SoCon 2021 Predictions and Power Rankings - Week 8

[FUBeAR]

Away
Home
Time
Narrated Guesses


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1:00P
TBD


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30Western Carolina (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
2:00P
TBD


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30Furman (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
2:00P
TBD


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wofford.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
6:00P
TBD



Not a winning picking performance last week. .500 is not the way in the Prediculation game! Knew Chatt/ETSU would be close…FUBeAR’s coin landed on the wrong side, apparently, when he picked that game. Will have to watch replay, but if I’m reading the stats right, ETSU tried a bit harder to prove they have a passing game than Chatt did. Probably the difference. We’ll see. FU/CIT was about as FUBeAR prediculated. You would think the ‘Dins woulda been nice enough to score just 1 more TD to make that one a perfect projection. Got Sammy/Woffy right, but Woffy cheated & used a new QB (wonder how they thought of that?) and made it a bit closer than prediculated. VMI/Mercer - who the fork saw that comin’? Not FUBeAR…and none of y’all either…if you’re being honest.

Power Ranking - Big Shakeup

1) Furman - loss to Mercer further in rear view, nice test upcoming
2) VMI - loss to CIT further in rear view, Dominant Mercer win & Chatt win move Keydets up…a lot
3) Chattanooga - think they are all the way back from VMI’s derailment. Not yet. A lot more to prove
4) ETSU - come back this week in GVL or watch dream season slip away?
5) Mercer - gotta tumble after that debacle. Hopefully, the Bears find a good Vet this week & cure whatever they had Saturday afternoon. It was a BAD case of it.
6) Samford - still better than even their fans think they are / still in the mix


7) Once a Citadel - hard to field a winning team that is undermanned AND being led to ceaselessly whine about kickoff times & penalties (that were correct calls).
8) WCU - just may find that a week’s rest & an opponent that just went thru a tough, physical game, just the right combination to get Coach Bell his 1st win.
9) Wofford - QB change & another loss doesn’t lift these beaten pups

[bonarae]

Chatty
WCU
ETSU - can they rebound in time?
Mercer

[Mocs123]

Picks:
Chattanooga – 31 – The Mocs go down to Birmingham and steal a win.
Samford - 27

Western Carolina 24
The Citadel 28 – Western’s offense is good, but the Bulldogs keep them on the sidelines all afternoon.

ETSU – 24 – I could see this game going either way, but the Bucs are mad, so they take this one in a close game.
Furman - 21

Wofford - 21
Mercer – 27 – Chronic rights the ship this week and they start sharpening the pitchforks in Spartanburg.

Power Rankings:

1.) Furman (+2)
2.) VMI (+2)
3.) Chattanooga (+2)
4.) ETSU (-3)
5.) Mercer (-3)
6.) Samford (0)
7.) The Citadel (0)
8.) Wofford (0)
9.) Western Carolina (0)


Division 1 Wins Possible:
ETSU – 9
Furman -9
VMI – 9
Chattanooga – 8
Mercer – 7
Samford – 7
The Citadel – 6 - Out
Wofford – 5 - Out
Western Carolina - 5 – Out

SoCon Wins Possible:
ETSU – 7
Mercer – 7
Chattanooga – 7
Furman – 7
VMI -7
The Citadel – 5
Samford – 6
Wofford – 4
Western Carolina - 5

[Mocs123]

Will have to watch replay, but if I’m reading the stats right, ETSU tried a bit harder to prove they have a passing game than Chatt did. Probably the difference. We’ll see.

It was a really windy day in Chattanooga and neither team passed very much. At one point in the 3rd QTR I realized that both teams combined had 157 yards passing. ETSU had to pass late in the game down two scores and no timeouts, much of that was against a semi "prevent" type defense. The fact that they almost had to pass let our linemen pin their ears back and go after the QB - hence the 5 sacks by Maxwell (a school record).

I really thought the Mocs and Bucs were teams built with a similar mold - Good offensive lines, two great running backs each, and solid defense. I thought we were pretty evenly matched offensively and ETSU had the upper hand with special teams, but our defense is what made the difference in the game.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts if you watch the replay.

[The Cats]

This week's winners

Samford
Western
ETSU
Mercer


Power Rankings
(https://catamountsportsblog.blogspot.com/2021/10/2021-socon-football-power-rankings_18.html)

[FUBeAR]

It was a really windy day in Chattanooga and neither team passed very much. At one point in the 3rd QTR I realized that both teams combined had 157 yards passing. ETSU had to pass late in the game down two scores and no timeouts, much of that was against a semi "prevent" type defense. The fact that they almost had to pass let our linemen pin their ears back and go after the QB - hence the 5 sacks by Maxwell (a school record).

I really thought the Mocs and Bucs were teams built with a similar mold - Good offensive lines, two great running backs each, and solid defense. I thought we were pretty evenly matched offensively and ETSU had the upper hand with special teams, but our defense is what made the difference in the game.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts if you watch the replay.It was a BIG day & night @ FU honoring Coach Sheridan for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame…and a night game (perhaps you could hear the whining about that emanating from Charleston, SC)…so FUBeAR watched no other SoCon games…and because of so many former Teammates being at FU, barely watched that game. So…gotta lotta ball to watch in the next few nights.

Anyway - here are the stats I saw that informed my SWAG / hypothesis that Playcalling would be / was the difference in this game…



ETS PASSING
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT


Riddell,Tyler (https://www.etsubucs.com/football/roster/2021-22/11679/tyler-riddell/)
17/29
182
10.7
1
1


TOTALS
17/29
182
10.7
1
1




ETS RUSHING
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG


Saylors,Jacob (https://www.etsubucs.com/football/roster/2021-22/11685/jacob-saylors/)
13
121
9.3
1
54


Holmes,Quay (https://www.etsubucs.com/football/roster/2021-22/11677/quay-holmes/)
16
65
4.1
0
19


Riddell,Tyler (https://www.etsubucs.com/football/roster/2021-22/11679/tyler-riddell/)
8
-26
-3.3
0
8


TOTALS (RB’s only)
29
186
6.4
1
54



So…figure QB’s 8 rushes were gonna be attempted passes and I surmise ETSU wanted to throw the ball 37 times…and wanted to give it to their 2 great RB’s 29 times. Wanted to pass 56% of the time. Eso es no bueno por el Bucco’s! 37 x 6.4 = 237. 237-182 = 55 yards = 5 more 1st downs = ~6 minutes additional ToP = 3 fewer turnovers. I.e. every pass play ETSU called put one more nail in their coffin toward defeat.


