SoCon 2022 Predictions and Power Rankings - Week 7

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, October 15, 2022


Away
Home
Time
What ya think?


https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
1:30P



https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wofford.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
1:30P



https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30Western Carolina (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30Furman (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
2P



https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P




FUBeAR’s POWER RANKINGS
Some real tightening up in the middle rank.

And…we just had to break the tie we had at 2nd place last week…

* One Team, coming off a heartbreaking & controversial loss, went into a highly hostile environment, against an arch rival with a new QB rejuvenating their offense…and came away with a double-digit win.
* The other Team was at home against a truly awful Team with the 2nd longest losing streak in FCS, with a Head Coach QUITTING on the Team 2 days before the game and they struggled to get separation from the bottomest of bottom-feeders throughout the game. Just gotta ‘ding’ ‘em for that. Top Teams dominate bad opponents. They’ll have a chance to move up in a couple of weeks…

1. Mercer (3-0, 5-1)
2. Furman (2-1, 4-2)
3. Chattanooga (2-0, 4-1)
4. Samford (3-0, 5-1)
5t. CIT (1-2, 1-4)
5t. ETSU (1-3, 3-3)
5t. WCU (1-2, 3-3)
8. VMI (0-2, 1-4)
9. Wofford (0-3, 0-6)

[bonarae]

UTC
The Citadel
Furman
Mercer

[SU DOG]

Samford played a very sloppy game for sure. Students were out for fall break and there was no good environment at all. Wofford seemed to be the only group that was fired up. I will say that the outcome was never in doubt and that the final score margin was less than the actual difference in the game. That being said, however, the Bulldogs can't win playing like this with the tough teams in the upcoming schedule.
Other than Mercer, I don't yet know how to rank the conference. The Bears may be on another level and, who knows maybe even a top 5 caliber team. So much still to be determined.
Good teams DON'T always dominate far less opponents. Georgia not a good team because they struggled against Missouri? There are many examples of this.

[wcugrad95]

1 - Mercer - looks like the complete package 6 games in and they seem to be getting better
2 - Samford - did enough to win, but often has a head-scratcher down the stretch
3 - UTC - tons of talent that can beat anybody, but see notes on Samford about head-scratchers
4 - Furman - may move up if Huff is back and stays healthy, but that is a big if based on that injury and how much he runs the ball
T5 - WCU - could win probably 3 more games to finish 6-5 or could drop like a rock if they don’t rebound from the demoralizing beat down they just took
T5 - ETSU - looked much better, but still questions (similar to WCU)
7 - Citadel - a tough out for anybody, but they are still losing games
8 - VMI - pretty hard fall from the last few seasons
9 - Wofford - maybe the coaching change will energize them

Should be a very exciting back-half of the schedule, with all of the top guys still having to play each other. I can see Mercer going possibly 8-0 or 7-1, but I can see the other teams taking at least 2 SoCon losses. Will a 6-2 or 5-3 SoCon team with 7 or 8 wins be enough to get into the playoffs? Will be interesting to see.

[FUBeAR]

4 - Furman - may move up if Huff is back and stays healthy, but that is a big if based on that injury and how much he runs the ball

You know Huff played the whole game at QB for Furman vs. CIT…right?

[PaladinNation]

I'm obviously in the minority… Furman can win with Jace at quarterback.

[ElCid]

You know Huff played the whole game at QB for Furman vs. CIT…right?

But he didn't exactly look very good and healthy yesterday. His numbers were not real good either. Interesting our option QB had better passing numbers. I'd be more concerned about keeping your stud RB healthy. Lose him and Furman will have huge issues.

Our D had a few failures, but overall I think we did a fairly good job of containing Furman's O - only got 280 yards. Our O is still not producing reliably and Furman was very disciplined on D. Although I like the passing success we had. We are obviously going to have to pass more with the silly new blocking rules.

