SoCon 2023 Predictions and Power Rankings - Week 12 - TCB Week for Some

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, November 18, 2023 - Football


Away
Home
Time
FUBeAR's BRIEF Preview (Prediculations later in the week)


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chatt (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/alabama_logo.png?width=30Bama (http://www.rolltide.com/)
12P
Mocs look to be shocks!


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30WCU (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
12P
Cats get out; look to end a 40 year drought


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30FU (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
12P
Champions look to do what Champions do and clinch Seed Number 2 ... (possibly #1, but that don't rhyme real good)


https://soconsports.com/images/logos/UT-Martin.png?width=30UTM (http://www.utmsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P
Dogs look to fetch birds; SoCon Playoff Resumes it girds


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30CIT (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/East-Tenn-State.png?width=30ETSU (https://etsubucs.com/)
1P
Dogs hope for THE win; let the off-season begin




FUBeAR's Weekly SoCon Power Rankings


SCHOOL
CONF
CPCT.
CONF. HOME
CONF. AWAY
CONF. STREAK
OVERALL
PCT.
HOME
AWAY
STREAK


1) Furman (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=furman) - No Change
7-0
1.000
4-0
3-0
W7
9-1
.900
5-0
4-1
W8


2) Mercer (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=mercer) - No Change
6-2
.750
3-1
3-1
W4
8-3
.727
4-1
3-2
W4


3) Chatt (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=utc) - No Change
6-2
.750
2-2
4-0
L1
7-3
.700
3-2
4-1
L1


4) WCU (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=wcu)
Up 2 w/DOMINATING Return to Form
5-2
.714
2-2
3-0
W2
7-3
.700
3-2
4-1
W2


5) Samford (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=samford)
Down 1, due to WCU move up
4-4
.500
2-2
2-2
L1
5-5
.500
3-2
2-3
L1


6) VMI (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=vmi) - Same as Samford
3-4
.429
1-2
2-2
L1
4-6
.400
2-2
2-4
L1


7) ETSU (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=etsu) - No Change
1-6
.143
1-2
0-4
L4
2-8
.200
2-2
0-6
L4


8) Wofford (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=wofford) - No Change
1-6
.143
0-3
1-3
W1
1-9
.100
0-4
1-5
W1


9) CIT (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=citadel) - No Change
0-7
.000
0-4
0-3
L7
0-10
.000
0-5
0-5
L10

[OrangeAndBlack]

UTC @ BAMA
WCU @ VMI
FURMAN @ WOFFORD
UTM @ SAMFORD
THE CITADEL ​@ ETSU

[bonarae]

Tide
WCU
Furman
UTM
ETSU

[Sir William]

Congrats to Mercer again! Over the past 3 weeks, they have twice shown that they can indeed win the big games when they count. The Bears have earned a playoff spot, IMO. They will be a dangerous playoff team.

This week...
Alabama over Chattanooga
Western over VMI
Furman over Wofford
Samford over UT-Martin
ETSU over the Citadel


Power Rankings

1) Furman (playoff bound)
2) Mercer (playoff bound)
3) W Carolina (playoff bound with win this weekend, and will also be a dangerous playoff team)
4) Chattanooga (unless they pull the upset of the decade, Mocs are sitting on the bubble with sticky pins protruding from their hind honches)
5) Samford
6) VMI
7) ETSU
8) Wofford
9) The Citadel

[wcugrad95]

FWIW - from Coach Bell's show tonight, looks like Desmond Reid is cleared for full practice this week and it is more than possible he will be available this Saturday against VMI. I would not expect a normal load given he has been out for several weeks, but it would be nice to see WCU win and Reid get some real game reps against the Keydets as prep if the Cats make the playoffs. Sounds like AJ Columbo will also be back at practice tomorrow after clearing concussion protocol from a very scary play against Wofford 2 weeks ago. No official word on some of the O-lineman that are out, but again if Western makes the playoffs there is a good chance we could see the return of Derek Simmons who has been out since the Furman game (one of the other starting O-lineman I believe had a season-ending injury).

Everybody has plenty of injuries (we just played ETSU who has been bitten worse than anybody), but it would be sweet for WCU to get some guys back. We have not had the same healthy starting lineup since the UTC game week 6. The biggest stories of our 5-1 start were no doubt our offensive line play and of course Desmond Reid.

[apaladin]

Glad he is returning. How in the world did Western put up over 600 yds Saturday without Reid? I thought he was solely responsible for Western’s offense?

[FUBeAR]

Glad he is returning. How in the world did Western put up over 600 yds Saturday without Reid? I thought he was solely responsible for Western’s offense?
LOL. FUBeAR sees what you did there and he’s here for it.

But, perhaps, the Catamounts, FINALLY, weren’t the helpless victims of horrible officiating and unscrupulous, unethical Head Coaches and their devious fake injury schemes, which enabled their Football Gods-Gift-of-an-Offense to reach, perhaps half of its potential. With Reid, they go for 1,200 yards last Saturday…easy…maybe more.

[caribbeanhen]

Tenn-Martin at Samford?

Interesting OOC game right here especially being last week of regular season

Will help tell me how good, or not really that good, the Southern Conference is

[FUBeAR]

Tenn-Martin at Samford?

Interesting OOC game right here especially being last week of regular season

Will help tell me how good, or not really that good, the Southern Conference isLOL - So…a whole raft full of Rent-A-Players at Samford who have nothing to play for except getting a highlight for their XFL mixtape submission playing against a Team that is fighting for their Playoff lives - @ 8-3 with no ranked wins and some squeaker OT wins against meh Teams, the Skyhawks could be very well be OUT if Gardner-Webb beats Charleston Southern to clinch the Big South/OVC AutoBid - is gonna be your single data point to evaluate the quality of all 9 SoCon Teams. LOL 2x.

FUBeAR is looking at the whole CAA season…every Team…every Game…and he’s finding he cannot take his eyes away - just like a car wreck…or in this case, a train wreck.

Fly away yardbird

[caribbeanhen]

LOL - So…a whole raft full of Rent-A-Players at Samford who have nothing to play for except getting a highlight for their XFL mixtape submission playing against a Team that is fighting for their Playoff lives - @ 8-3 with no ranked wins and some squeaker OT wins against meh Teams, the Skyhawks could be very well be OUT if Gardner-Webb beats Charleston Southern to clinch the Big South/OVC AutoBid - is gonna be your single data point to evaluate the quality of all 9 SoCon Teams. LOL 2x.

FUBeAR is looking at the whole CAA season…every Team…every Game…and he’s finding he cannot take his eyes away - just like a car wreck…or in this case, a train wreck.

Fly away yardbird

lots of anxiety I see

This is definitely the game of the week as you know I like OOC games

[wcugrad95]

Glad he is returning. How in the world did Western put up over 600 yds Saturday without Reid? I thought he was solely responsible for Western’s offense?

I also see what you and FUBeAR are trying to say. Western has remained one of the top offenses (scoring, passing, yards per play, etc.) with Reid out. But there is no doubt he is our most talented player and had he remained healthy he would IMO been 1st team All-SOCON and probably All-American - he was leading the country in rushing after the UTC game. I think the mental toll and the need to have to shift to a pass-first offense took a couple of games to settle in, and it certainly didn’t help that we had to play the best 2 defenses in the league the first 2 games he was out.

Everybody has injuries. Furman overcame Huff being out, UTC lost Ford, ETSU has lost 1/2 their team. But no doubt Western losing Reid mid-season was a big blow to us, and will be a big boost assuming he comes back healthy.

[wcugrad95]

As for the UTM vs Samford game, I have to agree with FUBeAR that Sammie doesn’t have much to play for while the Skyhawks have everything on the line. I would have preferred to see this as a week 3 or 4 game where I would have certainly picked the Bulldogs. Samford is more than capable of winning, I just don’t know what effort they will give after having a disappointing SOCON season.

[FUBeAR]

As for the UTM vs Samford game, I have to agree with FUBeAR that Sammie doesn’t have much to play for while the Skyhawks have everything on the line. I would have preferred to see this as a week 3 or 4 game where I would have certainly picked the Bulldogs. Samford is more than capable of winning, I just don’t know what effort they will give after having a disappointing SOCON season.
Well, FUBeAR, for one, is a HUGE Samford Fan this week.

In fact, FUBeAR would like to publicly apologize for his recent characterization of Samford’s Team as a “raft full of Rent-A-Players.”

I want to educate myself more on Teams with a predominance of transfer players, and I’ll gladly own my mistake and serve as an example to today’s generation that there’s nothing cool about mean-spirited comments about a Team with a predominance of transfer players. Teams with a predominance of transfer players and their loved ones have to go through so much already, the last thing they need is to see something as ignorant as what I wrote. I understand. This was a learning lesson for FUBeAR and FUBeAR is grateful for the opportunity to try to right this wrong.

Yessir - Samford defeating the Skyhawks could be BIG for the Bulldogs’ SoCon brethren. If Gardner-Webb defeats Charleston Southern (Massey says 81% likely with a score of 34-20), the Runnin’ Bulldogs will clinch the Big South/OVC Autobid.

A 9-2, UT-Martin, with losses to only FBS Natl Champ Georgia and to AutoBid Playoff-qualified Gardner-Webb is a lock for an At-Large bid, and might even be in the conversation for a Seed. However, if Samford’s fine men can defeat the evil Skyhawks on Sr. Day in Homewood, an 8-3 UT-Martin with 2 FCS losses, losing 2 of their last 4, while mixing in an OT win @ 3-7 Tennessee Tech just might be enough to put them standing in the soup line behind the Bears, Catamounts, and Mocs. Even if G-W loses and UTM gets the AutoBid, a Samford win over an AutoBid enhances the Mercer, Chatt, and WCU wins over Samford.