…AND…



UTC PASSING
C/ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
INT


Copeland,Cole
8/14
82
10.3
0
1


TOTALS
8/14
82
10.3
0
1




UTC RUSHING
CAR
YDS
AVG
TD
LG


Price,Tyrell
14
102
7.3
2
58


Ford,Ailym
14
95
6.8
1
49


Copeland,Cole
5
18
3.6
0
12


Appleberry,Gino
2
17
8.5
0
12


TOTALS (RB’s only)
30
214
7.1
3
58


Using same SWAG method….Mocs wanted to pass 19 times & give it to 1 of their 3 excellent RB’s 30 times. 39% wanting to pass. Still too high for the Mocs in FUBeAR’s opinion, but a far sight better than 56%.

Pretty sure FUBeAR said before the game that the Team that passes/wants to pass the fewer number of times will win this game. I guess Coach Sanders’ case of Passing Envy is more pronounced than Coaches Wright’s/Pizzo’s is.


BTW - LOVE your Power Rankings. Don’t think FUBeAR’s have ever been exactly the same as another poster’s. Guess I’ll need to go re-think mine now. Oops…just noticed you have Woffy above WCU, so all good. Uniqueness remains intact.

[Mocs123]

ETSU was forced to throw when they were down 21-10 with 6 minutes left and no timeouts. That virtually eliminated their two great backs, and put everything on a freshman QB. We were able to get pressure with 3-4 guys and drop everyone else into coverage. We got a PI call on 4th and forever (25+) and then another PI call, and then they had a wideout make a great play. to get their final TD.

ETSU was a good football team. I thought both backs were excellent, I thought their O-Line was really good and moved people, and their D was solid.

As for having Wofford above Western, I only have the Terriers there as they have some wins, but the trajectory of the Terriers and the Catamounts appear to be going in opposite directions.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

I was 2-2 this past week. Celebrated ETSU's first loss by going to Crow-Fil-A for supper and came back for seconds when Big Brother lost (saw a number of Big Brother fans there when I came back). This is what I have after this week:

1) VMI - potentially has the inside track to repeat
2) Chattanooga - proved to the whole wide world (including me) that they're notta bunch of quittas
3) East Tennessee State - fell short of avenging being left at the altar
4) Furman - defended their house very well
5) Mercer - this the beginning of the sophomore slump for Cronic
6) Samford - graded their win as meh
7) A Citadel - is this team beginning to fall apart
8) Wofford - another close loss for Con Man Conklin
9) Western Carolina - Resting up for their trip to Charleston

This Week's Games
ETSU @ Furman (Game of the Week) - Bucs win in Greenville for the first time since their return
Chattanooga @ Samford - Mocs try to keep their playoff hopes alive
Western Carolina @ A Citadel (Upset Special of the Week) - Catamounts shock everyone in Chuckytown
Wofford @ Mercer - Bears maul the ever living daylights out of the Terriers

[FUBeAR]

Mauling while slumping seems like a difficult trick.

[Mocs123]

Perhaps my fellow Tennessean is thinking that Conklin will be too busy putting the finishing touches on his resume to beat an angry Bear even if he is slumping?

[FUBeAR]

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a political post nor a post about FBS Football. The purpose of this post is to discuss/inspire discussion (if desired) regarding anyone’s knowledge, thoughts, and / or opinions as to if and how this topic could impact any SoCon Football programs this season. Please contain any responses to this post within this discussion framework. No political opinions or even personal opinions around the ‘right/wrong’ of the issue are appropriate for this discussion. There is an entire Politics Sub-Forum on this board where you can express those kinds of thoughts/opinions to your heart’s content. NOT HERE. Let’s show the world (and Ursus) that SoCon peeps can rationally discuss a relevant FCS Football topic that has political overtones without devolving into picking sides & waving our side’s flag…so to speak.

OK…so…this happened…

https://twitter.com/sinow/status/1450248115378814976

Washington State Head Coach & 4 Assistant Coaches terminated.

Anyone foresee anything like this happening within any SoCon Programs or any other FCS Programs?

I can speak about Furman…
1) I recently viewed FU’s Covid policy on the website. Furman does not have an Employee Vaccination Mandate and forbids the Community from asking anyone else about their vaccination status & treating anyone any differently based upon their vaccination status.
2) Coach Hendrix said before the season that the entire Staff & Support Staff were fully vaccinated. He also said all but a very few Players were fully vaccinated and he thought those few were going to get fully vaccinated before the season began.

Thus, I do not foresee any similar issues to the WSU situation impacting Furman Football this season, even if the state of South Carolina or the US were able to & did enact an enforceable mandate for all citizens or for citizens in certain classes (such as “college students”)/jobs that would include those within the Football program.

I can partially comment about Mercer…
1) Mercer does not have a Vaccine Mandate except for this: “Students in health science programs with clinical experiences are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19.”
2) FUBeAR has no idea about the vaccination status of any of Mercer Football’s Coaches or Staff.

Thus, I do not foresee any similar issues to the WSU situation impacting Mercer Football this season, though, without some knowledge of the vax status of the staff (and/or of any Football Players that are also in health science programs with clinical experiences) I can’t be certain, as school, state, and federal policies/laws can change.

[Milktruck74]

Pretty difficult to discuss without discussing the politics involved. Not making a right or wrong statement, It has to be mentioned to look at the leadership of the states inside the SoCon footprint, administrations with an R beside their name tend to be more permissive and those with a D tend to be more strict to adhere to the reccommendations...so with that said, the only schools that may see an issue are WCU and VMI. However, VMI played while the HS programs in their state were shut down, so there is that....

I work in a field that tends to lean towards not being vaccinated, we had a plant recently that said they would require it to work inside after 12/1...which sent us into a spin trying to find enough labor to complete an upcoming project....I could foresee some mandates by the states to require only vaccinated participants in the facilities...meaning if your All American QB isn't up to date, he doesn't make the trip!!!

[FUBeAR]

Pretty difficult to discuss without discussing the politics involved. Not making a right or wrong statement, It has to be mentioned to look at the leadership of the states inside the SoCon footprint, administrations with an R beside their name tend to be more permissive and those with a D tend to be more strict to adhere to the reccommendations...so with that said, the only schools that may see an issue are WCU and VMI. However, VMI played while the HS programs in their state were shut down, so there is that....

