Elon dominates but only pulls out nail biter over El Cid

[ElonPride]

Elon wins 18-15.

Elon has a fairly dominate game by offensive stats, but misses a FG at the end of regulation to send this one in to OT. Both teams missed two FGs in regulation.

Yards of offense:
Elon 445
El Cid 267

El Cid did have a costly turnover near the end of the 4th with about 2:30 left on the clock.

Man, if this Elon team can just cut down on turnovers figure out how to score a TD in the redzone, they could be a force. Just wishful thinking at this point as they're lucky to pull out a win.

Good thing is the defense seems to have improved over last year.

I guess a win is a win at this point. New staff, new schemes lots of adjustments still need to be made.

Hats of to the El Cid defense......coming up big when needed.

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

ElonPride.....

Here is my thing. Elon is 3-1 and you say the defense is better, BUT look at the schedule Elon had last year to this year. I know that some fans have a win is a win mentality, but we will learn ALOT about Elon next weekend vs. Georgia Southern. I did notice that there was no Rodney Austin today and that is a big loss for them. I watched this game and I can say this Elon's defense is vulnerable to the big play. Also, I do not think winning by 3 is a dominant game, if Citadel does not miss a 20 yd field goal or fumble on the last drive then your dominant win goes away.

[ElonPride]

ElonPride.....

Here is my thing. Elon is 3-1 and you say the defense is better, BUT look at the schedule Elon had last year to this year. I know that some fans have a win is a win mentality, but we will learn ALOT about Elon next weekend vs. Citadel. I did notice that there was no Rodney Austin today and that is a big loss for them. I watched this game and I can say this Elon's defense is vulnerable to the big play. Also, I do not think winning by 3 is a dominant game, if Citadel does not miss a 20 yd field goal or fumble on the last drive then your dominant win goes away.

Through 4 last year: Duke, Shaw, UR & GSU. So yes the schedule was a bit tougher. But, Vandy is light years ahead of Duke. Elon out gained Vandy......

And yes, Elon was with Austin which is a huge loss. Andre Davis is also out and Wilson is still a bit hobbled.

Good job beating up on Presby BTW.

Elon also had some weapons return today, who are shaking off the dust......

[Mountaineer#96]

If this one was in Charleston I would understand the score.....El Cid plays really tough down there. To say anyone dominated, I would say (Lee Corso like) not so fast.

[whoanellie]

Thrilling Win by Elon !!!! against a well coached Citadel squad.
A very soon not to be underated Defense is stepping up and has taken leadership
on field. Wilson has more options than Mellette but still connected on a 40yd. HomeRun.
Who's Next? just #1 Ga. Suthun.

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

Im sorry but Elon's defense can show me something next week. Citadel, NCCU, and Concord would help those stats.

[ElonPride]

Again, they played extremely well at Vandy. Hopefully Vandy can again show something tonight.

So I know Furman did play El Cid in Chucktown, but Elon did have a better overall game against this same El Cid team than FU.

The majority picked El Cid this week, so I'm happy with the win. Next weekend, may not be so pretty.

[whoanellie]

Im sorry but Elon's defense can show me something next week. Citadel, NCCU, and Concord would help those stats.
I am sure they will have to Ga. Southern is only ranked #1 . I am positive We will show up and try to play best We can against such a worthy foe.

[Squealofthepig]

Grats to the Phoenix on he win; it looked like a pretty tough in-the-trenches game from what little I could see (e.g., defenses stepping up just when teams looked like they were getting some momentum, especially the first half). Good luck next week vs. GSU.

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

I will say this......without Rodney Austin, I thought backup Clay Johnson played well.......It was also good to see Jamal Shuman, he had those bursts and they needed that.

[ElonPride]

Grats to the Phoenix on he win; it looked like a pretty tough in-the-trenches game from what little I could see (e.g., defenses stepping up just when teams looked like they were getting some momentum, especially the first half). Good luck next week vs. GSU.

As it was. That's why I tipped my hat to El Cid's D!!! Elon kept gaining momentum and El Cid came up with huge stops DEEP in their territory.

[PhoenixMan]

The Citadel's Defense played well all day. Elon is not very good offensively, or so it seems while watching the game, but then I see that they had 445 yds of offense and Wilson's stats were decent. Every win in the conference is a great win, and we'll take it.