[PaladinNation]

But he didn't exactly look very good and healthy yesterday. His numbers were not real good either. Interesting our option QB had better passing numbers. I'd be more concerned about keeping your stud RB healthy. Lose him and Furman will have huge issues.

Our D had a few failures, but overall I think we did a fairly good job of containing Furman's O - only got 280 yards. Our O is still not producing reliably and Furman was very disciplined on D. Although I like the passing success we had. We are obviously going to have to pass more with the silly new blocking rules.

Wishful thinking Roberto is the only stud running back in the stable.
Abrams is starter quality. But the next power-back for Furman will be #7 Myion Hicks the back that blew up the Citadel D line on the wildcat play for a touchdown.
https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/1578810929143316480

We're also redshirting Jayquan Smith - could be the next great Paladin feature back.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

I was 4-0 after yesterday's games (a first for me this season). Was even more pumped that Big Brother woodshredded another SEC foe and that my grad school alma mater got their first win of the season. Here's where I have it this week:

1) Mercer - mauled the daylights out of their opponents
2) Samford - showed no sympathy towards their opponents
3) Chattanooga - was taking up residence in their living room
4) Furman - came away with a struggle win
5) The Citadel - had nothing to be ashamed of at home
6) Western Carolina - got slamhandled on the road
7) ETSU - played lights out on the road
8) VMI - was competitive until late
9) Wofford - very nice, have your head coach quit on your players two days before their next game, never figured him to be.a coward (thought he was fired at first)

This Week's Games
VMI @ Chattanooga - Mocs get Randy Wright his first win vs. VMI as a HC
The Citadel @ Wofford - Chuckydogs play with more pride
Western Caroilna @ Furman - Paladins find a way to win
ETSU @ Mercer - Bears avenge last season's heartbreaking loss (full disclosure, I had Mercer beating ETSU in an earlier post, sticking behind my original prediction)

[ElCid]

Wishful thinking Roberto is the only stud running back in the stable.
Abrams is starter quality. But the next power-back for Furman will be #7 Myion Hicks the back that blew up the Citadel D line on the wildcat play for a touchdown.


Doesn't matter to me. Just an observation, and just my opinion, that Roberto is probably your best back.

[OrangeAndBlack]

Power Ranks

1. Mercer
2. UTC
3. Samford
4. Furman
5. WCU
6. Citadel
7. ETSU
8. VMI
9. Wofford

VMI 10, Chattanooga 30 -- UTC handles business at home.

Citadel 16, Wofford 13 -- Both teams have been shut out twice this year. Wofford averages 8.3 PPG, Citadel averaging 8.0 PPG. I think the low scoring trends continue, and Citadel grinds out a road win here.

WCU 20, Furman 27 -- Everything went wrong for WCU against Mercer. It would be hard not to improve upon last week. However, Furman will be too tough to overcome in the Catamounts 2nd straight road game.

ETSU 13, Mercer 45 -- Speaking of road games, this is the conclusion of ETSU's only 2-game road streak. On the flip side, Mercer is finishing their only 2-game home stand. ETSU got some confidence back against VMI, but this is a much tougher challenge and Mercer is well rested in their own beds for 2 weeks.

[Reign of Terrier]

Samford played a very sloppy game for sure. Students were out for fall break and there was no good environment at all. Wofford seemed to be the only group that was fired up. I will say that the outcome was never in doubt and that the final score margin was less than the actual difference in the game.

Yeah, I wouldn't over-read anything into the Samford/Wofford score. If you look at Wofford as a fairly competent defense with a fairly incompetent offense - especially one that was making all sorts of changes and facing off the field distractions this week, it makes sense. Wofford overhauled the OL going into this one, and it did bare some fruit - the problem is, it was in garbage time.