I work in a field that tends to lean towards not being vaccinated, we had a plant recently that said they would require it to work inside after 12/1...which sent us into a spin trying to find enough labor to complete an upcoming project....I could foresee some mandates by the states to require only vaccinated participants in the facilities...meaning if your All American QB isn't up to date, he doesn't make the trip!!!
FUBeAR thinks you did a fine job of avoiding the ‘politics.’ Pretty well ‘settled science’ regarding expected tendencies depending on the party of the individual residing in the Gov’s crib.

So…you’re opinion is that the state school in SC (CIT) and the state schools in TN (ETSU & UTC) are unlikely to see any similar situation (to WSU) within their programs. But VMI & WCU might be at some risk. Correct?

Not gonna research each school’s / state’s Covid polices, but wondering if our WCU & VMI fans know about their schools’ policies / Football staffs’ statuses.

Also - Samford & Wofford, while in AL & SC (probably less likely to have mandates - although I think AL was more ‘strict’ with some other Covid public health actions than SC, GA, & TN), as private schools they may have their own unique policies - as Furman & Mercer do. Wonder if any of our bullpups & ankle-biter fans have any knowledge / thoughts / opinions to share?

[SU DOG]

Samford stated in the summer that vaccinations were strongly recommended, but that vaccinations were NOT required. I talked to one football player who said that he would not get the vaccination because of his existing blood clot issues. I have no idea about the numbers for our athletes, but the following link provides much info for the SU policies, specifically the FAQs section.
COVID-19 Response | Samford University (https://www.samford.edu/emergency/information/coronavirus/)

[kdinva]

VMI fans know about their schools’ policies / Football staffs’ statuses.


VMI required to have vaccine or the usual "alternatives"...

COVID-19 Vaccine Protocols - Health and Safety - Virginia Military Institute (vmi.edu) (https://www.vmi.edu/safereturn/)

[FUBeAR]

VMI required to have vaccine or the usual "alternatives"...

COVID-19 Vaccine Protocols - Health and Safety - Virginia Military Institute (vmi.edu) (https://www.vmi.edu/safereturn/)saw this in the FAQ’s…

”Are VMI faculty and staff required to get the COVID-19 vaccination? VMI faculty and staff are highly encouraged to get the COVID-19 vaccination.”

so…just Cadets req’d & all have already ‘cleared’ or they wouldn’t be there and no worries about Coaches / Staff since not req’d…if no change in state/federal mandates.

[Milktruck74]

This is an interesting discussion that has remained respectful and on track (a far cry from most any other post about covid19 in the last 12 months), however it should probably have its own thread. I think as a society we are about to get comfortable again and the rug will be pulled out from under us again. The rhetoric from both sides will ramp back up soon. Also, I think we will see more of an issue with this in the Basketball season than FB...Inside vs outside, Seasonal increase in illness, beginning of a 12 month midterm election cycle...and that cycle will lead into Fall 22 for FB.

Again, trying not to politicize this post or discussion, but this entire thing is a political hot potato.

[caribbeanhen]

What’s going on with Coach Bell?

winless

[FUBeAR]

What’s going on with Coach Bell?

winlessMaybe he needs to hire this guy https://nationworldnews.com/northville-boys-football-coach-clapper-claims-250th-career-win/ in order to RING up a win. :D

[Milktruck74]

What’s going on with Coach Bell?

winless

He has pulled in talented kids, but look where he is mostly pulling them from... D2 Tusculum and Valdosta state (yes there are plenty of FBS and FCS kids scattered in the mix, but the bulk are D2/Jucos). Those kids are competitors and are use to winning where they came from, and he needs to change the culture to move away from one of complacency in into one that expects to win....however, can a kid overcome D2 talent (speed and size) with heart? I get what he is trying to do there, but it'll be a long slow process. Repairing damaged culture take a while, but he can do it.

[kdinva]

he needs to change the culture to move away from one of complacency in into one that expects to win.....

it takes the right coaching staff, schemes, and patience to start winning.....see Lexington.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

it takes the right coaching staff, schemes, and patience to start winning.....see Lexington.

(Big Brother hat on) For a moment there, I thought you meant Lexington, Kenturkey. But I agree, VMI is no longer a bunch of slouches.

[FUBeAR]

(Big Brother hat on) For a moment there, I thought you meant Lexington, Kenturkey. But I agree, VMI is no longer a bunch of slouches.

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

[Mocs123]

What’s going on with Coach Bell?

winless

He inherited a mess and that takes time to fix. If you look at their record, they are being competitive (Oklahoma and perhaps Chattanooga excluded) but they were within one score of a pretty good EKU team and a dangerous Samford team. They lost to Mercer, who's looked really good this year except against VMI by 10. Right now he's trying to change the culture of the program and the institution, and he's trying to bring in quality players too.

Look at how long it took Wachenheim at VMI to turn that program around. It was year five before you saw his turnaround and now he has the Keydets playing really good football. VMI had a similar history of being a really bad program. It takes time and I think Bell is a good coach - he'll get there if WCU provides him some resources.

[Milktruck74]

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a political post nor a post about FBS Football. The purpose of this post is to discuss/inspire discussion (if desired) regarding anyone’s knowledge, thoughts, and / or opinions as to if and how this topic could impact any SoCon Football programs this season. Please contain any responses to this post within this discussion framework. No political opinions or even personal opinions around the ‘right/wrong’ of the issue are appropriate for this discussion. There is an entire Politics Sub-Forum on this board where you can express those kinds of thoughts/opinions to your heart’s content. NOT HERE. Let’s show the world (and Ursus) that SoCon peeps can rationally discuss a relevant FCS Football topic that has political overtones without devolving into picking sides & waving our side’s flag…so to speak.

OK…so…this happened…

https://twitter.com/sinow/status/1450248115378814976

Washington State Head Coach & 4 Assistant Coaches terminated.

Anyone foresee anything like this happening within any SoCon Programs or any other FCS Programs?

I can speak about Furman…
1) I recently viewed FU’s Covid policy on the website. Furman does not have an Employee Vaccination Mandate and forbids the Community from asking anyone else about their vaccination status & treating anyone any differently based upon their vaccination status.
2) Coach Hendrix said before the season that the entire Staff & Support Staff were fully vaccinated. He also said all but a very few Players were fully vaccinated and he thought those few were going to get fully vaccinated before the season began.

