SoCon 2023 Predictions and Power Rankings - Week 5

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, September 30, 2023


Away
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Prediculations


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P



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/)
2P



https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P



https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
6P




FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

1) Furman - So many ways to beat you...all of you...and they don't beat themselves

2a) Chattanooga - QB is the real deal. Barring quitting, which is always on the MocsMenu, this Team will compete for the SoCon Championship and a playoff berth - bet they wish they'd taken North Alabama a bit more seriously. Could the PorchYappers fell them the same way?

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.

2c) Mercer - Excellent 3 quarter fight with #1. Coulda easily quit, on the road, down 17-0, but the Bears fought hard to get back into it. Too many mistakes - can't give away points on ST gaffes. Mercer can fight back into the SoCon and Playoff race just as they did their game with Furman. With more attention to details, they can win that fight - at least the getting in the Playoffs piece of it.

5) Samford - The HomewoodHounds, like the Montana Grizzlies, are 2 of the best Teams in D2 Football. They are both undefeated in D2....Problem is they are in D1...where Samford is a winless 0-3 and REELING. ETSU at home should help them find the track, if not get back on it. They are just barely hanging on to this #5 spot.

NOTE: The new SoCon Commissioner contacted FUBeAR over the weekend and advised that FUBeAR is not authorized to remove Teams from the Conference...so...

9a) VMI
9b) ETSU
9c) Wofford
9d) The Citadel

[bonarae]

Samford
WCU
Mercer
UTC

[Mocs123]

ETSU - 21
Samford – 37 – With 2 SoCon losses do the fighting Hatcher’s throw in the towel? Either way Furman fans remain thankful that the Bucs hired Quarrels away from the Paladins.

Western Carolina -41 – Charleston can be a tough place to play, but the Catamounts are flying high right now and that continues this week.
The Citadel - 17

VMI - 14
Mercer – 31 – The Bears bounce back when the Keydets come to town, depending on how mad Chronic is, this could get out of hand.

Chattanooga – 28 – The Mocs are road warriors once again and take the win in Spartanburg.
Wofford -13

Power Rankings


Furman – Got a huge SoCon win to hold on to the top spot.
Western Carolina – I’m still boggled by 77 points, this is clearly not your daddy’s Catamounts.
Chattanooga – Big time SoCon road win to climb back into third.
Mercer - Let it get away from them this week, but still have everything to play for.
Samford – A good team but they’re already on the playoff bubble – do they give up?
ETSU – Currently have 6 points against D1 opponents.
VMI – “Big” win over the Terriers put them here.
Wofford – The Terrier D has looked pretty good, the O…..not so much.
The Citadel – The Bulldogs are having nightmares looking at the next two weeks.

[Milktruck74]

2a) Chattanooga - QB is the real deal. Barring quitting, which is always on the MocsMenu, this Team will compete for the SoCon Championship and a playoff berth - bet they wish they'd taken North Alabama a bit more seriously. Could the PorchYappers fell them the same way?


A few things to consider about that game.
1. The Mocs had not played a single down of Football, and tUNA already had a full game of live action and week to correct their mistakes. (the biggest overall improvement on a team is usually between weeks 1 & 2).
2. #5 was on fire. He was the BEST PLAYER on the field that day. 5 catches for 172 yards and 3 TDs. There was not an answer. And he didn't play against the Bears the week before. I Don't know why. And of note, he has 13 catches for 120 yards and 1 tD in the three games since??? Some times things get into kids and they do super human things.
3. The Mocs QB had about 10 total plays of college football (with ZERO passes) under his belt coming into that game. Rightly so, Joe P was a bit hesitant to release the reins on that kid for at least the first quarter...subsequently, tUNA loaded the box and forced the Mocs to beat them with a run game that was still working out a ton of kinks and growing pains. Once Chase settled in, he was forced to climb out of a 21-0 deficit... which they actually made a valiant effort...but just ran out of gas in the fourth.

I think this Mocs Team is going to be just fine...and at this point, Mr. Massey's algorithm agrees, placing the Mocs above 50% on every remaining "amature" game...

[FUBeAR]

A few things to consider about that game.
1. The Mocs had not played a single down of Football, and tUNA already had a full game of live action and week to correct their mistakes. (the biggest overall improvement on a team is usually between weeks 1 & 2).
2. #5 was on fire. He was the BEST PLAYER on the field that day. 5 catches for 172 yards and 3 TDs. There was not an answer. And he didn't play against the Bears the week before. I Don't know why. And of note, he has 13 catches for 120 yards and 1 tD in the three games since??? Some times things get into kids and they do super human things.
3. The Mocs QB had about 10 total plays of college football (with ZERO passes) under his belt coming into that game. Rightly so, Joe P was a bit hesitant to release the reins on that kid for at least the first quarter...subsequently, tUNA loaded the box and forced the Mocs to beat them with a run game that was still working out a ton of kinks and growing pains. Once Chase settled in, he was forced to climb out of a 21-0 deficit... which they actually made a valiant effort...but just ran out of gas in the fourth.

I think this Mocs Team is going to be just fine...and at this point, Mr. Massey's algorithm agrees, placing the Mocs above 50% on every remaining "amature" game...
Ahh...so FUBeAR shoulda said, "bet the Mocs wish they had more seriously endeavored to get themselves prepared to play Football vs. North Alabama" - got it - that's much better.

[wcugrad95]

Ranking:
1. Furman - should be top-5 with a convincing win against a very good Mercer team.
2. Chattanooga - I thought their win against Samford on the road was more impressive than WCU’s over the Bulldogs at home in the Lightning Bowl.
3. WCU - if the QB completes nearly all of his passes and nearly 1/2 are for TDs we’ll be pretty good. Huge match-up in 2 weeks between #2 and #3 that will tell us a lot.
4. Mercer - still a top-25 team who can easily claim a playoff spot given the games they have left.
5. Samford - the offense has just looked off. They need to win all the rest of their games. I expect them to win several and possibly hurt somebody else’s playoff chances.
6. VMI - got a conference win, so they are here.
7. Wofford - played VMI tough and has a pretty good D, so placing them “not last”.
8/9. Citadel and ETSU in whatever order you want. Both teams are struggling and need to find some offense to compete.

[The Cats]

http://twitter.com/FCSNationRadio1/status/1706286254050931053

[Catamount87]

Predictions
ETSU at Samford: The dumpster fire might be just want the dawgs need right now.
WCU at The Citadel: The Cats best not lets this game be a trap game like last year.
VMI at Mercer: There's a little bounce in the roos but not enough to beat down a bear. This might be a mauling.
UTC at Wofford: The train is building a good head of steam now and the terriers are playing on the tracks.


Power Rankings
1) Furman - Continuing to make it happen.
2) (tie) UTC- Made quite the statement against Samford in tuning up for 10/7.
WCU - Also made a statement in tuning up for 10/7 (UTC) and 10/21 (Furman).
3) Mercer - Cracks have started to appear. Can they get them filled and repaired?
5) Samford - Chaos has come to Homewood. Is Hatcher headed to the hot seat again?
6) VMI - There's a little life in the roos, for now.
7) ETSU - Has anyone called the fire department about this dumpster fire?
9) (tie) Wofford, Citadel - will someone please schedule a vet visit to euthenize these two for 2023?

[The Cats]

Saturday, September 30, 2023


Away
Home
Time
Prediculations


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P



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/)
2P



https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P



https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
6P




FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.


Actually, I don't think the Catamount fans care what fubear thinks or how he ranks teams in the SoCon. His bias against the Cats are well known, so why would anyone care how many teams he ranks ahead of WCU.

[FUBeAR]

Actually, I don't think the Catamount fans care what fubear thinks or how he ranks teams in the SoCon. His bias against the Cats are well known, so why would anyone care how many teams he ranks ahead of WCU.
207 characters of 'not caring' demonstrated...so far...(209 OR 206 characters with correct grammar, for those playing at home)

[Mocs123]

Hopefully the Catamounts get noticed this week in the polls. I mean they hung 77 points on CSU! CSU may not be all that good, but they held a ranked William&Mary to 15 just the week before.

[caribbeanhen]

Big movements in the Power Outage Poll this week

The Citadel jumps over VMI to take a commanding lead

[SU DOG]

Usually with a post like this you get cries of "excuses, sour grapes' etc. and you are accused of disrespect for the winner. That is fine and I expect no less. I do want to give a few facts from the big win by UTC Saturday. First they are a very good team and I really don't want to take anything away from that fact. Artopoeus was unbelievable and had a better touch on his passes than the Auburn QB we faced the week before. Also, the Samford pass defense with blown coverages helped him look even better.

I think what most are thinking is that this game was a repeat of the WCU blowout - It wasn't. Samford had more total yards of offense than the Mocs including even more rushing yards. Defensively, Samford held Ailym Ford to less than 3 yards/carry with a long of only 8 yards. The Bulldogs had 2 long TDs called back for penalties (not arguing those calls) and lost a fumble in 4 down territory. Samford racked up 10 penalties for over 100 yards (good teams don't do this) compared to UTC's 4 for 29 yards. One of the two pick-6 Mocs scores was a bobbled pass right out of the WR's belly. The other was just a great play by the UTC defender.

I point to these things to say that I think the Samford mistakes are correctable, but never mind, I hope that every further SoCon opponent sees this Samford Team as a pushover.

[Mocs123]

BTW- I wanted to commend the crowds at both WCU and SU - two terrific turnouts!!

At Samford - what's the new building being put up in the north endzone? New FB building (visitor locker rooms?)

[SU DOG]

BTW- I wanted to commend the crowds at both WCU and SU - two terrific turnouts!!

At Samford - what's the new building being put up in the north endzone? New FB building (visitor locker rooms?)

I very much wish that it was for football, but no. The new crosswalk will look good in the north endzone but other than that I can't see it being any benefit for football.

Samford developing new recreation complex - The Samford Crimson (https://www.thesamfordcrimson.com/2022/10/31/samford-developing-new-recreation-complex/#:~:text=The%20new%20complex%20colloquially%20refe rred%20to%20as%20%E2%80%9CSeibert,million%2C%20the %20largest%20capital%20project%20in%20Samford%E2%8 0%99s%20history.)

[wcugrad95]

I saw many of those plays @SU DOG, but I am slow-playing my Catamounts so far. The Samford/WCU game was an aboslute no-doubter for the Cats, but UTC won on the road against you guys so I am giving them a lot of credit for that. I also have nightmares from a UTC/WCU game back in 2014. WCU was ranked and riding high and thought we had arrived and we got the worst beatdown I can ever remember by the Mocs (51-0). Both teams have to win this weekend and better not be looking forward, but I will be reminding lots of Western fans about that game next week. We need to prove we are worthy of all these accolades that are now coming our way.

[FUBeAR]

the Samford pass defense with blown coverages helped him look even better.