LET’S GO BULLDOGS!!!

[ElCid]

For one, G-W ain't going to lose. So I think that's a done deal. I am one who looks at the psychological factors and what has been said previously is spot on. Samford has very little to play for. UTM has everything to play for.

Samford stumbled early and couldn't catch up easily. I think they will be hard pressed. They are obviously a very good team considering their more recent games against Mercer and Furman, even if they lost. It just took a while for them to recover. Personally, I think they lost their season during that early season weather delay against WCU. UTM has no real good wins and a couple bad close calls. But Samford has no good wins either. As it is a home game I think Samford has a shot, but this could go either way. It would obviously be better for the SOCON if they win or even better, blew them out, but I don't see that happening.

[wcugrad95]

On a roll here with agreeing with FUBeAR - did I say that out loud????

I am big fans of Samford, Morgan State, Gardner-Webb (so they get the auto), Butler (so Davidson gets the auto), and several other games where the bubble could be cleared up a little more. It is that time of year where I can do things like cheer for Montana State (to help Furman) and Sac State (to keep UC Davis from getting to 7-wins). All things to help the SOCON and open the door for UTC (and make the door even wider for WCU and Mercer). A Samford win certainly helps WCU and UTC's causes - would give UTM the same number of wins as Western, but a loss to a team both the Catamounts and UTC beat by 3+ scores.

Furman and Mercer are already locks IMO. WCU is a lock with a win on Saturday. UTM losing pushes them farther down the pecking order and would be an interesting comparison against the Mocs.

[FUBeAR]

On a roll here with agreeing with FUBeAR - did I say that out loud????

I am big fans of Samford, Morgan State, Gardner-Webb (so they get the auto), Butler (so Davidson gets the auto), and several other games where the bubble could be cleared up a little more. It is that time of year where I can do things like cheer for Montana State (to help Furman) and Sac State (to keep UC Davis from getting to 7-wins). All things to help the SOCON and open the door for UTC (and make the door even wider for WCU and Mercer). A Samford win certainly helps WCU and UTC's causes - would give UTM the same number of wins as Western, but a loss to a team both the Catamounts and UTC beat by 3+ scores.

Furman and Mercer are already locks IMO. WCU is a lock with a win on Saturday. UTM losing pushes them farther down the pecking order and would be an interesting comparison against the Mocs.
2 disagreements with you here. That should make you feel better.

1) SoCon fans WANT Charleston Southern to beat Gardner-Webb (Sorry, Coach T. Lamb) and get UTM the Auto-Bid. A 6-5 G-W ain’t getting an AtLarge, so that frees up a slot without having to count on that raft … dangit … those fine men from Samford to shoot a hole in UTM’s wings.

2) With WCU jumping up 3 spots in the STATS poll after beating 2-8 ETSU, while Mercer only got a 1 spot lift significantly further down in the rankings after defeating SoCon defending Champ, Samford…that tells ol’ FUBeAR a little sumpin’ sumpin’ - the powers-that-be love the Kerwin Bell story and want WCU IN this year. FUBeAR has WCU getting the 9th (of 14) At-Large bid now in his mock selection and expects that to get better on Saturday…to 6th or 7th in..as long as Elvis is in the building in LexVegas and the Catamounts TCB. WCU is a LOCK with a win. Mercer is 13th or 14th IN now, but FUBeAR sees that swinging + or - 3 or 4 slots on Saturday. Cats should be purring. Bears are quietly low-growling…but ready to ramp that up. FUBeAR knows some planes/flights to Indy from Macon are sittin’ on standby.
https://media.tenor.com/EvjTKe1Fsc0AAAAC/rawr-bear.gif

[SU DOG]

I think Samford will give a good effort Saturday. Yeah, it will take more than just a good effort as execution is the question. From what I have heard from some UTM folks is that they think they are in regardless of the outcome of this game. They say that 8 D-1 wins should do it. Probably the players themselves don't have that thought, however.
For us, a win on Senior Day is all we can accomplish. Last year the breaks went our way and this year they just didn't. Looking back, there are a lot of close losses that with one or two plays, it could have been a different season. Good luck to all you guys that will be in the Playoffs. This could be the year that the SoCon shows the rest of FCS what most of us already know about the quality of our football programs.

[FUBeAR]

I think Samford will give a good effort Saturday. Yeah, it will take more than just a good effort as execution is the question. From what I have heard from some UTM folks is that they think they are in regardless of the outcome of this game. They say that 8 D-1 wins should do it. Probably the players themselves don't have that thought, however.
For us, a win on Senior Day is all we can accomplish. Last year the breaks went our way and this year they just didn't. Looking back, there are a lot of close losses that with one or two plays, it could have been a different season. Good luck to all you guys that will be in the Playoffs. This could be the year that the SoCon shows the rest of FCS what most of us already know about the quality of our football programs.
It could…BUT…

The Playoff are a numbers, rest, travel, facility, weather, and matchup ‘game’ as much as they are a Football quality game - as much as BSC and MVFC Fans want to pretend they don’t realize that.

* If fewer balls in that spinning drum called the Playoffs have a SoCon logo on them - say 2 - when the BSC and the MVFC have 5-7, the odds just are not in the SoCon’s favor.

* If SoCon Teams are denied an earned week of rest & healing (Mercer & WCU should both be in lower seed convo’s, but they are not - instead they are (ridiculously) sweating even getting in), then the terrain continues to get more uneven.

* If SoCon Teams via flawed seeding and/or questionable bracketing have to travel…
a) great distances,
b) to play facilities that have proven ‘excess’ in HFA,
c) to play in abysmally bad and/or frigid weather that is completely foreign to their bodies and for which their programs are ill-prepared (footwear, warming apparel / devices, etc.)

…then the cards will be further stacked against them.

* If SoCon Teams via flawed seeding and/or questionable bracketing and/or unfavorable regionalization dynamics are forced to play against back-to-back near-seeded & seeded Teams, while their opponents have a week off and then, effectively, a warmup scrimmage vs. an unranked Autobid before a matchup with an exhausted and depleted SoCon Team

…then the overall Playoff results for ‘the SoCon’ will likely reflect ALL of those inequities … before we begin the cycle again in 2024.

BUT…FUBeAR is holding out hope that we won’t see a SoCon reaming this coming Sunday…as we have seen almost every selection Sunday in the past 10 years.

https://media.tenor.com/LslNzX-SKNIAAAAd/charlie-brown-football.gif

[caribbeanhen]

Truth be told, the bottom half of a the Southern conference just doesn’t help prepare you for the playoffs at all

[JacksFan40]

Truth be told, the bottom half of a the Southern conference just doesn’t help prepare you for the playoffs at all
Who'd of guessed that wins over VMI, ETSU, Wofford, and Citadel aren't the most impressive resume builders. Didn't help Furman's case that they made it look painful as hell beating Citadel and ETSU.

[FUBeAR]

Prepared this for Mercer Fans, but figured WCU and Chatt Fans would be interested also…except for #6 & #9 respectively…so sharing here also … these are FUBeAR’s ‘deducements’ - a few are judgement calls / guesses and some could be wrong. Love to discuss if anyone feels we (MU, WCU, Chatt fans) should be leaning the other way on any of these or if there are other games that could impact any of these 3 deserving Teams receiving an At Large bid.

Also, this doesn’t contemplate which Teams we would want to win/lose this Saturday to help bracketing based on their geography. This is just about increasing odds of getting an At-Large bid…



This is a list of games on Saturday that Mercer Fans (all you MF’ers https://storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png ) will want to watch/heed and the Team that you want to win…and/or, in most cases, to lose. FUBeAR has even provided your ‘why.’

1) Morgan State @ Howard (1PM) - we want the Morgan State Bears to maul ‘em as that will prevent the Howard Bison from clinching/winning the MEAC and going to the Celebration Bowl. Instead we want NC Central (8-2) to win the MEAC and go to the Celebration Bowl because NC Central, otherwise, would most likely receive 1 of 14 available At-Large bids to the FCS Playoffs. We want as many At-Large bids as possible to remain available for the Bears to receive. Howard (5-5 and would be 5-6) will not receive an At-Large bid.

2) Delaware State (1-9) @ NC Central (8-2) (2PM) COULD BE EITHER - NCCU has to keep up their end and win in order to clinch the MEAC and go to the Celebration Bowl instead of the Playoffs. NCCU is heavily favored, while the game above in 1) is a bit more of a toss-up, so an NCCU win seems preferable, BUT, if Howard wins, we would want Delaware State to win this game as an 8-3 NCCU Team, having lost its final 2 games to 2 Teams with combined 8-14 records, might be ‘in line’ behind the 8-3 Bears on a 4 game win streak with 1 of those wins on the road over a Top 10 Team. But a 9-2 NCCU would probably cut in front of Mercer in that same line. So…start out pulling for the NCCU Eagles, but if Howard wins the game that kicks off an hour earlier or appears near certain to win, immediately change your allegiance to the Delaware State Hornets.