Thus, I do not foresee any similar issues to the WSU situation impacting Furman Football this season, even if the state of South Carolina or the US were able to & did enact an enforceable mandate for all citizens or for citizens in certain classes (such as “college students”)/jobs that would include those within the Football program.

I can partially comment about Mercer…
1) Mercer does not have a Vaccine Mandate except for this: “Students in health science programs with clinical experiences are required to be vaccinated for COVID-19.”
2) FUBeAR has no idea about the vaccination status of any of Mercer Football’s Coaches or Staff.

Thus, I do not foresee any similar issues to the WSU situation impacting Mercer Football this season, though, without some knowledge of the vax status of the staff (and/or of any Football Players that are also in health science programs with clinical experiences) I can’t be certain, as school, state, and federal policies/laws can change.


So to Revisit this....any staffs that may be holding out (and at odds with the administration's directives on vaxing)?

As far as I know, the Mocs staff are all fully Vaxed!!!!

[kdinva]

UTC 34; Samford 30
ETSU 31; Furman 24
The Citadel 27; WCU 23
Mercer 31; Wofford 20

[FUBeAR]

Ugh…I feel like we know a good bit about all 9 Teams now, but we kinda see some strengths & some weaknesses in all of them, so it’s making picking challenging - gotta think about match-ups, recent performance, injuries, personnel changes, etc. Hence, the new “Narrated Guesses Header.”

Diving in…the shallow end…headfirst…


Away
Home
Time
Narrated Guesses


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1:00P
Mocs had a war last week & bullpups O took the 2nd half off of their game with Woffy. Letdown for Chatt? Nah…don’t see it. HomewoodHounds keep Welch upright long enough to avoid the MaxwellMash on a few occasions to find some Chatt DB’s out of position, but Mocks ground game is a freight train & sammy’s run D is Nell Fenwick.

Chattanooga 35 - Samford 24


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30Western Carolina (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
2:00P
Hopefully for CIT’s HC, the 2 PM kickoff time is exactly perfect to suit his and his Team’s biorhythms…and, hopefully, he’s had an opportunity to instruct the SoCon Officials which penalties they are allowed to correctly call on the bellhops, at what point in the game, and which bellhop illegal acts they must ignore, at what point in the game, to earn his respect. Despite ‘winning’ “every single statistical category” (except the score)…and the non-statistical category of making plays when they mattered, the SamsoniteSlingers took a physical beating last week, while the Cats rested & rehabbed in the cool invigorating mountain air. WCU comes into the half a-stadium (like they had in Cullowhee in the 80’s) healed up and shocks a wounded, whining, downcast bellhop squad. Coach Bell gets the Gatorade bath…

WCU 27 - Once of a Citadellian Nature 21


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30Furman (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
2:00P
Furman’s run D ain’t gonna roll over. They will make you earn it & earn it when it matters (which ain’t on some stats sheet). That presents a DIE-lemma for the LandShipSailors. IF FU can make them think they need to throw it, game over…as long as the ‘Dins lock down WR Hussey. ETSU’s D will also present a challenge to FU’s O, but that is looking better now…and FUBeAR thinks this week will be both a Test & Passing w/Flying Colors for FU’s young QB. In an old-fashioned SoCon SlobberKnocker, the men in Purple prevail

Furman 21 - ETSU 20


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wofford.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
6:00P
Glad this one is a night game. If the Mercer crew that failed to show up to play Football vs. the Keydets last week, takes the field, FUBeAR recommends a lighting malfunction ‘opt out’ (The Teary-ers know about that) and a “No Contest” outcome. Before last week, FUBeAR would have projected this game as 45-7 Bears, but last week happened…for both Teams. Woffy is better with their FR QB, but only enough to slow down the unraveling of the program. VMI whupped the Bears hindquarters from pillar to post…no doubt about that…BUT, they really did have everything that can go wrong, go BAD-WRONG last week. Cannot imagine that happening again. FUBeAR doesn’t see the Mercer D Coaches running the same scheme (forgot to turn the page on their Samford game plan, apparently) against Woffy that they tried, with craptastic results, to run against VMI. 4 or 5 in the box vs. 7 es no bueno! If they do, Woffy’s good RB’s will ROMP. Also, think Mercer’s fixes some of the O issues they had and Bears win a way-too-close one.

Mercer 31 - Wofford 24



Power Ranking - Big Shakeup

1) Furman - loss to Mercer further in rear view, nice test upcoming
2) VMI - loss to CIT further in rear view, Dominant Mercer win & Chatt win move Keydets up…a lot
3) Chattanooga - think they are all the way back from VMI’s derailment. Not yet. A lot more to prove
4) ETSU - come back this week in GVL or watch dream season slip away?
5) Mercer - gotta tumble after that debacle. Hopefully, the Bears find a good Vet this week & cure whatever they had Saturday afternoon. It was a BAD case of it.
6) Samford - still better than even their fans think they are / still in the mix


7) Once a Citadel - hard to field a winning team that is undermanned AND being led to ceaselessly whine about kickoff times & penalties (that were correct calls).
8) WCU - just may find that a week’s rest & an opponent that just went thru a tough, physical game, just the right combination to get Coach Bell his 1st win.
9) Wofford - QB change & another loss doesn’t lift these beaten pups

[ElCid]

Power Rankings:


1.) ETSU – I’m still going to put them here only because of overall consistency, nobody else is close in that regard
2.) VMI – Wow, coming on strong; rumors of their being Cinderella for one season are greatly exaggerated
3.) Chattanooga – Solid team, as I’ve said all year, but they have issues keeping it together week in and week out
4.) Furman – They seem to have an identity issue
5.) Mercer – Suffered an epic beat down, it happens occasionally, but were they a bit overrated?
6.) Samford – Not bad, not good, just Samford
7.) The Citadel – Suffering some consistency issues on O
8.) Wofford – another team that bounces between brilliance and mediocrity depending on the week, or which half of a game
9.) Western Carolina – painful process for them, but they are still not terrible




Picks:


WCU @ The Citadel – WCU has a fairly good Offense; but it will all hinge on the Dogs Offense; If they get 35+ minutes of possession, they probably win; it will be interesting to see how the WCU defense matches up and how the Bulldogs execute - 41-33


ETSU @ Furman – the last three games have been one score affairs; it will kind of depend on how ETSU responds; I think their Defense is pretty good and Furman is hit or miss on O and they didn’t exactly pile on the yards last week; I’m looking for ETSU to bounce back nicely – 34-23


Wofford @ Mercer – This is another instance of seeing if a team can bounce back; Mercer was embarrassed last week; I think they put it back together and make all the adjustments they need to overcome Wofford at home although Wofford has a habit of hanging around, just not winning lately - 28-21


Chattanooga at Samford – With how Chatty has played this year at times, and how Samford plays all the time for the last few years, who the hell knows; so I predict Samford goes up by 28, Chatty comes back to go up by three, and Samford ties it with 00 on the clock and they play 10 OTs where neither scores so they call it a tie and go home; each team has blown leads they had no business blowing; both are basically good teams; seriously, Chattanooga has taken the last 6 so I’ll go with them - 31-28

[ElCid]

7) The Citadel - hard to field a winning team that is undermanned AND being led to ceaselessly whine about kickoff times & penalties (that were correct calls).



