Socon Week 11 power rankings and picks

[Reign of Terrier]

Tier One:
Furman/Wofford/The Citadel

Tier Two:
Chattanooga/VMI/Mercer/Samford

Tier Three:
Western/ETSU


At this point, I think there's sufficient uncertainty in the top tier to not rank them against each other. Citadel beat Furman, but has more losses. Wofford has looked impressive, but we don't know how they match up/compare to the other two as they've performed better/worse/about the same with comparable competition (with the exception of Samford). Furman has the most recent loss and question marks on offense, even though I think they'll be resolved soon enough.

Tier two is teams that have either beaten or played tier one competitively, while also being competitive with each other. They have consistency problems, which at this level is the difference between being an average and good team. Tier three are the teams that consistently lose.

Picks
Wofford @ Mercer
Chattanooga @ Samford
ETSU @ Western
VMI @ Furman

[Mocs123]

VMI 24
Furman 35

Chattanooga 28
Samford 27

Wofford 35
Mercer 27

ETSU 24
Western Carolina 21


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

Possible D1 Wins (Not counting money games (other than Citadel’s win over GT)
Furman – 8
Wofford – 8
The Citadel – 8
Chattanooga – 7
Samford – 6 (out)
Mercer -6 (out)
VMI – 5 (out)
Western Carolina -4 (out)
ETSU -3 (out)

[Smitty]

Man I feel great after a win, refreshed and rejuvenated

ETSU 35 WCU 21

[ElCid]

Things cleared up a little this past week, but not enough yet.


Power Poll
1 - Furman - still by a hair
2 - Wofford - still right there
3 - The Citadel - charging hard
4 - Chattanooga - Good but under achieving
5 - Mercer - they aren't bad, but also under achieving
6 - Samford - ditto
7 - VMI - ouch, but learning to win again takes time
8 - ETSU - their weekly melt downs continue, you got to win at least one of these close ones
9 - Western Carolina - getting a win doesn't move them


Predictions
VMI @ Furman - Furman can ill afford to drop this one; not sure the Keydet defense will be up for it; Furman by a good bit - 45-24
Wofford @ Mercer - The Bears are better than their record, but so are the ankle biters - 34-28
ETSU at WCU - WCU finally got their conference win last week, ETSU will get theirs this week - 31-17
Chattanooga at Samford - both fighting for respect and some consistency; the Mocs have owned them recently, but I think the Dogs take this at home - 41-36




Playoffs - only a little cleared after this past week
Furman - 5-1, 6-3, still in drivers seat for Auto with one conf loss to The Citadel, at large possible (Games to go - VMI, WOF)
Wofford - 4-1, 5-3, still in drivers seat for auto with one loss to Samford, at large unlikely (Games to go - MER, FUR, CIT)
The Citadel - 4-2, 6-4, losses to VMI and Samford, crucial W at Furman, at large possible (Games to go - UTC, WOF)
Chatty - 3-2, 4-5, losses to Wofford and Furman make it nearly impossible for auto, no at large, they can play spoiler to The Citadel (Games to go - SAM, CIT, VMI)

Now for fun and possible scenarios:
- If either Furman or Wofford win out, it's over, whoever does wins auto.
- If Wofford beats Furman but then loses to The Citadel, assuming the teams win their other games, The top 3 teams would all be 6-2 with The Dogs winning the two H2H and the auto.
- If it does go to a 3 way tie and The Dogs win auto, I think Furman will probably get an at large at 8-4 with loses to CID, WOF and 2 FBS
- If The Citadel loses either of their games, they are done for auto and most likely done for at large as well.
- If Wofford loses to Furman, but beats The Citadel, and wins against Mercer, they lose auto obviously, but they are in bubble land, on the good side, for at large.
- If Wofford loses to both Furman and The Citadel, they are obviously done, but but if Dogs beat UTC as well, The Citadel would be 6-2, 8-4 and a likely at large with P5 win, and two one score loses to top 25 teams, Furman would obviously take auto.
- If UTC beats The Citadel (CID done) and beats SAM and VMI,... AND Furman loses to both VMI and WOF (FUR done),... AND Wofford loses to both MER and CIT (Wofford done), then, and only then, could UTC take auto. Mind you, I think this is the only scenario in which the SOCON will be a one bid conf. Also, probably never happen.

I think that is about it.

[Reign of Terrier]

I'm biased, obviously, but I think the best chance the Socon has at getting 3 in is Wofford winning out, Furman finishing 8-4, and the Citadel finishing 7-5.

If Wofford/Furman win this week, I just don't see how the conference doesn't get two in (insert my shtick about 7 D1 wins and Socon history and 85% blah blah blah).

But el cid has the most comprehensive run down. I'll use it on me and socon john's podcast this week xcoolx

[Mocs123]

No way the SoCon gets 3 in this year. We SUCKED in OOC games. The Citadel had the best OOC playing two close games against ranked opponents and beating GT. ETSU has our best FCS win against Austin Peay, but they are winless in SoCon play.

We just better hope who does make it for the SoCon makes some noise, and we do better in OOC play next year. We should be at the level where we get 3-4 teams every year, but this won't be one of them.

[Reign of Terrier]

No way the SoCon gets 3 in this year. We SUCKED in OOC games. The Citadel had the best OOC playing two close games against ranked opponents and beating GT. ETSU has our best FCS win against Austin Peay, but they are winless in SoCon play.

We just better hope who does make it for the SoCon makes some noise, and we do better in OOC play next year. We should be at the level where we get 3-4 teams every year, but this won't be one of them.

It's a consensus pick that furman will probably make the playoffs at 8-4.

If Wofford gets the autobid and the Citadel is sitting at 7-5 with wins against a P5 team and a tough OOC schedule, I don't think the socon doesn't get 3 in. The teams that sucked (like, REALLY SUCKED) at OOC aren't in contention or are Wofford, who, in this situation gets the autobid.

[FUBeAR]

VMI 24
Furman 35

Chattanooga 28
Samford 27

Wofford 35
Mercer 27

ETSU 24
Western Carolina 21


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

Possible D1 Wins (Not counting money games (other than Citadel’s win over GT)
Furman – 8
Wofford – 8
The Citadel – 8
Chattanooga – 7
Samford – 6 (out)
Mercer -6 (out)
VMI – 5 (out)
Western Carolina -4 (out)
ETSU -3 (out)
How ya gonna rank Mercer behind 2 Teams with identical SoCon & Overall Records as Mercer AND that the Bears just whipped in 2 of the last 3 weeks...and 1 of them just lost to a Team that hadn’t won a D1 game in over a year? Must be a typo. I’m happy to Coach you up on the Edit Post procedure if you need help in correcting your mistake.

* You also have Chatt. ranked too low. Really should check your work.

[Reign of Terrier]

After seeing UTC play two decent opponents after the post-Ford makeover, I will say this: they are a year away.

I found it funny that Clay Hendrix talked about how Furman needed to work on tackling after the Chattanooga game. Nah man, you're good, that Ford guy does that to everyone. That's what makes him a special player.

UTC isn't deep in the trenches, and they are not great but solid on defense. They have a good QB, but really need new blood there, and some good wide receiver. They're well coached on both sides of the ball. They have it in them to beat win out. Will they? I'm not sure.

[Mocs123]

You are right about Chattanooga being thin in the trenches. We were low in numbers on the offensive line anyways, but were down two starters against Furman and only had seven scholarship offensive lineman dress with two of those being true freshman that haven't played a snap of collegiate football. Offensive line coach Chris Malone has worked wonders with that group but we need some bodies for him to work with.

Ford has been fantastic, but with 3 other scholarship running backs out with injuries we need to get him some help. Our two fastest receivers are both done for the year with knee injuries - I'm not sure how bad that has hurt us stretching the field but it can't have helped.

QB will be interesting next year as we'll have a senior in Drayton Arnold, who was a graduate transfer from Old Dominion prior to this season, and Gio Richardson who will be a redshirt freshman. Both 3* QB's that are more mobile than Tiano but of course neither have really taken meaningful snaps at the collegiate level.

As for Wofford, what do you see happening after the Newman era? Is Conklin going to do more experimenting on the offensive side of the ball? I think Wofford has more athletes then they did a decade ago.

[PaladinNation]

Based on Hendrix's presser this morning it appears Hamp Sisson will get his first start.

Not sure what this means as far as what to expect this Saturday???
I did think Sisson ran the option about as good as I've seen at Furman in a long time.

[Reign of Terrier]

You are right about Chattanooga being thin in the trenches. We were low in numbers on the offensive line anyways, but were down two starters against Furman and only had seven scholarship offensive lineman dress with two of those being true freshman that haven't played a snap of collegiate football. Offensive line coach Chris Malone has worked wonders with that group but we need some bodies for him to work with.

Ford has been fantastic, but with 3 other scholarship running backs out with injuries we need to get him some help. Our two fastest receivers are both done for the year with knee injuries - I'm not sure how bad that has hurt us stretching the field but it can't have helped.

QB will be interesting next year as we'll have a senior in Drayton Arnold, who was a graduate transfer from Old Dominion prior to this season, and Gio Richardson who will be a redshirt freshman. Both 3* QB's that are more mobile than Tiano but of course neither have really taken meaningful snaps at the collegiate level.

As for Wofford, what do you see happening after the Newman era? Is Conklin going to do more experimenting on the offensive side of the ball? I think Wofford has more athletes then they did a decade ago.This is our down year.

Thad Mangum just got granted a 6th year eligibility and Mikel Horton will be back after injury. Those are two all conference players that were out this year. Right now, Wofford has one of the better run defenses in the conference regardless of their presence. We will have more depth.

Losing Newman will have its benefits and its costs. He's the most athletic QB on the roster but probably the worst passer in terms of arm strength and accuracy. We bring back 7/10 of the OL two deep, all of our leading receivers, and like 5 of our 6 running backs.

Next year is going to be the year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[ElCid]

This is our down year.

Thad Mangum just got granted a 6th year eligibility and Mikel Horton will be back after injury. Those are two all conference players that were out this year. Right now, Wofford has one of the better run defenses in the conference regardless of their presence. We will have more depth.

Losing Newman will have its benefits and its costs. He's the most athletic QB on the roster but probably the worst passer in terms of arm strength and accuracy. We bring back 7/10 of the OL two deep, all of our leading receivers, and like 5 of our 6 running backs.

