not going to run through the schedule this year without at least 1 loss In my opinion.

I expect every team in the conference will be improved.

[PaladinFan]

Wow! 26 ppg!! Absolute domination of the SoCon...almost.

Does that number include their 7 point win at home over Mercer, in which the Mocs led Mercer by more than 7 points for only about 11 total minutes of the game & trailed or were tied with the Bears for almost 30 minutes of the game?

Probably. Also includes double digit wins against everyone else.

[APaladindad]

Chattanooga ran the table by, I believe, 26 ppg in the league last year. That number is going up in 2015.

Just keep drinking the KoolAid!

[walliver]

I wouldn't be surprised if Wofford ends up at number 2, but I definitely wouldn't put that in my preseason ranking.

For reasons I cannot quite explain, there were only a handful of prominent seniors last year in the entire conference, and just about every team has almost everybody back.

Wofford has had 3 defensive coordinators over the last 3 years, with the last two being first time DC's. Hopefully some stability here will help. As last year progressed, the pass defense went from atrocious to just below average. Although it is easy to blame our pass defense for a poor season, it was really inconsistent offensive play that killed us down the stretch. The first half of the last game was the first time the team really had it all together.

After playing FU, WCU and Chatty on the road for the second straight year last season, we will host all 3, as well as Samford, next year. The Citadel, VMI and Mercer will be on the road, and we tend to play better against the Citadel in Charleston than at home.
The season will likely not start well against Clemson, but every other game on the schedule is potentially winnable.

[PaladinFan]

I wouldn't be surprised if Wofford ends up at number 2, but I definitely wouldn't put that in my preseason ranking.

For reasons I cannot quite explain, there were only a handful of prominent seniors last year in the entire conference, and just about every team has almost everybody back.

Wofford has had 3 defensive coordinators over the last 3 years, with the last two being first time DC's. Hopefully some stability here will help. As last year progressed, the pass defense went from atrocious to just below average. Although it is easy to blame our pass defense for a poor season, it was really inconsistent offensive play that killed us down the stretch. The first half of the last game was the first time the team really had it all together.

After playing FU, WCU and Chatty on the road for the second straight year last season, we will host all 3, as well as Samford, next year. The Citadel, VMI and Mercer will be on the road, and we tend to play better against the Citadel in Charleston than at home.
The season will likely not start well against Clemson, but every other game on the schedule is potentially winnable.

I don't disagree with you about Wofford. I think they could be quite good, but need a lot more consistency, particularly on defense.

Over the last two seasons I have been a little confused about what Wofford is doing on defense. They prefer a soft zone coverage, which is not uncommon in the SoCon and certainly not for a ball-control offense like the Terriers. Common theory is to take away the home run ball and rely on teams having to make a lot more plays to score. Wofford wants the game at a snail's pace. Their defensive philosophy supports that.

Where I think they find trouble is that the SoCon has some pretty good passers and good receivers. Wofford has tended to fare a good bit better against the run-first teams like GSU or the Citadel. They have struggled the last two seasons against teams that can sling it around. From my vantage point, teams are just getting what Wofford gives them and beating them on short and intermediate routes.

[walliver]

...

Over the last two seasons I have been a little confused about what Wofford is doing on defense. They prefer a soft zone coverage, which is not uncommon in the SoCon and certainly not for a ball-control offense like the Terriers. Common theory is to take away the home run ball and rely on teams having to make a lot more plays to score. Wofford wants the game at a snail's pace. Their defensive philosophy supports that.

...

This has been our defense for years. Until the last two years, however, the D stiffened near the goal line and we traded fieldgoals for touchdowns. The last two years, our offense has had way too many 3-and-outs and the defense has been worn down.

[SU DOG]

Chattanooga ran the table by, I believe, 26 ppg in the league last year. That number is going up in 2015.

I really don't believe that Chattanooga will win at Samford this season.

[longtimemocfan]

I really don't believe that Chattanooga will win at Samford this season.