That it is a foul was never in question. Just the judgement call made. The exact verbiage is here:

ARTICLE 7.
[...]
c. It is illegal for any player to be clearly out of bounds when he initiates a block against an opponent who is out of bounds. The spot of the foul is where the blocker crosses the sideline in going out of bounds.

The issue was always whether he was clearly out of bounds when he INITIATED the block. It is a judgment call certainly and the video did not get the entire blocking action from start to finish, just the finish. It only showed the later half when our blocker was right on the sideline. He was not "clearly" out of bounds the entire time.

[FUBeAR]

That it is a foul was never in question. Just the judgement call made. The exact verbiage is here:

ARTICLE 7.
[...]
c. It is illegal for any player to be clearly out of bounds when he initiates a block against an opponent who is out of bounds. The spot of the foul is where the blocker crosses the sideline in going out of bounds.

The issue was always whether he was clearly out of bounds when he INITIATED the block. It is a judgment call certainly and the video did not get the entire blocking action from start to finish, just the finish. It only showed the later half when our blocker was right on the sideline. He was not "clearly" out of bounds the entire time.

First of all, that the rule was “never in question” is not true. It was obvious from his manic post-game interview that CIT’s HC had no idea that this rule existed. The ESPN replay broadcast does not provide us ‘outsiders’ with 100% perfect confirmation of the call that was made. That is true. It looked reasonable to assume the call was correct, but not 100% verifiable.

But, as has been widely reported in the Charleston media, the whining continued after the game and the SoCon was asked to review the play…not to confirm the rule; that takes a 30 second Google search. To review the play, the SoCon would have had access to all ESPN views (same as replay officials have - not just the broadcast view) AND they would have had access to both Furman’s & CIT’s videos - usually a wide sideline, a tight sideline, and an End Zone view. The SoCon Director of Officials confirmed the call was correct and advised The Citadel of such. Yet, the whining continued over the 1st half of the HC’s Show released on Wed. of this week…without, of course, mentioning the Director of SoCon Officials’ prior-to-taping confirmation that the call was made correctly and that had been communicated to the, apparently, hearing challenged HC of the bellhops.

If you want to also confirm that he must be vision-challenged, go watch that ESPN replay again and go to the play (next CIT possession, 1st play) that CIT’s WR, #22, was called for blocking FU’s #1 in the back. The foul was plainly obvious to anyone watching the game, except, apparently, CIT’s HC. The foul occurred right in front of him about 3 yards from the sideline…and you can watch him start to go ballistic on the Official who, again, correctly called the penalty.

Neither of these plays/penalties lost the game for CIT. The game was lost because CIT could not convert on 4th & short 4x (therefore piling up a bunch of meaningless yards - useful only for spewing copious amounts of self-congratulation). Missing 2 makeable FG’s also added to the meaningless yards total, but resulted in ZERO POINTS. Essentially, those are 6 ADDITIONAL turnovers. One was the last play of the half…so we’ll call it 5. How many games can you recall CIT (or any Team) winning when they had 8 TURNOVERS? Finally, CIT lost because their well-rested Defense could not stop Furman’s Offense, playing without their best & All SoCon RB the entire game, from smashing the ball between the tackles 7 straight plays, at about 5 yds a clip, late in the 4th quarter, to score the game-clinching TD.

Also, CIT’s HC would do well to learn (or remember) that 1 running play for 90 yards + 6 points is worth exactly 6 points more (7 really) than 22 4.5 yard running plays for 99 yards and ZERO POINTS. So, loser-bragging about #of plays, time of possession, and total yards after a double-digit loss is just embarrassing… to most, um, normal people.

[caribbeanhen]

He has pulled in talented kids, but look where he is mostly pulling them from... D2 Tusculum and Valdosta state (yes there are plenty of FBS and FCS kids scattered in the mix, but the bulk are D2/Jucos). Those kids are competitors and are use to winning where they came from, and he needs to change the culture to move away from one of complacency in into one that expects to win....however, can a kid overcome D2 talent (speed and size) with heart? I get what he is trying to do there, but it'll be a long slow process. Repairing damaged culture take a while, but he can do it.

And maybe get some players that can play defense

[Mocs123]

And maybe get some players that can play defense

I'm interested to see how this plays out. Judging from my experience with Mocs Air Raid offense of the Donnie Kirkpatrick era and Samford's experience with the Chris Hatcher, I've just about convinced myself that it is not a lack of talented players on defense, or even inept coaching or planning, but more a consequence of that style of offense. That style of offense will almost always lead to the defense being on the field for a long time. Good series for that style of offense is a quick score, and a bad series is a very quick 3 and out. The defense gets gassed. The defense also doesn't practice against big bruising backs and smashmouth type football either. I'm just not sure you will ever see a defense from that style team be a top tier defense - they are always going to give up some yards/points, but the plan is for the offense to score so many points it doesn't matter.

[SU DOG]

I'm interested to see how this plays out. Judging from my experience with Mocs Air Raid offense of the Donnie Kirkpatrick era and Samford's experience with the Chris Hatcher, I've just about convinced myself that it is not a lack of talented players on defense, or even inept coaching or planning, but more a consequence of that style of offense. That style of offense will almost always lead to the defense being on the field for a long time. Good series for that style of offense is a quick score, and a bad series is a very quick 3 and out. The defense gets gassed. The defense also doesn't practice against big bruising backs and smashmouth type football either. I'm just not sure you will ever see a defense from that style team be a top tier defense - they are always going to give up some yards/points, but the plan is for the offense to score so many points it doesn't matter.

