SoCon Forecast - The Citadel

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

I'm going to copy-cat jstclmet's CAA threads and do the same with the SoCon teams. I am going in a random order. The Citadel is up first.

The Good - The defense will be all-around better. The fairly young secondary from last year will be much improved IMO and they return all starters at LB and the DL could be second only to App. State's. Roberts and Blanchard come back. The OL will be better.

The Bad - The running game is going to be a problem. Asheton Jordan (a promising freshman from last year) is apparantly no longer on the team. El Cid might end up relying on redshirt freshman Rickey Anderson to do the running. Even though The Citadel returns Andre Roberts, the WR position will be a question mark without Flanagan and Haney.

OOC Games (not doing predictions for SoCon games)

North Carolina - UNC will be pretty good, but not as good as they were last year. El Cid keeps it close for a while but loses in the fourth 34-21. Why not? McNeese kept it close last year and they weren't all that great last year. Bring some sunglasses to the game for the uniforms on the field. :D

Princeton - with Princeton probably not being as good as they were last year, I expect The Citadel to win this one 42-17

Presbyterian - PC's four week tour of the SoCon schools ends with a loss in Charleston. The Citadel wins 31-14.

[Skjellyfetti]

at North Carolina L
at Princeton W
PRESBYTERIAN W
Appalachian St. L
at Elon L
at Western Carolina W
Furman L
Samford L
Wofford L
Chattanooga W
Georgia So. L

They'll win one of the games I have them down for a loss. Probably Furman or Samford. I'll say 5 games.

[ngineer]

Lehigh's Higgins will battle and pull off an upset or two along the way. The guy is an excellent motivator.

[citdog]

We will be as good or better than we were in 2007. with only the one fbs game and the home schedule in the conference.....2009 is the year we return to the playoffs.

[jstclmet]

I'm going to copy-cat jstclmet's CAA threads and do the same with the SoCon teams.


Imitation is the purest form of flattery. Good luck with your threads. I'll PM you the address to send the royalty checks too xrulesx xthumbsupx

[appmaj]

I was thinking...

at North Carolina L
at Princeton W
PRESBYTERIAN W
Appalachian St. L
at Elon L
at Western Carolina W
Furman L
Samford W
Wofford L
Chattanooga W
Georgia So. L

[WCU LawCat]

No way they win in Cullowhee. Just my prediction.

[citdog]

No way they win in Cullowhee. Just my prediction.

I'll remember you said that. Btw you haven't beat us in half a decade.

[Saint3333]

We will be as good or better than we were in 2007. with only the one fbs game and the home schedule in the conference.....2009 is the year we return to the playoffs.

"Citadel Playoffs": according to Webster's this is an oxymoron. Unless ALL of the preseason mags are incorrect Citadel finishes 6th at best in the conference. If this is Citadel's best team in awhile they picked the wrong year as the SoCon is stronger than it's been in a while.

[WCU LawCat]

I'll remember you said that. Btw you haven't beat us in half a decade.

It will be considered an upset for WCU to beat anyone other than UTC in the conferance this year I know...but Western in my opinion is going to be a lot more confident this year and I think it is going to produce some wins.

Roberts is awesome. He played great against us last year. In fact the whole team took it to us early last year but I think if you can limit Roberts then your offense may struggle. RB will prob be a mystery and I don't know of any other Citadel receivers. If you can develope a good running game quick you guys will be a lot better then people are predicting.

[catamount man]

It will be considered an upset for WCU to beat anyone other than UTC in the conferance this year I know...but Western in my opinion is going to be a lot more confident this year and I think it is going to produce some wins.

Roberts is awesome. He played great against us last year. In fact the whole team took it to us early last year but I think if you can limit Roberts then your offense may struggle. RB will prob be a mystery and I don't know of any other Citadel receivers. If you can develope a good running game quick you guys will be a lot better then people are predicting.

We have Furman, El Cid, Wofford and Elon as far as home SoCon games. We'll get one of them at least! After what Wagner inherited and going 3-9, if we can go 4-7 or 5-6, I will consider that another step in the right direction. 6 or better would be a treat. I'm gonna say 5-6.

[PaladinFan]

The Citadel was certainly the biggest dissapointment of 2008 in my book. A lot of talk about how they would compete for a playoff spot and then got run out of the building. The 2009 Bulldogs may be better, but they have to re-earn the respect they got in 2007.