I think what most are thinking is that this game was a repeat of the WCU blowout - It wasn't. Samford had more total yards of offense than the Mocs including even more rushing yards. Defensively, Samford held Ailym Ford to less than 3 yards/carry with a long of only 8 yards. The Bulldogs had 2 long TDs called back for penalties (not arguing those calls) and lost a fumble in 4 down territory. Samford racked up 10 penalties for over 100 yards (good teams don't do this) compared to UTC's 4 for 29 yards. One of the two pick-6 Mocs scores was a bobbled pass right out of the WR's belly. The other was just a great play by the UTC defender.

I point to these things to say that I think the Samford mistakes are correctable, but never mind, I hope that every further SoCon opponent sees this Samford Team as a pushover.
excuses, sour grapes etc. and disrespect for the winner

[SU DOG]

You forget to say that Samford IS a pushover?

[The Cats]

Predictions (winner in bold)
ETSU at Samford
WCU at The Citadel
VMI at Mercer
UTC at Wofford

Power Rankings
1. (1) Furman (3-1, 1-0 SoCon)
Next: bye

2. (2) Western Carolina (3-1, 1-0SoCon)
Next: The Citadel (0-4, 0-1 SoCon)

3. (4) Chattanooga (3-1, 2-0 SoCon)
Next: at Wofford (0-4, 0-1 SoCon)

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

5. (5) Samford (1-3, 0-2 SoCon)
Next: ETSU (1-2, 0-0 SoCon)

6. (7) VMI (2-2, 1-0 SoCon)
Next: at Mercer (2-2, 0-1 SoCon)

7. (6) ETSU (1-2, 0-0 SoCon)
Next: at Samford (1-3, 0-2 SoCon)

8. (8) The Citadel (0-4, 0-1 SoCon)
Next: Western Carolina (3-1, 1-0SoCon)

9. (9) Wofford (0-4, 0-1 SoCon)
Next: Chattanooga (3-1, 2-0 SoCon)

[Milktruck74]

Usually with a post like this you get cries of "excuses, sour grapes' etc. and you are accused of disrespect for the winner. That is fine and I expect no less. I do want to give a few facts from the big win by UTC Saturday. First they are a very good team and I really don't want to take anything away from that fact. Artopoeus was unbelievable and had a better touch on his passes than the Auburn QB we faced the week before. Also, the Samford pass defense with blown coverages helped him look even better.

I think what most are thinking is that this game was a repeat of the WCU blowout - It wasn't. Samford had more total yards of offense than the Mocs including even more rushing yards. Defensively, Samford held Ailym Ford to less than 3 yards/carry with a long of only 8 yards. The Bulldogs had 2 long TDs called back for penalties (not arguing those calls) and lost a fumble in 4 down territory. Samford racked up 10 penalties for over 100 yards (good teams don't do this) compared to UTC's 4 for 29 yards. One of the two pick-6 Mocs scores was a bobbled pass right out of the WR's belly. The other was just a great play by the UTC defender.

I point to these things to say that I think the Samford mistakes are correctable, but never mind, I hope that every further SoCon opponent sees this Samford Team as a pushover.

Samford is a VERY GOOD Football team. Their record is not reflective of what they can do. Not saying they will run the table out, but they do have a good enough team to win every game they have left on their schedule. If they do, you are looking at a 7 win team with some pretty decent wins. Sammy is going to have a say in who wins the SoCon this year. I'm just glad my Mocs caught them early!!!

[Sir William]

ETSU at Samford
W Carolina at The Citadel
VMI at Mercer
Chattanooga at Wofford


Power Rankings:

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

[FUBeAR]

Nearing the halfway point of the season....one of the things that has stood out to FUBeAR is the high level of QB play in the SoCon.

Of course, based upon last year's stats, only Michael Hiers from Samford will get any mention from the (clueless) national pundits...but right now...as good as he is (and he's really, really, really good), FUBeAR is not sure that Hiers is in the Top Half of SoCon QB's at this point in the season.

Below are SoCon QB Stats...and below that are FUBeAR's not-quite-half-of-the-season QB Rankings.

Discuss....

Passing (Ranked by Efficiency (QB Rating) w/minimum of 50 attempts)


SoCon Rank / Natl Rank
Player
G
COMP
ATT
INT
PCT
YDS
TD
LONG
AVG/G
EFFIC


1 / 2
Gonzales,Cole (Western Carolina)
4
70
98
2
71.4
1019
10
57
254.8
188.4


2 / 8
Artopoeus,Chase (Chattanooga)
4
78
116
2
67.2
1110
9
62
277.5
169.8


3 / 30
Hiers,Michael (Samford)
4
100
148
4
67.6
1130
8
67
282.5
144.1


4 / 34
Ironside,Collin (VMI)
3
45
67
2
67.2
518
3
38
172.7
140.9


5 / 35
Peevy,Carter (Mercer)
4
52
81
1
64.2
644
3
75
161.0
140.7


6 / 73
Huff,Tyler (Furman)
4
73
108
2
67.6
706
2
45
176.5
124.9



Rushing (Ranked by Avg. YPG w/minimum of 20 attempts OR ranked in Passing)


QB’s Rank SoCon / Natl
Player
G
ATT
YDS
AVG
TD
LONG
AVG/G


1 / 11
Huff,Tyler (Furman)
4
48
218
4.5
4
28
54.5


2 / 19
May,Baron (ETSU)
3
28
124
4.4
1
29
41.3


3 / 20
Peevy,Carter (Mercer)
4
36
156
4.3
3
75
39.0


4 / UNR
Artopoeus,Chase (Chattanooga)
4
24
116
4.8
0
15
29.0


5 / UNR
Gonzales, Cole (WCU)
4
19
73
3.8
0
20
18.2


6 / UNR
Hiers, Michael (Samford)
4
25
4
0.2
1
23
1.0


7 / UNR
Ironside, Collin (VMI)
3
30
2
0.1
0
18
0.7



Total Offense (Ranked by Avg YPG w/minimum of 60 Avg/YPG)


QB Rank SoCon / Natl
Player
G
RUSH
PASS
PLAYS
TOTAL
Tot TD
YDS/G


1 / 5
Artopoeus,Chase (Chatt)
4
116
1110
140
1226
9
306.5


2 / 13
Hiers,Michael (Samford)
4
4
1130
173
1134
9
283.5


3 / 19
Gonzales,Cole (WCU)
4
73
1019
117
1092
10
273.0


4 / 34
Huff,Tyler (Furman)
4
218
706
156
924
6
231.0


5 / 56
Peevy,Carter (Mercer)
4
156
644
117
800
6
200.0


6 / 77
Ironside,Collin (VMI)
3
2
518
97
520
3
173.3


7 / 123
May,Baron (ETSU)
3
124
201
55
325
3
108.3


8 / 141
Corriston,B. (Wofford)
3
54
218
67
272
2
90.7


9 / 198
Fletcher,Dustin (CIT)
4
37
211
48
248
1
62.0


10 / 199
Underwood,G. (CIT)
4
44
203
50
247
1
61.8






FUBeAR's SoCon QB Ranking (only ranking the ones that meet minimum in Passing OR Rushing stats)
1) Artopoeus, Chase (Chatt)
2) Gonzales, Cole (WCU)
3) Huff, Tyler (Furman)
4) Peevy, Carter (Mercer)
5) Hiers, Michael (Samford)
6) Ironside, Collin (VMI)
7) May, Baron (ETSU)

FUBeAR's QB Ranking is based upon WATCHING FOOTBALL GAMES ... AND ... analyzing statistics ... and overall contribution to their Teams winning Football games. Though not shown in these stats, W-L records were considered. Also, things like picking up critical 1st downs and some things as difficult to evaluate as confidence and leadership. For example, there's not a more confident QB in the SoCon than Artopoeus. That dude just stands in there and lets it fly. He expects every pass he releases to be on the money. And, there's not a QB in the SoCon who is more of a leader than Tyler Huff. He reminds FUBeAR of Leonidas of "The 300." And, there's not a QB in the SoCon who is more critical to his Team's success (currently 2-1 in FCS) than Mercer's Carter Peevy. The QB position is about Winning, Leading, Running the Offense, Passing, Running, and Scoring. That's what FUBeAR considers and this is how he ranks 'em ... so far ... in 2023. What say you?

[wcugrad95]

I think your rankings are pretty fair. But I would throw-in that Huff, Gonzalez, Hiers, and Peevy have each faced an SEC team in one of their 4 games. That no doubt impacted their stats and production. UTC still has a game at the end vs Alabama, which I expect will impact Artopoeus' final numbers. I'd expect right now none of the schools in the top-5 listed here want to trade their guy out.

As for ETSU, I thought I read Riddell is back as the starter and May is done for the year after undergoing surgery.

[Catamount87]

Interesting stuff indeed with stats to back it up.

What's interesting to me is your timing. A number of us at the WCU game this past weekend got to talking a bit about QB play in the SoCon right now. In years past there's be one or two standouts each season but this year it "felt" like there was a lot more excellent play and QBs in the SoCon than we'd ever seen in a long time.

Now a question for you FUBeAR as I haven't watched any Furman games this year. Huff has a much larger number of rushing attempts, is that from designed runs, is he more inclined to run, being forced out of the pocket more or some combination those those factors? My assumption is designed runs since he accounts for 48 of the 153 (31.4%) rushing attempts so far.

[SU DOG]

I think FUBeAR did some nice work in presenting this QB data, however, it obviously can change drastically after some more games. What it indicates to me is that the SoCon has tremendous talent at the QB position. In fairness to ETSU, May is not their starting QB as wcugrad95 pointed out. Tyler Riddell may have had his best day passing in his career against Samford last year. He lit up the porous Samford secondary for 389 yards and 5 TDs. He is expected to be near 100% for the Samford game Saturday. ETSU is a much better team than you would think if you just looked at scores. They were down to playing their 4th string QB vs the Govs. They also have one of the better WRs in the SoCon in big Will Huzzie, so Riddell will probably have his moments. I'm not sold on their secondary so I'm hoping to see the Samford offense expose that group. It could very well turn out to be similar to last year's 55-45 shootout.

[PaladinNation]

I'm curious what FuBear will say to Cats question.
Furman continues to open the playbook and make adjustments on both sides of the ball.
I'm excited about what Coach Roper is going with the offense… and how Huff is leading the offense.

[wcugrad95]

Huff has plenty of designed runs, and he is not afraid to "take what the defense gives him" and makes excellent decisions to take off when large patches of green grass are readily available. He has looked like one of those old-school QBs who will just get you yards when needed however needed. Gonzalez has been the biggest surprise for me as a true SO. Even in previous WCU-based conversations, there were questions about him taking over the reigns late last year. Most people considered him a "gamer" that Bell liked because it reminded him a little of himself. The biggest difference so far this season is our O-line play has been excellent and Desmond Reid is an absolute stud (also a true SO who had a really good FR season but is breaking out through 4 games). And we have a bevy of talented WRs. Those 3 things make QB at least a little bit easier, but Gonzalez has clearly stepped his game up a notch or 3.

