3/13 SoCon Pick'em Thread

[Mocs123]

The Citadel
Western Carolina

Furman
ETSU

Wofford
Samford

Mercer
VMI

[Mocs123]

The Citadel - 21

Western Carolina - 7


Furman - 31

ETSU - 24


Wofford - 24

Samford -35



Mercer - 14

VMI - 17





1.)VMI – Another win keeps the Keydets in the top spot.
2.)Chattanooga – Still undefeted in the SoCon but it took OT
3.)Furman – Still the deepest team in the SoCon
4.)Samford – Explosive offense makes the Bulldogs dangerous.
5.)ETSU – Waiting for another change to see if the Bucs are for real.
6.)The Citadel – Offense getting better every week
7.)Wofford – Will they have enough to play this week?
8.)Mercer – Rebuilding year in Macon
9.)Western Carolina – The Catamounts continue to struggle.

[bonarae]

The Citadel
Furman
Samford
VMI

[FUBeAR]

Early thoughts...more to come...maybe some revisions as the week progresses...

This Week’s Winners...

CIT - The Resistable Force vs. The Movable Object - Both Teams are a combined 0-16 in their most recent outings, sitting at 0-8 each. Spier has a something like a 12-year no-cut contract. If the bellhops lose to WCU, is Thompson still their Coach on Monday? WCU fans are ready to burn down the University to get rid of Spier, but CIT fans seem pleased to be 0-8 and to not have been above .500 in the SoCon in the 5 most recent calendar years. Interesting, huh?

Furman

Mercer - gonna dovetail on the Hoops Team’s shutdown of the Keydets..and divine from that some way to score 1 more point than the Keydets

Rankings
1) VMI
2) Chatt
3) Furman
4) ETSU
5) Mercer
6) Samford
7) CIT
8) WCU

[Mocs123]

Interesting FUBeAR - You have Samford ranked pretty low but from the little I saw, they looked pretty good on offense last week. Do you think their defense is just that bad?

I'm not sure if there are enough invested Catamount football fans to riot at Western, though I'm not sure giving Speir a contract extension a couple of years ago did anything to help their apathy. The Citadel probably won't fire Thompson on Monday if they lose, but his seat will be really warm. To be fair a lot of those losses have come to pretty good teams. That's not an excuse, but I they haven't looked at hapless as WCU.

[FUBeAR]

Interesting FUBeAR - You have Samford ranked pretty low but from the little I saw, they looked pretty good on offense last week. Do you think their defense is just that bad?

I'm not sure if there are enough invested Catamount football fans to riot at Western, though I'm not sure giving Speir a contract extension a couple of years ago did anything to help their apathy. The Citadel probably won't fire Thompson on Monday if they lose, but his seat will be really warm. To be fair a lot of those losses have come to pretty good teams. That's not an excuse, but I they haven't looked at hapless as WCU.
Neither Mercer nor Furman have lost to Samford Football in the past 870 days. Furman just beat them yesterday. ETSU beat them a couple of weeks ago. Surely you wouldn’t suggest that I rank Samford ahead of any of those 3 Teams, would you?

Oh wait, you might - Mercer nearly ran the bellhops out of the stadium 2 weeks ago & you have CIT ranked 2 spots above Mercer. And, you have another Team ranked ahead of Mercer that isn’t even fielding a Football Team anymore - as far as we know. AND, ETSU, as mentioned, just beat Samford, yet you have Samford ranked ahead of the Bucs - so neither recency of victory nor tenure of dominance seems to enter into your rankings. What are you using to determine your rankings - the “which mascot would win in a street brawl” method?

[ElCid]

The Citadel - 21

Western Carolina - 7




I fairly certain we will win, but I am totally certain we will score a lot more on WCU than we did on Mercer or UTC.

[ElCid]

... Mercer nearly ran the bellhops out of the stadium 2 weeks ago & you have CIT ranked 2 spots above Mercer.

Really? Not a very accurate description. It was a one score game late and a perfect bounce made it a two score win. Don't get too excited over Mercer's prowess.

[ElCid]

Interesting FUBeAR - You have Samford ranked pretty low but from the little I saw, they looked pretty good on offense last week. Do you think their defense is just that bad?

I'm not sure if there are enough invested Catamount football fans to riot at Western, though I'm not sure giving Speir a contract extension a couple of years ago did anything to help their apathy. The Citadel probably won't fire Thompson on Monday if they lose, but his seat will be really warm. To be fair a lot of those losses have come to pretty good teams. That's not an excuse, but I they haven't looked at hapless as WCU.


Including 3, Three, Trois, Tres, consecutive 1 point losses to an unnamed team in Tenn. Yikes. It is almost as unfathomable as said unnamed team's 2011 seasons 27-28 curse.

[FUBeAR]

Really? Not a very accurate description. It was a one score game late and a perfect bounce made it a two score win. Don't get too excited over Mercer's prowess.
Snapshots are a matter of perspective.

You chose to take your still photo when you wanted & I framed mine as I saw it thru my lens.

We both know what the final scene showed in both of our ‘albums’ - a 42-28 WIN for the Bears and a 7th consecutive loss for the bellhops. Right?