[OL FU]

Let's hear it for DLSxthumbsupx

[DLS]

i have faith

[OL FU]

i have faith

It's requiredxthumbsupx

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

i have faith

Will you cut off your...you know...if they don't go undefeated? :D

[DLS]

Will you cut off your...you know...if they don't go undefeated? :D

are we talking regular season or all the way through the playoffs? xrotatehx

[Go...gate]

Picked them for seven wins but they might reach 8 and be a playoff participant. They will easily beat Princeton up here, that is for sure.

[citdog]

Picked them for seven wins but they might reach 8 and be a playoff participant. They will easily beat Princeton up here, that is for sure.

There will be no quarter with yankee scum.

We are raising the Black Flag

[GATA]

We will be as good or better than we were in 2007. with only the one fbs game and the home schedule in the conference.....2009 is the year we return to the playoffs.

The only reason the Citadel was good in 2007 is because you had an excellent (and quite underrated) QB in Duran Lawson...unless he's back on the roster...the Citadel is 5-6 tops.

[BullDog85]

At the end of the 2007 season with so many defensive seniors graduating Coach Higgins decided to change the defensive scheme to a 3-4 from a 4-3 thinking the smaller size and faster DBs we've been recruiting could help offset the lack on talent on the DL. The Citadel fielded a pretty young defensive crew running a new defensive scheme and they could not pull it off, especially with the defensive scheme being used. The defense had so many holes in it even Webber International HS scored on it. Despite that, Coach Higgins had faith in it and continued using it for 7 more games and the trashing we received at the hands of Samford changed his mind. Maybe the 3-4 was not so good after all for The Citadel's young defensive squad.

On 11/1/08 The Citadel defense that produced the 2007 results returned to the field against GSU. Despite loosing the game in the 3rd OT, The Citadel became a factor in the SoCon again. The Citadel offense outgained GSUs offense by 147yrds and dominated the field of play, but the defense, despite the scheme change, couldn't keep the Eaglets entirely out of the end zone, but it gave the offense breathing room to keep the score closer than in the recent past. The following week The Citadel traded punches back and forth with #10 Wofford on Wofford's field and lost 28-33. What The Citadel was missing on the team at that time running the 4-3 defense was another strong defensive tackle on the other side of the field from First Team All-Conference Terrence Reece to help shut down the opponent's running game.

Well that was 2008 and 2009 is upon us and what has transpired at El Cid? For one thing that huge hole on the other side of our DT Terrence Reece has been filled by a proven talented DT transfer. Wofford and Samford can kiss that huge hole in our DL good byexnodx. No more running away from Reece.xlolx On the offensive side of the ball The Citadel is pretty much in tact where it counts and though we lost RB Ashton Jordanxbawlingx, we have added transfer talent at the TE slot.xsmiley_wix

So The Citadel will step into 2009 with a far better defense and pretty much the same offense as last year that scored more touchdowns on Florida, the 2008 BCS Champion, than any team it faced all season.xthumbsupx

My prediction Best Case: 9-2 ( losses to NC - hard to beat BCS teams on their own fields and AppSt - they rule the SoCon until Armante graduates)xrulesx

Worst Case: 7-4 (Losses to NC, AppSt - , Sanford - I suspect we could drop this one the week after we pound the Furples in Chucktown, GSU - last game of season on their field and we always play them tight on their turf).

[PaladinFan]

The defense was certainly the problem last year. However, I don't know if the 2007 defense offers much help...they only held 3 teams under 21 points, UTC, CSU, and Weber. Not exactly power offenses either.

I agree with the above though. In 2007 the Citadel put 7 wins on the field and a lot of that was due to Duran Lawson. Heck, Furman scored 51 on them and lost. No one doubts that Cadet Roberts will be a force, but the playmaker at quarterback just isn't there.

to reach seven wins in 2009 el Cid has to match teams score for score. I don't think their defense will keep them in games. Granted, I am well aware that the Citadel gives Furman a dogfight, win or lose, in Charleston, so I fully expect that to be a close game.