On top of that, Samford is not the same Samford team of years past. They aren't a team that wasn't to throw it a million times on you (???), but they'll adjust their gameplan to get the job done. I think a lot of people expect samford to win games like 63-28 against bad teams, but this year's approach (maybe it's a new approach by Hatch) will be more like what happened to Wofford. I think this is a better approach for Samford, because the air raid makes their defense bad (but that's a post for another time)

On top of all this, and this may be a hot take on my part, I don't think Wofford is more than 2-3 seasons away from being good again. I have seen lots of bad teams play in the Socon, and this Wofford team is one of them, but we're a lot closer to being at least average than people think. Yeah, we're 0-6, but every team we've played so far is competing for a playoff bid (sans VT obviously). And, if you squint, there has been some improvement over the course of the last 3 weeks to a month (heck, we did better against Mercer than Western!) All we need is good OL play and a consistent vision on offense, and we would be at least an average team.

The game was never in doubt against Samford because we don't have either, and Samford made some key mistakes and played flat at times. With everything going on at Wofford, that's all you can ask for as a fan. I like our chances against the Citadel, VMI, and maybe even Western, to win at least 1-2 of those games.



9) Wofford - very nice, have your head coach quit on your players two days before their next game, never figured him to be.a coward (thought he was fired at first)



I don't have any inside information, but I have heard enough that he "resigned" in the same way many of those Russian Billionaires in the news died by suicide. I have heard enough rumblings from folks at Wofford to suggest that the catalyst for it happening this week was for something off the field. Put it this way: if it was something within his control and or on the field...you would expect the thing to happen last sunday (think of the other firings this season). No one fires or resigns from a job two days before a game.

[SU DOG]

Thanks for that post RT. I can say for sure that the Wofford kids played HARD. I was impressed with their effort, and wonder if that was an improvement from previous games? I wish Good Luck to the Terriers the rest of the season.

[The Cats]

The Citadel at Wofford
VMI at Chattanooga
Western Carolina at Furman
ETSU at Mercer


Power Rankings
1. (1) Mercer (5-1, 3-0 SoCon)
Next: ETSU

2. (2) Chattanooga (4-1, 2-0 SoCon)
Next: VMI

3. (3) Samford (5-1, 3-0 SoCon)
Next: Bye

4. (5) Furman (4-2, 2-1 SoCon)
Next: Western Carolina

5. (6) The Citadel (1-4, 1-2 SoCon)
Next: at Wofford

6. (8) ETSU (3-3, 1-3 SoCon)
Next: at Mercer

7. (4) Western Carolina (3-3, 1-2SoCon)
Next: at Furman

8. (7) VMI (1-4, 0-2 SoCon)
Next: at Chattanooga

9. (9) Wofford (0-6, 0-3 SoCon)
Next: The Citadel

[Mocs123]

The Citadel – 21 – Could the Terriers pull the upset at home this week? I could see an upset here but in the end, I think the Bulldogs nip the Terriers by a score.
Wofford - 14

VMI -14
Chattanooga -27 – Coach Rusty Wright has not beaten the Keydets as a HC, but that changes this week with a lot of Keydet muscle up the road in Richmond this season.

Western Carolina -21
Furman -31 – I could see an upset here too, as I think the Catamounts are an upset capable team, but I think the Paladins study the clinic the Mercer D put on film last week and win the 2022 edition of the SoCon Purple Bowl

ETSU -14
Mercer -31 – The Bears will find ETSU’s defense stout, but not stout enough to keep them from winning the game.

