PDA

View Full Version : Furman @ Wofford (2nd round)



Pages : [1] 2 3

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:12 PM
37 miles apart

Rematch from week 1 thriller

Winner goes to the Quarterfinals

This game should be a war!

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:14 PM
The only thing better than beating Furman is beating Furman twice

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:15 PM
Furman vs. Wofford Week 1 2017


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w21-ME73VrQ

- - - Updated - - -


The only thing better than beating Furman is beating Furman twice


:D


This is gonna be a fun game, cheers man!

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:17 PM
I would expect this game to draw a pretty big crowd, school back in and both fan bases jacked up

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:23 PM
If Wofford had Furman's offense and Furman had Wofford's defense, I don't think anyone could beat that team

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:25 PM
If Wofford had Furman's offense and Furman had Wofford's defense, I don't think anyone could beat that team



You fishing for another Bama reference, lol kidding xsmiley_wix

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:26 PM
I think a better comparison is Furman to UGA and Wofford to Miami

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:28 PM
I think a better comparison is Furman to UGA and Wofford to Miami


Ill take that, for both xbowx

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:30 PM
https://twitter.com/NCAA_FCS/status/934529601275027461

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:47 PM
youngterrier I would like to know your opinion, if Furman wants to bring their marching band do you think Wofford will allow them?

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:49 PM
It's not up to Wofford, it's up to the NCAA and the answer would likely be no

NDSUtk
November 25th, 2017, 03:51 PM
It's not up to Wofford, it's up to the NCAA and the answer would likely be no

@JSU Southerner will get more specific, but the NCAA rules do have a provision that require the home team to make space available for the band. I'm guessing there is some level of a cap. But the band can attend in addition to the normal ticket allocation.

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:52 PM
It's not up to Wofford, it's up to the NCAA and the answer would likely be no


Why do you think the NCAA would say no?

Did GSU take their band there for a playoff game once?

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:52 PM
It's exam season for both Wofford and Furman so I'd be surprised if we saw them

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:52 PM
@JSU Southerner will get more specific, but the NCAA rules do have a provision that require the home team to make space available for the band. I'm guessing there is some level of a cap. But the band can attend in addition to the normal ticket allocation.


Hope you are right that would be cool

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 03:53 PM
Why do you think the NCAA would say no?

Did GSU take their band there for a playoff game once?

Not to Wofford

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:53 PM
It's exam season for both Wofford and Furman so I'd be surprised if we saw them


Furman always had their band for home playoff games in the past, I see no reason why this would be any different

Terrier19
November 25th, 2017, 03:55 PM
Bring all the fans to the game.......We want everyone to see this one.

We cant wait....

#SoConChamps

Terrier19
November 25th, 2017, 03:57 PM
Bring the band, orchestra, Pep Band, Dance Team, Alumni, Fraternities.....Bring em all out.

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 03:57 PM
Bring all the fans to the game.......We want everyone to see this one.

We cant wait....

#SoConChamps



Furman has not played a playoff game this close to Greenville since 2005, I am expecting a lot of Dins to come to this one! I am also expecting an extra sized Wofford crowd given the rivalry aspect.

Terrier19
November 25th, 2017, 04:01 PM
Furman has not played a playoff game this close to Greenville since 2005, I am expecting a lot of Dins to come to this one! I am also expecting an extra sized Wofford crowd given the rivalry aspect.

I would think this would be as good of a crowd that has ever been at Gibbs. Considering the teams, the rivalry, the distance between the 2. Pumped up for this one.

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 04:03 PM
I would think this would be as good of a crowd that has ever been at Gibbs. Considering the teams, the rivalry, the distance between the 2. Pumped up for this one.


Agree!

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 04:37 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akyQ_E-wUdg

walliver
November 25th, 2017, 04:45 PM
It's not up to Wofford, it's up to the NCAA and the answer would likely be no

NC A&T brought their band, but that was 2003.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

LarryBoy
November 25th, 2017, 05:17 PM
Bring the band, orchestra, Pep Band, Dance Team, Alumni, Fraternities.....Bring em all out.

I can’t tell you how much I’d love to see an orchestra at a football game. You could pull off some epic stuff.

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 06:31 PM
I can’t tell you how much I’d love to see an orchestra at a football game. You could pull off some epic stuff.



Haha :D

igo4uni
November 25th, 2017, 06:35 PM
i voted furman

OL FU
November 25th, 2017, 06:37 PM
I can’t tell you how much I’d love to see an orchestra at a football game. You could pull off some epic stuff.

Orchestra wine and cheese. Marvelous

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 08:10 PM
I know its way early, but future forecast looking good atm for next saturday, 58 and sunny

https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/USSC0325:1:US

ElCid
November 25th, 2017, 08:16 PM
Hope you are right that would be cool

He is correct. Band gets to go if they want. Have to make room for them. Not sure of upper limit though.

JSUSoutherner
November 25th, 2017, 08:21 PM
youngterrier I would like to know your opinion, if Furman wants to bring their marching band do you think Wofford will allow them?
Upon Furman's request, Wofford must accommodate Furman's band.

It's in the NCAA guidelines.

JSUSoutherner
November 25th, 2017, 08:25 PM
Here is the section for the NCAA's handbook thing.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171126/6633c168d4ff49eae9318dc302f4b225.jpg

gofurman
November 25th, 2017, 08:33 PM
The only thing better than beating Furman is beating Furman twice

Dont worry you can't lose.. You know we can't win close games ! 28 -27 furman today, jk w ya' - maybe you will concede that one now. I would still rather beat elon 50-0. That's the kind of team that would be unstoppable like jmu. See the jmu score v elon. And jmu may win it all. Not sure this thing of 'can win the close ones'. Wouldn't you rather crush everyone? like Marshall years ago or NDSU who rolled to the national title

anyway, in all seriousness, you guys do have the advantage of the extra week - we killed citadel after our extra week. And you earned that via the 9-2 record and SoCon champ

gofurman
November 25th, 2017, 08:34 PM
If Wofford had Furman's offense and Furman had Wofford's defense, I don't think anyone could beat that team

Nice comment. Interesting

Bisonoline
November 25th, 2017, 08:37 PM
Here is the section for the NCAA's handbook thing.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171126/6633c168d4ff49eae9318dc302f4b225.jpg

I see where is say---at the Championship. Does that mean at the playoffs as well?

JSUSoutherner
November 25th, 2017, 08:44 PM
I see where is say---at the Championship. Does that mean at the playoffs as well?
"Host Institutions"

The playoffs are referred to as the "championship" in this text. It doesn't just denote the game in Frisco but rather the whole tournament.

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 08:48 PM
"Host Institutions"

The playoffs are referred to as the "championship" in this text. It doesn't just denote the game in Frisco but rather the whole tournament.



Ok cool, thanks so much for sharing the info buddy

JSUSoutherner
November 25th, 2017, 08:49 PM
Ok cool, thanks so much for sharing the info buddy
xthumbsupx

ElCid
November 25th, 2017, 08:49 PM
I think if Furman played Wofford three or four weeks ago, for the second time, they win. Not so sure now though. Maybe, but I have to think about this a long while.

gofurman
November 25th, 2017, 09:06 PM
I think if Furman played Wofford three or four weeks ago, for the second time, they win. Not so sure now though. Maybe, but I have to think about this a long while.

I guess what you are saying is how impressive our scores were a few weeks back. But level of comp has increased dramatically. Not really arguing for Furman. I admit these last two teams have done a better job than anyone yet v our dive play and having their DL hold up v our OL. Samford I understood. Nasty DL. Elon, though we won game this time, seemed to do a much better job w their DL holding up,longer than the first game where in quarters two and three we just ripped off points

i think ink teams are scheming hard v our dive play and it is slowing us some. Granted, we basically overcame three turnovers on the road and still won. (Yes, we had a pick so you could argue -2 turnover ratio but that was last play of half... Might as well have been batted away). So basically we overcame a -3 turnover ratio on road. That's tremendous v a top 15 team. And two fumbles gave them tent you've yard fields - that was 14 points. The other was a pick we threw from the 6 yard line into the endzone. Good job elon. We have to know not to throw that. But again a huge swing. And we survived all that.

Anyway, it will be tough for sure

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:08 PM
Wofford players know that Furman players/coaches/fans have been talking trash about them for like 3 months so I don't think the dynamics of this rematch are like that of previous Socon rematches

PaladinFan
November 25th, 2017, 09:22 PM
Wofford players know that Furman players/coaches/fans have been talking trash about them for like 3 months so I don't think the dynamics of this rematch are like that of previous Socon rematches

Good grief. The critique of Wofford is objectively true. I imagine their own players, coaches and fans would concede it.

ElCid
November 25th, 2017, 09:22 PM
I guess what you are saying is how impressive our scores were a few weeks back. But level of comp has increased dramatically. Not really arguing for Furman. I admit these last two teams have done a better job than anyone yet v our dive play and having their DL hold up v our OL. Samford I understood. Nasty DL. Elon, though we won game this time, seemed to do a much better job w their DL holding up,longer than the first game where in quarters two and three we just ripped off points

i think ink teams are scheming hard v our dive play and it is slowing us some. Granted, we basically overcame three turnovers on the road and still won. (Yes, we had a pick so you could argue -2 turnover ratio but that was last play of half... Might as well have been batted away). So basically we overcame a -3 turnover ratio on road. That's tremendous v a top 15 team. And two fumbles gave them tent you've yard fields - that was 14 points. The other was a pick we threw from the 6 yard line into the endzone. Good job elon. We have to know not to throw that. But again a huge swing. And we survived all that.

Anyway, it will be tough for sure

No, what I mean is Furman looked better a few weeks ago. They didn't look quite as good today. Sloppy play. Missed tackles, blown coverage, a bit more tired. I think that goes to the experience level of its young team. Plus a few more injuries. Wofford's experience level may be the deciding factor.

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:22 PM
@Paladinfan You're over here







and the point is way over here

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 09:23 PM
Wofford players know that Furman players/coaches/fans have been talking trash about them for like 3 months so I don't think the dynamics of this rematch are like that of previous Socon rematches



What trash talk from players/coaches specifically?

Or even from fans other than us seeing how many close games you guys won and wanting a rematch after barely losing week 1?

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 09:26 PM
Dins will have to make a lot less mistakes than they did against Elon today to take down wofford, but we were already a 2pt play away from doing it earlier this season, it can be done

ElCid
November 25th, 2017, 09:26 PM
Wofford players know that Furman players/coaches/fans have been talking trash about them for like 3 months so I don't think the dynamics of this rematch are like that of previous Socon rematches

I will get back to the experience level. Lot's of youngsters on Furman. They just avenged an early season loss, but probably not by as much as they thought they were going to. I think next week will be even harder. Maybe. Depends on how good their new coach really is. Both team have skill, but I think Wofford is just a bit deeper, especially with Furman injuries. It is going to come down to coaches and I don't bet against Ayers often.

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:30 PM
What trash talk from players/coaches specifically?

Or even from fans other than us seeing how many close games you guys won and wanting a rematch after barely losing week 1?

There's at least one tweet that I saw by some back up lineman you can dig up. Devon Watson RT with "a dub is a dub"

As for the actual mood of the team, backup fullback Chase Nelson said "Furman feels like we didn't deserve it, but we're gonna show them we deserved it" *a week ago* so Wofford's players have been licking their chops over thanksgiving hoping for a rematch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFnnqG6SpDg

To spell out my point a little more succinctly: Normally, in a rematch game you put an edge on the team looking for revenge (I want to say the last 3 rematch games the Socon in the playoffs Wofford v. Citadel (2016), Wofford v. GSU (2010) and Furman v. App (2005?) the loser of the first game won the second), but the dynamics are a little different this time because Wofford's players feel more of a need to prove themselves.

All of this is speculative and doesn't translate to a win by either team, I just thought it was an interesting dynamic to highlightxcoffeex

FUGameBreaker
November 25th, 2017, 09:37 PM
There's at least one tweet that I saw by some back up lineman you can dig up. Devon Watson RT with "a dub is a dub"

As for the actual mood of the team, backup fullback Chase Nelson said "Furman feels like we didn't deserve it, but we're gonna show them we deserved it" *a week ago* so Wofford's players have been licking their chops over thanksgiving hoping for a rematch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFnnqG6SpDg

To spell out my point a little more succinctly: Normally, in a rematch game you put an edge on the team looking for revenge (I want to say the last 3 rematch games the Socon in the playoffs Wofford v. Citadel (2016), Wofford v. GSU (2010) and Furman v. App (2005?) the loser of the first game won the second), but the dynamics are a little different this time because Wofford's players feel more of a need to prove themselves.

All of this is speculative and doesn't translate to a win by either team, I just thought it was an interesting dynamic to highlightxcoffeex



I believe Furman and Wofford will both enter this game with a chip on their shoulder feeling a need to prove themselves, all in all, both teams are good in my book, I think it will come down to the wire again

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:39 PM
Yeah.

Regionalization is killing the Socon.

I think Wofford has the best defense Furman has faced and that Wofford's defense needs to execute better on third down.

PaladinFan
November 25th, 2017, 09:50 PM
I will get back to the experience level. Lot's of youngsters on Furman. They just avenged an early season loss, but probably not by as much as they thought they were going to. I think next week will be even harder. Maybe. Depends on how good their new coach really is. Both team have skill, but I think Wofford is just a bit deeper, especially with Furman injuries. It is going to come down to coaches and I don't bet against Ayers often.

Hendrix has said it a few times, but these youngsters aren’t really young anymore. There’s been a lot of maturation over the course of the season.

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:52 PM
Yeah, there are no true freshmen in December

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 09:56 PM
Also, I won't be making this one (tight budget and just came down to SC for Thanksgiving):(

Will be the first home playoff game for Wofford I've ever missed, as well as the first home game against Furman I've missed since 2006

PaladinNation
November 25th, 2017, 09:56 PM
It's going to be an interesting week… Wofford fans and I guess team always feel that Furman disrespects them. Frankly I'm tried of the blah, blah, crap around this. I hear from my Terrier friends and ex-Terrier family folk.

Ayers is a great coach… we finally have a coach that's got things turning around. We're young, we take chances, we play to win, and we won today. I could care less how pretty it was. I didn't see a tried team today, I saw a team a bit tight in the beginning. Gordo really played an erratic game today, I'm not sure what the heck that was about.

We'll see what happens Saturday… I think it's a good matchup for Furman. I'll be curious to see what wrinkles Furman comes up with to run against the Wofford D.

PaladinFan
November 25th, 2017, 10:00 PM
Yeah.

Regionalization is killing the Socon.

I think Wofford has the best defense Furman has faced and that Wofford's defense needs to execute better on third down.

I’m expecting a game similar to the last two Furman’s played. Wofford has a big defensive line similar to Elon’s and Samford’s. That’s a set up that has given us trouble.

Furman cannot expect to kick the ball around like they did today and expect to win against Wofford. They’ll need a clean game.

Reign of Terrier
November 25th, 2017, 10:04 PM
Furman's defense is going to have to step up too. In the first game, Brandon Goodson's passing was pivotal to Wofford moving the chains. What's going to help Wofford's defense is Wofford's offense. We have to play keep away effectively.

Wofford's offense, for as much I give our OC ****, is still better than Elon's and scores about 40% of the time, which is actually about as much as Western Carolina did this year. The difference, beyond the obvious ones, is that Wofford had fewer possessions per game.

I think Wofford having more film on Furman and their offensive tendencies also helps Wofford more than the first game

ElCid
November 25th, 2017, 10:42 PM
Hendrix has said it a few times, but these youngsters aren’t really young anymore. There’s been a lot of maturation over the course of the season.

Yes, but it will be their first, second round game. Hopefully for them, they will not let that effect them. I really don't know how it will play out. Its a toss up for me right now with a slight leaning to Wofford, but I need to crunch some numbers and emotions first.

youwouldno
November 25th, 2017, 11:22 PM
Yes, but it will be their first, second round game. Hopefully for them, they will not let that effect them. I really don't know how it will play out. Its a toss up for me right now with a slight leaning to Wofford, but I need to crunch some numbers and emotions first.

This is not a typical 2nd round playoff game . . . these intra-league rematches are just different from taking a trip to Southern Utah or something. The teams are familiar with each other and of course here they are located very close together geographically.

When a game is so closely matched, I don't think there's a way to accurately divine how things will play out. It will come down to small differences in execution and a small number of big plays/mistakes.

FUBeAR
November 25th, 2017, 11:33 PM
It's going to be an interesting week… Wofford fans and I guess team always feel that Furman disrespects them. Frankly I'm tried of the blah, blah, crap around this. I hear from my Terrier friends and ex-Terrier family folk.

Ayers is a great coach… we finally have a coach that's got things turning around. We're young, we take chances, we play to win, and we won today. I could care less how pretty it was. I didn't see a tried team today, I saw a team a bit tight in the beginning. Gordo really played an erratic game today, I'm not sure what the heck that was about.

We'll see what happens Saturday… I think it's a good matchup for Furman. I'll be curious to see what wrinkles Furman comes up with to run against the Wofford D.

So, you’re saying you DO respect those ankle-biting ratdog porch yappers?

Say it isn’t so. It’s a slippery slope. Once you’ve taken that leap, you might start feeling something other than pure disdain for the luggage toting horse-blinders. And then where will we be?

woffordgrad94
November 26th, 2017, 12:00 AM
I really don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said. The teams are very evenly matched and I picked Wofford, well, basically because I want Wofford to win. I guess the week off will help us and that’s a reason to maybe give us a slight edge. Oh, and we have home field, though I’m not really sure that even matters.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 06:54 AM
I really don’t know what to say that hasn’t already been said. The teams are very evenly matched and I picked Wofford, well, basically because I want Wofford to win. I guess the week off will help us and that’s a reason to maybe give us a slight edge. Oh, and we have home field, though I’m not really sure that even matters.

My guess is Furman will have a pretty good crowd there. There was a good crowd at Samford and a good crowd at Elon. This is as close of a playoff road game as Furman can play.

I don’t know how the offweek will play out. Wofford has a depth advantage, though Furman seems to have rebounded from their initial rash of injuries earlier in the season. Not having a long road trip should help the weariness some.

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 08:01 AM
This is not a typical 2nd round playoff game . . . these intra-league rematches are just different from taking a trip to Southern Utah or something. The teams are familiar with each other and of course here they are located very close together geographically.

When a game is so closely matched, I don't think there's a way to accurately divine how things will play out. It will come down to small differences in execution and a small number of big plays/mistakes.

Well, that is all very well said and I mostly agree. But ... it is still a playoff game, even if with familiar opponents. I really hate these second round games as much as the first. All I can think about in Chas So and Wofford the last couple years for us. That is why I try and figure out the emotions in these types of games rather than the skill/scheme. Different emotions now.

I will say the one silver lining about games like this, is you can get some crowds. Obviously makes travel for fans really easy. Trying to look on the bright side.

PantherRob82
November 26th, 2017, 08:10 AM
Yeah.