[elon77]

At the end of the 2007 season with so many defensive seniors graduating Coach Higgins decided to change the defensive scheme to a 3-4 from a 4-3 thinking the smaller size and faster DBs we've been recruiting could help offset the lack on talent on the DL. The Citadel fielded a pretty young defensive crew running a new defensive scheme and they could not pull it off, especially with the defensive scheme being used. The defense had so many holes in it even Webber International HS scored on it. Despite that, Coach Higgins had faith in it and continued using it for 7 more games and the trashing we received at the hands of Samford changed his mind. Maybe the 3-4 was not so good after all for The Citadel's young defensive squad.

On 11/1/08 The Citadel defense that produced the 2007 results returned to the field against GSU. Despite loosing the game in the 3rd OT, The Citadel became a factor in the SoCon again. The Citadel offense outgained GSUs offense by 147yrds and dominated the field of play, but the defense, despite the scheme change, couldn't keep the Eaglets entirely out of the end zone, but it gave the offense breathing room to keep the score closer than in the recent past. The following week The Citadel traded punches back and forth with #10 Wofford on Wofford's field and lost 28-33. What The Citadel was missing on the team at that time running the 4-3 defense was another strong defensive tackle on the other side of the field from First Team All-Conference Terrence Reece to help shut down the opponent's running game.

Well that was 2008 and 2009 is upon us and what has transpired at El Cid? For one thing that huge hole on the other side of our DT Terrence Reece has been filled by a proven talented DT transfer. Wofford and Samford can kiss that huge hole in our DL good byexnodx. No more running away from Reece.xlolx On the offensive side of the ball The Citadel is pretty much in tact where it counts and though we lost RB Ashton Jordanxbawlingx, we have added transfer talent at the TE slot.xsmiley_wix

So The Citadel will step into 2009 with a far better defense and pretty much the same offense as last year that scored more touchdowns on Florida, the 2008 BCS Champion, than any team it faced all season.xthumbsupx

My prediction Best Case: 9-2 ( losses to NC - hard to beat BCS teams on their own fields and AppSt - they rule the SoCon until Armante graduates)xrulesx

Worst Case: 7-4 (Losses to NC, AppSt - , Sanford - I suspect we could drop this one the week after we pound the Furples in Chucktown, GSU - last game of season on their field and we always play them tight on their turf).

So you are pretty sure you will beat Elon at Elon? Interesting! A pretty good Elon team should be even better this year and after two years you have to travel to their place. Like I said, interesting!

[citdog]

So you are pretty sure you will beat Elon at Elon? Interesting! A pretty good Elon team should be even better this year and after two years you have to travel to their place. Like I said, interesting!
We beat the same Elon team in Charleston last year and everyone in attendance knew it. When you get 34 yards and are given credit for 29 it smells. The int that riddle threw before the half that was obvious to all but those in zebra stripes hurt as well.

Our last visit to tiny rhodes stadium for "little peteys" annual loss to his daddy went very nicely. A 5 touchdown victory for the Cadets.

[BullDog85]

It's going to be more like 11/18/06 again. Last year you guys had 100yrds more rushing than us and we were running the 3-4 defense, yet you still had to rely upon the stripped persuasion to pull your bacon out of the fire. We'll the 3-4 has been scrapped and that huge hole in the DL has been plugged. Now if we can just payoff the refs before your guys do :D

[blueballs]

The reason Citadel lost to GSU in 2008 was the kicking game, nothing more, nothing less...

... I expect Citadel to be a competitive team this year, whether they'll be able to make the plays that win games in the SoCon or not (last year they didn't) will determine their record.

[PaladinFan]

The reason Citadel lost to GSU in 2008 was the kicking game, nothing more, nothing less...

... I expect Citadel to be a competitive team this year, whether they'll be able to make the plays that win games in the SoCon or not (last year they didn't) will determine their record.

I think we can all agree that the SoCon will be more competitive top to bottom. Really, there's no team that is unbeatable and no team that is going to lose em all.

[GSUhooligan]

I think we can all agree that the SoCon will be more competitive top to bottom. Really, there's no team that is unbeatable and no team that is going to lose em all.

Except UTC

[PaladinFan]

Except UTC

Eh, I'm not convinced. UTC is by far the bottom of the conference right now, but I can see them biting a team like Samford. Best I remember they've bitten GSU in recent memory. Good news is the Mocs haven't beaten the Paladins since the Clinton administration. Maybe we can squeeze out another year.

