Elon over-rated or Samford under-rated?

[drpnut]

Elon struggled with Samford today. What is the case... are they over-rated or is Samford under-rated?

Just a question?

[alexale23]

OVer they will drop in polls when they get to tough teams

[89Hen]

are they over-rated
Most likely. xpeacex

[elonpuckhog]

I actually think Samford is underrated. We didn't have our best game today, and Samford played well.

[drpnut]

Elon should drop. Wofford played lights out at South Carolina and only lost by 10 and dropped in the polls.

Elon played a very weak opponent and barely won, so I think they should drop.

[CID1990]

There is truth in both options.

I said a few months ago that Samford would upset one team that nobody would expect. This may have been that effort, and it fell a little short.

[Dukie95]

It's a conference game. Things can get crazy...it's not really a big deal.

JMU's stuggling with Maine. Is JMU overrated or Maine underrated?

Wait...don't answer that. ;)

[gophoenix]

Certain Elon fans said we were not a top 10 team. Right now I still feel that way. Samford came out and did something against us no one else has been able to do. They ran a triple team on Hudgins while running an effective zone on the other wideouts. Very effective. They are poised, well coached and motivated. Like I have said all year, Samford is young and well coached and they are much better than most of the SoCon people give them credit for.

Conference games are different and teams get pumped or deflated. At the end of the day, the team that wins got the job done one way or another. And really, that is all that matters.

[URMite]

Certain Elon fans said we were not a top 10 team. Right now I still feel that way. Samford came out and did something against us no one else has been able to do. They ran a triple team on Hudgins while running an effective zone on the other wideouts. Very effective. They are poised, well coached and motivated. Like I have said all year, Samford is young and well coached and they are much better than most of the SoCon people give them credit for.

Conference games are different and teams get pumped or deflated. At the end of the day, the team that wins got the job done one way or another. And really, that is all that matters.

That brings up a good point. It is a team game, and because of that certain segments of the game (Oline, Def Backfield or whatever) may match up better with some teams than with others. Therefore you could have a #5 have a harder time with #23 than #11 does but #5 might be able to beat #11 easily. If you see what I mean. (reading that back it looks awkward xoopsx )

Which is what makes ranking so difficult and a playoff system so important.

[furpal87]

Looking forward to next week, should be a great game!!

[matfu]

WAS SOUTHERN CAL OVERRATED or oregon state underrated? -that is why you play them...but i don't know the answer to your question.

[BestOfBreed]

Samford might have caught Elon looking ahead to next week. Who knows?

[T-Dog]

I had a feeling Lil Sammy would give one of the SoCon big dogs (yeah, Elon's a big dog now) fits. Wasn't expecting it to be Elon, but oh well.

I feel a close game is something Samford will see little of the rest of the way though.

[ElonFirefighter]

Elon had an off game, dont know if they were overlooking to Furman or not pumped by a quiet Famiely day crowd. One big issue is Samford had not played a FCS team yet, so they were a hard read. Over all we had a bad day passing and made some mistakes. our Dfence made some great stops but let some big plays happen. Its the tale of Elon, we usually play up or down to the calaber of our opponet.
I think this will be a great game in the long run for Elon becasue 1 we came out with a win, and 2 we played bad. So the coach will light a fire under the team and hopefully we come out strong against Furman, for another Big Socon win.
With that said I also think Samford was under rated. They are a good team and could surprise one of the Big Socon teams. Could be GSU????

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

See: Samford versus Mississippi.

[PaladinFan]

I have thought all year its a little of both. People have automatically placed Samford in the SoCon cellar this season, but I don't think they will finish there. While not a great team, I think they are a bit better than most think.

Elons meeting with Furman next week should provide a lot more insight into what might be in store for both of us the rest of the season.

[ElonFirefighter]

True next week will prove where we stand. Im not looking at W/L but how our Offence steps up after this game. Can we convert the points for the stats we throw up?

[BullDog85]

See: Samford versus Mississippi.

I thought the same thing also, wow 34-10, Samford played them a little too close for a SEC team. The stats say a somewhat different story 424 yrds vs 198. Looks like Ole Miss is consistently inconsistent. One week loosing to Wake Forest and Vandy and then beating BCS#4 Gators in the swamp.xconfusedx

[PhoenixPhan06]

I'm glad that we were able to get a win tonight as Samford really impressed me with their defense. Granted 2 of the 3 Riddle INT's were bobbled passes, their defense and special teams really kept them in this game. Our average starting field position was terrible due to the Samford punter kicking 5 inside the 20.

I'll be the first to say that we got caught looking ahead to Furman and Samford almost snuck outta there with a win. As great as the 66-12 win against Presbyterian was, I think it has gotten to our players heads and they haven't displayed that kind of offensive firepower since. We've got to correct the miscues on offense in order to play well against Furman next week.

I still feel that we are a top 10 team and that Samford deserves much more credit. They are not the doormat that everyone expected (myself included) them to be and they should finish somewhere in the middle of the SoCon standings at the end of the year.

[PaladinFan]

I'm glad that we were able to get a win tonight as Samford really impressed me with their defense. Granted 2 of the 3 Riddle INT's were bobbled passes, their defense and special teams really kept them in this game. Our average starting field position was terrible due to the Samford punter kicking 5 inside the 20.