Regionalization is killing the Socon.

I think Wofford has the best defense Furman has faced and that Wofford's defense needs to execute better on third down.

Regionalization removes one CAA, MVFC, Big Sky, and SoCon team this week, so it's not just the SoCon.

PantherRob82
November 26th, 2017, 08:12 AM
Before the playoffs started I picked Furman over Elon and Wofford. I'm going to stand by that, but I expect a close battle. Furman looked great at moments yesterday and I'm not sure we ever figured out how good Elon was this year.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 08:24 AM
Looking at the numbers, this should be a good game.

I do think a lot will be made of Wofford’s defense, but Furman isn’t far behind them defensively. 2 points more per game in scoring defense and about 50 yards of offense per game separate them. It may be more balanced than even that considering Furman arguably played a tougher out of conference schedule (plus Elon again).

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 08:25 AM
Looking at the numbers, this should be a good game.

I do think a lot will be made of Wofford’s defense, but Furman isn’t far behind them defensively. 2 points more per game in scoring defense and about 50 yards of offense per game separate them. It may be more balanced than even that considering Furman arguably played a tougher out of conference schedule (plus Elon again).


What about all your injuries on defense?

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 08:28 AM
One are that I’ve seen continuous improvement is in the defensive backfield for Furman. The Paladins predominately rotate two true freshmen, a sophomore, and a converted WR at CB. Those guys struggled early in the season, but have consistently gotten better each week.

Yesterday, Furman left their CBs in a lot of man to man coverage situations, even in key downs. You really didn’t see much of that earlier in the year. Bradford Lemons, whose a bigger-than-average 6’2 has turned into a pretty good CB.

I’ll be interested to see if Furman plays a lot of man coverage and tries to free up their two talented safeties, Anoor and Okeh, to come up against the run. Wofford may have to be able to throw the ball a bit.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 08:30 AM
What about all your injuries on defense?

I don’t know what, if any, injuries we had yesterday.

We lost three linebackers early in the season. Since that time we’ve plugged in two true freshmen and they’ve been really solid. There was a lot of discussion in the preseason that either of those guys would eventually supplant the senior starter anyway. Neither played in the opening game against Wofford.

We don’t have a ton of defensive depth, but have played most of the season with largely the same group. By this point, they are veterans.

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 08:35 AM
I don’t know what, if any, injuries we had yesterday.

We lost three linebackers early in the season. Since that time we’ve plugged in two true freshmen and they’ve been really solid. There was a lot of discussion in the preseason that either of those guys would eventually supplant the senior starter anyway. Neither played in the opening game against Wofford.

We don’t have a ton of defensive depth, but have played most of the season with largely the same group. By this point, they are veterans.

Thought I saw a LB go down gimpy yesterday as well. Not sure if it was bad or not.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 08:41 AM
Thought I saw a LB go down gimpy yesterday as well. Not sure if it was bad or not.

It looked like Reynard Ellis hurt his shoulder on a play. He was back in the game later.

I presume it’s all relative at this point. Everyone is probably banged up.

thirdgendin
November 26th, 2017, 09:04 AM
We are certainly the underdogs at this point, playing the SoCon champs on their home field after a week of rest.

I would've been very pleased with a winning record this season, if you'd asked me in August. So, 8 wins, including a playoff victory, is amazing for year one with the new staff! I'm certainly not saying that I don't care if we win - I want nothing more, but I feel that anything else from here on is just icing on the cake to a refresh for our program.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 09:36 AM
Regionalization removes one CAA, MVFC, Big Sky, and SoCon team this week, so it's not just the SoCon.

Yeah, but it's the consecutive years aspect of regionalization that has me bummed out.

I want to say we've only had 3 rematches in the last 17 or so years, and two of them came in the last two, the one from 10 years ago was in the semis, and both of the recent ones involved Wofford. And I want to say that 90% of the time the Socon has two teams in the playoffs.

So I don't know if it's just how the field works know, but it's trending toward cannibalism

PaladinNation
November 26th, 2017, 10:18 AM
Yeah, but it's the consecutive years aspect of regionalization that has me bummed out.

I want to say we've only had 3 rematches in the last 17 or so years, and two of them came in the last two, the one from 10 years ago was in the semis, and both of the recent ones involved Wofford. And I want to say that 90% of the time the Socon has two teams in the playoffs.

So I don't know if it's just how the field works know, but it's trending toward cannibalism

Furman consistently played two defensive line rotations yesterday… Staggs and Crew seem to now be comfortable with wholesale line substitutions.

Okonya - Reid - Tibbs - Washington
Hanff - Stokes - Lawerence - Vann IMO, Stokes could start now for many FCS teams.

The DINS are thin in more ways than one at linebacker. Ellis and McCoy didn't play a snap against Wofford now they're going to be critical to the DINS hopes of beating Wofford. Ellis is 6-1 2227 an McKoy is 6-2 218 we get thin after them… Voyles is listed at 6-1 218 but he doesn't look it - then you have converted safety Jack Owen 6-3 195 - there's talent there but we are thin.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 10:39 AM
Meanwhile, Wofford is rested and likely getting back everyone. We don't have any bad injuries this year (knock on wood).

The two to watch are senior linebacker Colton Clemmons; he separated his shoulder in the VMI game but was held out and Noseguard Mikel Horton has been out for the past month with Mono, but he also didn't play against Furman the first time (he was serving a two game suspension). I'm not sure if they'll both play, but I think Horton will get some playing time as he tries to get back in the swing of things. Clemmons is a mystery, but he's a senior so I imagine he'll give it a go too.

Our all-conference linebacker Datavious Wilson was out since the Chattanooga game and probably could have come back for VMI/South Carolina, but was held out just in case. It's my understanding he'll give it a go

Birdman_
November 26th, 2017, 11:00 AM
We are certainly the underdogs at this point, playing the SoCon champs on their home field after a week of rest.

I would've been very pleased with a winning record this season, if you'd asked me in August. So, 8 wins, including a playoff victory, is amazing for year one with the new staff! I'm certainly not saying that I don't care if we win - I want nothing more, but I feel that anything else from here on is just icing on the cake to a refresh for our program.
The turnaround has been remarkable. Definitely a lot to look forward to with the new staff

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 11:03 AM
Furman consistently played two defensive line rotations yesterday… Staggs and Crew seem to now be comfortable with wholesale line substitutions.

Okonya - Reid - Tibbs - Washington
Hanff - Stokes - Lawerence - Vann IMO, Stokes could start now for many FCS teams.

The DINS are thin in more ways than one at linebacker. Ellis and McCoy didn't play a snap against Wofford now they're going to be critical to the DINS hopes of beating Wofford. Ellis is 6-1 2227 an McKoy is 6-2 218 we get thin after them… Voyles is listed at 6-1 218 but he doesn't look it - then you have converted safety Jack Owen 6-3 195 - there's talent there but we are thin.

I was thinking this as well. But they have seen us, and Western, as prolific running teams so they are not untried. The thinness is what would concerned me if I was Furman. Especially against the physical pounding that Wofford's O is by its nature.

gofurman
November 26th, 2017, 12:24 PM
Meanwhile, Wofford is rested and likely getting back everyone. We don't have any bad injuries this year (knock on wood).

The two to watch are senior linebacker Colton Clemmons; he separated his shoulder in the VMI game but was held out and Noseguard Mikel Horton has been out for the past month with Mono, but he also didn't play against Furman the first time (he was serving a two game suspension). I'm not sure if they'll both play, but I think Horton will get some playing time as he tries to get back in the swing of things. Clemmons is a mystery, but he's a senior so I imagine he'll give it a go too.

Our all-conference linebacker Datavious Wilson was out since the Chattanooga game and probably could have come back for VMI/South Carolina, but was held out just in case. It's my understanding he'll give it a go

Good data YT. Like to have someone who will give an honest injury report. I was aware we didn't face Mikel the first game and he could be trouble. The better your DL it teally changes things for us since we want to run the fb dive. Mikel doesn't affect a Sam throwing team as much by they get the ball out in a few seconds. We may run right at him

we lost our starting three LBs for year - Woodruff in our game v you, Burch and AK. All out. We lost a backup DL. Otherwise healthy - but even our freshman LBs and CBs are younger than most as they didn't start until game 3 or 4 so not 11 games.

That at said our young d is improving. W two turnovers we gave up 34 to elon in game 1. W three critical turnovers we gave up 27 to Elon in game 2. We also gave up 26 to a good Sam passing team. That's about the same as you all gave up to Sam I believe.

Ill get back to this but it's about matchups. Wofford defends run better than pass. So does furman.

FCS_pwns_FBS
November 26th, 2017, 12:52 PM
One team: 20
The other team: 17

These matchups between option teams are usually about turnovers and field position.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 01:18 PM
One team: 20
The other team: 17

These matchups between option teams are usually about turnovers and field position.

I don't think so. Furman's "option" is very different from the run of the mill. Unlike Wofford/Citadel from last year and the old Wofford/GSU matchups of old, Furman has defensive problems (chalk it up to youth or whatever). The fact that Elon scored 27 on them (turnovers or not) is not a good sign.

So I'm confident that Wofford will be able to move the ball on them, but at the same time I'm confident Furman's offense will answer the bell.

This game is going to have an over/under of 50 I would say. Of course I think Wofford wins, but the analytic part of me says it could go either way.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 02:32 PM
I don't think so. Furman's "option" is very different from the run of the mill. Unlike Wofford/Citadel from last year and the old Wofford/GSU matchups of old, Furman has defensive problems (chalk it up to youth or whatever). The fact that Elon scored 27 on them (turnovers or not) is not a good sign.

So I'm confident that Wofford will be able to move the ball on them, but at the same time I'm confident Furman's offense will answer the bell.

This game is going to have an over/under of 50 I would say. Of course I think Wofford wins, but the analytic part of me says it could go either way.

I think Furman’s “defensive problems” are a bit of a mirage if you consider Wofford the SoCon’s best defense.

Furman gives up 2 ppg more and about 50 yards than Wofford. Run defense, the two teams are #1 and #2. Of course, Furman’s schedule is tougher than Wofford’s, so the numbers probably are closer than that.

There’s a much bigger gap between the Furman offense and Wofford offense than the Furman defense and the Wofford defense.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 03:15 PM
I think Furman’s “defensive problems” are a bit of a mirage if you consider Wofford the SoCon’s best defense.

Furman gives up 2 ppg more and about 50 yards than Wofford. Run defense, the two teams are #1 and #2. Of course, Furman’s schedule is tougher than Wofford’s, so the numbers probably are closer than that.

There’s a much bigger gap between the Furman offense and Wofford offense than the Furman defense and the Wofford defense.

50 yards is not minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Furman's total defensive ypg is closer to VMI than Wofford.

Against 10 FCS opponents, Wofford has held 7 to 300 yards or below (including 9 below 400 yards).

Against 11 FCS opponents, Furman has held 3 to 300 yards or below (and 6 below 400 yards).

You can chalk it up to whatever excuse you want, but it looks like a trend to me.

As far as I'm concerned, there's three scenarios if Wofford loses 1) Furman wins a shootout 2) Wofford turns the ball over multiple times and 3) Wofford's OC calls an abortion of a gameplan. None of that would take away from a Paladin win, but my point is their defense is not a championship quality defense this year.

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 03:39 PM
50 yards is not minuscule in the grand scheme of things. Furman's total defensive ypg is closer to VMI than Wofford.

Against 10 FCS opponents, Wofford has held 7 to 300 yards or below (including 9 below 400 yards).

Against 11 FCS opponents, Furman has held 3 to 300 yards or below (and 6 below 400 yards).

You can chalk it up to whatever excuse you want, but it looks like a trend to me.

As far as I'm concerned, there's three scenarios if Wofford loses 1) Furman wins a shootout 2) Wofford turns the ball over multiple times and 3) Wofford's OC calls an abortion of a gameplan. None of that would take away from a Paladin win, but my point is their defense is not a championship quality defense this year.

And to my point, two of those 300 yard efforts were against two abysmally bad Big South teams. That’s why I said the numbers are probably even closer than they look - Furman played a tougher OOC schedule (plus a playoff team).

Besides, total defense is a misleading statistic. You don’t win or lose games based on yardage. For instance, Furman surrendered 369 yards to the Citadel and won by 36 after leading 42-0 and shutting out the Bulldogs until we put in the third string and pom pom girls. Does it really matter how many garbage yards the Citadel got? Is that the mark of a good defense?

Nobody is going to mistake Furman for the steel curtain. The defense has been pretty solid most of the year, though. They’ll give up yards, but are a good compliment to the offense.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 03:58 PM
And to my point, two of those 300 yard efforts were against two abysmally bad Big South teams. That’s why I said the numbers are probably even closer than they look - Furman played a tougher OOC schedule (plus a playoff team).

Besides, total defense is a misleading statistic. You don’t win or lose games based on yardage. For instance, Furman surrendered 369 yards to the Citadel and won by 36 after leading 42-0 and shutting out the Bulldogs until we put in the third string and pom pom girls. Does it really matter how many garbage yards the Citadel got? Is that the mark of a good defense?

Wofford didn't let PC or GW get to 300 yards. Both averaged above 300 yards per game. We held them below both (and we had a bad game against Gardner Webb)

See, this sort of explaining away of things is why a lot of people roll their eyes at Furman fans this year. If another teams scores on them it's because of turnovers, if another team gets yardage on them, it's garbage time, etc. At some point it counts. I stopped making such excuses for Wofford around, like, week 5. Furman scored on their last play on a missed angle; Mercer got 10 points from bad kick coverage; Gardner Webb got 7 points on a pitch 6; etc etc etc. (And that was before I thought it was likely that all of our games would be close)

My point is, you can justify any bad stat away if you want, but it's a game of inches. At this point, Wofford fans have embraced it and are grateful for the Socon championship we won this year. We know with the way we're playing, we can lose this week or we can take it all to Frisco. But with Furman, we have to swallow your blowouts of **** teams but aren't allowed to make an assessment of their performance of halfway decent competition.

As for the actual point, I also don't see why Colgate is somehow a great team, being 7-4 in a bad, bad Patriot league and Elon was definitely trending downward offensively as I explained in that game thread. Furman's competition was not head and shoulders above Wofford's.

The difference between Wofford and Furman this year is that Furman made the plays to put away teams they should have beaten earlier than Wofford, if Wofford did at all, but Wofford made the plays to put away more opponents in Socon play than Furman.

Wofford is mundanely consistent on defense. We haven't allowed an FCS team to score 30 on us in regulation in about 2 years, while in all but 3 games during that period (all wins, FWIW), we've scored 20 or more. Point is, we're a team built to fight in the fourth quarter. That's who we are, no matter who we play, and it will definitely put Furman in a position to win it too, but it's not like Wofford is in some reduced status relative to last year's team and thus is chopped liver.

FUGameBreaker
November 26th, 2017, 03:59 PM
Furman marching band is performing in the Greenville Christmas Parade at 4pm Saturday, so there's that lol

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 04:01 PM
Furman marching band is performing in the Greenville Christmas Parade at 4pm Saturday, so there's that lol

Good y'all can get that hippy dippy liberal bull**** away from Gibbs Stadium ;)

FUGameBreaker
November 26th, 2017, 04:07 PM
Wofford didn't let PC or GW get to 300 yards. Both averaged above 300 yards per game. We held them below both (and we had a bad game against Gardner Webb)

See, this sort of explaining away of things is why a lot of people roll their eyes at Furman fans this year. If another teams scores on them it's because of turnovers, if another team gets yardage on them, it's garbage time, etc. At some point it counts. I stopped making such excuses for Wofford around, like, week 5. Furman scored on their last play on a missed angle; Mercer got 10 points from bad kick coverage; Gardner Webb got 7 points on a pitch 6; etc etc etc. (And that was before I thought it was likely that all of our games would be close)

My point is, you can justify any bad stat away if you want, but it's a game of inches. At this point, Wofford fans have embraced it and are grateful for the Socon championship we won this year. We know with the way we're playing, we can lose this week or we can take it all to Frisco. But with Furman, we have to swallow your blowouts of **** teams but aren't allowed to make an assessment of their performance of halfway decent competition.

As for the actual point, I also don't see why Colgate is somehow a great team, being 7-4 in a bad, bad Patriot league and Elon was definitely trending downward offensively as I explained in that game thread. Furman's competition was not head and shoulders above Wofford's.

The difference between Wofford and Furman this year is that Furman made the plays to put away teams they should have beaten earlier than Wofford, if Wofford did at all, but Wofford made the plays to put away more opponents in Socon play than Furman.

Wofford is mundanely consistent on defense. We haven't allowed an FCS team to score 30 on us in regulation in about 2 years, while in all but 3 games during that period (all wins, FWIW), we've scored 20 or more. Point is, we're a team built to fight in the fourth quarter. That's who we are, no matter who we play, and it will definitely put Furman in a position to win it too, but it's not like Wofford is in some reduced status relative to last year's team and thus is chopped liver.



The only difference between Furman and Wofford this year in SoCon play was a 2pt. conversion attempt (both teams lost to Samford), swing that play and FU is outright SoCon champs, so not much difference at all

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 04:13 PM
At the end of the day, none of this matters. These are two good teams.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 04:17 PM
...that didn't deserve a rematch before the quarter/semifinals

PaladinFan
November 26th, 2017, 07:11 PM
Here’s the play that gives DC’s headaches - Furman’s load option pop pass.

https://twitter.com/ncaa_fcs/status/934498191709310976

The Paladins run it once, maybe twice a game. They’ll run it out of virtually any formation, from anywhere on the field, and will throw it either to the TE or a WR. I haven’t seen a team yet really defend it. Wofford probably came the closest in Week 1.

Wofford at least had a defender within 5 yards of the receiver (3:11 mark below). I think Mercer had a guy in the zip code. Most of the time, though, it ends up like the play against Elon - just a foot race to the endzone.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=469s&v=99VNGCU18Rs

youwouldno
November 26th, 2017, 07:53 PM
The Paladins do not have a great defense . . . it's pretty much average. However, by far their biggest vulnerability is against the pass, particularly when run up-tempo. That's not Wofford at all . . . granted, the Terriers did a lot of damage through the air last time, but I'm skeptical it will be quite so successful this time around. Furman's best CB (Darius Kearse) was injured and missed that game, and in general Furman's defense is blowing fewer coverages these days. Plus, familiarity is helpful when facing an option offense (applicable to both defenses).

Sagarin has the Paladins as 3 point favorites, Massey has it at 7. I see Sagarin as being close to the mark on this one.

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 08:27 PM
For win loss % Massey is at about 78% on the year. Sagarin is at about 76%. I just track w/l prediction, not spreads. In general, Massey has proven just a tad bit more accurate. I have sampled some spreads and as an eye test, Massey appears more accurate. Although like I said, I don't track spreads precisely. It sometimes nails the score, which kind of scary.

youwouldno
November 26th, 2017, 08:37 PM
For win loss % Massey is at about 78% on the year. Sagarin is at about 76%. I just track w/l prediction, not spreads. In general, Massey has proven just a tad bit more accurate. I have sampled some spreads and as an eye test, Massey appears more accurate. Although like I said, I don't track spreads precisely. It sometimes nails the score, which kind of scary.