3) Charleston Southern (4-6) @ Gardner Webb (6-4) (1PM) - We want the Charleston Southern (CSU) Buccaneers to pull off an upset here. If Gardner Webb (GW) wins, the Runnin’ Bulldogs will clinch the Playoff AutoBid that goes to the Champion of the Big South/OVC Football Alliance. If CSU wins, that AutoBid will go to Tennessee Martin (UTM) (8-2). If UTM is not the AutoBid, due to a GW win, and the Skyhawks defeat Samford (see 4) below), at 9-2, they may be ahead of Mercer in contention for an At-Large bid. A 6-5 GW Team will not be in the conversation for an At-Large bid.

4) Tennessee Martin (8-2) @ Samford (5-5) (1PM) - We want our good friends from Samford to win this game. Regardless of the outcome of 3) (above) a Samford win and a UTM loss in this game helps Mercer. If UTM gets the AutoBid, that’s good because it ‘saves’ an At-Large bid, and puts a Conference Champion Team in the field that just lost to a Team that Mercer just beat, which enhances Mercer’s ‘resume’ and Strength of Schedule (SoS).

5) Incarnate Word (7-2) @ Houston Christian (5-4) (3PM) - We want the Houston Christian (HCU) Huskies to win this one. Nicholls has already clinched the Southland AutoBid. So this is about preserving an At-Large bid. An 8-2 Incarnate Word (UIW) Team with a Sub D1 win and no ‘good wins’ should NOT be in front of Mercer for an At-Large bid, but the Cardinals did play NDSU to the wire in the Semifinals in Fargo last year. They were actually cheated out of the win there by a horrible and critical call, so the Committee may put them in and reel off a litany of reasons (AKA excuses / lies) why UIW received a bid. So, we want HCU to make UIW 7-3 / 6-3 D1 and make it much, much harder for the Committee to pull their typical shenanigans…in this case.

6) Western Carolina (7-3) @ VMI (4-6) (12Noon) - Hate to do it to our friends from Cullowhee, but they are ranked ahead of Mercer, would have an identical record, and seem to be media darlings this year. Unfortunately, that matters. Mercer’s road win over WCU doesn’t seem to have tipped the scales toward the Bears in the eyes of poll voters, so the Committee may mimic that feeling. So, sadly, we want VMI to, most likely, knock WCU out of the Playoffs, but certainly behind the Bears @ 7-4. Hey, all their fans were pulling for Samford last week, so don’t feel so bad Bears Fans.

7) Central Arkansas (7-3) @ Austin Peay (8-2) (2PM) - We are fans of the Austin Peay (APSU) Governors in this one. APSU is ahead of Mercer in the rankings and can clinch the United Athletic Conference (UAC) AutoBid with a win. If the Central Arkansas (UCA) Bears win, they will Clinch the AutoBid. UCA is ranked behind Mercer and would be unlikely to move ahead of Mercer in the At-Large bid line at 7-4 and a season-ending loss. APSU is a near-lock for an At-Large bid even if they lose this game.

8) Indiana State (1-9) @ Southern Illinois (6-4) (2PM) - We are Indiana State Sycamores fans in this one. It may be a long shot, but knocking Southern Illinois (SIU) down to 6-5 with a season-ending loss to a 2-9 Team, albeit an MVFC Team, would, most likely, put the Salukis behind the Bears. They are, most likely, ahead of Mercer if they win and get to 7-4.

9) Chattanooga (7-3) @ Alabama (9-1) (12Noon) - Again, we gotta be anti-SoCon. Chattanooga may be ahead of Mercer now with a similar record and the head-to-head win @ Mercer. If the Mocs win this game, they will undoubtedly move ahead of Mercer. Hey, all their fans were pulling for Samford last week, so don’t feel so bad Bears Fans.

10) Richmond (7-3) @ William & Mary (6-4) (1PM) - The CAA AutoBid is a giant cluster and Richmond still is in the running for that bid. But, Delaware, Villanova, and Albany are most likely in the Playoffs regardless of how the Autobid is resolved. So, we don’t want Richmond to get the AutoBid and ‘move’ 1 of those other 3 to fill an At-Large spot. Richmond could still get in @ 7-4 and we risk bringing a 7-4 W&M Team back into the conversation at 7-4, but that is unlikely.

11) North Dakota State (7-3) @ Northern Iowa (6-4) (5PM) - NDSU is almost certainly in as an At-Large, even at 7-4 if they lose this game. If UNI loses, they are probably (but not certainly - they are MVFC) out at 6-5

12) Tarleton State (8-3) @ NCAA (?) - Tarleton, like James Madison in FBS, has petitioned the NCAA for a waiver allowing them to participate in post-season play in 2023, during their transitional period, the terms of which they agreed to when they made the decision to transition to D1. Tarleton has the same record as Mercer and one can almost assume if the NCAA grants the waiver, it would be for a reason.

13) Georgetown (5-5) @ Holy Cross (6-4) (12Noon) - A Georgetown win will clinch the Patriot League AutoBid for Lafayette (8-2) which is fine. It will also ensure that last year’s & earlier this year’s media darling, Holy Cross, is out of the conversation at 6-5.

14) Lafayette (8-2) @ Lehigh (2-8) (12Noon) - This is another interesting one, but after considering several angles, FUBeAR thinks it best if Lafayette clinches the PL AutoBid to remove them from the At-Large pool.

15) Illinois State (6-4) @ North Dakota (6-4) (2PM) - Fine cut one here. FUBeAR thinks it would be best of lower ranked Illinois State defeats higher ranked North Dakota. This could “backfire” as the Committee could decide to still love 6-5 North Dakota, without any real reason, just as poll voters, apparently, do AND to now also love 7-4 Illinois State more than the Bears also. So, it’s a close call, but let’s prefer ISUr over UND.

16) Youngstown State (6-4) @ Murray State (2-8) (2PM) - Another longshot, but a 6-5 YSU squad is much better for Mercer than a 7-4 Penguins squad.

17) Eastern Illinois (7-3) @ Robert Morris (4-6) (12Noon) - Longshot in a few ways, but Robert Morris has been playing better. Eastern Illinois hasn’t been ranked, but 8-3 is 8-3. Bears are safer if the Panthers are 7-4.

18) Sacramento State (7-3) @ UC Davis (6-4) (3PM) - SacState is highly ranked. They will be in the field. With a loss, we can be sure the UC Davis Aggies @ 6-5 will not.

[FUBeAR]

Truth be told, the bottom half of a the Southern conference just doesn’t help prepare you for the playoffs at all
Recent anomaly and all Conferences have the same - SO MUCH TALK ABOUT 0’fers CIT & Woffy last week … and so little about 0’fers WIU and ISUb … and Cal Poly / NoCo … and Maine, A&T, and Stony Brook are no better

GTFOH with these silly narratives. FUBeAR knows what he knows and y’all know it too.


https://youtu.be/0046wY7Ro_A?feature=shared
NOTE: This is humor. It is not politics or even political humor; just regular old humor.

[Mocs123]

9) Chattanooga (7-3) @ Alabama (9-1) (12Noon) - Again, we gotta be anti-SoCon. Chattanooga may be ahead of Mercer now with a similar record and the head-to-head win @ Mercer. If the Mocs win this game, they will undoubtedly move ahead of Mercer. Hey, all their fans were pulling for Samford last week, so don’t feel so bad Bears Fans.



Nice list FUBeAR as Mocs fans are much in the same boat as Bears fans likely needing some teams on the bubble to lose to have a shot. Personally, if the Mocs were to beat the Tide, I'd be happy with the season even without a playoff bid. I can't imagine we have more than a .00000001% chance at an upset though!

[wcugrad95]

So you're saying there is a chance!!!

[caribbeanhen]

Recent anomaly and all Conferences have the same - SO MUCH TALK ABOUT 0’fers CIT & Woffy last week … and so little about 0’fers WIU and ISUb … and Cal Poly / NoCo … and Maine, A&T, and Stony Brook are no better

GTFOH with these silly narratives. FUBeAR knows what he knows and y’all know it too.


https://youtu.be/0046wY7Ro_A?feature=shared
NOTE: This is humor. It is not politics or even political humor; just regular old humor.

Edgy

[MR. CHICKEN]

33159


.....THAT GUY....KNOWS......PEOPLE WHOM......PAINTS HOUSES..........xeekx............BRAWK!

[SCPALADIN]

Who'd of guessed that wins over VMI, ETSU, Wofford, and Citadel aren't the most impressive resume builders. Didn't help Furman's case that they made it look painful as hell beating Citadel and ETSU.

But, Montana barely squeaking by a D2 school and losing to 4-6 Northern Arizona doesn't hurt their case?

[FU_Paladin08]

Furman over Woffy
ETSU over The Citadel
Bama over Chatty
Sammy over UT-M
Western over VMI


Rankings:
Furman
Mercer
Western
Chatty
Samford
VMI
ETSU
Woffy
Citadel

[Milktruck74]

Any of the top 4 SoCon teams can line up and play with anyone that gets the nod on Sunday. I can't tell you how many the SoCon gets in, but regardless if it is one or four, nobody wants to draw any of them!

[Milktruck74]

Most of the people on this forum have the Mocs listed as their 4th place SoCon team, and a few weeks back they were able to go toe to toe with the #2 team in the nation...The Mocs may not get in, but they could beat anyone they play. Mercer is quite the same. And if you have to play Western with a healthy Reid...you better be able to put up a ton of points of you'll end up home for thanksgiving!!!! The Top half of the SoCon is as good as anyone!