All that being said I was extremely impressed with Artopoeus against Samford on Saturday. He is getting more comfortable and better with that offense each week. So FUBeAR seems pretty spot-on - excellent QB play in the SOCON right now.

[FUBeAR]

Interesting stuff indeed with stats to back it up.

What's interesting to me is your timing. A number of us at the WCU game this past weekend got to talking a bit about QB play in the SoCon right now. In years past there's be one or two standouts each season but this year it "felt" like there was a lot more excellent play and QBs in the SoCon than we'd ever seen in a long time.

Now a question for you FUBeAR as I haven't watched any Furman games this year. Huff has a much larger number of rushing attempts, is that from designed runs, is he more inclined to run, being forced out of the pocket more or some combination those those factors? My assumption is designed runs since he accounts for 48 of the 153 (31.4%) rushing attempts so far.
Huff likes to run and he's very good at it.

He is definitely a part of FU's designed Rushing Attack AND he has also pulled it down and run because he's seen the opportunity to run and pick up 1st downs. He has been sacked 9 times for losses of 45 yards, so he has been pressured some. Getting All-American OG Jacob Johanning back on the OL (1st game was vs. Mercer) may help limit that going forward. When pressured, he has very solid instincts as to how to escape and turn chicken poop into chicken salad...and if he gets to run over an opposing DB in the process, he loves it all the more.


https://youtu.be/QEd7Y2YLgTg?feature=shared

[caribbeanhen]

Huff likes to run and he's very good at it.

He is definitely a part of FU's designed Rushing Attack AND he has also pulled it down and run because he's seen the opportunity to run and pick up 1st downs. He has been sacked 9 times for losses of 45 yards, so he has been pressured some. Getting All-American OG Jacob Johanning back on the OL (1st game was vs. Mercer) may help limit that going forward. When pressured, he has very solid instincts as to how to escape and turn chicken poop into chicken salad...and if he gets to run over an opposing DB in the process, he loves it all the more.


https://youtu.be/QEd7Y2YLgTg?feature=shared

So talented he can text on his cell phone while in the pocket

[Milktruck74]

I agree that the QB play in the SoCon has been very good. Obviously, with the numbers he put up this past week Gonzales is the Hands Down OPOW for the SoCon this week, but based on stats, Huff and Artopoeus both put up worthy performances....its just 5 TDs...not gonna compete with that!!!

[FUBeAR]

So talented he can text on his cell phone while in the pocketApparently…
https://i.imgflip.com/80ie7c.jpg

[wcugrad95]

Gonzalez' produciton was almost entirely in the first half. He started out 12 for 12 with 5 TDs before he threw his first incompletion!!! That is obviously not anybody's typical afternoon. If you start looking at the QB comparisons when only including FCS games, I came up with:



Player
Comps
Attempts
Comp %
TDs
Ints
Long
Yards
Rushes
Yards
TDs
Total Yds
Total/Game
Total TDs


Gonzalez
61
84
72.62%
10
1
57
901
16
86
0
987
329.0
10


Hiers
54
82
65.85%
2
2
67
614
18
23
0
637
318.5
2


Artopoeus
78
116
67.24%
9
2
62
1110
24
116
0
1226
306.5
9


Huff
59
83
71.08%
1
1
40
577
40
203
4
780
260.0
5


Peevy
36
52
69.23%
3
0
75
506
29
107
2
613
204.3
5


Ironside
45
67
67.16%
3
2
38
518
40
2
0
520
173.3
3



I didn't try to figure out efficiency when removing the non-FCS games, and remember these differ from FUBeARs because Samford would only have 2 data points (Shorter and Auburn don't count) and UTC would have 4 (all games against FCS competition if we count KSU). Sorting on either total TDs accounted for, total yards/game accounted for, TD to INT ratio, or completion percentage I found Gonzalez to be in the number 1 slot with all of those categories. Peevy has 0 interceptions but has 32 less attempts and 7 less TDs. So I guess technically his ratio would be higher.

Big caveat - this is still VERY early. In the month of October the Cats face UTC, bye, Furman, and Mercer. That is a pretty damn tough month of football!

[FUBeAR]

Gonzalez' produciton was almost entirely in the first half. He started out 12 for 12 with 5 TDs before he threw his first incompletion!!! That is obviously not anybody's typical afternoon. If you start looking at the QB comparisons when only including FCS games, I came up with:



Player
QB Passing Efficiency Rating
Comps
Attempts
Comp %
TDs
Ints
Long
Yards
Rushes
Yards
TDs
Total Yds
Total/Game
Total TDs


Gonzalez (WCU)
199.6
61
84
72.62%
10
1
57
901
16
86
0
987
329.0
10


Peevy (Mercer)
170.0
36
52
69.23%
3
0
75
506
29
107
2
613
204.3
5


Artopoeus (Chatt)
169.8
78
116
67.24%
9
2
62
1110
24
116
0
1226
306.5
9


Ironside (VMI)
140.9
45
67
67.16%
3
2
38
518
40
2
0
520
173.3
3


Hiers (Samford)
131.9
54
82
65.85%
2
2
67
614
18
23
0
637
318.5
2


Huff (Furman)
126.5
59
83
71.08%
1
1
40
577
40
203
4
780
260.0
5



I didn't try to figure out efficiency when removing the non-FCS games, and remember these differ from FUBeARs because Samford would only have 2 data points (Shorter and Auburn don't count) and UTC would have 4 (all games against FCS competition if we count KSU). Sorting on either total TDs accounted for, total yards/game accounted for, TD to INT ratio, or completion percentage I found Gonzalez to be in the number 1 slot with all of those categories.

Big caveat - this is still VERY early. In the month of October the Cats face UTC, bye, Furman, and Mercer. That is a pretty damn tough month of football!
Added QB Passing Efficiency Rating (assuming 95’s ciphering is correct) and sorted based upon that metric

[wcugrad95]

I’d also be the first to admit I am a data nerd like I think several others on here are. Kerwin Bell said last week on his coach’s show that stats don’t matter and points do because that is how we keep score. He was not happy with how WCU had been performing on 3rd down and in the redzone. I think that is where some of the other QBs excel. And of course Cole responded in this last game.

I think Huff, Hiers, Artopoeus, and Gonzalez fit extremely well into their specific teams. If these guys keep it up, there will be some serious battles coming and a very tough call for things like offensive POTY especially when you also consider some of the other talented RBs and WRs in this league. I actually believe Desmond Reid is the best offensive player Western has, but QBs put up the gaudy numbers (that is coming from a very old QB).

[Mocs123]

I think picking the "best" QB out of that group of very good QB's is tough, but it makes for interesting discussion. I've not watched all of the QB's this year yet but if I had to pick an "Offensive POY" based on the performance thus far, I'd probably give a slight nod to Gonzolez. To be honest, it will probably go to the one that is on the team that ends up winning the SoCon Championship - So probably Gonzolez, Peavy, Artopoeus, or Huff. Hiers will put up gaudy numbers but with two SoCon losses - while not technically out of the championship picture, they're close.

To be honest, I'm just glad that the Mocs have a QB that people are talking about when discussing the best QB in the SoCon.

[FUBeAR]

To be honest, I'm just glad that the Mocs have a QB that people are talking about when discussing the best QB in the SoCon.
Massey has the Mocs going 9-2/8-0 Winning the SoCon and taking the AutoBid.

Y'all better start cleaning off a spot in the trophy case beside the 2022, 2021, and 2020 SoCon Championship trophies, huh? FUBeAR is assuming Chatt’s National Championship Trophies for those years are in a different case.

FWIW - Massey has...

1) Chatt @ 9-2/8-0 (losses to N. Bama & Bama) - IFBO, Chatt would NOT get a Seed in this scenario...even if they lost to Bama on missed XP in OT
2) FU @ 9-2/7-1 (losses to South Carolina & Chatt) - Playoffs, but Unseeded...of course
3) WCU @ 8-3/6-2 (losses to Ark, Chatt & FU) - WCU in Playoffs for 1st time since '83 in this scenario? 50/50, IFBO...which is complete BS, BTW
4) Samford @ 6-5/5-3 (losses to Auburn, WCU, Chatt, Furman...and UTM)
5) Mercer @ 6-5/4-4 (losses to Ole Miss, FU, Chatt, WCU, and Samford)

[wcugrad95]

I know we are 4 games in, but there are still so many questions about everybody I have no clue how Massey can spit that out. UTC is still getting beat up in the polls because of their week 1 appearance but this would make it look like the computer doesn't care. WCU is averaging nearly 45 points per game against FCS competition, but our best win so far is against a 1-3 EKU team (who I think is very good BTW). At this stage, that EKU win is as good as or better than any other UTC win considering we both beat Samford. Furman has the most impressive win of the season over Mercer, but that win pushed Mercer out of the polls which can somehow hurt Furman's perception. I think we all agree that those are the 5 best teams in the conference, and those final records may very well come true. But I expect some of those results to look different with the annual "surprises" we always see.

And if any SOCON team goes 8-2 against FCS competition and their only losses are to other 9-win conference teams, getting into the playoffs shouldn't even be a question. But as FUBeAR points out it is probably 50/50. No 7-win team has any shot.

[Mocs123]

Obviously, I'd be ecstatic if we were 9-2 and 8-0 in the SoCon, but my guess is like most years, the SoCon winner will have at least one loss. Even with less parity than in previous years, Chattanooga, Furman, Mercer, and Western are all talented teams fighting for the top spot and there will be some cannibalism in the conference. If they don't throw in the towel, Samford is likely to ruin someone's championship hopes too.

Massey seems to get more accurate as the season goes on - so I take his predictions with a grain of salt at this point, but if you want to jump on the Chattanooga bandwagon, come on!

Huge game for the Mocs next week vs. WCU, ......BUT it's only a big game if we take care of business this week vs. Wofford. One game at a time, and if we end up with a SoCon trophy at the end of the season, we'll find somewhere to put it.

[ElCid]

Obviously, I'd be ecstatic if we were 9-2 and 8-0 in the SoCon, but my guess is like most years, the SoCon winner will have at least one loss. Even with less parity than in previous years, Chattanooga, Furman, Mercer, and Western are all talented teams fighting for the top spot and there will be some cannibalism in the conference. If they don't throw in the towel, Samford is likely to ruin someone's championship hopes too.

Massey seems to get more accurate as the season goes on - so I take his predictions with a grain of salt at this point, but if you want to jump on the Chattanooga bandwagon, come on!

Huge game for the Mocs next week vs. WCU, ......BUT it's only a big game if we take care of business this week vs. Wofford. One game at a time, and if we end up with a SoCon trophy at the end of the season, we'll find somewhere to put it.