Next year is going to be the year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

We should lose only 1 OL, and 1 A-back from the 2 deep...that's it. On D we lose only 3 from the 2 deep. We lose our PK as well. I like our chances.

[Mocs123]

Furman and Chattanooga both bring back a lot too. It could be a big year for the SoCon next year, we just have to take care of business early in the season out of conference, as we'll probably beat up on ourselves a little bit later in the season. Hopefully we can get four teams in the playoffs next year.

[bonarae]

Furman
Wofford
ETSU
Chattanooga

[SU DOG]

I think a lot of folks here may be underestimating Western Carolina's chance. It may not happen, but It would not shock me to see them get the win at home Saturday.

[gofurman]

This is our down year.

Thad Mangum just got granted a 6th year eligibility and Mikel Horton will be back after injury. Those are two all conference players that were out this year. Right now, Wofford has one of the better run defenses in the conference regardless of their presence. We will have more depth.

Losing Newman will have its benefits and its costs. He's the most athletic QB on the roster but probably the worst passer in terms of arm strength and accuracy. We bring back 7/10 of the OL two deep, all of our leading receivers, and like 5 of our 6 running backs.

Next year is going to be the year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

not sure - and I pride myself on objectivity. you guys have something like 12 ? seniors starting ! I realize Horton and Mangum that's big, I agree. But I see you losing about 12 guys and returning 9 or 10 next year. I think you are the most senior squad in SoCon. I thought THIS was your year. And you look good now that you quit the passing experiment.

Curious your thoughts on my statement above. Also, Horton returns?

But what about Mangum???? I heard he had eligibility but would have to transfer as a graduate player? - since you are a true college with no graduate courses? I read that somewhere...

[PaladinFan]

This is our down year.

Thad Mangum just got granted a 6th year eligibility and Mikel Horton will be back after injury. Those are two all conference players that were out this year. Right now, Wofford has one of the better run defenses in the conference regardless of their presence. We will have more depth.

Losing Newman will have its benefits and its costs. He's the most athletic QB on the roster but probably the worst passer in terms of arm strength and accuracy. We bring back 7/10 of the OL two deep, all of our leading receivers, and like 5 of our 6 running backs.

Next year is going to be the year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I think its all relative.

Much of the rest of the conference will return their core. Furman, I think, has only 10 seniors on the entire roster and only two seniors on the entire offensive two deep.

Wofford has a good run defense, but they also haven't faced the league's best run offenses - the Citadel and Furman. Wofford will typically also trend better in rushing offense because their defense doesn't play itself (i.e., they don't face one of the league's better run offenses).

[PaladinFan]

Based on Hendrix's presser this morning it appears Hamp Sisson will get his first start.

Not sure what this means as far as what to expect this Saturday???
I did think Sisson ran the option about as good as I've seen at Furman in a long time.

I think the coaching staff will continue to see what they've got in Sisson. He's been used in some mop up duty, but Saturday was his first real action running the offense.

VMI is a good team, but their defense is likely going to struggle against the Furman attack. I expect the Paladins to really start to see if they can get the offense back on track.

As we all saw Saturday, when Furman is able to make throws, the offense becomes incredibly tough to stop.

[PaladinFan]

After seeing UTC play two decent opponents after the post-Ford makeover, I will say this: they are a year away.

I found it funny that Clay Hendrix talked about how Furman needed to work on tackling after the Chattanooga game. Nah man, you're good, that Ford guy does that to everyone. That's what makes him a special player.

UTC isn't deep in the trenches, and they are not great but solid on defense. They have a good QB, but really need new blood there, and some good wide receiver. They're well coached on both sides of the ball. They have it in them to beat win out. Will they? I'm not sure.

Yes and no. Several times Furman had Ford bottled up, he lowered a shoulder, and plunged ahead for sizable gains. Some of that is just Ford's talent and physicality, but some of it is also not getting a guy down when you have the shot.

Ford's a guy that is going to get his yards.

I think Furman actually did a pretty good job on him for much of the game. He broke a few big runs early - and one really big one right before half time - but he didn't score and was largely shut out in the second half (34 yards - 11 of which were on the meaningless final play of the game). Over 80% of Ford's yards came in the first half and UTC had 12 points.

[Mocs123]

Ford was dealing with cramps the second half of the game. He missed much of the 3rd QTR and only had 6 carries in the second half (and 21 in the game). He's averaged 30 carries per game the past five games. With 3 other scholarship running backs out, we were playing with a walk-on in a knee brace at RB when Ford wasn't in the game. That wasn't what did us in though. To be honest, I felt like our offense and defenses were pretty well evenly matched. The difference in the game was special teams, where Furman played exceptionally well as they have all year, and we played terrible as we have all year.

[PaladinFan]

Ford was dealing with cramps the second half of the game. He missed much of the 3rd QTR and only had 6 carries in the second half (and 21 in the game). He's averaged 30 carries per game the past five games. With 3 other scholarship running backs out, we were playing with a walk-on in a knee brace at RB when Ford wasn't in the game. That wasn't what did us in though. To be honest, I felt like our offense and defenses were pretty well evenly matched. The difference in the game was special teams, where Furman played exceptionally well as they have all year, and we played terrible as we have all year.

I think we saw what the statistics bore out a bit coming into the game - UTC is a good football team, but Furman is just a bit better.

Furman's defense did what it has done in so many games this year - just put the clamp down on teams in the second half. UTC had three three-and-outs in the 3rd quarter and only had the ball one time in the 4th. Even on their scoring drive in the 4th, Furman forced UTC to burn almost 7 minutes of clock up two scores.

The Paladin defense is, I think, underrated. From my vantage point, they are physically the smallest defense in the league, but are lean, quick, and excellently coached. Their work in the first quarter after two turnovers was critical to Furman winning the game.

I agree with your observation on special teams. Grayson Atkins is just a special player. In a close game against two good teams, he can make the difference in the game.

Of course, in a game against two good teams, the difference often just comes down to the little things - an efficient two minute offense before the half to take the lead; draining 6 minutes off the clock in the 4th quarter with UTC holding three timeouts; excellent punting/kicking/coverage; extra effort to pick up 1st downs and eventually a touchdown late to seal it. Those little things add up over 4 quarters.

[Reign of Terrier]

I think its all relative.

Much of the rest of the conference will return their core. Furman, I think, has only 10 seniors on the entire roster and only two seniors on the entire offensive two deep.

Wofford has a good run defense, but they also haven't faced the league's best run offenses - the Citadel and Furman. Wofford will typically also trend better in rushing offense because their defense doesn't play itself (i.e., they don't face one of the league's better run offenses).

Wofford's held everyone but Clemson and VMI to below their average rushing the ball this year if I remember correctly. I'm not just looking at the stats in terms of conference rankings, but relative to expected performance going in. Before the Clemson game, we were allowing 3.1 yards per carry. The lowest in the conference is VMI with 3.9 ypc, which is a little deceptive, considering Udinski has been sacked 23 times.

[PaladinFan]

Wofford's held everyone but Clemson and VMI to below their average rushing the ball this year if I remember correctly. I'm not just looking at the stats in terms of conference rankings, but relative to expected performance going in. Before the Clemson game, we were allowing 3.1 yards per carry. The lowest in the conference is VMI with 3.9 ypc, which is a little deceptive, considering Udinski has been sacked 23 times.

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

Adjusted for sacks (and for example), Samford bested their average rushing output against Wofford. I would also note that Wofford didn't really face Tyrie Adams, who last year lead the entire conference in rushing. He hasn't been full speed most of the season, even less than full speed he is a dangerous runner.

Wofford has also played fewer games than everyone else. Interestingly, the Terriers have seen almost 100 fewer rushing attempts (253) than the next lowest team (Citadel and Furman have seen 343). Odds are, the next three weeks that number is going to balloon.

While the yards per game is lowest in the league, they've also surrendered more rushing touchdowns on average than the two closest teams to them. That is, Wofford has surrendered more rushing TDs than the Citadel has despite playing in two fewer games and seeing nearly 100 fewer rush attempts.

Again, that's not to say Wofford isn't a solid rush defense. They are. I just think their statistics are going to look a lot different over the next few weeks.

[Reign of Terrier]

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

Adjusted for sacks (and for example), Samford bested their average rushing output against Wofford. I would also note that Wofford didn't really face Tyrie Adams, who last year lead the entire conference in rushing. He hasn't been full speed most of the season, even less than full speed he is a dangerous runner.

Wofford has also played fewer games than everyone else. Interestingly, the Terriers have seen almost 100 fewer rushing attempts (253) than the next lowest team (Citadel and Furman have seen 343). Odds are, the next three weeks that number is going to balloon.

While the yards per game is lowest in the league, they've also surrendered more rushing touchdowns on average than the two closest teams to them. That is, Wofford has surrendered more rushing TDs than the Citadel has despite playing in two fewer games and seeing nearly 100 fewer rush attempts.

Again, that's not to say Wofford isn't a solid rush defense. They are. I just think their statistics are going to look a lot different over the next few weeks.

I'm just excited we'll see Mikel Horton and Thad Mangum next year

[PaladinFan]

I'm just excited we'll see Mikel Horton and Thad Mangum next year

No doubt. A strong defensive front was key to Wofford success for a lot of years.

[PaladinNation]

I'm excited to see to see this guy in purple next season…
https://twitter.com/KwameThomas14/status/1190747199107407872

[walliver]

I suspect Wofford's 2020 offense will be more like what we saw earlier this year - just more effective. We will still be run first, but with more passing to open up the run and prevent the opposition from putting 10 in the box. It was a mistake to move offensive philosophy this year while the new scheme doesn't match up with Newman's skill set. Our younger QB's fit in better with the new offense, but don't have Newman's quickness and elusiveness.

[gofurman]

I'm just excited we'll see Mikel Horton and Thad Mangum next year

Absolutely those are difference makers. Woff tends to get some of the best large DL ( Miles Brown and Horton. ). That was a huge issue for a decent Furman team in the 2017 playoffs. You were missing one of them in our first game in 2017 and we almost beat ya. With both in game in playoffs we were stymied.


reign of terrier- I asked this earlier but BOTH can return and will play at Woff next year? I ask because I thought Mangum had to transfer and play as a grad student somewhere else (at a university)?

