Furman @ Samford. Socon game of the week

[Reign of Terrier]

This game deserves a thread of it's own (hopefully it'll partition off the Furman fans claiming they're going to win a national title this year, but I digress).

Samford comes into this game at 7-3 (5-2 in the Socon), Furman 7-3(6-1). If Furman wins, they get a piece of the socon title. If they lose, both teams tie for second place.

Furman right now has the best offense in the socon in terms of scoring offense, 2nd in total offense and fifth in scoring defense. Samford is 3rd in both scoring offense and scoring defense, but is 8th in total defense.

Furman is the 3rd best rushing team, while Samford has the 7th best rushing defense. For Samford, that may look bad on the surface, but they've played three option teams (Kennesaw, Citadel and Wofford) and they still only average 173 yards a game and 4 ypc (which is fourth best in the Socon).

Samford has the best pass offense, while Furman has the best pass defense. Once again, that stat is a little misleading: Furman has had a lot of teams pass it on them in garbage time. Still, Furman has the second worst pass defense in terms of completion percentage.

As for less tangible stats, this game pits the most efficient offense (Furman, scoring points 51% of the time overall and almost 53% in Socon play) vs the most efficient defense (the Samford defense allows scores 23% of the time overall and an astonishing 19% overall in Socon play). Both teams are average or so (3rd or 4th) in terms of their efficiency on the other side of the ball, but it's clear that Furman leans on their offense and Samford leans on their defense.

On top of that, Samford averages the most possessions per game with about 13 on both sides of the ball. Furman on the other hand is down there with Wofford in terms of minimal possessions with about 11. I don't think Samford should want to push the game to so many possessions because Furman is so ungodly efficient with scoring. The only way that Samford wins with that many possessions is if they win the turnover battle and that's hard to predict.

I personally think Furman will win this game, even though I'm pulling against them. That offense is just hard to stop due to its efficiency. Even though Samford has had respectable performances against run-first offenses, in some ways I think they got lucky (there was a rain delay that helped them get their stuff together against Kennesaw, Wofford played with a bad center who fumbled the snap 4 times and ruined the rhythm of the game for 2.5 quarters, and the Citadel's offense just isn't good this year).

Right now, the YT quasi-statistical bull**** algorithm has Furman ahead 26-24, which is obviously in the margin of error. I'm picking Furman 41-31 in a game that goes back in forth but simply comes down to Furman's ability to score at will and Samford being unable to stop them. I'm hoping this isn't the outcome, but it's my best, most-educated guess.

[PaladinFan]

I think this will be a good game. I know Samford will be amped up for it.

One thing that doesn’t show up in the stats is coaching. I’ve been extremely impressed with Furman’s new coaching staff on both sides of the ball. I think they’ve already put in some of their prep work on Samford during the bye week.

[ASU33]

This might be worth the drive over to Birmingham!xnodx

[FUGameBreaker]

Don't know what's going to happen, anything is possible, but I am surly looking forward to this one!

[FUGameBreaker]

Uffff, and this QB battle, gonna be a great one as well, both guys having stellar years

[Reign of Terrier]

If Furman loses this game: the bad news they won't make the playoffs but the good news is that they'll probably run the table in the Socon next year. In a weird way, I think they're more likely to run the table next year if they get left out as there is precedent for it (2002-2003 Wofford 2013-2014 Chattanooga)

- - - Updated - - -


Uffff, and this QB battle, gonna be a great one as well, both guys having stellar years

In my opinion, Blazejowski should be first team All Socon and Hodges #2

[FUGameBreaker]

[QUOTE=youngterrier;2565937]If Furman loses this game: the bad news they won't make the playoffs but the good news is that they'll probably run the table in the Socon next year. In a weird way, I think they're more likely to run the table next year if they get left out as there is precedent for it (2002-2003 Wofford 2013-2014 Chattanooga)
/QUOTE]



Nothing beats getting a young team some playoff experience though

[Reign of Terrier]

Yeah, I think Wofford's playoff experience was huge for us this year as young as we were last year

[PaladinFan]

If Furman loses this game: the bad news they won't make the playoffs but the good news is that they'll probably run the table in the Socon next year. In a weird way, I think they're more likely to run the table next year if they get left out as there is precedent for it (2002-2003 Wofford 2013-2014 Chattanooga)

- - - Updated - - -



In my opinion, Blazejowski should be first team All Socon and Hodges #2

No one can compete with Hodges for passing stats based on volume, but Blazejowski has been really good all year.

[FUGameBreaker]

FCS QB rating leaders:
http://www.fcs.football/cfb/leaders.asp?lg=999&cat=28 (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/leaders.asp?lg=999&cat=28)

[Reign of Terrier]

If they give it to Hodges that's basically saying they don't watch the games

[FUGameBreaker]

Furman going for their 8th straight win for the first time since 1989

(In 1989 the defending national champion Paladins opened the season with a loss to Clemson, then reeled off 12 straight wins before losing a heart-breaker in the snow at Paladin Stadium to SF Austin in the playoff semifinals)

[gofurman]

Furman going for their 8th straight win for the first time since 1989

(In 1989 the defending national champion Paladins opened the season with a loss to Clemson, then reeled off 12 straight wins before losing a heart-breaker in the snow at Paladin Stadium to SF Austin in the playoff semifinals)

Six Samford players were out in one game including McKnight and two OL. 3 O. 3 D I need to find that list. Are all back? Samford help ?

[Reign of Terrier]

McKnight played last week I think

[SU DOG]

Six Samford players were out in one game including McKnight and two OL. 3 O. 3 D I need to find that list. Are all back? Samford help ?

Our last game vs ETSU we had 3 new starting O-Linemen. The center, RG, and RT. Our best WR, McKnight, has a shoulder injury. He played, caught one pass, and came out to be treated. Shaheed Salmon, our leading tackler who has been injured, played, but went out and was treated and I don't think he returned. I know nothing official, but what difference does it make? I gather from what is being said here that we don't have a snowball's chance anyhow. Furman has a better resume' even if they lose, and Blazejowski(who is a great QB and person IMO) is so much better than Hodges, that we are doomed. Hey, maybe Herink of ETSU should be #2 - didn't he have over 400 yards of passing vs Furman?
Also, Furman has the SoCon tradition, NC, and is obviously the best choice to represent the SoCon in the Playoffs. There is even a threat of rain in Homewood for Saturday. I wonder if Samford should just do the right thing and forfeit this mismatch?

[PaladinFan]

Our last game vs ETSU we had 3 new starting O-Linemen. The center, RG, and RT. Our best WR, McKnight, has a shoulder injury. He played, caught one pass, and came out to be treated. Shaheed Salmon, our leading tackler who has been injured, played, but went out and was treated and I don't think he returned. I know nothing official, but what difference does it make? I gather from what is being said here that we don't have a snowball's chance anyhow. Furman has a better resume' even if they lose, and Blazejowski(who is a great QB and person IMO) is so much better than Hodges, that we are doomed. Hey, maybe Herink of ETSU should be #2 - didn't he have over 400 yards of passing vs Furman?
Also, Furman has the SoCon tradition, NC, and is obviously the best choice to represent the SoCon in the Playoffs. There is even a threat of rain in Homewood for Saturday. I wonder if Samford should just do the right thing and forfeit this mismatch?

Meh, no one buys the "Samford doesn't have a chance" line.

Furman's a good team. Samford's a good team.

[FUBeAR]

I wonder if Samford should just do the right thing and forfeit this mismatch?Yes (sarcastically)

[FUGameBreaker]

https://twitter.com/NCAA_FCS/status/930090396407029760

[Reign of Terrier]

If I'm playing Samford I'm feeling more nervous if I'm favored than if I'm the underdog

[WCU-Cats!]

will be tuning into espn3 for this one for sure, gonna flip back and forth with our game

[FUGameBreaker]

AGS game of the week poll:

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/showthread.php?198883-2017-11-18-AGS-GOTW-Week-12

[soconjohn5]

Furman is already in the playoffs win or lose Saturday...The question is whether Samford will be?

[soconjohn5]

If you want it you can get it!

[Terrier19]

I CANT WAIT TO SEE THIS ONE. 2 GOOD TEAMS DOING BATTLE.

Samford playing for its post season life
Furman looking to get a piece of the ship.

Lots of things on the line....the loser will be sweating bullets for about a week until they get to see their name called on Selection Sunday.....or not.

I am just glad we got our part of the SOCON done.......this game is pressure packed.....

[gofurman]

Our last game vs ETSU we had 3 new starting O-Linemen. The center, RG, and RT. Our best WR, McKnight, has a shoulder injury. He played, caught one pass, and came out to be treated. Shaheed Salmon, our leading tackler who has been injured, played, but went out and was treated and I don't think he returned. I know nothing official, but what difference does it make? I gather from what is being said here that we don't have a snowball's chance anyhow. Furman has a better resume' even if they lose, and Blazejowski(who is a great QB and person IMO) is so much better than Hodges, that we are doomed. Hey, maybe Herink of ETSU should be #2 - didn't he have over 400 yards of passing vs Furman?
Also, Furman has the SoCon tradition, NC, and is obviously the best choice to represent the SoCon in the Playoffs. There is even a threat of rain in Homewood for Saturday. I wonder if Samford should just do the right thing and forfeit this mismatch?

Samford is a great team... I just hope fu can somehow get out w a W. somehow. I mean that. You have beaten' Wofford (only team to do so) and whalloped Mercer - no one else held Mercer to 3 points! You have a lot of talent.

*thank you for the response on injuries ! "Our last game vs ETSU we had 3 new starting O-Linemen. The center, RG, and RT. Our best WR, McKnight, has a shoulder injury. He played, caught one pass, and came out to be treated. Shaheed Salmon, our leading tackler who has been injured, played, but went out and was treated and I don't think he returned." Wasn't the Omari Williams kid listed as out one game too? Did he play v ETSU? thanks for answers. Figure I will watch the game replay but wanted to ask - you know your stuff. We are missing our 3 starting LBs but have been since game 4. Our CBs have been changed but not due to injury I don't think

[Schism55]

Furman is already in the playoffs win or lose Saturday...The question is whether Samford will be?
Wrong. This is a loser leaves town match, gotta love it!

[Terrier19]

Wrong. This is a loser leaves town match, gotta love it!

I think you might be right.....makes this game a lot of fun to watch....

[gofurman]

Wrong. This is a loser leaves town match, gotta love it!

Not if AGS is a good poll. !! Last year the AGS poll had every AQ and at-large included included in their top 25 poll. The entire playoff list was in the AGS top 25. No exception unless an AQ from a weaker conference. Furman is currently 14 (13 if you take out NCAT) and Samford is about 18 (17 without NCAT). If 14 loses away at 18 then that probably puts Furman at 20th (19th without NCAT)? Are you saying AGS has it wrong ??

AGS Poll Results - WEEK 11 - 11/13/2017
AGS Poll Results - WEEK 11 - 11/13/2017



Rank
Team:
Total Points
First Place Votes
Previous Wk.


1
James Madison Dukes
1974
78
1


2
North Dakota State Bison
1820
1
4


3
Central Arkansas Bears
1804

3


4
Jacksonville State Gamecocks
1752

2


5
South Dakota State Jackrabbits
1661

5


6
Sam Houston State Bearkats
1534

6


7
Wofford Terriers
1464

8


8
Southern Utah Thunderbirds
1419

9


9
Stony Brook Seawolves
1221

11


10
Weber State Wildcats
1189

12


11
Western Illinois Leathernecks
1119

13


12
Elon Phoenix
1032

7


13
North Carolina A&T Aggies
921

14


14
Furman Paladins
891

15


15
South Dakota Coyotes
841

10


16
Northern Arizona Lumberjacks
746

16


17
Northern Iowa Panthers
649

19


18
Samford Bulldogs
641

17


19
Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens
591

20


20
New Hampshire Wildcats
416

27


21
Monmouth Hawks
371

22


22
Montana Grizzlies
285

25


23
McNeese State Cowboys
269

24


24
Kennesaw State Owls
249

26


25
Eastern Washington Eagles
209

23

















ORV:





26
Illinois State Redbirds
194

21


27
Nicholls State Colonels
180

28


28
Western Carolina Catamounts
97

18


29
Grambling State Tigers
88

29


30
Yale Bulldogs
21

31

[Schism55]

AGS is the best poll, period.
But as has been mentioned in other threads Furmans SoS and wins are unimpressive.
If games break certain ways this weekend the bubble will be packed an I think that leaves Furman on the outside looking in.
At any rate, take care of business this saturday and no worries for the 'Dins xthumbsupx

[gofurman]

I hear ya. Just for what I was saying This one was last year. FU will be an AGS top 25 win or lose this week - at 14 we aren't falling out of poll
---
The AGS poll nailed the field last year as well. This was the poll released prior to Selection Sunday (autobids are underlined, at large are bolded). Grambling and NC Central weren't eligible since they were in the Celebration Bowl.

Rank Team: Total Points First Place Votes
1 North Dakota State Bison 1636 32
2 Eastern Washington Eagles 1631 24
3T Jacksonville State Gamecocks 1509 4
3T James Madison Dukes 1509 4
5 Sam Houston State Bearkats 1505 4
6 The Citadel Bulldogs 1364
7 South Dakota State Jackrabbits 1284
8 North Dakota Fighting Hawks 1208
9 Youngstown State Penguins 1019
10 Villanova Wildcats 1004
11 Chattanooga Mocs 966
12T Richmond Spiders 917
12T Central Arkansas Bears 917
14 Charleston Southern Buccaneers 814
15 Lehigh Mountain Hawks 788
16 Wofford Terriers 755
17 Cal Poly Mustangs 585
18 New Hampshire Wildcats 393
19 Grambling State Tigers 357
20 Samford Bulldogs 334
21 Weber State Wildcats 277
22 North Carolina Central Eagles 270
23 Illinois State Redbirds 267
24 North Carolina A&T Aggies 216
25 Albany Great Danes 214


Although to be fair I think the STATS poll also projected the field correctly last year after talking out the ineligible teams and the autos.

[SU DOG]

Samford is a great team... I just hope fu can somehow get out w a W. somehow. I mean that. You have beaten' Wofford (only team to do so) and whalloped Mercer - no one else held Mercer to 3 points! You have a lot of talent.

*thank you for the response on injuries ! "Our last game vs ETSU we had 3 new starting O-Linemen. The center, RG, and RT. Our best WR, McKnight, has a shoulder injury. He played, caught one pass, and came out to be treated. Shaheed Salmon, our leading tackler who has been injured, played, but went out and was treated and I don't think he returned." Wasn't the Omari Williams kid listed as out one game too? Did he play v ETSU? thanks for answers. Figure I will watch the game replay but wanted to ask - you know your stuff. We are missing our 3 starting LBs but have been since game 4. Our CBs have been changed but not due to injury I don't think

Omari did play vs ETSU and had an interception. I expect most everybody to play vs Furman, I just don't know how many of those will be 100%. I really don't think McKnight or Salmon will be. No excuses with injuries, however, as most folks are banged up somewhat at this time of the year.

[gofurman]

Omari did play vs ETSU and had an interception. I expect most everybody to play vs Furman, I just don't know how many of those will be 100%. I really don't think McKnight or Salmon will be. No excuses with injuries, however, as most folks are banged up somewhat at this time of the year.

agree. Thanks for quick answers. I guess my last question is who were your starting OL for most of the year? Are these three new OL guys in there pretty experienced ? I noticed you had OL - two fr. Two soph and one Jr. V ETSU

[PaladinFan]

AGS is the best poll, period.
But as has been mentioned in other threads Furmans SoS and wins are unimpressive.
If games break certain ways this weekend the bubble will be packed an I think that leaves Furman on the outside looking in.
At any rate, take care of business this saturday and no worries for the 'Dins xthumbsupx

The SOS isn’t that weak. According to Massey, Furman’s SoS is higher than a lot of other bubble teams, including New Hampshire, Kennesaw, all of the Southland Conference, and all of the OVC.

[SU DOG]

Omari did play vs ETSU and had an interception. I expect most everybody to play vs Furman, I just don't know how many of those will be 100%. I really don't think McKnight or Salmon will be. No excuses with injuries, however, as most folks are banged up somewhat at this time of the year.

Sorry, but I honestly don't know what is going on with the O-Line changes, although I think it's mostly some minor nicks. For most of the year it has been 2 RS Fr, 2 Soph, and one Jr. Against ETSU, there were 3 changes, and we started a RS Sr, at Center along with a Jr, a Soph, a RS Fr, and a true Fr. As far as starters, I honestly have NO idea what the O-Line will look like Saturday.

[SU DOG]

That was supposed to be reply to gofurman.

[gofurman]

That was supposed to be reply to gofurman.

got it. Thanks for help w OL.