[The Cats]

Western Carolina at VMI
Chattanooga at Alabama
Furmanat Wofford
UT Martin at Samford
The Citadel at ETSU



Power Rankings
1. (1) Furman (9-1, 7-0 SoCon)
Next: at Wofford (1-9, 1-6 SoCon)

2. (2) Mercer (7-3, 5-2 SoCon)
Next: Samford (5-4, 4-3 SoCon)

3. (3) Western Carolina (7-3, 5-2SoCon)
Next: at VMI (4-6, 3-4 SoCon)

4. (4) Chattanooga (7-3, 6-2 SoCon)
Next: at Alabama
(https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/333/alabama-crimson-tide)
5. (5) Samford (5-5, 4-4 SoCon)
Next: at UT Martin (8-2)

6. (6) VMI (4-6, 3-4 SoCon)
Next: Western Carolina (7-3, 5-2SoCon)

7. (7) ETSU (2-8, 1-6 SoCon)
Next: The Citadel (0-10, 0-7 SoCon)

8. (9) Wofford (1-9, 1-6 SoCon)
Next: Furman(9-1, 7-0 SoCon)

9. (8) The Citadel (0-10, 0-7 SoCon)
Next: at ETSU (2-8, 1-6 SoCon)

[Mocs123]

Chattanooga - 10
Alabama - 49

Western Carolina - 41
VMI -24

Furman -35
Wofford -7

UT Martin -31
Samford -35

The Citadel -10
ETSU - 31

Power Rankings –


Furman
Chattanooga
Mercer
Western Carolina
Samford
VMI
ETSU
Wofford
The Citadel

[ElCid]

Nice list FUBeAR as Mocs fans are much in the same boat as Bears fans likely needing some teams on the bubble to lose to have a shot. Personally, if the Mocs were to beat the Tide, I'd be happy with the season even without a playoff bid. I can't imagine we have more than a .00000001% chance at an upset though!

Well if you can keep it close who knows. I thought we did a good job of keeping it close well into the third quarter a few years ago.

33160

[FU_Paladin08]

Most of the people on this forum have the Mocs listed as their 4th place SoCon team, and a few weeks back they were able to go toe to toe with the #2 team in the nation...The Mocs may not get in, but they could beat anyone they play. Mercer is quite the same. And if you have to play Western with a healthy Reid...you better be able to put up a ton of points of you'll end up home for thanksgiving!!!! The Top half of the SoCon is as good as anyone!

My rankings are now reflective of playoff chances. I had them #2 before the Furman loss when they lost their best chance at the playoffs.

[Mocs123]

Well if you can keep it close who knows. I thought we did a good job of keeping it close well into the third quarter a few years ago.

33160

True, but the TO gives (or at least used to back when you could still run it) smaller, less athletic teams a pretty good equalizer compared to a more traditional offense like Chattanooga uses. Personally, I thought it was a perfect offense for teams like The Citadel, Wofford, West Point, etc that recruit smart, disciplined kids, but might not can recruit the same atheletes that larger schools can.

We did lead Alabama after the first quarter a few years ago, but let's be honest, that's not what anyone expects from a team that has five star athletes all over the field and coaches that make as much as our whole athletic departments budget!

[FUBeAR]

Most of the people on this forum have the Mocs listed as their 4th place SoCon team, and a few weeks back they were able to go toe to toe with the #2 team in the nation...The Mocs may not get in, but they could beat anyone they play. Mercer is quite the same. And if you have to play Western with a healthy Reid...you better be able to put up a ton of points of you'll end up home for thanksgiving!!!! The Top half of the SoCon is as good as anyone!What was it Coach D. Byrne said…”Stop Making Sense?”

Stop making so much sense!!!

Among those 4 Teams, you have 3 Defenses that will flat out knock your dick in the dirt, help you up, then do it again …over & over & over … every frappin’ play. Well, Chatt’s guys won’t help you up, but that’s not the main point. :D

And you have 1 Offense that, when healthy, makes the Houston Gamblers look like they were running the Straight T Formation. And 3 others that will play Dealer’s Choice with a double full deck of cards, until they expose your jugular, slit it, and smile as they put up all the points they need to get by your bleedin’ out a$$.

They don’t even kno…

[caribbeanhen]

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-2023-playoff-predictions-5-bzbz/

Sam Herder speculation on what the committee is thinking with his bracket

[JacksFan40]

But, Montana barely squeaking by a D2 school and losing to 4-6 Northern Arizona doesn't hurt their case?
Ferris State is 8-2 and back to back D2 champions, I would take them over a good chunk of FCS teams. The NAU loss is not good, that will be used against Montana.

[FUBeAR]

But, Montana barely squeaking by a D2 school and losing to 4-6 Northern Arizona doesn't hurt their case?
Ferris State is 8-2 and back to back D2 champions, I would take them over a good chunk of FCS teams. The NAU loss is not good, that will be used against Montana.
16 Teams are Seeded in the D2 Playoffs

THIS YEAR's Ferris State Team did qualify the Playoffs, but they are NOT even one of the Top 16 Seeded D2 Teams.

Their 2021 D2 Championship couldn't have less to do with how THIS YEAR's Ferris State Team, that is not even Top 16 in D2, TOOK Big Sky Montana TO THE WIRE - Ferris State led until halfway thru the 4th quarter and the score was tied with under 2 minutes to play (that's "the wire") - before falling by a single score.


Why do all y'all try to lie so much for each other? It's weird!

[OrangeAndBlack]

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-2023-playoff-predictions-5-bzbz/

Sam Herder speculation on what the committee is thinking with his bracket

Looks great to me!

[Catamount87]

Unfortunately, a couple of major projects at work have kept me away recently. Darn job and adulting just keeps getting in the way of life. xlolx

Predictions - The SoCon will get 3 playoff bids, Furman, Mercer and WCU. If UTC hadn't laid an egg to start 2023 they'd make it 4 bids.








Away
Home
Musings


UTC
Alabama
The Mocs are already dreaming of ways to spend their paycheck


WCU
VMI
Roos dream to be spoiler but Cats bounce out of Lexington with a win and a bid


Furman
Wofford
Dawgs offensive daydreaming undermine the defense and the Dins just pull away with their autobid firmly in hand


UTM
Samford
One is playoff bound, the other has wistful memories


Citadel
ETSU
Nightmares finally subside for 2023, dreams of 2024 can begin




SoCon Power Rankings with Season and Post Season Musings



Rank
School
Musings


1
Furman
Have earned the SoCon crown, motivated but a couple of times not as much, see ETSU and Citadel games. I doubt this will be a problem in the coming weeks.


2
Mercer
Quietly have gotten it done almost all season. Planning, or is it hoping, on a potential Furman rematch in the playoffs.


3
WCU
Hot start then stumbled mid-season with a rash of injuries especially on the O-line. Healing up for a playoff run and hoping not to get stuck with big travel.


4
UTC
That UNA loss to start the season is still looming large. They are precariously on the bubble, if even that.


5
Samford
Sadly, a return to form for a Chris Hatcher team. The Jekyll and Hyde routine has to be wearing really thin down in Homewood. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.


6
VMI
As competitive as anyone in the SoCon. Had the Bucknell and UTC games gone their way they would at least be sniffing the playoff bubble.


7
ETSU
The polar opposite of VMI, rarely competitive in the SoCon. Is Quarles seat getting warm yet? Playoffs? How about just being competitive in the SoCon first.


8
Wofford
Winner's of the SoCon Toilet Bowl. A hapless offense most of the season but they were still competitive in a good bit of each game because of a decent defense.


9
Citadel
God bless their fans and supports who still showed up in excellent numbers to watch some ugly football.

[SCPALADIN]

Ferris State is 8-2 and back to back D2 champions, I would take them over a good chunk of FCS teams. The NAU loss is not good, that will be used against Montana.

Ok, if you say so.
I have 100% confidence that if UM beats MSU on Saturday, the committee will seed UM over Furman, despite Furman not having lost to any FCS opponents (assuming a W over Woffy) let alone one as mediocre as NAU. The small cynical side of me thinks the last thing the selection committee wants is Montana putting their historical 1-15 road playoff record to the test.

[caribbeanhen]

Not buying that Samford has nothing to play for

Honor of the Southern conference for starters

Samford should be loose as a Vanessa Del Rio goose

UT Martin will come in tight, something Southern girls know very little about and as a former resident of the great state of Alabama I can say this from experience

[FUBeAR]

Not buying that Samford has nothing to play for

Honor of the Southern conference for starters

Samford should be loose as a Vanessa Del Rio goose

UT Martin will come in tight, something Southern girls know very little about and as a former resident of the great state of Alabama I can say this from experience
It would seem with the 14 AWFUL Teams tied for 1st in the CAA and a tie-breaker with more branches than the road to Thimmamma Marrimanu, that you would have more interesting things to do than to come over here and try to stir a pot that isn't even on the stove and barely has anything in it.

[caribbeanhen]

It would seem with the 14 AWFUL Teams tied for 1st in the CAA and a tie-breaker with more branches than the road to Thimmamma Marrimanu, that you would have more interesting things to do than to come over here and try to stir a pot that isn't even on the stove and barely has anything in it.

We just need a good CAA vs Southern Conferencia playoff game this year and you need Samford to knock out Ricky Tenn Martin

[FUBeAR]

We just need a good CAA vs Southern Conferencia playoff game this year and you need Samford to knock out Ricky Tenn Martin
Is that possible?

The best CAA Team last year got SQUASHED in the 1st round by SoCon #2. Pretty much seemed like a SoCon PFL matchup.

[caribbeanhen]

Is that possible?

The best CAA Team last year got SQUASHED in the 1st round by SoCon #2. Pretty much seemed like a SoCon PFL matchup.