You sure you aren't quoting from my posts on the Samford Board? LOL! Yep, I totally agree with your assessment of this type of offense, and you have done a good job of describing the cons of it in this post.

[ElCid]

First of all, that the rule was “never in question” is not true. It was obvious from his manic post-game interview that CIT’s HC had no idea that this rule existed. The ESPN replay broadcast does not provide us ‘outsiders’ with 100% perfect confirmation of the call that was made. That is true. It looked reasonable to assume the call was correct, but not 100% verifiable.

But, as has been widely reported in the Charleston media, the whining continued after the game and the SoCon was asked to review the play…not to confirm the rule; that takes a 30 second Google search. To review the play, the SoCon would have had access to all ESPN views (same as replay officials have - not just the broadcast view) AND they would have had access to both Furman’s & CIT’s videos - usually a wide sideline, a tight sideline, and an End Zone view. The SoCon Director of Officials confirmed the call was correct and advised The Citadel of such. Yet, the whining continued over the 1st half of the HC’s Show released on Wed. of this week…without, of course, mentioning the Director of SoCon Officials’ prior-to-taping confirmation that the call was made correctly and that had been communicated to the, apparently, hearing challenged HC of the bellhops.

If you want to also confirm that he must be vision-challenged, go watch that ESPN replay again and go to the play (next CIT possession, 1st play) that CIT’s WR, #22, was called for blocking FU’s #1 in the back. The foul was plainly obvious to anyone watching the game, except, apparently, CIT’s HC. The foul occurred right in front of him about 3 yards from the sideline…and you can watch him start to go ballistic on the Official who, again, correctly called the penalty.

Neither of these plays/penalties lost the game for CIT. The game was lost because CIT could not convert on 4th & short 4x (therefore piling up a bunch of meaningless yards - useful only for spewing copious amounts of self-congratulation). Missing 2 makeable FG’s also added to the meaningless yards total, but resulted in ZERO POINTS. Essentially, those are 6 ADDITIONAL turnovers. One was the last play of the half…so we’ll call it 5. How many games can you recall CIT (or any Team) winning when they had 8 TURNOVERS? Finally, CIT lost because their well-rested Defense could not stop Furman’s Offense, playing without their best & All SoCon RB the entire game, from smashing the ball between the tackles 7 straight plays, at about 5 yds a clip, late in the 4th quarter, to score the game-clinching TD.

Also, CIT’s HC would do well to learn (or remember) that 1 running play for 90 yards + 6 points is worth exactly 6 points more (7 really) than 22 4.5 yard running plays for 99 yards and ZERO POINTS. So, loser-bragging about #of plays, time of possession, and total yards after a double-digit loss is just embarrassing… to most, um, normal people.


That's a lot of words to say nothing.

[SU DOG]

I think it says a LOTS about our defense.

[Mocs123]

You sure you aren't quoting from my posts on the Samford Board? LOL! Yep, I totally agree with your assessment of this type of offense, and you have done a good job of describing the cons of it in this post.

No admittedly Samford does a lot better job with it than we did during the Mocs' Air Raid days but I remember thinking how can we score 50 points in a game and lose? At the time, I thought the solution was to get a good defensive coordinator, but in retrospect, I think our offensive scheme dictated our defensive success (or lack thereof) in many ways. The problem is when things go bad on offense, like 3 and out's, it happens very quickly and it makes for a LONG day for the defensive players and staff.

Samford is a dangerous and talented team - and one I'm concerned about on Saturday as I think when the offense clicks, the Bulldogs can beat anyone in the SoCon, and when it doesn't they can be beat by anyone in the SoCon. Consistency is Samford's problem.

[FUBeAR]

That's a lot of words to say nothing.Maybe if you read them in CIT’s HC’s whine-soaked voice, they will be gospel to you.

[SU DOG]

I think it says a LOTS about our defense.

Oops, ElCid was not referring to Mocs.

[caribbeanhen]

I'm interested to see how this plays out. Judging from my experience with Mocs Air Raid offense of the Donnie Kirkpatrick era and Samford's experience with the Chris Hatcher, I've just about convinced myself that it is not a lack of talented players on defense, or even inept coaching or planning, but more a consequence of that style of offense. That style of offense will almost always lead to the defense being on the field for a long time. Good series for that style of offense is a quick score, and a bad series is a very quick 3 and out. The defense gets gassed. The defense also doesn't practice against big bruising backs and smashmouth type football either. I'm just not sure you will ever see a defense from that style team be a top tier defense - they are always going to give up some yards/points, but the plan is for the offense to score so many points it doesn't matter.

Eastern Washington comes to mind

[ElCid]

Chatty putting the hurt on Samford 31-3 at half. But 24-6 in TOP. Samford has 78 yards. Wow. Can't score if you don't have the ball. But it's Samford and Chatty, Samford could score quick. But Chatty looks real strong.

Little bit of a defensive struggle with ETSU and Furman...so far.

[Reign of Terrier]

So a few thoughts on this Saturday afternoon:

1) Looking at how Samford is getting curb stomped by UTC right now, I would be surprised if Hatcher is still coaching this team in about 2023. Maybe he gets one more year, but from what I can tell, SU alumni are sort of tired of his shtick

2) regarding vaccine mandates, Wofford and Furman have them (I think if you google "schools with a vaccine mandate" there's a database and Wofford and Furman are one of the few SC schools on the list). Wofford's goes in effect November 1st.

3) So, it's no secret that Josh Conklin has a bit of a right tweet thumb (and he uses it to like tweets about "stop the steal" more than recruiting, unfortunately). It was rumored that he was also openly anti-vax, however, I have also since heard that he's gotten at least one shot in the last few weeks.

4) I think Conklin is on the hot seat, which if you're judging things by W/L this season that's not surprising, but when you look how Wofford conducts itself as an institution, we are kind of okay with mediocrity so long as the head coach is a nice guy (or something), we graduate players, etc. Mike Young, for instance, is/was a great basketball coach for us, but he basically did nothing for his first 7 or so years. We had a women's basketball coach (again, nice guy!) who didn't really deliver and went a long time before being let go.

Nowadays, the scuttlebutt I hear is kind of funny if you're past being annoyed/upset with the season. As I said weeks ago, come on socon, get your licks in, this is once a decade/generation bad year for Wofford. So laugh with me, it's the only way I don't cry lol here are some rumors I have heard and trust about things that have happened under Conklin. I'm going to omit the profanity because for all i know it could have been added in on the rumor mill, but I trust there's at least a kernel of truth to these. And the fact that there are multiple stories says something:

1) Last spring, apparently he called the players a bunch of losers after the Citadel game
2) After the Furman loss this season, I heard he did a lot finger pointing at the coaching staff
3) He's called by some (not sure if it's players, coaches, administrators, etc) "Napoleon" in that he acts like a dictator and makes football not fun.