[PaladinFan]

As I contemplate this game, there are a couple of areas that, in my opinion, are going to be key factors:

First, turnovers. No real surprise. When good teams meet, sometimes the margins are razor thin and an untimely turnover can be the deciding factor. I was surprised to see that Samford is +5 in turnover margin. Only UTC and VMI have turned the ball over more than the Bulldogs (18 times). Samford has been impressive, though, in creating turnovers. Their 23 are tied for first in the SoCon. Comparatively, Furman is a lot more careful with the ball. Only Wofford (8) has turned it over fewer times than Furman (11).

Second, I am interested to see the battle between Samford's OL protection and Furman's defense. There's no secret that Furman has young cornerbacks that Samford will look to exploit. Furman also sports the league's best pass rush. I think to exploit Furman's defensive backfield the Bulldogs are going to have to keep Paladin defenders out of Hodges' face.

Finally, I think the key to the whole shooting match will be how Samford's defense handles Furman's running game. From watching a season's worth of SoCon football, the only team with a running game comparable to Furman's is Wofford, and Samford struggled a bit against the Terrier attack. Slowing down Dirks and Wilcox has to be priority 1 for any defense against Furman.

[LarryBoy]

Talking with some fans that I usually sit near last week, we were all in agreement: Samford is a game we're all worried about. Any perceived overconfidence on the part of Furman fans, those people are in the minority.

Furman just hasn't faced an offense like Samford's this year, and a competent air attack is the best way to attack Furman's defense. If you can pick up Furman's pass rush, then you've got a good chance to move the ball.

Furman's secondary is getting better. Citadel exploited some B-unit guys in the second half last week (but it's not like Citadel has an elite passing attack), but I've generally seen better play from our secondary, starting with the Mercer game. All the same, I haven't seen enough to be confident against an all-out air attack. This will be a huge test.

On the other side of the ball I feel a lot better, of course. If it turns into a track meet, that's okay. And that's weird for a run-first team, but I think I've seen more long yardage big plays out of this year's offense than I've seen in the last decade of Furman football combined. Wilcox can (and has, many times) turn a dive play into a long TD, from anywhere on the field. He's big enough to knock over linebackers and fast enough to out run safeties. Which sets up our passing game perfectly, and that's turned into an inordinate amount of long TDs. Again, stuff we haven't seen from Furman in a very long time.

I'm thinking this will be a 35-31 type game.

[PaladinFan]

Talking with some fans that I usually sit near last week, we were all in agreement: Samford is a game we're all worried about. Any perceived overconfidence on the part of Furman fans, those people are in the minority.

Furman just hasn't faced an offense like Samford's this year, and a competent air attack is the best way to attack Furman's defense. If you can pick up Furman's pass rush, then you've got a good chance to move the ball.

Furman's secondary is getting better. Citadel exploited some B-unit guys in the second half last week (but it's not like Citadel has an elite passing attack), but I've generally seen better play from our secondary, starting with the Mercer game. All the same, I haven't seen enough to be confident against an all-out air attack. This will be a huge test.

On the other side of the ball I feel a lot better, of course. If it turns into a track meet, that's okay. And that's weird for a run-first team, but I think I've seen more long yardage big plays out of this year's offense than I've seen in the last decade of Furman football combined. Wilcox can (and has, many times) turn a dive play into a long TD, from anywhere on the field. He's big enough to knock over linebackers and fast enough to out run safeties. Which sets up our passing game perfectly, and that's turned into an inordinate amount of long TDs. Again, stuff we haven't seen from Furman in a very long time.

I'm thinking this will be a 35-31 type game.

I generally agree that the winner will probably need to hit the 30 point mark.

Furman has not seen Samford, and, of course, Samford has not seen a team like Furman. If I were a Bulldog fan, my concern would be that teams have managed to slow down their offense at times. Mercer did. VMI did. Wofford did. UTC did. I'm not sure you can say the same thing about Furman. Since the NC State game, only Mercer has looked like they were remotely able to slow down the Paladin offense, and even then still surrendered 28 points.

The Paladin pass defense is a concern. I will note, though, that teams are not moving the ball downfield much. Anoor is one of the best coverage safeties in the SoCon, and he quietly seems to shut down most teams downfield passing attack. Where Furman has gotten burned in the passing game, it is usually the result of a missed tackle in man coverage. Samford has a corps of receivers that are extremely good at getting loose in space.

Regarding Wilcox and Dirks, those guys have been something else. I'm not sure I can remember seeing a more physical running duo in recent SoCon football. There have been other big physical backs in the league like Jermaine Austin, Jerome Felton, and Eric Britenstien (along with others at Wofford), but I cannot think of a team that had two guys as big and as fast as those two. From my view, they've gone from battering rams to really good running backs over the course of a season, which is a testament to the coaching staff. Despite their size, both can really move and are just running through tackles right now.

[Reign of Terrier]

As I contemplate this game, there are a couple of areas that, in my opinion, are going to be key factors:

First, turnovers. No real surprise. When good teams meet, sometimes the margins are razor thin and an untimely turnover can be the deciding factor. I was surprised to see that Samford is +5 in turnover margin. Only UTC and VMI have turned the ball over more than the Bulldogs (18 times). Samford has been impressive, though, in creating turnovers. Their 23 are tied for first in the SoCon. Comparatively, Furman is a lot more careful with the ball. Only Wofford (8) has turned it over fewer times than Furman (11).

Second, I am interested to see the battle between Samford's OL protection and Furman's defense. There's no secret that Furman has young cornerbacks that Samford will look to exploit. Furman also sports the league's best pass rush. I think to exploit Furman's defensive backfield the Bulldogs are going to have to keep Paladin defenders out of Hodges' face.

Finally, I think the key to the whole shooting match will be how Samford's defense handles Furman's running game. From watching a season's worth of SoCon football, the only team with a running game comparable to Furman's is Wofford, and Samford struggled a bit against the Terrier attack. Slowing down Dirks and Wilcox has to be priority 1 for any defense against Furman.

I think in some ways the turnover numbers are misleading for Samford. It might be one of those things where Hodges et all play really well in games that are big but eat it when the game isn't as high stakes. Remember, they had 7 turnovers against Chattanooga and I was to say 4 in the next week against Mercer (turnovers kept that game from being a blowout). So 11 of their 18 turnovers came in 2 games.

Against Wofford, in some ways Samford lucked out in terms of fumbles and turnovers. Wofford's turned the ball over 8 times this year, but did so 3 times in that game (and hasn't since). Our center was playing with a cast and was clearly off on his snaps all day long and that ruined the rhythm of the offense (he's no longer starting, at least until the wrist heals up more).

If you look at Furman and their fundamentals, they are better than Wofford on offense in a lot of ways except turnovers (and even then it's a marginal difference; I want to say Furman's turned the ball over 11 times this year). Furman's penalized the second least in the country, Blazejowski is a better passer than Goodson and has been ungodly in the last month (my hot take is that their offense won't be quite as good next year with him graduating), and I think Furman's offensive playcalling is more efficient and faster to correct mistakes than Wofford (our center had no business playing in the second half after he fumbled 3 first half snaps...he took himself out, not the coaches; I think the outcome may have been different had we made an adjustment earlier)

For the record, I don't buy anyone who says that turnovers are legitimate, illegitimate or more legitimate than others. Turnovers are usually random, especially fumbles. It's more accurate to say that we can predict the rate at which a team gets a take away than it is to say that forced turnovers are a core competency of a unit. Put another way, and using Wofford as an example: Wofford's corners are really good at stripping the ball out of receivers hands. I wanna say we've done it at least 3 times this year, maybe 4. I'm not going to go into a game and predict we'll recover a fumble, but I will say we have a 30% chance of something like that happening.

Anyone who goes into a game and predicts a certain turnover amount is not being smart because that over-fits a truly random process. It's like with baseball, it's random to an extent, but the accumulated randomness tells you the trend.

I'm more interested in seeing how Samford's defense plays Furman's offense than vice versa. Furman has the worst pass defense in the conference, so you know Samford will get their yardage somehow. Quietly, outside of the Chattanooga game, Samford has been whalloping teams just like Furman, except a choking defense is their key not an efficient offense (Samford's offense is middle tier in terms of efficiency in the socon). They haven't let an offense score more than 21 on them since September (Chatt scored 23 as a team, but only 16 as an offense).

I'm of the opinion if Samford has a very efficient game offensively and an average games of defensive efficiency, they'll be in good shape to win.

Obviously, if Furman plays like they did against ETSU and the Citadel, they'll win going away

[FUGameBreaker]

https://twitter.com/SamfordFootball/status/930135390576627713

[Reign of Terrier]

Those samford outfits are ugly. I know they are trying to differentiate themselves (10 years ago their colors and outfits looked like the blue ole miss jerseys) but man...

[SU DOG]

will be tuning into espn3 for this one for sure, gonna flip back and forth with our game

It won't be on ESPN3, but will be televised on Stadium(same as the old ASN). It can also be seen on Stadium streaming. Here is the list of cities/channels.
https://23455-presscdn-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Sinclair-Launch-Markets.pdf

[Reign of Terrier]

So there's no streaming? that's bull****

[Reign of Terrier]

any idea if this link will work on game day or will we need a cable subscription?

https://watchstadium.com/live/

[Reign of Terrier]

I think if you sign up for the account you can get access here
https://watchstadium.com/live/furman-at-samford/

Also, if for some reason you do have to pay something, it looks like it's $4.99 a month but free for the first month, so you could pragmatically sign up and then cancel

[FUBeAR]

I think if you sign up for the account you can get access here
https://watchstadium.com/live/furman-at-samford/

Also, if for some reason you do have to pay something, it looks like it's $4.99 a month but free for the first month, so you could pragmatically sign up and then cancel

I watched FU @ Colgate on this back in Sept. As I clicked around to get it to work, it seemed as if I was signing up for a pay-service, but no CC# was ever requested. They can't bill you anything without that. I think they are just trying to get email addresses. I think I rec'd just a few promo emails immediately after signing up, but nothing since.

[SU FAN]

Always great to be playing important football in the middle of November

[SU DOG]

This is a game that is so hard to figure. The contrasting styles make it even more interesting IMO. I posted on our Bulldogs Board that Furman actually reminds me of Bama in their offensive scheme. NO, before somebody goes ballistic, I'm not comparing the 2 teams just the offensive schemes. Think about it, Big powerful RBs who can take it to the house, a mobile QB who can hurt you running or passing and makes good decisions, speed for the occasional option or sweep pitch, vertical pass after lulling you to sleep, and a big TE who you better not forget about. A DC's nightmare for sure. I make no comparisons on the other side of the ball. xlolx

Samford on the other hand also presents a DC with a huge challenge. Hodges has such a quick release that a good pass rush still has a problem getting to him. Furman often plays off and attacks after the catch. This works well against the WRs of most teams. Trouble there is that Samford's WRs are extremely athletic and can often make those DBs miss the tackle in the open field. The Samford running game is pretty pathetic, but can't completely be ignored. The short passes to RBs are actually an extended rushing game.

IMO. the BIG weapon for Samford might just be the Samford defense. That unit is playing at a VERY different level now than earlier in the year. They are big, long, fast, and athletic, and with due respect to any other SoCon team, they may just be the BEST in the conference at this time. A big challenge lies ahead in trying to stop those big Furman RBs who will be the best we have seen since Georgia. If Furman can get 3+ per run there, we are probably done. In watching this front 7, however, I'm optimistic that they can do enough to at least slow down that powerful threat.

There are plenty of folks on AGS wo will disagree, but I have watched FCS games from across the country. These two teams - Furman and Samford, IMO, can compete with most all of them. I did not say that either is a NC contender, but they look like teams that can be really competitive. I wish both could go to Playoffs, but realize that probably won't happen.

Prayers for a SAFE trip to all who will be traveling to Homewood, and GO DOGS!!!!!

[SU DOG]

Always great to be playing important football in the middle of November

WELCOME to the Board SU FAN. Please post often.

[SU FAN]

WELCOME to the Board SU FAN. Please post often.


Thanks for the welcome, great to be here

[SU FAN]

This is a game that is so hard to figure. The contrasting styles make it even more interesting IMO. I posted on our Bulldogs Board that Furman actually reminds me of Bama in their offensive scheme. NO, before somebody goes ballistic, I'm not comparing the 2 teams just the offensive schemes. Think about it, Big powerful RBs who can take it to the house, a mobile QB who can hurt you running or passing and makes good decisions, speed for the occasional option or sweep pitch, vertical pass after lulling you to sleep, and a big TE who you better not forget about. A DC's nightmare for sure. I make no comparisons on the other side of the ball. xlolx

Samford on the other hand also presents a DC with a huge challenge. Hodges has such a quick release that a good pass rush still has a problem getting to him. Furman often plays off and attacks after the catch. This works well against the WRs of most teams. Trouble there is that Samford's WRs are extremely athletic and can often make those DBs miss the tackle in the open field. The Samford running game is pretty pathetic, but can't completely be ignored. The short passes to RBs are actually an extended rushing game.

IMO. the BIG weapon for Samford might just be the Samford defense. That unit is playing at a VERY different level now than earlier in the year. They are big, long, fast, and athletic, and with due respect to any other SoCon team, they may just be the BEST in the conference at this time. A big challenge lies ahead in trying to stop those big Furman RBs who will be the best we have seen since Georgia. If Furman can get 3+ per run there, we are probably done. In watching this front 7, however, I'm optimistic that they can do enough to at least slow down that powerful threat.

There are plenty of folks on AGS wo will disagree, but I have watched FCS games from across the country. These two teams - Furman and Samford, IMO, can compete with most all of them. I did not say that either is a NC contender, but they look like teams that can be really competitive. I wish both could go to Playoffs, but realize that probably won't happen.

Prayers for a SAFE trip to all who will be traveling to Homewood, and GO DOGS!!!!!



Gotta agree, both these teams are capable of beating anyone in FCS this year

[PaladinFan]

This is a game that is so hard to figure. The contrasting styles make it even more interesting IMO. I posted on our Bulldogs Board that Furman actually reminds me of Bama in their offensive scheme. NO, before somebody goes ballistic, I'm not comparing the 2 teams just the offensive schemes. Think about it, Big powerful RBs who can take it to the house, a mobile QB who can hurt you running or passing and makes good decisions, speed for the occasional option or sweep pitch, vertical pass after lulling you to sleep, and a big TE who you better not forget about. A DC's nightmare for sure. I make no comparisons on the other side of the ball. xlolx

Samford on the other hand also presents a DC with a huge challenge. Hodges has such a quick release that a good pass rush still has a problem getting to him. Furman often plays off and attacks after the catch. This works well against the WRs of most teams. Trouble there is that Samford's WRs are extremely athletic and can often make those DBs miss the tackle in the open field. The Samford running game is pretty pathetic, but can't completely be ignored. The short passes to RBs are actually an extended rushing game.

IMO. the BIG weapon for Samford might just be the Samford defense. That unit is playing at a VERY different level now than earlier in the year. They are big, long, fast, and athletic, and with due respect to any other SoCon team, they may just be the BEST in the conference at this time. A big challenge lies ahead in trying to stop those big Furman RBs who will be the best we have seen since Georgia. If Furman can get 3+ per run there, we are probably done. In watching this front 7, however, I'm optimistic that they can do enough to at least slow down that powerful threat.

There are plenty of folks on AGS wo will disagree, but I have watched FCS games from across the country. These two teams - Furman and Samford, IMO, can compete with most all of them. I did not say that either is a NC contender, but they look like teams that can be really competitive. I wish both could go to Playoffs, but realize that probably won't happen.

Prayers for a SAFE trip to all who will be traveling to Homewood, and GO DOGS!!!!!

Both teams present a lot of complications for a defense.

Yet to be seen how effective it is, but Furman did put in a little prep work for Samford during their bye week. Prior to the bye, Furman saw a similar stylistic team in Western Carolina, who like Samford, wants to quickly get the ball out to their playmakers in space. While the WCU game itself is a bad indicator given the terrible weather, I do think that the Paladins have probably spent a good bit of time preparing for the sorts of complexities the Bulldogs throw at you.

I'm not sure really how you best defend Hodges. I noticed that the Samford OL surrenders roughly 2 sacks a game, which given the volume of passes, probably is not much. A lot of that is because Hodges simply isn't going to hold the ball long enough for a defender to get home. Furman's pass rush, though, really isn't one guy just streaking around the end. The defensive front is well coached and tends to collapse the pocket around the QB from the front and sides. One big matchup to watch is how Samford's interior OL handle Furman's two very talented NGs, Reid and Stokes. Those guys are high motor players and a handful for most blockers.