I typically prefer Massey as well. Vegas formulas seem to be more in line with Sagarin, so I anticipate the spread will start with Furman favored by 2-3 points.

FUGameBreaker
November 26th, 2017, 08:46 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRhCOjb8PQ

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 08:53 PM
The Paladins do not have a great defense . . . it's pretty much average. However, by far their biggest vulnerability is against the pass, particularly when run up-tempo. That's not Wofford at all . . . granted, the Terriers did a lot of damage through the air last time, but I'm skeptical it will be quite so successful this time around. Furman's best CB (Darius Kearse) was injured and missed that game, and in general Furman's defense is blowing fewer coverages these days. Plus, familiarity is helpful when facing an option offense (applicable to both defenses).

Sagarin has the Paladins as 3 point favorites, Massey has it at 7. I see Sagarin as being close to the mark on this one.

I don't know, from what I've seen with Furman's pass defense, independent of the yards they give up, they seem to run the same "bend but don't break" pass defense that Wofford runs.

Unlike other option teams (like Furman), we don't throw the deep bombs down the field anymore, so much as we do hitch routes, throws across the field, etc. Basically we run the pass plays that are quick hitters that our own defense (and presumably, Furman's) are vulnerable to.

Brandon Goodson was 8-11 in the first game, and his completion percentage is like 56% on the year. He hasn't thrown an interception in FCS competition. He's likely going to be the first Wofford QB since Ben Widmyer to throw for 1000 yards in a season a decade ago. Our pass game opens up our run games, as in many games we didn't run so well, or at least didn't need to run well because the passing game was so effective. Against the Citadel we notoriously couldn't run on them, but passed for over 200 yards. We passed for quite a few on ETSU and VMI too, even though we could have run easily too.

Though Furman is definitely accomplished at stopping the run, we easily ran the ball on them better than any team this year. I also think we'll be able to pass it (see above).

Having said all of that, Wofford's offense has had execution problems at times this year, so all of that and the strength of the Furman offense doesn't translate to a win.

Reign of Terrier
November 26th, 2017, 08:56 PM
For win loss % Massey is at about 78% on the year. Sagarin is at about 76%. I just track w/l prediction, not spreads. In general, Massey has proven just a tad bit more accurate. I have sampled some spreads and as an eye test, Massey appears more accurate. Although like I said, I don't track spreads precisely. It sometimes nails the score, which kind of scary.

I'm personally skeptical you can get more accurate using an algorithm in a sport as chaotic as football (one bad play in basketball, for instance, could be a blip on the final score, but in football it could be the difference). You run the risk of overfitting, which in turn hurts your accuracy further.

ElCid
November 26th, 2017, 09:57 PM
I'm personally skeptical you can get more accurate using an algorithm in a sport as chaotic as football (one bad play in basketball, for instance, could be a blip on the final score, but in football it could be the difference). You run the risk of overfitting, which in turn hurts your accuracy further.


Agree, I think the best you can do is get close.

Also, I should go back and cipher out how each does when the predicted spread is 7 points or less. Picking lopsided games just pads the positive results and there are a lot of them. How they do picking the close ones is more revealing.

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 06:37 AM
I don't know, from what I've seen with Furman's pass defense, independent of the yards they give up, they seem to run the same "bend but don't break" pass defense that Wofford runs.

Unlike other option teams (like Furman), we don't throw the deep bombs down the field anymore, so much as we do hitch routes, throws across the field, etc. Basically we run the pass plays that are quick hitters that our own defense (and presumably, Furman's) are vulnerable to.

Brandon Goodson was 8-11 in the first game, and his completion percentage is like 56% on the year. He hasn't thrown an interception in FCS competition. He's likely going to be the first Wofford QB since Ben Widmyer to throw for 1000 yards in a season a decade ago. Our pass game opens up our run games, as in many games we didn't run so well, or at least didn't need to run well because the passing game was so effective. Against the Citadel we notoriously couldn't run on them, but passed for over 200 yards. We passed for quite a few on ETSU and VMI too, even though we could have run easily too.

Though Furman is definitely accomplished at stopping the run, we easily ran the ball on them better than any team this year. I also think we'll be able to pass it (see above).

Having said all of that, Wofford's offense has had execution problems at times this year, so all of that and the strength of the Furman offense doesn't translate to a win.

Teams have had success against Furman with quick throws out on the edges. Mercer was really the first team to try to attack Furman at the line of scrimmage with the passing game. The Citadel had some success throwing the ball, but it's hard to tell how much of that was just playing against the second string.

I do think Goodson is going to have to throw the ball some. Furman's not quite as good as Wofford is against the run, but they are pretty stout.

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 07:23 AM
Interesting note from Scott Keeler (http://www.furmansportsreport.com/2017/11/paladins-avenge-one-loss-to-get-shot-at.html?spref=tw), but Furman is 8-0 when leading at the half.

caribbeanhen
November 27th, 2017, 07:52 AM
One team: 20
The other team: 17

These matchups between option teams are usually about turnovers and field position.

was coming on the thread to admit I was having trouble even guessing who will win this one, and your prediction didn't help... ha

Furman was my playoff sleeper but I'm having a bit of a problem picking them to beat Wofford, if it comes down to a turnover I'll probably lean towards Wofford

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 08:01 AM
was coming on the thread to admit I was having trouble even guessing who will win this one, and your prediction didn't help... ha

Furman was my playoff sleeper but I'm having a bit of a problem picking them to beat Wofford, if it comes down to a turnover I'll probably lean towards Wofford

Furman's offense has been held under 28 three times: Wofford in week 1 (23), NC State (16), and Samford (20). Samford's 20 points is a little speculative (sour grapes), as video replay seems to show Furman in the endzone on a fourth down play short of the goalline.

So, while this game may end up 20-17, the odds are probably better that it is going to be a game where 20+ is going to be needed to win it. No FCS team has held Furman under 20.

walliver
November 27th, 2017, 09:12 AM
This will be the 5th time Wofford and Furman have played more than once in a year.
In 1890 the two played three times with Furman winning 2 and Wofford winning 1. (Apparently there wasn't anyone else to play that year)
In 1900 they played twice with Wofford winning one and one tie.
In 1968 and 1969 they played twice each year with Wofford winning all 4 (FU was really bad in the late 60's with only two wins in those two years, both over PC). Wofford ran the triple option for the first time in 1969. Fisher DeBerry, whose offensive schemes form the basis for both teams offenses, was an assistant coach on that team.
It has been 127 years since Furman has won in a year when the teams met more than once. I'm banking on the streak continuing.

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 09:15 AM
This will be the 5th time Wofford and Furman have played more than once in a year.
In 1890 the two played three times with Furman winning 2 and Wofford winning 1. (Apparently there wasn't anyone else to play that year)
In 1900 they played twice with Wofford winning one and one tie.
In 1968 and 1969 they played twice each year with Wofford winning all 4 (FU was really bad in the late 60's with only two wins in those two years, both over PC). Wofford ran the triple option for the first time in 1969. Fisher DeBerry, whose offensive schemes form the basis for both teams offenses, was an assistant coach on that team.
It has been 127 years since Furman has won in a year when the teams met more than once. I'm banking on the streak continuing.

Dang, that is some research. Thanks for sharing.

Purpleglasses
November 27th, 2017, 10:03 AM
ok YT...
if you are Miami, then Furman will be Pitt this weekend...I'll take that, too.
FU 1 time
FU 2 times
FU 3 times
FU ALL THE TIME!

BNATION
November 27th, 2017, 10:09 AM
puppies win this one.

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 10:18 AM
https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/935168844439736322

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 11:43 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pc0CkbJgk4

PaladinNation
November 27th, 2017, 11:56 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pc0CkbJgk4

Furman has played pretty well on the road this season… this will be Furman's eighth road game.
4-2 against FCS competition.

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 12:15 PM
Furman has played pretty well on the road this season… this will be Furman's eighth road game.
4-2 against FCS competition.



This will be the programs 7th straight playoff game on the road as well, so nice to at least be playing very close to Greenville:
@ Richmond
@ App St.
@ Montana St.
@ SC St.
@ North Dakota St.
@ Elon
@ Wofford

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 12:17 PM
ok YT...
if you are Miami, then Furman will be Pitt this weekend...I'll take that, too.
FU 1 time
FU 2 times
FU 3 times
FU ALL THE TIME!

Yeah and if Furman is UGA, we'll just pull an Auburn on youxcoffeex

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 12:21 PM
Furman is Furman. Furman's isn't UGA, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, or any other school.

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 12:30 PM
Furman is Furman. Furman's isn't UGA, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, or any other school.

Please don't forget, it also sucks.

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 12:32 PM
Please don't forget, it also sucks.

I couldn't hear your comment over the roar of 56-20.

Terrier19
November 27th, 2017, 12:42 PM
I like the experience of Wofford. Seasoned and experienced, battle tested through tough games. Wofford won't bat an eye at another close game. I think Wofford is the better team, and playing at home in the playoffs will be a great environment Talked to the ticket office today, the tickets are running on short supply already, that is a great thing. Won't be any mysteries in this one, there is plenty of film on both teams, Wofford is going to pound the ball, stop the run, and make you beat us through the air. Furman is a good team. Have a had a great season worth celebrating. But this won't end well for the Dins.

Wofford is 9-1 against FCS opponents this season and going back to last season has won like 15 of the last 17 games. 2 losses were by a FG to Samford with us breathing down their necks at the 15 yard line to win the game at the end, and a loss in OT to Youngstown in the quarterfinals. This team is galvanized by delivering under pressure. And they just make plays when they have to.

Wofford is VERY confident in this one. I like the T-Dogs to win by 7 or less as it wouldn't matter if we dominated from the start to finish, we would only win by a score or less because that is who we are. I will be in attendance for this one.

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 12:43 PM
This will be the programs 7th straight playoff game on the road as well, so nice to at least be playing very close to Greenville:
@ Richmond
@ App St.
@ Montana St.
@ SC St.
@ North Dakota St.
@ Elon
@ Wofford

It's Wofford's 7th home game in the playoffs. We are 4-2 at home, but undefeated in field of 16/24 games at home (3-0).

I don't expect either team to reach more than 31; in the 14 playoff games that Wofford's played the average over/under is 38 points.

I know Furman expects to score that much or whatever, but I doubt each team will get more than 9 or 10 possessions. I think Wofford will hold them to about 40% scoring per possession, or a stop rate of 60%, so about 4 scores. That's not unreasonable, because every team with a winning record (Western, Wofford, Elon x2, Samford) or had a decent defense (Mercer) that has played Furman averaged about as much.

It would be bold to predict Furman getting held under 20 points (as Paladinfan suggested). I agree. Having said that, if one team on the schedule has the capability to do it, it's Wofford. This season, we've been the inversion of Samford on defense in that we're really good about not giving up yardage on first and second down, especially with the run, but we have problems getting off the field on third down (whereas Samford would let you run up and down the field on them and then force a stop). As usual, the key to this game will be third down defense, as both teams are roughly the same on third down on offense (both averaging about 50% with some margin of error, edge Furman) , but Wofford has been bad on third down defense. The best explanation I have for that is that Wofford's defense has put teams in third and mid and third and long, and they've passed on us with quick hitters, which is a systemic weakness we have in our defense.

It's my understanding that that's not the stuff Furman prefers to do, and obviously Furman will have the best/most efficient run game we've played at the FCS, so I expect to see different looks on third down this year compared to other Wofford games (namely I expect more third and shorts that convert and less third and mids/long to convert)

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 01:50 PM
I like the experience of Wofford. Seasoned and experienced, battle tested through tough games. Wofford won't bat an eye at another close game. I think Wofford is the better team, and playing at home in the playoffs will be a great environment Talked to the ticket office today, the tickets are running on short supply already, that is a great thing. Won't be any mysteries in this one, there is plenty of film on both teams, Wofford is going to pound the ball, stop the run, and make you beat us through the air. Furman is a good team. Have a had a great season worth celebrating. But this won't end well for the Dins.

Wofford is 9-1 against FCS opponents this season and going back to last season has won like 15 of the last 17 games. 2 losses were by a FG to Samford with us breathing down their necks at the 15 yard line to win the game at the end, and a loss in OT to Youngstown in the quarterfinals. This team is galvanized by delivering under pressure. And they just make plays when they have to.

Wofford is VERY confident in this one. I like the T-Dogs to win by 7 or less as it wouldn't matter if we dominated from the start to finish, we would only win by a score or less because that is who we are. I will be in attendance for this one.


Bring It!

SCPALADIN
November 27th, 2017, 02:07 PM
This will be the 5th time Wofford and Furman have played more than once in a year.
In 1890 the two played three times with Furman winning 2 and Wofford winning 1. (Apparently there wasn't anyone else to play that year)
In 1900 they played twice with Wofford winning one and one tie.
In 1968 and 1969 they played twice each year with Wofford winning all 4 (FU was really bad in the late 60's with only two wins in those two years, both over PC). Wofford ran the triple option for the first time in 1969. Fisher DeBerry, whose offensive schemes form the basis for both teams offenses, was an assistant coach on that team.
It has been 127 years since Furman has won in a year when the teams met more than once. I'm banking on the streak continuing.

Very cool! Appreciate the digging!

CappinHard
November 27th, 2017, 02:17 PM
Furman is a 3 point favorite according to 5dimes. Total is at 59.5.

Terrier19
November 27th, 2017, 02:22 PM
Bring It!


DONE DEAL......WE WILL BE THERE READY!!!!!

youwouldno
November 27th, 2017, 02:25 PM
Furman is a 3 point favorite according to 5dimes. Total is at 59.5.

Great deal on the total - under is a heavy favorite.

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 03:23 PM
Furman is a 3 point favorite according to 5dimes. Total is at 59.5.


Yep Furman and South Dakota are the only road teams favored in round 2, both at -3

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 03:26 PM
I couldn't hear your comment over the roar of 56-20.

We have to keep you interested. Didn't want to totally dishearten you.😀

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 03:48 PM
Yep Furman and South Dakota are the only road teams favored in round 2, both at -3

I think that's three straight weeks as the road favorite. Go figure.

If history is any indicator, this game will probably be razor thin.

- - - Updated - - -


We have to keep you interested. Didn't want to totally dishearten you.

That sound you heard after that game was the universe aligning itself back to normal.

katss07
November 27th, 2017, 03:49 PM
No reason Wofford should be underdogs. This is their game to lose...although Furman will be in the fight till the end I suspect.

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 03:52 PM
The only time these teams have met when they were both playing at this level was 2004.

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 04:14 PM
Poll is all knotted up. Watch the game be a blow out. I don't think so but it would figure. 3 point game is what I think.

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 04:15 PM
That sound you heard after that game was the universe aligning itself back to normal.

More like a trip into the 5th dimension.:D

Terrier19
November 27th, 2017, 05:45 PM
No reason Wofford should be underdogs. This is their game to lose...although Furman will be in the fight till the end I suspect.

FACTS....

Terrier19
November 27th, 2017, 06:44 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfzbJy0RO7c

Media Luncheon. Coach Ayers, Brandon Goodson speaking on Furman.

OL FU
November 27th, 2017, 06:45 PM
https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/935168844439736322

That one is interesting. Will wait til I am on a computer to read it all-:) I did know the first game in sc was fu and wc which if my fading memory works wofford won-:)

FUGameBreaker
November 27th, 2017, 06:57 PM
Word on street is a very large FU student turnout will be making trip to the game, I think its great that the NCAA offers these guys discounted tickets at $10, I am expecting the Wofford student section to be full for sure, atmosphere should be through the "roof"!

walliver
November 27th, 2017, 07:33 PM
That one is interesting. Will wait til I am on a computer to read it all-:) I did know the first game in sc was fu and wc which if my fading memory works wofford won-:)

Wofford won 5-1.

The scoring used in that game was similar to rugby, so the game was closer than the score suggests.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

FUBeAR
November 27th, 2017, 07:38 PM
Wofford won 5-1.

The scoring used in that game was similar to rugby, so the game was closer than the score suggests.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

What do we know about their offensive efficiency though?

ElCid
November 27th, 2017, 07:45 PM
What do we know about their offensive efficiency though?

Where is YT when you need him?

gofurman
November 27th, 2017, 08:07 PM
I try to be objective:

Pros for Woff:
- There will be no 'surprise' to what we run on offense this time as opposed to week 1
- They have had an off week which I am sure rested several players and let them spend some extra time on both fu and elon prep - that's big
- They are , or were . deeper on D than us. That's why the 2 point conversion was the right call. Late in 4th q our D was wearing down and they were gashing us. We didn't want to go to multiple OT. And they should be deeper than us, we have guys in their first year of new 3-4 scheme.
- They have a strong DL. Probably up there w Samford and Mercer. That's not to our benefit. Put it this way - all 4 of their DL have won awards, Brown Horton priester and vaughn
- their LBs are v big so we may be forced to go outside again as v Sam and Elon.
- Home game. the home team has won most of last games
- Their OL is 4 seniors and they have seniors all over the place on the whole team. 12 Senior starters v our 5 or 6
- A key guy that didn't play v us in game one may be in. Big NG (and that's key v dive) Mikehl Horton (97 DL) (all SoCon levl), he has had mono and missed the last 3 games. .. In first game we had Schmidt vs back up NG. I hope Horton is still out. Others to see if they play are Colton Clemmons (21, LB) and Datavious Wilson (LB 42) .. to that point they have had VMI, USC and an off week to get people healthy - that's a huge advantage. If they were able to get healthy they have. Also, Roo Daniels on OL (C, 50) has had wrist trouble - big loss if he can't go

Pros for us:
- They are a running team. We are always better v run than pass. SHow em what we did to Citadel !!!
- The difference on D has been mitigated in that we have developed more D depth now and our guys have several games in Staggs system but it still probably favors Woff (4 years in same system)..
- Our team should have improved more as younger teams improve more than older teams throughout year. Younger team may not catch older team but the difference shrinks
- BRING FANS ! eliminate the home field adv - everyone BRING SOMEONE !!

- We have 'nothing to lose' - we should play w a chip on our shoulder. They are the pre season 'number one SoCon team and we were number 6 or 7'.. They are the senior laden team.. we are young. They have all the expectations. Not us. (despite what I read elsewhere). They are the seeded top team.. not us. They won the first matchup... they are unbeatable, right?
- our D should be a little deeper now than when Woff wore us down in game one. It appears we have developed a two-deep on DL. Sure, we want more recruiting but we are better now than in game one w the second unit - #95 etc
- Our pass D has improved, though that isn't the biggest thing in this game it still matters a little as this Woff team throws better than most.
- Our coaches have done a great job in game planning for each game
- Our O has continued to improve throughout the year as has our D. Hendrix, Staggs etc should have us ready.

