The Morning After - Wofford - Picking up the Pieces

[RazorEdge19]

Alright folks, we've seen the score, we've had a night to digest the loss. What does this mean for the program? How badly does this hurt recruiting? Do you think the coaching staff and locker room leaders can pull their collective selves together? What's the answer to getting this team to respond?

For the SoCon, does this game show an emerging team in the SoCon? Is UTC on the road back to being able to compete every week in the SoCon?

[OL FU]

Alright folks, we've seen the score, we've had a night to digest the loss. What does this mean for the program? How badly does this hurt recruiting? Do you think the coaching staff and locker room leaders can pull their collective selves together? What's the answer to getting this team to respond?

For the SoCon, does this game show an emerging team in the SoCon? Is UTC on the road back to being able to compete every week in the SoCon?

Answer to the first paragraph, it's one game. xthumbsupx

Answer to the second, it seems from the FU game that Chatt was improving. Turnovers hurt them. I think they are on the way back but this too is one game. Need some more to really judge.

[spdram]

Put away the razor blade, recruit hard.

[FCS_pwns_FBS]

Interesting post on terrierfans.com


The main concern I have at the moment is two-fold.

First, we lack experience at key positions. From the Offensive line to LB, we're lacking experience across the board. However, the talent of these kids should be sufficient to bridge that gap more smoothly then it has in the past. So then, what is causing this team to lose games to teams that it should NOT lose to?

Second, I wonder if it may be attitude. That all the youth believe that they can just 'show up' and win games. This attitude has gotten into Wofford teams of the past following a very successful season. 2004 was such a team that had unbelievable talent, and returned a significant number of the 2003 keys to the 8-0 SoCon run. The difference between the '03 and the '04 teams? The '03 team had a chip on its shoulder from the '02 snub. The '04 team thought they could arrive to a game and win. (It wasn't everybody on the team. Heck, it wasn't even majority, but it was enough people at key positions.)

Alas, that is not the case at Wofford.

This year may be the first time since 2004 that Wofford was not really overlooked in the preseason. You have to wonder if Wofford has forgotten what it is that made them successful.

[GoldandBlack]

The system helps, but it doesn't win games. Winning games requires hard work, dedication, desire and a commitment to execute. I can't speak to anything but execution, but it has not been there too much of the time this year. What hurt the most last night was absolutely terrible tackling technique.

I have a suspicion the Terriers will improve as the year goes on, but it sure looks like a rebuilding year at this point. It may be that the Mocs are a LOT better than expected, but I think it's a combination of Chattanooga being improved and Wofford being off their game.

As of now, the Terriers have to be considered underdogs in all their remaining games unless they can prove otherwise. Too many mental and physical mistakes last night to think otherwise.

[ASU_MBA]

Wofford was in a rebuilding year...and you add injuries to 2 or 3 of the best players on top of a rebuilding year and stuff like this can happen. Teams are learning Wofford is one dimensional becuase their QB has yet to show me he can throw. The system is great but the system can't handle 8 or even 10 guys in the box keying the run. I also think teams have learned Wofford has a suspect secondary as usual. Look at the App game last year and this UTC game.
It is one game keep your head up.

[OL FU]

The system helps, but it doesn't win games. Winning games requires hard work, dedication, desire and a commitment to execute. I can't speak to anything but execution, but it has not been there too much of the time this year. What hurt the most last night was absolutely terrible tackling technique.

I have a suspicion the Terriers will improve as the year goes on, but it sure looks like a rebuilding year at this point. It may be that the Mocs are a LOT better than expected, but I think it's a combination of Chattanooga being improved and Wofford being off their game.

As of now, the Terriers have to be considered underdogs in all their remaining games unless they can prove otherwise. Too many mental and physical mistakes last night to think otherwise.


You haven't played Western yet:)

[chattanoogamocs]

There was 4 reasons why the Mocs are markedly improved...

1) Good coaching, comprised of a staff of coaches who had had success at the FCS level.

