SoCon Week 10 Power Rankings/Pick 'Em

[ElCid]

The SOCON is a fur ball so I guess nobody wanted to start this thread this week.

Power Poll
1 - Furman - choosing number one is hard, but I think Furman edges Wofford by a hair
2 - Wofford - Yappers are hot of the Paladins heels
3 - The Citadel - The Dogs seem back in the groove for sure
4 - Chattanooga - They are getting better each week, but as I have mentioned before, they have a bear of a schedule
5 - Samford - quietly bidding their time and notching Ws
6 - VMI - I hope this is permanent
7 - ETSU - lots of close Ls
8 - Mercer - Tough year
9 - Western Carolina - Yikes

Predictions
WCU at VMI - I wonder if the Keydets will overlook them at home......maybe a little, but they get a closer than desired W - 45-37
Furman at Chattanooga - "IF" Furman can put them on their heels early, it could be a long day for the Mocs, if not, then watch out - 37-24
The Citadel at ETSU - Must win for the Dogs to stay alive; they will be tested but prevail - 23-16
Samford at Mercer - Rooting for the Bears to knock Samford out of running even if they are longshot; I think Bears bounce back at home - 42-38
Wofford at Clemson - I think the outcome is known, but how many points can Wofford score? I bet more than a lot of ACC teams have - 45-13

Playoffs - things will get much clearer the next couple weeks since "almost" ever game these teams have remaining are among themselves Furman - in driver seat for Auto with one loss to my Dogs, at large possible (Games to go - UTC, VMI, WOF)
Wofford - also in drivers seat still with one loss to Samford, at large unlikely pending FBS game (Games to go - MER, FUR, CIT)
Chatty - Loss to Wofford will make it harder but still in drivers seat with one loss, at large unlikely (Games to go - FUR, SAM, CIT, VMI)
The Citadel - needs help with Losses to VMI and Samford, but crucial W on Furman, at large possible (Games to go - ETSU, UTC, WOF)
Samford - needs help with losses to VMI and especially Furman, at large highly unlikely pending FBS game (Games to go - MER, UTC, WCU)
VMI - Needs help with losses to Mercer and especially Wofford, at large highly unlikely pending FBS game (Games to go - WCU FUR, UTC)

[bonarae]

VMI
Furman
The Citadel
Samford
Clemson

[Reign of Terrier]

VMI
Furman (in a close one)
Citadel (also close)
Samford (wouldn't be surprised if Mercer won)
Clemson (don't even pick the terriers to be contrarian, I can tell by Coach Conklin's comments that he's just trying to keep players healthy and keep them under 50-60)

[FU_Paladin08]

Furman: are those high scoring games the norm or the outliers? At least defense seems consistent.
Wofford: what were they thinking in the first two games? Trying to find a solution to a problem that didn’t exist.
Citadel: gotta wonder how special this season could have been if Rainey stayed healthy? Looking for that back against the wall, late season surge.
UTC: time to see if they can beat the top half of the SoCon, 0-1 so far.
VMI: they have to be thrilled with their 4 wins
Samford: not bad one year removed from the FCS leading passer graduating
ETSU: funny how all those close games were wins last year and losses this year
Mercer: only thing keeping them from the bottom is WCU
WCU: poor Tyrie



VMI
Citadel
Furman
Samford
Clemson

[PaladinFan]

Just an observation about Furman. A lot (and I mean, A LOT) of discussion centers around the offense. I think folks are missing the story of the Paladin defense, which has surrendered only 13.6 ppg in SoCon play.

Only one SoCon team - the Citadel - has managed to put more than 14 points on the board (27). The Bulldogs benefited from three scoring drives totaling 17 points that came off possessions starting inside the Furman 35 yard line and one of which started on the Furman 12. The Citadel scored only 10 points on drives starting in negative territory, 7 of which came on their opening drive.

The defense really has only had one sub-par outing against Georgia State in week 2 (a team that is now 6-2 and putting up over 36 ppg in the SunBelt). Other than that, they've been pretty stout all season.

I think if the defense continues to hold, they'll give us a pretty good shot to win every week. Our offense has struggled some the last two weeks, especially in the passing game, but the law of averages will eventually win out.

[Mocs123]

Western Carolina 27
VMI 38 – If the Cats are without Tyrie, it could be a longday for WCU fans.

Furman 21
Chattanooga 24 – Chattanooga pulls off the upset at home.

The Citadel 21 – The Bucs keep this close but The Citadelheads back to the coast with a victory.
ETSU 17

Wofford 7
Clemson 49 – Clemson runs all over Wofford.