Actually, overall, he is statistically just as good early as late. Again, overall. There are a few teams that have big moves, but not most. Now, having said that, this year may be an exception. There seems to be a lot of turmoil as compared to previous seasons. Lots of transition. Maybe the portal and virus shaking out.

I tracked his W/L projections for three full seasons to see how he did. I looked at every updated weekly prediction based on current rankings and every weekly prediction, for the entire season based on preseason rankings. So I was looking at games in Nov as predicted in August, as an example. Not huge difference between the two for picking winners. I don't have it in front of me, but as I recall, it was only about 2% better based on weekly updated predictions. It was in the mid 70s% range. Again, W/L, not spread. Although I did that as well. Another thing I discovered was that certain teams and certain conferences were more apt to be predicted better than other ones. Some teams and conferences are seriously unpredictable.

[caribbeanhen]

Apparently…
https://i.imgflip.com/80ie7c.jpg


No texting while watching Southern Conference football… eyes on the game

[Milktruck74]

Actually, overall, he is statistically just as good early as late. Again, overall. There are a few teams that have big moves, but not most. Now, having said that, this year may be an exception. There seems to be a lot of turmoil as compared to previous seasons. Lots of transition. Maybe the portal and virus shaking out.

I tracked his W/L projections for three full seasons to see how he did. I looked at every updated weekly prediction based on current rankings and every weekly prediction, for the entire season based on preseason rankings. So I was looking at games in Nov as predicted in August, as an example. Not huge difference between the two for picking winners. I don't have it in front of me, but as I recall, it was only about 2% better based on weekly updated predictions. It was in the mid 70s% range. Again, W/L, not spread. Although I did that as well. Another thing I discovered was that certain teams and certain conferences were more apt to be predicted better than other ones. Some teams and conferences are seriously unpredictable.

My initial thoughts were 75% is pretty solid, but then I thought about it a little more and realized, if you just pick the favorites every week on a W/L, you'd probably go 75%....Interesting that more data doesn't significantly alter the accuracy of the algorithm. I always thought that with his set up, you need more input to smooth out the outliers that tend to happen early in the season.

[ElCid]

My initial thoughts were 75% is pretty solid, but then I thought about it a little more and realized, if you just pick the favorites every week on a W/L, you'd probably go 75%....Interesting that more data doesn't significantly alter the accuracy of the algorithm. I always thought that with his set up, you need more input to smooth out the outliers that tend to happen early in the season.

Well that was my thought as well. But he takes past recent history and seties results into account as well.

[ElCid]

SOCON news. Former QB at The Citadel passes away unexpectedly.

https://abcnews4.com/amp/news/local/stanley-myers-citadel-graduate-and-south-carolinas-first-african-american-military-judge-dies-at-47-sports-college-football-citadel-football-news-2023

[Milktruck74]

Sad news. I remember his name, he was playing when I was...and he is a little younger than this OLD dude!!! Take care of yourselves, get checked, get screened, don't ignore any signs, tell your people you love them, and live each day to the fullest!!!

[The Cats]

Whee, The Cats: A Season with the Catamounts- Episode 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM_d8MEmJsQ

[FUBeAR]

FUBeAR's SoCon Prediculations

Saturday, September 30, 2023


Away
Home
Time
Prediculations


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P
FUBeAR hasn’t watched ETSU play, but he just familiarized himself with their trials and tribulations this season. They are getting their QB1 back this week and Samford has not won a game over a D1 Team this season…but neither has ETSU. So…the 2021 & 2022 SoCon Champs have played 7 total games this season so far and have yet to produce a D1 win. That is so bad. Yuck! Yuck! Yuck! Oh well, Samford wins this one, but both Teams should just spend the afternoon in some sort of joint mass confessional begging forgiveness for and seeking atonement for their Football transgressions. Yuck!

Final Score: Samford 49 - ETSU 21


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/)
2P
WCU is flying high and making sure they are on every radar in FCS Football. Bellhops are hapless and hopeless. They will play hard, but they cannot compete with the Catamounts on the field and there is no question they will be far surpassed in the self-hype game.

Final Score: WCU 84* - The Citadel 14

*To top last week’s end of game ‘heroics,’ WCU scores their final TD getting the snap off with only .1 second left on a running clock and hits the deep post for a ‘thrilling’ 85 yard TD to boost their winning margin to an even 70 points.


https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P
Mercer shot every claw off of their paws in the 1st 3 quarters against Furman last week. It was not surprising, then, to see them clawless, toothless, and defenseless against Furman’s dominance from late in the 3rd to midway thru the 4th, when Coach Hendrix put away the big guns and Coach Cronic, honorably, followed suit. So…how does this disappointing loss affect Mercer’s Team. FUBeAR thinks Coach Cronic and the leaders on this Team know that they have not performed up to their potential. FUBeAR expects that to end just as the Roos hop down from their big win over winless Woffy. Mercer gets right on O, but their D is the story this week as they score 2x.

Final Score: Mercer 55 - VMI 7


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
6P
As terrible as their outcomes have been, Wofford does not really look like a terrible Football Team. Their problem Saturday will be that Chatt is a very good Football Team. No quit in the Mocs … yet … give ‘em time.

Final Score: Chattanooga 45 - Wofford 17



FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

1) Furman - So many ways to beat you...all of you...and they don't beat themselves

2a) Chattanooga - QB is the real deal. Barring quitting, which is always on the MocsMenu, this Team will compete for the SoCon Championship and a playoff berth - bet they wish they'd taken North Alabama a bit more seriously. Could the PorchYappers fell them the same way?

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.

2c) Mercer - Excellent 3 quarter fight with #1. Coulda easily quit, on the road, down 17-0, but the Bears fought hard to get back into it. Too many mistakes - can't give away points on ST gaffes. Mercer can fight back into the SoCon and Playoff race just as they did their game with Furman. With more attention to details, they can win that fight - at least the getting in the Playoffs piece of it.

5) Samford - The HomewoodHounds, like the Montana Grizzlies, are 2 of the best Teams in D2 Football. They are both undefeated in D2....Problem is they are in D1...where Samford is a winless 0-3 and REELING. ETSU at home should help them find the track, if not get back on it. They are just barely hanging on to this #5 spot.

NOTE: The new SoCon Commissioner contacted FUBeAR over the weekend and advised that FUBeAR is not authorized to remove Teams from the Conference...so...

9a) VMI
9b) ETSU
9c) Wofford
9d) The Citadel

[caribbeanhen]

As the Southern conference shrivels and wilts so does the length of his reviews, just ask Mrs FuBeaR 😂

[FUBeAR]

As the Southern conference shrivels and wilts so does the length of his reviews, just ask Mrs FuBeaR 
The SoCon has a very large header group with the Purple Paladins at the tip of the spear. And, as seems to be quite popular today, the SoCon has a big, big bottom. Basically, the SoCon is abundantly fertile with elite Playoff-quality Teams.

OTOH - The scene below is an extended (ironically) metaphor regarding the quality and the reputation of the Coastal Atheltic Association...This is, fittingly, the short version.


https://youtu.be/OGi16Vwk_j0?feature=shared

[The Cats]

https://i.imgflip.com/4yw8ae.jpg






FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

1) Furman - So many ways to beat you...all of you...and they don't beat themselves

2a) Chattanooga - QB is the real deal. Barring quitting, which is always on the MocsMenu, this Team will compete for the SoCon Championship and a playoff berth - bet they wish they'd taken North Alabama a bit more seriously. Could the PorchYappers fell them the same way?

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.

2c) Mercer - Excellent 3 quarter fight with #1. Coulda easily quit, on the road, down 17-0, but the Bears fought hard to get back into it. Too many mistakes - can't give away points on ST gaffes. Mercer can fight back into the SoCon and Playoff race just as they did their game with Furman. With more attention to details, they can win that fight - at least the getting in the Playoffs piece of it.

5) Samford - The HomewoodHounds, like the Montana Grizzlies, are 2 of the best Teams in D2 Football. They are both undefeated in D2....Problem is they are in D1...where Samford is a winless 0-3 and REELING. ETSU at home should help them find the track, if not get back on it. They are just barely hanging on to this #5 spot.

NOTE: The new SoCon Commissioner contacted FUBeAR over the weekend and advised that FUBeAR is not authorized to remove Teams from the Conference...so...

9a) VMI
9b) ETSU
9c) Wofford
9d) The Citadel

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, September 30, 2023


Away
Home
Time
Prediculations


https://soconsports.com/images/2020/1/2/etsu_logo.png?width=30ETSU (http://www.etsubucs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P



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/)
2P



https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_mercer.png?width=30Mercer (http://www.mercerbears.com/)
4P



https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chattanooga (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
6P




FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.

Actually, I don't think the Catamount fans care what fubear thinks or how he ranks teams in the SoCon. His bias against the Cats are well known, so why would anyone care how many teams he ranks ahead of WCU.
207 characters of 'not caring' demonstrated...so far...(209 OR 206 characters with correct grammar, for those playing at home)
FUBeAR's SoCon Power Rankings (Picks later in the week)

1) Furman - So many ways to beat you...all of you...and they don't beat themselves

2a) Chattanooga - QB is the real deal. Barring quitting, which is always on the MocsMenu, this Team will compete for the SoCon Championship and a playoff berth - bet they wish they'd taken North Alabama a bit more seriously. Could the PorchYappers fell them the same way?

2b) WCU - Coach WT Sherman may have spared lighting up Charleston, but Coach KD Bell most certainly will not. Any Coach that's throwing the ball into the endzone up 70-21 with 4 seconds left to play obviously makes the pre-Christmas Grinch look like he has an overflowing chest cavity. Catamount fans will rage @ FUBeAR for having the Mocs (a small letter) ahead of their Favorite Team from Florida, but they should have quite a showdown next week after they both have, essentially, Open Dates this week. They can show FUBeAR then if he should swap these up.

2c) Mercer - Excellent 3 quarter fight with #1. Coulda easily quit, on the road, down 17-0, but the Bears fought hard to get back into it. Too many mistakes - can't give away points on ST gaffes. Mercer can fight back into the SoCon and Playoff race just as they did their game with Furman. With more attention to details, they can win that fight - at least the getting in the Playoffs piece of it.

5) Samford - The HomewoodHounds, like the Montana Grizzlies, are 2 of the best Teams in D2 Football. They are both undefeated in D2....Problem is they are in D1...where Samford is a winless 0-3 and REELING. ETSU at home should help them find the track, if not get back on it. They are just barely hanging on to this #5 spot.

NOTE: The new SoCon Commissioner contacted FUBeAR over the weekend and advised that FUBeAR is not authorized to remove Teams from the Conference...so...

9a) VMI
9b) ETSU
9c) Wofford
9d) The Citadel

https://i.imgflip.com/4yw8ae.jpg
Yawning due to the excruciating eternal ennui of The Kitty’s repetitive posts quoting FUBeAR to clearly demonstrate him “not caring” about FUBeAR’s posts?