Both teams lost to Samford - obviously a good DL and great passing team. Both teams worry about soft cb play at times.

Like to hear thoughts on this analysis. agree disagree why?

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 08:56 PM
Just my opinion, but I think all the pressure is on Wofford. They are the seeded SoCon champs, playing at home, and in a position many of them expected to be. A second round exit in the postseason to their conference rival would be a bitter dissapointment.

Surprisingly, Wofford really hasn’t played a quality FCS opponent since October 21 (Samford). They finished their conference slate with the three worst teams in the SoCon. I also would not be surprised to see some of those early jitters that are pretty common in post season football. Furman should have gotten most of that out of their system last week.

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 09:05 PM
What do we know about their offensive efficiency though?

Obviously, Wofford's was 5x as efficient as Furman's on both sides of the ball xcoffeex

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 09:10 PM
I don't see why there's any pressure in this one, really. Everyone outside of this poll is picking Furman to win, even if only slightly. Every single tweet, media quote, etc I see from Wofford players resembles excitement more than nervousness or not wanting to be there (which is what we've heard in year's past, like against NDSU/GSU a few years back and whenever we play an FBS foe).

We may not be a national championship caliber team, by we seem to have developed a national championship mindset. They know they have to go to work against every team they play and they don't expect to blow anyone away. I haven't seen anything like it. Maybe in the games that were close but never trailed (GW, ETSU, Chattanooga) there was that expectation, but it seems absent now.

Terriers by 10.

gofurman
November 27th, 2017, 09:23 PM
I don't see why there's any pressure in this one, really. Everyone outside of this poll is picking Furman to win, even if only slightly. Every single tweet, media quote, etc I see from Wofford players resembles excitement more than nervousness or not wanting to be there (which is what we've heard in year's past, like against NDSU/GSU a few years back and whenever we play an FBS foe).

We may not be a national championship caliber team, by we seem to have developed a national championship mindset. They know they have to go to work against every team they play and they don't expect to blow anyone away. I haven't seen anything like it. Maybe in the games that were close but never trailed (GW, ETSU, Chattanooga) there was that expectation, but it seems absent now.

Terriers by 10.

The pressure (or lack of it for furman) would be the preseason number one SoCon team playing the preseason number 6/7 SoCon team. At Woff. Who is seeded while some thought furman didn't deserve to make playoffs etc. Woff also has 12 seniors start v our 5. No reason we should win. 5 seniors? No senior starting on D ? You guys have 4 of 5 seniors on your OL. Where experience is a big factor. 4 seniors on the Woff OL w 4 yrs in Mike Ayers system. We have 2 seniors on our OL w 1 year of Hendrix system. That's a big advantage WOff. Also, even your soph and juniors have 2 and 3 yrs in the Woff system. Our best guys have 11 games in our system.

All that said, I am not arguing - I would say, regardless the outcome this week (I mean this) - the future looks very bright for furman ! The entire D returns and 5 or 6 O players return. We return about 16/17 players .. woff returns 10. The OL and DL at Woff will take a lot of hits. I am not making a jab - that's just a numeric fact going forward. Woff will return one starter on the OL. That will be tough next year.

Anyway, no bickering - any thoughts on my analysis above?

PaladinFan
November 27th, 2017, 09:32 PM
I don't see why there's any pressure in this one, really. Everyone outside of this poll is picking Furman to win, even if only slightly. Every single tweet, media quote, etc I see from Wofford players resembles excitement more than nervousness or not wanting to be there (which is what we've heard in year's past, like against NDSU/GSU a few years back and whenever we play an FBS foe).

We may not be a national championship caliber team, by we seem to have developed a national championship mindset. They know they have to go to work against every team they play and they don't expect to blow anyone away. I haven't seen anything like it. Maybe in the games that were close but never trailed (GW, ETSU, Chattanooga) there was that expectation, but it seems absent now.

Terriers by 10.

You don’t see why there’s any pressure in a postseason football game?

Everyone isn’t picking Furman. Most folks assume the game will be extremely close. It’s basically a toss up.

Regardless of whether they tweet it, there will be a lot of nerves.

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 09:46 PM
1) The amount of seniors on the team is pretty inconsequential to the amount of pressure they feel (heck, they probably feel less pressure having played 3 playoff games before)

2) Contrary to an AGS thread, we aren't playing for a Socon title. We won that fair and square this year, no take backsxcoffeex

3) As I've said before, Furman players, coaches and fans have talked A LOT of **** on social media. Wofford players know it, see it, hear it, etc. On top of that, whatever media outlets that do pick FCS games, all of them pick Furman. It's just don't right false to think that "Wofford is supposed to win this game"

4) If we lose, it's not because we've felt pressure. It's because we fail to execute or just get outplayed. Wofford has played 15 games in the last 2 years that were settled by a score or less; we won 11 of them. Heck, of the 22 games we've played against FCS competition in the last 2 years, 19 of those games were in doubt in the fourth quarter. Pressure isn't new to these guys.

(sidenote: what's funny is that, if you squint, we're actually doing better than last year in some measures; We were 4-3 in games settled by a score last year and played a softer schedule; games against the 2 worst teams in the league-VMI and Western competitive until half way through the fourth or later; I'd say those teams are much worse than Gardner Webb, PC and VMI this year)

If Furman wins, the reason why is because they are a better football team on that particular saturday. There's lots of reasons to think that's possible, if not more likely because of the strength of their offense. There's no need to invent and invest in reasons why Wofford might lose that most decent evidence contradicts. To be clear, my argument is not "we play and usually win close games therefore we will" (there's enough evidence to the contrary on that one); my argument is that it's not going to be nerves that beats us.

Furman is a good/great team, and I hear the argument ad freshmen used a lot. Obviously, the Dins have brighter days ahead, but at this point in the season we aren't forecasting future seasons' outcomes and they really aren't freshmen anymore as they've played more games than most FCS freshmen. The fact that a significant proportion of the players on the field who have only been on campus for less than a semester will have minimal impact on the outcome of the game.

Honestly, this Furman team reminds me of Wofford last year in terms of player compositionxcoffeex

Reign of Terrier
November 27th, 2017, 09:51 PM
You don’t see why there’s any pressure in a postseason football game?

Everyone isn’t picking Furman. Most folks assume the game will be extremely close. It’s basically a toss up.

Regardless of whether they tweet it, there will be a lot of nerves.

No, I don't see pressure. After a certain point of pressure, you stop feeling it, and Wofford hasn't felt it since the second quarter of the VMI game. When it comes back, and it will come back (likely in this game), it's not going to be a frustrated pressure either (like with Chattanooga or ETSU) but the pressure they welcome like the Citadel, Western Carolina, and yes Samford (even though they lost that one). You can dig up quotes from different players; they expect to execute in the fourth quarter to win the game, no matter who they're playing. It's a feeling they have, even if it doesn't pan out. If you go through Wofford's youtube channel with the media luncheons it gets talked about a lot.

They've also played in three playoff games before.

PaladinFan
November 28th, 2017, 08:16 AM
No, I don't see pressure. After a certain point of pressure, you stop feeling it, and Wofford hasn't felt it since the second quarter of the VMI game. When it comes back, and it will come back (likely in this game), it's not going to be a frustrated pressure either (like with Chattanooga or ETSU) but the pressure they welcome like the Citadel, Western Carolina, and yes Samford (even though they lost that one). You can dig up quotes from different players; they expect to execute in the fourth quarter to win the game, no matter who they're playing. It's a feeling they have, even if it doesn't pan out. If you go through Wofford's youtube channel with the media luncheons it gets talked about a lot.

They've also played in three playoff games before.

I mean, ok. We'll just agree to disagree. There will be nerves before every game at every level. I don't think Wofford is immune to that.

It's not about pregame quotes, or post game quotes. Those are generally all the same version of coach speak. The nerves hit when you are doing your high knees in warmups knowing that you are going to put your hand in the cold ground and that fellow in the other jersey is about to try to knock you into next week. No twitter or Mark Hauser microphones on the field then.

Smitty
November 28th, 2017, 08:33 AM
Trying to weigh out what is worse, hearing a bunch of Wofford statistics from YT for the next game or see a bunch of posts about how Furman is back if they win...

PaladinFan
November 28th, 2017, 08:54 AM
Trying to weigh out what is worse, hearing a bunch of Wofford statistics from YT for the next game or see a bunch of posts about how Furman is back if they win...

They are both equally bad.

gofurman
November 28th, 2017, 09:24 AM
Trying to weigh out what is worse, hearing a bunch of Wofford statistics from YT for the next game or see a bunch of posts about how Furman is back if they win...


LOL - fair enough. Most furman fans are level-headed... Sure we are excited about this year and -more- the future. New coach, new plays.. turn from 3-8 and 8-3. Western should be excited too !

But I am not going to rub it in to anyone other than , IF IF IF, we win a friendly heckle to Woff . We are 'back' in a sense but we aren't national title contenders or anything. We are v good and that's good for the SoCon. SoCon had 4 good teams this year -Woff, furman, Sam and Western. Also Mercer is v close... and ETSU keep getting better

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 09:55 AM
Trying to weigh out what is worse, hearing a bunch of Wofford statistics from YT for the next game or see a bunch of posts about how Furman is back if they win...


Its a fan message board for pete's sake, there is virtually not much else to do on here :D

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 09:56 AM
1) The amount of seniors on the team is pretty inconsequential to the amount of pressure they feel (heck, they probably feel less pressure having played 3 playoff games before)

2) Contrary to an AGS thread, we aren't playing for a Socon title. We won that fair and square this year, no take backsxcoffeex

3) As I've said before, Furman players, coaches and fans have talked A LOT of **** on social media. Wofford players know it, see it, hear it, etc. On top of that, whatever media outlets that do pick FCS games, all of them pick Furman. It's just don't right false to think that "Wofford is supposed to win this game"

4) If we lose, it's not because we've felt pressure. It's because we fail to execute or just get outplayed. Wofford has played 15 games in the last 2 years that were settled by a score or less; we won 11 of them. Heck, of the 22 games we've played against FCS competition in the last 2 years, 19 of those games were in doubt in the fourth quarter. Pressure isn't new to these guys.

(sidenote: what's funny is that, if you squint, we're actually doing better than last year in some measures; We were 4-3 in games settled by a score last year and played a softer schedule; games against the 2 worst teams in the league-VMI and Western competitive until half way through the fourth or later; I'd say those teams are much worse than Gardner Webb, PC and VMI this year)

If Furman wins, the reason why is because they are a better football team on that particular saturday. There's lots of reasons to think that's possible, if not more likely because of the strength of their offense. There's no need to invent and invest in reasons why Wofford might lose that most decent evidence contradicts. To be clear, my argument is not "we play and usually win close games therefore we will" (there's enough evidence to the contrary on that one); my argument is that it's not going to be nerves that beats us.

Furman is a good/great team, and I hear the argument ad freshmen used a lot. Obviously, the Dins have brighter days ahead, but at this point in the season we aren't forecasting future seasons' outcomes and they really aren't freshmen anymore as they've played more games than most FCS freshmen. The fact that a significant proportion of the players on the field who have only been on campus for less than a semester will have minimal impact on the outcome of the game.

Honestly, this Furman team reminds me of Wofford last year in terms of player compositionxcoffeex



How many seniors do you guys typically play on both sides of the ball YT?

Reign of Terrier
November 28th, 2017, 10:07 AM
the "12 seniors" number is a little deceptive. We have 14 in our two deep, but up until senior day, we didn't know we had that many as 2 OL decided to forgo their 5th year of eligibility. We always have quite a few players redshirt, especially on OL. It wasn't until last season that the coaching staff decided to play more true freshmen (Blake Morgan, Mason Alstatt, George Gbesee, Jirah Wilson, Datavious Wilson, Thad Mangum, Jason Hill, Mikel Horton). Right now there's only one true freshman on the two deep (Priester). Eye-balling the two-deep, we do have a lot of seniors proportional to the overall two deep (14/44 is obviously a lot), but the bulk of the people seeing playing time is in their second or third year in the program (junior, sophomore, redshirt freshmen). We'll have a lot of new faces next year, but it'll be a different kind of youth than what Furman has.

Most of the seniors are on the OL and linebacking corp, but there's been a lot of names called on the OL this year that haven't been seniors. Most notably, our second string senior Jerasaty has probably played in every game this year.

As for the linebackers, we lost two of them to career-ending injuries/illnesses last year, who would have probably had this year and next year for their eligibility. With the injuries to Colton Clemmons and Datavious Wilson (they'll likely be back this week, but who knows), we're pretty thin at linebacker.

The amount of seniors is a little bit more than usual. Having said that, there have been years when we were a senior-laden team and didn't make the playoffs, and then were also young as ever and won 2 playoff games

PaladinFan
November 28th, 2017, 10:22 AM
I don't bet the farm on what teams produce on their depth chart each week, but I would think that if Wilson and Horton were even questionable for Saturday they would have probably been listed.

I don't think Furman changes their game plan based on (or probably even looks at) the Wofford depth chart, but I find most teams err on the side of listing a player who probably won't play than not listing a player who probably will.

PaladinFan
November 28th, 2017, 10:32 AM
Furman posted their game notes: http://furmanpaladins.com/sports/m-footbl/2017-18/2017_Furman_Game_Notes_-_Stats.pdf

There is some interesting info on current starters for Furman, some of whom did not play (or played sparingly) against Wofford in Week 1. Wofford did not see Kealand Dirks that game. The two starting CBs are different. Wofford also did not see either of Furman's two freshmen inside linebackers.

Looks like the same starting lineup Furman has run out there for a while. Only question seems to be the status of RT Bo Layton, who is listed on the depth chart again, but I do not think he's played in a number of weeks.

gofurman
November 28th, 2017, 10:32 AM
the "12 seniors" number is a little deceptive. We have 14 in our two deep, but up until senior day, we didn't know we had that many as 2 OL decided to forgo their 5th year of eligibility. We always have quite a few players redshirt, especially on OL. It wasn't until last season that the coaching staff decided to play more true freshmen (Blake Morgan, Mason Alstatt, George Gbesee, Jirah Wilson, Datavious Wilson, Thad Mangum, Jason Hill, Mikel Horton). Right now there's only one true freshman on the two deep (Priester). Eye-balling the two-deep, we do have a lot of seniors proportional to the overall two deep (14/44 is obviously a lot), but the bulk of the people seeing playing time is in their second or third year in the program (junior, sophomore, redshirt freshmen). We'll have a lot of new faces next year, but it'll be a different kind of youth than what Furman has.

Most of the seniors are on the OL and linebacking corp, but there's been a lot of names called on the OL this year that haven't been seniors. Most notably, our second string senior Jerasaty has probably played in every game this year.

As for the linebackers, we lost two of them to career-ending injuries/illnesses last year, who would have probably had this year and next year for their eligibility. With the injuries to Colton Clemmons and Datavious Wilson (they'll likely be back this week, but who knows), we're pretty thin at linebacker.

The amount of seniors is a little bit more than usual. Having said that, there have been years when we were a senior-laden team and didn't make the playoffs, and then were also young as ever and won 2 playoff games

I still think Seniors play w a little more 'pressure / urgency' - that can be good or bad. They know if they lose it's their last game... The underclassmen want to win but can always think they have next year. That's all, I think that's a reasonable note

From a standard view - Seniors obviously have more size, muscle , experience than younger guys . You guys have 4 seniors on your OL - a place where experience really matters. Good for this year.. a little scary next year. I think most teams have 2/3 seniors start on OL

PaladinFan
November 28th, 2017, 11:10 AM
Reports from Furman's director of ticket sales are that Furman has already sold out of their initial allotment of tickets from Wofford (usually 500). He drove up to Wofford to get 500 more, which he expects to sell out of in the next few days.

I can get behind 1,000+ Furman fans at Gibbs. This will be a fun environment.

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 11:33 AM
Reports from Furman's director of ticket sales are that Furman has already sold out of their initial allotment of tickets from Wofford (usually 500). He drove up to Wofford to get 500 more, which he expects to sell out of in the next few days.

I can get behind 1,000+ Furman fans at Gibbs. This will be a fun environment.



True that! But I expect much more than that as we know many people wait until gameday to get tix's at this level
I think we will sell out the visiting stands before gameday

Question for Wofford fans, you guys are only selling reserved seats in the stands right now, when would you open up ticket sales for the grass hill? After the reserved seats are all gone?

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 11:35 AM
What are the seating totals at Gibbs stadium?

Is it 6,500 on the home side and 2,000 on the visiting side?

Reign of Terrier
November 28th, 2017, 11:38 AM
We've never had to sell tickets for the hill, so much so that I'm pretty sure we don't even have tickets for it. Never for a game against Georgia Southern or App State. Don't worry about that.

Our tickets are reserved because in 2010, when most of them were GA, Georgia Southern student sat behind our offensive bench and heckled our players (really classy tbh). Every year in some sport some jackass students think they're creative by doing something similar (Mercer was rumored to try it in basketball but Wofford students go there too early...we won the game).

- - - Updated - - -


What are the seating totals at Gibbs stadium?

Is it 6,500 on the home side and 2,000 on the visiting side?

I think it's more like 5,000 and 3,000

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 11:49 AM
I read this from the wofford athletics page: (so if all grandstand seats were sold they would open up tickets on the hill?)

Gibbs Stadium seats approximately 8,500 in grandstands, while an additional 4,500 seats are available in both endzones.

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 11:55 AM
I just did the math by looking at the seating chart lol:

The visiting side seats 2,340
The home side seats 6,160

Reign of Terrier
November 28th, 2017, 12:09 PM
I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't think that seating chart is honest. No way the home stands are 3x the size of the away

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 12:23 PM
I'm gonna be honest with you. I don't think that seating chart is honest. No way the home stands are 3x the size of the away


I think it has to be accurate, its got every reserved seat numbered for purchase:
https://www.ticketreturn.com/prod2/BuyNew.asp?EventID=248612&SponsorID=10407#.Wh2pdlWnHIU

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 12:31 PM
Interesting so doing a count of the homeside yields (already did visiting side):

The visiting side seats 2,340
The home side looks to be more like 5,400

So that means not only is the "seating" capacity not 13,000, but its actually not even 8,500?!?

WTH, why can't Wofford just list the actual number of seats Gibbs stadium actually has lol

walliver
November 28th, 2017, 12:58 PM
For some reason, the seating chart on the ticketing website excludes several sections. I suspect this is done to try and force visiting fans to fill up the visitors side before those sections are opened to non-Season-ticket-holders.

In general, if there is any weird policy in the SoCon, it can be traced back to Georgia Southern.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 01:01 PM
For some reason, the seating chart on the ticketing website excludes several sections. I suspect this is done to try and force visiting fans to fill up the visitors side before those sections are opened to non-Season-ticket-holders.

In general, if there is any weird policy in the SoCon, it can be traced back to Georgia Southern.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Yeah I think those sections are full for students and season ticket holders.
But I still estimated those sections in my adding based off the size of other sections with the same seating size, so its still less than 8,000 total seats if my numbers are correct?!?