Samford 42 – Samford stays alive in Macon
Mercer 27

1.) Furman
2.) Wofford
3.) Chattanooga
4.) The Citadel
5.) Samford
6.) VMI
7.) ETSU
8.) Mercer
9.) Western Carolina

Possible D1 Wins (not counting $ games except for TheCitadel’s win over GT)
Furman – 8
Wofford – 8
Chattanooga -8
The Citadel – 8
Samford – 7
Mercer – 6 (out)
VMI- 6 (out)
ETSU – 4 (out)
Western Carolina -4 (out)

[ElCid]

Just an observation about Furman. A lot (and I mean, A LOT) of discussion centers around the offense. I think folks are missing the story of the Paladin defense, which has surrendered only 13.6 ppg in SoCon play.

Only one SoCon team - the Citadel - has managed to put more than 14 points on the board (27). The Bulldogs benefited from three scoring drives totaling 17 points that came off possessions starting inside the Furman 35 yard line and one of which started on the Furman 12. The Citadel scored only 10 points on drives starting in negative territory, 7 of which came on their opening drive.

The defense really has only had one sub-par outing against Georgia State in week 2 (a team that is now 6-2 and putting up over 36 ppg in the SunBelt). Other than that, they've been pretty stout all season.

I think if the defense continues to hold, they'll give us a pretty good shot to win every week. Our offense has struggled some the last two weeks, especially in the passing game, but the law of averages will eventually win out.

Yeah, that's true, but we also fumbled twice deep into Furman territory. I sense a hint of spin on your part. We still gained 392 yards and, up to that point, the highest rushing total for us, 360.

[Reign of Terrier]

Just an observation about Furman. A lot (and I mean, A LOT) of discussion centers around the offense. I think folks are missing the story of the Paladin defense, which has surrendered only 13.6 ppg in SoCon play.

Only one SoCon team - the Citadel - has managed to put more than 14 points on the board (27). The Bulldogs benefited from three scoring drives totaling 17 points that came off possessions starting inside the Furman 35 yard line and one of which started on the Furman 12. The Citadel scored only 10 points on drives starting in negative territory, 7 of which came on their opening drive.

The defense really has only had one sub-par outing against Georgia State in week 2 (a team that is now 6-2 and putting up over 36 ppg in the SunBelt). Other than that, they've been pretty stout all season.

I think if the defense continues to hold, they'll give us a pretty good shot to win every week. Our offense has struggled some the last two weeks, especially in the passing game, but the law of averages will eventually win out.

Worth mentioning that Mercer, Chuck South, and Western Carolina's offense are trash and Samford's a different beast (or, chihuahua) when Liam Welch takes snaps.

Not saying Furman's defense isn't good (it's easily up there with Wofford and ETSU's) but Udinski in dry conditions, Chattanooga at the level they're playing now, and Wofford hitting their stride will tell us more than what we've seen thus far.

(Meanwhile, about half of the points Wofford has given up in the last month has happened while up 4 scores or more: VMI, ETSU, GW, etc)

[kdinva]

....VMI: they have to be thrilled with their 4 wins....


..would be more thrilled if it were six wins..... xbangx ....couldn't tackle Mercer's HBs and get their offense off the field. Bobby Morris game: team was still a bit ga-ga after the ETSU win. They've learned their lesson since...

[PaladinFan]

Worth mentioning that Mercer, Chuck South, and Western Carolina's offense are trash and Samford's a different beast (or, chihuahua) when Liam Welch takes snaps.

Not saying Furman's defense isn't good (it's easily up there with Wofford and ETSU's) but Udinski in dry conditions, Chattanooga at the level they're playing now, and Wofford hitting their stride will tell us more than what we've seen thus far.

(Meanwhile, about half of the points Wofford has given up in the last month has happened while up 4 scores or more: VMI, ETSU, GW, etc)

I don't think Furman's defense is a product of the schedule, but we'll see what is in store on Saturday.

- - - Updated - - -


..would be more thrilled if it were six wins..... xbangx ....couldn't tackle Mercer's HBs and get their offense off the field. Bobby Morris game: team was still a bit ga-ga after the ETSU win. They've learned their lesson since...

Anyone talking about Mercer's offense without recognizing that their "big three" of Devezin, Riddle, and Durden have not played together most of the season is missing the point.

Devezin is a horse. Mercer is a different animal when he's in the backfield.