Quite frankly, I think UTC has virtually no shot at beating App State. Other than that, just about anything could happen and it wouldn't suprise me.

[BullDog85]

Good point. Our kicking game was just as pathetic as our former 3-4 defense. The defensive problem has been fixed, I hope, and a new field goal kicker has been signed. So we'll see in due course if Higgins has done his homework soon enough.

As to who will survive the SoCon race in 09 is yet to be determined. I do know one thing. There's no doubt in my mind the teams of the SoCon are going to "kill their own" again this year and the SoCon will be robbed of that 3rd playoff slot again.xmadx

[kdinva]

.......As to who will survive the SoCon race in 09 is yet to be determined. I do know one thing. There's no doubt in my mind the teams of the SoCon are going to "kill their own" again this year and the SoCon will be robbed of that 3rd playoff slot again.xmadx
Maybe if your Conf. Commissioner lobbied harder (ala Yeager xsmoochxwith the CAA/Yankee Conf.), y'all get three teams in this November.

[elcid96]

Lot of great points, now we need to get on the field and produce some wins and play some football. I believe we are producing some WR and TE for Blanchard to throw too and agree that our running game is what I question the most. The schedule is tough as always and the football in the SOCON in only getting better every year. New stadiums, better players, and more coverage is making this conference tough to recruit in and play in. Good luck to all and see you in the stands.

[elon77]

We beat the same Elon team in Charleston last year and everyone in attendance knew it. When you get 34 yards and are given credit for 29 it smells. The int that riddle threw before the half that was obvious to all but those in zebra stripes hurt as well.

Our last visit to tiny rhodes stadium for "little peteys" annual loss to his daddy went very nicely. A 5 touchdown victory for the Cadets.

Blah, blah, blah. I think all teams can say from time to time that the officials robbed them of a victory, but you still lost. Look back on last years win loss sheet, and there is a W beside Elon and a L beside The Citadel. After this year it is quite possible that Coach Lembo will have two wins in a row over little kevin.xnodx

[OL FU]

Blah, blah, blah. I think all teams can say from time to time that the officials robbed them of a victory, but you still lost. Look back on last years win loss sheet, and there is a W beside Elon and a L beside The Citadel. After this year it is quite possible that Coach Lembo will have two wins in a row over little kevin.xnodx

You would think that the refs actually treat The Citadel worse than they do Georgia Southernxrotatehxxlolx

[PaladinFan]

You would think that the refs actually treat The Citadel worse than they do Georgia Southernxrotatehxxlolx

We pay them more for the GSU games, you should know that.

[phoenixphanatic21]

We beat the same Elon team in Charleston last year and everyone in attendance knew it. When you get 34 yards and are given credit for 29 it smells. The int that riddle threw before the half that was obvious to all but those in zebra stripes hurt as well.

Our last visit to tiny rhodes stadium for "little peteys" annual loss to his daddy went very nicely. A 5 touchdown victory for the Cadets.

We were a very different team last time you visited Rhodes, since the last time you visited us was my freshman year in '06. Don't expect the same result as last time.
And a 5 touchdown victory? Really? I was hoping it would at least be a close game. :p

And like elon77 said, we all can say we've lost games because of some b.s. calls from the refs. It's a part of being in the SoCon, having to deal with the SoCon referees. I personally look forward to seeing you guys return to Rhodes this fall. Hell, I've been waiting since '06.

[elcid83]

We have Furman, El Cid, Wofford and Elon as far as home SoCon games. We'll get one of them at least! After what Wagner inherited and going 3-9, if we can go 4-7 or 5-6, I will consider that another step in the right direction. 6 or better would be a treat. I'm gonna say 5-6.

You'll have to get past the Runnin' Bulldogs first!

Go Runnin' Bulldogs!

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

You would think that the refs actually treat The Citadel worse than they do Georgia Southernxrotatehxxlolx

Actually I think App. has supplanted GSU as the SoCon referee's least favorite team.

[PaladinFan]

You'll have to get past the Runnin' Bulldogs first!

Go Runnin' Bulldogs!

Has anyone actually seen a bulldog run?

[BossEagle]

Has anyone actually seen a bulldog run?

HAHAHA LMAO xlolx






yesxcoolx

[appfan2008]

i went 5-6
3-5 in conference

[ASU_Fanatic]

I think Citadel will win 4-5 games.