And it’s much less about Mercer’s prowess than it is about CIT’s overall lack of (available) talent and mounting string of consecutive losses. It’s not yet quite as far back as 1/9/1861, but 2016 is now but a tiny dot in the rear view mirror.

[SUPharmacist]

Citadel
Furman
Samford
Mercer

[Mocs123]

Neither Mercer nor Furman have lost to Samford Football in the past 870 days. Furman just beat them yesterday. ETSU beat them a couple of weeks ago. Surely you wouldn’t suggest that I rank Samford ahead of any of those 3 Teams, would you?

Oh wait, you might - Mercer nearly ran the bellhops out of the stadium 2 weeks ago & you have CIT ranked 2 spots above Mercer. And, you have another Team ranked ahead of Mercer that isn’t even fielding a Football Team anymore - as far as we know. AND, ETSU, as mentioned, just beat Samford, yet you have Samford ranked ahead of the Bucs - so neither recency of victory nor tenure of dominance seems to enter into your rankings. What are you using to determine your rankings - the “which mascot would win in a street brawl” method?

To be fair, I'm not sure where to rank any team this season because I am not sure who is putting effort into this spring season and who isn't, other than VMI who is basically going all in with Udinski while they still have him. As far as Samford goes - you probably know my theory on Hatcher coached FCS teams - they will be good on offense and bad on defense, and when things are clicking they can beat just about anyone and when things aren't clicking they can lose to just about anybody. The Bulldogs have to be frustratingly inconsistent for both Samford fans and bookies alike. It also makes it pretty hard to know where to rank them. It looked like they gave Furman (who I still think is the team to beat in the SoCon) all they wanted Saturday.

As for Mercer - this is a different team then the one that last played Samford, so I'm not sure the fact that they haven't lost to Samford in 870 days is relevant. I do think Cronic was a good hire for them, and I have no doubt he will have the Bears a contender at some point, but just watching bits and pieces it seems to me that the current Mercer is a young team without a ton of offensive talent - perhaps I'm wrong. As for the Citadel - Mercer game, it looked to be a lot closer than the score. The Bulldogs actually out gained the Bears and it looked like the 3 turnovers tipped the scales in favor of Mercer. I'm not saying that those turnover might not have been forced by the Bears but I also know a new QB in a TO system can put the ball on the ground a bunch too (which he didn't do against the Mocs).

The wildcard here is the Bucs, which we've only seen once. I have no idea where to put them. I've never thought ETSU was the same team after Henrik left, but then they did beat a Samford team that's looked pretty good the past two weeks (even if one was a loss). Sanders may be going all in this spring to stay off the hot seat in Johnson City.

[PaladinNation]

I'm really curious about the Samford/Wofford game. Unless Samford shoots itself in the foot the Dogs are going to score points. I think this version of the Terriers will struggle to stay in the game Saturday.

SAMFORD
MERCER
DEATH DEALER
THE CITADEL

[FUBeAR]

To be fair, I'm not sure where to rank any team this season because I am not sure who is putting effort into this spring season and who isn't, other than VMI who is basically going all in with Udinski while they still have him. As far as Samford goes - you probably know my theory on Hatcher coached FCS teams - they will be good on offense and bad on defense, and when things are clicking they can beat just about anyone and when things aren't clicking they can lose to just about anybody. The Bulldogs have to be frustratingly inconsistent for both Samford fans and bookies alike. It also makes it pretty hard to know where to rank them. It looked like they gave Furman (who I still think is the team to beat in the SoCon) all they wanted Saturday.

As for Mercer - this is a different team then the one that last played Samford, so I'm not sure the fact that they haven't lost to Samford in 870 days is relevant. I do think Cronic was a good hire for them, and I have no doubt he will have the Bears a contender at some point, but just watching bits and pieces it seems to me that the current Mercer is a young team without a ton of offensive talent - perhaps I'm wrong. As for the Citadel - Mercer game, it looked to be a lot closer than the score. The Bulldogs actually out gained the Bears and it looked like the 3 turnovers tipped the scales in favor of Mercer. I'm not saying that those turnover might not have been forced by the Bears but I also know a new QB in a TO system can put the ball on the ground a bunch too (which he didn't do against the Mocs).

The wildcard here is the Bucs, which we've only seen once. I have no idea where to put them. I've never thought ETSU was the same team after Henrik left, but then they did beat a Samford team that's looked pretty good the past two weeks (even if one was a loss). Sanders may be going all in this spring to stay off the hot seat in Johnson City.
Fair enough ... but it sounds like after CIT gave Chatt a tough game, you’re buying the Charlestonian re-cast of their beat down by the Bears.

Mercer completely dominated the 1st half. No one is even trying to deny that.

Then, Mercer’s Players, who had no idea how to come out of the locker room with a 4 TD lead, played an awful 3rd quarter on both sides of the ball, allowing CIT to look competitive. But, the Bears, as they have done so infrequently in the past, closed the deal in the 4th quarter and beat CIT by 2 scores.



Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total


The Citadel
0
0
13
15
28


Mercer
14
14
0
14
42



Those are the facts - no matter how much lipstick the bellhops stole from someone’s luggage to slather on that pig of a game. They got their ‘fannies whipped’ and seem to want to call it a (I guess, “moral”) victory...and too many people are buying that BS.