[PaladinFan]

Yeah, that's true, but we also fumbled twice deep into Furman territory. I sense a hint of spin on your part. We still gained 392 yards and, up to that point, the highest rushing total for us, 360.

Yes and no. A defense forcing fumbles (and they were both forced) in their territory is good defense, not necessarily luck.

The Citadel had a decent game offensively, but some of that was caused by Furman's complete inability to possess the ball most of the afternoon. Some of that was the Citadel's defense. Some of that was spiking the ball three yards in front of open receivers.

[ElCid]

Yes and no. A defense forcing fumbles (and they were both forced) in their territory is good defense, not necessarily luck.

The Citadel had a decent game offensively, but some of that was caused by Furman's complete inability to possess the ball most of the afternoon. Some of that was the Citadel's defense. Some of that was spiking the ball three yards in front of open receivers.


To use a phrase, yes and no. I get forced fumbles, but there is two halves to forced fumbles. One half is not holding on or being reckless. I see all teams do this. Most of the time they get away with it. Sometimes, not so much. That isn't to take away from any defense doing what they need to do, but we have lost too many simply by not practicing good ball control. It's funny, but every time we get one taken away, for the next 20 minutes or so I see our runners all of sudden be concerned about holding on a bit more secure. It's like clock work. But yeah, your QB's timing was a tad off as well, but some of that was we had some good defensive pressure that got his noggin working a bit faster than he had been used to.

[FUBeAR]

Anyone talking about Mercer's offense without recognizing that their "big three" of Devezin, Riddle, and Durden have not played together most of the season is missing the point.

Devezin is a horse. Mercer is a different animal when he's in the backfield.

Surprised to see you speaking truth to majority like this about Mercer, but you are EXACTLY right...except you omitted 1 key Player - Austin Sanders, BY FAR, Mercer’s best O-Lineman, was injured late @ FU & did not play vs. Campbell & Chatt. Not only did they miss his blocking ability, but they gravely missed his leadership of a relatively inexperienced OL. Take the starting QB & CLEARLY the best Player out of each of the other Offensive Position Groups of any other SoCon Team & see how they do.

As a Mercer Fan, all things considered, I was a bit pleased with the Bears performances against VMI & CIT (y’all do know Mercer was winning that game with 8 minutes to go...right?).

On another note, I expect the anklegnawers “top” Defense to get lit up the next 3 weeks. We finally got a glimpse of how much of a “top” Defense they are when Chatt’s meh Offense hung 400+ yards & shoulda-been-36 on them. Clemson is going to mash them like a waffle-tread boot in fresh dog droppings. Then, I expect even crippled, playing-out-the-string, Mercer, will run up 35+ on them, before my Paladins treat ‘em in their kennel like they treated Samford in theirs.

[Reign of Terrier]

Chattanooga hung over 400 yards on ETSU. To say they are mediocre at this point in the season is kind of dumb. They found a running back and a run game, which they desperately missed from August 2017 to September 2019.

Ailym Ford is the best freshman running back in the FCS and the best running back in the socon. It's no coincidence that Chattanooga's offense has taken off since he's been getting more carries. If Arth didn't drop the ball (no pun intended) on Tiano's development, teaching him to throw a ball that wasn't a bullet, UTC would be sitting at 6-2 right now.

Mercer won't score 20 before garbage time on Wofford.

Some of y'all have a clear case of Wofford derangement syndrome at this point. Lots of folks had Wofford #2 last week behind Chattanooga, and now that Wofford has beaten Chattanooga they're switching up Chattanooga for the Citadel.

Oh and that Terrible Passing Quarterback Joe Newman now has a better completion percentage than Darren Grainger.

There's variation with every team and every game: with the exception of the Samford game Furman has looked pretty average scoring the ba (17 against ETSU, 28 against Western, 10 against the Citadel). I don't think it's fair to say Furman is bad now or their offense is bad, but you can make the case for their weakness better than Wofford's defense being weak. The stats just don't back that up.

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[PaladinFan]

Chattanooga hung over 400 yards on ETSU. To say they are mediocre at this point in the season is kind of dumb. They found a running back and a run game, which they desperately missed from August 2017 to September 2019.

Ailym Ford is the best freshman running back in the FCS and the best running back in the socon. It's no coincidence that Chattanooga's offense has taken off since he's been getting more carries. If Arth didn't drop the ball (no pun intended) on Tiano's development, teaching him to throw a ball that wasn't a bullet, UTC would be sitting at 6-2 right now.

Mercer won't score 20 before garbage time on Wofford.