LOL

[kdinva]

SOCON news. Former QB at The Citadel passes away unexpectedly.

https://abcnews4.com/amp/news/local/stanley-myers-citadel-graduate-and-south-carolinas-first-african-american-military-judge-dies-at-47-sports-college-football-citadel-football-news-2023

WOW, my condolences to the Bulldog family. He ran the TO as well as any Citadel quarterback, gave VMI fits I can certify.

[kdinva]

Samford 37, ETSU 17
Mercer 35, VMI 17
WCU 42, The Citadel 20
UTC 34, Wofford 13

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

Was 5-0 last week. With ETSU back in action this week and Riddell back as QB1, one can only hope our fortunes change for the better. But given our defense has given up 115 points and our offense scored six points against D1 competition, it's not saying much. Here is where I see it at this point:

1) Furman - are this year's Lamb Bowl champions if nothing else
2) Chattanooga - can they keep the momentum going
3) Western Carolina - laid the Buckinquitters to waste (oh wait, that's Charleston Southern)
4) Mercer - was valiant in defeat
5) VMI - they don't want to bring home the SoCon Toilet Bowl
6) Samford - could they be in contention for the SoCon Toilet Bowl
7) (TIE) A Citadel - Left Orangeburg all beat up
(TIE) East Tennessee State - can they show signs of life
(TIE) Wofford - first Presbyterian and now VMI

This Week's Games
VMI @ Mercer (Game of the Week) - Bears recover and maul some Keydets
ETSU @ Samford - ETSU Buccaneers, profiteers, 3 Musketeers, privateers, this is not their year, IT DOESN'T MATTER, BAMMERDOGS BY FIDDY!
Western Carolina @ A Citadel (Beatdown of the Week #1) - A Citadel Bulldogs, Lincoln logs, Kermit the Frog, bad dog, London Fog, IT DOESN'T MATTER, CATS BY FIDDY!
Chattanooga @ Wofford (Beatdown of the Week #2) - Wofford Terriers, aircraft carriers, Charleston Post and Courier, sonic barrier, Department of the Interior, IT DOESN'T MATTER, MOCS BY FIDDY!

[FUBeAR]

Was 5-0 last week. With ETSU back in action this week and Riddell back as QB1, one can only hope our fortunes change for the better. But given our defense has given up 115 points and our offense scored six points against D1 competition, it's not saying much. Here is where I see it at this point:

1) Furman - are this year's Lamb Bowl champions if nothing else
2) Chattanooga - can they keep the momentum going
3) Western Carolina - laid the Buckinquitters to waste (oh wait, that's Charleston Southern)
4) Mercer - was valiant in defeat
5) VMI - they don't want to bring home the SoCon Toilet Bowl
6) Samford - could they be in contention for the SoCon Toilet Bowl
7) (TIE) A Citadel - Left Orangeburg all beat up
(TIE) East Tennessee State - can they show signs of life
(TIE) Wofford - first Presbyterian and now VMI

This Week's Games
VMI @ Mercer (Game of the Week) - Bears recover and maul some Keydets
ETSU @ Samford - ETSU Buccaneers, profiteers, 3 Musketeers, privateers, this is not their year, IT DOESN'T MATTER, BAMMERDOGS BY FIDDY!
Western Carolina @ A Citadel (Beatdown of the Week #1) - A Citadel Bulldogs, Lincoln logs, Kermit the Frog, bad dog, London Fog, IT DOESN'T MATTER, CATS BY FIDDY!
Chattanooga @ Wofford (Beatdown of the Week #2) - Wofford Terriers, aircraft carriers, Charleston Post and Courier, sonic barrier, Department of the Interior, IT DOESN'T MATTER, MOCS BY FIDDY!
your rhymes are perfect beams
they are dreams for our times

[ElCid]

Wow. ETSU throws an int and Samford marches like 60 yards in 4 plays for a score. Too easy.

[ElCid]

Another wow. We should be tied with WCU after a qtr. This is not the team that played our first four games. As it is, we've had two TDs taken away. One was a bogus block in the back on an amazing 90 yd kickoff TD return.

[Milktruck74]

Another wow. We should be tied with WCU after a qtr. This is not the team that played our first four games. As it is, we've had two TDs taken away. One was a bogus block in the back on an amazing 90 yd kickoff TD return.

After that first quarter the SoCon Officials are the Defensive Players of the Week...they are responsible for 2 Defensive Scores!!!! That "blindside block" was weak!!!

[wcugrad95]

Nohting wrong with WCU's offense, but we better figure out some assignments on D. I can see some other SOCON teams planning a lot more option against the Cats going forward.

[Milktruck74]

Nohting wrong with WCU's offense, but we better figure out some assignments on D. I can see some other SOCON teams planning a lot more option against the Cats going forward.

I hope Joe P is taking Notes!!!

[wcugrad95]

Not sure how long we will see Reid in the 2nd half. He has 167 yards and 5 TDs in the first half of this game.

[ElCid]

OMG we suck bad. Had a couple good series, but our guys are just sloppy. Coach has his work cut out for him. WCU looks tight and motivated.

[wcugrad95]

Plenty of blown defensive assignments by WCU. I am really not sure why Western doesn't just turn around and hand the ball off. Adams is not Desmond Reid, but he is probably good enough to start for many SOCOn teams.

[Catamount87]

Who are the guys calling the Mercer/VMI game on ESPN+? They are as dull as dirt and sound like they're using mikes from a 1970s portable tape recorder.

[ElCid]

Who are the guys calling the Mercer/VMI game on ESPN+? They are as dull as dirt and sound like they're using mikes from a 1970s portable tape recorder.

Had to turn my volume way up just to hear them. Then I turned it back down.

[wcugrad95]

Poll-watching for non-AGS polls, Furman looking like they may move into the top-5 without playing a game. Will be interesting to see how far NDSU falls, but at least one guy on here had them at #6 in his AGS polls coming into this week and he was getting ripped. But the Bison and William & Mary going down means the Paladins should move up. Lots of other ranked teams are trailing in the 2nd half, so WCU has a shot to move up in polls like STATs and maybe in the coaches. If UTC can take care of business tonight they should move up, too. That would make next weeks WCU vs UTC game huge, with both teams still having Furman on the schedule. More higher-ranked SOCON teams the better.

[kdinva]

Who are the guys calling the Mercer/VMI game on ESPN+? They are as dull as dirt and sound like they're using mikes from a 1970s portable tape recorder.

and the camera work looks like a 4th grade class is doing it. don't follow long passes or runs,

[JSUSoutherner]

Poll-watching for non-AGS polls, Furman looking like they may move into the top-5 without playing a game. Will be interesting to see how far NDSU falls, but at least one guy on here had them at #6 in his AGS polls coming into this week and he was getting ripped. But the Bison and William & Mary going down means the Paladins should move up. Lots of other ranked teams are trailing in the 2nd half, so WCU has a shot to move up in polls like STATs and maybe in the coaches. If UTC can take care of business tonight they should move up, too. That would make next weeks WCU vs UTC game huge, with both teams still having Furman on the schedule. More higher-ranked SOCON teams the better.
Why should Furman move up?

The team Furman scraped past by a FG just lost to Chuck South.

Their best win is Mercer and Mercer's best win (and arguably the best win in the entire OOC resume of the SoCon) is North Alabama.

This conference is 10-ply.

[Chalupa Batman]

Why should Furman move up?

The team Furman scraped past by a FG just lost to Chuck South.

Their best win is Mercer and Mercer's best win (and arguably the best win in the entire OOC resume of the SoCon) is North Alabama.

This conference is 10-ply.

I would say Western Carolina's win at Eastern Kentucky would be better. Not a great win but it is a pretty good one.

[JSUSoutherner]

I would say Western Carolina's win at Eastern Kentucky would be better. Not a great win but it is a pretty good one.
Oh yeah EKU. Yeah nevermind the SoCon isn't completely terrible and have zero resume. My apologies.

I look forward to seeing WCU ranked above Furman this week.

[Milktruck74]

Oh yeah EKU. Yeah nevermind the SoCon isn't completely terrible and have zero resume. My apologies.

I look forward to seeing WCU ranked above Furman this week.

Where is Jax State ranked?

[ElCid]

Why should Furman move up?

The team Furman scraped past by a FG just lost to Chuck South.

Their best win is Mercer and Mercer's best win (and arguably the best win in the entire OOC resume of the SoCon) is North Alabama.

This conference is 10-ply.


Lack of situational awareness makes you look silly. KSU is in that transition mode. They aren't necessarily playing their best each week. Players not wanting to get hurt so they get their shot next year. Coaches playing different players, different schemes, etc. Same thing happened during App St and Ga So's transition year. They aren't a consistent measure of ability for various reasons. They basically have very little to play for this year. I would have thought you realized that.

[ElCid]

After watching WCU for the past few weeks, I gotta say, they could take the conf easily. The next four weeks will tell the tail. Chatty, bye, Furman, and Mercer. Wofford, ETSU, and VMI shouldn't pose any issue to close out. If they win out, they will obviously be seeded. If they lose one, they could still be depending on the rest of the field. It came together quickly for them. Teams should be quaking in the shoes about facing them.

[FUBeAR]

Where is Jax State ranked?

Lack of situational awareness makes you look silly. KSU is in that transition mode. They aren't necessarily playing their best each week. Players not wanting to get hurt so they get their shot next year. Coaches playing different players, different schemes, etc. Same thing happened during App St and Ga So's transition year. They aren't a consistent measure of ability for various reasons. They basically have very little to play for this year. I would have thought you realized that.
C’mon gentlemens - this is exactly why the good people @ AGS provide us with that wonderful “Ignore User” capability. No need to waste your hard-earned pixels on unadulterated silliness.

[JSUSoutherner]

Lack of situational awareness makes you look silly. KSU is in that transition mode. They aren't necessarily playing their best each week. Players not wanting to get hurt so they get their shot next year. Coaches playing different players, different schemes, etc. Same thing happened during App St and Ga So's transition year. They aren't a consistent measure of ability for various reasons. They basically have very little to play for this year. I would have thought you realized that.
Weird when us and James Madison transitioned we beat the **** out of most everyone.

Maybe Kennesaws just not good.

But don't let a narrative get in the way of reality.

I guess you guys will see for yourselves when you get shellacked in the playoffs again. Not that you'll learn anything.

[wcugrad95]

Back to talking about the SOCON. I am trying to understand the UTC vs Wofford game. Was UTC caught looking ahead or did Wofford simply play more inspired football? The Mocs didn’t look anything like I saw against Samford last week, but on the other hand a 10-point road win in a conference game should probably not be considered awful.

I expect Chattanooga to be more than ready when Western comes to town next week, but I am also interested to see if Wofford found a spark and if they will rise to the top of the teams who have been at the bottom through the first 5 games and might put some more scares in the top teams.