Mr. Taggart
November 28th, 2017, 02:08 PM
We've never had to sell tickets for the hill, so much so that I'm pretty sure we don't even have tickets for it. Never for a game against Georgia Southern or App State. Don't worry about that.

Our tickets are reserved because in 2010, when most of them were GA, Georgia Southern student sat behind our offensive bench and heckled our players (really classy tbh). Every year in some sport some jackass students think they're creative by doing something similar (Mercer was rumored to try it in basketball but Wofford students go there too early...we won the game).

- - - Updated - - -



I think it's more like 5,000 and 3,000

I have seen them sell hill tickets for the Shrine Bowl several times.

Reign of Terrier
November 28th, 2017, 02:17 PM
Wofford =/= the Shrine Bowl. It may be played at Gibbs, but different people work it

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 03:21 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfMn2yfqkuc

Terrier19
November 28th, 2017, 03:27 PM
Speaking to the PRESSURE being on Wofford. Has everyone watched Wofford this season? We are 7-1 in games decided by 1 score or less. The team is chomping at the bit, coming off of a weeks rest on BYE. There isn't any undue pressure that's different then Furman. Its win and move on or lose and go home. Wofford at home, we are consistently ouselves. We are a Mike Ayers coached team that approaches each practice, game, the same. Expect what you have come to see from Wofford each and every week, to be present again. Strong running commitment, will be committed to stopping the run, and playing ball control offense. Looking to limit penalties and turnovers, and looking for the chink in our opponent as we continue to wear you down over the length of the game.

Been the same way forever. Nothing changes with us. Except this season above and beyond others, we are extremely athletic and skilled across the board.

Wofford is very confident for this one.

I don't think there is a better prepared team for the close hard fought playoff games that will ensue. We aren't NDSU or JMU, but in regards to mental prep and feeling the pressure, I will take my guys that have done it all season long.

FUBeAR
November 28th, 2017, 03:41 PM
19 is trying to convince himself that he is very confident for this one.

FYP

Terrier19
November 28th, 2017, 03:43 PM
FYP

Welp...you picked against Wofford all season......you got 1 right....shrugs....oh AND PLEASE ALL CAP WOFFORD's CONFIDENCE when you repost my posts please. Thanks xthumbsupx

FUBeAR
November 28th, 2017, 04:18 PM
Welp...you picked against Wofford all season......you got 1 right

You know what they say, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

So...I already got noon and it's about to be midnight in SparkleCity!

FUGameBreaker
November 28th, 2017, 04:38 PM
You know what they say, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

So...I already got noon and it's about to be midnight in SparkleCity!



xlolx

gofurman
November 28th, 2017, 09:12 PM
Speaking to the PRESSURE being on Wofford. Has everyone watched Wofford this season? We are 7-1 in games decided by 1 score or less. The team is chomping at the bit, coming off of a weeks rest on BYE. There isn't any undue pressure that's different then Furman. Its win and move on or lose and go home. Wofford at home, we are consistently ouselves. We are a Mike Ayers coached team that approaches each practice, game, the same. Expect what you have come to see from Wofford each and every week, to be present again. Strong running commitment, will be committed to stopping the run, and playing ball control offense. Looking to limit penalties and turnovers, and looking for the chink in our opponent as we continue to wear you down over the length of the game.

Been the same way forever. Nothing changes with us. Except this season above and beyond others, we are extremely athletic and skilled across the board.

Wofford is very confident for this one.

I don't think there is a better prepared team for the close hard fought playoff games that will ensue. We aren't NDSU or JMU, but in regards to mental prep and feeling the pressure, I will take my guys that have done it all season long.

Glad to hear you say you aren't JMU. You were beginning to worry me there w the confidence. Curious why your son chose Wofford as a receiver? Honest question. Not a jab. I would think that's a hard sell but maybe not? His blocking is obviously v important as are the catches. Just wonder what got him to an option-based school as a receiver? He got a great education. Hope he enjoyed his time there!! Great school!

I am am not confident at all. I have no control over anything... You mention penalties.. You do know furman has less penalties in 12 games than wofford does in 11 games? Wofford mentions the lack of penalties (and they are v good!) but furman has less and is listed as this in the wofford game notes.

Woff SHOULD wear furman down this year. You have 12 seniors. We have 5 or 6. We don't have a single senior starting on defense. Not one. Should be v easy to,wear us out. V easy. That's why I say the pressure is on wofford. on paper you should kill furman. there is nothing for furman to lose. Really. Preseason top team in SoCon (and top 10 nation) vs preseason SoCon 6/7? What do we have to lose ? We shouldn't be all that competitive. In other words, if furman wins - the preseason number 6 SoCon team just beat the SoCon champs on their field. That's facts. If furman loses.. we were supposed ... We haven't had even two years to recruit to the new 3-4 defense and we lost 3 starting linebackers. that's huge. New system for the linebackers and we lost three starters... Haven't had any time to recruit to this new offense. Even though many say there are not any freshman in November some of our freshman started in game 4 v Colgate. So even they have only had 7 or games instead of 11.

Ok, enough sandbagging. lol. I am excited for the game. At least the SoCon will have one team left. A little surprised Samford lost.

Mind sharing what your son liked about Woff that had him choose to attend there? As I said, it's a great school

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 04:49 AM
I don’t think the number of seniors matters from a “wear you down” perspective. I do think that is the type of game Wofford wants, though.

I expect Wofford will try to limit Furman’s explosive plays and keep the Paladins within striking distance. Furman’s offense has the somewhat unique combination of being able to score quickly, but also has the advantage of a ground game that can melt a clock away late.

Listening to Ayers comments, I’ll be interested to see if Wofford’s defensive strategy varies from that employed by Samford and Elon. Those teams loaded the box against the run, but was burned by Furman’s downfield passing game. Wofford may keep their safeties back and rely on their front seven to stop the run. The game may be won or lost on who wins that battle

ElCid
November 29th, 2017, 05:52 AM
Seriously even poll. I might have traveled down the mountain to see this, its going to be a good one I think. Actually passed through Sparklecity yesterday. It's only a little bit more than an hour away, but just can't swing it. It'll have to be ESPN3.

Gangtackle11
November 29th, 2017, 06:37 AM
Where has Citdog been?

caribbeanhen
November 29th, 2017, 07:22 AM
Where has Citdog been?

let a sleeping citDog lie GT....

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 07:25 AM
You know what they say, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

So...I already got noon and it's about to be midnight in SparkleCity!


HAHAH...TOuche.....Well played

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 08:01 AM
Terriers by 10.

Interesting prediction. I'd love to see the algorithm that generated this result.

Here are some interesting numbers...

If we look at Wofford's 'run' through the SoCon this year...(oh, and BTW, for the purposes of this exercise I'm not counting VMI in the SoCon as they were not really competitive IN the SoCon)...the AnkleMunchers won the 6 SoCon games they won by an average of 3.83 points. Also, 1/3 of their SoCon wins came in OT and one of those OT games included a tie for their largest SoCon margin of victory - 7 points.

If we think back to last year, we all thought El Cid had squeaked their way through the SoCon with close wins...and they did...but their 2016 SoCon margin of victory (excluding VMI...to be fair) was 11.14...almost 3x Woffy's 2017 SoCon margin of victory.

Wofford won 2 games this year by 10 points or more - a win over an 0-11 VMI Team that was clearly a Team that was nothing short of horrible and another over the PC Blew Ho's, which, despite their 4 wins, probably was not as good as VMI.

And yet you say "Terriers by 10"....I've see you talking about FU Coaches, Players, and Fans ****-talking, but BOLDLY predicting a 10 point PorchYapper victory has to be the most audacious ****-talking possible about this game.

#aSquared+bSquared=FU

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 08:10 AM
Glad to hear you say you aren't JMU. You were beginning to worry me there w the confidence. Curious why your son chose Wofford as a receiver? Honest question. Not a jab. I would think that's a hard sell but maybe not? His blocking is obviously v important as are the catches. Just wonder what got him to an option-based school as a receiver? He got a great education. Hope he enjoyed his time there!! Great school!

I am am not confident at all. I have no control over anything... You mention penalties.. You do know furman has less penalties in 12 games than wofford does in 11 games? Wofford mentions the lack of penalties (and they are v good!) but furman has less and is listed as this in the wofford game notes.

Woff SHOULD wear furman down this year. You have 12 seniors. We have 5 or 6. We don't have a single senior starting on defense. Not one. Should be v easy to,wear us out. V easy. That's why I say the pressure is on wofford. on paper you should kill furman. there is nothing for furman to lose. Really. Preseason top team in SoCon (and top 10 nation) vs preseason SoCon 6/7? What do we have to lose ? We shouldn't be all that competitive. In other words, if furman wins - the preseason number 6 SoCon team just beat the SoCon champs on their field. That's facts. If furman loses.. we were supposed ... We haven't had even two years to recruit to the new 3-4 defense and we lost 3 starting linebackers. that's huge. New system for the linebackers and we lost three starters... Haven't had any time to recruit to this new offense. Even though many say there are not any freshman in November some of our freshman started in game 4 v Colgate. So even they have only had 7 or games instead of 11.

Ok, enough sandbagging. lol. I am excited for the game. At least the SoCon will have one team left. A little surprised Samford lost.

Mind sharing what your son liked about Woff that had him choose to attend there? As I said, it's a great school


First off...Did you know Coach Vaughn from Furman was recruiting RJ..you guys wanted him as a DB....RJ was recruited both ways as a player by different teams....Furman wanted him as a DB....Just a random did you know....Coach VAughn was a great dude, had some great conversations with him.

Now to the question at hand...
Great question.....Long story.....But I will limit it to a quick answer to which we can expound on at a later time. RJ was set to go to Western Kentucky.......He was recruited by Bobby Petrino personally. He oversaw his recruitment, didn't have a regional recruiter for him, when we would visit, Bobby would be our recruiting coach. Soooooo, we had a date to go to Western to receive the official offer, but we had a scheduling conflict with RJ's high school's 7 on 7 tourny on the same day, our choice to attend the High SChool obligation over the Western trip ticked off Coach Petrino and thus the offer was rescinded basically. That was on a Saturday, when Wofford heard that RJ did not commit on Saturday, the entire coaching staff was at our house that following Monday night showing us where RJ was on their priority list, with Coach Ayers. And Coach Ayers was very direct and very honest about the expectations, about the education, and about the fact that at the end of his career, RJ would be a better man and would have his degree. The recruiting period was crazy as we were all lined up to go to Uk or WKU, and when those opportunities fell through we had to start reevaluating our choices. So the FCS route became the focus, everything happens for a reason, so when we took a step back and started really concentrating on the education aspect on par or ahead of the football, the picture changed drastically. It's easy to get seduced with the process and/or flights of fancy of being sought after, but at the end of the day, I think its best to truly take it all in and make the best decision for your family and the long term success of your scholar athlete. One thing that really stood out to me about Coach Ayers was he said "I am not going to sugar coat things....This will be hard....This will be a challenge on the field....this will be difficult in the classroom, we do not cut corners...but at the end of the day..in 4 years your son will return home a better man, with a degree, and will have played some good football along the way." I was looking around for more eligibility for MY DAMN SELF after talking with Coach Ayers....lol.

For us as a family, we had to make the best decision for the long run. RJ had plenty of opportunities and scholarship offers, some were more attractive for him as a player, individually. He had opportunities to play in open offenses that wanted to get him the ball often and in space. And while those opportunities were attractive in some regards, we had to make the best decision for RJ's life. Professional opportunities from football are so miniscule that we wanted to choose the best decision for his real life. And FWIW, Coach Ayers wanted to attract a different type of receiver in that class. If you remember, Wofford landed a commitment from Alencio Graham that eventually switched over to you guys. So the thought was to add a more dynamic playmaking type of receiver instead of the bigger blocking style of receiver they had traditionally recruited. The idea was to open up a more open style of offense and they actually have, even though we may want it open even more. At the end of the day, our decision to attend Wofford was about life, moreso than just football. And I feel that we have truly benefited from that decision. RJ has blossomed as a young man, and has received a wonderful education, while also playing some pretty damn good football. The SoCon title this season really puts a nice cap on a career, obviously we want to make another deep run in the playoffs, but we have truly enjoyed our college experience with RJ.

There are sacrifices in life, and I am just proud and glad that RJ understood the bigger picture and was willing to sacrifice individual accolades for the greater achievements of the education and team accomplishments. Now, there have been many a discussion late at night frustrated with lack of opportunity at times, believe me. But, our goal has always been about life preparation over just playing ball.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation but thank you very much for the question.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:16 AM
Interesting prediction. I'd love to see the algorithm that generated this result.

Here are some interesting numbers...

If we look at Wofford's 'run' through the SoCon this year...(oh, and BTW, for the purposes of this exercise I'm not counting VMI in the SoCon as they were not really competitive IN the SoCon)...the AnkleMunchers won the 6 SoCon games they won by an average of 3.83 points. Also, 1/3 of their SoCon wins came in OT and one of those OT games included a tie for their largest SoCon margin of victory - 7 points.

If we think back to last year, we all thought El Cid had squeaked their way through the SoCon with close wins...and they did...but their 2016 SoCon margin of victory (excluding VMI...to be fair) was 11.14...almost 3x Woffy's 2017 SoCon margin of victory.

Wofford won 2 games this year by 10 points or more - a win over an 0-11 VMI Team that was clearly a Team that was nothing short of horrible and another over the PC Blew Ho's, which, despite their 4 wins, probably was not as good as VMI.

And yet you say "Terriers by 10"....I've see you talking about FU Coaches, Players, and Fans ****-talking, but BOLDLY predicting a 10 point PorchYapper victory has to be the most audacious ****-talking possible about this game.

#aSquared+bSquared=FU

I don't know why you bring up the Citadel, it's pretty irrelevant. It doesn't matter if our average margin of victory was 7 points or 3 points. It's basic statistics that there's volatility in small numbers. When I say "Terriers by 10" I mean we do better than we normally do. In a strict probabilistic sense, it's not prior games that dictate whether or not Wofford can win by 10.

Meanwhile, last year in the rematch against the Citadel, we beat them by 14, a 17 point swing from last year, a higher margin than how we beat Chatt, Furman, Mercer, Western Carolina and equal to tennessee tech.

Were we head and shoulders above the Citadel all of a sudden? No. There's just volatility in small numbers when you average them out, when in reality one or two plays can swing the scoreboard in that direction. That's all I'm predicting in this one. My gut makes me think it's the case because of how all the **** talk is going to motivate a pretty much even or better team to play their best.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 08:24 AM
"Terriers by 10"

because of how all the **** talk is going to motivate a pretty much even or better team to play their best.

We are in agreement then, I think this kind of repeated ****talk will motivate Furman to play their best.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:27 AM
We are in agreement then, I think this kind of repeated ****talk will motivate Furman to play their best.

A random fan predicting a vanilla 10 point victory is pretty much a blip on the radar. By that logic, every single comment made on this board predicting victory will motivate EVERY TEAM to win.

Coaches and players implying Wofford doesn't deserve their socon title for weeks is different.

I'm not on their radar, Furman's comment have been on Wofford's radar for a long time.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 08:27 AM
I don't know why you bring up the Citadel, it's pretty irrelevant. It doesn't matter if our average margin of victory was 7 points or 3 points. It's basic statistics that there's volatility in small numbers. When I say "Terriers by 10" I mean we do better than we normally do. In a strict probabilistic sense, it's not prior games that dictate whether or not Wofford can win by 10.

Meanwhile, last year in the rematch against the Citadel, we beat them by 14, a 17 point swing from last year, a higher margin than how we beat Chatt, Furman, Mercer, Western Carolina and equal to tennessee tech.

Were we head and shoulders above the Citadel all of a sudden? No. There's just volatility in small numbers when you average them out, when in reality one or two plays can swing the scoreboard in that direction. That's all I'm predicting in this one. My gut makes me think it's the case because of how all the **** talk is going to motivate a pretty much even or better team to play their best.

There's volatility in small numbers, but you're pretty convinced Furman has problem winning close games?

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 08:29 AM
A random fan predicting a vanilla 10 point victory is pretty much a blip on the radar. By that logic, every single comment made on this board predicting victory will motivate EVERY TEAM to win.

Coaches and players implying Wofford doesn't deserve their socon title for weeks is different.

I'm not on their radar, Furman's comment have been on Wofford's radar for a long time.

Please cite to sources showing that a coach or player implied Wofford did not "deserve" a SoCon title.

Of course they deserved the title. They won more games than the other teams. They had a lot of breaks, but kept themselves in the football game and in a position to take advantage of those breaks. That's what good teams do.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:31 AM
There's volatility in small numbers, but you're pretty convinced Furman has problem winning close games?

Nah, I think they've shaken that trend with the Elon game.

Right now I just don't think their blow outs of **** teams aren't really helpful in understanding how they play decent teams.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:39 AM
Please cite to sources showing that a coach or player implied Wofford did not "deserve" a SoCon title.

Of course they deserved the title. They won more games than the other teams. They had a lot of breaks, but kept themselves in the football game and in a position to take advantage of those breaks. That's what good teams do.

This was tweeted a few weeks ago by a Furman OL.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wofford could be playing a high school team and they’d still figure out a way to win in double OT</p>&mdash; Jon Bockhorst (@BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

(sorry if this is bad, Idk how to embed tweets on here)


Couple people of note liked and retweeted it:

>Furman football fan twitter account
>Furman offensive line twitter account (no doubt run by a coach)
>7+ Furman players.

Meanwhile, Wofford players saw it and gave it a "like" with Devon Watson retweeting with "a dub is a dub"

But at this point I think it's pretty much established that Furman has said enough on social media to have Wofford reassert the chip on their shoulder, as I posted with the Chase Scott quote earlier this week.

At this point it doesn't matter if you think it's legitimate or not. The perception is the reality.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 08:40 AM
Coaches and players implying Wofford doesn't deserve their socon title for weeks

https://res.cloudinary.com/teepublic/image/private/s--Ws_Kr5B0--/t_Resized%20Artwork/c_fit,g_north_west,h_954,w_954/co_000000,e_outline:48/co_000000,e_outline:inner_fill:48/co_ffffff,e_outline:48/co_ffffff,e_outline:inner_fill:48/co_bbbbbb,e_outline:3:1000/c_mpad,g_center,h_1260,w_1260/b_rgb:eeeeee/c_limit,f_jpg,h_285,q_90,w_285/v1483828497/production/designs/1063647_1.jpg


Personally, I would generously say that Wofford deserves the 2017 SoCon title, barely.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 08:40 AM
Nah, I think they've shaken that trend with the Elon game.

Right now I just don't think their blow outs of **** teams aren't really helpful in understanding how they play decent teams.

I don't dig too deeply into metrics. From what I see, Furman's offense will pummel mediocre defensive teams, particularly those teams without physical players up front. The teams that have managed to slow down the Paladin offense (NC State, Wofford, Elon, Samford) have such players. The Furman defense is good enough to compliment the offense (sort of the opposite of Wofford, where the offense is good enough to complement the defense).