Some of y'all have a clear case of Wofford derangement syndrome at this point. Lots of folks had Wofford #2 last week behind Chattanooga, and now that Wofford has beaten Chattanooga they're switching up Chattanooga for the Citadel.

Oh and that Terrible Passing Quarterback Joe Newman now has a better completion percentage than Darren Grainger.

There's variation with every team and every game: with the exception of the Samford game Furman has looked pretty average scoring the ba (17 against ETSU, 28 against Western, 10 against the Citadel). I don't think it's fair to say Furman is bad now or their offense is bad, but you can make the case for their weakness better than Wofford's defense being weak. The stats just don't back that up.

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Alex Ramsey has more rushing yards, double the touchdowns, and more yards per game on the same number of carries. Oh, and he is doing that while playing for VMI. Ramsey has better numbers right now.

Devin Wynn has about 80 fewer rushing yards than Ford on 80 fewer carries. Wynn is averaging right about 2.5 yards more per run than Ford. So, he's far more efficient in the running game - more yards, fewer carries.

[Smitty]

Western Carolina 27
VMI 38 – If the Cats are without Tyrie, it could be a longday for WCU fans.



It's already been a long year, another game won't change much

[PaladinFan]

To use a phrase, yes and no. I get forced fumbles, but there is two halves to forced fumbles. One half is not holding on or being reckless. I see all teams do this. Most of the time they get away with it. Sometimes, not so much. That isn't to take away from any defense doing what they need to do, but we have lost too many simply by not practicing good ball control. It's funny, but every time we get one taken away, for the next 20 minutes or so I see our runners all of sudden be concerned about holding on a bit more secure. It's like clock work. But yeah, your QB's timing was a tad off as well, but some of that was we had some good defensive pressure that got his noggin working a bit faster than he had been used to.

I think the Citadel did a solid job of bringing late pressure. The one thing that has always concerned me about Furman's offense is that so many of the plays are slow developing with all the play action fakes. Pressure can work, but you have to get back there.

I raised this on our forum, but interestingly, Grainger's issue really isn't in the decision-making. He's really not forcing throws he shouldn't be. He's thrown two interceptions on 134 attempts. His issue has just been getting the ball to the receiver.

Even against the Citadel, Furman receivers were running open downfield. We just couldn't get the ball to them.

[PaladinFan]

Chattanooga hung over 400 yards on ETSU. To say they are mediocre at this point in the season is kind of dumb. They found a running back and a run game, which they desperately missed from August 2017 to September 2019.

Ailym Ford is the best freshman running back in the FCS and the best running back in the socon. It's no coincidence that Chattanooga's offense has taken off since he's been getting more carries. If Arth didn't drop the ball (no pun intended) on Tiano's development, teaching him to throw a ball that wasn't a bullet, UTC would be sitting at 6-2 right now.

Mercer won't score 20 before garbage time on Wofford.

Some of y'all have a clear case of Wofford derangement syndrome at this point. Lots of folks had Wofford #2 last week behind Chattanooga, and now that Wofford has beaten Chattanooga they're switching up Chattanooga for the Citadel.

Oh and that Terrible Passing Quarterback Joe Newman now has a better completion percentage than Darren Grainger.

There's variation with every team and every game: with the exception of the Samford game Furman has looked pretty average scoring the ba (17 against ETSU, 28 against Western, 10 against the Citadel). I don't think it's fair to say Furman is bad now or their offense is bad, but you can make the case for their weakness better than Wofford's defense being weak. The stats just don't back that up.

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Sure is coincidental that you repeat the same stuff young terrier posts on the Wofford forum, who, of course, has publicly sworn off posting here.

[Reign of Terrier]

Alex Ramsey has more rushing yards, double the touchdowns, and more yards per game on the same number of carries. Oh, and he is doing that while playing for VMI. Ramsey has better numbers right now.

Devin Wynn has about 80 fewer rushing yards than Ford on 80 fewer carries. Wynn is averaging right about 2.5 yards more per run than Ford. So, he's far more efficient in the running game - more yards, fewer carries.Ramsey benefits from playing in the air raid offense. When your defenders are spread out, that opens up more running lanes, especially if you're passing first. I've seen both Ramsey and Ford play and Ford was the hardest to take down. He's very Breitenstein-like in his ability to fall forward, but also has the power to force himself through holes, break tackles, and he has a killer spin move.