By the same token, I'm not sure how you schematically stop Furman's inside run game. I've concluded that it may be an instance where you just need superior athletes in the defensive front who plays with a lot of physicality. It's not even really a situation where you can load the box, as Blazejowski is plenty capable of reeling off a 300+ yard passing day.

Furman really did not start using the Dirks/Wilcox combination until the NC State game. Neither Wofford nor Elon saw both of those backs. Since week three, though, really no team has figured out how to slow down that part of Furman's offense. I imagine by now if something was going to work, it would have.

I do agree with you, though, that Samford and Furman are talented enough to play with anyone in the country. I'd love it if both of them could make the post season (but I doubt both can).

[PaladinFan]

I've never really figured out how to embed tweets on AGS, but here is an example of what makes Dirks so difficult for defenses. The Citadel stuffs the play, a DT wraps him up at the line of scrimmage, still can't get him to the ground, and 25 yards later he's in the endzone. You won't find many guys that can run into the chest of a defensive tackle and do much.

You aren't just going to get him to the ground with one man and an arm tackle.

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/929450159041265664

[Reign of Terrier]

This is a game that is so hard to figure. The contrasting styles make it even more interesting IMO. I posted on our Bulldogs Board that Furman actually reminds me of Bama in their offensive scheme. NO, before somebody goes ballistic, I'm not comparing the 2 teams just the offensive schemes. Think about it, Big powerful RBs who can take it to the house, a mobile QB who can hurt you running or passing and makes good decisions, speed for the occasional option or sweep pitch, vertical pass after lulling you to sleep, and a big TE who you better not forget about. A DC's nightmare for sure. I make no comparisons on the other side of the ball. xlolx

Samford on the other hand also presents a DC with a huge challenge. Hodges has such a quick release that a good pass rush still has a problem getting to him. Furman often plays off and attacks after the catch. This works well against the WRs of most teams. Trouble there is that Samford's WRs are extremely athletic and can often make those DBs miss the tackle in the open field. The Samford running game is pretty pathetic, but can't completely be ignored. The short passes to RBs are actually an extended rushing game.

IMO. the BIG weapon for Samford might just be the Samford defense. That unit is playing at a VERY different level now than earlier in the year. They are big, long, fast, and athletic, and with due respect to any other SoCon team, they may just be the BEST in the conference at this time. A big challenge lies ahead in trying to stop those big Furman RBs who will be the best we have seen since Georgia. If Furman can get 3+ per run there, we are probably done. In watching this front 7, however, I'm optimistic that they can do enough to at least slow down that powerful threat.

There are plenty of folks on AGS wo will disagree, but I have watched FCS games from across the country. These two teams - Furman and Samford, IMO, can compete with most all of them. I did not say that either is a NC contender, but they look like teams that can be really competitive. I wish both could go to Playoffs, but realize that probably won't happen.

Prayers for a SAFE trip to all who will be traveling to Homewood, and GO DOGS!!!!!


I think it is 100% fair to compare Furman, at least in terms their *style of play* to Alabama and Georgia this year. At least on offense. Defensively, they aren't quite there yet. All three of those teams use the run game to set up the pass game. They limit possessions and are very efficient on those possessions. Blazejowski is clutch and should be first team all Socon IMO.

When I say we're going to figure out this weekend whether or not Furman is Bama or UGA, I mean we're going to figure out how good Furman performs against a team with its **** together. In UGA's case, they pulverized teams that didn't have their **** together and who couldn't stop their run game, but got kind of flattened by a good team that had it together in Auburn. Meanwhile, the tide is still rolling.

No one worth talking to thinks Furman doesn't have the best offense in the Socon this year, based upon consistency and efficiency. Having said that, Chattanooga, VMI, Citadel and ETSU are not teams that had their **** together on both sides of the ball, while relatively speaking Mercer, Wofford, Western and Samford are. In assessing Furman, I personally put more stock in how they beat Mercer and played Wofford more than anything (and I wish there weren't so many problems with the Western game with the Adams injury and weather) because those are going to be how the playoffs are going to be, not pulverizing teams that can't score 20 consistently (VMI, Citadel, Chattanooga) or who have piss-poor defense (ETSU and Western). There's lots of signs that Furman's not just a team to run it up on so-so competition (look at the Mercer, Wofford, Western and Elon games), but this game is testing the hypothesis most conclusively with no ifs and or buts.

And I'm not saying that to take away from Furman. Every year, it takes until the last week or two of the season to assess the second or third place team in the Socon. I think if the playoffs were perfect meritocracy, Furman would be in the playoffs regardless of the outcome of this weekend. But that's just not how this system works. Wofford hasn't made the playoffs at 7-4 and on years where we were 7-3 or even 8-2 going into the final week (which is basically all of our playoff appearances), the general assessment was "win and you're in, lose and probably not. Furman's in the same position. We know Furman is a good team (as is Samford), but the nature of the game is that if you lose this game, you feed all of the criticisms against your resume.

[Reign of Terrier]

Both teams present a lot of complications for a defense.

Yet to be seen how effective it is, but Furman did put in a little prep work for Samford during their bye week. Prior to the bye, Furman saw a similar stylistic team in Western Carolina, who like Samford, wants to quickly get the ball out to their playmakers in space. While the WCU game itself is a bad indicator given the terrible weather, I do think that the Paladins have probably spent a good bit of time preparing for the sorts of complexities the Bulldogs throw at you.

I'm not sure really how you best defend Hodges. I noticed that the Samford OL surrenders roughly 2 sacks a game, which given the volume of passes, probably is not much. A lot of that is because Hodges simply isn't going to hold the ball long enough for a defender to get home. Furman's pass rush, though, really isn't one guy just streaking around the end. The defensive front is well coached and tends to collapse the pocket around the QB from the front and sides. One big matchup to watch is how Samford's interior OL handle Furman's two very talented NGs, Reid and Stokes. Those guys are high motor players and a handful for most blockers.

By the same token, I'm not sure how you schematically stop Furman's inside run game. I've concluded that it may be an instance where you just need superior athletes in the defensive front who plays with a lot of physicality. It's not even really a situation where you can load the box, as Blazejowski is plenty capable of reeling off a 300+ yard passing day.

Furman really did not start using the Dirks/Wilcox combination until the NC State game. Neither Wofford nor Elon saw both of those backs. Since week three, though, really no team has figured out how to slow down that part of Furman's offense. I imagine by now if something was going to work, it would have.

I do agree with you, though, that Samford and Furman are talented enough to play with anyone in the country. I'd love it if both of them could make the post season (but I doubt both can).

I think people underestimate the role of the interior DL when it comes to stopping the run (FWIW, Wofford didn't have our all-freshman NT in the first two games due to a two game suspension or the last two as he has Mono).

Samford probably won't be able to run the ball against Furman just as they weren't able to run the ball against Chattanooga or Wofford. I think Chattanooga, Wofford and Samford probably have the best defensive fronts in the conference. The only reason I don't put Furman up there is because I honestly haven't seen them enough. I know they lead the league in sacks, but often sacks are a measurement of the strength of the front 7, not the DL.

The fact that Samford has let up 183 ypg running the ball on the surface looks bad, but when you factor in the fact that they've played Georgia, Kennesaw State, Western Carolina and Wofford and they only average that much, that's not bad at all.

I imagine Furman will run for at least 200 on them, but how well that does for them in terms of points is another story. I think Blazejowski's passing ability is more of a key than people think as he's been very efficient in the last month. If he continues that efficiency/consistency, I think they win. But if he has a day where he's below 65% or so and Furman throws 20 times, they could be in trouble. From what I can tell it looks like he's learned how to throw on the run better in boot legs or has got in the habit to setting his feet before throwing (it sounds basic, but he was a pocket passer before this year and I think it took an adjustment) and that's probably why he's more accurate.

The more I think about this game, the more I think Furman should be favored but at the same time, that's when Samford thrives historically.

[PaladinFan]

I still think you put too much stock in how Furman played Wofford.

Remember, that was week 1. Furman had a brand new coaching staff and played a bunch of freshmen. They lost one of the few veteran players they had early in the game for the season. Even something as simple as getting a playcall in was going to be a new and unique challenge for a group that had never worked together in a live game situation. Not only was Furman playing with a new coaching staff, but they were implementing new schemes and systems on both sides of the ball. So, even your veteran players were starting at ground zero from a knowledge standpoint.

Since the NC State game, when Furman really started to find their sea legs, they've pretty much hammered every team they've seen. The only team to keep it within a single digit margin was Mercer. Up until last week the Citadel was the best defense in the SoCon. Furman hung 35 on them in the first half.

[SU DOG]

No, PF, The Citadel was NOT the best defense in the SoCon. Now, there may be stats(that don't consider the strength of opponents) that say that, but I think most of us know better. And just how much did Samford hang on them in the first half?

[PaladinFan]

No, PF, The Citadel was NOT the best defense in the SoCon. Now, there may be stats(that don't consider the strength of opponents) that say that, but I think most of us know better. And just how much did Samford hang on them in the first half?

Statistically speaking, the Citadel was the best defense in the SoCon until they played Furman.

Samford's got a good offense. I think objectively, they are a rung behind Furman and Western Carolina on that side of the ball. Both teams have underrated defenses.

[SCPALADIN]

I still think you put too much stock in how Furman played Wofford.

Remember, that was week 1. Furman had a brand new coaching staff and played a bunch of freshmen. They lost one of the few veteran players they had early in the game for the season. Even something as simple as getting a playcall in was going to be a new and unique challenge for a group that had never worked together in a live game situation. Not only was Furman playing with a new coaching staff, but they were implementing new schemes and systems on both sides of the ball. So, even your veteran players were starting at ground zero from a knowledge standpoint.

Since the NC State game, when Furman really started to find their sea legs, they've pretty much hammered every team they've seen. The only team to keep it within a single digit margin was Mercer. Up until last week the Citadel was the best defense in the SoCon. Furman hung 35 on them in the first half.

Anyone who has watched all of the Furman games this season can tell you, definitively, that we were using 1/2 or less of our playbook against Wofford and Elon. Heck, just watch the Citadel debacle...they had no clue what was coming at them. And even when they did they couldn't stop it. I'm not saying it will be the same result against Samford...but comparing the Furman offense now to what it was in the first few weeks just doesn't work.

[FUGameBreaker]

Pretty certain that if we had to run a 2pt conversion at this point in the season that we would just run something out of our regular offense, unlike in week 1 where we tried a trick play to attempt to beat wofford

[Reign of Terrier]

The Citadel had systemic pass defense problems and offensive scoring problems all year.

Though the Citadel had great defensive stats, it's worth noting that they played the teams with the best offense in the conference in the final month of the season (Furman, Western Carolina and Clemson next week), while the front part of the schedule was pretty weak (Newberry, ETSU, PC). We're seeing a lot of "regression to the mean" in the last few weeks with the Citadel's defense.

There's a pretty strong case to be made that the Citadel just whalloped teams that weren't prepared for the option on offense and overpowered teams in the trenches who weren't on their skill level. The exception would probably be Wofford, where they just played an alternative triple option universe (like the last 3 meetings between the two), yet Wofford still passed for like 230 yards against them.

There are about 5 teams in the conference clearly more impressive on defense than the Citadel this year (and just in general to be honest). From a scoring perspective, the Citadel let 3 teams score 30 on them this year; Mercer 1; Furman 1; Wofford 0; Samford 1; heck Western Carolina with all of its troubles only let 2 score 30 on them in regulation.

With option teams, statistics can be misleading in terms of total defense (though that won't stop us from citing it in these sort of discussions :D). Though the Citadel was number in total defense, they were the second worst in terms of yards per play at 5.6. You can say "but they had to play Furman and that boosted their stats" but that's true of every team.

I'm not un-impressed by the numbers Furman put up against the Citadel (I'd be surprised if Clemson matched them to be honest), but I just think the performance isn't as impressive as the Mercer game they played a few weeks ago, or even the Western Carolina game to be honest.

The Citadel was an example of a team with flaws this year that no one wanted to pull out of the top 25 until much too late IMO.

[FUGameBreaker]

I feel one of the most amazing things to me was as we got up on them 42-0, some might just assume Citadel had at least several turnovers running their option attack, but nope not 1 turnover for the game, and still could not hang with our offense.

I admit I have not seen a whole lot of Citadel's back-up QB this year (guy I assume will start next year), I think he has made a few good plays this season, but I was very unimpressed with seeing him in person this past Saturday, as he was playing in mop up duty time.

[FUGameBreaker]

And yes I know he completed a couple of long passes against our 2nd and 3rd string defense, doubt he gets those against the first team.

But more importantly for Citadel he had 13 yards on 15 carries, for an option QB running their offense that's not going to cut it, and he did not look very smooth running the ball at all.

[SCPALADIN]

The Citadel had systemic pass defense problems and offensive scoring problems all year.

Though the Citadel had great defensive stats, it's worth noting that they played the teams with the best offense in the conference in the final month of the season (Furman, Western Carolina and Clemson next week), while the front part of the schedule was pretty weak (Newberry, ETSU, PC). We're seeing a lot of "regression to the mean" in the last few weeks with the Citadel's defense.

There's a pretty strong case to be made that the Citadel just whalloped teams that weren't prepared for the option on offense and overpowered teams in the trenches who weren't on their skill level. The exception would probably be Wofford, where they just played an alternative triple option universe (like the last 3 meetings between the two), yet Wofford still passed for like 230 yards against them.

There are about 5 teams in the conference clearly more impressive on defense than the Citadel this year (and just in general to be honest). From a scoring perspective, the Citadel let 3 teams score 30 on them this year; Mercer 1; Furman 1; Wofford 0; Samford 1; heck Western Carolina with all of its troubles only let 2 score 30 on them in regulation.

With option teams, statistics can be misleading in terms of total defense (though that won't stop us from citing it in these sort of discussions :D). Though the Citadel was number in total defense, they were the second worst in terms of yards per play at 5.6. You can say "but they had to play Furman and that boosted their stats" but that's true of every team.

I'm not un-impressed by the numbers Furman put up against the Citadel (I'd be surprised if Clemson matched them to be honest), but I just think the performance isn't as impressive as the Mercer game they played a few weeks ago, or even the Western Carolina game to be honest.

The Citadel was an example of a team with flaws this year that no one wanted to pull out of the top 25 until much too late IMO.

Did you actually sit down and watch these games...and not just look at the stat line? Be honest.

[FUBeAR]

I've never really figured out how to embed tweets on AGS, but here is an example of what makes Dirks so difficult for defenses. The Citadel stuffs the play, a DT wraps him up at the line of scrimmage, still can't get him to the ground, and 25 yards later he's in the endzone. You won't find many guys that can run into the chest of a defensive tackle and do much.

You aren't just going to get him to the ground with one man and an arm tackle.

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/929450159041265664



Just use the globe/paperclip link

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/929450159041265664

...and don't ignore that FU's LG athletically reacted to a hard stunt, stayed on his feet, and stayed on the DLman who was trying to tackle Dirks dos y do'ing him to the ground as he assisted in shedding him off of 21. Not many of them TD scorers are doin' it on their own, y'know.

[Reign of Terrier]

Did you actually sit down and watch these games...and not just look at the stat line? Be honest.

It's not necessary to watch the games. Mercer's a much better team than the Citadel on both sides of the ball and special teams. As far as I'm concerned, for Furman this was just another example of beating a team that didn't have its **** together (ETSU, VMI, Chattanooga). There's a diminishing point of impressiveness after like 40 points.

Usually when you see an option team down like that, it's because of turnovers, but not so this year with the Citadel (though they fumble it a lot in some games, they don't lose it as much). The Citadel scores like 20% of the time (which is terrible) in Socon play, so they go long streaks without scoring. In the conference schedule, they average going 2 quarters scoreless a game. And Furman is the opposite.

So when I heard that the Citadel was down 21-0, I wasn't surprised, and when they kept rolling it wasn't much of a surprise either. Furman is an efficient offense, which means if you give them the ball 10 times in a game, they'll score at least 5 times (usually a touchdown, they've rarely kicked field goals this year), give or take a score . Counting garbage time, the Paladins had it 11 times and scored 8. That's above average even for Furman (counting garbage time or not), but not inconceivably more efficient.

Y'all can hate me for not actually watching the games, but this obsession with soaking in every single moment is unnecessary. A single play can make or break a close game, but when assessing future outcomes, it's practically an anecdote. It's like looking at a long run and assuming that's how they'll all go or looking at a sack and assuming the opposition will never complete a pass again.

The Citadel is an average-at-best football team this year (blame it on youth or whatever) and the strengths of the Paladins had them optimally positioned for a blowout. I underestimated how bad it would be, but it didn't take it all that much to make it that bad. I'm more impressed by Furman's consistency (as a Wofford fan I envy it) than the specific yards-rushing per game (or whatever) they put up. Consistency (and inconsistency, for that matter) carries over into other games and can be predictive, while the specific yardage will vary.