Power Rankings
Mercer – Alright the Bears impressed me against WCU. Not that I didn’t expect them to win, but I didn’t expect the beat down that happened in Macon last week. The Bears D was particularly impressive. With that performance, the Bears take the top spot this week.
Chattanooga – The Mocs were at home getting some guys back healthy for the rest of the SoCon season. A tough few games ahead and the Mocs haven’t played as well as they should have the past two weeks.
Samford – After watching “the play” that happened in Greenville the week before last, Chris Hatcher owes a certain former SoCon white hat a fruit basket, but alas the Bulldogs stay undefeated in SoCon play.
Furman – The Paladins have been good, but not great this season. They are still in contention for a playoff spot and SoCon championship though.
Western Carolina – WCU is a bit of an enigma. I thought they could score on anyone, but a 12 point performance against Samford and a 6 point performance against Mercer makes me question that. The Catamounts are still a dangerous team and while a long shot are still a dark horse for the playoffs.
ETSU – This will be a season of what could have been for the Bucs. They are talented, and will still have a chance to impact the SoCon Champion playing Mercer and Samford the next two weeks, but are out of the running themselves.
The Citadel – Something just hasn’t clicked with the Bulldogs this season, though they always play hard and physical.
VMI – The Keydets are still figuring some things out – hopefully they don’t get anything figured out this week, but they have a tough stretch coming up with Chattanooga, Furman, Mercer, and Samford all in a row.
Wofford – Are the Terriers playing a little more inspired post – Conklin? Maybe, but they’re still winless and that keeps them in the SoCon basement for now.

[FUBeAR]

Power Rankings
Mercer – Alright the Bears impressed me against WCU. Not that I didn’t expect them to win, but I didn’t expect the beat down that happened in Macon last week. The Bears D was particularly impressive. With that performance, the Bears take the top spot this week.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyiGHFGCf2U

[Mocs123]

We'll get our shot to skin the bear next week FuBear. Now I just hope our guys are thinking about the Keydets and not the Bears this week to set up what should be a huge game next Saturday. I'm sure even if the Mocs were to win (this week and) next week, you'd still find a way to have them behind Furman and Mercer in your poll :)

[BearDownMU]

We'll get our shot to skin the bear next week FuBear. Now I just hope our guys are thinking about the Keydets and not the Bears this week to set up what should be a huge game next Saturday. I'm sure even if the Mocs were to win (this week and) next week, you'd still find a way to have them behind Furman and Mercer in your poll :)

Not gonna lie, wish we were playing the Mocs at home, but it's the same drive time for me to Chattsvegas as it is to Macon. ;)

[Milktruck74]

Go Mocs...This week, AND NEXT!!!!!

[gofurman]

Samford played a very sloppy game for sure. Students were out for fall break and there was no good environment at all. Wofford seemed to be the only group that was fired up. I will say that the outcome was never in doubt and that the final score margin was less than the actual difference in the game. That being said, however, the Bulldogs can't win playing like this with the tough teams in the upcoming schedule.
Other than Mercer, I don't yet know how to rank the conference. The Bears may be on another level and, who knows maybe even a top 5 caliber team. So much still to be determined.
Good teams DON'T always dominate far less opponents. Georgia not a good team because they struggled against Missouri? There are many examples of this.

Exactly,. I am a huge Furman fan and we DID NOT dominate a poor Charleston Southern team.. at all. We should be dinged for that - it cuts both ways. Gotta be fair.

My power rankngs:
3 tiers

Mercer - So far look like the leader but schedule is back loaded
Chatt - here until they lose a SoCon game
Furman / Samford - close and playoff potential
----------------------------------------------------------

ETSU - not a ton of offense here
Western - enough D? Sometimes they can score in bunches but can they do it against a good team?
----------------------------------------------------------
Citadel - NO offense, a decent Defense keeps them in games (beat ETSU)
VMI - not very close in the SoCon games
Woff - still haven't won.. AT ALL... in 16 games

[FUBeAR]

Go Mocs...This week, AND NEXT!!!!!Better go some the next after that one also.

We’ve all seen how the Mocs “finish the drill” in the past 2 seasons.

[kdinva]

The Citadel 24; Wofford 14
Furman 35; WCU 33
Mercer 38; ETSU 28
UTC 35; VMI 14 **** VMI's quarterbacks Ironside and Morgan both out, injuries, two first year quarterbacks will play.

[Mocs123]

UTC 35; VMI 14 **** VMI's quarterbacks Ironside and Morgan both out, injuries, two first year quarterbacks will play.