It is hard to evaluate teams in blowouts. Both teams completely change what they are trying to do so as to get the game to the finish line. I do think that Furman has pretty well proven its mettle in close games. That the Paladins could go on the road, essentially be minus 3 in turnovers, completely surrender two possessions, and still win in the post season is a testament to that.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 08:43 AM
This was tweeted a few weeks ago by a Furman OL.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wofford could be playing a high school team and they’d still figure out a way to win in double OT</p>&mdash; Jon Bockhorst (@BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM) <a href="https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

(sorry if this is bad, Idk how to embed tweets on here)


Couple people of note liked and retweeted it:

>Furman football fan twitter account
>Furman offensive line twitter account (no doubt run by a coach)
>7+ Furman players.

Meanwhile, Wofford players saw it and gave it a "like" with Devon Watson retweeting with "a dub is a dub"

But at this point I think it's pretty much established that Furman has said enough on social media to have Wofford reassert the chip on their shoulder, as I posted with the Chase Scott quote earlier this week.

At this point it doesn't matter if you think it's legitimate or not. The perception is the reality.

So, one reserve offensive lineman who hasn't played a snap commenting on Wofford's penchant for close game (again, objectively a true statement) is somehow Wofford not "deserving" a SoCon title?

There is no need for extra motivation in this game.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:45 AM
I don't dig too deeply into metrics. From what I see, Furman's offense will pummel mediocre defensive teams, particularly those teams without physical players up front. The teams that have managed to slow down the Paladin offense (NC State, Wofford, Elon, Samford) have such players. The Furman defense is good enough to compliment the offense (sort of the opposite of Wofford, where the offense is good enough to complement the defense).

It is hard to evaluate teams in blowouts. Both teams completely change what they are trying to do so as to get the game to the finish line. I do think that Furman has pretty well proven its mettle in close games. That the Paladins could go on the road, essentially be minus 3 in turnovers, completely surrender two possessions, and still win in the post season is a testament to that.

And that's an intelligent sentiment, however, I've been contrarian on Furman all year (or at least some Furman fans would say I have been, when people think I'm a socon homer) because quite frankly many Furman fans assume they're world-beaters due to their performance against lowly teams compared to Wofford's baseline (but we've rehashed this argument multiple times, so I'll leave it there)

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 08:47 AM
So, one reserve offensive lineman who hasn't played a snap commenting on Wofford's penchant for close game (again, objectively a true statement) is somehow Wofford not "deserving" a SoCon title?

There is no need for extra motivation in this game.

He posted it, others liked/retweeted it (including one coming from a coach), it was perceived as disrespect (that how disrespect works, it's perceptual) and now Wofford's motivated. I'm sure there's other posts, I just don't follow Furman twitter accounts (hell, I barely follow Wofford's player accounts)

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 09:00 AM
And my confidence in Wofford in this matchup is based strictly in Wofford, their approach, and proven track record over the last 2 seasons. It has no bearing about Furman, I think Furman is a really good football team, plays well on both sides of the ball. I just think they are running into a special team in Wofford. This group just wins. Everyone writes them off each week, no one is impressed with them, and yet each week they find a new way to win. That's an intangible that doesn't show up on schematics and algorythms.........I just believe in this group. They have weathered the storm of losing its starting 3 QB's in a season to make a quarterfinal run in the payoffs with its 4th string QB last season.........that whole team basically returned for this season. So when I say a team is experienced, is galvanized by adversity, that is what I speak of.

No offense to any team. I just believe in our group. There isnt a matchup where I feel we are overmatched in any area. We are well coached, have a strong defense, and we have a offensive system that we have operated for 30 years. We have high caliber athletes at each position group, which has led us to a 9-1 FCS record this season and we should not have lost the 1 (Don't get me started). Until proven otherwise I have yet to see us be overmatched in any particular position group. Just to clear up where my confidence in this team comes from. It has no bearing on how good Furman is or isnt. I think Furman is very good and a very dangerous team. Unfortunate to have to play each other.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 09:19 AM
He posted it, others liked/retweeted it (including one coming from a coach), it was perceived as disrespect (that how disrespect works, it's perceptual) and now Wofford's motivated. I'm sure there's other posts, I just don't follow Furman twitter accounts (hell, I barely follow Wofford's player accounts)

I just don't think that is going to matter. You are either motivated for this game or you aren't.

My recollection is that tweet was right after one of Wofford's double OT win against UTC (Furman's off week). I said roughly the same thing after watching the end of that game. You are watching a team you need to see lose, only to watch them consistently wriggle out of games.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 09:21 AM
He posted it, others liked/retweeted it (including one coming from a coach), it was perceived as disrespect (that how disrespect works, it's perceptual) and now Wofford's motivated. I'm sure there's other posts, I just don't follow Furman twitter accounts (hell, I barely follow Wofford's player accounts)

https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432

The OL Account you cited ( https://twitter.com/fuOline ) is run by Players (O-Linemen), not a Coach.

I think the BOLD & SERIOUS prediction of an easy 2-score win, by a Team that only beats REALLY CRAPPY Teams by more than 3 or 4 points, made by the self-vaunted statistical guru of FCS Football carries many times more disrespect than this obviously joking Tweet by an injured Player, who is out for the season, saying nothing more than Wofford always finds a way to win. Actually, I think he meant it as a compliment.

Have no fear though...your disrespect, as a well-known Wofford Fan and Influencer, of FU's chances (almost non-existent, in your opinion) in this game will be widely circulated to the Players and Coaches on the visiting Team on Saturday.

There will be no "We have been more disrespected" advantage for your ratdogs! FUBeAR will not allow it!!

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 09:27 AM
And my confidence in Wofford in this matchup is based strictly in Wofford, their approach, and proven track record over the last 2 seasons. It has no bearing about Furman, I think Furman is a really good football team, plays well on both sides of the ball. I just think they are running into a special team in Wofford. This group just wins. Everyone writes them off each week, no one is impressed with them, and yet each week they find a new way to win. That's an intangible that doesn't show up on schematics and algorythms.........I just believe in this group. They have weathered the storm of losing its starting 3 QB's in a season to make a quarterfinal run in the payoffs with its 4th string QB last season.........that whole team basically returned for this season. So when I say a team is experienced, is galvanized by adversity, that is what I speak of.

No offense to any team. I just believe in our group. There isnt a matchup where I feel we are overmatched in any area. We are well coached, have a strong defense, and we have a offensive system that we have operated for 30 years. We have high caliber athletes at each position group, which has led us to a 9-1 FCS record this season and we should not have lost the 1 (Don't get me started). Until proven otherwise I have yet to see us be overmatched in any particular position group. Just to clear up where my confidence in this team comes from. It has no bearing on how good Furman is or isnt. I think Furman is very good and a very dangerous team. Unfortunate to have to play each other.

https://i.imgur.com/WT0hJgA.gif

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 09:29 AM
And my confidence in Wofford in this matchup is based strictly in Wofford, their approach, and proven track record over the last 2 seasons. It has no bearing about Furman, I think Furman is a really good football team, plays well on both sides of the ball. I just think they are running into a special team in Wofford. This group just wins. Everyone writes them off each week, no one is impressed with them, and yet each week they find a new way to win. That's an intangible that doesn't show up on schematics and algorythms.........I just believe in this group. They have weathered the storm of losing its starting 3 QB's in a season to make a quarterfinal run in the payoffs with its 4th string QB last season.........that whole team basically returned for this season. So when I say a team is experienced, is galvanized by adversity, that is what I speak of.

No offense to any team. I just believe in our group. There isnt a matchup where I feel we are overmatched in any area. We are well coached, have a strong defense, and we have a offensive system that we have operated for 30 years. We have high caliber athletes at each position group, which has led us to a 9-1 FCS record this season and we should not have lost the 1 (Don't get me started). Until proven otherwise I have yet to see us be overmatched in any particular position group. Just to clear up where my confidence in this team comes from. It has no bearing on how good Furman is or isnt. I think Furman is very good and a very dangerous team. Unfortunate to have to play each other.

I don't think anyone is writing them off. I realize why Wofford fans are constantly defensive about their perception nationally. I think it's a perception that has been earned this season. Top 10 teams aren't supposed to have last gasp wins against bad teams multiple times a season.

Wofford is essentially Wisconsin. They've dealt all season with criticisms of their schedule and performance, but have just kept winning. You win the games on your schedule, but also have to deal with the criticism based upon that schedule. That criticism is just louder the more often the same thing happens.

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 09:30 AM
I don't think anyone is writing them off. I realize why Wofford fans are constantly defensive about their perception nationally. I think it's a perception that has been earned this season. Top 10 teams aren't supposed to have last gasp wins against bad teams multiple times a season.

Wofford is essentially Wisconsin. They've dealt all season with criticisms of their schedule and performance, but have just kept winning. You win the games on your schedule, but also have to deal with the criticism based upon that schedule.

Thats a good analogy....I can live with that.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 09:50 AM
https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432https://twitter.com/BOCKAFLOCKAFLAM/status/926929016577298432

The OL Account you cited ( https://twitter.com/fuOline ) is run by Players (O-Linemen), not a Coach.

I think the BOLD & SERIOUS prediction of an easy 2-score win, by a Team that only beats REALLY CRAPPY Teams by more than 3 or 4 points, made by the self-vaunted statistical guru of FCS Football carries many times more disrespect than this obviously joking Tweet by an injured Player, who is out for the season, saying nothing more than Wofford always finds a way to win. Actually, I think he meant it as a compliment.

Have no fear though...your disrespect, as a well-known Wofford Fan and Influencer, of FU's chances (almost non-existent, in your opinion) in this game will be widely circulated to the Players and Coaches on the visiting Team on Saturday.

There will be no "We have been more disrespected" advantage for your ratdogs! FUBeAR will not allow it!!

A 10 point win is not easy. Heck, a 14 point win isn't easy. On the top of my head, the last few 2 score wins by Wofford have been stressfully close in the fourth quarter (Citadel, Tennessee Tech, Western Carolina; heck VMI was a 3 score win and it was 3-0 half way through the fourth quarter)

It doesn't matter whether or not you think there's been disrespect. What counts is that the players think there's been disrespect. The former is inconsequential, the latter motivates them to perform.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 09:55 AM
I think that this photo is a good representation of the changes in Furman's program. That is Triston Luke's long TD run against Wofford in Week 1.

That is 290 pound C Matt Schmidt cutting down a Wofford defender 10+ yards downfield along the sideline and in front of him. That's the type of athleticism and effort that used to be a hallmark of Furman offensive linemen. You rarely saw that sort of want-to under the last administration.

I don't know if that defender expected to catch Luke, but I am pretty sure he didn't expect to have the opportunity to do so taken away by the daggum center.

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/935879804955643906

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 09:59 AM
I think that this photo is a good representation of the changes in Furman's program. That is Triston Luke's long TD run against Wofford in Week 1.

That is 290 pound C Matt Schmidt cutting down a Wofford defender 10+ yards downfield along the sideline and in front of him. That's the type of athleticism and effort that used to be a hallmark of Furman offensive linemen. You rarely saw that sort of want-to under the last administration.

https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/935879804955643906

That play was so fluky to me (by fluke I dont mean it to disparage Furman, we just never give up that type of run). We NEVER EVER see a Running back break free for that type of long run against us. I remember that play and was stunned to see it transpire, what seemed like a harmless sweep turned into a helluva run that almost beat us. Was weird how that play developed and he just slinked up the sideline. I think that was the longest run we have given up all year.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 09:59 AM
It doesn't matter whether or not you think there's been disrespect. What counts is that the players think there's been disrespect. The former is inconsequential, the latter motivates them to perform.

AND...I'm telling YOU that YOUR disrespectful prediction will be (actually, already has been) broadly communicated to the FU Players as an example of the kind of disrespect the Wofford program has for a Team that they squeaked a win out over by no more than a ratdog whisker when they were still learning their new Coaches' names. YOU are a highly regarded and well-known Wofford prognosticator. I would reckon that many young Furman Players associate YoungTerrier with Wofford and don't even know the name, Jerry Richardson.

From what I hear, they are WAY PO'd about it, too.

One just texted me..."He said it again? 10 points? Really? UN-*******-BELIEVABLE!!! Can't wait until Saturday!!!!"

walliver
November 29th, 2017, 10:02 AM
I doubt the social media conscious players of 2017 get overly excited by tweets. What player is going to say, "I was planning on doing a half-assed job until I saw that tweet!"?

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 10:06 AM
AND...I'm telling YOU that YOUR disrespectful prediction will be (actually, already has been) broadly communicated to the FU Players as an example of the kind of disrespect the Wofford program has for a Team that they squeaked a win out over by no more than a ratdog whisker when they were still learning their new Coaches' names. YOU are a highly regarded and well-known Wofford prognosticator. I would reckon that many young Furman Players associate YoungTerrier with Wofford and don't even know the name, Jerry Richardson.

From what I hear, they are WAY PO'd about it, too.

One just texted me..."He said it again? 10 points? Really? UN-*******-BELIEVABLE!!! Can't wait until Saturday!!!!"

Damnit YT......Now you have gone and done it....you have riled up the DINS......you may prove to be the pivotal inspiration that tilts this game in their favor.......

SHAME......SHAME......SHAME......(Game of Thrones Reference)

Please relay from the rest of the Terrier fans just how humble we are and how gracious we feel to even be on the same field at the same time as the Great Paladin Squad........nothing but pleasantries and positive thoughts towards our great rivals.......xcoolxxcoolxxcoolx

SCPALADIN
November 29th, 2017, 10:24 AM
I doubt the social media conscious players of 2017 get overly excited by tweets. What player is going to say, "I was planning on doing a half-assed job until I saw that tweet!"?

^^^^THIS.

...this thread has descended down a ridiculous rabbit hole. The game is obviously a rematch as there is little Xs & Os talk left to do.

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 10:30 AM
PREDICTION..........


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSPNQ82Sq4E

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 10:41 AM
^^^^THIS.

...this thread has descended down a ridiculous rabbit hole. The game is obviously a rematch as there is little Xs & Os talk left to do.

Just once I want to see Furman in a fullhouse backfield with Gibson, Dirks, and Wilcox running "student body right." That's like 700 pounds of backfield.

SU FAN
November 29th, 2017, 10:53 AM
I can see this one coming down to a final possession again most likely

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 10:54 AM
And that's an intelligent sentiment, however, I've been contrarian on Furman all year (or at least some Furman fans would say I have been, when people think I'm a socon homer) because quite frankly many Furman fans assume they're world-beaters due to their performance against lowly teams compared to Wofford's baseline (but we've rehashed this argument multiple times, so I'll leave it there)

Furman isn't a world beater. I think the formula to slowing down the offense is pretty simple. You just have to outmuscle them at the line of scrimmage.

The last two weeks, you've seen a strong effort by Samford and Elon to eliminate Furman's ability to pound the ball between the tackles. They saw the Western and Citadel tapes. You cannot, under any circumstances, let Furman start hammering the ball with those two big backs. That's been disaster for defenses this season.

Elon and Samford both seemed to "pick their poison" with Blazejowski. It's super hard to stop Dirks/Wilcox, Morehead, and Blazejowski from running. You can probably slow down two of the three. Those two teams seemed content to try and take away the fullback and get out to Morehead on the pitch. That allowed Blazejowski to pull off little 5-6 yard runs in the space between. He's a good runner, but he's not necessarily looking to run. Of the three options, he's the least likely to reel off a 50-60 yard run.

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 11:17 AM
Furman isn't a world beater. I think the formula to slowing down the offense is pretty simple. You just have to outmuscle them at the line of scrimmage.

The last two weeks, you've seen a strong effort by Samford and Elon to eliminate Furman's ability to pound the ball between the tackles. They saw the Western and Citadel tapes. You cannot, under any circumstances, let Furman start hammering the ball with those two big backs. That's been disaster for defenses this season.

Elon and Samford both seemed to "pick their poison" with Blazejowski. It's super hard to stop Dirks/Wilcox, Morehead, and Blazejowski from running. You can probably slow down two of the three. Those two teams seemed content to try and take away the fullback and get out to Morehead on the pitch. That allowed Blazejowski to pull off little 5-6 yard runs in the space between. He's a good runner, but he's not necessarily looking to run. Of the three options, he's the least likely to reel off a 50-60 yard run.

Personally...I think the keys to slowing Furman down begin inside out. Stop the FB top priority, make Blaze try and beat you with his legs. And stay glued to #85 in the passing game. I would take seeing Blaze run the ball a bunch, taking the toll of a defense hitting him all game and having to recoup and pass the ball and run the team then to let the big RBs gash you up the middle. All things are predicated by the FB in the Furman offense, sets up play action and sets up manageable down and distance. Easier said then done obviously.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 11:18 AM
https://twitter.com/PaladinFootball/status/935879804955643906That play was so fluky

SCREENSHOT: And...Another well-known Woffy affiliate disparaging the Paladins

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 11:19 AM
xlolxxlolxxlolx

- - - Updated - - -

Screen shot and send those laughing emojis.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 11:26 AM
https://twitter.com/WoffordTerriers/status/935916791578202113

Dang...sounds a little desperate. Is Woffy skeered that Furman peeps are going to outnumber them in their own stadium?

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 11:30 AM
https://twitter.com/WoffordTerriers/status/935916791578202113

Dang...sounds a little desperate. Is Woffy skeered that Furman peeps are going to outnumber them in their own stadium?

I LOVE IT!!!!! Gibbs will be PACKED......

- - - Updated - - -


https://twitter.com/WoffordTerriers/status/935916791578202113

Dang...sounds a little desperate. ?

Screenshot and sent.....

FUGameBreaker
November 29th, 2017, 11:37 AM
So if all Wofford students (non football players and cheerleaders) wanted to go to the game I guess they are prepared to spend upwards of $15,000 on those tickets?