[PaladinFan]

I suspect Wofford's 2020 offense will be more like what we saw earlier this year - just more effective. We will still be run first, but with more passing to open up the run and prevent the opposition from putting 10 in the box. It was a mistake to move offensive philosophy this year while the new scheme doesn't match up with Newman's skill set. Our younger QB's fit in better with the new offense, but don't have Newman's quickness and elusiveness.

What is still peculiar to me is that Conklin didn't realize that going into this season. He didn't have the personnel to run what he wanted to, there were preseason reports about how bad Wofford's offense looked, and then they rolled it out against a decent team in week 1. Unsurprisingly, they lost.

Fortunately for Wofford, Conklin realized the error early in the season and the Terriers didn't exactly have a gauntlet the first half of the season. Multiple bye weeks and a softer schedule helped right the ship.

[PaladinFan]

VMI will present challenges this week, but I am fairly confident that if Furman can notch a win, it'll stamp their ticket to the post season.

[walliver]

Absolutely those are difference makers. Woff tends to get some of the best large DL ( Miles Brown and Horton. ). That was a huge issue for a decent Furman team in the 2017 playoffs. You were missing one of them in our first game in 2017 and we almost beat ya. With both in game in playoffs we were stymied.


reign of terrier- I asked this earlier but BOTH can return and will play at Woff next year? I ask because I thought Mangum had to transfer and play as a grad student somewhere else (at a university)?

From what I've read, he has the option of returning to Wofford. It is not clear whether he will do that or go to graduate school.

I'd hate for him to be another of the Citadel's grad-students-for-rent.

[Reign of Terrier]

Absolutely those are difference makers. Woff tends to get some of the best large DL ( Miles Brown and Horton. ). That was a huge issue for a decent Furman team in the 2017 playoffs. You were missing one of them in our first game in 2017 and we almost beat ya. With both in game in playoffs we were stymied.


reign of terrier- I asked this earlier but BOTH can return and will play at Woff next year? I ask because I thought Mangum had to transfer and play as a grad student somewhere else (at a university)?

The ruling came down yesterday. Thad can either transfer for his sixth year or stick around at Wofford. From what I'm hearing from Conklin via his coaching show, it sounds like he's sticking around. And Conklin confirmed considering a 4 man front.


What is still peculiar to me is that Conklin didn't realize that going into this season. He didn't have the personnel to run what he wanted to, there were preseason reports about how bad Wofford's offense looked, and then they rolled it out against a decent team in week 1. Unsurprisingly, they lost.

Fortunately for Wofford, Conklin realized the error early in the season and the Terriers didn't exactly have a gauntlet the first half of the season. Multiple bye weeks and a softer schedule helped right the ship.

To Conklin and Joe Newman's credit, Newman completed 60% of his passes last year, which put him in the top 50% of the FCS (the median is like 58%). And even since that first game, his completion percentage is above 50%, I think. The issue wasn't that we were calling more pass plays, it's that we were calling too many. We called 21 pass plays in the *first half.* That's not a balance, that's an air raid. Offensive coordinator Wade Lang took some responsibility for that. But now, you can see why we're doing it. We have some playmakers at receiver (Luther, DVC, Parker at TE) and we have to find creative ways to get them the ball.

We were always going to get better as the season progressed and you saw the fruits of that in the final drive against Chattanooga. What's important going forward is that the wide receivers know what they're doing and the OL will know what to do in the new system (we also installed different run plays that weren't option and that doesn't get talked about). Right now, Wofford's peaking at the right time. Next year, whether our QB is App State transfer Peyton Derrick or Miller Moseley, we'll probably call more pass plays, less option, but the overall scheme will be the same. And either of those QBs will be more accurate.


VMI will present challenges this week, but I am fairly confident that if Furman can notch a win, it'll stamp their ticket to the post season.

Furman wins 48-24 (or so).

Wofford was leading by that margin with about 3 minutes left (that 51-36 score is very deceiving; VMI got 2/3 of their points and 1/2 of their yardage down 4+ scores). Wofford kind of mailed it in going up by that margin and wanting to go home after a 2 hour weather delay.

The key to beating VMI is letting Ramsey beat you.

[BearDownMU]

I think Furman really needs to get better QB play in the VMI game. Not only for this weekend's result, but to start building some momentum for the post season. I don't think anyone in purple wants them offensively limping into the playoffs.

Also, if this turns into a "grind it out" kind of game, VMI absolutely has a chance.

[PaladinNation]

I think Furman really needs to get better QB play in the VMI game. Not only for this weekend's result, but to start building some momentum for the post season. I don't think anyone in purple wants them offensively limping into the playoffs.

Also, if this turns into a "grind it out" kind of game, VMI absolutely has a chance.

Totally agree…

DG's recent performances have been head-scratchers. Furman's offense doesn't need a gunslinger. It needs a guy that can do the RPO stuff and hit the open receiver. Unfortunately DG has struggled since the ETSU game hitting the open receiver. I chalk all of these issues to inexperience not talent and pressing too much.

Sisson came to Furman ready to go - three-year starter at Mountain Brook - his cred is an RPO guy that can run the option. Thus all the academies and Wofford also offered Hamp. The weird thing about the FU/Chatty game in the second half IMO Quarles (Furman OC) started calling more aggressive plays. I guess the closest comparison for Hamp is PJ Blazejowski. But Sisson appears to be more of a pure option QB threat and he's deceptively quick.

Going to be fun game to watch Saturday - I do think we will see DG too.

I'll add - a fair question — why is Hamp playing now? My read based on some comments by CCH, the intent was to play both QBs. But DG came out of the gate strong against CSU, GaST, VaTech, Mercer so the keys were given to DG.

[Scrappy94]

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

VMI @ Furman
Chattanooga @ Samford
Wofford @ Mercer
ETSU @ Western Carolina

[PaladinFan]

I think Furman really needs to get better QB play in the VMI game. Not only for this weekend's result, but to start building some momentum for the post season. I don't think anyone in purple wants them offensively limping into the playoffs.

Also, if this turns into a "grind it out" kind of game, VMI absolutely has a chance.

I made this argument in the preseason, but Furman doesn't really have to have outstanding QB play to win.

In this offense, Furman QBs are rarely putting up video game numbers. If we can get a bit more consistency from that position (and we have at times this season), then I think everything will get back on schedule.

[kdinva]

I think Furman really needs to get better QB play in the VMI game.......Also, if this turns into a "grind it out" kind of game, VMI absolutely has a chance.

IF VMI can win the turnover stat (they lost that stat; 5-2 vs WCU), and have no worse than a 30-30 split in time of poss (WCU had the ball for 36 minutes last Saturday), VMI has a good chance, I am confident...

[FU_Paladin08]

Top tier will sort itself out in the next two weeks
1 Furman
2 Wofford
3 Citadel


No real separation in 2nd tier, tried to rank on head to head
4 UTC
5 Mercer
6 VMI
7 Samford


ETSU still feels like the better team, but WCU won head to head
8 WCU
9 ETSU


VMI v Furman: Sisson starts, does enough, plays efficiently. Offense runs all day.
Wofford v Mercer: everyone loves an upset.
UTC v Samford: fun fact, Samford has played 7 OTs this year. Sammy in a squeaker.
ETSU v WCU: no time like the present to get that first conference win.

[Scrappy94]

Worth noting for the Chattanooga - Samford series.

UTC is 31-10-3 vs Samford. 9-2 since Samford joined the SoCon.
Mocs have won 5 in a row vs the Bulldogs, and are 9-1 in the series over the past 10 years.
Last Samford win in the series was 2013.
UTC was the underdog in the past 2 meetings and pulled the upset.
Walter Payton Award winner Devlin Hodges was 0-4 in his career vs Chattanooga.

Chattanooga appears to have had Samford's number for the past decade, and I hope the trend continues.

[PaladinNation]

Worth noting for the Chattanooga - Samford series.

UTC is 31-10-3 vs Samford. 9-2 since Samford joined the SoCon.
Mocs have won 5 in a row vs the Bulldogs, and are 9-1 in the series over the past 10 years.
Last Samford win in the series was 2013.
UTC was the underdog in the past 2 meetings and pulled the upset.
Walter Payton Award winner Devlin Hodges was 0-4 in his career vs Chattanooga.

Chattanooga appears to have had Samford's number for the past decade, and I hope the trend continues.

had no idea… I think your too balanced for Samford - I'm betting you make it 6 straight.

I'd also not be surprised if BL doesn't help out his old friend CH this weekend with an upset of the Terriers.

[PaladinFan]

had no idea… I think your too balanced for Samford - I'm betting you make it 6 straight.

I'd also not be surprised if BL doesn't help out his old friend CH this weekend with an upset of the Terriers.

Wofford may blow Mercer off the map, but it may be closer than the experts think.

[Reign of Terrier]

Lots of Furman fans picking the Bears to pull the upset xlolx

I mean, it may happen, but I just think that's funny. Even when the citadel beat Furman, I knew it would come down to a showdown in the upstate. No need to play the denial, you have to win it on the field. Furman's a good team, so is Wofford. I wish Furman hadn't lost to the citadel, to up the ante.

Anyway, word (or vibe, whatever you want to call it) I've gotten from miscellaneous media (Conklin coaches show, Shanesy article + podcast) is that Wofford has been looking forward to these next three games for a couple weeks now. There's no looking past Mercer because all the players know the Furman game won't matter if they lose.


This may sound kind of big-headed, but Wofford is used to playing in meaningful games more than the rest of the conference. The seniors have played in nearly as many playoff games as the rest of the conference combined. With the exception of Samford, we have won 75%+ of the meetings with socon teams since 2016. If we win Saturday, we won't have lost to the bottom 5 since at least 2015, if at all.

I'm not saying this to bask in prior glory but to make the point: there is no looking ahead for this team. We know we have it in us to beat any team in the conference, so there isn't any sense in not taking it one game at a time. In the preseason, I said this schedule was optimized for us to not look ahead and that remains true.

If Mercer wins, it's because they're the better team. The Terriers won't be looking past them.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Reign of Terrier]

Worth noting for the Chattanooga - Samford series.

UTC is 31-10-3 vs Samford. 9-2 since Samford joined the SoCon.
Mocs have won 5 in a row vs the Bulldogs, and are 9-1 in the series over the past 10 years.
Last Samford win in the series was 2013.
UTC was the underdog in the past 2 meetings and pulled the upset.
Walter Payton Award winner Devlin Hodges was 0-4 in his career vs Chattanooga.