Well the so called bestes CAA team won’t be getting kicked around this year as Elon has been eliminated

[FUBeAR]

Well the so called bestes CAA team won’t be getting kicked around this year as Elon has been eliminated
Not surprised. They’re still recovering from the a$$-whippin’ they took in Paladin Stadium.

[BearDownMU]

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/402060148_745700147601426_2114566753305566731_n.jp g?stp=dst-jpg_s960x960&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=WssHOyFzfBkAX9WgJGd&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&oh=00_AfAkFRJR92J5Z3ltcwSLYdhh7pJrqC48RGXeThIZyb0c nQ&oe=655B6E60

[OrangeAndBlack]

Anything less than 3 SoCon bids would be a joke. I've read several FCS predictions from the last few days. There's 2 camps: Either Mercer is a lock, or they're out somehow. It's kind of shocking to see, but I feel like the FCS playoff party has never included Mercer and some people want to keep it that way. I don't see how Mercer or WCU can be kept out, they should both be locks to me.

I even read one prediction that had 6 win Central Arkansas included, and only 1 bid to the SoCon (Furman). Mercer wasn't even in the "first 4 out". Some big bias out there and it's concerning.

[FUBeAR]

Saturday, November 18, 2023 - Football


Away
Home
Time
FUBeAR's BRIEF Preview (Prediculations later in the week)


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_chatta_91.png?width=30Chatt (http://www.gomocs.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/alabama_logo.png?width=30Bama (http://www.rolltide.com/)
12P
Alabama treats this like a scrimmage as they prepare for rival Auburn, Georgia in the SEC Championship game, and CFP. Chattanooga does the same as the Mocs prepare for the FCS Playoffs. Hard to gauge the score of a scrimmage. So we’ll go with…

Final Score: Alabama 49 - Chattanooga 6


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_wcu.png?width=30WCU (https://catamountsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/VMI_spider_four_color-2015.png?width=30VMI (https://vmikeydets.com/)
12P
Keydets think they will want to put up a fight, but WCU’s entire ecosystem KNOWS 40 years of futility can be (almost) forgotten with a win in this game. Heard Reid may be back. Foolish. The longer that hammy can recover the better. Y’all should listen to FUBeAR this time.

Final Score: WCU 49 (including 2 run-it-up / style points TD’s) - VMI 17


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_furman.png?width=30FU (http://www.furmanpaladins.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2023/5/30/Terriers_StackedWHITE.png?width=30Wofford (http://woffordterriers.com/)
12P
Wofford would love to extend their winning streak to equal the longest streak they’ve had only 1 time since 2019. Furman wants to force the Committee to dance and lie when they make up all their lame excuses for stealing the #2 Seed from the Paladins. No let-up. This FU Team really enjoys playing the game. They will be excited and will play well.

Final Score: Furman 35 - Wofford 8


https://soconsports.com/images/logos/UT-Martin.png?width=30UTM (http://www.utmsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_samford.png?width=30Samford (http://www.samfordsports.com/)
1P
If there’s one thing we all know about Samford, it’s that they are the ultimate SoCon Team Players. They will be purely motivated by helping to get Mercer, Chatt, and WCU into the playoffs by putting an ugly loss on UTM to close out the season. The Bulldogs want to show the world what SoCon #5 means. Finally, guessing there will be about 40 Players wrapping up their 3 month ‘career’ at Samford and we know they will want to win one more for the Harvard Red and the Yale Blue. Dogs get it done.

Final Score: Samford 42 - UTM 31


https://soconsports.com/images/2019/9/23/logo_citadel.png?width=30CIT (http://www.citadelsports.com/)
https://soconsports.com/images/logos/East-Tenn-State.png?width=30ETSU (https://etsubucs.com/)
1P
FUBeAR has no idea how they are going to do it, but they do…

Final Score: CIT 16 - ETSU 15




FUBeAR's Weekly SoCon Power Rankings


SCHOOL
CONF
CPCT.
CONF. HOME
CONF. AWAY
CONF. STREAK
OVERALL
PCT.
HOME
AWAY
STREAK


1) Furman (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=furman) - No Change
7-0
1.000
4-0
3-0
W7
9-1
.900
5-0
4-1
W8


2) Mercer (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=mercer) - No Change
6-2
.750
3-1
3-1
W4
8-3
.727
4-1
3-2
W4


3) Chatt (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=utc) - No Change
6-2
.750
2-2
4-0
L1
7-3
.700
3-2
4-1
L1


4) WCU (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=wcu)
Up 2 w/DOMINATING Return to Form
5-2
.714
2-2
3-0
W2
7-3
.700
3-2
4-1
W2


5) Samford (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=samford)
Down 1, due to WCU move up
4-4
.500
2-2
2-2
L1
5-5
.500
3-2
2-3
L1


6) VMI (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=vmi) - Same as Samford
3-4
.429
1-2
2-2
L1
4-6
.400
2-2
2-4
L1


7) ETSU (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=etsu) - No Change
1-6
.143
1-2
0-4
L4
2-8
.200
2-2
0-6
L4


8) Wofford (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=wofford) - No Change
1-6
.143
0-3
1-3
W1
1-9
.100
0-4
1-5
W1


9) CIT (http://soconsports.com/index.aspx?path=citadel) - No Change
0-7
.000
0-4
0-3
L7
0-10
.000
0-5
0-5
L10





[/QUOTE]

[Catamount87]

Anything less than 3 SoCon bids would be a joke. I've read several FCS predictions from the last few days. There's 2 camps: Either Mercer is a lock, or they're out somehow. It's kind of shocking to see, but I feel like the FCS playoff party has never included Mercer and some people want to keep it that way. I don't see how Mercer or WCU can be kept out, they should both be locks to me.

I even read one prediction that had 6 win Central Arkansas included, and only 1 bid to the SoCon (Furman). Mercer wasn't even in the "first 4 out". Some big bias out there and it's concerning.

I'm not sure why Mercer has been a bit 'overlooked' this season but I have a theory. It starts with the Furman loss and being 2-2. In a few minds, Mercer really laid an egg in that game. Then the UTC loss and being 4-3 made Mercer look like a just above .500 team and somewhat suspect. It was FUBeAR that brought up concerns about their scheme that needed to be addressed. Then the last 4 games they looked different but the cast had been set for being quietly overlooked.

That all to say, I agree 100% with you and Coach Cronic. The SoCon mid and bottom can run and beat anyone. Mercer and WCU earned a berth and one could easily argue UTC as well. I do fear that the SoCon will once again get shafted with just 2 bids while questionable 6-5 or 7-4 midwest team(s) get in.

[FUBeAR]

I'm not sure why Mercer has been a bit 'overlooked' this season but I have a theory. It starts with the Furman loss and being 2-2. In a few minds, Mercer really laid an egg in that game. Then the UTC loss and being 4-3 made Mercer look like a just above .500 team and somewhat suspect. It was FUBeAR that brought up concerns about their scheme that needed to be addressed. Then the last 4 games they looked different but the cast had been set for being quietly overlooked.

That all to say, I agree 100% with you and Coach Cronic. The SoCon mid and bottom can run and beat anyone. Mercer and WCU earned a berth and one could easily argue UTC as well. I do fear that the SoCon will once again get shafted with just 2 bids while questionable 6-5 or 7-4 midwest team(s) get in.You’re right.

FUBeAR hs even heard Coach Hendrix on 2 different occasions express his, not sure of the word…maybe disgust…with the polls because after Mercer lost to Ole Miss (FBS Top 10 when Coach was speaking) and Furman (FCS #2) and dropped completely out of the polls…where they had been…maybe #17 or so.

And, look, Mercer got whomped, or any other word anyone wants to use to describe it, by Ole Miss. It was as bad of a showing as it could have been.

OTOH…and FUBeAR expects his FU friends to race to discredit this because … well … he doesn’t know why …the Mercer at FU game was not as described above. Bullet point …

* 3 point game until nearly a minute from the 4th quarter
* HUGE unforced Special Teams errors giving very short fields and/or negating Mercer BIG plays (see below’)
* Late game 4th down try to catch up attempts failing / short field (see below)



Team
Qtr.
Drive Started
Drive Ended
Consumed


Spot
Time
Obtained
Spot
Time
How Lost
Plays-Yds.
TOP


FUR
2nd
MER13
01:24
PUNT
MER0
01:18
TD
1-13
00:06


FUR
4th
MER48
14:09
PUNT
MER0
11:17
TD
5-48
02:52


FUR
4th
MER28
09:38
DOWNS
MER0
08:04
TD
3-28
01:34



3 TD’s / 21 points from drives averaging ~30 yards

Final was a 24 point win and Furman was clearly the better Team, especially in the 4th quarter…but that game was A LOT closer than those 24 points reflect … until the final 10 minutes of the game…and then it didn’t look close at all.

MERCER IS THE SoCon’s #2 TEAM AND SHOULD BE IN THE PLAYOFFS!!!!,

[wcugrad95]

I agree that Mercer SHOULD BE IN THE PLAYOFFS - I actually had them as locked in. But a correction - Mercer will most likely finish in a 3-way tie for second place in the SOCON. With a WCU win tomorrow, the 3 teams split games with one another, so they are all the #2 team in the SOCON. I could use some of your same points on how the WCU and Mercer game went, but the difference is WCU was without a key player and the game ended in a 7-point difference rather than 24.