[rtzlunar]

Back to talking about the SOCON. I am trying to understand the UTC vs Wofford game. Was UTC caught looking ahead or did Wofford simply play more inspired football? The Mocs didn’t look anything like I saw against Samford last week, but on the other hand a 10-point road win in a conference game should probably not be considered awful.

I expect Chattanooga to be more than ready when Western comes to town next week, but I am also interested to see if Wofford found a spark and if they will rise to the top of the teams who have been at the bottom through the first 5 games and might put some more scares in the top teams.

Can’t speak to Wofford’s play since I had not seen their earlier games. Chattanooga was awful. Flat, both the O line and D line were outplayed. QB was inaccurate and made several poor decisions. The only bright spot was the special teams, and they usually suck.

I thought the Mocs played even worse than they did against tUNA, but were lucky to play a bad Wofford team. Consistency is not what the Mocs are known for under Rusty Wright. If Chattanooga plays like that next week Western will blow them out.

[caribbeanhen]

C’mon gentlemens - this is exactly why the good people @ AGS provide us with that wonderful “Ignore User” capability. No need to waste your hard-earned pixels on unadulterated silliness.

Yes but you have to know how to get away with it …. Like being right every once in a while

[Milktruck74]

Back to talking about the SOCON. I am trying to understand the UTC vs Wofford game. Was UTC caught looking ahead or did Wofford simply play more inspired football? The Mocs didn’t look anything like I saw against Samford last week, but on the other hand a 10-point road win in a conference game should probably not be considered awful.

I expect Chattanooga to be more than ready when Western comes to town next week, but I am also interested to see if Wofford found a spark and if they will rise to the top of the teams who have been at the bottom through the first 5 games and might put some more scares in the top teams.

I think the answer to both is YES!!! THe Mocs were completely flat. I'll bet they had an awful week of practice and walked into Sparty with the idea that all they needed to do was show up, and they would bring home a W...That is not how the SoCon Works!!! Wofford was ready to plan and they did so to the best of their ability. Fortunately for the Mocs there was a bit of a talent gap that the yappy dogs couldn't overcome. The Mocs got lucky to leave SC with a W last night.

I actually think that performance will help the Mocs this coming saturday. Teams that underperform one week usually regroup, have a great week of practice, and show up ready to play on saturday. I don't know if the "bounce back" will be enough to win against the Fighting Bells, but I do think they have a better shot than if they would have walked into and won by 35 points.

As for WCU, I think there were plenty of successful plays that the bullpups O ran against Western, and if the Mocs OC took notes and incorporates some of them (with far better talent) they should be able to have some nice successes against the Western D... I'm not sure he is willing to try it, because it is a bit unconventional...rest Ford (your power up the middle back) and utilize the #2 and #3 RBs with a bit faster first step and outside speed to get to the outside and run some option plays...Then run some RPOs outside... Ultimately, Chattanooga's DNA has beento line up and push it down the gut...I'm not sure the OL has that in them and sometimes you need to try something new.

[JSUSoutherner]

Where is Jax State ranked?

Is going after Jax State really a can of worms you want to open? I'd think by now a Chatt fan of all people would know their place. :D

[The Cats]

Is going after Jax State really a can of worms you want to open? I'd think by now a Chatt fan of all people would know their place. :D

Knowing your place, it's the pot calling the kettle.... you know the rest.

[JSUSoutherner]

Knowing your place, it's the pot calling the kettle.... you know the rest.
Well considering Jax State has owned the Southern conference for about as long as Aaron Rodgers has owned the Bears, I feel I am well within my rights to speak about it's ineptitude.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

And then ETSU lost to Samford to the tune of 42-28. Didn't think ETSU had it in them. Looks like they could take at least Woeford, A Citadel and VMI but we'll find out soon enough.

[The Cats]

Well considering Jax State has owned the Southern conference for about as long as Aaron Rodgers has owned the Bears, I feel I am well within my rights to speak about it's ineptitude.

So, you've owned the Southern Conference? Well, lets look at that.

JSU really only has a history with two teams in the SoCon (Chattanooga & Samford) and most of the games were played against both of those two team were prior to their joining the SoCon.

Chattanooga came into the SoCon in 1976, and you have a 11-9 record vs. the Mocs since '76.
Samford joined the SoCon in 2008 and you've played 1 time since they joined, that was 2013, but you did win that game.

JSU's record vs. other SoCon teams:

ETSU 2-1-0
Furman 0-3-0
GSU 0-4-0 (yes GSU was in the SoCon then)
Mercer 1-0-0
Wofford 2-1-0

That's it, a 17-18 record against SoCon teams (and you never even played ASU - what gives?)

So, you think JSU owns the SoCon? The facts speak for themselves...

[Milktruck74]

So, you've owned the Southern Conference? Well, lets look at that.

JSU really only has a history with two teams in the SoCon (Chattanooga & Samford) and most of the games were played against both of those two team were prior to their joining the SoCon.

Chattanooga came into the SoCon in 1976, and you have a 11-9 record vs. the Mocs since '76.
Samford joined the SoCon in 2008 and you've played 1 time since they joined, that was 2013, but you did win that game.

JSU's record vs. other SoCon teams:

ETSU 2-1-0
Furman 0-3-0
GSU 0-4-0 (yes GSU was in the SoCon then)
Mercer 1-0-0
Wofford 2-1-0

That's it, a 17-18 record against SoCon teams (and you never even played ASU - what gives?)

So, you think JSU owns the SoCon? The facts speak for themselves...

Dude, you are trying to use logic on a guy that knows numbers!!! Only 7 more payments on his title pawn and he OWNS his underpinning!!!!

[JSUSoutherner]

So, you've owned the Southern Conference? Well, lets look at that.

JSU really only has a history with two teams in the SoCon (Chattanooga & Samford) and most of the games were played against both of those two team were prior to their joining the SoCon.

Chattanooga came into the SoCon in 1976, and you have a 11-9 record vs. the Mocs since '76.
Samford joined the SoCon in 2008 and you've played 1 time since they joined, that was 2013, but you did win that game.

JSU's record vs. other SoCon teams:

ETSU 2-1-0
Furman 0-3-0
GSU 0-4-0 (yes GSU was in the SoCon then)
Mercer 1-0-0
Wofford 2-1-0

That's it, a 17-18 record against SoCon teams (and you never even played ASU - what gives?)

So, you think JSU owns the SoCon? The facts speak for themselves...

Ah typical SoCon. Reaching back for Daddy GSU to pretend like you're still relevant.

Tell me Poindexter, what's our record since Georgia Southern and App State got sick of carrying your conference and left.

Go on, tell me.

ALSO, why don't you use the stats from when JSU was actually D1? 7 of UTCS wins were over a D2 JSU. If we look at JSUs record against current day SoCon teams, from the moment JSU moved up in '96 onwards, JSU is 24-9.

To go back to my original comparison, Aaron Rodgers also has 24 wins against the Bears. Coincidence? You tell me.

[The Cats]

Go on, tell me.

ALSO, why don't you use the stats from when JSU was actually D1?

Ok we'll look at the stats from '96 on, when JSU went DI...

11-2 Chattanooga
1-0 Samford
0-3 Furman
0-3 GSU
1-0 Mercer
1-0 Samford
_0-1 ETSU____
14-9 win/loss record - when playing only part of the SoCon members.

No idea where you got your numbers, but I got mine from the JSU official site. A 14-9 record against a list of only some of teams in the SoCon, is hardly DOMINATING a conference, especially when the majority of those wins you are bragging about are against one (1) team, Chattanooga.

Yes, I'll give you that, JSU has dominated the Mocs since '96, BUT no one else in the SoCon.

[ElCid]

Ok we'll look at the stats from '96 on, when JSU went DI...

11-2 Chattanooga
1-0 Samford
0-3 Furman
0-3 GSU
1-0 Mercer
1-0 Samford
_0-1 ETSU____
14-9 win/loss record - when playing only part of the SoCon members.

No idea where you got your numbers, but I got mine from the JSU official site. A 14-9 record against a list of only some of teams in the SoCon, is hardly DOMINATING a conference, especially when the majority of those wins you are bragging about are against one (1) team, Chattanooga.

Yes, I'll give you that, JSU has dominated the Mocs since '96, BUT no one else in the SoCon.

BOOM!

[JSUSoutherner]

BOOM!

Boom my ass, he ignores what I wrote and cherry picks data. Either that or he just lacks the mental capacity to read. He's a WCU grad, so it's probably equal chances.


Ok we'll look at the stats from '96 on, when JSU went DI...

11-2 Chattanooga
1-0 Samford
0-3 Furman
0-3 GSU
1-0 Mercer
1-0 Samford
_0-1 ETSU____
14-9 win/loss record - when playing only part of the SoCon members.

No idea where you got your numbers, but I got mine from the JSU official site. A 14-9 record against a list of only some of teams in the SoCon, is hardly DOMINATING a conference, especially when the majority of those wins you are bragging about are against one (1) team, Chattanooga.

Yes, I'll give you that, JSU has dominated the Mocs since '96, BUT no one else in the SoCon.

No one else that is in the SoCon, eh? Samford is in the SoCon and you're just going to ignore the 9 wins we racked up between 98 and 07? Ok bud.

"bUt tHeY wErEn'T iN tHe sOcOn"


If we look at JSUs record against current day SoCon teams, from the moment JSU moved up in '96 onwards, JSU is 24-9.

Perhaps read what I wrote, hm?

My whole issue isn't with your conference from the mid 2000s. Mid 2000s SoCon was pretty crazy. Even I'm not enough of a hater to deny that. But current day SoCon isn't even a shadow. It's the shadows shadow. During a rainstorm.