If anyone has any insight on why Swepspon would purposely let the clock run down to 4 seconds in regulation from El Cid's 26, with 3 timeouts, in a tie game... to try a 44 yd field goal on THIRD down?????????????? Why not a run a play, get it in the middle of the field, and kick a FG(possibly from a lot closer). Kicked it on 3rd down, the kid missed it, of course. Kudos to him that he made the one on OT that was the winner, but if Swepson thinks Shreiner (or any other kicker) is automatic from 44 yds, we need to talk.

[seantaylor]

Not sure how it is possible to dominate a home game that goes to OT.

[PhoenixMan]

Not sure how it is possible to dominate a home game that goes to OT.

From what I saw, Elon did not dominate the game. They have more talent at the skill positions, but they are so banged up on the O line, it was not a dominating performance. Watching the game I would have never guessed that Elon had 445 yds. of offense, it just didn't seem that way.

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

How close is Higgin's to getting fired? He was tremendous at Lehigh but has really struggled at The Citadel.

[PhoenixMan]

How close is Higgin's to getting fired? He was tremendous at Lehigh but has really struggled at The Citadel.

Higgins is a good coach, they are disciplined and play hard nose. They had 1 penalty for 5 yds. That says a lot about a head coach to me. The toughest jobs in college athletics are coaching at military colleges/academies, and gets more so all the time. A lot of kids now, especially superior HS athletes, are not looking for a military environment. No need to fire Higgins, but I know winning is the name of the game to keep your job.

[PaladinFan]

How close is Higgin's to getting fired? He was tremendous at Lehigh but has really struggled at The Citadel.

They are better this year than they were last year. They've lost two conference games to better teams. I imagine they will pull a few out against some of the lower caliber SoCon teams.

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

I think Citadel is good, but they just have no passing game at all. I think that is what separates them from Georgia Southern and Wofford because when those teams need to throw, they at least have a chance. Citadel really doesn't have that at this point. If they can expand that offense and develop some sort of throw game, they will have a chance.

[ElonPride]

From what I saw, Elon did not dominate the game. They have more talent at the skill positions, but they are so banged up on the O line, it was not a dominating performance. Watching the game I would have never guessed that Elon had 445 yds. of offense, it just didn't seem that way.

After watching every bit of this game, it seemed like Elon had closer to 500 yards total offense. Elon drives ended up around the El Cid 25 on more than half of the offensive possessions in regulation. Two of these possessions ended up in turnovers deep in El Cid territory and two other scoring opportunities were missed on FGs.

Again, you do have to tip your hats to the El Cid D for picking it up when the game it really mattered.

[PhoenixMan]

After watching every bit of this game, it seemed like Elon had closer to 500 yards total offense. Elon drives ended up around the El Cid 25 on more than half of the offensive possessions in regulation. Two of these possessions ended up in turnovers deep in El Cid territory and two other scoring opportunities were missed on FGs.

Again, you do have to tip your hats to the El Cid D for picking it up when the game it really mattered.

I watched every play as well, and I don't think was a dominating performance by any means. When you dominate a game you score in the red zone, don't have drives stall deep in your opponents, and come away with at least 3 points. So, what do you think Swepson's strategy was at the end of regulation? I'm baffled....kick on third down from 44 yds??

[Reign of Terrier]

Lord help Elon when they play a legit option team and a defense with athletes on their level....someone said on here something about a beat up OL? advantage GSU next week

[Biff]

How close is Higgin's to getting fired? He was tremendous at Lehigh but has really struggled at The Citadel.

Not sure how close, but he has a contract to 2013 and I think we will give him this year and next. He is a really good coach with the right attitude/morals that is very pleasing to the Citadel Faithful.

If he can keep competitive teams on the field (which we have this year, so far) and start picking a few wins (6-5 type seasons) we will likely keep him as long as he wants to stay. Traditionally we are a sub .500 team. Winning seasons are big for us, especially when we are averaging a conference title every 30 years or so.

[Biff]

Lord help Elon when they play a legit option team and a defense with athletes on their level....someone said on here something about a beat up OL? advantage GSU next week

How are we not legit and not having athletes on their level? Do we have to run it for 20 something years or have run that offense for most of our history? I would argue we are more legit that Wofford, not the better team, but we run more traditional TO plays, IMO. Even Clemson DC agrees saying, "I guess the best way to describe their offense is that they’re about 40% Georgia Tech, and the other 60% falls at 30% Auburn and 30% South Carolina.”