There are probably more stories like this, but one of my older boomer wofford fans who used to sit near me and my dad when I could make games that at homecoming, at the 50 year reunion some alumni made it known to the president that they weren't happy with the football team. Apparently, (can't confirm) last week of the Samford game, the first African American graduate of Wofford was yelling (from the prestigious box seats!) at the Samford players to tackle our guy on one of our long plays because he doesn't want Conklin to win another game.

Long story short, I don't hate Josh Conklin. I'm actually starting to feel bad for him on a human level. There's probably more stories that I haven't heard but he's not handling duress too well and not the kind of actions you want out of a leader. He seems to handle adversity by exploding on people. I think he lost the locker room, the booster club, etc ever since he applied at Illinois's DC position and he's just not getting it back. This isn't sustainable and though Wofford people have the sort of flair for the dramatic you'd expect from a bunch of southern private school alumni, I don't think I've ever seen people so *openly* angry about this before.

It's not just that we're losing, it's that we know we're better than the possible 1-10 record we're barreling toward, and the knowledge that this outcome is in part because our coach has always thought he was better than us, promised us big things, but never delivered and instead disrespected a lot of people.

I hear a lot of things about the athletic program by virtue of caring a lot about athletics and the fact that it's a small school. I don't usually post the more zesty stuff (like players being listed as "injured" when they're really suspended). The only reason I post this stuff here now is because I don't think it matters anymore. People hate Conklin and he needs to go and pretending anything else sort of worsens the problem.

Happy Saturday!

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

Malik Murray catches a TD pass from Riddell with nine seconds left in regulation.

ETSU 17, Furman 13 :09 4th

Furman gets the ball back, gets it to the Furman 46 yd line as time expired

ETSU 17, Furman 13 Final

[tallgeorgiagent]

Clutch 80 yrd drive by ETSU

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Smitty]

Western gets their first win of the season by defeating Cit 45-31

[Reign of Terrier]

congrats! You may get a second next week

[kdinva]

Western gets their first win of the season by defeating Cit 45-31

congrats indeed......what's happened with the Dogs since the VMI game?

[ElCid]

congrats indeed......what's happened with the Dogs since the VMI game?

Totally inconsistent. Blockers lacking, tacklers lacking. We mounted a come back but not enough. I thought WCU was close. They have been defeating themselves up to now. Almost did today, but it was a good performance overall. They had a game plan and it worked.

[The Cats]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCagPK9X0AUR-__?format=jpg&name=large

[Reign of Terrier]

I don't know if Wofford can beat Western Carolina. We won't beat Chattanooga. Citadel will probably run all over us. Our defense was 6th worst in the conference going into today.

Mercer is clearly the superior team, we'll be lucky to get back to one score after half.

[kdinva]

Totally inconsistent......WCU had a game plan and it worked.

.... kinda thought with WCU's offensive playbook, Bulldogs would replicate the VMI game plan.....guess not?

[Mocs123]

Congrats WCU!

[FUBeAR]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FCagPK9X0AUR-__?format=jpg&name=large
Never a doubt! Congrats!!





Away
Home
Time
ABSOLUTE STONE COLD LOCK


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30Western Carolina (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
2:00P
Hopefully for CIT’s HC, the 2 PM kickoff time is exactly perfect to suit his and his Team’s biorhythms…and, hopefully, he’s had an opportunity to instruct the SoCon Officials which penalties they are allowed to correctly call on the bellhops, at what point in the game, and which bellhop illegal acts they must ignore, at what point in the game, to earn his respect. Despite ‘winning’ “every single statistical category” (except the score)…and the non-statistical category of making plays when they mattered, the SamsoniteSlingers took a physical beating last week, while the Cats rested & rehabbed in the cool invigorating mountain air. WCU comes into the half a-stadium (like they had in Cullowhee in the 80’s) healed up and shocks a wounded, whining, downcast bellhop squad. Coach Bell gets the Gatorade bath…

WCU 27 - Once of a Citadellian Nature 21

[FUBeAR]

2) regarding vaccine mandates, Wofford and Furman have them (I think if you google "schools with a vaccine mandate" there's a database and Wofford and Furman are one of the few SC schools on the list). Wofford's goes in effect November 1st.

Furman’s vaccine mandate is only for students…https://www.furman.edu/furman-focused/health-resources/covid-testing/

Why is Furman not requiring faculty and staff to get vaccinated?
Employees are strongly encouraged to vaccinate as soon as possible. Our decision not to require the vaccine for employees is consistent with common standards of practice and consistent with our approach to all other immunizations (e.g., we do not require employees to vaccinate against common community-acquired infections).

[The Cats]

Never a doubt! Congrats!!

https://catamountsports.com/images/2021/10/23/DSC_5315_2.jpg?width=942&quality=80&format=jpg

[Milktruck74]

Given the performances yesterday, I'll be interested to see FuBear's week 9 prognostications....Some teams that struggles early seem to be clicking and hitting stride, while other's which looked good early have had some hidden inconsistencies exposed.

[Reign of Terrier]

So I'm hearing this morning that Wofford probably won't shill for Conklin's buyout so we will have another year of this. The lows just keep getting lower!

[Mocs123]

I'm not saying that Conklin should or shouldn't be bought out but he did win the SoCon in 2018 and 2019 - that may make it hard for the administration to justify pulling the trigger despite the downward trajectory the Terrier program appears to be on at this time. I was curious if the vaccination mandate might be a way for the two parties to part ways with each saving face, but apparently not. Just from an outsider looking in, it appeared to me that Conklin lost this team in the spring and has never recovered. It can get better though - as much as I try to forget the Tom Arth years of 2017 and 2018 really did happen for the Mocs.

Personally, I thought it was a mistake to move away from the TO, though I know many Terrier fans think it was/is the right move. I never thought Mike Ayers had the most talent in the SoCon, but that sure didn't seem to matter on Saturdays when his team played. Some of that may be the coach, some of that may be the system, but I would have stuck with the proven formula.

I'm sure the Terriers will get it figured out with or without Conklin - I just hope it's after November 6th.