[Mocs123]

As typical the Bellhops played hard - they always do and I don't think the game should have been that close. The Mocs went for it on 4th down twice where they would have kicked field goals if we had our starting kicker (surgery this "off" season) and we would have picked up if we had Ford. We also turned the ball over twice but to be fair those were both forced by the Bulldogs.

Perhaps here is a better representation and explanation of my poll:

1.) VMI - I'm still not sold on the Keydets being the best team in the SoCon, but they beat Furman, who was my Week 1 #1, haven't lost, and are going all out with Udinski this spring.
2.) Chattanooga - I still question how hard we are tying this spring. We've played alot of young guys (we started a few walkons and true freshman - guys that haven't played much football) and I think will play even more in the weeks ahead per Coach Wright.
3.) Furman - My preseason #1. I really think Furman and Chattanooga are the two best teams in the conference and no matter what happens this spring season, I thin they will be my #1 and #2 in the fall.
4-A.) Samford - Yes they are 2-1 and I could swap places with them and ETSU (perhaps I should) but I was impressed with the way they hung with Furman this week and ETSU has been off for two weeks.
4-B) ETSU - The Bucs are 1-0 and may be going all out this spring, but they've had two weeks off which could be a good thing or a bad thing for the Bucs. Did they get rested and prepared and destroy Furman this week, or did the two week break after a single game kill their momentum and now they are starting over? We will see.
6-A) The Citadel - Sure I could have them anywhere from #6 to #8, but I was impressed with (my perceived) improvement of this team from game 1 to game 2 of the spring. I may be putting them here because I think they are trending upward. At least if they don't get discouraged and fold after their second loss of the spring. Maybe I was still impressed by their defensive performance against Army in the fall.
6-B) Wofford - to be honest I'm not sure what to do with the Terriers and could have put them anywhere from #6 to #8. I think this team is really in the top half of the SoCon if this was a fall season, but with the opt outs and lack of depth they land here. If they don't win this week, I could see them give up and write off the spring.
6-C) Mercer - Again I could have put them anywhere from #6 to #8 as this team also seemed to improve from game 1 to game 2. With a new coach and QB it may take them some time to gel. Obviously the Bears have a opportunity to shoot up the ranks with a win this weekend as if you wanted you might could write the first game off to the first game with a new HC and system.
9) Western Carolina - At one point I thought Speir was building a respectable program in the mountains, but the Catamounts have been trending downward - even more so it seems since the contract extension. WCU stays at #9 until they prove otherwise.

[Mocs123]

Of course this has me thinking - can VMI actually win this thing? If you had told me a year ago that VMI has a chance to win the SoCon I'd say you were nuts, but here is my case for (and against) the Keydets.

Why VMI will win the SoCon:

First off VMI has no graduate school, so the NCAA extra year of eligibility is of marginal benefit to them, and their most notable loss will be Udinski. Coach Wachenheim knows this spring is the Keydets best shot at a SoCon championship in a long time. This is partly due to VMI having a pretty decent team and a terrific QB, but also because other SoCon teams aren't taking this spring as seriously as the Keydets are. VMI is going all in this spring.

VMI has beaten Furman and does not have to play Chattanooga. I'm not sure if the Chattanooga game will end up as a forfeit win for the Keydets or it just won't be played, BUT either way those two huge hurdles are already out of the way. VMI plays the Bears this week, which have a new coach and a lot of young offensive players. The Keydets seem like they have a shot here. The following week they play Samford, who may be the most talented remainnig team, but as I've said before Samford is either hot or cold, so the Keydets have a shot during that game too. The week of March 27th they play Wofford, who may be playing the women's volleyball team on the defensive line by that point. The Keydets then have to play ETSU, which I have a feeling is going all out this spring as well, so this could be a big matchup or it couldn't it just depends on what happens the next few weeks. And lastly VMI finishes up with The Citadel, which is always a big game, and even if The Citadel packs it up for the season before then, will likely go all out for that game, BUT the Keydets get a bye week to prepare for the TO and that's about as good of setup for VMI as they will get.

Why will they not win? Well they are VMI and don't have a history or culture of winning, so they could fold if they face some adversity. Plus, despite the improvement in talent level , I still think the Keydets are middle of the SoCon pack talent - not win it all talent.

Bottom line - I think they have a shot, maybe not a easy shot, but I do think they have a chance, and if they do, they need to bronze a statue of Coach Wachenheim outside their stadium (and get lights)

[FUBeAR]

Of course this has me thinking - can VMI actually win this thing? If you had told me a year ago that VMI has a chance to win the SoCon I'd say you were nuts, but here is my case for (and against) the Keydets.

Why VMI will win the SoCon:

First off VMI has no graduate school, so the NCAA extra year of eligibility is of marginal benefit to them, and their most notable loss will be Udinski. Coach Wachenheim knows this spring is the Keydets best shot at a SoCon championship in a long time. This is partly due to VMI having a pretty decent team and a terrific QB, but also because other SoCon teams aren't taking this spring as seriously as the Keydets are. VMI is going all in this spring.

