Someone is hard at work at Furman

[Eagle_77]

Furman is a top I-AA team that is having no problem finding great competition. When so many other top I-AA schools complain about finding I-A schools that will take the chance and play them, Furman seems to have no problem at all.
Last year they took eventual Big East Champs Pitt into overtime and nearly came out with a win. You would figure that this would have scared off many I-A teams but Furman snagged UNC in '06 and Va Tech in '08. UNC is a very beatable team in fact the last time UNC played Furman in '99 the Paladins came out with a 28-3 win. Playing Va Tech will bring national attention to the program that will be great for recruiting.

On top of the I-A's they have scheduled two great I-AA appointments with home and homes games against Delaware ('08 & '09) and with Colgate ('08 & '10). If my notes are correct then in '08 on top of their SoCon schedule they have OOC games against Delaware, Colgate, and Va tech.

I know that all of these games have been posted individually on here but looking at them collectively really makes them look impressive. Are there any other big movers that compare to this out there?

[ChickenMan]

I know that all of these games have been posted individually on here but looking at them collectively really makes them look impressive. Are there any other big movers that compare to this out there?


UD has road games at Furman and Maryland in '08 and Navy comes back for a three game series starting in '07.

[Eagle_77]

UD has road games at Furman and Maryland in '08 and Navy comes back for a three game series starting in '07.


The home and home with Furman is nice for both school sand the Maryland game is a great pick up but I dont think that these put you in the same league as Furman here. The Navy game has great history and a good rivalry but it is no suprise to see these two schools play. But still very nice pick ups. Anybody else.

[fufanatic]

I think what is funny 77, is that us Furman fans a couple of months ago were asking the same questions you are asking now. "Why can't we get Div. 1-A games?" And then out of nowhere, we pick up 3 or 4 nice games all in a row. So maybe your day is coming when GSU plucks a couple of nice 1-A games out of the air.

[th0m]

W&M plays an ACC every year until 2011, Maryland, VPU, UVa twice, UNC and NC State.

[tribe_pride]

Just about to write it Th0m Thanks. So all know, VPO is actually a typo of VPI which is Virginia Tech. The ACC series actually starts in 2006. This upcoming year we play Marshall.

We play I-A schools almost every year. Laycock believes that it is good for recruiting and we can be competitive although rarely turns into a win. Last year we were leading going into the 4th against UNC. The fear that a lot of schools have of injuries has not effected the Tribe. In fact the toughest game for injuries for us is against VMI.

[Tribe4SF]

The W&M set up with regional ACC teams is fantastic. The longest trip we'll have for our annual I-A game is Blacksburg. NCAA changes made this possible. Now if we can just get Duke in the rotation...

[mainejeff]

Maine hasn't had much of a problem lately either....Mississippi State in 2004, Nebraska in 2005, Boston College in 2006......along with a home and home with Montana in 2003 and 2004.

[Eagle_77]

This is nice for W&M. I am sure that it will help recruiting greatly. All kiding aside all the kids that come to I-AA wish they could be playing at these schools and since they are not able to they have something to prove. With W&M giving them several chances in their college career they will take long hard looks at playing for the Tribe.

[SoCon48]

Glad to see Navy and Delaware resume their games. That's a fair match up.
It's also good to see Navy have a couple good winning years of late (took a SoCon coach to turn them around) after such a long stretch of really sucking (consecutive 3-8, 5-7, 1-10, 0-10, 2-10 years). Even Wake Forest took care of them.

[youwouldno]

Furman is also scheduled to play Clemson in '08 and '10 I think, but the '08 game will probably be moved in light of VT.

[OL FU]

Thanks for the kudos to the AD. FU has actually had a good deal of success scheduling I-A's. We seem to miss about every 3 to 5 years. None this year, 2000 and 1997. But other than that we are consistent generally with ACC teams. Clemson has been gracious in their scheduling of the Paladins.

Also, this is my first memory (not to say it has not been done) of scheduling this far in the future.

While scheduling the I-A's is great, I am even happier with scheduling quality OOC I-AA teams, JSU, Colgate and Delaware.

[blukeys]

While scheduling the I-A's is great, I am even happier with scheduling quality OOC I-AA teams, JSU, Colgate and Delaware.

Agreed. It also really helps those of us who are trying to take our AGS polling responsibility seriously to see quality I-AA teams against each other. It is so hard to gauge the relative strength of conferences when the top teams don't see each other during the season. Furman is kind of an exotic quantity at UD so I think that Grenville will see a good turnout when the Hens come to town.