Wofford, Furman renew South Carolina’s oldest football rivalry

[woffordgrad94]

http://blogs.wofford.edu/from_the_archives/2007/12/14/the-first-footb/

Nice historical piece to kick off Furman week with. I look forward to a great game with the Paladins! On paper, Wofford would appear to be the favorites. But as Lee Corso says, “not so fast my friend.” Consider that Furman had a bye this weekend while Wofford had to go on a long road trip to face a tough Chattanooga Mocs team. So not only is Furman better rested, they got an extra week to prepare for Wofford’s option. An option that they have historically defended very well, definitely as well as anyone else in the SoCon. And the game is in Greenville, a place Wofford has not played especially well in. And Furman will be wanting to defend their home field. So I’m not about to pencil in a W for this one just yet. And Furman’s record and past results are totally meaningless to me going into this one. The Paladins are a talented team and they will be ready for the Terriers and it would really help turn their season around to knock us off. If the Wofford football team does not come with their A game, they will have problems.

[PaladinNation]

It's been a weird year for Furman Football.

The pre-season quarterback musical chairs - in hindsight put the Furman offense in some very predictable game plans.
I don't think anyone thought Furman would have to almost re-invent itself on the offensive line. The Kroeber move to center didn't work, one of the few linemen with starting experience left the team after one game, so Furman enters the ETSU matchup trying to jumpstart its offense.

So far Furman has been consistent at being inconsistent :-)

I do think this matchup will be a brawl.

Coach Hendrix and Coach Lusk appear to be getting the o-line in shape - the talent is there it's just young - four sophomores and a junior. Dirks has been bottled up so far this season, the good news for DINS fans, we have some very good young tailbacks. All three - Morehead, Wynn, and Watkins can break off a big run at any time. Wynn and Watkins are also big enough to get yards inside.

Last season Furman had only one weapon on the edge Morehead, IMO that severely limited Furman in the playoff matchup against Wofford. Wynn and Watkins give Furman two more players that can get yards on the outside. BUT, the big difference between Furman last year and Furman this year is the big play ability of true freshman Dejuan Bell. His high school tape had some of us Furman fans dreaming of DaVon Fowlkes in purple and white. Bell showed glimpses of his speed and playmaking ability but against ETSU he made a costly mistake on not calling a fair catch that led to a safety. I can count on one hand the players that have played for Furman that can outrun anyone on the opposing team - Bell showed his HS film wasn't a fluke against Western.

I hope with Furman finally settling in on offense - the coaches can find a way to get Furman's other offensive weapons jumpstarted Thomas Gordon and Cam Burnette.

Finally, defense… not sure what to expect here. Furman has had some players nicked up I believe we get some guys back for this game that could help. Against ETSU and Western Furman played strong against the run it was the big passing plays that cost them. Redshirt freshmen Adrain Hope has been a monster the last two games - it will be interesting to see how he stacks up against an option team.

One other thought: against Western Furman at times showed this Furman team can run the option game better than last season's team. I think Roberts is better on the edge than Blaze, and will only get better. Sadly, I think this Furman team will be nasty as the season gets into the second half. The schedule hiccup and the offensive personal musical chairs slowed the development of the offense under first-year OC George Quarles.

[PaladinFan]

I think the "better on paper" argument should also consider that Furman has largely played tougher teams.

That said, I think that anyone in the SoCon is beatable, and Wofford is no exception. This is a different looking team than last year's group that faced Wofford, and the Paladins are less likely to keep throwing fullbacks at the strength of Wofford's defense.

[Reign of Terrier]

I think we know less about Furman than we do Wofford.

Sure, Furman has played a tougher schedule, but for most of that schedule they laid an egg. There's reason to believe that some improvement has happened there.

Meanwhile, Wofford has eclipsed 500 yards for the third time in five games. We had only done that once since Eric Breteinstein graduated coming into this season. Our defense looks better than it has in a while.

If we limit turnovers, I think we win.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[WestCoastAggie]

It would be fitting SoCon fashion if Furman wins this game. For the sake of sanity however, I hope Wofford wins, and shows dominance in the win.

[PaladinNation]

It would be fitting SoCon fashion of Furman wins this game. For the sake of sanity however, I hope Wofford wins, and shows dominance in the win.

I bet sanity goes out the window in this matchup. Some of Wofford's best teams - the 2003 Terriers a semi-finalist that season - nipped Furman 7-6 in Greenville. I think Furman missed a 50 yard plus field goal attempt at the end of that game. 2016 Wofford won in Greenville 34-27 that was not a good Furman team. History tells us Furman should play tough and this game as YoungTerrier said could come down to mistakes and miscues.