[Reign of Terrier]

*And I'm also looking forward to see how Furman performs against Samford. Unless Hodges gets injured, a win by any means puts them unquestionably in conversation as a national title contender (and not just because they're in the playoffs), and of that I am certain. It doesn't have to be a blowout.

[SU FAN]

I think people underestimate the role of the interior DL when it comes to stopping the run (FWIW, Wofford didn't have our all-freshman NT in the first two games due to a two game suspension or the last two as he has Mono).

Samford probably won't be able to run the ball against Furman just as they weren't able to run the ball against Chattanooga or Wofford. I think Chattanooga, Wofford and Samford probably have the best defensive fronts in the conference. The only reason I don't put Furman up there is because I honestly haven't seen them enough. I know they lead the league in sacks, but often sacks are a measurement of the strength of the front 7, not the DL.

The fact that Samford has let up 183 ypg running the ball on the surface looks bad, but when you factor in the fact that they've played Georgia, Kennesaw State, Western Carolina and Wofford and they only average that much, that's not bad at all.

I imagine Furman will run for at least 200 on them, but how well that does for them in terms of points is another story. I think Blazejowski's passing ability is more of a key than people think as he's been very efficient in the last month. If he continues that efficiency/consistency, I think they win. But if he has a day where he's below 65% or so and Furman throws 20 times, they could be in trouble. From what I can tell it looks like he's learned how to throw on the run better in boot legs or has got in the habit to setting his feet before throwing (it sounds basic, but he was a pocket passer before this year and I think it took an adjustment) and that's probably why he's more accurate.

The more I think about this game, the more I think Furman should be favored but at the same time, that's when Samford thrives historically.



True

[FUGameBreaker]

Sagarin says Samford by 1pt with homefield advantage

http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

[PaladinFan]

It's not necessary to watch the games. Mercer's a much better team than the Citadel on both sides of the ball and special teams. As far as I'm concerned, for Furman this was just another example of beating a team that didn't have its **** together (ETSU, VMI, Chattanooga). There's a diminishing point of impressiveness after like 40 points.

Usually when you see an option team down like that, it's because of turnovers, but not so this year with the Citadel (though they fumble it a lot in some games, they don't lose it as much). The Citadel scores like 20% of the time (which is terrible) in Socon play, so they go long streaks without scoring. In the conference schedule, they average going 2 quarters scoreless a game. And Furman is the opposite.

So when I heard that the Citadel was down 21-0, I wasn't surprised, and when they kept rolling it wasn't much of a surprise either. Furman is an efficient offense, which means if you give them the ball 10 times in a game, they'll score at least 5 times (usually a touchdown, they've rarely kicked field goals this year), give or take a score . Counting garbage time, the Paladins had it 11 times and scored 8. That's above average even for Furman (counting garbage time or not), but not inconceivably more efficient.

Y'all can hate me for not actually watching the games, but this obsession with soaking in every single moment is unnecessary. A single play can make or break a close game, but when assessing future outcomes, it's practically an anecdote. It's like looking at a long run and assuming that's how they'll all go or looking at a sack and assuming the opposition will never complete a pass again.

The Citadel is an average-at-best football team this year (blame it on youth or whatever) and the strengths of the Paladins had them optimally positioned for a blowout. I underestimated how bad it would be, but it didn't take it all that much to make it that bad. I'm more impressed by Furman's consistency (as a Wofford fan I envy it) than the specific yards-rushing per game (or whatever) they put up. Consistency (and inconsistency, for that matter) carries over into other games and can be predictive, while the specific yardage will vary.

There is an added element to this that really does not show up in the stats, and that is coaching and execution. Those two elements are what, in my opinion, are really the driving force behind Furman's resurgence.

The Paladins do not make a lot of mistakes on offense. Despite a completely new system, and an offense that constantly shifts personnel and formations, you rarely, if ever, see a procedure penalty. Even against Wofford in week one, Furman had zero delay or procedure penalties. That is just a testament to the coaching staff and players.

The coaches are finding the defensive weaknesses and tendencies and exploiting them right now. They can change pace and tempo during a drive. The offense can shift in and out of formations prior the snap. That takes a lot of discipline and precision. Last week against the Citadel, I saw the Furman offense do some things I do not believe I've ever seen in a college football game.

[caribbeanhen]

If you want it you can get it!
if you want it here it is come and get it but you better hurry because it may not last

sorry for the song Interlude but this has been a real good thread
learned a lot and I now want to watch at least part of this game

[MR. CHICKEN]

if you want it here it is come and get it but you better hurry because it may not last

sorry for the song Interlude but this has been a real good thread
learned a lot and I now want to watch at least part of this game


......FINAL 60 SECONDS.......SHOOD DO IT........AWK!

[SCPALADIN]

There is an added element to this that really does not show up in the stats, and that is coaching and execution. Those two elements are what, in my opinion, are really the driving force behind Furman's resurgence.

The Paladins do not make a lot of mistakes on offense. Despite a completely new system, and an offense that constantly shifts personnel and formations, you rarely, if ever, see a procedure penalty. Even against Wofford in week one, Furman had zero delay or procedure penalties. That is just a testament to the coaching staff and players.

The coaches are finding the defensive weaknesses and tendencies and exploiting them right now. They can change pace and tempo during a drive. The offense can shift in and out of formations prior the snap. That takes a lot of discipline and precision. Last week against the Citadel, I saw the Furman offense do some things I do not believe I've ever seen in a college football game.

BS...you can draw conclusions simply by looking at the stat lines on Sunday afternoon.

[SU DOG]

Wow! The Furman offense doing tings NEVER seen before in a college football game? Furman looking like a machine crushing The(mighty) Citadel. Who needs stats to draw conclusions? I think the conclusions are ALREADY drawn.xlolx

[Reign of Terrier]

There is an added element to this that really does not show up in the stats, and that is coaching and execution. Those two elements are what, in my opinion, are really the driving force behind Furman's resurgence.

The Paladins do not make a lot of mistakes on offense. Despite a completely new system, and an offense that constantly shifts personnel and formations, you rarely, if ever, see a procedure penalty. Even against Wofford in week one, Furman had zero delay or procedure penalties. That is just a testament to the coaching staff and players.

The coaches are finding the defensive weaknesses and tendencies and exploiting them right now. They can change pace and tempo during a drive. The offense can shift in and out of formations prior the snap. That takes a lot of discipline and precision. Last week against the Citadel, I saw the Furman offense do some things I do not believe I've ever seen in a college football game.

It totally shows up in stats.

that's why Furman's efficiency is comparable to North Dakota State right now.

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BS...you can draw conclusions simply by looking at the stat lines on Sunday afternoon.

You don't seem to understand how stats workxcoffeex

[PaladinFan]

Wow! The Furman offense doing tings NEVER seen before in a college football game? Furman looking like a machine crushing The(mighty) Citadel. Who needs stats to draw conclusions? I think the conclusions are ALREADY drawn.xlolx

Oh for Pete's sake.

You Samford fans lurk on here, don't engage in substantive discussion, and then scurry back to your forum to discuss how unreasonable everyone is. Engage!

I didn't say Furman is a machine or they are doing things never before seen in college football. I said they did something I had personally never seen over years of playing and watching the game. I'm not a maven, and I don't watch football nonstop, but I've seen a lot of it. I've never seen a team do something Furman did on Saturday.

To be specific, several times Saturday Furman moved into an unbalanced formation by shifting their entire offensive line before the snap. Unbalanced formations are not novel to college football, but I had never seen any offense move each offensive linemen over one position to outflank a defense. The speed with which they did that, the precision, and then to put another man in motion resulted in more purple jerseys to the wide side of the field than white jerseys, and an untouched run to the endzone.

Maybe you have. Maybe Samford does that every Saturday.

If you are curious, the play is at the 2:31 mark of last week's highlights (one of several times they did it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQmfZ1Fq60

[SU DOG]

Lighten up PF, before you have a stroke. I have the smiley emoticon on there for a reason. IMO, substantive discussion seems to have been over for this thread some time ago. BTW, please continue your posting on the Samford Board(serious request).
In NO way do I disrespect your great team, but a message board discussion doesn't have to be all that serious, and in this case, there is no reason for hurt feelings.

[Reign of Terrier]

Oh for Pete's sake.

You Samford fans lurk on here, don't engage in substantive discussion, and then scurry back to your forum to discuss how unreasonable everyone is. Engage!

I didn't say Furman is a machine or they are doing things never before seen in college football. I said they did something I had personally never seen over years of playing and watching the game. I'm not a maven, and I don't watch football nonstop, but I've seen a lot of it. I've never seen a team do something Furman did on Saturday.

To be specific, several times Saturday Furman moved into an unbalanced formation by shifting their entire offensive line before the snap. Unbalanced formations are not novel to college football, but I had never seen any offense move each offensive linemen over one position to outflank a defense. The speed with which they did that, the precision, and then to put another man in motion resulted in more purple jerseys to the wide side of the field than white jerseys, and an untouched run to the endzone.

Maybe you have. Maybe Samford does that every Saturday.

If you are curious, the play is at the 2:31 mark of last week's highlights (one of several times they did it). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FQmfZ1Fq60


We're using Furman words like Maven now!

And I haven't watched every play of Furman football, but I think they're a machine

[PaladinFan]

Lighten up PF, before you have a stroke. I have the smiley emoticon on there for a reason. IMO, substantive discussion seems to have been over for this thread some time ago. BTW, please continue your posting on the Samford Board(serious request).
In NO way do I disrespect your great team, but a message board discussion doesn't have to be all that serious, and in this case, there is no reason for hurt feelings.

xthumbsupx

[Sir William]

Here’s what I hope:

1) ...that Furman whips Samford soundly this weekend, and...
2) ...that both Furman and Samford get playoff bids, and...
3) ...that Samford gets put in same bracket as Jax St, and then puts a SoCon beat down on them in the 2nd round...
4) ...that WCU pulls the upset in Chapel Hill and also gets a playoff bid. If by some miracle, would love the SoCon to get 4 teams in.

At the end of the day, however my only allegiance is to the Paladins!

[SU DOG]

Here’s what I hope:

1) ...that Furman whips Samford soundly this weekend, and...
2) ...that both Furman and Samford get playoff bids, and...
3) ...that Samford gets put in same bracket as Jax St, and then puts a SoCon beat down on them in the 2nd round...
4) ...that WCU pulls the upset in Chapel Hill and also gets a playoff bid. If by some miracle, would love the SoCon to get 4 teams in.

At the end of the day, however my only allegiance is to the Paladins!

I could be wrong, but I don't see Samford making the field if Furman wins Saturday. I do like your other 3 wishes, however.

[SCPALADIN]

It totally shows up in stats.

that's why Furman's efficiency is comparable to North Dakota State right now.

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You don't seem to understand how stats workxcoffeex

Yeah, I do. So does everyone one else on the AGS who have been watching FCS/IAA football for 30-40 years. You're just the only one on here that acts like they are the be all end all. Lighten up dude...you come off like a know it all DB.

[PaladinFan]

I could be wrong, but I don't see Samford making the field if Furman wins Saturday. I do like your other 3 wishes, however.

After WCU's loss to Mercer, I expect the Catamounts making the field will come at the expense of one of the other SoCon teams.

Most writers seem to suggest that both Furman and Samford can make the field. I do agree, though, that Furman's odds of making it with a loss are better than Samford's.

[Reign of Terrier]

Yeah, I do. So does everyone one else on the AGS who have been watching FCS/IAA football for 30-40 years. You're just the only one on here that acts like they are the be all end all. Lighten up dude...you come off like a know it all DB.

No one has been watching FCS football for 30-40 years. Many people have watched FCS football for 10 years and their conference games for 30-40 years (we forget how hard it was to watch games before ESPN3)

It's football. The fundamentals are the same. There's nothing different about how the game is played in FCS than what's different in other college games.

Apparently I'm the only one on here not impressed by Furman simply because I have such high expectations for how they preform offensively. So I'm pretty lightened up, don't know why you guys get so up tight when I mention stats and stuff

[Purpleglasses]

No one has been watching FCS football for 30-40 years. Many people have watched FCS football for 10 years and their conference games for 30-40 years (we forget how hard it was to watch games before ESPN3)

It's football. The fundamentals are the same. There's nothing different about how the game is played in FCS than what's different in other college games.

Apparently I'm the only one on here not impressed by Furman simply because I have such high expectations for how they preform offensively. So I'm pretty lightened up, don't know why you guys get so up tight when I mention stats and stuff


YT it is because the Stat lines are not the end all be all...i.e. Jalen Hurts at Alabama...not a flashy stat line at all...but he wins games completely independent of his Stats... if we went solely on his stat line, he would be on the bench...but there is no other QB in the country I had rather have under center (on in the pistol) for Bama.
you have to watch the game, coaching on the field and performance of the teams to determine the best TEAM on the field...you cant get lost in the stats alone.

[FUGameBreaker]

No one has been watching FCS football for 30-40 years. Many people have watched FCS football for 10 years and their conference games for 30-40 years (we forget how hard it was to watch games before ESPN3)

It's football. The fundamentals are the same. There's nothing different about how the game is played in FCS than what's different in other college games.

Apparently I'm the only one on here not impressed by Furman simply because I have such high expectations for how they preform offensively. So I'm pretty lightened up, don't know why you guys get so up tight when I mention stats and stuff



If Furman is unimpressive then that puts Wofford in the dumpster fire category, because those boys eeeek it out nearly every week, ouch hahaa

[Reign of Terrier]

If Furman is unimpressive then that puts Wofford in the dumpster fire category, because those boys eeeek it out nearly every week, ouch hahaa

Re-read what I wrote. Use that furman education. I'm unimpressed by Furman's ability to score 50 on the Citadel, just because I expect it at this point.

[SCPALADIN]

No one has been watching FCS football for 30-40 years. Many people have watched FCS football for 10 years and their conference games for 30-40 years (we forget how hard it was to watch games before ESPN3)

It's football. The fundamentals are the same. There's nothing different about how the game is played in FCS than what's different in other college games.

Apparently I'm the only one on here not impressed by Furman simply because I have such high expectations for how they preform offensively. So I'm pretty lightened up, don't know why you guys get so up tight when I mention stats and stuff

Really? You do realize that FCS was I-AA? I've been attending I-AA games for 30+ years...going all the way back to when Akron & YSU were in the OVC in the 80's. My first college football game was Akron vs. Middle Tenn St. in the Rubber Bowl in 1985. I grew up in Akron & Cleveland and attended MANY Akron, KSU and YSU games in the mid-late 80's...my father is an Akron Alumn. I've missed maybe 5-6 home Furman games since 1994. There is a large group of posters on the AGS who have similar first-hand experience with IAA/FCS football going back decades...and not just from reading the paper or the internet.
Again, you're making broad assumptions purely based on your database of knowledge.

[walliver]

No one has been watching FCS football for 30-40 years. Many people have watched FCS football for 10 years and their conference games for 30-40 years (we forget how hard it was to watch games before ESPN3)

It's football. The fundamentals are the same. There's nothing different about how the game is played in FCS than what's different in other college games.

Apparently I'm the only one on here not impressed by Furman simply because I have such high expectations for how they preform offensively. So I'm pretty lightened up, don't know why you guys get so up tight when I mention stats and stuff

Actually in the mid-to-late 1990's and early 2000's there was a lot of I-AA football on cable. Before the Sun Belt and MAC prostituted themselves out there were frequent weeknight FCS games broadcasts. I remember watching the Southland game of the week on one of the Fox sports channels. Wofford and WCU played a wild Halloween game on Halloween on ESPN. In the 1980's, the Mike Ayers Show was on SportSouth. Over time, the G5 conferences displaced I-AA/FCS for weeknight games and now are mostly streaming.

With the move to streaming, I find that I am actually more likely to stick to SoCon games and watch other FCS games less frequently than I did when there wasn't as much choice.

[Reign of Terrier]

YT it is because the Stat lines are not the end all be all...i.e. Jalen Hurts at Alabama...not a flashy stat line at all...but he wins games completely independent of his Stats... if we went solely on his stat line, he would be on the bench...but there is no other QB in the country I had rather have under center (on in the pistol) for Bama.
you have to watch the game, coaching on the field and performance of the teams to determine the best TEAM on the field...you cant get lost in the stats alone.

Stats are predictive. give me a 10 minutes and I could show you why Jalen Hurts is a great QB (hint: it's because he doesn't make mistakes, only throwing one interception this year through 10 games, and he is a legit run threat to compliment Bama's run game).

The things you can forecast can be measured with stats. That which can't be forecast without stats cannot be said to be forecast. Teams that rely on that which cannot be statistically quantified are usually not that good or inconsistent. Teams that are painfully consistent are usually the best. Furman is the latter, so far.