I'll be the first to say that we got caught looking ahead to Furman and Samford almost snuck outta there with a win. As great as the 66-12 win against Presbyterian was, I think it has gotten to our players heads and they haven't displayed that kind of offensive firepower since. We've got to correct the miscues on offense in order to play well against Furman next week.

I still feel that we are a top 10 team and that Samford deserves much more credit. They are not the doormat that everyone expected (myself included) them to be and they should finish somewhere in the middle of the SoCon standings at the end of the year.

No disrespect intended, but where has the Phoenix offense been? Are teams just smothering Hudgins?

[PhoenixPhan06]

No disrespect intended, but where has the Phoenix offense been? Are teams just smothering Hudgins?

The last two games, teams have consistently doubled and triple teamed Hudgins. The guy is great don't get me wrong, but having two and three guys covering you all game will wear down anyone. For the second straight game we've also been without our #2 WR Bo Williamson. He was out with turf toe, an injury from early in the GSU game, and was out tonight as a precaution, yet another indication that we were looking ahead to Furman next week. Lembo was trying to steal one by resting him in hopes to have him at 100% next week and it almost came up to bite us.

We have a solid group of WR's outside of Hudgins and Williamson, but anytime a team goes without their #2 option (Bo is also a huge special teams performer for us) it makes it easier for the defense to shut down the #1 guy.

The blessing in disguise here is the emergense of our running game, somehting we haven't had in recent years. We still put up around 400 yards of offensive which isn't too shabby, and hopefully with Bo back next week, Hudgins can break loose a little more and end up on the highlight real once or twice.

Best of luck next weekend!

[Phoenix87]

First off, hats off to Samford. They showed up to play a complete game and the Phoenix were lucky to get out of here with a win. I don't know if the team was overlooking the Bulldogs ahead to Furman, but let this be a warning to all Socon teams. This team is in much better shape than when we first entered the Socon. Samfords D was very solid and they easily have the biggest O-line in the conference. Solid run game, but so so pass game.
As for the Phoenix, a win is a win and I don't think they will have a hard time being ready to play the next two weeks after what happened last year. With 11,000 people in the stands, the crowd was pathetic. I would have rather had half that crowd and had everyone in to the game. Great support from the student body but the rest of the parents in the crowd didn't show too much emotion. It seemed like everyone was flat yesterday.
Good luck to the Bulldogs, you will pull off one major upset this year.

[Reign of Terrier]

Samfords D was very solid and they easily have the biggest O-line in the conference. Solid run game, but so so pass game.


Bigger than Wofford's?

[phoenixphanatic21]

Bigger than Wofford's?

I don't know how big Wofford's line is, but Samford's O-line averaged 6-6 and 315 pounds.

[Reign of Terrier]

I don't know how big Wofford's line is, but Samford's O-line averaged 6-6 and 315 pounds.

yep, Samford's bigger
Wofford's like 6-3 or 4 303 pounds.

[ElonPride]

See: Samford versus Mississippi.

EXACTLY! They played Ole Miss very tough.

GP and I have been saying all season that Samford would be a decent team, and would NOT finish last. They are far above Elon's position as a 1st year team in the SoCon.

I do believe that Samford will probably beat WCU, UTC and possibly GSU. They will also probably have something up their sleeve for another of the big teams.....

[ElonPride]

No disrespect intended, but where has the Phoenix offense been? Are teams just smothering Hudgins?

The offense is there:

670 yards of offense v. PC
500+ offense v. GSU
450+ of offense v. Samford

The points just aren't flying like they were last year. I think that's for one reason....Elon has developed a running game. That slows the game down and possibly could be the reason for the shortage of points compared to last season.

[Reign of Terrier]

The offense is there:

670 yards of offense v. PC
500+ offense v. GSU
450+ of offense v. Samford

The points just aren't flying like they were last year. I think that's for one reason....Elon has developed a running game. That slows the game down and possibly could be the reason for the shortage of points compared to last season.

What about the defense? If you can't stop the run it should be fun to watch you play Wofford because they can run the ball better than anyone but are horrible at defending the pass. It would be like Antimatter vs matter and both teams having 500 yards+.

[Phoenix87]

What about the defense? If you can't stop the run it should be fun to watch you play Wofford because they can run the ball better than anyone but are horrible at defending the pass. It would be like Antimatter vs matter and both teams having 500 yards+.

We weren't able to stop the run yesterday. But we did a very good job of containing Georgia Southern's run game and I think, more than anything, our defensive schemes were bad against Samford. Our coaches know a lot more of what to expect against Wofford.

None the less, this conference is soooo wide open! So much football is left to play.

[elon77]

What about the defense? If you can't stop the run it should be fun to watch you play Wofford because they can run the ball better than anyone but are horrible at defending the pass. It would be like Antimatter vs matter and both teams having 500 yards+.

The very same defense, just about man for man, did a pretty good job against you last year. Maybe we can duplicate that this year.xnodx

[appfan2008]

I think it is certainly a combination of both but probably more to do with samford playing big and elon looking passed... samford is gonna scare some people this year i just hope it aint app