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 11:43 AM
FCS Playoffs: Furman at Wofford




CFP: Clemson, Auburn, Oklahoma, Badgers (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128193241342600808&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Harvard, Yale to play at Fenway in 2018 (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171129115612146845008&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Miss. St. to name PSU's Moorhead coach (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128223449442665308&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Florida's Mullen fires Shannon, others (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128161746734569508&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Patterson doesn't think throw was errant (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171129021134004740108&ref=hea&tm=&src=)



Miami's Richt named ACC's top coach (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128144837399560608&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Arkansas hires firms in AD, coach search (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128151556109565008&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Florida agrees to pay $7.5M to McElwain (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128164727750572208&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
Former Syracuse RB Reyes dies at 36 (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128160912195568308&ref=hea&tm=&src=)
No. 1 Clemson has big-game edge on Miami (http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20171128150748034563208&ref=hea&tm=&src=)




http://www.fcs.football/cfb/photos/201711281012367375191-p3.jpeg

By CRAIG HALEY

STATS FCS Senior Editor
FCS Playoffs Second Round
The Matchup - Furman (8-4) at No. 7 seed Wofford (9-2)
Kickoff - 2 p.m. ET at Gibbs Stadium (13,000) in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Coverage - ESPN3
Series - Furman leads 53-31-7 (last meeting: Wofford won 24-23 at home on Sept. 2)
Players to Watch - Furman: QB P.J. Blazejowski (124 of 203, 2,204 yards, 18 TDs, 5 INTs), RB Antonio Wilcox (150 carries, 790 yards, 14 TDs), TE Andy Schumpert (27 receptions, 572 yards, 9 TDs), LB Reynard Ellis (79 TT, 5 TFL, 2 Sacks), S Aaquil Annoor (60 TT, 2 INTs, 2 FF); Wofford: QB Brandon Goodson (61 of 113, 964 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 234 rushing yards), FB Andre Stoddard (153 carries, 743 yards, 14 TDs), RB/PR Lennox McAfee (90 carries, 649 yards, 6 TDs), DE Tyler Vaughn (35 TT, 3 QBH), DE Miles Brown (38 TT, 9 TFL, 3 Sacks)
The Skinny - Two South Carolina rivals whose campuses are separated by 37 miles meet for the 92nd time but the first in the playoffs. Wofford has won the last three meetings, including in this year's SoCon season opener after it denied a two-point attempt in the final minute to spoil Furman coach Clay Hendrix's debut. The visiting Paladins have overcome an 0-3 start to reach the playoffs for the 17th time, and they held on to beat Elon 28-27 in the first round. One of the big matchups is their offensive line working against Wofford's stout defensive front. The Paladins are averaging just over 240 rushing yards per game, about 10 fewer than Wofford. Blazejowski's passing efficiency is a distinct advantage for the Paladins, but the SoCon champion Terriers counter with the conference's top-ranked defense, including All-SoCon CB Devin Watson in the secondary. Offensively, their flexbone option spreads the carries between backs, with QB Joe Newman also coming off the bench. Luke Carter is 10 of 11 on field goal attempts and has drawn a fair catch on 17 of 42 punts.
Up Next - The winner will play San Diego or No. 2 seed North Dakota State in the quarterfinals on Dec. 8 or 9.
Prediction - In coach Mike Ayers' 30th season, Wofford has been excellent in close games (7-1 in games decided by seven points or less), and this rematch should be tight. Wofford 23-17.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 11:44 AM
So if all Wofford students (non football players and cheerleaders) wanted to go to the game are they prepared to spend upwards of $15,000 on those tickets?

So....I'm relatively clueless on these matters, but I did wonder the same thing. I'm sure we have some knowledgeable peeps here who can edify us.

I see Jax State is letting students in free also.
So...I'm wondering...Home Sites are pre-determined on all these games...so no "Bid"...and...

The NCAA runs it (revenues/expenses-wise), right?
If so, what is their policy/pricing on Student Ticket prices?
If the NCAA allows Home Students to attend gratis, is that "fair" (hate that word) to visiting students from another NCAA school?

Who knows such things?

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 11:44 AM
So if all Wofford students (non football players and cheerleaders) wanted to go to the game I guess they are prepared to spend upwards of $15,000 on those tickets?

That appears to be true.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 12:03 PM
Personally...I think the keys to slowing Furman down begin inside out. Stop the FB top priority, make Blaze try and beat you with his legs. And stay glued to #85 in the passing game. I would take seeing Blaze run the ball a bunch, taking the toll of a defense hitting him all game and having to recoup and pass the ball and run the team then to let the big RBs gash you up the middle. All things are predicated by the FB in the Furman offense, sets up play action and sets up manageable down and distance. Easier said then done obviously.

We bantered this back on our forum some, but stopping Schumpert is a tall order. He is a hybrid player that is a bit undersized for a TE (listed at just over 200 lbs), but is tall, fast, and has excellent hands. From what I've seen all season, he is a very strong downfield blocker.

I've been amazed just how few teams can seem to find him in the passing game. It was postulated on our forum (and I think correctly) that Furman has him block the safety pretty routinely on outside run plays. He then just accelerates past his man into the open space. You can see from the long TD catch he had Saturday that he easily outran Elon's CB (probably one of their team's fastest players), covering five yards every other step. At 6'5 you aren't going to find too many defenders that will be able to keep him from getting his hands on the ball.

Wofford, philosophically, hates to give up big passing plays. I got the impression from Ayers comments at the media luncheon about how often Furman throws over the safety's heads, that they may try to keep their safeties back some and defend against Schumpert getting behind them. That's going to add more pressure to the front 7, though, as it may keep Wofford from adding men to the box against the run.

Furman's going to have to run the ball and occasionally send Schumpert down the seam to keep them honest.

PaladinNation
November 29th, 2017, 12:07 PM
I feel like all this weird crap between Furman and Wofford started the year the "Short Hair Dogs" thought it was a good idea to burn a Billy Napier stand in doll. Dumb idea.

Now it's a contest of who disrespects who, etc… all I know is that Clay had great things on his radio show to say about Ayers, and the Wofford program - and while at Air Force he had contacts with the Terrier staff.

Win or lose Saturday, IMO Furman won the big one… Clay Hendrix. If Furman had gone another direction and Ayers retires in the next year or two… I didn't want to see Furman facing Clay at Wofford.

Carry on…

Terrier19
November 29th, 2017, 12:11 PM
We bantered this back on our forum some, but stopping Schumpert is a tall order. He is a hybrid player that is a bit undersized for a TE (listed at just over 200 lbs), but is tall, fast, and has excellent hands. From what I've seen all season, he is a very strong downfield blocker.

I've been amazed just how few teams can seem to find him in the passing game. It was postulated on our forum (and I think correctly) that Furman has him block the safety pretty routinely on outside run plays. He then just accelerates past his man into the open space. You can see from the long TD catch he had Saturday that he easily outran Elon's CB (probably one of their team's fastest players), covering five yards every other step. At 6'5 you aren't going to find too many defenders that will be able to keep him from getting his hands on the ball.

Wofford, philosophically, hates to give up big passing plays. I got the impression from Ayers comments at the media luncheon about how often Furman throws over the safety's heads, that they may try to keep their safeties back some and defend against Schumpert getting behind them. That's going to add more pressure to the front 7, though, as it may keep Wofford from adding men to the box against the run.

Furman's going to have to run the ball and occasionally send Schumpert down the seam to keep them honest.

The young man is a PLAYER. I have watched several games and love how he plays. Much respect to that young man. Kid can get it done.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:17 PM
So if all Wofford students (non football players and cheerleaders) wanted to go to the game I guess they are prepared to spend upwards of $15,000 on those tickets?

Yep.

For the socon championship basketball games we've won the administration does something similar + rents charter buses. We've had games in Asheville where literally 70% of our student body is there. It's lit. It's who we are.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:18 PM
So....I'm relatively clueless on these matters, but I did wonder the same thing. I'm sure we have some knowledgeable peeps here who can edify us.

I see Jax State is letting students in free also.
So...I'm wondering...Home Sites are pre-determined on all these games...so no "Bid"...and...

The NCAA runs it (revenues/expenses-wise), right?
If so, what is their policy/pricing on Student Ticket prices?
If the NCAA allows Home Students to attend gratis, is that "fair" (hate that word) to visiting students from another NCAA school?

Who knows such things?

Wofford is paying for the tickets. That's the distinction. I assume Jacksonville is as well.

PaladinNation
November 29th, 2017, 12:19 PM
We bantered this back on our forum some, but stopping Schumpert is a tall order. He is a hybrid player that is a bit undersized for a TE (listed at just over 200 lbs), but is tall, fast, and has excellent hands. From what I've seen all season, he is a very strong downfield blocker.

I've been amazed just how few teams can seem to find him in the passing game. It was postulated on our forum (and I think correctly) that Furman has him block the safety pretty routinely on outside run plays. He then just accelerates past his man into the open space. You can see from the long TD catch he had Saturday that he easily outran Elon's CB (probably one of their team's fastest players), covering five yards every other step. At 6'5 you aren't going to find too many defenders that will be able to keep him from getting his hands on the ball.

Wofford, philosophically, hates to give up big passing plays. I got the impression from Ayers comments at the media luncheon about how often Furman throws over the safety's heads, that they may try to keep their safeties back some and defend against Schumpert getting behind them. That's going to add more pressure to the front 7, though, as it may keep Wofford from adding men to the box against the run.

Furman's going to have to run the ball and occasionally send Schumpert down the seam to keep them honest.

The thing that makes this Furman unique… is that Wilcox and Dirks aren't just big backs, up to this season they were tailbacks.
It seems Furman learned from the Samford loss and made adjustments against a big, physical Elon defensive front. It's going to be a war on both sides in the trenches. It Wofford shuts down the DINS inside game, were in trouble.

The one thing no one is talking about is Blaze… I think he will be the biggest factor - for Furman to win. This is it for PJ - he is underrated and he has the potential to to be the dynamic playmaker in the Furman offense. That said PJ can make a head scratching mistake - end zone interception against Elon. Still, I'm glad he's leading the DINS Saturday.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 12:31 PM
Wofford is paying for the tickets. That's the distinction. I assume Jacksonville is as well.

OK...paying TO...the NCAA, I assume...but How Much?

Here's what JaxSt site says..

Tickets are $15 for general admission on-line and $75 for Stadium Club Level seats. General admission tickets can also be purchased in-person at the JSU Athletic Ticket Office for $20, which is the same price as tickets at the gate on Saturday. Current Club Level season ticket holders can purchase their regular-season seats for $60 each by noon on Tuesday, Nov. 28th. All tickets are on sale at the JSU Athletic Ticket Office or online at JSUGamecockSports.com. JSU Students will be able to get one free ticket but must log in through their myJSU account and obtain it online. Students may purchase additional tickets through the link for the general public.


And ALL Wofford tix are $25 Adults, $10 kids and non-Wofford Students...which is not even the same as any of the 4 different prices ($15, $20, $60, and $75) JaxSt is listing for their tix.

And....Here's what JMU is doing...

Ticket Prices:
Reserved Seating - $25
General Admission - $15
Chairback Seating - $50
Club Level - $135
JMU Students - FREE

...and NDSU...

Prices:

Reserved Sideline
$40


Reserved End Zone
$30


Standing Room Only
$20


NDSU Students with valid NDSU ID
$ 5





Seems like it's all over the board....I don't think "Wofford is paying for the tickets" fully answers the question I am asking, but thanks.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:35 PM
We bantered this back on our forum some, but stopping Schumpert is a tall order. He is a hybrid player that is a bit undersized for a TE (listed at just over 200 lbs), but is tall, fast, and has excellent hands. From what I've seen all season, he is a very strong downfield blocker.

I've been amazed just how few teams can seem to find him in the passing game. It was postulated on our forum (and I think correctly) that Furman has him block the safety pretty routinely on outside run plays. He then just accelerates past his man into the open space. You can see from the long TD catch he had Saturday that he easily outran Elon's CB (probably one of their team's fastest players), covering five yards every other step. At 6'5 you aren't going to find too many defenders that will be able to keep him from getting his hands on the ball.

Wofford, philosophically, hates to give up big passing plays. I got the impression from Ayers comments at the media luncheon about how often Furman throws over the safety's heads, that they may try to keep their safeties back some and defend against Schumpert getting behind them. That's going to add more pressure to the front 7, though, as it may keep Wofford from adding men to the box against the run.

Furman's going to have to run the ball and occasionally send Schumpert down the seam to keep them honest.

My statistically minded self has just conceded that it's going to happen. They'll score on that play (lol). But it seems like Furman only runs it once or twice a game.

Having said that, if we *do* stop him, it won't be that we actually stopped him, so much as our safety didn't get burned because we run that zone and Furman gets a 30 yard+ pass.

Having said that, one shift in philosophy that we've seen with Wofford is that, we used to do that Furman approach of having smaller, aggressive DL with a heavy pass rush, but it seems like we've changed philosophy to where we go for more size up front. we're clogging the run with size as opposed to racing to the QB or racing on the ball, if that makes sense. This is evident by the fact that we have 2 DL who were 300 lb + in their first year on campus (Horton, Brown). We had, like, no freshmen ever that big and we suddenly see two in consecutive years.

So, if we "stop" Furman on that play, it's going to be because we don't call an aggressive attacking/blitzing playcall and let the players sit in a zone. It sounds like a weird or ineffective strategy for stopping the run, but it's pretty effective this year and I'm inclined to think we call less blitzes because of our DC's faith in the DL (we've had less sacks this year, yet we're pretty on par with our average run defense). That's not always a good thing (for instance, Hodges killed us with this approach), but it's something to keep in mind.

As for the 44 yard touchdown run, a couple things (it's going to sound like I'm taking away from Furman for a sec, but I'm not, hear me out). That play happened because our safety missed a tackle and misjudged a block (he went inside and should have gone outside). In that sense, it was a "broken play," but at the same time that's the point of the play from Furman's perspective. In the games I've watched Furman play, they've been strong up the middle and effective on the perimeter. The reason you go to the perimeter is for those missed tackle opportunities. It's part of the offense, it's who they are.

Having said that, I'm pretty that was the longest run Wofford's given up all year. So you can read it two ways: it's either an outlier or part of the norm to expect against Furman. I view it as the latter. Wofford did a really good job stopping Furman's run game relative to other defenses Furman's played this year, but the yardage from the run is on par with what you'd expect Furman's stellar run game to perform against a stellar defense such as Wofford.

And I think that's also epitomized the kind of year Wofford's had. Though the next play we stopped the two point conversion, we wouldn't be in that situation had we stopped that run play. We're bad at stopping the plays that keep it close, but good at stopping the plays that will beat us.


I feel like all this weird crap between Furman and Wofford started the year the "Short Hair Dogs" thought it was a good idea to burn a Billy Napier stand in. Dumb idea.

Now it's a contest of who disrespects who, etc… all I know is that Clay had great things on his radio show to say about Ayers, and the Wofford program - and while at Air Force he had contacts with the Terrier staff.

Win or lose Saturday, IMO Furman won the big one… Clay Hendrix. If Furman had gone another direction and Ayers retires in the next year or two… I didn't want to see Furman facing Clay at Wofford.

Carry on…

I have no idea who Billy Napier is, but rest assured, had Ayers retired we wouldn't have hired Clay (though to be honest, I wouldn't have been against it). Offensive Coordinator Wade Lang is pretty much the coach in waiting. he's been at Wofford 25 years and he's about 13 years or so younger than Ayers.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:36 PM
The thing that makes this Furman unique… is that Wilcox and Dirks aren't just big backs, up to this season they were tailbacks.
It seems Furman learned from the Samford loss and made adjustments against a big, physical Elon defensive front. It's going to be a war on both sides in the trenches. It Wofford shuts down the DINS inside game, were in trouble.

The one thing no one is talking about is Blaze… I think he will be the biggest factor - for Furman to win. This is it for PJ - he is underrated and he has the potential to to be the dynamic playmaker in the Furman offense. That said PJ can make a head scratching mistake - end zone interception against Elon. Still, I'm glad he's leading the DINS Saturday.

Oh trust me, we at Wofford hate Blazejowski because we respect the work he puts in.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 12:45 PM
The thing that makes this Furman unique… is that Wilcox and Dirks aren't just big backs, up to this season they were tailbacks.
It seems Furman learned from the Samford loss and made adjustments against a big, physical Elon defensive front. It's going to be a war on both sides in the trenches. It Wofford shuts down the DINS inside game, were in trouble.

The one thing no one is talking about is Blaze… I think he will be the biggest factor - for Furman to win. This is it for PJ - he is underrated and he has the potential to to be the dynamic playmaker in the Furman offense. That said PJ can make a head scratching mistake - end zone interception against Elon. Still, I'm glad he's leading the DINS Saturday.

Right. Neither Dirks nor Wilcox are simply battering rams. Both are pretty good backs.

I had not noticed this before hand, but if you watch Wilcox's long 60+ yard run, it shows one of the real impressive aspects of Blazejowski's game (1:55:00 mark https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QRhCOjb8PQ&t=2s)

Furman bunches their entire offense right in the middle of the field. Elon does likewise with their defense. On the snap, the entire OL collapses the defense to the left side. Everyone blocks down. Blazejowski quickly hands the ball to Dirks.

This looks to the defense like an option play, but it isn't. Furman is not optioning any defender outside. Blazejowski is not making any reads. Triston Luke, the TB, is not looking for the ball. It's all window dressing on what is nothing but a quick hitting fullback dive.

What's crazy is watching Elon's defense react to the play. Wilcox makes a slight cut to the backside, and accelerates into the open field. From the film, it looks like only 1 Elon defender, the backside CB, realizes Blazejowski doesn't have the ball. Wilcox runs within 3 feet of Elon's safety who seems to have no idea where the ball is.

Even if a defender read it correctly, it's super hard to bring down either Dirks or Wilcox if you are out of position. You aren't just going to dive at their ankles and knock them over. They are both big, quick, and can really run. That's a 235 lbs running back essentially outrunning Elon's CB for 40 yards.

gofurman
November 29th, 2017, 12:49 PM
My statistically minded self has just conceded that it's going to happen. They'll score on that play (lol). But it seems like Furman only runs it once or twice a game.

Having said that, if we *do* stop him, it won't be that we actually stopped him, so much as our safety didn't get burned because we run that zone and Furman gets a 30 yard+ pass.

Having said that, one shift in philosophy that we've seen with Wofford is that, we used to do that Furman approach of having smaller, aggressive DL with a heavy pass rush, but it seems like we've changed philosophy to where we go for more size up front. we're clogging the run with size as opposed to racing to the QB or racing on the ball, if that makes sense. This is evident by the fact that we have 2 DL who were 300 lb + in their first year on campus (Horton, Brown). We had, like, no freshmen ever that big and we suddenly see two in consecutive years.

So, if we "stop" Furman on that play, it's going to be because we don't call an aggressive attacking/blitzing playcall and let the players sit in a zone. It sounds like a weird or ineffective strategy for stopping the run, but it's pretty effective this year and I'm inclined to think we call less blitzes because of our DC's faith in the DL (we've had less sacks this year, yet we're pretty on par with our average run defense). That's not always a good thing (for instance, Hodges killed us with this approach), but it's something to keep in mind.

As for the 44 yard touchdown run, a couple things (it's going to sound like I'm taking away from Furman for a sec, but I'm not, hear me out). That play happened because our safety missed a tackle and misjudged a block (he went inside and should have gone outside). In that sense, it was a "broken play," but at the same time that's the point of the play from Furman's perspective. In the games I've watched Furman play, they've been strong up the middle and effective on the perimeter. The reason you go to the perimeter is for those missed tackle opportunities. It's part of the offense, it's who they are.

Having said that, I'm pretty that was the longest run Wofford's given up all year. So you can read it two ways: it's either an outlier or part of the norm to expect against Furman. I view it as the latter. Wofford did a really good job stopping Furman's run game relative to other defenses Furman's played this year, but the yardage from the run is on par with what you'd expect Furman's stellar run game to perform against a stellar defense such as Wofford.