[kdinva]

Alabama 47; UTC 10
ETSU 27; The Citadel 13
Tenn-Martin 31, Samford 28
Furman 42, Wofford 21
WCU 33; VMI 21

[FUBeAR]

I agree that Mercer SHOULD BE IN THE PLAYOFFS - I actually had them as locked in. But a correction - Mercer will most likely finish in a 3-way tie for second place in the SOCON. With a WCU win tomorrow, the 3 teams split games with one another, so they are all the #2 team in the SOCON. I could use some of your same points on how the WCU and Mercer game went, but the difference is WCU was without a key player and the game ended in a 7-point difference rather than 24.
Why do you people feel as if you have to do this kind of ish? It's almost like you WANT FUBeAR to get medieval on your a$$.

IF WCU doesn't pi$$ down their hind paws tomorrow, the Cantamounts will be fortunate enough to have positioned themselves to be tied in the SoCon Football standings with their BETTER, a Mercer Team that they haven't beaten in almost a decade, and over whom they haven't even had a lead on, of a single point, at any point, in any game in almost half a decade.

So, that's not enough for you to just accept that MERCER IS BETTER THAN WCU, you wanna try to claim equality with a Team that just whipped your a$$ leading by 2 and 3 scores for almost 1/2 the game....

OK - let's go to the SoCon Tiebreaker as you allude to with your callout of the "3 teams split"

Yep - that's the 1st SoCon Tiebreaker - Record against other tied Teams ... still tied....

Let's go to #2 - Record against next best Team - All 3 lost to FU, all 3 beat every other SoCon Team - so, still tied.

Know where we're going next? YOU don't wanna go there....WCU NEVER WANTS TO GO THERE...

It's POINTS ALLOWED TO IN SOCON GAMES.... Chatt wins - if they were in here trying to contradict FUBeAR's clearly accurate statement, as you did, he would have to yield and say they win - but they aren't, so that point is moot...for now...but back to POINTS ALLOWED IN SOCON GAMES...

Chatt 145
Mercer 161
WCU 177 AND COUNTING....

So....you coulda been happy and quiet accepting 3rd, but now you've typed yourself into getting WCU is 4th Place in the SoCon.

Feel better?

Good news for you is that even if your Team does pi$$ down their hind paws tomorrow, y'all won't do any worse than the 4th place you typed your way into being called out as.


Knowing you are breaking down into a puddle of mush right now as you try to imagine, in your head, Coach Bell's voice saying "It's 4th Place or BUST this year! I alway finish in 4th Place everywhere I've been in my 3rd Year. 4th Place or BUST. WE DECIDE!" ....so FUBeAR will let you have your silly little faulty comparison of the Mercer @ FU and Mercer @ WCU games. Don't make FUBeAR change his mind.

https://media.tenor.com/LufxlhCZFugAAAAC/shotgun-serious.gif

[wcugrad95]

There is only a tiebreaker for the auto-bid. For all other ties, those teams are simply "tied". Had Chattanooga beaten Furman, you guys would have been co-champs - both would be considered SOCON champions. So outside of the auto-bid, Furman is the champion and if WCU wins tomorrow Mercer, UTC, and WCU will finish tied for 2nd.

[FUBeAR]

There is only a tiebreaker for the auto-bid. For all other ties, those teams are simply "tied". Had Chattanooga beaten Furman, you guys would have been co-champs - both would be considered SOCON champions. So outside of the auto-bid, Furman is the champion and if WCU wins tomorrow Mercer, UTC, and WCU will finish tied for 2nd.Why are you wasting pixels quoting basic SoCon ish to FUBear? FUBeAR has almost half a century hangin' around this bar.

Yes - the Teams APPEAR to be tied in the Official Standings....but, as we sussed out...if we apply the Standard SoCon Tiebreaker, then the new MANTRA in Cullowhee must be...


"4th Place or BUST! WE DECIDE!"


And...based on the fact that WCU hasn't been able to find any way to get even a single point lead on Mercer on any man's Football Field in 5 FREAKIN' YEARS - and the Kitties spent half of the most recent contest lookin' 2 or 3 scores up a Bear's a$$, we don't have ANY doubt at all that...


MERCER IS A BETTER FOOTBALL TEAM THAN WESTERN CAROLINA

....now, do we?

[wcugrad95]

Tied for 2nd - that is official.

[FUBeAR]

Tied for 2nd - that is official.
Sure it is...you should have that printed on your participation trophy ... but we all know the TRUTH....

You know...they say the 1st step to getting better is admitting the truth....SAY IT!!! C'MON ... You CAN do it!!!

MERCER IS A BETTER FOOTBALL TEAM THAN WESTERN CAROLINA AND HAS BEEN FOR 8 YEARS...AT LEAST

[The Cats]

Give it a listen.... "WEEK 12 ... FOR SOME, THE LAST."

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fcs-nation/id1436799349?i=1000635214178

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

Everybody has injuries. Furman overcame Huff being out, UTC lost Ford, ETSU has lost their entire team. But no doubt Western losing Reid mid-season was a big blow to us, and will be a big boost assuming he comes back healthy.

FYP

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

SoCon Power Rankings with Season and Post Season Musings



Rank
School
Musings


1
Furman
Have earned the SoCon crown, motivated but a couple of times not as much, see ETSU and Citadel games. I doubt this will be a problem in the coming weeks.


2
Mercer
Quietly have gotten it done almost all season. Planning, or is it hoping, on a potential Furman rematch in the playoffs.


3
WCU
Hot start then stumbled mid-season with a rash of injuries especially on the O-line. Healing up for a playoff run and hoping not to get stuck with big travel.


4
UTC
That UNA loss to start the season is still looming large. They are precariously on the bubble, if even that.


5
Samford
Sadly, a return to form for a Chris Hatcher team. The Jekyll and Hyde routine has to be wearing really thin down in Homewood. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.


6
VMI
As competitive as anyone in the SoCon. Had the Bucknell and UTC games gone their way they would at least be sniffing the playoff bubble.


7
ETSU
The polar opposite of VMI, rarely competitive in the SoCon. Is Quarles seat getting warm yet? Playoffs? How about just being competitive in the SoCon first.


8
Wofford
Winner's of the SoCon Toilet Bowl. A hapless offense most of the season but they were still competitive in a good bit of each game because of a decent defense.


9
Citadel
God bless their fans and supports who still showed up in excellent numbers to watch some ugly football.




There was a time when ETSU was competitive in the SoCon (see Randy Sanders). Here's hoping Furman Georgie gets axed the question/resigns and ETSU hires a REAL football coach.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

We have made it to the end of this season. I am happy for Furman, Mercer and (if they win tomorrow) Western Carolina. Here's where I have it after this week.

1) Furman - Congrats on winning the SoCon title.
2) Mercer - Congrats on your first ever playoff bid.
3) Western Carolina - And the Catamounts came in the NIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
4) Chattanooga - Nice try but at least you have a winning season.
5) Samford - At least you have a chance of a winning season.
6) VMI - At least you swept the three teams below you.
7) (TIE) ETSU - And somewhere in Heaven, Carl Torbush is turning over in his grave.
(TIE) Wofford - Didn't want to bring the SoCon toilet home.
9) A Citadel - You had one job, ONE JOB, AND YOU BLEW IT!

This Week's Games
Chattanooga @ Alabama (Beatdown of the Week) - Mocs leave Bryant-Denny Stadium with an a$$-whooping in tow.
Western Carolina @ VMI - Catamounts hope to punch their ticket to their first playoff appearance in 40 years.
Furman @ Wofford - Paladins get a clean sweep in conference play.
Samford @ UT-Martin - Skyhawks (hopefully) soar their way into the playoffs.
A Citadel @ ETSU (SoCon Toilet Bowl - Part Deux) - And Furman Georgie (hopefully) gets fired at game's end.

[2wagriz]

Pfft fubar. I'm cool if ANY big sky school plays you. On your middle school field or your fuzzy mathematics

[FUBeAR]

Pfft fubar. I'm cool if ANY big sky school plays you. On your middle school field or your fuzzy mathematics
Y'know...you would think, for someone's 3rd post in over 2 years of being a member of this site, they'd want it to be intelligible, wouldn't you?

https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIG.EQ5zWrzJhXhGE9y71wHd?pid=ImgGn

Nah...doesn't seem to be very high value placed on intelligent communications in Griz country...

[wcugrad95]

I guess Western is just allergic to the playoffs. Hats off to VMI for playing tough. No injury excuses this time. If we were good enough we would win these games - and today we simply were not.

[OrangeAndBlack]

Dad, how did Western and Furman do today?

https://media.tenor.com/iYUIQWj7Ir4AAAAC/vince-mcmahon-crying.gif

[kdinva]

Danny Rocco Coach of the Year? Predicted ninth place team went 4-4, and 2 plays from being 5-3 (UTC game)

[OrangeAndBlack]

Danny Rocco Coach of the Year? Predicted ninth place team went 4-4, and 2 plays from being 5-3 (UTC game)

Respect to VMI for the nice season. Their coach deserves some praise regardless of any official awards.

Samford -- Thank you for saving the SoCon's day by beating UT Martin!

[MUMD]

Welp, as usual the SoCon eats each other and brings everybody down.

[2wagriz]

All in good fun , fubar.

[The Cats]

I don't see fubear anywhere bragging about FU today, wonder why? Oh yeah, Furman lost to a 1 win team. Western did do much better, but didn't lose to a one win team...

[SU DOG]

Well, Samford did its part, and it wasn't as close as the score indicates. I don't know if we actually helped the SoCon or not on disaster Saturday, but Mercer may be the big benefactor for our efforts. The Bears are a whole lots better team than UTM.