VMI has beaten Furman and does not have to play Chattanooga. I'm not sure if the Chattanooga game will end up as a forfeit win for the Keydets or it just won't be played, BUT either way those two huge hurdles are already out of the way. VMI plays the Bears this week, which have a new coach and a lot of young offensive players. The Keydets seem like they have a shot here. The following week they play Samford, who may be the most talented remainnig team, but as I've said before Samford is either hot or cold, so the Keydets have a shot during that game too. The week of March 27th they play Wofford, who may be playing the women's volleyball team on the defensive line by that point. The Keydets then have to play ETSU, which I have a feeling is going all out this spring as well, so this could be a big matchup or it couldn't it just depends on what happens the next few weeks. And lastly VMI finishes up with The Citadel, which is always a big game, and even if The Citadel packs it up for the season before then, will likely go all out for that game, BUT the Keydets get a bye week to prepare for the TO and that's about as good of setup for VMI as they will get.

Why will they not win? Well they are VMI and don't have a history or culture of winning, so they could fold if they face some adversity. Plus, despite the improvement in talent level , I still think the Keydets are middle of the SoCon pack talent - not win it all talent.

Bottom line - I think they have a shot, maybe not a easy shot, but I do think they have a chance, and if they do, they need to bronze a statue of Coach Wachenheim outside their stadium (and get lights)
Well done. Excellent analysis.

The rest of the SoCon needs to be pulling for Mercer to stop the Keydet juggernaut this Sat. for exactly the reasons you cited. They won’t get an L against the top 2 Teams (Chatt & FU). I don’t see CIT or the Teary-ers (if they man-up & play - doubtful) being able to beat VMI. Sammy may have had their life sucked out of them last Sat. We really don’t know much about ETSU. If Mercer doesn’t beat VMI, ETSU will have to or the Keydets are the SoCon Autobid.

Mercer is playing to win this Spring & they have the talent (albeit...very young) to beat VMI. They had a week off to prepare & recover from 2 physical games. Of course, VMI, essentially, had last week off also. Udinski will either pick their (also) VERY young D apart OR they rise to the challenge and the Bears win, bringing VMI back to the pack. Bears will need that D ‘rise-up’ and perfect execution on O + some Special Teams ‘magic’ to win in Lexington.

[ElCid]

Fair enough ... but it sounds like after CIT gave Chatt a tough game, you’re buying the Charlestonian re-cast of their beat down by the Bears.

Mercer completely dominated the 1st half. No one is even trying to deny that.

Then, Mercer’s Players, who had no idea how to come out of the locker room with a 4 TD lead, played an awful 3rd quarter on both sides of the ball, allowing CIT to look competitive. But, the Bears, as they have done so infrequently in the past, closed the deal in the 4th quarter and beat CIT by 2 scores.



Team
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Total


The Citadel
0
0
13
15
28


Mercer
14
14
0
14
42



Those are the facts - no matter how much lipstick the bellhops stole from someone’s luggage to slather on that pig of a game. They got their ‘fannies whipped’ and seem to want to call it a (I guess, “moral”) victory...and too many people are buying that BS.


Well I am certain I am not going to convince you, and you can spin the totally piss poor performance of the Bears in the third quarter (they got 3 total YDS of O), but I can play that game as well. How about we looked competitive in the second half because we are. After we let it get away, we stopped the Bears on 4 consecutive drives, including three three and outs. I could say the same thing about our first half. We didn't come out the locker room ready to play for XXX reason, take your pick. If you can't hold onto a 4 TD lead....??!! If not for specific three plays in that game, we possibly win easily. I could never say definitely, because the dynamics would change. Now I am not trying to get into a pissing match, but the number say otherwise. Yards 413-354, more first downs and higher 3rd down conversion rate, plus a couple other stats. The one area critical area where we also beat you was in fumbles, unfortunately. A much more accurate description would be we "whipped our own fannies." I know you have been waiting for a convincing win over us, finally, so you may be forgiven for trying to dress it up into something bigger. xthumbsupx I think our QB still has some jitters for sure. We saw the same thing against UTC. His is still a little timid at first, but he is going to give the SOCON fits after he settles down a bit and plays well on the first snap...of the first half.

[Mocs123]

And what has to be one of the most peculiar streaks ever - the Mocs have scored big plays on the first possession of every game vs. The Citadel for seven years straight. That has been 3 different UTC coaching staffs and two Citadel coaching staffs.

2014 - Jacob Huesman 66 yard pass to CJ Board
2015 - Alejandro Bennifield 75 yard pass to Xavier Borishade
2016 - Alejandro Bennifeld 75 yard pass to CJ Board
2017 - Darell Bridges 61 yard TD Run (It felt like we only had 61 yards of offense in 2017!)
2018 - Nick Tiano 76 yard pass to Bryce Nunnelly
2019 - Nick Tiano 76 yard pass to Tyrin Summers
2020 - Drayton Arnold 75 yard pass to Juan Tyus

Gene Henley - the Mocs (awesome) beat writer did the homework - but I thought what an crazy run.

[walliver]

Sometimes I look at this spring's scores and just scratch my head. It almost seems like a random number generator could do a better job of picking than I can.

For this week:
The Citadel finally gets a win and it won't be close.
Furman/ETSU could go either way. The Paladins have been less dominating than I thought they would be, but somehow pull out this game.
VMI pulls out a win against Mercer
Wofford debuts a new defense using only 1 defensive lineman at a time and thoroughly confuses Samford in a 31-28 win.