Championship teams are the ones that statistically create their own consistency and have those one or two plays at key moments that "Can't be quantified" so to speak.

Right now, I'm trying to figure out if Furman is a championship-worthy team as I think saturday will tell us the answer.

At this point I'm more confident that Furman can go on a playoff run than Wofford just because of their consistency.

[Purpleglasses]

Re-read what I wrote. Use that furman education. I'm unimpressed by Furman's ability to score 50 on the Citadel, just because I expect it at this point.
Really??? "unimpressed" because you expected it at this point for FU to hang 50 on Citadel...in what database of defensive stats did you pull that out of your hat?
If CIT D had not allowed 50 all season, what made you think that FU (who had only put up 50 1 time this season, and had averaged 34 points a game over their last 4 game) could hang 50 on that defense?

[Reign of Terrier]

Really? You do realize that FCS was I-AA? I've been attending I-AA games for 30+ years...going all the way back to when Akron & YSU were in the OVC in the 80's. My first college football game was Akron vs. Middle Tenn St. in the Rubber Bowl in 1985. I grew up in Akron & Cleveland and attended MANY Akron, KSU and YSU games in the mid-late 80's...my father is an Akron Alumn. I've missed maybe 5-6 home Furman games since 1994. There is a large group of posters on the AGS who have similar first-hand experience with IAA/FCS football going back decades...and not just from reading the paper or the internet.
Again, you're making broad assumptions purely based on your database of knowledge.

No, I'm using my knowledge of media markets from my Master's degree; you couldn't watch, for instance, a Big Sky game in South Carolina reliably before 10 years ago (if that soon). Local FCS maybe, but FCS writ large? not so much. A lot of times people say they've watched FCS for 20+ years, but unless they've migrated between media markets, their sampling is likely limited to 2 conferences tops, and even then from a week-to-week basis you'd only see one or two games.

It doesn't change the fact that you or anyone has watched FCS for x amount of years doesn't give you a special insight in how the game is played simply by watching it. There's nothing fundamental to FCS football that makes it different from how it's played on the field from other D1 college football.

[SCPALADIN]

No, I'm using my knowledge of media markets from my Master's degree; you couldn't watch, for instance, a Big Sky game in South Carolina reliably before 10 years ago (if that soon). Local FCS maybe, but FCS writ large? not so much. A lot of times people say they've watched FCS for 20+ years, but unless they've migrated between media markets, their sampling is likely limited to 2 conferences tops, and even then from a week-to-week basis you'd only see one or two games.

It doesn't change the fact that you or anyone has watched FCS for x amount of years doesn't give you a special insight in how the game is played simply by watching it. There's nothing fundamental to FCS football that makes it different from how it's played on the field from other D1 college football.

I give up. You don't get it. One day, hopefully, you'll see how you continually contradict yourself and get why your litany of long winded posts rub so many people the wrong way on the AGS.

[Reign of Terrier]

Really??? "unimpressed" because you expected it at this point for FU to hang 50 on Citadel...in what database of defensive stats did you pull that out of your hat?
If CIT D had not allowed 50 all season, what made you think that FU (who had only put up 50 1 time this season, and had averaged 34 points a game over their last 4 game) could hang 50 on that defense?

1) Furman has scored 50% of the time when they had the ball, on about 12 possessions a game
2) Citadel has scored 20% of the time, and is prone to going three and out in long streaks
3) I've gone over the Citadel's defensive woes in depth in this thread and the other one
4) If you force a team to go three and out consistently, you give yourself more possessions (i.e opportunities to score).

I'll admit that I didn't expect Furman to score 50, but there's a difference between that and being surprised by it. As baseline, I'm impressed by Furman's offense this year, but it doesn't surpass that baseline impressiveness that they scored 50 on the Citadel. I think they had an above average game against the Citadel and had they had an average game it definitely wouldn't have changed the outcome.

I get the impression from a lot of Furman fans that the Citadel game should change some of our prior when assessing Furman, but really the point I'm getting at is that if you look at the Citadel and how they've performed this year, it really doesn't.

- - - Updated - - -


I give up. You don't get it. One day, hopefully, you'll see how you continually contradict yourself and get why your litany of long winded posts rub so many people the wrong way on the AGS.

I don't really care about the opinions of random people on the internet

[FUGameBreaker]

Re-read what I wrote. Use that furman education. I'm unimpressed by Furman's ability to score 50 on the Citadel, just because I expect it at this point.


AND wait for it.......... That changes nothing that I said, if 56 on Citadel is unimpressive then wofford = dumpster fire

[FUGameBreaker]

But hey, YT, you did start this thread so I give you props for that

[Reign of Terrier]

AND wait for it.......... That changes nothing that I said, if 56 on Citadel is unimpressive then wofford = dumpster fire

24-23 and Socon champs...scorching all the way;)

[FUGameBreaker]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/930833565654249473

[PaladinFan]

Football imitating life imitating football.

Great story.

[SU FAN]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/930833565654249473


Pretty awesome stuff xsmileyclapx

[Terrier19]

Hey now.....Yall back up off of Young Pup....He likes to use his Wofford education...and likes to show his work xlolxxlolxxlolx I am more of the "give me the baby...save the pain" type... But to each their own. But on another note, Hell a lot of the Furman faithful are haggling with YT, and at times I think he is a damn closet Furman fan with some of his posts. So now that he doesn't cater to the Furman faithful on a topic folks are up in arms. Cmon now, you don't think the arrogant nature of some of these posts aren't aggravating......Comparing yourselves to Bama, asking how the RESURGENCE of Furman football makes the other SoCon fans feel, basically thumbing your noses at Samford as if you can just walk through them easily, the constant referral of the Furman / Wofford results and how you'd love to play us again, etc.......I know I have been impressed with Furman, I have....but my goodness, don't take the struggles of Fowler and staff out on the rest of us.....I am glad you are good again, better for the conference to have its longest standing member Good and relevant..........but at the end of the day, we beat you. WE can share the title if you win Saturday, but we will both know, that while we share the title.... we beat you head to head, fair and square....and I feel real good about doing it again if, AND WHEN the committee puts you in our bracket again.........I digress....

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Pretty awesome stuff xsmileyclapx

THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

[Reign of Terrier]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/930833565654249473

Great stuff!

[PaladinFan]

Hey now.....Yall back up off of Young Pup....He likes to use his Wofford education...and likes to show his work xlolxxlolxxlolx I am more of the "give me the baby...save the pain" type... But to each their own. But on another note, Hell a lot of the Furman faithful are haggling with YT, and at times I think he is a damn closet Furman fan with some of his posts. So now that he doesn't cater to the Furman faithful on a topic folks are up in arms. Cmon now, you don't think the arrogant nature of some of these posts aren't aggravating......Comparing yourselves to Bama, asking how the RESURGENCE of Furman football makes the other SoCon fans feel, basically thumbing your noses at Samford as if you can just walk through them easily, the constant referral of the Furman / Wofford results and how you'd love to play us again, etc.......I know I have been impressed with Furman, I have....but my goodness, don't take the struggles of Fowler and staff out on the rest of us.....I am glad you are good again, better for the conference to have its longest standing member Good and relevant..........but at the end of the day, we beat you. WE can share the title if you win Saturday, but we will both know, that while we share the title.... we beat you head to head, fair and square....and I feel real good about doing it again if, AND WHEN the committee puts you in our bracket again.........I digress....

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THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

I'm up for debating anyone on anything. As a general rule, though, if someone posts more than a paragraph, I stop reading. Besides, I majored in history and minored in classical studies, I don't know a thing about statistics.

I expect you are the only Wofford fan that wants to see Furman in their bracket. Hopefully, the fortunes shine upon us and we can settle the prior injustice.

[SU DOG]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/930833565654249473

Absolutely AWESOME.

[Terrier19]

I'm up for debating anyone on anything. As a general rule, though, if someone posts more than a paragraph, I stop reading. Besides, I majored in history and minored in classical studies, I don't know a thing about statistics.

I expect you are the only Wofford fan that wants to see Furman in their bracket. Hopefully, the fortunes shine upon us and we can settle the prior injustice.

NAh.....Most Wofford fans I talk to don't care about Furman being in our bracket one way or the other.....There are those that don't like rematch games, like we did to Citadel last season, so folks think about that and don't want to play you. But Wofford has ZERO fear or concern with Furman being in their bracket.

[PaladinFan]

NAh.....Most Wofford fans I talk to don't care about Furman being in our bracket one way or the other.....There are those that don't like rematch games, like we did to Citadel last season, so folks think about that and don't want to play you. But Wofford has ZERO fear or concern with Furman being in their bracket.

Rematches are both difficult and common. Especially since they started with the rationalization in the post season. There's at least a decent chance both Furman and Samford could have rematches lined up for their first two games should either make the post season.

Besides, in the post season, you gotta beat good teams anyway. No way to run from that.

[Reign of Terrier]

I think Furman in a rematch with Wofford would easily be favored. I don't "fear" them more than I do any other legitimate team we'd play in the playoffs. You have to beat good teams anyway to win a championship. I've also come to the mindset that the postseason, from a fan's perspective, should be treated as a reward for a good year. It's hard to win a championship, and as a matter of strict probabilities it may not happen (note: this is my mindset, obviously not the team's). At this point in the season, every game you win should be treated as a celebration.

Playoffs are weird because they can show you who the best team is, but a lot of times they don't give a good representation of who the second best team is. So if Wofford and Furman rematch and Wofford loses that sucks because Wofford loses, it's the second straight year the Socon cannibalizes itself, while it's very likely that the MVFC or CAA gets 2-3 in the quarterfinals out of sheer representation and bracket rules. Also I'd be annoyed with the Bama comparisons in the offseason.

But if we luck out and Furman gets in the playoffs in another bracket from Wofford, I'll be a proponent of the Dins (to an extent)

[Terrier19]

Rematches are both difficult and common. Especially since they started with the rationalization in the post season. There's at least a decent chance both Furman and Samford could have rematches lined up for their first two games should either make the post season.

Besides, in the post season, you gotta beat good teams anyway. No way to run from that.

FACTS

[PaladinFan]

I think Furman in a rematch with Wofford would easily be favored. I don't "fear" them more than I do any other legitimate team we'd play in the playoffs. You have to beat good teams anyway to win a championship. I've also come to the mindset that the postseason, from a fan's perspective, should be treated as a reward for a good year. It's hard to win a championship, and as a matter of strict probabilities it may not happen (note: this is my mindset, obviously not the team's). At this point in the season, every game you win should be treated as a celebration.

Playoffs are weird because they can show you who the best team is, but a lot of times they don't give a good representation of who the second best team is. So if Wofford and Furman rematch and Wofford loses that sucks because Wofford loses, it's the second straight year the Socon cannibalizes itself, while it's very likely that the MVFC or CAA gets 2-3 in the quarterfinals out of sheer representation and bracket rules. Also I'd be annoyed with the Bama comparisons in the offseason.

But if we luck out and Furman gets in the playoffs in another bracket from Wofford, I'll be a proponent of the Dins (to an extent)

Billy Beane, who was not necessarily a pioneer of advanced metrics in baseball, but a guy that brought those metrics to the general populace, was of the opinion (as I understood it) that he could help get you to the post season, but once there, it was a total crap shoot.

[walliver]

Rematches are a fact of life in FCS playoffs, but the NCAA has overdone the regionalization thing. Before, they had overdone the travel thing and sent a Wofford team with the SoCon autobid to Montana in the first round. Now they are overdoing things the other way. The Citadel played 3 playoff games in the last 2 years, 1 at home and 2 on the road, and never left the 843 area code. Most likely, Wofford will face FU or Sammy in the second round, although Samford could be paired fellow Alabamans, JSU.

[OL FU]

Hey now.....Yall back up off of Young Pup....He likes to use his Wofford education...and likes to show his work xlolxxlolxxlolx I am more of the "give me the baby...save the pain" type... But to each their own. But on another note, Hell a lot of the Furman faithful are haggling with YT, and at times I think he is a damn closet Furman fan with some of his posts. So now that he doesn't cater to the Furman faithful on a topic folks are up in arms. Cmon now, you don't think the arrogant nature of some of these posts aren't aggravating......Comparing yourselves to Bama, asking how the RESURGENCE of Furman football makes the other SoCon fans feel, basically thumbing your noses at Samford as if you can just walk through them easily, the constant referral of the Furman / Wofford results and how you'd love to play us again, etc.......I know I have been impressed with Furman, I have....but my goodness, don't take the struggles of Fowler and staff out on the rest of us.....I am glad you are good again, better for the conference to have its longest standing member Good and relevant..........but at the end of the day, we beat you. WE can share the title if you win Saturday, but we will both know, that while we share the title.... we beat you head to head, fair and square....and I feel real good about doing it again if, AND WHEN the committee puts you in our bracket again.........I digress....

- - - Updated - - -



THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!

I knew youngterrier back when he really was a young terrier.xnodx

Little focker wouldn't let go of my ankles back then either:)

[Terrier19]

I knew youngterrier back when he really was a young terrier.xnodx

Little focker wouldn't let go of my ankles back then either:)

xlolxxlolx

[FUGameBreaker]

I knew youngterrier back when he really was a young terrier.xnodx

Little focker wouldn't let go of my ankles back then either:)


xasswhipx

[SU FAN]

https://twitter.com/SamfordFootball/status/930865326874644485

[Reign of Terrier]

that's going to be painful for me to watch, even if I'm pulling for Samford.

[Reign of Terrier]

Billy Beane, who was not necessarily a pioneer of advanced metrics in baseball, but a guy that brought those metrics to the general populace, was of the opinion (as I understood it) that he could help get you to the post season, but once there, it was a total crap shoot.

Basically. Metrics give you an understanding of trends over time you can exploit.

My assessment of Furman is that their offensive trends put them as more likely to go deep in the playoffs.

The one thing that's consistent about Wofford is that we win close games (that's a trend that goes back to last year).

Both are technically correct assessments, but it's possible Furman gets bounced in the first round and Wofford wins the championship (and vice versa).

[FUBeAR]

Here’s what I hope:

1) ...that Furman whips Samford soundly this weekend, and...
2) ...that both Furman and Samford get playoff bids, and...
3) ...that Samford gets put in same bracket as Jax St, and then puts a SoCon beat down on them in the 2nd round...
4) ...that WCU pulls the upset in Chapel Hill and also gets a playoff bid. If by some miracle, would love the SoCon to get 4 teams in.
5) ...Mercer beats Alabama so badly (by 1 would be enough in my book) that the FCS Selection Committee has to put them in the FCS Playoffs or the CFP Committee will put them in theirs

At the end of the day, however my only allegiance is to the Paladins!

FYP

[gofurman]

Hey now.....Yall back up off of Young Pup....He likes to use his Wofford education...and likes to show his work xlolxxlolxxlolx I am more of the "give me the baby...save the pain" type... But to each their own. But on another note, Hell a lot of the Furman faithful are haggling with YT, and at times I think he is a damn closet Furman fan with some of his posts. So now that he doesn't cater to the Furman faithful on a topic folks are up in arms. Cmon now, you don't think the arrogant nature of some of these posts aren't aggravating......Comparing yourselves to Bama, asking how the RESURGENCE of Furman football makes the other SoCon fans feel, basically thumbing your noses at Samford as if you can just walk through them easily, the constant referral of the Furman / Wofford results and how you'd love to play us again, etc.......I know I have been impressed with Furman, I have....but my goodness, don't take the struggles of Fowler and staff out on the rest of us.....I am glad you are good again, better for the conference to have its longest standing member Good and relevant..........but at the end of the day, we beat you. WE can share the title if you win Saturday, but we will both know, that while we share the title.... we beat you head to head, fair and square....and I feel real good about doing it again if, AND WHEN the committee puts you in our bracket again.........I digress....

- - - Updated - - -



THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!


A) that is awesome about the young man enjoying that day. Trumps anything football related.. Great !

B) Terrier19, we may not make the playoffs and that's what it is.. remember the COACHES in the SoCon picked us to finish 7th - how smart are these SoCon coaches? JK, I see why they picked it. New coaching staff, Senior QB gone, 20 seniors graduated, new 3-4 defense, new DC.. just no reason to think we would do much better than 3-8 last year. But these coaches are something. I maintain IF, I can only hope.. IF we get to the playoffs that we meet Wofford again. You seem to be one of the few that wants to see a fu team again. It's an old axiom that you don't want to play a team you barely beat again. And one that is playing far better now than we were then. (not many people deny that) It only makes sense we are better now - we have 24 freshman playing. Young teams (and ones where even the seniors didn't know these new schemes at the beginning of the year so everyone was 'young in a sense) improve more than older teams through the year. I would say that no matter who I was talking about. A young team starts (scale 1-10) as a 2 and becomes a 7 if coached well. An elder team starts as an 8 and becomes a 9. Perhaps still better but the gap shrinks.