[BlackNGoldR3v0lut10n]

Alabama 66 UTC 14 - And the Crimson Tide rolls in the NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
ETSU 35 A Citadel 23 - Did not think the Bucs had it in them (but I still think Furman Georgie needs to go).
Wofford 19, Furman 13 - Paladins had one job, ONE JOB AND THEY BLEW IT!
VMI 27, Western Carolina 24 - Catamounts also had one job, ONE JOB AND THEY BLEW IT!
Samford 27, UT Martin 17 - Skyhawks also had one job, ONE JOB AND THEY BLEW IT!

[FUBeAR]

All in good fun , fubar.
4th post > 3rd post … it’s all about getting a little better every day!

Nice job … and you even inspired FUBeAR into learning how to use Bing Creator to draw AI pics. Like the ‘Field of Math’ FUBeAR ‘drew?’

Congrats to the Griz. They are on a roll and looking VERY sporty. Bunny fans won’t sleep as well tonight as they did last night.

[FUBeAR]

Well, Samford did its part, and it wasn't as close as the score indicates. I don't know if we actually helped the SoCon or not on disaster Saturday, but Mercer may be the big benefactor for our efforts. The Bears are a whole lots better team than UTM.
After ripping the hearts out of Bears Fans last Fall, Coach Hatcher has regained his title as Macon’s Favorite Son in the past 2 weeks. Y’all did everything you could to support Mercer FINALLY making the field this year.

APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT & CONGRATS ON THE WIN!!!

[caribbeanhen]

We just need a good CAA vs Southern Conferencia playoff game this year and you need Samford to knock out Ricky Tenn Martin

I told you guys Tenn was really Ricky Martin all long

[MR. CHICKEN]

Danny Rocco Coach of the Year? Predicted ninth place team went 4-4, and 2 plays from being 5-3 (UTC game)

....HE SURE DIDN'T.....DO IT.....WHIFF AN' OL'....DELAWARE PLAYBOOK!......AWK!

[MR. CHICKEN]

I don't see fubear anywhere bragging about FU today, wonder why? Oh yeah, Furman lost to a 1 win team. Western did do much better, but didn't lose to a one win team...

....GUESS HE....MIS-READ.....DUH CHARTS......xscanx......BRAWK!

[caribbeanhen]

Danny Rocco Coach of the Year? Predicted ninth place team went 4-4, and 2 plays from being 5-3 (UTC game)

nice win yesterday for VMI, congratulations to ole Danny for beating

El Citadel
Wofford
ETSU
Davidson

and losing to Bucknell

[OrangeAndBlack]

Nice to see 3 bids to the SoCon!

Furman
Mercer
Chattanooga

I wonder if WCU would have made it 4 bids with a win yesterday?

[Chalupa Batman]

Nice to see 3 bids to the SoCon!

Furman
Mercer
Chattanooga

I wonder if WCU would have made it 4 bids with a win yesterday?

Depends who the last team in was. If it was UTC a WCU win might have knocked the Mocs out. More likely it would've knocked out Youngstown State or Sac State.

[SU DOG]

Nice to see 3 bids to the SoCon!

Furman
Mercer
Chattanooga

I wonder if WCU would have made it 4 bids with a win yesterday?

Three teams yes, BUT, I think the pairings stink for the SoCon. Mercer can definitely win the first one but then look what would come next. If UTC wins, then the next game will eliminate one SoCon Team. Couldn't the pairings been more fair for the SoCon? I think they should have been. Anyway, congrats to our three Playoff teams.

[Chalupa Batman]

Three teams yes, BUT, I think the pairings stink for the SoCon. Mercer can definitely win the first one but then look what would come next. If UTC wins, then the next game will eliminate one SoCon Team. Couldn't the pairings been more fair for the SoCon? I think they should have been. Anyway, congrats to our three Playoff teams.

Yes they could've (and should've). Send Richmond/NCCU to Furman instead as that's a bus trip as well and prevents a conference matchup in the 2nd round.

[Mocs123]

Congrats to Mercer and Furman on your playoff bids. I think it's the first bid ever for Mercer if I'm remembering correctly. I'll be pulling for the Bears. If the Mocs don't beat Peay, I'll pull for the Paladins too, but hopefully I'll be pulling for the Mocs instead. It's a shame we have a (potential) rematch on week 2 of the playoffs.

My condolences to the Catamounts - I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but I thought WCU was a playoff caliber team.

[wcugrad95]

WCU starting QB Gonzalez went out after the second series. Our backup to start the season would have been Charlie Dean, who had a lot of experience at Harvard before coming as a grad student to Western, but he got hurt early in the year and has missed basically the entire season. So enter a walk-on Sophomore who can be a dangerous runner but has very little experience in the passing game. We also had another starting O-lineman go out early. After that, VMI stacked the box, had the lead, and by the time the WCU offense got a rhythm back we didn’t have enough time to pull it out at the end.

As I said in my earlier post, no excuses. Plenty of teams had to play guys after injuries. It shows we weren’t deep enough at key positions and VMI was effective enough running the football, hit a few key pass plays, and deserved the win.

[Catamount87]

WCU starting QB Gonzalez went out after the second series. Our backup to start the season would have been Charlie Dean, who had a lot of experience at Harvard before coming as a grad student to Western, but he got hurt early in the year and has missed basically the entire season. So enter a walk-on Sophomore who can be a dangerous runner but has very little experience in the passing game. We also had another starting O-lineman go out early. After that, VMI stacked the box, had the lead, and by the time the WCU offense got a rhythm back we didn’t have enough time to pull it out at the end.

As I said in my earlier post, no excuses. Plenty of teams had to play guys after injuries. It shows we weren’t deep enough at key positions and VMI was effective enough running the football, hit a few key pass plays, and deserved the win.

Kudos to VMI for also exploiting the delay blitz, something that Furman and Mercer also did well against us. In this case, Brody just didn't have the experience to combat it as well as Cole and they were highly effective at run blitzing too.

As for bids, I do believe our loss was UTC's gain. There were going to be three SoCon teams in and we handed UTC the invite. Let's hope they do something really good with it. Mercer, finally let into the party after knocking on the door a few times in the past. I hate the slot they got and secretly feared that was the slot WCU would get if we had won at VMI.

Congrats to Furman, Mercer and UTC for getting in, now go make the SoCon proud.

[Catamount87]

Dad, how did Western and Furman do today?

https://media.tenor.com/iYUIQWj7Ir4AAAAC/vince-mcmahon-crying.gif


Capt Obvious comment here but it has to be officially made. Without a doubt, Wofford and VMI proved Coach Cronic's point the other day about the SoCon.

[FUBeAR]

Capt Obvious comment here but it has to be officially made. Without a doubt, Wofford and VMI proved Coach Cronic's point the other day about the SoCon.
BUT - people would have to want to understand, have an open mind, and not be ready to bristle and fight the idea to understand.

CIT was not a very good Team, but those young men played HARD. They fought! They’ll get better, but if people want to measure the strength of the SoCon by its bottom rung, then the bellhops are their benchmark THIS year. Those people should also measure the MVFC by the strength of 0-11 Western Illinois and the Big Sky’s by 0-11 Northern Colorado.

ETSU really has some talent. They have some top-tier talent on D. But they were devastated by injuries and prior portal departures greatly thinning their ranks. FUBeAR speculates there has been a great deal of internal strife, even including sabotage (unintentional or intentional…either way) in the ranks. FUBeAR is shocked they were able to come together to win 3 games. It will be interesting to see where they go with their replacement hire for Coach Quarles. FUBeAR predicts they are going to make a hire that will be somewhat akin to the mistake Woffy made a few years ago, but we’ll see. Anyway - give the Bucs normal on the bell curve injuries and remove the (FUBeAR suspected) cancer and this is a 6-8 win Team.

Wofford has played hard every game. They have shown flashes of what they can be, and those flashes started coming more frequently and brighter in the latter part of the season against Chatt, WCU, and Furman. Seen all the ‘worst Team in FCS comments’ this week and because Woffy lost to PC in Sept, those aren’t unwarranted. They aren’t true about Woffy in November, but as Coach Cronic said … come play ‘em … FUBeAR would add “NOW” to that statement, but he understands that ain’t nobody wanna hear dat ish.

VMI is a pretty good Football Team. Under a new Staff, the Keydets’ growth during the season was obvious to anyone willing to watch with open eyes.

All of these Teams, with the possible exception of ETSU, will be much better in ‘24. In OOC, FUBeAR sees CIT beating ChuckSouth & SCSt, but losing to Clemson. Doubtful ETSU can win @ Appy, vs. NDSU, or @ Elon in Aug & Sept, so that will be the ‘see, look’ benchmark every other fan base uses to measure the entire SoCon’s strength in November. Wofford goes to Richmond and gets W&M at home. Terriers could win both of those … at worst a split. Little Dogs will not beat the SC Gamecocks. VMI will be competitive and could very well win @ W&M. The Keydets will beat Bucknell and Norfolk State in LexVegas, but they will, most likely, lose to Georgia Tech.

All in all, with the exception of ETSU, the ‘bottom of the SoCon’ should be very solid OOC in ‘24. Let’s hope ‘the top’ holds … Chatt’s oops @ UNA this year was the only FCS blemish in that group of 5…1 such blemish is the same number of blemishes that the Top 5 in the MVFC and the Big Sky had also. The CAA’s Top 5 lost 3…(2-3 overall) but people ain’t wanna hear that ish either.

So… Come play ‘em … now.