[Reign of Terrier]

It's almost laughably predictable. After Mercer's second touchdown yesterday our sideline reporter said he never saw Conklin so angry at his assistants and players. I feel like that's a euphemism for "he lost his **** at them."

This man isn't a leader and he and the administration are doing some pretty creative spin, making it sound like what's going on is inevitible or a force of nature ("oh man we have so many injuries, we're just snake bit") it's really just excuses when you look at it. Conklin never really had a plan or a contingency for a failed plan since his second year. I remember against SC State when we came out passing and it clearly wasn't cutting it and we made no real adjustments or didn't even anticipate a backup plan if the radical new offense didn't go so well.

It's just abundantly clear, given the lack of upward trajectory of the last 3 years that JC is playing it year by year, trying to get out ASAP. And when things go bad, the spin machine is out in full force as if we don't remember the hype he threw at us beforehand. This season is was "the boats are burned" with regard to the option. And yet, I think we probably average below 300 yards per game, despite bringing back like 16 players from the two deep in the spring.

And really, everyone focuses on the option being not there (even though our QBs consistently still run!). The problem is consistency and execution on offense, but mainly it's that our defense is just absolutely porous by all statistical measurement, which really does go back to the head coach as the DC hasn't even held the position for a 9 full months. Conklin was supposed to be some defensive guru and great secondary coach, yet Mercer threw it all over the yard against us. He falls in love with man coverage and it murders us every year (and I didn't think I would say that given our previous era of loving zone). Our front 7 was supposed to be restocked with depth at the DL and a bunch of 5th year veterans at linebacker (think of all the socon championships this unit was a part of), and yet we're just bad bad bad.

It's sounds like cliche message board complaining, but we're just really bad on defense and not fundamentally sound. As it's already been said, Conklin lost the locker room, and our DC (who I don't want to dunk on too hard) is probably in over his head. There's really no excuse for being this bad and regressing this much over the course of less than a calendar year.

Too bad our AD is cheap as **** and won't make the tough call. It's pretty clear that JC had a vision for what he wanted to do with the program, took some players who Ayers and Lang developed and made them better in 2018/2019, then adversity hit, those players graduated, some good coaches on the defensive side of the ball left, and now things aren't going well. Instead of practicing what he's preaching and trying to get better every week, Conklin's pointing fingers and yelling at people and losing his ****.

This is not an option thing. This is a leadership thing and "our defense is bad" thing. I think Conklin has a lot of pride in what he does and that leads him to repeating the same mistakes on and off the field (think of how he's 0-4 against Samford, 0-3 against Kennesaw, and seemingly regressing each year against those teams). That's just not going to get it done.

Too bad our AD doesn't have it in him to make a tough decision like this, even if a costly one. I think the future of the program and the relationship the coaches and players have with the college for the rest of their lives (as students and alumni of Wofford) is much more important than the 100k or so it would cost to buy him out/fire him.

[SU DOG]

First off, CONGRATS to the Catamounts. Next, I would like to point out that our Samford Team is fully vaccinated with the anti-defense vaccination, and that it is obviously 100% effective. There was some early concern that the shot would only be effective against rushing defense, but the latest data has confirmed that we are now fully protected against the passing variant also. Kudos to our coaching staff for their hard work in seeing that our players are so fully protected against the dreaded virus called DEFENSE.

[Mocs123]

One of the big problems with your defense Saturday had to do with Samford only having the ball for 17 minutes. It's hard to ask any defense to stay on the field that long. I timed one Samford offensive possession and it was 31 seconds for a 3 and out and a punt.

[SU DOG]

One of the big problems with your defense Saturday had to do with Samford only having the ball for 17 minutes. It's hard to ask any defense to stay on the field that long. I timed one Samford offensive possession and it was 31 seconds for a 3 and out and a punt.

Well on our Board we were wondering if our offense tired out our defense in warmups. UTC scored with less than a minute gone in the 1st quarter, and then went straight down the field on their next possession. Check out the SoCon stats for the Samford Defense.

Scoring Defense - Dead last
Total Defense - Dead Last
Rushing Defense - Dead Last
Pass Defense - Dead Last
Opp. First Downs - Dead Last

[FUBeAR]

Given the performances yesterday, I'll be interested to see FuBear's week 9 prognostications....
Seems we are getting pretty close to the point of the season where the Chatt Starters tell their Coach that they don’t feel like playing anymore and then Chatt decides to forfeit the remainder of their games. FUBeAR will have to factor that into his prognostications going forward.

[FUBeAR]

As bad as Wofford & Samford may be on D, they don’t even come close to being as bad as the production of the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week (Wofford @ Mercer). I doubt that could have been the Technical Crew that normally does the Mercer home games because those are usually pretty darn good. Won’t go into all the details - if you want a few laughs…go watch the replay on ESPN…but you won’t be laughing for long…soon you’ll just be sick of it & click the “X.”

Their broadcasts are normally OK, but this one was a disaster. If they can’t do better than that, just let the schools produce their own games. I think they said it was their final SoCon broadcast for the season. Hearing that was the highlight of the broadcast!

[ElCid]

As bad as Wofford & Samford may be on D, they don’t even come close to being as bad as the production of the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week (Wofford @ Mercer). I doubt that could have been the Technical Crew that normally does the Mercer home games because those are usually pretty darn good. Won’t go into all the details - if you want a few laughs…go watch the replay on ESPN…but you won’t be laughing for long…soon you’ll just be sick of it & click the “X.”

Their broadcasts are normally OK, but this one was a disaster. If they can’t do better than that, just let the schools their own games. I think they said it was their final SoCon broadcast for the season. Hearing that was the highlight of the broadcast!

No, the worst one of the Ingles games was The Citadel/VMI game. They cut to commercials THREE times right in the middle of a drive. No time out called, no injury, nothing to go to a commercial, just went right to a commercial as the ball was being snapped. I finally switched to the ESPN feed. When the three hours were up, they just switched to some sitcom while the game was still on! I realize this has more to do with the local station than the actual production, but it was seriously annoying.

[Reign of Terrier]

Yeah, I was passively watching the game as I knew what was going to happen and on the first drive there was an injury and it just randomly cut to commercial and I thought it was done in the middle of the drive. Weird stuff.

[Mocs123]

Scoring Defense - Dead last
Total Defense - Dead Last
Rushing Defense - Dead Last
Pass Defense - Dead Last
Opp. First Downs - Dead Last

That does hurt