[FUGameBreaker]

https://twitter.com/watchstadium/status/930949734948265984

[PaladinFan]

The more I contemplate this one, the more I think the tale of the game will be Samford's defense.

Furman's offense is good. I think that is an objective statement. Looking back through the record books, the last time the SoCon saw a team that put up offensive numbers comparable to Furman's (36.6 ppg/437.9 ypg/247 rushing) was App State's national title team in 2007 with Armanti Edwards and Kevin Richardson (before some of you go nuts because of the comparison, Furman doesn't have App's defense). That is some rare air, offensively speaking.

The Paladins want this game to be bully ball. They will slam the ball in the middle of the field over and over. The Bulldog front seven is going to have to buckle their chinstraps. The way to beat that style of play, in my view, is not scheme, but to meet physical with physical, hold your gaps, fight through double teams, fly to the ball, and gang tackle.

In particular, Samford is going to have to win the "money downs." Furman is among the national leaders in third and fourth down conversions. They go for it on fourth down a bunch. That puts a lot of pressure on a defense to stop a good offense four straight plays. Especially because it allows Furman to run a less conventional play on third down play knowing they will go for it on fourth down.

Samford's defense has exceeded my expectations for the year. They've played really well at times. Ideally, they will want to limit the Paladin's offense and keep the game close late. Furman's defense is young, and have not been tested many times in close late-game situations. As a Furman fan, the last place I want to see us is defending the endzone late with Hodges in a position to win the game.

[caribbeanhen]

casual fan comments here

Caught Samford in the playoffs last year, lasting impression.... a very talented WR..... McNight?

Furman - saw a bit of the Citadel game, my impression was I found my sleeper..... your QB was very impressive and the FB was a stud..... be careful with Furman as they are now my under the radar team...

[Terrier19]

A) that is awesome about the young man enjoying that day. Trumps anything football related.. Great !

B) Terrier19, we may not make the playoffs and that's what it is.. remember the COACHES in the SoCon picked us to finish 7th - how smart are these SoCon coaches? JK, I see why they picked it. New coaching staff, Senior QB gone, 20 seniors graduated, new 3-4 defense, new DC.. just no reason to think we would do much better than 3-8 last year. But these coaches are something. I maintain IF, I can only hope.. IF we get to the playoffs that we meet Wofford again. You seem to be one of the few that wants to see a fu team again. It's an old axiom that you don't want to play a team you barely beat again. And one that is playing far better now than we were then. (not many people deny that) It only makes sense we are better now - we have 24 freshman playing. Young teams (and ones where even the seniors didn't know these new schemes at the beginning of the year so everyone was 'young in a sense) improve more than older teams through the year. I would say that no matter who I was talking about. A young team starts (scale 1-10) as a 2 and becomes a 7 if coached well. An elder team starts as an 8 and becomes a 9. Perhaps still better but the gap shrinks.

I can appreciate your take on it. I really do. I would be extremely excited as well with your young team and its development and maturity over the season. Very good looking team. I have no qualms in saying it. I like Furman as a team. Strong unit.

They just don't scare me as a Wofford fan. I think we are the team built for the playoffs, and I hope you do not take offense in this, but I do not think any team in the country is as prepared for close, 1 possession style games that the playoffs will bring, as Wofford. This season, continued from last season for Wofford, has conditioned Wofford to be at their best when crunch time hits. We are built to shut teams running game down, forcing teams to be 1 dimensional, and have to live with being pass happy in the cold November weather. Wofford is 15-2 over the last 17 games dating back to last season. 1 a loss in Double OT at Youngstown in the quarterfinals, and one by a field goal to Samford in a game we had every opportunity to win.

I understand teams grow and get better, and Furman looks to be a very good and dangerous team. But put me in the corner of the proven commodity. Put us in a tough grind it out 1 possession game in the playoffs, where every play matters, I know whos team has been through the fires, moreso than most any other team. And a roster that has the experience of being there last season. I am not worried about any of the potential matchups of the first round. Won't hear me squawking about which bracket we are in, nor who our opponents are going to be, I feel good about all of them.

You were picked to be 7th preseason by the coaches as you stated, and will finish no worse than 2nd, that prediction was more about your roster outlook and new staff at the time I imagine. Wofford was picked first, and finished first. Being picked 7th with limited expectations had your team playing with house money all season. No one expected it so you played with limited expecations to live up to. You would have been happy with a winning record this season, would have been a positive step in the right direction. So you exceeded all expectations. But when you are the team wearing the bullseye all season, with all the expectations, with everyone picking you, everyone circling the calendar for your game, Bye weeks being taken the week prior to your game, it's a whole different season. And to deliver under those expectations, to handle all adversity and continue to produce a SoCon championship. Which do you find more challenging? Who's team is better prepared for what the post season brings? Are you all of a sudden more talented than Wofford?

I have great respect for Furman and what they have been able to achieve, I just simply feel that Wofford has more than earned the rites to feel confident in any match up. I get the tradition of Furman and the desire to return to past glory, but over the last decade to 15 years, no team in the SoCon has won more than Wofford, and over the last couple seasons its been Wofford and Citadel representing the SoCon in the playoffs outside of week 1. That is where my thoughts are. No offense to the great season Furman is having.

[PaladinFan]

Furman will have to spend years earning back its bona fides as a national player. This year is a good start.

I do not think anyone saw this season coming. In 2013, Furman won the SoCon after being picked seventh, but their success was sort of the result of a number of factors like turnover margin, non offensive touchdowns, and field goal kicking. That was certainly playing with house money. They ran into a good NDSU team in the playoffs and took their exit.

What is unique about this team is the future. Last week, Furman recognized 13 seniors on "senior day." Two of those seniors were technically redshirt juniors, who were both rarely used backups. One was a backup holder. One is the kickoff guy/punter. Two were expected starters at LB that missed virtually the entire season to injury.

So, of the 13 seniors, only 7 were week in week out contributors on offense or defense. Furman's defense has only one senior on the two deep.

Now, next season is next season, but if you look at the jump Furman has made in one year, factor in 49 freshmen, hardly any seniors, and only one recruiting class to this point, the future certainly is looking bright.

[Reign of Terrier]

The more I contemplate this one, the more I think the tale of the game will be Samford's defense.

Furman's offense is good. I think that is an objective statement. Looking back through the record books, the last time the SoCon saw a team that put up offensive numbers comparable to Furman's (36.6 ppg/437.9 ypg/247 rushing) was App State's national title team in 2007 with Armanti Edwards and Kevin Richardson (before some of you go nuts because of the comparison, Furman doesn't have App's defense). That is some rare air, offensively speaking.

The Paladins want this game to be bully ball. They will slam the ball in the middle of the field over and over. The Bulldog front seven is going to have to buckle their chinstraps. The way to beat that style of play, in my view, is not scheme, but to meet physical with physical, hold your gaps, fight through double teams, fly to the ball, and gang tackle.

In particular, Samford is going to have to win the "money downs." Furman is among the national leaders in third and fourth down conversions. They go for it on fourth down a bunch. That puts a lot of pressure on a defense to stop a good offense four straight plays. Especially because it allows Furman to run a less conventional play on third down play knowing they will go for it on fourth down.

Samford's defense has exceeded my expectations for the year. They've played really well at times. Ideally, they will want to limit the Paladin's offense and keep the game close late. Furman's defense is young, and have not been tested many times in close late-game situations. As a Furman fan, the last place I want to see us is defending the endzone late with Hodges in a position to win the game.

I think a better comparison is to Wofford 2008 team overall, on both sides of the ball.

It's not inappropriate at this point to compare Furman's offense to all time greats because it is earned at this point.

[PaladinFan]

I think a better comparison is to Wofford 2008 team overall, on both sides of the ball.

It's not inappropriate at this point to compare Furman's offense to all time greats because it is earned at this point.

From what I've seen over Furman from 10 games, I was trying to think of comps I've watched in SoCon football.

Furman's offense is not one, I think, that you can just sort of scheme and game plan for. A lot of offenses put pressure on your defense to fight through blocks, confusing the blocking assignments, and make tackles. Furman's offense just looks more like some of those mid-2000s Georgia Southern and Furman teams that would just line it up and run over you.

[SCPALADIN]

casual fan comments here

Caught Samford in the playoffs last year, lasting impression.... a very talented WR..... McNight?

Furman - saw a bit of the Citadel game, my impression was I found my sleeper..... your QB was very impressive and the FB was a stud..... be careful with Furman as they are now my under the radar team...

Which one?

The guy with 106 yards and 2 TDs (8.8 YPC) or the guy with 83 yards and 2 TDs (7.5 YPC)? ;)

[SU DOG]

I also think the Samford defense is the key for us to have a chance. xcoffeexI've said on here so many times this season that they are gelling and that this is a very strong unit. TRUE, if Wilcox and Dirks can shove it down our throats, then obviously it is GAME OVER. Now, this may happen, as with other teams vs FU, but I don't think it is a given. Consider that Samford has 2 tackles in the four/three who are 6-2, 303 and 6-3, 312. BOTH are athletic and can move to be that size I can promise you. Our DEs are really good, with one being All SoCon already and should be All-American worthy this year, as he now has 81 tackles. Depth with this front four is something that has been missing in years past. That has been a big problem in late season games. This year we have some quality depth for the front 4.
Our LBs are also a veteran bunch. If Shaheed Salmon is 100% then that is enough said. What I am saying here is that this matchup between our front 7 and the power running game of Furman's offense is definitely an interesting thing to contemplate. We will, of course, have to play our best to stop(or at least slow down) those BIG RBs.

I realize that the Paladins have lots of other weapons, and that this is only one aspect of their VERY good offensive attack. It is a an extremely important part, however, and I just wanted to point out that a domination in this area is NOT a sure thing as some seem to think. These are just some points to consider, for the sake of discussion, about a game that has drawn so much interest.

[Reign of Terrier]

Looking at the forecast, it looks for the first half/3 quarters that it will be like the weather it was for the Western Carolina-Wofford game and in the fourth quarter it'll be like the Western/Furman or Wofford/ETSU game, for what that's worth to ya

[FUBeAR]

I can appreciate your take on it. I really do. I would be extremely excited as well with your young team and its development and maturity over the season. Very good looking team. I have no qualms in saying it. I like Furman as a team. Strong unit.

They just don't scare me as a Wofford fan. I think we are the team built for the playoffs, and I hope you do not take offense in this, but I do not think any team in the country is as prepared for close, 1 possession style games that the playoffs will bring, as Wofford. This season, continued from last season for Wofford, has conditioned Wofford to be at their best when crunch time hits. We are built to shut teams running game down, forcing teams to be 1 dimensional, and have to live with being pass happy in the cold November weather. Wofford is 15-2 over the last 17 games dating back to last season. 1 a loss in Double OT at Youngstown in the quarterfinals, and one by a field goal to Samford in a game we had every opportunity to win.

I understand teams grow and get better, and Furman looks to be a very good and dangerous team. But put me in the corner of the proven commodity. Put us in a tough grind it out 1 possession game in the playoffs, where every play matters, I know whos team has been through the fires, moreso than most any other team. And a roster that has the experience of being there last season. I am not worried about any of the potential matchups of the first round. Won't hear me squawking about which bracket we are in, nor who our opponents are going to be, I feel good about all of them.

You were picked to be 7th preseason by the coaches as you stated, and will finish no worse than 2nd, that prediction was more about your roster outlook and new staff at the time I imagine. Wofford was picked first, and finished first. Being picked 7th with limited expectations had your team playing with house money all season. No one expected it so you played with limited expecations to live up to. You would have been happy with a winning record this season, would have been a positive step in the right direction. So you exceeded all expectations. But when you are the team wearing the bullseye all season, with all the expectations, with everyone picking you, everyone circling the calendar for your game, Bye weeks being taken the week prior to your game, it's a whole different season. And to deliver under those expectations, to handle all adversity and continue to produce a SoCon championship. Which do you find more challenging? Who's team is better prepared for what the post season brings? Are you all of a sudden more talented than Wofford?

I have great respect for Furman and what they have been able to achieve, I just simply feel that Wofford has more than earned the rites to feel confident in any match up. I get the tradition of Furman and the desire to return to past glory, but over the last decade to 15 years, no team in the SoCon has won more than Wofford, and over the last couple seasons its been Wofford and Citadel representing the SoCon in the playoffs outside of week 1. That is where my thoughts are. No offense to the great season Furman is having.

Wofford sux*



* Props to citdog

[SCPALADIN]

Wofford sux*



* Props to citdog

WHO?

[FUBeAR]

WHO?

WOFFORD...they suck

[PaladinFan]

I also think the Samford defense is the key for us to have a chance. xcoffeexI've said on here so many times this season that they are gelling and that this is a very strong unit. TRUE, if Wilcox and Dirks can shove it down our throats, then obviously it is GAME OVER. Now, this may happen, as with other teams vs FU, but I don't think it is a given. Consider that Samford has 2 tackles in the four/three who are 6-2, 303 and 6-3, 312. BOTH are athletic and can move to be that size I can promise you. Our DEs are really good, with one being All SoCon already and should be All-American worthy this year, as he now has 81 tackles. Depth with this front four is something that has been missing in years past. That has been a big problem in late season games. This year we have some quality depth for the front 4.
Our LBs are also a veteran bunch. If Shaheed Salmon is 100% then that is enough said. What I am saying here is that this matchup between our front 7 and the power running game of Furman's offense is definitely an interesting thing to contemplate. We will, of course, have to play our best to stop(or at least slow down) those BIG RBs.

I realize that the Paladins have lots of other weapons, and that this is only one aspect of their VERY good offensive attack. It is a an extremely important part, however, and I just wanted to point out that a domination in this area is NOT a sure thing as some seem to think. These are just some points to consider, for the sake of discussion, about a game that has drawn so much interest.

Not suggesting that anything is a sure thing. Just noting the area Samford is going to have to handle.

Furman has faced two FCS teams with big interior DLs - Wofford and Elon. Furman lost to both, though that was early in the season and the offense still had training wheels on. I don't know how that will play out Saturday.

[Reign of Terrier]

I don't presume anything to be a sure thing with Samford. They defy expectations no matter what they are so I refuse to have any for them

[Terrier19]

Wofford sux*



* Props to citdog


Wofford beat both of your teams.....and probably some other teams you root for.....:D:D

* Props to Wofford

[SU FAN]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwSRonrobk8

[PaladinFan]

Explain to me why Samford is led on the field what appears to be an Old Testament shepherd.

[Reign of Terrier]

They're a Baptist school is an explanation *really* necessary?

[SU DOG]

Because our student section is known as the Red Sea. That is Moses leading our team on his way to join the students - 0f course you wouldn't know - you bunch of Backsliders and Infidels.xlolx

[PaladinFan]

Because our student section is known as the Red Sea. That is Moses leading our team on his way to join the students - 0f course you wouldn't know - you bunch of Backsliders and Infidels.xlolx

That doesn't sound at all like a knock off of the school up the road in Tuscaloosa. Red Sea is totally different than Crimson Tide.

Besides, every shot of the crowd shows everyone wearing blue.

[SU DOG]

That doesn't sound at all like a knock off of the school up the road in Tuscaloosa. Red Sea is totally different than Crimson Tide.

Besides, every shot of the crowd shows everyone wearing blue.

Right PF, we don't pose much of a threat to be confused with the Tide. Our colors are Red and Blue, but I think I have seen Furman wearing Black sometimes in the past, when I thought their colors were Purple and White.

[SCPALADIN]

Right PF, we don't pose much of a threat to be confused with the Tide. Our colors are Red and Blue, but I think I have seen Furman wearing Black sometimes in the past, when I thought their colors were Purple and White.

You will NEVER see Furman's football team wearing black ever again. Those uniforms have been disposed of and shall never be spoken about.

[SAM1014]

10 or so years ago students and the student section dressed in red. Now people just show up in whatever. The Red Sea is kinda a thing of the past now

[PaladinFan]

Right PF, we don't pose much of a threat to be confused with the Tide. Our colors are Red and Blue, but I think I have seen Furman wearing Black sometimes in the past, when I thought their colors were Purple and White.

We don't talk about the black phase.

- - - Updated - - -


10 or so years ago students and the student section dressed in red. Now people just show up in whatever. The Red Sea is kinda a thing of the past now

Go tell that to Moses.

[SU FAN]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtcNo5j7Bqg

[Reign of Terrier]

You will NEVER see Furman's football team wearing black ever again. Those uniforms have been disposed of and shall never be spoken about.