Chattanooga appears to have had Samford's number for the past decade, and I hope the trend continues.If Chris Hatcher never played Chattanooga he would be the best coach in league.

If he never played Wofford, he would be the worst.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[FUBeAR]

Y’all are crazy. Mercer has absolutely no chance in this game. They’re barely holding it together with spit, duct tape, and paper clips down in Maconga.

We all know the starting QB is out with a destroyed leg
The Bears started the Samford game with 3 backup O-Linemen starting & they finished with 4 subs in there.
Devezin has been playing since the PC game with a bad ankle sprain and his backup hasn’t played since he badly sprained his against VMI.
Durden is playing with a broken neck & I counted 6 other scholarship WR’s ‘not available’ last week.
I think their TE’s might all be OK...so that’s the best I can say about any Offensive position group’s health.

On D, All SoCon NG Kithcart didn’t play last week.
All SoCon LB Coneway is out for the season.
Will-be All SoCon LB Otiwu is playing with 2 shoulders heavily braced & he’s out the 1st half (targeting in OT) Sat. anyway.
They lost their best CB, BJ Bohler, after the PC game.
So, the best Player on all 3 levels of the D are out, and the 3 best up front (which kinda matters against Wofford’s ground-ed attack) will be out for the 1st half.
Even the DL Coach has a torn ACL & is on crutches.

There will he walk-on’s a-plenty all over the field wearing Orange & Black Sat.

All totaled, I’m fairly confident in saying the Team Mercer runs out on the field Sat. will be far less talented than the 2014 Team that was made up of mostly R-SO walk-on’s, went 1-6 (ETSU not here yet), besting only VMI and losing to Wofford 34-6.

And I don’t want to hear/read “everyone’s banged up this time of year.” Other than ETSU, that has like 12 FBS Transfer QB’s on their roster, & had no idea which one was going to start when 1 or 2 of them got hurt before the season, not 1 other SoCon Team has lost their starting QB for the season & I’m about 100% confident that no SoCon Team has lost 4 OL starters.

That Mercer beat Samford last week was primarily a testament to how poorly Coached Samford’s D is & how that silly Offense they run compounds their problems on D.

I expect Wofford will take advantage of Mercer’s decimated front in the 1st half, run up a BIG lead & then go back to their vs. SC State O in the 2nd half to just get some game reps in & to give FU & CIT more to prepare for.

If the AirTerr O is working this time, I just hope Mercer’s new scoreboard (which is REALLY cool) is capable of posting triple digits on the visitor’s tally.

[Reign of Terrier]

Y’all are crazy. Mercer has absolutely no chance in this game. They’re barely holding it together with spit, duct tape, and paper clips down in Maconga.

We all know the starting QB is out with a destroyed leg
The Bears started the Samford game with 3 backup O-Linemen starting & they finished with 4 subs in there.
Devezin has been playing since the PC game with a bad ankle sprain and his backup hasn’t played since he badly sprained his against VMI.
Durden is playing with a broken neck & I counted 6 other scholarship WR’s ‘not available’ last week.
I think their TE’s might all be OK...so that’s the best I can say about any Offensive position group’s health.

On D, All SoCon NG Kithcart didn’t play last week.
All SoCon LB Coneway is out for the season.
Will-be All SoCon LB Otiwu is playing with 2 shoulders heavily braced & he’s out the 1st half (targeting in OT) Sat. anyway.
They lost their best CB, BJ Bohler, after the PC game.
So, the best Player on all 3 levels of the D are out, and the 3 best up front (which kinda matters against Wofford’s ground-ed attack) will be out for the 1st half.
Even the DL Coach has a torn ACL & is on crutches.

There will he walk-on’s a-plenty all over the field wearing Orange & Black Sat.

All totaled, I’m fairly confident in saying the Team Mercer runs out on the field Sat. will be far less talented than the 2014 Team that was made up of mostly R-SO walk-on’s, went 1-6 (ETSU not here yet), besting only VMI and losing to Wofford 34-6.

And I don’t want to hear/read “everyone’s banged up this time of year.” Other than ETSU, that has like 12 FBS Transfer QB’s on their roster, & had no idea which one was going to start when 1 or 2 of them got hurt before the season, not 1 other SoCon Team has lost their starting QB for the season & I’m about 100% confident that no SoCon Team has lost 4 OL starters.

That Mercer beat Samford last week was primarily a testament to how poorly Coached Samford’s D is & how that silly Offense they run compounds their problems on D.

I expect Wofford will take advantage of Mercer’s decimated front in the 1st half, run up a BIG lead & then go back to their vs. SC State O in the 2nd half to just get some game reps in & to give FU & CIT more to prepare for.

If the AirTerr O is working this time, I just hope Mercer’s new scoreboard (which is REALLY cool) is capable of posting triple digits on the visitor’s tally.I started reading this post as typical messageboard sandbagging "why do we even play the game???" and ended feeling concerned for the Bears.

The fact that Bobby Lamb has won 2 of 3 given all of the above makes me think he should get a Mulligan for this year, considering the whispers in Macon

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[PaladinNation]

I like BL a lot and I wish him the best. I really hope this isn't his last season as HC at Mercer.

Back when Clay was on Bobby's staff Furman for the most part owned Wofford. I give Ayers and crew credit - they started recruiting better than Furman, invested in the program more than Furman, and leaped over Furman. Some of this was out of Bobby's control, the recruiting restrictions placed on him towards the end of his ride was unfair. BTW… dig a bit deeper into Furman's commits this season and you'll see we're competing more and more against the Ivies, "hum."

Back to this week's game - I wouldn't count out BL even when he's playing with a less than full-hand.

As far as Wofford goes, I could care less if they win or lose against the Bears. I'm sure Furman and Wofford will be fired up to play next week. The one thing I like about what CCH has brought to Furman is a business-like attitude. We don't get too high and we're proving to be very resilient.

[PaladinNation]

Also to give the Ayers legacy it's due. If you live in the Upstate - come out and watch SJCS's playoff game this Friday. HC is Joh Wheeler, a Wofford grad, and ex-linebackers coach and a great guy. The OL is coached by SJCS AD Eric Nash formerly the OL coach under Ayers. They've only lost one game this season and they run the Wofford O.

[Mocs123]

Worth noting for the Chattanooga - Samford series.

UTC is 31-10-3 vs Samford. 9-2 since Samford joined the SoCon.
Mocs have won 5 in a row vs the Bulldogs, and are 9-1 in the series over the past 10 years.
Last Samford win in the series was 2013.
UTC was the underdog in the past 2 meetings and pulled the upset.
Walter Payton Award winner Devlin Hodges was 0-4 in his career vs Chattanooga.

Chattanooga appears to have had Samford's number for the past decade, and I hope the trend continues.


You're right, we have. It's sort of like the Chattanooga- Jacksonville State series. I think we win on Saturday, because I think we are the better team, but we certainly weren't the better team the past two years when we won. Interestingly that loss in 2013 was in OT when Jacob Huesman had a knee injury (torn MCL???) and couldn't run. We missed a 30 yard FG in OT and lost. That loss kept us out of the playoffs that year.

[Mocs123]

My personal take on Samford's air raid, is when it's on, they can score enough points to beat just about anybody, but if it's off at all they can't keep their defense off the field, which wears them down. Just my opinion, Samford will continue to be able to beat anyone in the conference, but they will also be suseptable to losing to teams they shouldn't lose to and they will continue to be a good but not great team. They are trying to run more, and I think a more balanced attack would make them a much more consistant team, because there is no denying the talent that Samford has.

[ElCid]

My personal take on Samford's air raid, is when it's on, they can score enough points to beat just about anybody, but if it's off at all they can't keep their defense off the field, which wears them down. Just my opinion, Samford will continue to be able to beat anyone in the conference, but they will also be suseptable to losing to teams they shouldn't lose to and they will continue to be a good but not great team. They are trying to run more, and I think a more balanced attack would make them a much more consistant team, because there is no denying the talent that Samford has.

That about sums it up. And how many games in the last few years have they lead at halftime, some by multiple scores, that they lost? I may have to do the research. They can't hold leads with D getting worn out and their O slipping late in games.

[Reign of Terrier]

Wofford's reasons for losing to Samford for so many consecutive years can be summed up thus:

2015: We weren't good; pretty simple.
2016: We were learning to be good and had Samford early in the season (Samford finished 7-4 and made the playoffs but Hatched in the last couple weeks of the year and lost to ETSU)
2017: Close loss against a Samford team that again, finished 8-3 with an upset loss to Chattanooga. We forced a fumble on Samford's final possession but the player who recovered it didn't have his helmet, so instead of possession in the redzone, Samford got it first down at about the 40. Not to mention this was the game our center was coming back after being out with a wrist injury. We fumbled 4 snaps, some of them losing chunks of yards. All said, we almost tied it, but threw an unnecessary interception in the redzone.

Our overall team defense wasn't spectacular in 2017, we played with House money.

2018: Conklin comes in, installs a defense that's more high-risk, high-reward. We basically challenge Samford to beat us one on one and lose.
2019: We have no offensive identity in week two of the year, Chris Oladokun comes into the game with the #1 passing efficiency in the country, and we fixate more on stopping him passing than running. Only lose by 7.

Throughout all of this, Samford's DC (who has been at the position since Sullivan was the coach) has done a good job slowing down our offense. The abomination that is the Samford defense has little to do with the DC and all to do with their offense's style. We've seen what their DC can do outside of an air raid.

I think Samford is playing with house money at this point. The writing is on the wall. This is the first season that the roster is all Hatcher recruits. Their defense is filled with juniors and seniors. It's hard to recruit a supremely accurate QB at this level. Mike Leach, a QB guru himself, believes you can teach a QB anything but accuracy. Furman showed this year what you can do with a balanced, competent offense and a competent defense against Samford. I don't see any of these Samford QBs passing as well as Hodges and I don't see radical changes in that defense long term. 2020 will be a rough year for Samford, with pretty much everyone improving.

[PaladinFan]

Wofford's reasons for losing to Samford for so many consecutive years can be summed up thus:

2015: We weren't good; pretty simple.
2016: We were learning to be good and had Samford early in the season (Samford finished 7-4 and made the playoffs but Hatched in the last couple weeks of the year and lost to ETSU)
2017: Close loss against a Samford team that again, finished 8-3 with an upset loss to Chattanooga. We forced a fumble on Samford's final possession but the player who recovered it didn't have his helmet, so instead of possession in the redzone, Samford got it first down at about the 40. Not to mention this was the game our center was coming back after being out with a wrist injury. We fumbled 4 snaps, some of them losing chunks of yards. All said, we almost tied it, but threw an unnecessary interception in the redzone.