If they are banged up, they are banged up. We have some banged up players and have a number of sophomores having to step up, blah blah, blah. You team is only as good as what you can put on the field that day. It was a good game and the 3 and goal decision to throw instead of run didn't work on the opening drive then missed the field goal attempt seemed to be our biggest mistake. Kicker will hazed this week.

[Reign of Terrier]

How are we not legit and not having athletes on their level? Do we have to run it for 20 something years or have run that offense for most of our history? I would argue we are more legit that Wofford, not the better team, but we run more traditional TO plays, IMO. Even Clemson DC agrees saying, "I guess the best way to describe their offense is that they’re about 40% Georgia Tech, and the other 60% falls at 30% Auburn and 30% South Carolina.”

If they are banged up, they are banged up. We have some banged up players and have a number of sophomores having to step up, blah blah, blah. You team is only as good as what you can put on the field that day. It was a good game and the 3 and goal decision to throw instead of run didn't work on the opening drive then missed the field goal attempt seemed to be our biggest mistake. Kicker will hazed this week.

The Citadel is in year 2 of their system, no way is it fully implemented to it's full potential. Wofford and GSU are "more legitimate" because we haven't been held as in check as The Citadel has against Elon and Furman. And right now, I believe it's completely fair to say that Wofford and GSU have better athletes than The Citadel on offense. When you have better plays with more experience in a system with yardage and points to show for it, you're clearly more legitimate than a team who doesn't. The Citadel can't break 20 points on team, Wofford and GSU certainly can.

edit: and we most certainly run the option, just not as much flexbone. We definitely run the option and we are definitely more legitimate than The Citadel. It doesn't matter what formation it comes out of

[ElonPride]

And right now, I believe it's completely fair to say that Wofford and GSU have better athletes than The Citadel on offense.


So, you must just have marginally better athletes than Presby seeing they had you on the ropes......a team who Furman absolutely demolished yesterday.

[ElonPride]

So, what do you think Swepson's strategy was at the end of regulation? I'm baffled....kick on third down from 44 yds??

Yeah, I'm not quite sure what he was doing there. I wasn't impressed with the offensive play calling in/around the redzone.

[whoanellie]

so hard to use PC as a barometer. maybe Furman shoulda played Cal?
and I'm sure Wofford has inspired Clemson's last 2 upsets. Ga. Southern w/ almost 700 yds of offense
vs Western and WCU actually gained yards.
my take is that several "ranked" teams will get knocked off by each other as season unfolds. Ex:
Wofford over ASU would not be an upset

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

ElonPride.

You know you cannot apply that theory in this game. So Wofford has athletes on the same level as Auburn and Florida State considering that their scores are similar and Savannah State is better than Elon because they beat North Carolina Central by 3 instead of 1.

[ElonPride]

ElonPride.

You know you cannot apply that theory in this game. So Wofford has athletes on the same level as Auburn and Florida State considering that their scores are similar and Savannah State is better than Elon because they beat North Carolina Central by 3 instead of 1.

And Elon has defensive players on par with that of an SEC team seeing Vandy was held to less total offensive yardsxrolleyesx

.....my comment was sarcasm.

[SoConisMyAntiDrug]

And Elon has defensive players on par with that of an SEC team seeing Vandy was held to less total offensive yardsxrolleyesx

.....my comment was sarcasm.

HAHAHA Touche'

[Reign of Terrier]

.....my comment was sarcasm.

you lost me there....

[Biff]

The Citadel is in year 2 of their system, no way is it fully implemented to it's full potential. Wofford and GSU are "more legitimate" because we haven't been held as in check as The Citadel has against Elon and Furman. And right now, I believe it's completely fair to say that Wofford and GSU have better athletes than The Citadel on offense. When you have better plays with more experience in a system with yardage and points to show for it, you're clearly more legitimate than a team who doesn't. The Citadel can't break 20 points on team, Wofford and GSU certainly can.

edit: and we most certainly run the option, just not as much flexbone. We definitely run the option and we are definitely more legitimate than The Citadel. It doesn't matter what formation it comes out of

Sorry thought you were referencing triple option, not just the option in general (misread the post). So far we are right where I thought we were. Played Furman tough and had our chances to win (we were in Charleston), kept the Elon game close. Think we will do the same to Chatty and Samford and then have losses to Wofford, ASU, GSU and USC, wins over VMI and Western.