Yeah that was kind of dumb. It was a weird trend from like 2007-2012 or so that teams who didn't have black as their colors wore a lot of black (Oklahoma State still hasn't given it up). Furman doing it was kind of weird.

I think purple is a bleh color but I think the old fashion set up they have is good right now

[OL FU]

Yeah that was kind of dumb. It was a weird trend from like 2007-2012 or so that teams who didn't have black as their colors wore a lot of black (Oklahoma State still hasn't given it up). Furman doing it was kind of weird.

I think purple is a bleh color but I think the old fashion set up they have is good right now

Purple is ROYAL!!!

And don't tell me Gold and Black is or I will have to look up some statistics to prove you wrong!

[Reign of Terrier]

purple is still ugly

[FUGameBreaker]

Those all white though!! xholyx

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26519&stc=1

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26520&stc=1

[PaladinFan]

As bad as those black jerseys were, you cannot find a much better looking set than Furman's.

I also want to know why PJ Blazejowski always chews his mouthpiece instead of actually having it in his mouth.

[FUGameBreaker]

As bad as those black jerseys were, you cannot find a much better looking set than Furman's.

I also want to know why PJ Blazejowski always chews his mouthpiece instead of actually having it in his mouth.



As I was looking through pics that what I noticed as well, it was almost always sticking out lol

[PaladinFan]

As I was looking through pics that what I noticed as well, it was almost always sticking out lol

I don't think I've seen a picture where it wasn't.

[FUBeAR]

Purple is ROYAL!!!

And don't tell me Gold and Black is or I will have to look up some statistics to prove you wrong!

Hey now - nothing wrong with Black & Gold. My MightyMite, PeeWee, and Jr. High Teams were all Black & Gold. Those are great colors for lower levels of Football.

[youcanbankit]

Prediction - For me the key to the game will be the turnovers. When Samford does not turn the ball over more than 4 times they win football games. If Samford does not turn the ball over too many times they will win this game by 14 or more points. If they turn the ball over, it will be a nail biter.

[ElCid]

Furman is going to win. Probably by 2 scores. Book it.

[youcanbankit]

Furman is going to win. Probably by 2 scores. Book it.

I see The Citadel's #5 fan is still hurting over the thrashing. I agree Furman is a good team. We will have to see how this one turns out. Should be a good game. Low Samford turnovers.....= lots of Samford points and many damaged elfin ego's. .

[Reign of Terrier]

Prediction - For me the key to the game will be the turnovers. When Samford does not turn the ball over more than 4 times they win football games. If Samford does not turn the ball over too many times they will win this game by 14 or more points. If they turn the ball over, it will be a nail biter.

That's kind of crazy when you think about it. For most teams, turning the ball over 2-3 times is pretty catastrophic, the fact that you have to get to 4 for Samford kind of speaks to their defensive strength

Furman is going to win. Probably by 2 scores. Book it.

If anyone is going to win by two scores, I'd wager it's Furman.

[PaladinFan]

Prediction - For me the key to the game will be the turnovers. When Samford does not turn the ball over more than 4 times they win football games. If Samford does not turn the ball over too many times they will win this game by 14 or more points. If they turn the ball over, it will be a nail biter.

If Samford turns it over, it won’t be close most likely

[CHIP72]

This might be worth the drive over to Birmingham!xnodx

I’ve actually given a bit of thought to asking my brother if he wants to attend this game (he’s attending Mississippi State, I’m visiting him and my flight arrives on Saturday at about 12:15 PM CT, and the Columbus/Starkville, MS is about 2 hours from Birmingham), but I probably will pass. I have very limited interest in DI-AA games not involving Lehigh, Lafayette, Penn, or Villanova. Still, the idea I even gave passing thought to attending this game is remarkable in my mind.

Hopefully it is a good game.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[youcanbankit]

If Samford turns it over, it won’t be close most likely


You could be right. I think when everyone lines up nose to nose, and everyone see's the enormity of the situation, it will start to sink in. Baring turnovers, (just a "bank it" or "Book it" prediction), Samford wins by 2 touchdowns. If Samford turns it over, it can go either way. Just an opinion....

[youcanbankit]

It will be a good game. The Samford defense is good, but the offense can strike very quickly. As far as your wager, Did you also predict Wofford would beat Samford? lol....just joshin'..


That's kind of crazy when you think about it. For most teams, turning the ball over 2-3 times is pretty catastrophic, the fact that you have to get to 4 for Samford kind of speaks to their defensive strength


If anyone is going to win by two scores, I'd wager it's Furman.

[Reign of Terrier]

It will be a good game. The Samford defense is good, but the offense can strike very quickly. As far as your wager, Did you also predict Wofford would beat Samford? lol....just joshin'..

No, I never feel good about playing Samford.

I feel more certain about Furman winning this one, weirdly enough

[youcanbankit]

No, I never feel good about playing Samford.

I feel more certain about Furman winning this one, weirdly enough

Feel certain and weird while it lasts, baring turnovers, Samford wins this game. Wofford wins the SoCon outright. Congrats to the terriers for a great regular season.

[Sir William]

Feel certain and weird while it lasts, baring turnovers, Samford wins this game. Wofford wins the SoCon outright. Congrats to the terriers for a great regular season.

I’ll go ahead and start preparing the crow - do you prefer it baked or fried?

[OL FU]

Prediction - For me the key to the game will be the turnovers. When Samford does not turn the ball over more than 4 times they win football games. If Samford does not turn the ball over too many times they will win this game by 14 or more points. If they turn the ball over, it will be a nail biter.

I hAve not been into predictions this year but if Samford turns the ball over three times they are toast. Not saying they will but 3 to will be a killer

[Reign of Terrier]

You could be right. I think when everyone lines up nose to nose, and everyone see's the enormity of the situation, it will start to sink in. Baring turnovers, (just a "bank it" or "Book it" prediction), Samford wins by 2 touchdowns. If Samford turns it over, it can go either way. Just an opinion....

I see what you did there.

Also, I think it's likely one way or another that Furman will win the time of possession battle and turning the ball over will not be conducive to an easy win by Samford

- - - Updated - - -


Feel certain and weird while it lasts, baring turnovers, Samford wins this game. Wofford wins the SoCon outright. Congrats to the terriers for a great regular season.

I'm pulling for Samford in this one, I just think Furman is really really good

[PaladinFan]

Feel certain and weird while it lasts, baring turnovers, Samford wins this game. Wofford wins the SoCon outright. Congrats to the terriers for a great regular season.

Werent you the one that over sold Samford in the preseason?

[youcanbankit]

I hAve not been into predictions this year but if Samford turns the ball over three times they are toast. Not saying they will but 3 to will be a killer

3 could be the magic number, I like 4 or more unless Furman turns it over to match.

[youcanbankit]

Werent you the one that over sold Samford in the preseason?

Over sold? that will depend on this Saturday. Predicted 8 or 9 wins. They are one game away from making that magic 8. Then on to the playoffs with a win......then possibly 9. To early to tell. I am sticking with the prediction. Arent you the one who wont predict very often, just negate other predictions? lol...

[OL FU]

3 could be the magic number, I like 4 or more unless Furman turns it over to match.

I will be very happy with three Samford turnovers and will happily await the game against furmans opponent the following week

[youcanbankit]

I will be very happy with three Samford turnovers and will happily await the game against furmans opponent the following week

Praying for no turnovers for Samford.......

[FUGameBreaker]

3 could be the magic number, I like 4 or more unless Furman turns it over to match.



Going on record here, unless Samford scores more points, Furman will win this one xsmiley_wix

[PaladinFan]

Going on record here, unless Samford scores more points, Furman will win this one xsmiley_wix

Safe bet.

[PaladinFan]

Big game going on right now. Southeastern Louisiana just took the lead over Nicholls. Start of the 4th Quarter.

A win for SELA probably eliminates Nicholls from an at large bid that might otherwise go to Furman or Samford.

[Reign of Terrier]

Going on record here, unless Samford scores more points, Furman will win this one xsmiley_wix

it checks out with the stats

[youcanbankit]

I’ll go ahead and start preparing the crow - do you prefer it baked or fried?

No crow for me or my bulldogs please. We will pass. (get it...pass...anyway). Were fasting until Saturday, so we will be hungry when hunting paladins. I did hear that someone will be giving out free crying towels for our visiting fans though! They are designed in purple and white. No black and purple ones anymore. They dont match the new uniforms. lol!

[youcanbankit]

Going on record here, unless Samford scores more points, Furman will win this one xsmiley_wix

LOL...Nice....I would bet on Samford to score more points though! LOL

[FUGameBreaker]

LOL...Nice....I would bet on Samford to score more points though! LOL


Gonna be fun to watch!

[KPSUL]

Rematches are a fact of life in FCS playoffs, but the NCAA has overdone the regionalization thing. Before, they had overdone the travel thing and sent a Wofford team with the SoCon autobid to Montana in the first round. Now they are overdoing things the other way. The Citadel played 3 playoff games in the last 2 years, 1 at home and 2 on the road, and never left the 843 area code. Most likely, Wofford will face FU or Sammy in the second round, although Samford could be paired fellow Alabamans, JSU.

Well, at least you Palmetto State boys won't need be concerned about the dreaded "South Carolina Bracket" since one, maybe two, teams does not make much of a bracket. Instead you may end up in the "Shenandoah Bracket".

[Reign of Terrier]

Well, at least you Palmetto State boys won't need be concerned about the dreaded "South Carolina Bracket" since one, maybe two, teams does not make much of a bracket. Instead you may end up in the "Shenandoah Bracket".

Eh, it's still gonna suck that two teams (Furman and Wofford) will likely play each other with one obviously being eliminated before the quarters.

[FUBeAR]

TIME
DESCRIPTION
TEMP
FEELS
PRECIP
HUMIDITY
WIND




2:00 PM
SAT
Cloudy
68°
68°
25%
74%
SW 16 mph


2:30 PM
SAT
KICKOFF TIME
FURMAN
@
SAMFORD




3:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
40%
74%
SW 15 mph


4:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
50%
74%
SW 14 mph


5:00 PM
SAT
Rain
67°
67°
60%
76%
SW 12 mph


6:00 PM
SAT
Rain
65°
65°
95%
74%
W 14 mph



Sammy is 20-13 overall during the CCH tenure (2015 - 2017 YTD) - That's a .606 winning record. Nice...


BUT....Samford vs. Mother Nature...


PRECIPITATION
In games played in rainy conditions, the Bulldog's record is .000

WIND SPEED
In games where the wind speed is < 10 mph, the Bulldogs are 17-6, or .739
BUT...In games where the wind speed is > or = 10 mph, Samford's record is 3-7 or .300

TEMP
In games where the temp is 75 degrees or greater, Samford is 13-6 / .684
BUT...In games below that 75 degree mark, Samford is 7-7 / .500
(ALSO, FYI...In games where the temp is below 50 degrees, Sammy is 0-3 or .000)

OVERALL CONDITIONS
In games where the temp is AND the wind speed is > or = 10 mph] OR [it's raining] (all of which, as you can see above, are predicted for Saturday)...

...Samford is 0-6 or .000



*NOTE: FUBeAR doesn't actually cause the weather; just reports it.

[FUGameBreaker]

TIME
DESCRIPTION
TEMP
FEELS
PRECIP
HUMIDITY
WIND




2:00 PM
SAT
Cloudy
68°
68°
25%
74%
SW 16 mph


2:30 PM
SAT
KICKOFF TIME
FURMAN
@
SAMFORD




3:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
40%
74%
SW 15 mph


4:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
50%
74%
SW 14 mph


5:00 PM
SAT
Rain
67°
67°
60%
76%
SW 12 mph


6:00 PM
SAT
Rain
65°
65°
95%
74%
W 14 mph



Sammy is 20-13 overall during the CCH tenure (2015 - 2017 YTD) - That's a .606 winning record. Nice...


BUT....Samford vs. Mother Nature...


PRECIPITATION
In games played in rainy conditions, the Bulldog's record is .000

WIND SPEED
In games where the wind speed is < 10 mph, the Bulldogs are 17-6, or .739
BUT...In games where the wind speed is > or = 10 mph, Samford's record is 3-7 or .300

TEMP
In games where the temp is 75 degrees or greater, Samford is 13-6 / .684
BUT...In games below that 75 degree mark, Samford is 7-7 / .500
(ALSO, FYI...In games where the temp is below 50 degrees, Sammy is 0-3 or .000)

OVERALL CONDITIONS
In games where the temp is AND the wind speed is > or = 10 mph] OR [it's raining] (all of which, as you can see above, are predicted for Saturday)...

...Samford is 0-6 or .000



*NOTE: FUBeAR doesn't actually cause the weather; just reports it.



Nice breakdown!

[SU DOG]

Do we need a dome?

[FUGameBreaker]

Do we need a dome?


lol

[FUBeAR]

Do we need a dome?Apparently.

http://tricitiessports.com/clients/tricitiessports/8-11-2015-8-57-34-PM-6376092.jpg

I bet ETSU would sell you this one pretty cheap. Might be a bit of a challenge to relocate it though.

[longtimemocfan]

The SOS isn’t that weak. According to Massey, Furman’s SoS is higher than a lot of other bubble teams, including New Hampshire, Kennesaw, all of the Southland Conference, and all of the OVC.

I agree with you. I honestly think Furman is in win or lose.

[PaladinFan]

I agree with you. I honestly think Furman is in win or lose.

If Furman loses, it will probably come down to a whether you take a 7-4 Furman team over a 6-5 MVFC team.

[Reign of Terrier]

TIME
DESCRIPTION
TEMP
FEELS
PRECIP
HUMIDITY
WIND




2:00 PM
SAT
Cloudy
68°
68°
25%
74%
SW 16 mph


2:30 PM
SAT
KICKOFF TIME
FURMAN
@
SAMFORD




3:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
40%
74%
SW 15 mph


4:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
50%
74%
SW 14 mph


5:00 PM
SAT
Rain
67°
67°
60%
76%
SW 12 mph


6:00 PM
SAT
Rain
65°
65°
95%
74%
W 14 mph



Sammy is 20-13 overall during the CCH tenure (2015 - 2017 YTD) - That's a .606 winning record. Nice...


BUT....Samford vs. Mother Nature...


PRECIPITATION
In games played in rainy conditions, the Bulldog's record is .000

WIND SPEED
In games where the wind speed is < 10 mph, the Bulldogs are 17-6, or .739
BUT...In games where the wind speed is > or = 10 mph, Samford's record is 3-7 or .300

TEMP
In games where the temp is 75 degrees or greater, Samford is 13-6 / .684
BUT...In games below that 75 degree mark, Samford is 7-7 / .500
(ALSO, FYI...In games where the temp is below 50 degrees, Sammy is 0-3 or .000)

OVERALL CONDITIONS
In games where the temp is AND the wind speed is > or = 10 mph] OR [it's raining] (all of which, as you can see above, are predicted for Saturday)...

...Samford is 0-6 or .000



*NOTE: FUBeAR doesn't actually cause the weather; just reports it.


I think this is slightly overfitting. The fact that they are .500 in games that are 75 degrees or below makes me think that it doesn't have much to do with the weather, but the time of year having to do with them playing better teams (October, November). Also, the fact that there's a sample of 10 games on the wind doesn't say much. If they were 0-10, I'd think it's significant, but 3-7 isn't too convincing to me either.

The rain bit is important. what's their record in (just) the rain? If they are 0-5 in the rain (or so) then I think that's significant. But if they are 0-2, that's not a very compelling sample.

[Terrier19]

I feel Like Furman should be in win or lose.....ahead of a lot of those fringe teams.

[FUBeAR]

I think this is slightly overfitting. The fact that they are .500 in games that are 75 degrees or below makes me think that it doesn't have much to do with the weather, but the time of year having to do with them playing better teams (October, November). Also, the fact that there's a sample of 10 games on the wind doesn't say much. If they were 0-10, I'd think it's significant, but 3-7 isn't too convincing to me either.

The rain bit is important. what's their record in (just) the rain? If they are 0-5 in the rain (or so) then I think that's significant. But if they are 0-2, that's not a very compelling sample.

Wofford Sux*



* Props to citdog

[SU DOG]

Also if these Win/Loss records were ascertained using the Box Score information then that isn't always accurate. That is usually the weather at kick-off, and can drastically change during the game. I think during our first 2 wins this year there was some rain. What about sprinkle as opposed to downpour? What about the duration of the thunderstorm or rain cloud? Way too many variables to really accurately analyze anything from this data, but it is interesting to see someone trying.

[Purpleglasses]

Also if these Win/Loss records were ascertained using the Box Score information then that isn't always accurate. That is usually the weather at kick-off, and can drastically change during the game. I think during our first 2 wins this year there was some rain. What about sprinkle as opposed to downpour? What about the duration of the thunderstorm or rain cloud? Way too many variables to really accurately analyze anything from this data, but it is interesting to see someone trying.