Our overall team defense wasn't spectacular in 2017, we played with House money.

2018: Conklin comes in, installs a defense that's more high-risk, high-reward. We basically challenge Samford to beat us one on one and lose.
2019: We have no offensive identity in week two of the year, Chris Oladokun comes into the game with the #1 passing efficiency in the country, and we fixate more on stopping him passing than running. Only lose by 7.

Throughout all of this, Samford's DC (who has been at the position since Sullivan was the coach) has done a good job slowing down our offense. The abomination that is the Samford defense has little to do with the DC and all to do with their offense's style. We've seen what their DC can do outside of an air raid.

I think Samford is playing with house money at this point. The writing is on the wall. This is the first season that the roster is all Hatcher recruits. Their defense is filled with juniors and seniors. It's hard to recruit a supremely accurate QB at this level. Mike Leach, a QB guru himself, believes you can teach a QB anything but accuracy. Furman showed this year what you can do with a balanced, competent offense and a competent defense against Samford. I don't see any of these Samford QBs passing as well as Hodges and I don't see radical changes in that defense long term. 2020 will be a rough year for Samford, with pretty much everyone improving.

I think it is a combination of a few things.

Watching Samford play a number of times this season, I have reached a few conclusions:

First, they are hampered by their offensive style. Samford isn't good enough offensively to run the style Hatcher demands that they run - they don't possess the ball enough. They don't score enough. Especially early in the season, the Bulldog defense was on the field nearly twice as many plays as the defense.

Second, they don't really rotate players. I don't know specifically how many snaps, but every time I'm paying attention the defense is the same cast of characters. Hard to ride the same guys for 80-90 plays a game and not expect them to wear down late.

Third, I think they are actually pretty athletic on defense. They just get worn down in a game.

Fourth, they do not really seem to adjust. The Bulldog defense usually gets worse as the game wears on. While athletic, they aren't particularly good tacklers.

On that fourth point, I made note during the Furman game that Samford rarely seemed to counter what Furman did offensively. The Paladin offense constantly shifts formations presnap, and is perhaps the only team that will shift its entire offensive line trying to outflank a defense.

Most teams have some sort of call or attempt to counter Furman doing this. They know it is coming. Samford never seemed to do anything. Furman would shift, and they'd just stay where they lined up. Furman torched them.

[PaladinFan]

Regarding Samford's offensive pace, it was interesting to note that once WCU started to try and slow down their offense and shorten the game, they had a respectable show against Furman and beat VMI.

I just don't get the advantage of trying to move at a breakneck pace when your offense isn't going to score nearly every drive.

[FUBeAR]

PF is closer than RoT, but you’re both still wrong.

ESPN Watch allows you to use a ‘poor man’s’ cowboy clicker with their +10 seconds -10 seconds feature accessed by double-tapping the right or left of the screen. Watch some Samford D & ‘grade’ the Players (Iso on 1 player / evaluate / -10 / Iso on next Player / evaluate / -10...). You’ll see. The Bulldog D’s Players are athletic, could be good Players...but they aren’t...alignment, technique, gap control, etc. are a cluster. That’s D Coaching, boyz.

If you need a good example, FU scored TD’s against Samford’s D the 1st 6 times they touched the ball. Hard to use Offensive style to account for that. Isn’t it?

[PaladinFan]

PF is closer than RoT, but you’re both still wrong.

ESPN Watch allows you to use a ‘poor man’s’ cowboy clicker with their +10 seconds -10 seconds feature accessed by double-tapping the right or left of the screen. Watch some Samford D & ‘grade’ the Players (Iso on 1 player / evaluate / -10 / Iso on next Player / evaluate / -10...). You’ll see. The Bulldog D’s Players are athletic, could be good Players...but they aren’t...alignment, technique, gap control, etc. are a cluster. That’s D Coaching, boyz.

If you need a good example, FU scored TD’s against Samford’s D the 1st 6 times they touched the ball. Hard to use Offensive style to account for that. Isn’t it?

After Devin Wynn busted through the line of scrimmage on Furman's first play and went essentially untouched to the end zone I knew it was going to be a long day for Samford.

[Reign of Terrier]

PF is closer than RoT, but you’re both still wrong.

ESPN Watch allows you to use a ‘poor man’s’ cowboy clicker with their +10 seconds -10 seconds feature accessed by double-tapping the right or left of the screen. Watch some Samford D & ‘grade’ the Players (Iso on 1 player / evaluate / -10 / Iso on next Player / evaluate / -10...). You’ll see. The Bulldog D’s Players are athletic, could be good Players...but they aren’t...alignment, technique, gap control, etc. are a cluster. That’s D Coaching, boyz.

If you need a good example, FU scored TD’s against Samford’s D the 1st 6 times they touched the ball. Hard to use Offensive style to account for that. Isn’t it?


After Devin Wynn busted through the line of scrimmage on Furman's first play and went essentially untouched to the end zone I knew it was going to be a long day for Samford.

I feel like Samford's defense regressed over the course of the year. I'm still trying to figure out how Wofford didn't hang at least 30 on them, especially given how we've done similarly to equally bad defenses.

[Catamount87]

Regarding Samford's offensive pace, it was interesting to note that once WCU started to try and slow down their offense and shorten the game, they had a respectable show against Furman and beat VMI.

I just don't get the advantage of trying to move at a breakneck pace when your offense isn't going to score nearly every drive.

That slow down, really using a huddle wasn't the only change. They started to go away from as many bubble screen passes and such and going more traditionally north/south. They also simplified a number of the plays which helped the young inexperienced players.

A lot of fans have been for several years, me included here, have been after us being a bit more deliberate in managing the clock and going north/south more. If for no more reason than to give the defense a break. A big issue we've had on defense the last three years has been the number of plays they've faced because the offense was so quick.

[The Cats]

VMI
Furman

Chattanooga
Samford

Wofford
Mercer

ETSU
Western Carolina

[wcugrad95]

That slow down, really using a huddle wasn't the only change. They started to go away from as many bubble screen passes and such and going more traditionally north/south. They also simplified a number of the plays which helped the young inexperienced players.

A lot of fans have been for several years, me included here, have been after us being a bit more deliberate in managing the clock and going north/south more. If for no more reason than to give the defense a break. A big issue we've had on defense the last three years has been the number of plays they've faced because the offense was so quick.

WCU had several years at the top (or near the top) in points scored, yardage, etc. It allowed us to at least stay in games with a puncher's chance. Another comment about looking at games led at halftime but then lost - WCU's fast-paced O was also very good at that (in 2018 there were a number of games against SoCon foes where that held true). But we still lost a bunch of games - often with a gassed D on the field late. Being deliberate doesn't mean you have to abandon your offensive identity, it just means that on the common short offensive possessions (3-6 plays and then punt) you gave your defense at least twice as much time to rest and you limit how many possessions the other team has. Two less possessions by the opposition could mean 7-14 points less they score.

In our case, we needed to do both this season. Tyrie Adams completed 18 of 22 passes a few weeks ago against Furman for.... 108 yards. That is 6 yards per completion (or less than 5 yards per attempt). In years past - and in the following game against VMI last week - we threw the ball down the field more and 18 completions by Adams would be for 250+. A lot of that has to do with an extremely young line hasn't given our passing game much of a chance, but throwing the ball at or behind the line of scrimmage and hoping that a couple of defenders might miss tackles with the WRs we have been throwing to is a recipe for 3-and-outs. We also kept doing a lot of running East/West and again with a young line they either haven't held the blocks or are not experienced enough to get out to where they need to be for those plays. Do those kinds of things fast with a D that is already not playing well and by the 2nd half it gets ugly. It has been ugly in Cullowhee pretty much all of this year (and a whole lot of 2018).

[PaladinNation]

^^ to the above point - Western's opening drive against Furman was perfect. It was methodical and a mix of short chunks and some great plays on third down. Also the Cats had success on the edge.

The Dins D came off the field and got ripped by the coaches, primarily the DL and the corners. Furman responded by physically blowing up the o-line and the receivers trying to block on the corner.

I actually liked what Western tried to do against Furman and I gave them a chance against VMI.

In years past Western IMO could out athlete many SoCon teams - I've seen Furman take it on the chin many a time against the Cats. Furman has quickly closed the gap - especially on defense. Teams like Samford and Western are going to have to make offensive changes or they will continue to get boat-raced. Glad to see Western making adjustments.

[kdinva]

Wofford 38 @ Mercer 24
UTC 31 @ Samford 33
ETSU 24 @ WCU 31
VMI 31 @ Furman 28

[PaladinNation]

Wofford 38 @ Mercer 24
UTC 31 @ Samford 33
ETSU 24 @ WCU 31
VMI 31 @ Furman 28

^ glad to see you think highly of the Keydets defense… I will say if you hold the Dins to 28 you've got a shot.
Not sure on a sunny dry fast field at Paladin Stadium the Dins will only score four touchdowns.
The big problem facing VMI is prepping to face who and what the Dins will roll out on offense.
I have much respect for the VMI offense - that said - I think they will run into a buzzsaw tomorrow.

PS… one note that the commentators during the FU/Chatty game kept hitting on Furman's red zone percentage.
Furman is currently #1 in FCS in the red zone
29 red zone attempts = 28 scores (26 touchdowns - 2 field goals) .966 percent
give the Keydets some credit your #17 at .905 percent

[PaladinFan]

^ glad to see you think highly of the Keydets defense… I will say if you hold the Dins to 28 you've got a shot.
Not sure on a sunny dry fast field at Paladin Stadium the Dins will only score four touchdowns.
The big problem facing VMI is prepping to face who and what the Dins will roll out on offense.
I have much respect for the VMI offense - that said - I think they will run into a buzzsaw tomorrow.

PS… one note that the commentators during the FU/Chatty game kept hitting on Furman's red zone percentage.
Furman is currently #1 in FCS in the red zone
29 red zone attempts = 28 scores (26 touchdowns - 2 field goals) .966 percent
give the Keydets some credit your #17 at .905 percent

Furman's red zone offense is staggeringly (and unsustainably) efficient.