Now, to the issue of you calculating JSU's record incorrectly:




DATE
TEAM
SCORE (JSU vs Team)
JSU W/L
W-L


10-19-1996
Samford
17-27
L
0-1


11-01-1997
Samford
14-17
L
0-2


09-12-1998
Georgia Southern*
32-51
L
0-3


10-17-1998
Samford
20-0
W
1-3


10-02-1999
Samford
18-34
L
1-4


11-13-1999
Georgia Southern*
14-51
L
1-5


09-21-2000
Samford
36-16
W
2-5


10-06-2001
Samford
39-7
W
3-5


10-05-2002
Samford
37-23
W
4-5


11-16-2002
Georgia Southern*
3-41
L
4-6


11-08-2003
Samford
49-32
W
5-6


09-18-2004
Chattanooga
65-20
W
6-6


11-06-2004
Samford
51-18
W
7-6


11-27-2004
Furman*
7-49
L
7-7


09-01-2005
Furman
35-37
L
7-8


9-10-2005
Chattanooga
18-21
L
7-9


11-12-2005
Samford
26-20
W
8-9


09-02-2006
Furman
13-17
L
8-10


11-04-2006
Chattanooga
13-10
W
9-10


11-11-2006
Samford
55-7
W
10-10


09-08-2007
Chattanooga
33-19
W
11-10


11-03-2007
Samford
24-12
W
12-10


09-20-2008
Chattanooga
31-3
W
13-10


09-11-2010
Chattanooga
21-17
W
14-10


12-04-2010
Wofford*
14-17
L
14-11


09-10-2011
Chattanooga
17-38
L
14-12


09-08-2012
Chattanooga
27-24
W
15-12


11-30-2013
Samford*
55-14
W
16-12


09-06-2014
Chattanooga*
26-23
W
17-12


09-05-2015
Chattanooga*
23-20
W
18-12


12-05-2015
Chattanooga*
41-35
W
19-12


08-26-2017
Chattanooga
27-13
W
20-12


11-24-2018
ETSU*
34-27
W
21-12


09-07-2019
Chattanooga
41-20
W
22-12


10-10-2020
Mercer
34-28
W
23-12


09-02-2023
ETSU
49-3
W
24-12



* Denotes SoCon Conference Champion

Now I included Georgia Southern on the table for context. But if we take their three wins out as per my above quote, we land on 24-9. Including Georgia Southern, 24-12 ain't shabby either. Especially when you consider 10 of those 12 losses are old enough to drive.

I also mentioned JSU's ownership of the SoCon mirroring Aaron Rodgers ownership of the Bears. So we can see pretty easily that since 2008, when Rodgers took over as the Packers starter, JSU is 11-2 against the SoCon.

Win % since 2008:
Rodgers vs Bears: .828
Jax State vs SoCon: .846

Pretty close.

Now for the other point you elected to ignore:


Tell me Poindexter, what's our record since Georgia Southern and App State got sick of carrying your conference and left.

Well if memory serves, both of those nerds announced the move after the 2012 season. So we can see since 2012 JSU has gone 9-0 and racked up 5 SoCon transitive title wins.


Now would you like me to open a box of crayons for you or are you ready to start calling me sir?

[The Cats]

Boom my ass, he ignores what I wrote and cherry picks data. Either that or he just lacks the mental capacity to read. He's a WCU grad, so it's probably equal chances.



No one else that is in the SoCon, eh? Samford is in the SoCon and you're just going to ignore the 9 wins we racked up between 98 and 07? Ok bud.

"bUt tHeY wErEn'T iN tHe sOcOn"



Perhaps read what I wrote, hm?

My whole issue isn't with your conference from the mid 2000s. Mid 2000s SoCon was pretty crazy. Even I'm not enough of a hater to deny that. But current day SoCon isn't even a shadow. It's the shadows shadow. During a rainstorm.

Now, to the issue of you calculating JSU's record incorrectly:




DATE
TEAM
SCORE (JSU vs Team)
JSU W/L
W-L


10-19-1996
Samford
17-27
L
0-1


11-01-1997
Samford
14-17
L
0-2


09-12-1998
Georgia Southern*
32-51
L
0-3


10-17-1998
Samford
20-0
W
1-3


10-02-1999
Samford
18-34
L
1-4


11-13-1999
Georgia Southern*
14-51
L
1-5


09-21-2000
Samford
36-16
W
2-5


10-06-2001
Samford
39-7
W
3-5


10-05-2002
Samford
37-23
W
4-5


11-16-2002
Georgia Southern*
3-41
L
4-6


11-08-2003
Samford
49-32
W
5-6


09-18-2004
Chattanooga
65-20
W
6-6


11-06-2004
Samford
51-18
W
7-6


11-27-2004
Furman*
7-49
L
7-7


09-01-2005
Furman
35-37
L
7-8


9-10-2005
Chattanooga
18-21
L
7-9


11-12-2005
Samford
26-20
W
8-9


09-02-2006
Furman
13-17
L
8-10


11-04-2006
Chattanooga
13-10
W
9-10


11-11-2006
Samford
55-7
W
10-10


09-08-2007
Chattanooga
33-19
W
11-10


11-03-2007
Samford
24-12
W
12-10


09-20-2008
Chattanooga
31-3
W
13-10


09-11-2010
Chattanooga
21-17
W
14-10


12-04-2010
Wofford*
14-17
L
14-11


09-10-2011
Chattanooga
17-38
L
14-12


09-08-2012
Chattanooga
27-24
W
15-12


11-30-2013
Samford*
55-14
W
16-12


09-06-2014
Chattanooga*
26-23
W
17-12


09-05-2015
Chattanooga*
23-20
W
18-12


12-05-2015
Chattanooga*
41-35
W
19-12


08-26-2017
Chattanooga
27-13
W
20-12


11-24-2018
ETSU*
34-27
W
21-12


09-07-2019
Chattanooga
41-20
W
22-12


10-10-2020
Mercer
34-28
W
23-12


09-02-2023
ETSU
49-3
W
24-12



* Denotes SoCon Conference Champion

Now I included Georgia Southern on the table for context. But if we take their three wins out as per my above quote, we land on 24-9. Including Georgia Southern, 24-12 ain't shabby either. Especially when you consider 10 of those 12 losses are old enough to drive.

I also mentioned JSU's ownership of the SoCon mirroring Aaron Rodgers ownership of the Bears. So we can see pretty easily that since 2008, when Rodgers took over as the Packers starter, JSU is 11-2 against the SoCon.

Win % since 2008:
Rodgers vs Bears: .828
Jax State vs SoCon: .846

Pretty close.

Now for the other point you elected to ignore:



Well if memory serves, both of those nerds announced the move after the 2012 season. So we can see since 2012 JSU has gone 9-0 and racked up 5 SoCon transitive title wins.


Now would you like me to open a box of crayons for you or are you ready to start calling me sir?

There you go again counting games against teams that were not yet members of the SoCon.

My basic point holds up, you have the majority of the wins against Chattanooga. Good for you, that does not mean JSU owned the SoCon at any time!!!. I guess you already own the CUSA as well? Or do you need a couple of more seasons before bragging about that?


*What's really wrong here is that you and the rest of the JSU folks have that rejection syndrome going on... The SoCon wouldn't touch you with a ten foot poll and you hate 'em for that.... LOL

[JSUSoutherner]

*What's really wrong here is that you and the rest of the JSU folks have that rejection syndrome going on... The SoCon wouldn't touch you with a ten foot poll and you hate 'em for that.... LOL

Why? Y'all have nothing to offer.

You guys haven't had anything of interest since 2012 and the real problem is y'all haven't been able to accept that.

[The Cats]

Why? Y'all have nothing to offer.

You guys haven't had anything of interest since 2012 and the real problem is y'all haven't been able to accept that.

We certainly had lots to offer when JSU took that silly ASUN football bid... LOL No other FCS conference would touch you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... as I said, the SoCon wouldn't touch the chickens, and it pisses you off. Glad you went FBS, good luck in the worse FBS conference ever. Just wondering why you even continue to hang around here, trying to relive the "glory days". Well that's over... Good luck hoping for that 'No Name Bowl" when you get eligible...

[JSUSoutherner]

We certainly had lots to offer when JSU took that silly ASUN football bid... LOL No other FCS conference would touch you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... as I said, the SoCon wouldn't touch the chickens, and it pisses you off. Glad you went FBS, good luck in the worse FBS conference ever. Just wondering why you even continue to hang around here, trying to relive the "glory days". Well that's over... Good luck hoping for that 'No Name Bowl" when you get eligible...
Ohh I see what's happening here. You're uniformed.

The ASUN back when JSU and EKU joined, revived football with the intention of moving the conference as a whole to the FBS. The WAC had similar intentions. So all the schools that had FBS interest moved on over, then Oklahoma and Texas threw a wrench in everything and CUSA came calling. So now here we are.

JSU has been deliberately building for an FBS move for close to 10 years now with facility upgrades and moves behind the scenes. As much as I'm sure you'd like to believe the SoCon was on our radar, they weren't. xnodx

No Name Bowl maybe, but we've also been named dropped on GameDay twice this season, talked about on McAfees show multiple times so far, and gotten more national exposure than we ever have.

Winning is still winning. It's fun. It's just that now people don't think we're a D2 Team.

But I know the idea of winning being fun is probably lost on a Western Carolina fan. Considering your programs history and all.

[The Cats]

Ohh I see what's happening here. You're uniformed.

The ASUN back when JSU and EKU joined, revived football with the intention of moving the conference as a whole to the FBS. The WAC had similar intentions. So all the schools that had FBS interest moved on over, then Oklahoma and Texas threw a wrench in everything and CUSA came calling. So now here we are.

JSU has been deliberately building for an FBS move for close to 10 years now with facility upgrades and moves behind the scenes. As much as I'm sure you'd like to believe the SoCon was on our radar, they weren't. xnodx

I can't take much more of your revisionist history or alternate universe reality. You can have it, believe what makes you happy, even when it not the truth...

Like I said, why are you even posting here, there's an FBS board somewhere out there that needs your lack of reality...

[JSUSoutherner]

I can't take much more of your revisionist history or alternate universe reality. You can have it, believe what makes you happy, even when it not the truth...

Like I said, why are you even posting here, there's an FBS board somewhere out there that needs your lack of reality...

Revisionist history?

Would you like to back that up with substance?

What do you have an issue with?

The FBS move has absolutely been in the works. Our president said in an interview in 2013 that FBS was the goal in 8-10 years. 8 years later we accepted the bid to CUSA. Weve dumped millions into upgrading football facilities, S&C facilities, a renovated (twice) basketball facility, updated softball stadium, and even a new Baseball stadium. We didn't do all that to stay in the OVC.

You may not have known about the idea early on for the WAC-SUN move, but you can read about it here. Granted, it was rumors at the time before given how fluid things were. When Texas and Oklahoma hopped and the chain reaction started in earnest the idea died. The killshot was us and Sam Houston leaving. The article only mentions the WAC but my understanding is it involved the ASUN via the UAC. The UAC was the pod that was intended to move up based on what was explained to me at the time.
https://www.ktsm.com/sports/college-sports/nmsu/reports-wac-football-to-return-in-2022-rise-to-fbs-later-in-decade/

Edit: a better article about the plans from Sports Illustrated:
https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/17/wac-asun-merge-united-athletic-conference-ncaa-football

The only other thing I mentioned was how Western Carolina has had a poor history. Given that your last conference championship was when Truman was president and y'all have had 6 winning seasons in the time since I've been born and I'm nearly 30, that one's pretty hard to argue. Even for you.

Sorry if those facts are inconvenient for you.

[walliver]

So, you've owned the Southern Conference? Well, lets look at that.

JSU really only has a history with two teams in the SoCon (Chattanooga & Samford) and most of the games were played against both of those two team were prior to their joining the SoCon.

Chattanooga came into the SoCon in 1976, and you have a 11-9 record vs. the Mocs since '76.
Samford joined the SoCon in 2008 and you've played 1 time since they joined, that was 2013, but you did win that game.