Without that rain vs KSU, you guys lose going away... you better be thankful for the 2-3 hr rain delay

[SU DOG]

Without that rain vs KSU, you guys lose going away... you better be thankful for the 2-3 hr rain delay

There is absolutely NO way to know that for certain. Although the stats certainly favored them, KSU only led by 3 points at the half. The delay was actually for a tornado threat, but again any statement about a different outcome without the delay is pure conjecture.

[Purpleglasses]

yes the score was close, but on the field, SU was not doing very well at all...
here is a line from the al.com story.

Samford finished with 311 total offensive yards, but the Owls were even more productive with 545 total yards.

[FUBeAR]

Also if these Win/Loss records were ascertained using the Box Score information then that isn't always accurate. That is usually the weather at kick-off, and can drastically change during the game. I think during our first 2 wins this year there was some rain. What about sprinkle as opposed to downpour? What about the duration of the thunderstorm or rain cloud? Way too many variables to really accurately analyze anything from this data, but it is interesting to see someone trying.

What about 0-6?

[SU DOG]

What about 0-6?

I am of the opinion that if we lose tomorrow it will be because of a good Furman Team, and not from a few light sprinkles. However, I suppose it is nice to know that we have a built in sure fire excuse. xlolx

[SU DOG]

yes the score was close, but on the field, SU was not doing very well at all...
here is a line from the al.com story.

Samford finished with 311 total offensive yards, but the Owls were even more productive with 545 total yards.

Every week you see teams come out after the half(plus delay here), play tremendously better and go on to win after trailing. Seems, however, that THIS game was somehow different - that is a bit strange to me. I am, however now through with this thread. I hope for a big win tomorrow against a very good Furman Team. Hope it is injury free and safe travels to all. GO DOGS!!!!!

[Purpleglasses]

I am of the opinion that if we lose tomorrow it will be because of a good Furman Team, and not from a few light sprinkles. However, I suppose it is nice to know that we have a built in sure fire excuse. xlolx

Ha...but just remember WCU still beats you there because not only do they have the rain *, they also have the "we lost our QB" *

[FUGameBreaker]

Every week you see teams come out after the half(plus delay here), play tremendously better and go on to win after trailing. Seems, however, that THIS game was somehow different - that is a bit strange to me. I am, however now through with this thread. I hope for a big win tomorrow against a very good Furman Team. Hope it is injury free and safe travels to all. GO DOGS!!!!!



I wouldn't mind seeing your QB go out for a half or so with cramping lol :D Kidding though, should be a dandy!

[PaladinFan]

I wouldn't mind seeing your QB go out for a half or so with cramping lol :D Kidding though, should be a dandy!

A. It's not good to wish an injury.

B. There are some real notable examples where the backup comes into a game and does something completely different from the starter and causes havoc on the defense. Don't wish that evil on us. Better the enemy you know than the one you don't.

[FUGameBreaker]

A. It's not good to wish an injury.

B. There are some real notable examples where the backup comes into a game and does something completely different from the starter and causes havoc on the defense. Don't wish that evil on us. Better the enemy you know than the one you don't.


That's why I said "kidding"

And any rate cramping is painful for a bit, but its not really an injury, just more over proof of not so great conditioning

[Reign of Terrier]

A. It's not good to wish an injury.

B. There are some real notable examples where the backup comes into a game and does something completely different from the starter and causes havoc on the defense. Don't wish that evil on us. Better the enemy you know than the one you don't.

just ask the Citadel what they think of Joe Newman

[PaladinFan]

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171117130454442655404

I didn't know that Blazejowski hasn't been sacked since the Colgate game. That's pretty incredible, really.

Furman runs it a bunch, but they throw it enough that you would think someone would have gotten to him. I mean, Furman sacked the Citadel like 5 times last week and they never throw it. Testament to the offensive line.

[youcanbankit]

TIME
DESCRIPTION
TEMP
FEELS
PRECIP
HUMIDITY
WIND




2:00 PM
SAT
Cloudy
68°
68°
25%
74%
SW 16 mph


2:30 PM
SAT
KICKOFF TIME
FURMAN
@
SAMFORD




3:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
40%
74%
SW 15 mph


4:00 PM
SAT
Showers
68°
68°
50%
74%
SW 14 mph


5:00 PM
SAT
Rain
67°
67°
60%
76%
SW 12 mph


6:00 PM
SAT
Rain
65°
65°
95%
74%
W 14 mph



Sammy is 20-13 overall during the CCH tenure (2015 - 2017 YTD) - That's a .606 winning record. Nice...


BUT....Samford vs. Mother Nature...


PRECIPITATION
In games played in rainy conditions, the Bulldog's record is .000

WIND SPEED
In games where the wind speed is < 10 mph, the Bulldogs are 17-6, or .739
BUT...In games where the wind speed is > or = 10 mph, Samford's record is 3-7 or .300

TEMP
In games where the temp is 75 degrees or greater, Samford is 13-6 / .684
BUT...In games below that 75 degree mark, Samford is 7-7 / .500
(ALSO, FYI...In games where the temp is below 50 degrees, Sammy is 0-3 or .000)

OVERALL CONDITIONS
In games where the temp is AND the wind speed is > or = 10 mph] OR [it's raining] (all of which, as you can see above, are predicted for Saturday)...

...Samford is 0-6 or .000



*NOTE: FUBeAR doesn't actually cause the weather; just reports it.


You are so full of crap!
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26540&stc=1
The only wind will be the wind flying off the ball as it sails into the wide outs hands.
The only rain will be the Samford defense raining big plays!
The temperature will be opposing tempers as the score go up for the Bulldogs!

[youcanbankit]

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171117130454442655404

I didn't know that Blazejowski hasn't been sacked since the Colgate game. That's pretty incredible, really.

Furman runs it a bunch, but they throw it enough that you would think someone would have gotten to him. I mean, Furman sacked the Citadel like 5 times last week and they never throw it. Testament to the offensive line.

Thats a really bad sign....your due for at least 6 sacks!

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26538&stc=1

[youcanbankit]

yes the score was close, but on the field, SU was not doing very well at all...
here is a line from the al.com story.

Samford finished with 311 total offensive yards, but the Owls were even more productive with 545 total yards.

Who would you rather face again in the playoffs? Samford wants WCU for sure.

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26539&stc=1

[FUBeAR]

You are so full of crap!
The only wind will be the wind flying off the ball as it sails into the wide outs hands.
The only rain will be the Samford defense raining big plays!
The temperature will be opposing tempers as the score go up for the Bulldogs

This is hilarious.

Posting a bunch of outlandish, nearly nonsensical, predictions based upon nothing more than the current environment of the orifice from which they were pulled AND saying that another poster, who has ONLY posted verifiable, historical data and a weather forecast from the most widely recognized national source for such (weather.com) is “so full of crap.”

Very rich, indeed.

[youcanbankit]

Just added an additional verifiable emoji for you in the previous post. This is straight BS. You're just hurt over the Mercer whoopin and previous predictions that are coming true. I get it, but seriously....wind speed, Temp, precipitation....ridiculousness.. and childlike. Fub the weather bear! hehehe Below is another image from the orifice...enjoy!

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=26541&stc=1

[FUGameBreaker]

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171117130454442655404

I didn't know that Blazejowski hasn't been sacked since the Colgate game. That's pretty incredible, really.

Furman runs it a bunch, but they throw it enough that you would think someone would have gotten to him. I mean, Furman sacked the Citadel like 5 times last week and they never throw it. Testament to the offensive line.



That's a good read!

[SU FAN]

https://twitter.com/SamfordFootball/status/931655136132370434

[Reign of Terrier]

This is hilarious.

Posting a bunch of outlandish, nearly nonsensical, predictions based upon nothing more than the current environment of the orifice from which they were pulled AND saying that another poster, who has ONLY posted verifiable, historical data and a weather forecast from the most widely recognized national source for such (weather.com) is “so full of crap.”

Very rich, indeed.

This is too much

I cannot

[FUGameBreaker]

Gameday xhighfivex

[PaladinFan]

https://twitter.com/paladinfootball/status/931732437322711040

[SCPALADIN]

This is hilarious.

Posting a bunch of outlandish, nearly nonsensical, predictions based upon nothing more than the current environment of the orifice from which they were pulled AND saying that another poster, who has ONLY posted verifiable, historical data and a weather forecast from the most widely recognized national source for such (weather.com) is “so full of crap.”

Very rich, indeed.

Every fanbase has their own version of chattownmocs.

[FUGameBreaker]

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/931869611771027457

[SU FAN]

https://twitter.com/SamfordFootball/status/931913936097697792

[JSUSoutherner]

When is kickoff?

[Reign of Terrier]

3:30 on stadium

[Reign of Terrier]

Game is tied at 7 with about 6 or 7 minutes left in the first quarter. Both defenses looking paper mache, but it looks like Furman's plan is to let Samford gash them for the first 80 yards but to stand tall in the redzone.

link to the game:

https://watchstadium.com/live/furman-at-samford/

[Reign of Terrier]

Furman punts after what looks like Wade Lang started calling their plays after passing on a second and long

[Reign of Terrier]

7-7, end of first, Furman driving

[kdinva]

sammy scores on first drive of 3rd period.......miss XP, Sammy over Furman 23-17.....

[Reign of Terrier]

Samford up 26-20 with 5 minutes left in the game/regulation

[Reign of Terrier]

Samford wins.


Furman's back baby

(sorry I couldn't resist, Furman is a good team)

[katss07]

Samford should be in, Furman should be out. Sorry Paladin fans, the Dawgs were the better team today and they should be rewarded with a playoff berth.

[SU_IT_able]

Samford should be in, Furman should be out. Sorry Paladin fans, the Dawgs were the better team today and they should be rewarded with a playoff berth.

Both these teams are playoff worthy. Samford is in for sure. We'll see regarding Furman tomorrow.

[ElCid]

Both these teams are playoff worthy. Samford is in for sure. We'll see regarding Furman tomorrow.

Seriously. I don;t see many other better teams right now. A lot laid eggs today.

[LarryBoy]

Both these teams are playoff worthy. Samford is in for sure. We'll see regarding Furman tomorrow.

Hats off to the Samford defense today. Furman got their yards, but Samford shut them down when it mattered most.

[longtimemocfan]

Good game. I think Furman’s still in the playoffs.

[Reign of Terrier]

Just eye-balling it, I think Furman is in.

[LarryBoy]

Good game. I think Furman’s still in the playoffs.

My money is against it. Furman lacks a quality win.

[Reign of Terrier]

My money is against it. Furman lacks a quality win.

perhaps, but they also lack a bad loss and plenty of quality losses (1 FBS, 3 to ranked teams)

[Schism55]

My money is against it. Furman lacks a quality win.
This is spot on, Furman is out.

[FUBeAR]

Samford earned that win. This edition of the Bulldogs is FAR tougher than their predecessors the past 2 years. Know they don’t need, but they have earned FUBeAR’s Respect.

Furman deserves to be in the Playoffs. Of that, I am certain!

[ElCid]

This is spot on, Furman is out.

Yeah there are a lot of teams with a quality win at 7-4. But most have one or two hideous losses as well. Also depends on what you consider a quality win. They do have WCU. Colgate is not bad. Mercer and The Citadel are not high quality, but not hideous. I still put Furman in before "some" of the other teams I am hearing about who are at 7-4. It will be close.

[katss07]

No quality wins, no playoffs. Furman shouldn’t be in. Samford fought hard and earned this winz Congrats to the Bulldogs for getting into the playoffs!

[woffordgrad94]

Honestly, I hope Furman does not make it simply because I do not wish to play them again.

And I also am praying hard we are not seeded 7 while NDSU is seeded 2

But we’re Wofford so I’m almost certain of getting the worst possible draw

[FUGameBreaker]

No quality wins, no playoffs. Furman shouldn’t be in. Samford fought hard and earned this winz Congrats to the Bulldogs for getting into the playoffs!



Lol this clown, I knew you would be here to say Furman's not in, so predictable, go back to the hole you crawled out from friend

Fortunately a BUNCH of teams lost today, Furman will be in the playoffs most likely

[Reign of Terrier]

Oddly enough, the stars aligned to have helped Samford had they not won (Kennesaw won) and quite the opposite for Furman (Western got whalloped and doesn't look like a good win anymore to be honest; Colgate will not be the patriot outbid)

[FUGameBreaker]

Stars aligned by so many teams losing, SoCon will get 3 teams in, should be a fun playoff!

[FUGameBreaker]

Furman almost beat Wofford, Elon, Samford - All good playoff teams

Beat everyone else for 7 FCS wins

We can play with just about anybody in the country and proved it

[woffordgrad94]

Furman almost beat Wofford, Elon, Samford - All good playoff teams

Beat everyone else for 7 FCS wins

We can play with just about anybody in the country and proved it

If I was on that committee I would have you in because I would be forced to be unbiased by my moral compass and I think you deserve it. I just hope the committee see things different because I’d rather just see you guys in Greenville next fall LOL!

[Reign of Terrier]

Three things about Furman:

1. The best win they have is against a flailing Western Carolina (7-5) and inconsistent Mercer (5-6). The "they have no quality win" talking point is legitimate.

2. All of their losses are quality losses.

3. All of their wins are by strong margins (sans Mercer) by 20+ points. That's not a minor point.

If they get in, it will be because of #2 and #3. If they don't it's because #1.

My (hopefully final) opinion on Furman is that they are a team with a very strong offense and an average to above average defense. That can lead to blowouts against teams not fully together, but the 30 point wins don't translate to being +1 against quality competition. I've been warning against it all week/season; no doubt Furman is a good team, but we can't overhype beating teams that weren't good by strong margins. I felt like 60% of the reason why people thought Furman was amazingly great this year was because they had outperformed Wofford in pretty much every game. It's not bad argument or perspective to take, but really it's the wrong baseline. Furman last year was the only non-playoff socon team to outscore its opponents in conference play, and by a similar margin to second place Wofford last year. Wofford was 8-3, Furman 3-8. The teams play different styles of football.

[youwouldno]

Furman crushed 2 teams with 7 D-I wins, so while neither was ultimately a top 25 team and therefore neither are true "quality" wins, it's not like Furman beat literally no one (e.g., Monmouth).

Furman's resume doesn't exist in a vacuum anyway - the question is only how it compares to other bubble teams. Whether or not Furman "deserves" to be in is irrelevant outside that context.

There's also something of a conference issue - does the Big Sky get 6 bids and the SoCon 2? I really doubt the committee would do that . . . so there are a lot of variables at play.

[SU DOG]

This game today sure did live up to the hype. Furman definitely should be in the Playoffs. That is one GOOD football team, and there were 2 GOOD football teams on that field today. It will be a crying shame if the Paladins are left out. From what I've seen, these 2 teams can play with most teams in the country in FCS. Both of these offenses are a nightmare for a DC. Both defenses are good also( I warned everybody on here about the improved Samford D), it was just that they were up against offensive juggernauts, IMO. THREE from the SoCon...PLEASE.

[ElCid]

This game today sure did live up to the hype. Furman definitely should be in the Playoffs. That is one GOOD football team, and there were 2 GOOD football teams on that field today. It will be a crying shame if the Paladins are left out. From what I've seen, these 2 teams can play with most teams in the country in FCS. Both of these offenses are a nightmare for a DC. Both defenses are good also( I warned everybody on here about the improved Samford D), it was just that they were up against offensive juggernauts, IMO. THREE from the SoCon...PLEASE.

I am pretty sure it will be. All this posturing by folks from other confs is funny. The only real wild card today from the SOCON was WCU and they had UNCs entire season of frustration to deal with.

[Reign of Terrier]

I *think* Furman will get in just because I have a hard time seeing another conference getting a fourth team before the socon gets a third. It will be close either way.

I wouldn't feel good if I were Furman and Monmouth and AP gets in...if they do I don't see how Furman squeezes in.

[Bisonwinagn]

Conferences have absolutely nothing to do with how many teams get in. The quality of wins and or losses does. Please stop talking about how many teams a conf may or may not get because it's irrelavant and always has been.

[youwouldno]

I *think* Furman will get in just because I have a hard time seeing another conference getting a fourth team before the socon gets a third. It will be close either way.

I wouldn't feel good if I were Furman and Monmouth and AP gets in...if they do I don't see how Furman squeezes in.

That's true but it also would beg the question of why "quality" wins keep Furman out but not teams with even less to speak of in that category.

[Reign of Terrier]

I don't know. It depends on whether or not the committee values quality wins over lack-of-bad-losses or vice versa. By one measure Furman may be left out, by another they would be in.

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