Maybe I've been asleep at the wheel, but I didn't realize that Ironside and Morgan were both out. Our Left Tackle (Truett) left the game with an apparent ankle injury last week so we've got a shuffled up O-Line this week. He was out the first game of the year too, so I have seen Curtis moving from Guard to Tackle, but what I haven't seen is our starting Center moving to Guard and our backup Center (who has started a game this year) starting at Center. We've had a few others with nagging injuries, but I "think" everyone else will be good to go on Saturday.

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, October 15, 2022


Away
Home
Time
#BookIt


https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
1:30P
A well-rested, mostly healthy, comfy-at-Home Chatt Team gets a wounded, less-talented-than-recently VMI Team that has struggled in every game this year, including, to some extent, the 1 game they won. This one is shaping up to be a “referee stops contest” game. Kangaroos try, but they hop back on the bus to LexVegas ASAP. The good news for Chatt’s upcoming opponents is that the Mocs will imagine themselves FCS National Champions after they dominate the RatMen and will spend next week’s practices doing monkey rolls on a bed of their homer-newspaper’s glowing press clippings. Like FUBeAR said about WCU’s QB’s shoulder being ‘just fine,’ we’ve seen this movie before. Can’t wait for the sequel!

FINAL SCORE: Chattanooga 56 - VMI 10


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30The Citadel (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wofford.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
1:30P
If the reprise of last season’s de facto SoCon Championship Game weren’t occurring this week, the one would be the SoCon Game of the Week. Regardless, it is a very interesting game. Woffy’s Interim HC is an exp’d OC. Now that’s he’s had a full week of practice to put in his own wrinkles, FUBeAR thinks we’ll see some fresh things when the AnkleGnawers have the Football. On the bellhops side, their O seemed somewhat rejuvenated with a QB change, but they were facing a stout FU D, so it was hard to see the improvement. Both Defenses aren’t terrible, with CIT’s being a bit better. This one is going to be quite a battle. FUBeAR is gonna go with the RatDogs @ Home…in a dew claw biter.

FINAL SCORE: Wofford 21 - The Citadel 20


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30Western Carolina (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30Furman (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
2P
Can “The Cats” recover from the behind-the-barn-old-fashioned-rear-end-blistering-switch-whippin’ Mercer administered to their swaggering HC, Team, and fans last week? In true Kevin Bacon Animal House style, Coach Bell said he told Coach Cronic after the game that he wanted another half. Not sure if he prefaced that request with “Thank you, Sir,” or not. Furman obviously bounced back from their heartbreaking & infuriating loss to Samford with a felonious-reaming assist from the (now former) SoCon Referee to post a very efficient win against the ‘Dins arch-rival in a very hostile environment. QB1 is ready to go and the Dins are looking strong…maybe as strong as Mercer, which doesn’t bode well for the Team from NC wearing near-lilac. Hard to see how WCU finds a way to stop FU on Sat. and though they may sneak a few Retrievers open, just don’t see the WCU O being able to sustain enough ball control to keep their D on the sidelines very long.

FINAL SCORE: Furman 34 - WCU 17


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P
Another SoCon Game of the Week for the Bears. After the Heartbreaking loss in JC last season in the de facto SoCon Championship Game, the Bears put a big Orange circle around this date on the calendar. Their animus toward the MountainMarauders increased when the Playoff Committee shafted them. Bottom line - someone has to pay and these Pirates are standing in the checkout line. We’ll see some new stuff from Coach Quarles and Saylors is gonna get his yards, but Mercer is clicking like a 16 cylinder Bugatti right now. They draw, quarter, and force these Bucs to walk the plank into the muddy Ocmulgee.

FINAL SCORE: Mercer 35 - ETSU 13



FUBeAR’s POWER RANKINGS
Some real tightening up in the middle rank.