I can't argue the athletes comment yet. Still waiting to see how our younger players develop and hoping some of those seniors and juniors convert from the spread to the TO quicker than I think we are seeing.

[Reign of Terrier]

Sorry thought you were referencing triple option, not just the option in general (misread the post). So far we are right where I thought we were. Played Furman tough and had our chances to win (we were in Charleston), kept the Elon game close. Think we will do the same to Chatty and Samford and then have losses to Wofford, ASU, GSU and USC, wins over VMI and Western.

I can't argue the athletes comment yet. Still waiting to see how our younger players develop and hoping some of those seniors and juniors convert from the spread to the TO quicker than I think we are seeing.
I believe you're confusing the terms triple option and flexbone. the triple option is a play and an overall offensive philosophy, the flexbone is a formation. The Citadel runs more flexbone than Wofford, but they both run the triple option. Wofford and GSU either have superior athletes or more experience in the system or both and overall they're a more dangerous offensive team than The Citadel

[OL FU]

Hey biff. I was about to send you the congratulations text and then...........................you fumbled:(

[Biff]

I believe you're confusing the terms triple option and flexbone. the triple option is a play and an overall offensive philosophy, the flexbone is a formation. The Citadel runs more flexbone than Wofford, but they both run the triple option. Wofford and GSU either have superior athletes or more experience in the system or both and overall they're a more dangerous offensive team than The Citadel

Flexbone, Wing-T, Wishbone, Veer, I-formation, etc.... all TO formations, got it. How does the comparison Clemson's DC made for between Wofford and Auburn/South Carolina offenses, both teams run very little TO (I thought)? I have always said Wofford is a much tricky offense to figure as it mixes so many no TO type plays into it, maybe I am wrong.

[Biff]

Hey biff. I was about to send you the congratulations text and then...........................you fumbled:(

FU.

[Reign of Terrier]

Flexbone, Wing-T, Wishbone, Veer, I-formation, etc.... all TO formations, got it. How does the comparison Clemson's DC made for between Wofford and Auburn/South Carolina offenses, both teams run very little TO (I thought)? I have always said Wofford is a much tricky offense to figure as it mixes so many no TO type plays into it, maybe I am wrong.
I have absolutely no idea where the coach got USC comparisons. More like Georgia Tech/Auburn/Nevada

[phoenixphanatic21]

FU.

I see what you did there.

[Biff]

I see what you did there.

Unoriginal, but effective.

[ElonPride]

you lost me there....

Figures.

[Reign of Terrier]

Figures.

poor sarcasm on your part

[CID1990]

Lord help Elon when they play a legit option team and a defense with athletes on their level....someone said on here something about a beat up OL? advantage GSU next week

I don't dispute that we are still trying to find our offense, but we might well be the most legitimate defense in the SoCon. We came into the Elon game ranked #5 in the nation on defense, and I doubt that changed much after the loss at Elon. It is possible that our defense is not the best in the SoCon (ASU held Chatty to 12) but we certainly have "athletes on their level".

[Biff]

I don't dispute that we are still trying to find our offense, but we might well be the most legitimate defense in the SoCon. We came into the Elon game ranked #5 in the nation on defense, and I doubt that changed much after the loss at Elon. It is possible that our defense is not the best in the SoCon (ASU held Chatty to 12) but we certainly have "athletes on their level".

#1 in the conference and 5th in the nation in scoring Defense ... From what I can find.

[Skjellyfetti]

Citadel leads the SoCon in scoring defense. And Towson leads the CAA and the nation in scoring defense. xrotatehxxrotatehxxrotatehxxrotatehxxrotatehx

[SoCon48]

I don't dispute that we are still trying to find our offense, but we might well be the most legitimate defense in the SoCon. We came into the Elon game ranked #5 in the nation on defense, and I doubt that changed much after the loss at Elon. It is possible that our defense is not the best in the SoCon (ASU held Chatty to 12) but we certainly have "athletes on their level".

The way things played out, it appears The Citadel would have won in Charleston. Just my opinion.