2) Getting the players to believe that they CAN win (which is a big battle after the last couple of years)

3) A great QB. BJ Coleman was a legit 4-star prospect in high school. Many Tennessee fans have been very vocal that it was big mistake letting him go. Chattanooga has always had a good receiving corps, now they have someone who can deliver the ball to them. And BJ is a determined, vocal, leader. No one will outwork him, it that attitude has spread to others on the team.

4) A healthy running back. Having Bryan Fitzgerald back is as critical as getting BJ Coleman. Fitz was the pre-season 1st SoCon RB last year before having knee surgery.

There is also another intangible...fan support. Having an alumnus (from the Mocs heyday of SoCon titles) coaching the team and getting the local boy star QB (Coleman) playing here has rallied tons of fan and student support (record ticket sales, top 20 average attendance thru 3 games). The positive attitude and excitement is contagious and has spread to the players. For years, they have been a joke, a punchline, on campus. Now they are the toast of the town. There is no way that doesn't help these guys in practice...in a word, they have their pride back...and it shows.

All that being said, the Mocs are still young and inexperienced...and they now finish with 5 of their last 7 on the road. I will still be happy if they just make it to .500 for the season (in the pre-season I picked 3-5 wins this year).

....and I don't think this is the end of the world for Wofford...they have legit injury issues and they are young. This game was just one of those perfect storms where everything went right for the home team.

BTW...many of the mocfans were talking about the class of the Wofford program...especially at the end of the game when the UC band played our alma mater and the Wofford players all stood at attention until the song was over. Class act (I am sure that is the last thing in the world they would feel like doing after that thumping...but they still did). xthumbsupx

[RazorEdge19]

My concern is that, with the wrong people in a locker room, this kind of loss can send a program into a tailspin.

How do you prevent such a tailspin from happening?

Many props to UTC yesterday, they were the better team on the field.

[phoenix3]

Alright folks, we've seen the score, we've had a night to digest the loss. What does this mean for the program? How badly does this hurt recruiting? Do you think the coaching staff and locker room leaders can pull their collective selves together? What's the answer to getting this team to respond?

For the SoCon, does this game show an emerging team in the SoCon? Is UTC on the road back to being able to compete every week in the SoCon?

You're having a streak of bad luck. It won't, could possibly help if lessons are learned from this season. Absolutely. Stick to what works, learn from what happened early this season & apply it to the future.

Yes. Yes.

The sky is not falling chicken little. You have at Wofford what many in the SoCon and across the FCS country covet: a winning PROGRAM. Pi$$ on the bad luck, you'll be back on top before you know it.

[phoenix3]

As a SoCon fan second, (Elon fan first), I am happy to see the progress UTC has made. A stronger SoCon will only help the individual teams. Especially in recruiting.

[wcucat85]

OL FU...........Western has a lot of youth as well.............They have had 3 freshman on the o-line and red shirt soph qb and Wagner has had really one good year to recruit so far..........ease up there............

[OL FU]

OL FU...........Western has a lot of youth as well.............They have had 3 freshman on the o-line and red shirt soph qb and Wagner has had really one good year to recruit so far..........ease up there............

It was a joke to a friend.

I realize it was not in the best of taste if you are a Cat fan. Sorryxnodx

PS and if 85 is your year of graduation (as opposed to say your jersey number), you guys caused a few tears in Paladin land during your tenure.

[WOCO]

Wofford wasn't supposed to be good this year. I think the talent level is up across the board but the football IQ of the team is way down. They are as youung as I have seen them in a lot of years and have lost 3 potential all-americans. We make huge mistakes every other play. We aren't that good this year. It's a rebuilding year. They will get better as the year goes on and I see good things in the future but this year is going to be full of growing pains. It's not going to be our year but we will be back.

We will be fine as far as recruiting goes. The last 2 classes have been really good so they will mature and bring this team back up in the future. We still have NFL quality facilities. No recruit is going to see anything like wofford when they step on campus. We will be fine.