And…we just had to break the tie we had at 2nd place last week…

* One Team, coming off a heartbreaking & controversial loss, went into a highly hostile environment, against an arch rival with a new QB rejuvenating their offense…and came away with a double-digit win.
* The other Team was at home against a truly awful Team with the 2nd longest losing streak in FCS, with a Head Coach QUITTING on the Team 2 days before the game and they struggled to get separation from the bottomest of bottom-feeders throughout the game. Just gotta ‘ding’ ‘em for that. Top Teams dominate bad opponents. They’ll have a chance to move up in a couple of weeks…

1. Mercer (3-0, 5-1)
2. Furman (2-1, 4-2)
3. Chattanooga (2-0, 4-1)
4. Samford (3-0, 5-1)
5t. CIT (1-2, 1-4)
5t. ETSU (1-3, 3-3)
5t. WCU (1-2, 3-3)
8. VMI (0-2, 1-4)
9. Wofford (0-3, 0-6)

[Catamount87]

VMI at Chatt - The Mocs chat up and chew up the Roos
Citadel at Wofford - Blue has her way with Magenta
Western Carolina at Furman - SoCon's Purple Bowl 2022 goes to the home team
ETSU at Mercer - Bearly surviving a pirate raid




1. Mercer (3-0, 5-1)
2. Chattanooga (2-0, 4-1)
3t. Samford (3-0, 5-1)
3t. Furman (2-1, 4-2)
5t. WCU (1-2, 3-3)
5t. ETSU (1-3, 3-3)
7. CIT (1-2, 1-4)
8. VMI (0-2, 1-4)
.
.
.
.
.
9. (soon to be renamed the dog house) Wofford (0-3, 0-6)

[FUBeAR]

Citadel at Wofford - Blue has her way with MagentaMagenta?

[FUBeAR]

Looks like the Pirate ships have sailed down from their mountainous land-locked port and are trying to establish a beachhead in Maconga. Who knew Bears could swim though?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfHmU0mXEAAvQNR.jpg

[JSUSoutherner]

Who knew Bears could swim though?


Literally f***ing everyone.

[FUBeAR]

Literally f***ing everyone.
https://c.tenor.com/d5ybSNb8yIwAAAAi/joke-you.gif

[kdinva]

VMI offense, regardless of who is injured, playing very tentative on offense, can't block UTC's front 7, UTC has no problem blocking VMI's defenders. Mocs 31-7 at halftime (VMI's score on KO return)

[Mocs123]

Holy cow, I look at the SoCon scoreboard after the Mocs game and the Terriers are whipping The Citadel. I could see the upset, but not the butt whipping that appears to be happening in Sparkle City.

[ElCid]

Holy cow, I look at the SoCon scoreboard after the Mocs game and the Terriers are whipping The Citadel. I could see the upset, but not the butt whipping that appears to be happening in Sparkle City.

We suck. Coach made some horrible decisions and game was decided during the last three minutes of the first half when they scored like three times! I'm thinking he will be done at end of season. If he lasts that long. He was losing it on the sideline after one call. Never seen him that crazed.

On the bright side for poor Wofford, their losing streak finally ended. Not sure we have any bright spot. Apparently Wofford just needed a change. They looked a lot better than in previous games I've watched.

[Mocs123]

The Mountain Pirates hung with the Bears for a while but it looked a little ugly in the end.

[Reign of Terrier]

Wofford looked more like a 4-7 or 5-6 team than an 0-6 one. I'm not surprised by the outcome. I'm surprised we scored that much though. It's clear to me that the players really didn't want to try their hardest under Conklin. Today's game was the result of some adjustments on the OL that have been happening over the course of the season, and some want to from the players. I knew we were going to win after the first or second possession. We had energy we hadn't seen in years, like we were playing with a title on the line.

The cupboard for Wofford isn't bare. Our defense is decent. Our offense is growing. We will get better under new leadership next year. I don't want Watson to be the head guy next year, but if he can inspire the team like he is now, he should keep his OC job (in my opinion).

[Mocs123]

I thought the team stopped playing for Conklin in the spring '21 season.