[FUBeAR]

Well I am certain I am not going to convince you, and you can spin the totally piss poor performance of the Bears in the third quarter (they got 3 total YDS of O), but I can play that game as well. How about we looked competitive in the second half because we are. After we let it get away, we stopped the Bears on 4 consecutive drives, including three three and outs. I could say the same thing about our first half. We didn't come out the locker room ready to play for XXX reason, take your pick. If you can't hold onto a 4 TD lead....??!! If not for specific three plays in that game, we possibly win easily. I could never say definitely, because the dynamics would change. Now I am not trying to get into a pissing match, but the number say otherwise. Yards 413-354, more first downs and higher 3rd down conversion rate, plus a couple other stats. The one area critical area where we also beat you was in fumbles, unfortunately. A much more accurate description would be we "whipped our own fannies." I know you have been waiting for a convincing win over us, finally, so you may be forgiven for trying to dress it up into something bigger. xthumbsupx I think our QB still has some jitters for sure. We saw the same thing against UTC. His is still a little timid at first, but he is going to give the SOCON fits after he settles down a bit and plays well on the first snap...of the first half.
So...many...words....when 4 digits & a punctuation mark actually tell the full story.

4 2 - 2 8

[Mocs123]

Sometimes I look at this spring's scores and just scratch my head. It almost seems like a random number generator could do a better job of picking than I can.

For this week:
The Citadel finally gets a win and it won't be close.
Furman/ETSU could go either way. The Paladins have been less dominating than I thought they would be, but somehow pull out this game.
VMI pulls out a win against Mercer
Wofford debuts a new defense using only 1 defensive lineman at a time and thoroughly confuses Samford in a 31-28 win.


Well if you are going to play a SoCon game with only one D lineman, a Hatch attack team is the one to do it on! 1DL, 3LB's and 7 DB's !

[ElCid]

Well if you are going to play a SoCon game with only one D lineman, a Hatch attack team is the one to do it on! 1DL, 3LB's and 7 DB's !

And what is funny, is that Samford would probably still have under 100 yards rushing and 400 yards passing.

[FUBeAR]

Sometimes I look at this spring's scores and just scratch my head. It almost seems like a random number generator could do a better job of picking than I can.

For this week:
The Citadel finally gets a win and it won't be close.
Furman/ETSU could go either way. The Paladins have been less dominating than I thought they would be, but somehow pull out this game.
VMI pulls out a win against Mercer
Wofford debuts a new defense using only 1 defensive lineman at a time and thoroughly confuses Samford in a 31-28 win.
If y’all are looking for eligible Student Athletes to play D-Line for Wofford, here are about 30 prospects who have suddenly found they have a lot of extra time on their hands...

https://woffordterriers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2020-21

https://woffordterriers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster

[843yapterrier]

Was at the Furman - Samford game Saturday, and while I think Furman may be the better team. They were really REALLY lucky to win, Curious to see what they do against a rushing team. Hate we missed seeing the two pt conversion play for the win or loss after fumble on the 1. I’m picking ETSU by 4.

While Wofford has never figured out Hatcher. Only beat him once. Our RESTED defense gets the job done. WOFFORD by 1. Haters going to hate. Look forward to the three freshman on that above roster being back for basketball next fall. 3 on all freshman team.

CITADEL easily over Western

VMI by 6.5 over Mercer

[Mocs123]

Wofford has only beaten Hatcher once.....That's interesting. Wofford has had some really good teams during that time as well.

[FUBeAR]

If y’all are looking for eligible Student Athletes to play D-Line for Wofford, here are about 30 prospects who have suddenly found they have a lot of extra time on their hands...

https://woffordterriers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/2020-21

https://woffordterriers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster

Oops...sorry...need to scratch a couple off of that list...at 180 & 185, not sure they would have been much help on the DLine anyway. Looks like they might have been decent contributors in hoops?

https://twitter.com/247sportsportal/status/1369005725142446086

[FUBeAR]

Was at the Furman - Samford game Saturday, and while I think Furman may be the better team. They were really REALLY lucky to win, Curious to see what they do against a rushing team. Hate we missed seeing the two pt conversion play for the win or loss after fumble on the 1. I’m picking ETSU by 4.

While Wofford has never figured out Hatcher. Only beat him once. Our RESTED defense gets the job done. WOFFORD by 1. Haters going to hate. Look forward to the three freshman on that above roster being back for basketball next fall. 3 on all freshman team.

CITADEL easily over Western

VMI by 6.5 over MercerReally appreciate you Woffy guys participating in a SoCon Football Forum.

Wish more UNCG Fans would also get involved in SoCon Football. Just because your School doesn’t sponsor a sport is no reason not to stay interested. Right?

I’m following SoCon Men’s LAX & Baseball this year, just like you guys are keeping tabs on SoCon Football. Good job!

[843yapterrier]

Wofford doesn’t have any graduate school (as you know). Hard to keep a graduate not to graduate to stay. Best of luck to Storm and Tray. Will miss having one of the best names in college basketball with Storm Murphy. Shame Furman basketball is still 41 years without a March Madness appearance. Maybe Frank Selvy has some eligibility left.

Ironically after the Samford\Furman OT this past weekend...the only time Wofford beat Hatcher, was when he went for 2 in OT for the win, and they didn’t convert (Georgia Southern). He was going to go for 2 on Saturday if they scored.