JSU's record vs. other SoCon teams:

ETSU 2-1-0
Furman 0-3-0
GSU 0-4-0 (yes GSU was in the SoCon then)
Mercer 1-0-0
Wofford 2-1-0

That's it, a 17-18 record against SoCon teams (and you never even played ASU - what gives?)

So, you think JSU owns the SoCon? The facts speak for themselves...

The two wins against Wofford were back when both were in D2

[The Cats]

Revisionist history?

Would you like to back that up with substance?

What do you have an issue with?

The FBS move has absolutely been in the works. Our president said in an interview in 2013 that FBS was the goal in 8-10 years. 8 years later we accepted the bid to CUSA. Weve dumped millions into upgrading football facilities, S&C facilities, a renovated (twice) basketball facility, updated softball stadium, and even a new Baseball stadium. We didn't do all that to stay in the OVC.

You may not have known about the idea early on for the WAC-SUN move, but you can read about it here. Granted, it was rumors at the time before given how fluid things were. When Texas and Oklahoma hopped and the chain reaction started in earnest the idea died. The killshot was us and Sam Houston leaving. The article only mentions the WAC but my understanding is it involved the ASUN via the UAC. The UAC was the pod that was intended to move up based on what was explained to me at the time.
https://www.ktsm.com/sports/college-sports/nmsu/reports-wac-football-to-return-in-2022-rise-to-fbs-later-in-decade/

Edit: a better article about the plans from Sports Illustrated:
https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/17/wac-asun-merge-united-athletic-conference-ncaa-football

The only other thing I mentioned was how Western Carolina has had a poor history. Given that your last conference championship was when Truman was president and y'all have had 6 winning seasons in the time since I've been born and I'm nearly 30, that one's pretty hard to argue. Even for you.

Sorry if those facts are inconvenient for you.

You're mistaken when you think I give a crap about JSU history. It's a diploma factory that no good conference wanted anything to do with when you joined that ASun fiasco.

Yeah JSU went FBS, but look where you had to go to get in, JSU joined a conference worse than the Sun Belch ever was in their darkest hours. As I said, good luck in the mini-FBS and hope you enjoy those no name bowl games, when you become eligible and if you can pick off 6 other losers. LOL...

...and I've never come on here bragging about WCU football's domination of any team. We know our past and can live with it, without coming on here and embellishing our history and our value to other conferences, as the JSU folks have always done... Good Luck and Good Bye.

[JSUSoutherner]

You're mistaken when you think I give a crap about JSU history. It's a diploma factory that no good conference wanted anything to do with when you joined that ASun fiasco.

Yeah JSU went FBS, but look where you had to go to get in, JSU joined a conference worse than the Sun Belch ever was in their darkest hours. As I said, good luck in the mini-FBS and hope you enjoy those no name bowl games, when you become eligible and if you can pick off 6 other losers. LOL...

...and I've never come on here bragging about WCU football's domination of any team. We know our past and can live with it, without coming on here and embellishing our history and our value to other conferences, as the JSU folks have always done... Good Luck and Good Bye.
Calling us a diploma mill is pretty pot calling the kettle black.

You keep giving us grief for going to CUSA when y'all are coming up on your 50 year anniversary of not winning a damn thing in the SoCon is kinda funny.

[rtzlunar]

As a UTC fan, I’m glad JSU has moved to FBS. I was tired of being JSU’s bitch. I was hoping band boy would leave AGS as well.

[The Cats]

As a UTC fan, I’m glad JSU has moved to FBS. I was tired of being JSU’s bitch. I was hoping band boy would leave AGS as well.

There's no other place for him to go that he can brag about his perception of JSU's glorious past... LOL, so... we're unfortunately stuck with him. Who in the hell would join the "on life support" CUSA anyway? Need I ask, JSU would.

Just like ever other conferences JSU has joined, it will fail shortly too...

[ElCid]

Boom my ass, he ignores what I wrote and cherry picks data. Either that or he just lacks the mental capacity to read. He's a WCU grad, so it's probably equal chances.



No one else that is in the SoCon, eh? Samford is in the SoCon and you're just going to ignore the 9 wins we racked up between 98 and 07? Ok bud.

"bUt tHeY wErEn'T iN tHe sOcOn"



Perhaps read what I wrote, hm?

My whole issue isn't with your conference from the mid 2000s. Mid 2000s SoCon was pretty crazy. Even I'm not enough of a hater to deny that. But current day SoCon isn't even a shadow. It's the shadows shadow. During a rainstorm.

Now, to the issue of you calculating JSU's record incorrectly:




DATE
TEAM
SCORE (JSU vs Team)
JSU W/L
W-L


10-19-1996
Samford
17-27
L
0-1


11-01-1997
Samford
14-17
L
0-2


09-12-1998
Georgia Southern*
32-51
L
0-3


10-17-1998
Samford
20-0
W
1-3


10-02-1999
Samford
18-34
L
1-4


11-13-1999
Georgia Southern*
14-51
L
1-5


09-21-2000
Samford
36-16
W
2-5


10-06-2001
Samford
39-7
W
3-5


10-05-2002
Samford
37-23
W
4-5


11-16-2002
Georgia Southern*
3-41
L
4-6


11-08-2003
Samford
49-32
W
5-6


09-18-2004
Chattanooga
65-20
W
6-6


11-06-2004
Samford
51-18
W
7-6


11-27-2004
Furman*
7-49
L
7-7


09-01-2005
Furman
35-37
L
7-8


9-10-2005
Chattanooga
18-21
L
7-9


11-12-2005
Samford
26-20
W
8-9


09-02-2006
Furman
13-17
L
8-10


11-04-2006
Chattanooga
13-10
W
9-10


11-11-2006
Samford
55-7
W
10-10


09-08-2007
Chattanooga
33-19
W
11-10


11-03-2007
Samford
24-12
W
12-10


09-20-2008
Chattanooga
31-3
W
13-10


09-11-2010
Chattanooga
21-17
W
14-10


12-04-2010
Wofford*
14-17
L
14-11


09-10-2011
Chattanooga
17-38
L
14-12


09-08-2012
Chattanooga
27-24
W
15-12


11-30-2013
Samford*
55-14
W
16-12


09-06-2014
Chattanooga*
26-23
W
17-12


09-05-2015
Chattanooga*
23-20
W
18-12


12-05-2015
Chattanooga*
41-35
W
19-12


08-26-2017
Chattanooga
27-13
W
20-12


11-24-2018
ETSU*
34-27
W
21-12


09-07-2019
Chattanooga
41-20
W
22-12


10-10-2020
Mercer
34-28
W
23-12


09-02-2023
ETSU
49-3
W
24-12



* Denotes SoCon Conference Champion

Now I included Georgia Southern on the table for context. But if we take their three wins out as per my above quote, we land on 24-9. Including Georgia Southern, 24-12 ain't shabby either. Especially when you consider 10 of those 12 losses are old enough to drive.

I also mentioned JSU's ownership of the SoCon mirroring Aaron Rodgers ownership of the Bears. So we can see pretty easily that since 2008, when Rodgers took over as the Packers starter, JSU is 11-2 against the SoCon.

Win % since 2008:
Rodgers vs Bears: .828
Jax State vs SoCon: .846

Pretty close.

Now for the other point you elected to ignore:



Well if memory serves, both of those nerds announced the move after the 2012 season. So we can see since 2012 JSU has gone 9-0 and racked up 5 SoCon transitive title wins.


Now would you like me to open a box of crayons for you or are you ready to start calling me sir?

Talk about cherry picking data. No, outright misrepresentation. I'll spell this out for you so you can understand. Why would you include a team, Samford, that wasn't even a part of the SOCON for all but one of the games you listed. Every game in red above is irrelevant. They joined in 2008. SO why even include them in your little wet dream. So I guess you dominated one team, UTC. Because you are 4-7 against other teams. Take out Ga So and you are 4-4. But why take them out to begin with. Oh, because you are trying to save your point. I got it. OOOOO really dominating. You need to just stop because what you really mean is you did well against UTC. Everyone else? Not so much. Hmm. Boom! Again.

[JSUSoutherner]

Talk about cherry picking data. No, outright misrepresentation. I'll spell this out for you so you can understand. Why would you include a team, Samford, that wasn't even a part of the SOCON for all but one of the games you listed. Every game in red above is irrelevant. They joined in 2008. SO why even include them in your little wet dream. So I guess you dominated one team, UTC. Because you are 4-7 against other teams. Take out Ga So and you are 4-4. But why take them out to begin with. Oh, because you are trying to save your point. I got it. OOOOO really dominating. You need to just stop because what you really mean is you did well against UTC. Everyone else? Not so much. Hmm. Boom! Again.
Oh you poor soul. I guess the university wasn't nice enough to translate your textbooks to crayon for you.

Shame. Hate seeing kids who got left behind. Bless your heart.

Not sure how posting every single game against a current day SoCon opponent since JSU went D1 is misrepresentation when the standard of my posts have been the same the entire time. I guess any data you dont like is just misrepresentation to you.

I also offered our record since Aaron Rodgers assumed ownership of the Bears and when Samford actually joined. 12-2. With 5 SoCon Champion scalps.

[wcugrad95]

What does any of this have to do with the 2023 Week 5 SoCon?

[ElCid]

What does any of this have to do with the 2023 Week 5 SoCon?

Absolutely nothing. He continues to thump his chest about owning the SOCON by referencing games against non SOCIN teams and think people don't notice. Delusional.

[SCPALADIN]

Absolutely nothing. He continues to thump his chest about owning the SOCON by referencing games against non SOCIN teams and think people don't notice. Delusional.

He joined the AGS in 2015, the one year JSU made a splash on the national level. Now they're playing for an opportunity to play in front of 8,000 people in the prestigious Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl. If this is what I had to look forward to I guess I'd be living in the past, as well.

Maybe he's still butthurt about Furman knocking them out of the playoffs in '04, then beating them again right out of the gates on '05. xdontknowx
They had a really big band back then...so they had that going for 'em...which is nice.

[The Cats]

Oh you poor soul. I guess the university wasn't nice enough to translate your textbooks to crayon for you.

Shame. Hate seeing kids who got left behind. Bless your heart.

Not sure how posting every single game against a current day SoCon opponent since JSU went D1 is misrepresentation when the standard of my posts have been the same the entire time. I guess any data you dont like is just misrepresentation to you.

I also offered our record since Aaron Rodgers assumed ownership of the Bears and when Samford actually joined. 12-2. With 5 SoCon Champion scalps.

...and the JSU band marches on...

[SCPALADIN]

...and the JSU band marches on...


I counted 19 sad sousaphone players at the game in 2004. Not sure if this was the pinnacle of JSU's band prowess.

[rtzlunar]

It’s a banner day for AGS when JSUSoutherner and ChattownMocs are both posting.