[Reign of Terrier]

I don't dispute that we are still trying to find our offense, but we might well be the most legitimate defense in the SoCon. We came into the Elon game ranked #5 in the nation on defense, and I doubt that changed much after the loss at Elon. It is possible that our defense is not the best in the SoCon (ASU held Chatty to 12) but we certainly have "athletes on their level".

from a scoring perspective, sure, but from a yardage perspective they had their way. The Citadel has had good coaches on defense the last few years and they've played well but I don't think they'll be better than Wofford or GSU or maybe even App State at least by the end of the year. Against a pass heavy team, Elon, you got the passing yards racked up on you, and against a seemingly run heavy team (or at least a team that was very close to the vest) in Furman you got run on pretty easily.

[CID1990]

from a scoring perspective, sure, but from a yardage perspective they had their way. The Citadel has had good coaches on defense the last few years and they've played well but I don't think they'll be better than Wofford or GSU or maybe even App State at least by the end of the year. Against a pass heavy team, Elon, you got the passing yards racked up on you, and against a seemingly run heavy team (or at least a team that was very close to the vest) in Furman you got run on pretty easily.

We made the stops where they were needed. We have done this for three games now. I expect that we will not be able to hold the more high powered offenses to 9, 16 and 18 points respectively, but our defense has a lot of intangibles that make it difficult to score on them. Furman dragged us aroudn the field, but at the end of the day we only let them in the end zone one time.

The point is that your assertion that a team like Elon will meet better defenses with better athletes later in the season is not entirely accurate. Elon scored much more at will against a SEC team (albeit a doormat) than they did against us, and Furman scored twice as many points against PC as Wofford did, proving that their offense is in fact potent. I think that at the end of this season our defensive ranking in the SoCon will be in the top two unless we have a total meltdown. In that respect, Elon has already faced their defensive challenge in the SoCon.

If we find a way to move the ball this season we will upset somebody, maybe more than once. This team is significantly better than last year's team.

[OL FU]

FU.

All the timexthumbsupx

and don't forget Bells Hop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am beginning to like that onexlolx

[ElonPride]

We made the stops where they were needed. We have done this for three games now. I expect that we will not be able to hold the more high powered offenses to 9, 16 and 18 points respectively, but our defense has a lot of intangibles that make it difficult to score on them. Furman dragged us aroudn the field, but at the end of the day we only let them in the end zone one time.


Yup, your coaches did a hell of a job making adjustments when the game was on the line. BOTH teams did blow chances to wrap up the game!!!

[elon77]

I thought The Citadel played pretty darn good. But, if you make their offense face 3rd and long they are in trouble. It didn't seem to me that they can pass at all.

[Biff]

We passed quite well against Furman I thought. 9-15 for 102 yards. The issue: there was the need to pass as we were trying to comeback at the end of the game. We also had an overthrown, wide open receiver down field late in the game that would have easily been a TD pass if the pass was closer to the target and caught. May not have changed the result but would have made things interesting.

Against Elon, 1-6 for 10 yards with the one pass made by a slot back and one interception by our backup QB is not good. There was the 2pt conversion pass from the starting QB. Not sure if the Elon coverage was that good, or our QB is that bad at throwing. They are #1 in the conference on Pass Efficiency, Pass Defense, and Total Defense right now. Of course, our stats in the game will inflate anyone's pass defense stats. No sure what the right number of pass attempts per game for a team running the TO is, but 6 seems low to me.

[elon77]

We passed quite well against Furman I thought. 9-15 for 102 yards. The issue: there was the need to pass as we were trying to comeback at the end of the game. We also had an overthrown, wide open receiver down field late in the game that would have easily been a TD pass if the pass was closer to the target and caught. May not have changed the result but would have made things interesting.

Against Elon, 1-6 for 10 yards with the one pass made by a slot back and one interception by our backup QB is not good. There was the 2pt conversion pass from the starting QB. Not sure if the Elon coverage was that good, or our QB is that bad at throwing. They are #1 in the conference on Pass Efficiency, Pass Defense, and Total Defense right now. Of course, our stats in the game will inflate anyone's pass defense stats. No sure what the right number of pass attempts per game for a team running the TO is, but 6 seems low to me.

Was Citdog at the game Saturday? I would like to meet him, I actually like that Dog. Good luck to the Dogs the rest of the year, may you win the rest of your games.

[Biff]

Not sure. Don't keep up with him.

Same to you.

[ElonPride]

Not sure. Don't keep up with him.

Same to you.

Hope the offense can find a way to compliment that "clap down" red zone defense of yours. You guys have a very disciplined team.