It took me a minute, but the only time Furman has not scored in the red zone was in the fourth quarter against Mercer. Furman, leading 45-10, ran their 4th string fullback on a 4th and goal from the 7.

To be honest, that play call was probably more Clay Hendrix not wanting to run the score up on Bobby Lamb than anything. Against any other team than Mercer Furman probably sends Grayson Atkins out to kick from the 7. That would have made the percentage 100%.

Probably more impressive than the scoring percentage is the touchdown percentage. 26 touchdowns in 28 trips to the red zone.

[SU DOG]

I've read with interest the comments here about the Samford defense. I certainly agree with FUBeAR that there are some very good athletes on this unit. We have the same DC that once coached our defense to be one of the best in the SoCon. He hasn't been heard of very much this year, however. I do not know if there is any kind of a problem between him and Hatcher, if he has just lost interest or whatever.

I do know that the Mocs will be a big challenge. That last conference game vs Western is also not a given IMO. I guess folks on here think I am too biased when I talk about all the talent we have, but I promise you there are really good players here. If you check bios, check star ratings, and even just observe physical size and athleticism, it is evident I am being truthful. Yet, we so badly underperform that our record this year could(hopefully not) be 4-8.

[Reign of Terrier]

^ glad to see you think highly of the Keydets defense… I will say if you hold the Dins to 28 you've got a shot.
Not sure on a sunny dry fast field at Paladin Stadium the Dins will only score four touchdowns.
The big problem facing VMI is prepping to face who and what the Dins will roll out on offense.
I have much respect for the VMI offense - that said - I think they will run into a buzzsaw tomorrow.

PS… one note that the commentators during the FU/Chatty game kept hitting on Furman's red zone percentage.
Furman is currently #1 in FCS in the red zone
29 red zone attempts = 28 scores (26 touchdowns - 2 field goals) .966 percent
give the Keydets some credit your #17 at .905 percent

I have more confidence that the Keydets can score 4 touchdowns than I do that they'll hold Furman below 40.

Everyone knows Udinski, Herres, and Ramsey are good. In fact, the VMI offense has steadily improved over the course of the year. Early on, their receivers had a bad case of the drops. Then, after the Wofford game, they steadily got better. But they couldn't overcome the rainstorm in Mercer and 5 turnovers derailed their game against Western.

But that defense just isn't great. Maybe it's a year away, but their defense plays so bad that it forces the Keydet offense to be perfect. At times, it's worked. Others, not so much.

[PaladinFan]

I have more confidence that the Keydets can score 4 touchdowns than I do that they'll hold Furman below 40.

Everyone knows Udinski, Herres, and Ramsey are good. In fact, the VMI offense has steadily improved over the course of the year. Early on, their receivers had a bad case of the drops. Then, after the Wofford game, they steadily got better. But they couldn't overcome the rainstorm in Mercer and 5 turnovers derailed their game against Western.

But that defense just isn't great. Maybe it's a year away, but their defense plays so bad that it forces the Keydet offense to be perfect. At times, it's worked. Others, not so much.

I've noted this a few times on our forum, but this Furman team is a little unique defensively from other SoCon teams.

Furman rotates probably 4 or 5 players at CB. Against teams looking to air it out a bit, Furman has gone to a lot of sub packages. They'll remove both inside linebackers and bring on a second SPUR (LB/S hybrid) and another CB.

So, a team wanting to throw against Furman will often be looking at a defense with 7 or 8 guys that are excellent in coverage. The two SPURs are not the big inside linebackers, but one - Jordan Willis - is probably Furman's best tackler. So, they sacrifice a little size for more coverage ability and teams have struggled to combat it.

This differs starkly from the past few years where Furman basically ran the same players out on defense against every team. With the addition of a few excellent freshmen CBs, the Paladins can really stress passing offenses because they can matchup with all of your receivers and have 6'4 Bryan Okeh patrolling deep. To my memory, Furman really hasn't surrendered a big passing play on a busted coverage all season.

To force Furman out of that look, VMI has to keep the game close and make sure Ramsey is carrying it enough to keep them honest. If the Keydets get in clear passing situations either because they are trailing or are behind the sticks, Furman almost certainly will be able to counter their quality passing attack.

[PaladinNation]

I wish I knew more about the rest of the SoCon and player rotations - Furman rotates heavily on both sides of the ball. For those not used to seeing it Furman rotates the offensive line like running backs and receivers, Furman plays eight offensive linemen.

On defense Furman should have Amir Trapp back for VMI he's small but he can cover any receiver. IMO the biggest surprise this season is the play of Travis Blackshear.

[FUBeAR]

Power Rankings (no wimpy ‘Tier System’ for FUBeAR)

1) Furman...clearly

2) Chattanooga
3) bellhops
4) Mercer
5) yappers
6) VMI
7) Samford
8) ETSU
9) WCU


Picks

VMI @ Furman - Paladins roll early & rest the Starters in the 2nd half, & give up some points, to prepare to clinch their 2nd SoCon Championship in a row the following week - 45-24

Chattanooga @ Samford - Chatt is strong enough on both sides of the ball to win this game by 2 or 3 scores, but special teams aren’t so special & keep it closer than it should be. No OT though. 31-24

Wofford @ Mercer - FUBeAR has rethought his position on this game. Coach Lamb went to Home Depot & Office Depot this week & restocked his duct tape & paper clip supplies. The over-arrogant yappy-pups have been saying the right things this week, but FUBeAR’s BS-O-meter is a finely tuned instrument & he ain’t buyin’ those words. The mini-snarlers used their Sharpies & put a “W” beside this game when they saw Mercer @ Furman on 9/21. But it’s not too hard to get tangled in the duct tape, stabbed by the paper clips, and slip’n’fall on the spit Mercer is holding their Team together with these days, especially when the littlepups been dreaming about avenging the 2018 thrashing Furman gave them for weeks. Bears neuter the porchyippers’ SoCon & Playoff hopes 32-31

ETSU @ WCU - FUBeAR called WCU over VMI last week & ETSU’s “brain” trust kept him from a perfect week with 3 upsets picked correctly...but brawn wins out in this one. ETSU has some, Cats don’t. 27-10

[PaladinFan]

I wish I knew more about the rest of the SoCon and player rotations - Furman rotates heavily on both sides of the ball. For those not used to seeing it Furman rotates the offensive line like running backs and receivers, Furman plays eight offensive linemen.

On defense Furman should have Amir Trapp back for VMI he's small but he can cover any receiver. IMO the biggest surprise this season is the play of Travis Blackshear.

Homer, but Blackshear might be the best corner in the SoCon, and he's a freshman.

[FUBeAR]

#Foreshadowing

https://twitter.com/woffordterriers/status/1192931080279674880

[SU DOG]

Hmmm...If we are posting Soccer scores - SAME score as the Mercer Ladies in the SoCon tourney, EXCEPT it was Samford 3 Mercer 0.

[FUBeAR]

Hmmm...If we are posting Soccer scores - SAME score as the Mercer Ladies in the SoCon tourney, EXCEPT it was Samford 3 Mercer 0.
Exactly - the same score difference as the score in the Samford @ Mercer Football game - See, Soccer foreshadows Football and vicey-versey...don’t get bogged down in the details of the w’s & l’s.

[gofurman]

Worth noting for the Chattanooga - Samford series.

UTC is 31-10-3 vs Samford. 9-2 since Samford joined the SoCon.
Mocs have won 5 in a row vs the Bulldogs, and are 9-1 in the series over the past 10 years.
Last Samford win in the series was 2013.
UTC was the underdog in the past 2 meetings and pulled the upset.
Walter Payton Award winner Devlin Hodges was 0-4 in his career vs Chattanooga.

Chattanooga appears to have had Samford's number for the past decade, and I hope the trend continues.

Furman fans WISH we could say this. Sam owned us until this year (for the most part). Hodges to McKnight was maddening and prior FU defenses weren’t good at stopping the passing game Sam employed. Heck, Sam beat ALL three SoCon champs (Furman, Woff and ETSU) last year but somehow lost to enough other games to not win the Conf title

I was unaware that Chatt had Sam number as much as you note above. Impressive

[SUPharmacist]

Wofford
Samford
ETSU
Furman

[kdinva]

^ glad to see you think highly of the Keydets defense… I will say if you hold the Dins to 28 you've got a shot.
Not sure on a sunny dry fast field at Paladin Stadium the Dins will only score four touchdowns.
The big problem facing VMI is prepping to face who and what the Dins will roll out on offense.


well, I guy can dream, can't he? Was a CONTEST for 27 minutes, then the VMI team went into a coma. maybe at halftime they gave their uniforms to the Point Univ. team.

seriously, for the 3rd cons. year, Furman plays out of their mind vs. VMI (just like WCU does). Reece forcing that pass late in the 2nd quarter, which Furman picked off and got a FG to end the half took the oomph out of VMI, as Furman rolled in the 3rd quarter. If VMI had held Furman in the 3rd period, and gotten some offense going, it may have still been a contest going into the 4th qtr.

congrats, 'Dins.

[PaladinFan]

well, I guy can dream, can't he? Was a CONTEST for 27 minutes, then the VMI team went into a coma. maybe at halftime they gave their uniforms to the Point Univ. team.

seriously, for the 3rd cons. year, Furman plays out of their mind vs. VMI (just like WCU does). Reece forcing that pass late in the 2nd quarter, which Furman picked off and got a FG to end the half took the oomph out of VMI, as Furman rolled in the 3rd quarter. If VMI had held Furman in the 3rd period, and gotten some offense going, it may have still been a contest going into the 4th qtr.

congrats, 'Dins.

I was impressed with VMI early.

Furman's defense is tough when you get behind - they can just create a lot of matchup problems for teams having to throw the ball. This was the 4th time Furman has shut out a team in the 2nd half. I believe the Citadel is the only FCS team to put up double digit scoring after half time.

Hamp Sisson was a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure most folks would have assumed he would out-pass Udinski today. He was also pretty impressive in the run game as well. When Furman's QB is hitting passes, that offense is just really tough to stop.

[apaladin]

Furman had more passing yards than rushing yds today. 338 passing and 298 rushing. Imagine that. 636 total.

[PaladinFan]

Furman had more passing yards than rushing yds today. 338 passing and 298 rushing. Imagine that. 636 total.

Probably 120 of that went to running backs and tight ends.

When Furman is getting that group involved in the passing game, they are really tough to slow down.