[ElCid]

Wofford doesn’t have any graduate school (as you know). Hard to keep a graduate not to graduate to stay. Best of luck to Storm and Tray. Will miss having one of the best names in college basketball with Storm Murphy. Shame Furman basketball is still 41 years without a March Madness appearance. Maybe Frank Selvy has some eligibility left.


Luckily we have a graduate program. But with summer school a few of our players are graduating not on time, but actually ahead of time. Yikes. We have lost a few because it was their time to go due to jobs, life, etc, master's or no masters. And of course, we get the odd transfer grad student or two. So I guess it evens out. I heard our stud WR Webb is actually working on his second Masters.

[FUBeAR]

Luckily we have a graduate program. But with summer school a few of our players are graduating not on time, but actually ahead of time. Yikes. We have lost a few because it was their time to go due to jobs, life, etc, master's or no masters. And of course, we get the odd transfer grad student or two. So I guess it evens out. I heard our stud WR Webb is actually working on his second Masters.Yep...for the smart ones (AKA O-Linemen), you add in AP Credit & Early HS graduation...these kids will be finishing in 2 years. Schools without grad programs are already challenged to keep Student Athletes for their full years of eligibility & it’s going to get worse. I know FU’s limited grad offerings have been an issue. If I’m an AD, I’m finding a way to get my school to offer MS’s in Bitcoin Management, E-Sports Marketing, and DIE Consulting. That’ll keep ‘em down on the farm.

[PaladinNation]

Wofford doesn’t have any graduate school (as you know). Hard to keep a graduate not to graduate to stay. Best of luck to Storm and Tray. Will miss having one of the best names in college basketball with Storm Murphy. Shame Furman basketball is still 41 years without a March Madness appearance. Maybe Frank Selvy has some eligibility left.

Ironically after the Samford\Furman OT this past weekend...the only time Wofford beat Hatcher, was when he went for 2 in OT for the win, and they didn’t convert (Georgia Southern). He was going to go for 2 on Saturday if they scored.


Samford was gassed going into overtime - if I was Hatcher the only shot he had was going for two.

About whether Furman was lucky Saturday? I wouldn't call Furman lucky most of the whacky plays went Samford's way like the bounced off one receiver right into the hands of another Samford receiver catch - that was a lucky break for them. Miller taking a screen to the house outrunning the Samford D was a great play call and a very good athlete making a great play to tie the game.

In the end we see what we want to see…

[ElCid]

Who the heck knows any more. Trying to put a power power poll together is a fool's errand. Too many variables with coaches grooming players, watching injuries, etc.

The Citadel - 35
Western Carolina - 17
Dogs finally put 4 qtrs together.

Furman - 27
ETSU - 21
Furman is a bit off, like everyone else, but I think things start gelling.

Wofford - 20
Samford -31
It is really hard to believe that Wofford is 1-7 against Samford over the last 8 games. Wofford on the road with personal problems, Samford looking ok...Samford wins.

Mercer - 28
VMI - 24
I am going to say Mercer pulls this one out even though the Keydets are more than capable of winning. VMI is rolling, but the Cinderella story comes to an end. Hopefully, my pick is wrong, I like a good VMI. If I keep picking them to lose, maybe they will continue winning.

[paward]

Citadel
Furman
Wofford
Mercer

[FUBeAR]

Seriously, though...

Last Monday, early afternoon, Wofford Football Tweeted that they were slithering out of their game with ETSU.
3 Tweets from their Football account all last week, and none since Friday.
14 Tweets the week before they played @ Chatt.
1 ReTweet about Football from the Woffy Athletics account in the past week.

Other than no announcement that they are also backing out of their game at Samford this week, do we have any indication that they ARE planning to show up this week?

No articles. No press releases. Nothing. The last thing of any consequence we saw from them was 8 straight minutes of their Head Coach whining on his Coaches Show and trying to change the word “guideline” into “rule,” “requirement,” and “mandate” in order to push their program’s failure to prepare for / respond to adversity off on the SoCon.

Publicly, it does seem that they’ve shut it down.

...hang on...

They did publish Game Notes for Samford with 7 DLmen on the 2-Deep (1 of those is ‘rostered’ as a LB though) & 9 on the roster - 2 of those listed on their injury report as ‘out for the season.’ So, that’s a good sign...I guess.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/athletics.wofford.edu/documents/2021/3/8/Game_Four_SAM_notes_20.pdf

[OhioHen]

The Citadel
Furman
Samford
VMI

[SU DOG]

CFN Predictions:

SoCon FCS Spring Football Predictions, Game Previews: Week 4 (collegefootballnews.com) (https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/03/socon-fcs-spring-football-predictions-game-previews-week-4)

[kdinva]

ETSU 28; Furman 26
The Citadel 27, WCU 13
Samford 31; Wofford 21
VMI 27; Mercer 20

[walliver]

Interestingly, a lot of Wofford's struggles against Samford have come from poor offensive performance. There have been games where we seem to slow down their offense, but can't score points like every other team in the SoCon seems to do.

[FUBeAR]

This Week’s Winners...