And I think that's also epitomized the kind of year Wofford's had. Though the next play we stopped the two point conversion, we wouldn't be in that situation had we stopped that run play. We're bad at stopping the plays that keep it close, but good at stopping the plays that will beat us.



I have no idea who Billy Napier is, but rest assured, had Ayers retired we wouldn't have hired Clay (though to be honest, I wouldn't have been against it). Offensive Coordinator Wade Lang is pretty much the coach in waiting. he's been at Wofford 25 years and he's about 13 years or so younger than Ayers.


Napier led furman to the national title game in 2001. Efficient winner for 3 years. Now on move at Clemson and Alabama w Dabo and Saban .. at Az State now? - maybe a future head coach. was ranked the nation's best college recruiter one year ! Woff hated on him in fun I think ... he killed Woff on a last second throw in the 'mud bowl' one year which (if I recall, along w the VMI loss) kept Woff out of the playoffs that year.. Many would say Woff should have been in playoffs that year and I might agree -but that is a different subject.













STATS GAME LOG (https://www.foxsports.com/college-football/billy-napier-player-game-log)




2000
FURMAN (https://www.foxsports.com/college-football/furman-paladins-team-stats?season=2000)
5
27
50
54.0%
10.0
353
7.1
70.6
1
3
32
4
-24
107.9


2001
FURMAN (https://www.foxsports.com/college-football/furman-paladins-team-stats?season=2001)
14
154
245
62.9%
17.5
2154
8.8
153.9
13
11
49
15
-104
145.2


2002
FURMAN (https://www.foxsports.com/college-football/furman-paladins-team-stats?season=2002)
12
189
276
68.5%
23.0
2475
9.0
206.3
16
8
78
20
-128
157.1


PASSING
TEAM
GP
COMP
ATT
PCT
ATT/G
YDS
YDS/ATT
YDS/G
TD
INT
LNG
SCK
SCK YDS
QBR

FUGameBreaker
November 29th, 2017, 12:50 PM
Yep.

For the socon championship basketball games we've won the administration does something similar + rents charter buses. We've had games in Asheville where literally 70% of our student body is there. It's lit. It's who we are.



Unfortunately for Furman we hold our damn Spring Break during the same weekend as the SoCon basketball tournament, so we have virtually no students there at all, its who we are in that regard sadly.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:50 PM
You're basically explaining option fundamentals my man.

But I see you're point.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 12:52 PM
Unfortunately for Furman we hold our damn Spring Break during the same weekend as the SoCon basketball tournament, so we have virtually no students there at all, its who we are in that regard sadly.

I remember that. Wofford bused our students and Furman had an itty bitty band.

We won the game so I'm glad y'all didn't bring many students, but it would have been downright electric had y'all done so.

Lord knows, y'all may have to treat us like rivals soonxcoffeex

gofurman
November 29th, 2017, 12:55 PM
rizona State names Billy Napier new offensive coordinator





Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier is headed to Arizona State to be the Sun Devils' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Arizona State made the announcement Tuesday. Josh Henson, hired recently from Missouri, will share offensive coordinator duties with Napier, though Napier will take the lead.
Napier, 37, becomes the third assistant coach to leave Alabama's staff since the end of the 2016 season. Lane Kiffin left to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic, and Mario Cristobal left to become the co-offensive coordinator and run-game coordinator at Oregon.

Billy Napier becomes the third assistant coach to leave Alabama since the end of the 2016 season. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsBilly will be a tremendous fit for our football program," coach Todd Graham said in a statement. "I spoke to [current Florida head coach] Jim McElwain, Dabo Swinney and [former Clemson head coach] Tommy Bowden and each spoke highly of Billy's talents. In addition to being an exceptional offensive mind, Billy is widely recognized as one of the nation's finest recruiters. We've truly added some fine recruiters to our staff in the past month."
Napier's move effectively constitutes a Pac-12/SEC swap. He replaces Chip Lindsey at Arizona State after Lindsey left last week to be Auburn's offensive coordinator.

FUGameBreaker
November 29th, 2017, 12:58 PM
I remember that. Wofford bused our students and Furman had an itty bitty band.

We won the game so I'm glad y'all didn't bring many students, but it would have been downright electric had y'all done so.

Lord knows, y'all may have to treat us like rivals soonxcoffeex



As good as we are in basketball this season and the school still has spring break that same weekend, so even if we have a great season and make championship game don't expect alot of FU students there, really ticks me off, just hold spring break the freaking week after geeez

- - - Updated - - -


rizona State names Billy Napier new offensive coordinator


Alabama receivers coach Billy Napier is headed to Arizona State to be the Sun Devils' offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Arizona State made the announcement Tuesday. Josh Henson, hired recently from Missouri, will share offensive coordinator duties with Napier, though Napier will take the lead.
Napier, 37, becomes the third assistant coach to leave Alabama's staff since the end of the 2016 season. Lane Kiffin left to become the head coach at Florida Atlantic, and Mario Cristobal left to become the co-offensive coordinator and run-game coordinator at Oregon.

Billy Napier becomes the third assistant coach to leave Alabama since the end of the 2016 season. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsBilly will be a tremendous fit for our football program," coach Todd Graham said in a statement. "I spoke to [current Florida head coach] Jim McElwain, Dabo Swinney and [former Clemson head coach] Tommy Bowden and each spoke highly of Billy's talents. In addition to being an exceptional offensive mind, Billy is widely recognized as one of the nation's finest recruiters. We've truly added some fine recruiters to our staff in the past month."
Napier's move effectively constitutes a Pac-12/SEC swap. He replaces Chip Lindsey at Arizona State after Lindsey left last week to be Auburn's offensive coordinator.



Arizona State fired their coach, I wonder where Napier will land now

walliver
November 29th, 2017, 01:06 PM
With tuition running $40,000-$60,000, I don't think buying a $10 ticket will make a big difference in the budget.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 01:08 PM
As good as we are in basketball this season and the school still has spring break that same weekend, so even if we have a great season and make championship game don't expect alot of FU students there, really ticks me off, just hold spring break the freaking week after geeez

- - - Updated - - -





Arizona State fired their coach, I wonder where Napier will land now

Saw some report where the AD wanted to keep Napier but can the HC.

gofurman
November 29th, 2017, 01:08 PM
First off...Did you know Coach Vaughn from Furman was recruiting RJ..you guys wanted him as a DB....RJ was recruited both ways as a player by different teams....Furman wanted him as a DB....Just a random did you know....Coach VAughn was a great dude, had some great conversations with him.

Now to the question at hand...
Great question.....Long story.....But I will limit it to a quick answer to which we can expound on at a later time. RJ was set to go to Western Kentucky.......He was recruited by Bobby Petrino personally. He oversaw his recruitment, didn't have a regional recruiter for him, when we would visit, Bobby would be our recruiting coach. Soooooo, we had a date to go to Western to receive the official offer, but we had a scheduling conflict with RJ's high school's 7 on 7 tourny on the same day, our choice to attend the High SChool obligation over the Western trip ticked off Coach Petrino and thus the offer was rescinded basically. That was on a Saturday, when Wofford heard that RJ did not commit on Saturday, the entire coaching staff was at our house that following Monday night showing us where RJ was on their priority list, with Coach Ayers. And Coach Ayers was very direct and very honest about the expectations, about the education, and about the fact that at the end of his career, RJ would be a better man and would have his degree. The recruiting period was crazy as we were all lined up to go to Uk or WKU, and when those opportunities fell through we had to start reevaluating our choices. So the FCS route became the focus, everything happens for a reason, so when we took a step back and started really concentrating on the education aspect on par or ahead of the football, the picture changed drastically. It's easy to get seduced with the process and/or flights of fancy of being sought after, but at the end of the day, I think its best to truly take it all in and make the best decision for your family and the long term success of your scholar athlete. One thing that really stood out to me about Coach Ayers was he said "I am not going to sugar coat things....This will be hard....This will be a challenge on the field....this will be difficult in the classroom, we do not cut corners...but at the end of the day..in 4 years your son will return home a better man, with a degree, and will have played some good football along the way." I was looking around for more eligibility for MY DAMN SELF after talking with Coach Ayers....lol.

For us as a family, we had to make the best decision for the long run. RJ had plenty of opportunities and scholarship offers, some were more attractive for him as a player, individually. He had opportunities to play in open offenses that wanted to get him the ball often and in space. And while those opportunities were attractive in some regards, we had to make the best decision for RJ's life. Professional opportunities from football are so miniscule that we wanted to choose the best decision for his real life. And FWIW, Coach Ayers wanted to attract a different type of receiver in that class. If you remember, Wofford landed a commitment from Alencio Graham that eventually switched over to you guys. So the thought was to add a more dynamic playmaking type of receiver instead of the bigger blocking style of receiver they had traditionally recruited. The idea was to open up a more open style of offense and they actually have, even though we may want it open even more. At the end of the day, our decision to attend Wofford was about life, moreso than just football. And I feel that we have truly benefited from that decision. RJ has blossomed as a young man, and has received a wonderful education, while also playing some pretty damn good football. The SoCon title this season really puts a nice cap on a career, obviously we want to make another deep run in the playoffs, but we have truly enjoyed our college experience with RJ.

There are sacrifices in life, and I am just proud and glad that RJ understood the bigger picture and was willing to sacrifice individual accolades for the greater achievements of the education and team accomplishments. Now, there have been many a discussion late at night frustrated with lack of opportunity at times, believe me. But, our goal has always been about life preparation over just playing ball.

Sorry for the lengthy explanation but thank you very much for the question.

Thank you for the answer. much appreciated ! good stuff -i did not know he spoke w Vaughn. interesting to hear these stories , weak by WKU imo

FUGameBreaker
November 29th, 2017, 01:10 PM
Saw some report where the AD wanted to keep Napier but can the HC.


Oh ok, interesting!

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 01:11 PM
You're basically explaining option fundamentals my man.

But I see you're point.

'cept it ain't an option.

I find this stuff fascinating. I just think it's a testament to the coaching that Furman couldn't move the ball 6 inches on the ground the last 5 years, and now they have backs the size on linebackers into the secondary before the defense even knows they have it. Same players, completely different results.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 01:24 PM
'cept it ain't an option.

I find this stuff fascinating. I just think it's a testament to the coaching that Furman couldn't move the ball 6 inches on the ground the last 5 years, and now they have backs the size on linebackers into the secondary before the defense even knows they have it. Same players, completely different results.

Well, it's option fundamentals in the sense that you can't tell if it was a called option play or a dive until after the play. That's how you work a defense.

I'm looking at the film of the Elon game and it's interesting to me how similar Wofford and Furman are on defense. There's a lot of zone called by Furman on the defensive side of the ball. Interestingly enough, Elon called a lot of blitzes and man coverage and that's just not good against a team like Furman (including that long run).

The above observation has no bearing on the outcome of the game Saturday. I never put this much attention to detail on the film side of things, I'm now interested in seeing how the number of option teams in the conference influences play-calling tendencies. It seems like the Socon is the most diverse conference in terms of different philosophies, between the 2.5 option teams, Samford, and Western Carolina. I think that reality may hope both Wofford and Furman going forward with the playoffs, regardless of outcome.

I don't remember too many blitzes called in the first meeting but I think it shows the philosophy of both teams where they let the front 7 basically sit and read as opposed to react before reading ala Elon.


TL;DR I gave Furman some **** for the way they played Elon, but Elon really is lucky Furman turned the ball over so much. It could have been much worse, given their gameplan, even if they managed to move the ball on Furman.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 01:34 PM
Furman conceded two entire possession to Elon without running a play (fumbles on change of possession). If you assume Furman scores on 50% of their plays, and has one of the best redzone offenses in the country, two lost possessions and a pick in the endzone took almost assured points of the board. All the more drastic considering Elon immediately converted two of those turnovers to TDs.

Furman's defense isn't an iron wall, but they are pretty solid. I expect Furman to pressure the backfield more this game than the first as our CBs have really settled into their roles.

Wofford runs the ball a bunch, so you will still see Furman in a lot of zone (much easier to find a running back facing the backfield than running away from it in man coverage), but I think you will see the Paladins turn up the pressure more often than they did in week 1. Especially if they can carve out a little lead.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 01:34 PM
'cept it ain't an option.

I find this stuff fascinating. I just think it's a testament to the coaching that Furman couldn't move the ball 6 inches on the ground the last 5 years, and now they have backs the size on linebackers into the secondary before the defense even knows they have it. Same players, completely different results.

Right - it’s a designed FB Dive BendBack...most likely called because, in a prior play, they noticed the pre-snap movement and playside overcommit of E*Loans LB’s in response to the wing formation / orbit motion. Eyes in the sky don’t lie and they also can see what to do to get by!

Running the Football is more about pride than anything else. A Coaching Staff has to take immense pride in their Team’s ability to run the football. I can assure everyone this Furman Staff has that pride. Then, the OL has to want to run the ball more than they want to breathe or eat or whatever else O-Lineman passionately want to do. They have to feel that every bit of their self-worth as human beings depends on their Team’s ability to run the ball. Then the WR’s have to buy-in TOTALLY. They can still dream about big catches, but they have to be internally just as excited (or more so) about making a key or big block leading to a 7 yard run. Yep, I meant 7 yards. Finally, the QB has to prefer handing it off to the FB over throwing a TD Pass OR he has to convince the rest of the Team that he does. Oh, I didn’t mention RB’s...because, if everyone above is doing these things, a mediocre RB (who doesn’t fumble, will also block, and can catch) is good enough. Now, put an an NFL-caliber RB back there...and you win Championships!

It’s simple.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ElCid
November 29th, 2017, 01:45 PM
Meanwhile, last year in the rematch against the Citadel, we beat them by 14, a 17 point swing from last year, a higher margin than how we beat Chatt, Furman, Mercer, Western Carolina and equal to tennessee tech.

Were we head and shoulders above the Citadel all of a sudden? No. There's just volatility in small numbers when you average them out, when in reality one or two plays can swing the scoreboard in that direction. That's all I'm predicting in this one. My gut makes me think it's the case because of how all the **** talk is going to motivate a pretty much even or better team to play their best.

Yeah but don't forget, it was a 7 point game in last year's playoff until we got desperate and threw that pick 6. If we have to pass, it is never good. Still counts but it was your defense and our QBs bad throwing ability rather than your O. One play....your volatility factor mentioned. That is why I think this will be a crazy game on Saturday. One play may turn it. The big question is who will have that one big play. Going to be exciting. OT would not surprise me, or anyone else for that matter, either.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 01:47 PM
I just watched most of the Furman snaps against Elon. TL;DW: zone defense seemed to be more effective than blitzes and man defense, but I didn't study beyond the eye test. Elon linebackers did a lot of reacting but not a lot of reading.

Now I'm watching the Furman/Wofford game as a compare/contrast for both.

PaladinFan
November 29th, 2017, 02:04 PM
Right - it’s a designed FB Dive BendBack...most likely called because, in a prior play, they noticed the pre-snap movement and playside overcommit of E*Loans LB’s in response to the wing formation / orbit motion. Eyes in the sky don’t lie and they also can see what to do to get by!

Running the Football is more about pride than anything else. A Coaching Staff has to take immense pride in their Team’s ability to run the football. I can assure everyone this Furman Staff has that pride. Then, the OL has to want to run the ball more than they want to breathe or eat or whatever else O-Lineman passionately want to do. They have to feel that every bit of their self-worth as human beings depends on their Team’s ability to run the ball. Then the WR’s have to buy-in TOTALLY. They can still dream about big catches, but they have to be internally just as excited (or more so) about making a key or big block leading to a 7 yard run. Yep, I meant 7 yards. Finally, the QB has to prefer handing it off to the FB over throwing a TD Pass OR he has to convince the rest of the Team that he does. Oh, I didn’t mention RB’s...because, if everyone above is doing these things, a mediocre RB (who doesn’t fumble, will also block, and can catch) is good enough. Now, put an an NFL-caliber RB back there...and you win Championships!

It’s simple.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I assume that's a luxury of having a guy like George Quarles in the booth. Elon certainly seems to have anticipated something in Furman's play calling to send two linebackers towards the orbit motion. That play probably is a nice chunk of yards anyway because Jacob Conrad (RT) doesn't touch a soul. He blocks down at the next level, but there's no one to hit. He darn near makes the tackle for Elon by trying to find someone to block and nearly missed tripping up Wilcox.

I would wager that on that defensive call, one of Elon's safeties should have stepped up into the backside gap. Seems like it is bad business to send 8 defenders to one side of the field and leave no one to defend the wide side.

It also appears that Gordon is the playside "A" Back on that play. I imagine that allows Furman to leave the backside DE completely unblocked and send Conrad to the linebacker. The DE has to stay home and cover the reverse. If the DE shows that he will crash down on that play, I expect it wouldn't be long before you'd see Blazejowski flip the ball to Gordon on the end around.

FUBeAR
November 29th, 2017, 02:06 PM
If the DE shows that he will crash down on that play, I expect it wouldn't be long before you'd see Blazejowski flip the ball to Gordon on the end around.

http://mom.girlstalkinsmack.com/image/032012/Shhh,%20things%20he%20does%20not%20need%20to%20kno w.jpg

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 02:29 PM
Verdict on comparing Elon to Furman/Wofford's defense.

Way too aggressive on the former, lots of reacting, not enough reading.

And Wofford and Furman both read as much as you'd think for a bunch of guys going to Wofford or Furman. Lots of grown man football in this game this week.

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 05:26 PM
As a reminder that there's a little bit more to life than football:

http://www.goupstate.com/news/20171129/long-way-home-for-terriers-george-gbesee

(it's pronounced BeeSee, if you're wondering)

walliver
November 29th, 2017, 05:30 PM
Yeah but don't forget, it was a 7 point game in last year's playoff until we got desperate and threw that pick 6. If we have to pass, it is never good. Still counts but it was your defense and our QBs bad throwing ability rather than your O. One play....your volatility factor mentioned. That is why I think this will be a crazy game on Saturday. One play may turn it. The big question is who will have that one big play. Going to be exciting. OT would not surprise me, or anyone else for that matter, either.

In the regular season loss, we outplayed the Citadel in every category except the score. The post-season 14 point win was an evenly fought game that could have gone either way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

gofurman
November 29th, 2017, 07:33 PM
In the regular season loss, we outplayed the Citadel in every category except the score. The post-season 14 point win was an evenly fought game that could have gone either way.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I am confused. - Is Woff giving tickets to students for free or not? I saw this posted elsewhere. Appreciate information

Reign of Terrier
November 29th, 2017, 07:35 PM
Wofford is paying to give their students free admission.

gofurman
November 29th, 2017, 08:16 PM
Wofford is paying to give their students free admission.
I hate it. But smart

Did I hear other schools are doing this too?

Has this been happening for a while at Woff or new this year? Booster money or Terrier club? Either way v smart