[walliver]

#Foreshadowing

https://twitter.com/woffordterriers/status/1192931080279674880
I guess the significance of the 3-0 was 3 quarters with no Bear scoring.

the real deciding factor was that Beauregard the Terrier watched the game with me. If he chooses to go somewhere else in the house, we don’t play well.

[PaladinFan]

No real surprises over the weekend. The two top teams won by 30+ point margins.

Today's game guarantees ETSU a last place finish. I can't help but wonder if a team has ever won the SoCon and finished last in consecutive seasons.

[Reign of Terrier]

No real surprises over the weekend. The two top teams won by 30+ point margins.

Today's game guarantees ETSU a last place finish. I can't help but wonder if a team has ever won the SoCon and finished last in consecutive seasons.Well there was no team that tied for the championship and finished 0-5, so it's probably a first.

On a another note, with the exception of two common opponents (ETSU and Samford) the texture of Furman and Wofford's wins have been pretty similar.


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[PaladinNation]

Well there was no team that tied for the championship and finished 0-5, so it's probably a first.

On a another note, with the exception of two common opponents (ETSU and Samford) the texture of Furman and Wofford's wins have been pretty similar.


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except Chatty

[wcugrad95]

I don't know the answer to Paladin Fan's question, but I feel extremely confident no team has ever won (or tied for) the championship and then gone winless in the conference the next year. ETSU won all these close games in 2018 and are losing all of them in 2019.

I have to give a ton of credit to the kids playing for Western. They could have easily mailed it in after getting crushed by Wofford, but they have really battled the last 3 weeks (even in the loss to Furman). They even tackled today - only gave up 265 total yards to the Bucs.

[PaladinFan]

except Chatty

I'd quibble a bit and note that Wofford faced WCU without Tyrie Adams and played a shell of Mercer's offense this week. Furman saw four quarters of Adams and faced a Mercer team that had all of their big horses in the lineup.

Bottom line, they are two good teams.

[PaladinFan]

I don't know the answer to Paladin Fan's question, but I feel extremely confident no team has ever won (or tied for) the championship and then gone winless in the conference the next year. ETSU won all these close games in 2018 and are losing all of them in 2019.

I have to give a ton of credit to the kids playing for Western. They could have easily mailed it in after getting crushed by Wofford, but they have really battled the last 3 weeks (even in the loss to Furman). They even tackled today - only gave up 265 total yards to the Bucs.

Gotta start building somewhere. Maybe a few inspired efforts late in the season helps build for the future.

WCU's going to have to find a way to replace #12 next year. They are just a much different team with him in the lineup.

[walliver]

I'd quibble a bit and note that Wofford faced WCU without Tyrie Adams and played a shell of Mercer's offense this week. Furman saw four quarters of Adams and faced a Mercer team that had all of their big horses in the lineup.

Bottom line, they are two good teams.

Tyrie doesn't play defense. If he played the whole game against Wofford they would have scored a little more, but still lost by a lot.

In the end, both teams will enter next week's game at 0-0 with a SoCon title on the line.

[FUBeAR]

In the end, both teams will enter next week's game at 0-0 with a SoCon title on the line.



Football




SoCon Football
SoCon
Overall


Team
Record
Pct
Home
Away
Record
Pct
Home
Away
Neutral


Furman (http://furmanpaladins.collegesports.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
6-1
.857
3-1
3-0
7-3
.700
4-1
3-2
0-0


Wofford (http://athletics.wofford.edu/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
5-1
.833
2-1
3-0
6-3
.667
3-1
3-2
0-0


The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
4-2
.667
2-1
2-1
6-4
.600
3-2
3-2
0-0


Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
4-2
.667
2-1
2-1
5-5
.500
3-2
2-3
0-0






...not exactly, 0-0...and, not exactly, a SoCon Championship on the line.

woffy could (only theoretically) beat Furman, then lose to the bellhops...and IF the bellhops beat Chatt & woffy...3 way tie for Championship @ 6-2 & bellhops get the Autobid. In other words, a SoCon Championship IS on the line, but only for woffy & the bellhops. FU could (theoretically only) lose to woffy & still win a SoCon Championship. When FU wins next week, ’game over’ for woffy & the bellhops. Chatt stays in the running for a SoCon Championship, but is out of the running for the autobid. woffy has to win both of their last 2 games to get the autobid.

Do I have all that right?

[FUBeAR]

I guess the significance of the 3-0 was 3 quarters with no Bear scoring.

Oh yeah...

...yeah...

...well...um...





...your Mom!



How ‘bout dat!

[FUBeAR]

Well there was no team that tied for the championship and finished 0-5, so it's probably a first.

On a another note, with the exception of two common opponents (ETSU and Samford) the texture of Furman and Wofford's wins have been pretty similar.

After today, I’m fairly doubtful that ETSU will finish the year winless in the SoCon.

On another note, Furman treated Samford like a baby treats a diaper & woffy LOST to that diaper.

[Reign of Terrier]

except ChattyIt was 28-20 with less than a minute left. You didn't have to deal with Ford as much in the second half. It was 28-28 for us.

Basically 4 scores each in regulation.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Reign of Terrier]

Football




SoCon Football
SoCon
Overall


Team
Record
Pct
Home
Away
Record
Pct
Home
Away
Neutral


Furman (http://furmanpaladins.collegesports.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
6-1
.857
3-1
3-0
7-3
.700
4-1
3-2
0-0


Wofford (http://athletics.wofford.edu/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
5-1
.833
2-1
3-0
6-3
.667
3-1
3-2
0-0


The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
4-2
.667
2-1
2-1
6-4
.600
3-2
3-2
0-0


Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/?SPSID=34747&SPID=1781&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=4000)
4-2
.667
2-1
2-1
5-5
.500
3-2
2-3
0-0






...not exactly, 0-0...and, not exactly, a SoCon Championship on the line.

woffy could (only theoretically) beat Furman, then lose to the bellhops...and IF the bellhops beat Chatt & woffy...3 way tie for Championship @ 6-2 & bellhops get the Autobid. In other words, a SoCon Championship IS on the line, but only for woffy & the bellhops. FU could (theoretically only) lose to woffy & still win a SoCon Championship. When FU wins next week, ’game over’ for woffy & the bellhops. Chatt stays in the running for a SoCon Championship, but is out of the running for the autobid. woffy has to win both of their last 2 games to get the autobid.

Do I have all that right?It's a championship game. If Furman wins, they are champs. If Wofford wins, they have at least a share of the championship.

If Wofford wins and the citadel loses to Chattanooga (not a crazy possibility), then Wofford gets the autobid.

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[FUBeAR]

It's a championship game. If Furman wins, they are champs. If Wofford wins, they have at least a share of the championship.
As long as 1 Team (Furman) can (theoretically only) lose the game & still win the championship, it’s NOT EXACTLY a “championship game” and a SoCon championship is NOT EXACTLY “on the line”...for Furman at least. For woofy, yeah, lose & no championship (nor soup) for you!

[PaladinNation]

It was 28-20 with less than a minute left. You didn't have to deal with Ford as much in the second half. It was 28-28 for us.

Basically 4 scores each in regulation.

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come on… watch the Chatty/FU game Furman was leading 28-12 in the fourth quarter - Chatty has to go on a 15 play drive to score at 6:02. The game didn't end there 28-20. Furman goes on a 12 play (all runs) 5:51 scoring drive to make the score 35-20. I see very little comparisons in the games WC and FU played with Chattanooga.

I'm not taking anything away from Wofford - but I felt like Wofford was lucky to get the win against the Mocs. Furman went down early - reclaimed the lead before halftime and never trailed in the game again.

I will say - I wish I could fast-forward and have a redshirt senior Sisson or Grainger under center this week. I will be interested to see how Conklin plays defense against the Dins. VMI played mostly in a five man front daring Furman to pass. I'm not sure Wofford will do that.

[PaladinFan]

come on… watch the Chatty/FU game Furman was leading 28-12 in the fourth quarter - Chatty has to go on a 15 play drive to score at 6:02. The game didn't end there 28-20. Furman goes on a 12 play (all runs) 5:51 scoring drive to make the score 35-20. I see very little comparisons in the games WC and FU played with Chattanooga.

I'm not taking anything away from Wofford - but I felt like Wofford was lucky to get the win against the Mocs. Furman went down early - reclaimed the lead before halftime and never trailed in the game again.

UTC got within 8 and the next time the Mocs touched the ball they were down 15 points and there were 15 seconds left.

[PaladinNation]

UTC got within 8 and the next time the Mocs touched the ball they were down 15 points and there were 15 seconds left.

minus the Citadel game - Furman's second half play has been impressive. maybe more impressive has been Furman's two-minute offense; 0:37 WCU, 1:26 Chatty, :30 VMI.

[Mocs123]

Chattanooga should have won the Wofford game, the ball hit the receiver in the hands in the endzone on the 2pt conversion that would have won it. Not taking anything away from Wofford, sometimes good teams have to get some breaks, and the Terriers got one that day.

Chattanooga's offense and defense played well enough to beat Furman - our special teams sucked (as it has much of the year) and Furman's special teams played fantastic.

We've got to get our special teams sorted out and everyone healthy (currently out six on offense) and we're in the top tier of the SoCon. I couldn't have said that about any Arth coached teams.

[PaladinFan]

Chattanooga should have won the Wofford game, the ball hit the receiver in the hands in the endzone on the 2pt conversion that would have won it. Not taking anything away from Wofford, sometimes good teams have to get some breaks, and the Terriers got one that day.

Chattanooga's offense and defense played well enough to beat Furman - our special teams sucked (as it has much of the year) and Furman's special teams played fantastic.

We've got to get our special teams sorted out and everyone healthy (currently out six on offense) and we're in the top tier of the SoCon. I couldn't have said that about any Arth coached teams.

It would have been nice for UTC to have won that game.

I don't see Furman as some sort of unbeatable juggernaut, but they are well coached and have arguably the league's best offense, defense, and special teams. You gotta play well to beat them in all three phases of the game.

[Reign of Terrier]

As long as 1 Team (Furman) can (theoretically only) lose the game & still win the championship, it’s NOT EXACTLY a “championship game” and a SoCon championship is NOT EXACTLY “on the line”...for Furman at least. For woofy, yeah, lose & no championship (nor soup) for you!The winner gets hardware, it is a championship game.

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[Reign of Terrier]

Let's not forget Ford cramped up for UTC in the second half and Wofford was leading 21-14 in the fourth.