CIT 49-7 - The Resistable Force vs. The Movable Object - Both Teams are a combined 0-16 in their most recent outings, sitting at 0-8 each. Spier has a something like a 12-year no-cut contract. If the bellhops lose to WCU, is Thompson still their Coach on Monday? WCU fans are ready to burn down the University to get rid of Spier, but CIT fans seem pleased to be 0-8 and to not have been above .500 in the SoCon in the 5 most recent calendar years. Interesting, huh?

Furman 27-10

Mercer 14-13 - gonna dovetail on the Hoops Team’s shutdown of the Keydets..and divine from that some way to score 1 more point than the Keydets

Samford 31-17


Rankings
1) VMI
2) Chatt
3) Furman
4) ETSU
5) Mercer
6) Samford
7) CIT
8) Teary-ers
9) WCU

Well, since Wofford Football published an article today about their scheduled game @ Samford & reinforced that by Tweeting a link to the article, at the risk of being PK Charlie Brown to Woffy’s Holder, Lucy Conklin Van Pelt (Charles Schultz hasn’t been cancelled yet, has he?), FUBeAR is going to risk adding the Teary-ers to his Power Ranking & Picks ... and scores projections for all games ... edited above

https://i.makeagif.com/media/2-02-2018/HCU0O8.gif

[FUBeAR]

Anyone have eyes on I-85 today & able to confirm the Teary-ers buses actually departed SparkleCity en route to Homewood, AL?

[kdinva]

Wow, one of Mercer's busses caught fire, while team was eating a meal in South Carolina. No reports of injuries or lost equipment.

Mercer football team bus catches fire in South Carolina | The State (https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/article249902968.html)

[ElCid]

Wow, one of Mercer's busses caught fire, while team was eating a meal in South Carolina. No reports of injuries or lost equipment.

Mercer football team bus catches fire in South Carolina | The State (https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/article249902968.html)

Wow. That's weird. Glad there wasn't any damage or injuries. Could have been bad if it happened on the highway instead the parking lot of a hog troth.

[FUBeAR]

Wow. That's weird. Glad there wasn't any damage or injuries. Could have been bad if it happened on the highway instead the parking lot of a hog troth.
Travel time from Charleston to Columbia?

Corps have a weekend pass this weekend?

Charleston to Cullowhee route go thru Cola, SC?

bellhops were pretty salty after the fanny-whippin’ they took in Maconga a couple of weeks ago.

They have a history of property destruction & attempted property destruction. Ask Pat Conroy (well...if you could)...he’ll back up FUBeAR on this assertion.

And...come to think of it....where was El Cid today?

[ElCid]

Travel time from Charleston to Columbia?

Corps have a weekend pass this weekend?

Charleston to Cullowhee route go thru Cola, SC?

bellhops were pretty salty after the fanny-whippin’ they took in Maconga a couple of weeks ago.

They have a history of property destruction & attempted property destruction. Ask Pat Conroy (well...if you could)...he’ll back up FUBeAR on this assertion.

And...come to think of it....where was El Cid today?

I was home...alone...SERIOUSLY? I know you are just funnin.

Did they get there ok? Maybe you need more reputable bus maintenance.

That's a pretty good haul. When I lived in WR I used to do that trip a lot to visit my folks about 30 miles north of Lexington. I think that may be close to the longest trip in the SOCON. Although Birmingham to Lexington is right there.

[ElCid]

Well, I was going to try and go to the game at WCU today, but they are restricting it to only two seats per party and I needed three. So instead I will hop in the Jeep and take my 91 year old dad on a rainy mountain ride today and swing by Cullowhee to at least see a couple plays over the fence and listen to the game over the radio. Going to be a wet one today, so maybe it's best I don't make my dad sit in the rain.

[FUBeAR]

Well, I was going to try and go to the game at WCU today, but they are restricting it to only two seats per party and I needed three. So instead I will hop in the Jeep and take my 91 year old dad on a rainy mountain ride today and swing by Cullowhee to at least see a couple plays over the fence and listen to the game over the radio. Going to be a wet one today, so maybe it's best I don't make my dad sit in the rain.
Rain? With the propensity of the bellhops to put the ball on the ground, I might have to revise my score projection.

Still think CIT will win. 9th time’s the charm, they say. That’s what they say, right?

Prolly best for Dad to be indoors today. Hook up that ESPN3/+ subscription, multiple TV’s & have a SoCon Watch-a-palooza!

That’s FUBeAR’s plan. Didn’t feel like making the trip to Jaycee, TN nor to LexVegas, VA. This will be my only “bye week” of the SoCon Spring season. Have been & will be (Lord & Gubmints willing) in some SoCon Stadia all other weeks.

[FUBeAR]

WCU fans should be extremely proud of their Team today.

bellhop fans should be apoplectic, but they won’t be. I’m sure CIT dominated the game in all 3 phases. Just ask ‘em.

[ElCid]

WCU fans should be extremely proud of their Team today.

bellhop fans should be apoplectic, but they won’t be. I’m sure CIT dominated the game in all 3 phases. Just ask ‘em.

Uh, no. We didn't play well. We are seriously young and inexperienced. Execution continues to be poor on O as a result. Plus we had 4 starters out on D which didn't help. WCU stabbed at that wound early and often.

The one bright spot may be it looks like we have a real bruiser as a BBack. Now if our O line can come together and up their blocking, he will be unstoppable.