You seem very confident in your prediction for this game.You could be right and you could be wrong. Just know last year we played definitively better on the road than we did at home. Only FCS loss was at home. Scare against Mercer and really the 38-24 win against Samford wasn't that impressive. Furman, The Citadel and Western were all very well played games. You can take into account that most of those road games were later in the season after the O-line had jelled. I think over all we could have a better team than last year, but after all any given Saturday anything can happen. See you in Birmingham.

[SU DOG]

Glad to hear that you're making the trip Moc Fan, and can't argue with anything you said. My prediction is, of course biased, but I will stand by it, at least for now. I base my enthusiasm on seeing our improvement in the spring, but I realize that every school in the SoCon has their fans excited at this time of the year. Should be an outstanding game, and I hope lots of folks make their way down from Chatty. Also, PLEASE take care of JSU!!!

[longtimemocfan]

if I were a Samford fan you should have good reason for optimism. Think the dogs have a good chance to finish in the top of the standings. The Jax St. game will be like a playoff game. Intense and hard fought. Winner of this game goes a long way toward seeding come playoff time if we both make it in.As well some SoCon games could have a lot of bearing on playoff implications. Think at least 2 teams in the conference get in this year.

[chattownmocs]

The scoring margin might not go up. I just don't see who is going to beat us or Jacob Huesman allowing us to lose. We are the best in the conference in too many areas.

[PaladinFan]

This has been our defense for years. Until the last two years, however, the D stiffened near the goal line and we traded fieldgoals for touchdowns. The last two years, our offense has had way too many 3-and-outs and the defense has been worn down.

I completely agree. The "bend don't break" defense was a staple for both Furman and Wofford for years. It is the only way Richie Williams can go 40-45 for 413 yards and App State have only 16 points in the until 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Frustrating as heck to watch some times, but the goal is to keep them from scoring, not to keep them from catching it.

I think that defense works well when Wofford's offense is right and they have a lead. The last few times I've seen the Terriers play Furman, I thought they stuck in that set despite the game situation. The last three times Furman and Wofford have played in Greenville, I have noticed that Wofford seemed to stick with the "game plan" despite the game situation. Particularly in the 2011 and 2013 games, I thought Wofford's failure to alter what they were doing on defense cost them the football game.

To be fair, that was always one of my biggest beefs with Furman coaching staffs in the past. The team would come out with a game plan, and by golly, it didn't matter what the other team was doing, we were going to continue to do exactly what we decided to do on the practice field that week. I do not think Bruce Fowler suffers from such a malady.

[PaladinFan]

if I were a Samford fan you should have good reason for optimism. Think the dogs have a good chance to finish in the top of the standings. The Jax St. game will be like a playoff game. Intense and hard fought. Winner of this game goes a long way toward seeding come playoff time if we both make it in.As well some SoCon games could have a lot of bearing on playoff implications. Think at least 2 teams in the conference get in this year.

If Samford beats Central Arkansas, Furman beats Coastal, and UTC beats Jacksonville State all in week 1, I think that will do a lot for the national perception of the SoCon.

Both UTC and Furman need wins there badly. I imagine UTC fans are as tired of losing close games to Jacksonville State as Furman fans are of losing close games to Coastal.

[longtimemocfan]

If Samford beats Central Arkansas, Furman beats Coastal, and UTC beats Jacksonville State all in week 1, I think that will do a lot for the national perception of the SoCon.

Both UTC and Furman need wins there badly. I imagine UTC fans are as tired of losing close games to Jacksonville State as Furman fans are of losing close games to Coastal.


Totally agree. Need the conference to start the year strong.

[catamount man]

Yes indeed. SoCon needs to get the mojo back. GO CATS!

[walliver]

If Samford beats Central Arkansas, Furman beats Coastal, and UTC beats Jacksonville State all in week 1, I think that will do a lot for the national perception of the SoCon.

Both UTC and Furman need wins there badly. I imagine UTC fans are as tired of losing close games to Jacksonville State as Furman fans are of losing close games to Coastal.

It would help even more if Wofford beat Clemson:)


... but I'm not holding my breath.

[PaladinFan]

It would help even more if Wofford beat Clemson:)


... but I'm not holding my breath.

I imagine, of those games, that is the least likely a victory.

[The Eagle's Cliff]

It's wierd to see Chattanooga and Western being the top of the conference.