Conklin is a lot more conservative than Hendrix, probably because he's a defensive minded coach and will trust his defense more. In the Furman-UTC game Furman went for it on fourth, up 28-20 on 4th and 1 at their own 37 at (what ESPN says) 5:00 minutes left

Contrast that with Wofford having it 4th and 1 at midfield with about 12 minutes left and punting.

The difference between conklin and Hendrix is that, at times, Hendrix will roll the dice to maintain possession and run the clock (UTC game this year, inside kick against Mercer this year, last year second half against Wofford) where Conklin trusts his defense.

To put things in perspective, Wofford has only gone for it on fourth down 12 times this year, but 9 of those attempts came in two games. Even against Chattanooga, where we went for it 3 times, 2 of the times were sort of desperate situations (on fourth and goal one time and on the last drive when we needed it). Yes we did go for it in nomansland late in the 3rd quarter, but there's a strategic difference between doing that then at that time, in that place of the field, up 7, and what Hendrix did (and what Wofford didn't do) later in the fourth.

I'm not trying to score moral victories here (I mean, what's the point of sizing this one up when Wofford whipped ETSU and Western worse than Furman), but you see many of these games having a similar texture, with the differences being in the differences in the two tendencies of the coach. Furman is more offensive minded and their defense is more bend-but-don't break yardage wise, whereas Wofford is more defensive minded with their defense being really aggressive and high risk, high reward.

When I look at the Chattanooga, Mercer, and VMI games, I see very similar teams in terms of capability, but differences in philosophy leading to different outcomes

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[PaladinNation]

great point on philosophy… Hendrix is more similar to what I felt we faced when we played an Ayers coached team.
I think the real driver of Furman's aggressive offensive approach is George Quarles.

After watching last week's FU/VMI game in person and then rewatching on ESPN+ I'm more convinced that Quarles is calling more aggressive plays with Sisson at the helm. I'll be fair to Grainger - similar play calling to what we saw against GaSt. As DG started having issues in his pass completions, we got more conservative - ETSU, The Citadel come to mind.

Gone are the days of Furman not testing a team with the deep ball.

[Reign of Terrier]

This is the second year in a row that most of Furman's snaps on the year, going into the Wofford game, have been taken by Grainger but a new QB will take the helm against the Terriers

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[ElCid]

This is the second year in a row that most of Furman's snaps on the year, going into the Wofford game, have been taken by Grainger but a new QB will take the helm against the Terriers

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That could be good...or bad.

[Reign of Terrier]

That could be good...or bad.It didn't turn out so hot for us last year, considering Harris Roberts was a prodigy of passing efficiency.


Also, as soon as I saw VMI go into a 5-3 against Furman I knew it would be a long day. That will work against the citadel but Wofford and Furman will eat it up

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[PaladinNation]

Just listened to the CCH presser - Clay had a lot of great things to say about Wofford.

He did mention that VMI stayed in what he called an eight-man front more than he thought. Expects Furman to have to be multiple against the Terrier defense. Also cited the many similarities between the teams - both will play a lot of running backs.

Guessing on what Wofford will face with Furman's QBs. I'd bet both play Saturday. Sisson passing efficiency wise is very similar to Roberts, I'd give the nod to Sisson as having a quicker release. The big difference is running the option. Sisson appears to make very good judgments on his reads so far and his ability to get yards on runs is deceptive - Roberts was ok.

Grainger is elusive and has a big gun arm, I still don't think we've seen what's cookin' here, I'm excited to see what Quarles cooks up for these guys.

[PaladinFan]

great point on philosophy… Hendrix is more similar to what I felt we faced when we played an Ayers coached team.
I think the real driver of Furman's aggressive offensive approach is George Quarles.

After watching last week's FU/VMI game in person and then rewatching on ESPN+ I'm more convinced that Quarles is calling more aggressive plays with Sisson at the helm. I'll be fair to Grainger - similar play calling to what we saw against GaSt. As DG started having issues in his pass completions, we got more conservative - ETSU, The Citadel come to mind.

Gone are the days of Furman not testing a team with the deep ball.

Furman's offense isn't always rolling, but when it is, it really is beautiful football.

[youwouldno]

Furman has been fairly consistent on defense this year (and S/T) but pretty inconsistent on offense. Not sure how much of that was Grainger's inconsistency vs. the offense in general, but my feeling is that it was more of the former. On the other hand, the Paladins also blew up some teams like Samford that couldn't stop the run even when they knew it was coming.

So I think objectively it's a big question mark how well Furman will move the ball against a solid (not great) defense. I expect them to have some success, but I wouldn't be shocked if they struggled.

[PaladinFan]

Furman has been fairly consistent on defense this year (and S/T) but pretty inconsistent on offense. Not sure how much of that was Grainger's inconsistency vs. the offense in general, but my feeling is that it was more of the former. On the other hand, the Paladins also blew up some teams like Samford that couldn't stop the run even when they knew it was coming.

So I think objectively it's a big question mark how well Furman will move the ball against a solid (not great) defense. I expect them to have some success, but I wouldn't be shocked if they struggled.

We can usually see pretty early in the game whether "good" offense showed up that day.

[ElCid]

We can usually see pretty early in the game whether "good" offense showed up that day.


I did see.:D And was very happy that "not so good" Offense showed up. But we were playing some lights out D, at times, as well.

[PaladinFan]

I did see.:D And was very happy that "not so good" Offense showed up. But we were playing some lights out D, at times, as well.

There was a little of both. The Citadel had their moments, but Furman couldn't complete a pass to save the kingdom.

To be honest, I think Furman just played the worst possible opponent that day - cold, wet, windy, and a team on the other sideline that doesn't throw the ball.

[Reign of Terrier]

Furman has been fairly consistent on defense this year (and S/T) but pretty inconsistent on offense. Not sure how much of that was Grainger's inconsistency vs. the offense in general, but my feeling is that it was more of the former. On the other hand, the Paladins also blew up some teams like Samford that couldn't stop the run even when they knew it was coming.

So I think objectively it's a big question mark how well Furman will move the ball against a solid (not great) defense. I expect them to have some success, but I wouldn't be shocked if they struggled.

Take out the Clemson stats and Wofford's in the top 15 nationally in multiple categories and statistically at the top of the socon in rushing, scoring, and total defense.

Heck, the socon is going through a running Renaissance right now and the Terriers are only allowing 100 yards per game (again, controlling for the Clemson game). Yes, we haven't played Furman or the citadel yet which is an asterisk on some of these stats, but it's still a very good performance.

Either way this weekend will be a test for both teams.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[ElCid]

There was a little of both. The Citadel had their moments, but Furman couldn't complete a pass to save the kingdom.

To be honest, I think Furman just played the worst possible opponent that day - cold, wet, windy, and a team on the other sideline that doesn't throw the ball.

Hey, we may get 1000 yards passing this year. We actually are doing a much better job passing this year than in past years. We have had quite a few long TDs. I love it when a plan comes together. The Rainey/Webb combo is sweet. If Webb gets a step on the Defense, its over.

Our D has been inconsistent. They have their moments, you are right, but good and bad moments. We have had a number of epic goal line stands, and also gotten burned too many times. Towson, Elon and Samford all came from behind late, after we caught up late, to get late scores and wins, or in Samford's case to tie and go to OT. I think they have gotten much better as the season has progressed, which is what everyone wants their team to do. We had both the Sept and Oct SOCON defensive players of the month (Eubanks and Blount). Blount the Oct winner, has also been out for the Mercer and ETSU games. I am pretty sure he will be back this weekend.

[cidgrad89]

Hey, we may get 1000 yards passing this year. We actually are doing a much better job passing this year than in past years. We have had quite a few long TDs. I love it when a plan comes together. The Rainey/Webb combo is sweet. If Webb gets a step on the Defense, its over.

Our D has been inconsistent. They have their moments, you are right, but good and bad moments. We have had a number of epic goal line stands, and also gotten burned too many times. Towson, Elon and Samford all came from behind late, after we caught up late, to get late scores and wins, or in Samford's case to tie and go to OT. I think they have gotten much better as the season has progressed, which is what everyone wants their team to do. We had both the Sept and Oct SOCON defensive players of the month (Eubanks and Blount). Blount the Oct winner, has also been out for the Mercer and ETSU games. I am pretty sure he will be back this weekend.

Brandon Rainey (The Citadel QB) is tops in the SoCon in passing efficiency and it’s not close. Webb leads the SoCon in reception TDs and it’s not close. Also leads in yards per reception.

[FUBeAR]

it is a championship game.

Your own HC agrees with FUBeAR and says it’s NOT EXACTLY a championship game. (00:25)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2-DV0Ln0yg

”as close...as you can get” = NOT EXACTLY


...that’s before he says both Furman QB’s, Grainger & Sisson (even calls him out by name), are weak and goes on to talk about the things they don’t do well.

All in the 1st 2 minutes of his interview at wooofffie’s media luncheon. Reckon what he says about Furman’s Players when he’s not on camera?

[Reign of Terrier]

Your own HC agrees with FUBeAR and says it’s NOT EXACTLY a championship game. (00:25)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2-DV0Ln0yg

”as close...as you can get” = NOT EXACTLY


...that’s before he says both Furman QB’s, Grainger & Sisson (even calls him out by name), are weak and goes on to talk about the things they don’t do well.

All in the 1st 2 minutes of his interview at wooofffie’s media luncheon. Reckon what he says about Furman’s Players when he’s not on camera?

You need to work on your listening skills because that's not what he said.

Also, he said on his coaches show that it's the closest thing to a championship game in the Socon as you can get. So.

[Mocs123]

We'll get to see whether Furman or Wofford is the better team on Saturday

[FUBeAR]

You need to work on your listening skills because that's not what he said.

Also, he said on his coaches show that it's the closest thing to a championship game in the Socon as you can get. So.
Why is this so hard? A Championship Game is a game between 2 Teams where if 1 wins they are the Champions & the other Team that loses the game is not & vice versa.

“closest to” & “as close as you can get” are just different ways of saying it is NOT EXACTLY a Championship Game...because it isn’t...NOT EXACTLY.

Similar to ‘being a little bit pregnant.’ Can’t happen. It is either a championship game or it is not. This game is not.

Last word from me on this. Y’all are being silly. FUBeAR needs to FOCUS!

#LeaveNoDoubt