[FUBeAR]

We are seriously young and inexperienced. Plus we had 4 starters out on D which didn't help. So, a normal Saturday for every FCS Team this Spring. Y’all tryin’ to out-whine the Teary-ers?

[The Cats]

I fairly certain we will win, but I am totally certain we will score a lot more on WCU than we did on Mercer or UTC.

Well, Citadel scored 28 on Mercer, and 24 on Chattanooga. So, how did that "totally certain we will score a lot more on WCU" thing go?

[FUBeAR]

Well, Citadel scored 28 on Mercer, and 24 on Chattanooga. So, how did that "totally certain we will score a lot more on WCU" thing go?
Get em!

[The Cats]

Surprise everyone..... since no one picked my Cats to win.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwY-8l9UcAEJ_ee?format=jpg&name=small


and for FUBeAR..... You must have actually been thinking of the Mercer game when you predicted this.... no ?


CIT 49-7 - The Resistable Force vs. The Movable Object - Both Teams are a combined 0-16 in their most recent outings, sitting at 0-8 each. Spier has a something like a 12-year no-cut contract. If the bellhops lose to WCU, is Thompson still their Coach on Monday? WCU fans are ready to burn down the University to get rid of Spier, but CIT fans seem pleased to be 0-8 and to not have been above .500 in the SoCon in the 5 most recent calendar years. Interesting, huh?

[FUBeAR]

Surprise everyone..... since no one picked by Cat to win.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EwY-8l9UcAEJ_ee?format=jpg&name=small


and for FUBeAR..... You must have actually been thinking of the Mercer game when you predicted this.... no ?Dude, I was livin’ & dyin’ as I was pulling for your Catamounts today!

Other than seeing Furman win another National Championship or Mercer make their 1st Playoff game, there is not a lot that could make this old man happier than seeing the bellhops lose 9 straight Football games (while they dominated each of those 9 losses in all 3 phases of the game...just ask ‘em).

I am so happy to be wrong with that prediction that I won’t even let your weird narcissistic perspective, that has you so deeply assured that FUBeAR only unfairly criticizes the Cantamounts, bother me this evening.

WOO HOO!!! GO CATS!!!

Give Spier another 5 year extension tonight before they turn the lights off on the scoreboard!

[The Cats]

Sometime, not always, I can appreciate your humor.

Not sure if you hate the Catamounts or the bell hops more?

[FUBeAR]

Sometime, not always, I can appreciate your humor.

Not sure if you hate the Catamounts or the bell hops more?I practice Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in my non-Furman & non-Mercer SoCon hatin’




...but my DNA was altered to REALLY hate the bellhops.


needed to edit this...

That said...FUBeAR does really love (almost) all of the kids on every SoCon Team. They really are fine examples of TRUE Student-Athletes and they play their rear-ends off every week...even the bellhop Players (until they graduate). The non-Furman & non-Mercer Coaches, Adminstrators, and Alums/Fans are the targets of FUBeAR’s HATE!

[ElCid]

Well, Citadel scored 28 on Mercer, and 24 on Chattanooga. So, how did that "totally certain we will score a lot more on WCU" thing go?

Obvious not too good. The O is still sluggish. The QB is timid and not thinking very well on his feet. He is one dimensional throwing the ball. The o-line is improving, but not consistent. And the play calling seems a bit uninspired. Result...lackluster drives. We are getting yards, but not stringing it together successfully. Eh, they are getting reps in what is an asterisked season.

[The Cats]

Obvious not too good. The O is still sluggish. The QB is timid and not thinking very well on his feet. He is one dimensional throwing the ball. The o-line is improving, but not consistent. And the play calling seems a bit uninspired. Result...lackluster drives. We are getting yards, but not stringing it together successfully. Eh, they are getting reps in what is an asterisked season.

The Bulldogs had a hellva' 3d quarter. Ate up almost the entire quarter in two drives that the Cats could not stop, only problem was you only came away with 8 points.

[FUBeAR]

The Bulldogs had a hellva' 3d quarter. Ate up almost the entire quarter in two drives that the Cats could not stop, only problem was you only came away with 8 points.
Don’t worry - they’ll be talking about that 3rd Quarter for the next 100 years. Prolly build a monument to it on campus somewhere.

TOTAL DOMINATION...It’s just what (they’re convinced) they do.

[ElCid]

The Bulldogs had a hellva' 3d quarter. Ate up almost the entire quarter in two drives that the Cats could not stop, only problem was you only came away with 8 points.

Yeah,...one quarter. Inconsistency!!! They have had three, spring, hellava third quarters. Not good enough.

[The Cats]

Don’t worry - they’ll be talking about that 3rd Quarter for the next 100 years. Prolly build a monument to it on campus somewhere.

TOTAL DOMINATION...It’s just what (they’re convinced) they do.

It's getting scary, when I start laughing at your humor. But, that was a good one.

Even funnier because Dan Gibson, the analyst on the ESPN+ feed, made the comment several times during the game, "It's just what they do" when talking about their triple option run game.

[SU DOG]

CONGRATS Catamounts!

[The Cats]

CONGRATS Catamounts!

Back at you for your annual win over the Terriers.....

[FUBeAR]

Back at you for you annual win over the Terriers.....
Jeez...you 2 should get a room