[Mocs123]

ETSU was also on QB#6 by the end of the season - that's pretty much unheard of. I know we'd be playing a WR at QB long before it got to that point.

One area the SoCon has got to do better (and I'm looking at my team here too) is winning OOC games. I mean you're not going to win them all, but the Mocs losing to UNA - can't happen, the Keydets losing to Bucknell - can't happen, the Terriers losing to Presbyterian - can't happen, The Citadel losing to SC State - can't happen. Campbell, W&M, and Austin Peay - are all good teams, and perhaps we (the SoCon) shouldn't have won those games, but Wofford was the only one that kept theirs close - we can't have teams losing 63-3 to FCS opponents.

The Mocs and the Bears need to win their first round playoff games too.

[caribbeanhen]

ETSU was also on QB#6 by the end of the season - that's pretty much unheard of. I know we'd be playing a WR at QB long before it got to that point.

One area the SoCon has got to do better (and I'm looking at my team here too) is winning OOC games. I mean you're not going to win them all, but the Mocs losing to UNA - can't happen, the Keydets losing to Bucknell - can't happen, the Terriers losing to Presbyterian - can't happen, The Citadel losing to SC State - can't happen. Campbell, W&M, and Austin Peay - are all good teams, and perhaps we (the SoCon) shouldn't have won those games, but Wofford was the only one that kept theirs close - we can't have teams losing 63-3 to FCS opponents.

The Mocs and the Bears need to win their first round playoff games too.

Spoken from a voice of reason

[FUBeAR]

ETSU was also on QB#6 by the end of the season - that's pretty much unheard of. I know we'd be playing a WR at QB long before it got to that point.

One area the SoCon has got to do better (and I'm looking at my team here too) is winning OOC games. I mean you're not going to win them all, but the Mocs losing to UNA - can't happen, the Keydets losing to Bucknell - can't happen, the Terriers losing to Presbyterian - can't happen, The Citadel losing to SC State - can't happen. Campbell, W&M, and Austin Peay - are all good teams, and perhaps we (the SoCon) shouldn't have won those games, but Wofford was the only one that kept theirs close - we can't have teams losing 63-3 to FCS opponents.

The Mocs and the Bears need to win their first round playoff games too.
Correct … FUBeAR thinks he incorporated most of this in his prior post, but maybe not as explicitly. The ‘bottom’s’ OOC losses were coyote-ugly this year…but if end-of-season Woffy plays PC, they win by 30. Same with VMI/Bucknell (maybe 20).

Anyway - neither Chatt nor Mercer drew Drake-ish gimmes, like the Committee gifted “9th Seed” did. APSU should have been seeded and G-W has won 6 of their last 7…with the only loss being shoulda-been-seeded APSU. Look at their schedule & scores. This is not the Runnin’ Bulldogs Team that Mercer schmacked 45-14 last season.

[FUBeAR]

Inside sources say Sluka is looking to reunite with his buddy, Furman’s OC, Justin Roper, who was HC’s OC before leaving for greener (at least warmer) pastures at FU after the ‘21 season. And…hear Sluka REALLY likes purple…

https://twitter.com/farrellportal/status/1726631179837940016

[caribbeanhen]

Inside sources say Sluka is looking to reunite with his buddy, Furman’s OC, Justin Roper, who was HC’s OC before leaving for greener (at least warmer) pastures at FU after the ‘21 season. And…hear Sluka REALLY likes purple…

https://twitter.com/farrellportal/status/1726631179837940016

the outflow from the northeast continues. Maybe

[wcugrad95]

I wouldn’t mind seeing another possible Holy Cross grad transfer wearing a different shade of purple in Cullowhee. Jacob Dobbs entered the portal and would be a nice addition to any team.

[FUBeAR]

Here’s some news for that HATER CHen…

https://twitter.com/vmiathletics/status/1726700442842018029

Congrats to Coach Rocco. VMI was a Playoff-Quality Team by the end of the season. Fun to watch a Team improve like that and know the Coaching is starting to ‘take.’

[Mocs123]

Rocco did a nice job there this season. VMI is a tough place to win. It hard to recruit to a military school, Lexington doesn't have the beach or CoC coeds like The Citadel does, I think they have some recruiting limitations like a certain % of kids have to come from Virginia, the dorms don't have AC, You pretty much can't take transfers, they have no grad school for 5th year seniors, and seemingly not a ton of support from the administration. The kids you do get are tough and disciplined, but you're probably not getting a ton of elite athletes there - so winning there requires great coaching.

[caribbeanhen]

Here’s some news for that HATER CHen…

https://twitter.com/vmiathletics/status/1726700442842018029

Congrats to Coach Rocco. VMI was a Playoff-Quality Team by the end of the season. Fun to watch a Team improve like that and know the Coaching is starting to ‘take.’

Maybe they can get into the Pioneer Conference

Hey, I have said Rocco is perfect fit for VMI

[MR. CHICKEN]

[QUOTE=Mocs123;3160969]ETSU was also on QB#6 by the end of the season - that's pretty much unheard of. I know we'd be playing a WR at QB long before it got to that point.

One area the SoCon has got to do better (and I'm looking at my team here too) is winning OOC games. I mean you're not going to win them all, but the Mocs losing to UNA - can't happen, the Keydets losing to Bucknell - can't happen, the Terriers losing to Presbyterian - can't happen, The Citadel losing to SC State - can't happen. Campbell, W&M, and Austin Peay - are all good teams, and perhaps we (the SoCon) shouldn't have won those games, but Wofford was the only one that kept theirs close - we can't have teams losing 63-3 to FCS opponents.

LOOKS LIKE.....MO' SHOOD BE DONE TA PROTECT OURAH QB'S.........NOLAN HENDERSON WAS VICTIM.....UH SOME PUDGY LINEMAN.....FLOPPIN' ON HIM.....AFTERAH UH SLIDE......HE GETS 15 YARDS......WE GET CARRIED OFFAH DUH FIELD....SOME RABBITT DID IT TA O'CONNOR....AN' OUT CAME DUH STRETCHER.....AN' WHIFF MO' TIME ON CLOCK...REST UH GAME CANCELLED....'CAUSE THEY KNEW HENS WOOD RETALIATE..xflaggedx...BRAWK!

[MR. CHICKEN]

Rocco did a nice job there this season. VMI is a tough place to win. It hard to recruit to a military school, Lexington doesn't have the beach or CoC coeds like The Citadel does, I think they have some recruiting limitations like a certain % of kids have to come from Virginia, the dorms don't have AC, You pretty much can't take transfers, they have no grad school for 5th year seniors, and seemingly not a ton of support from the administration. The kids you do get are tough and disciplined, but you're probably not getting a ton of elite athletes there - so winning there requires great coaching.


HE COODN'T UH DONE IT......WHIFF HIS OL' DELAWARE....PLAYBOOK!

[FUBeAR]

HE COODN'T UH DONE IT......WHIFF HIS OL' DELAWARE....PLAYBOOK!
Perhaps it was the Players and ‘fans’ he had in New-Ark that were the real problems.

[caribbeanhen]

Perhaps it was the Players and ‘fans’ he had in New-Ark that were the real problems.

the problem was he didn’t win enough

it was probably the players he kept on the bench that were better than the players he started for number two

Fans? He had no use for them and would barely even acknowledge them.

very stubborn and wouldn’t listen to anyone

Best season at Delaware 7-4 and he truly believed that was good enough

[FUBeAR]

the problem was he didn’t win enough

it was probably the players he kept on the bench that were better than the players he started for number two

Fans? He had no use for them and would barely even acknowledge them.

very stubborn and wouldn’t listen to anyone

Best season at Delaware 7-4 and he truly believed that was good enough
7-4 is .636.

FUBeAR sees an .875 season in Coach Rocco’s record leading the blue & yellow Team with only malcontent fans.

Seems as if you’re trying to cast him in a negative light now that he’s moved up to the SoCon. Gonna change y’all’s name to the Green Hens.

[Mocs123]

Rocco seemed like a perfect hire when Deleware hired him away from Richmond as well as Richmond replacing him with Huesman. Both were coaching teams ranked in the top 10 at the time if I remember correctly. Though Huesman does have the Spiders back in the playoffs this year, it doesn't seem like either hire really lived up to the hype at the time.

[caribbeanhen]

7-4 is .636.

FUBeAR sees an .875 season in Coach Rocco’s record leading the blue & yellow Team with only malcontent fans.

Seems as if you’re trying to cast him in a negative light now that he’s moved up to the SoCon. Gonna change y’all’s name to the Green Hens.

Rip Van Rocco was 5-6 in 2021 and shown the door,

This was after a nice “spring season” that didn’t carry over to the fall

Good Luck to ole Danny down at VMI

[rtzlunar]

Rocco seemed like a perfect hire when Deleware hired him away from Richmond as well as Richmond replacing him with Huesman. Both were coaching teams ranked in the top 10 at the time if I remember correctly. Though Huesman does have the Spiders back in the playoffs this year, it doesn't seem like either hire really lived up to the hype at the time.

Huesman seemed to hit a wall while at Chattanooga. Was 3-0 in opening playoff games (all at home) and 0-3 the next week on the road. Had an awful record in one possession games. Couldn’t beat Jacksonville State. But he resurrected an awful program. Had to be frustrating for him to have really good teams and nobody in Chattanooga come to games.

I see a lot of similarities with Russ and Rusty Wright. Wright had to clean up Arth’s mess. Has a poor record in 1 possession games. Seems to have a maximum of 7 wins (so far). To say Rusty’s teams have struggled down the stretch of each season would be an understatement.