They didn't lean on him as much for the first half of the season but in socon play he's been:

30 for 195 and 2 touchdowns
32 for 116 and 1 touchdown
31 for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns
29 for 136 and 2 touchdowns

So he's 123 for 642 in that time. In his first four he was 59 for 251. He's being leaned on a lot more (due to injuries) and it's no coincidence that Chatts offense is opening up with his productivity. But please, tell me more how you don't actually watch the games and just look at the Monday morning stat sheet.


I look forward to you singing his praises once he innevitibly impressed you against Furman. I'm not saying the Mocs will win, but Rusty Wright has them playing like a good team again.

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[Reign of Terrier]

Sure is coincidental that you repeat the same stuff young terrier posts on the Wofford forum, who, of course, has publicly sworn off posting here.

Oh you got me. What an amazing and insightful burn that's so obvious it's in my signature.


I mean, I have nothing on the obnoxious posts of the paladin forum poster the jackal, who says stuff that's on its face dumb, such as Samford lost to Furman because they aren't used to playing bigger, stronger, faster, better players.

Follow up question: where were those players against the Citadel?

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[ElCid]

Chattanooga hung over 400 yards on ETSU. To say they are mediocre at this point in the season is kind of dumb. They found a running back and a run game, which they desperately missed from August 2017 to September 2019.

Ailym Ford is the best freshman running back in the FCS and the best running back in the socon. It's no coincidence that Chattanooga's offense has taken off since he's been getting more carries. If Arth didn't drop the ball (no pun intended) on Tiano's development, teaching him to throw a ball that wasn't a bullet, UTC would be sitting at 6-2 right now.

Mercer won't score 20 before garbage time on Wofford.

Some of y'all have a clear case of Wofford derangement syndrome at this point. Lots of folks had Wofford #2 last week behind Chattanooga, and now that Wofford has beaten Chattanooga they're switching up Chattanooga for the Citadel.

Oh and that Terrible Passing Quarterback Joe Newman now has a better completion percentage than Darren Grainger.

There's variation with every team and every game: with the exception of the Samford game Furman has looked pretty average scoring the ba (17 against ETSU, 28 against Western, 10 against the Citadel). I don't think it's fair to say Furman is bad now or their offense is bad, but you can make the case for their weakness better than Wofford's defense being weak. The stats just don't back that up.

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I still think Furman can go to town on O. I am pretty sure the WCU game was in a pretty heavy rain. ETSU does have a good D as well. And we played keep away plus our D woke up big time for them. If the Paladins shake it off and get back to what they had been doing, they could win out. But I think you guys can as well, in conference. Heck, I think we can as well. I am still not sold on Chattanooga. They have had it easy, at least until this past week. They may be getting better, but time will tell. If they beat Furman, I will finally be sold. Things will clear up a bit more after this week. If Furman somehow steamrolls the Mocs, I would be worried and not because of your OT game with the Mocs, but because Furman would be back on track. Just like you guys were off track initially. I knew, and I am sure you knew, that it was an aberration. The funny thing is how some teams match up with each other in conference. Lately, transitive paths mean pretty much zilch in the SOCON.

I am sure your D is not weak. Its good, but I don't think its great. Like us, a lot of your "D" is your O hogging the ball. I am not saying that is all there is, but lots of the numbers get skewed as a result of the other team only having the ball 20-25 minutes. You are leading the conf in Opponent 3rd down and 4th down conversion rate, but last in red zone D conversion rate. Sacks look really good, but pass def efficiency is average. I was a bit surprised UTC hung as many points on you as they did. Again, we will see if they are really better or not.

[PaladinFan]

Oh you got me. What an amazing and insightful burn that's so obvious it's in my signature.


I mean, I have nothing on the obnoxious posts of the paladin forum poster the jackal, who says stuff that's on its face dumb, such as Samford lost to Furman because they aren't used to playing bigger, stronger, faster, better players.

Follow up question: where were those players against the Citadel?

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I may be dumb, but I am not obnoxious.

[ElCid]

I may be dumb, but I am not obnoxious.


I can be if you ask me to.

[Reign of Terrier]

I still think Furman can go to town on O. I am pretty sure the WCU game was in a pretty heavy rain. ETSU does have a good D as well. And we played keep away plus our D woke up big time for them. If the Paladins shake it off and get back to what they had been doing, they could win out. But I think you guys can as well, in conference. Heck, I think we can as well. I am still not sold on Chattanooga. They have had it easy, at least until this past week. They may be getting better, but time will tell. If they beat Furman, I will finally be sold. Things will clear up a bit more after this week. If Furman somehow steamrolls the Mocs, I would be worried and not because of your OT game with the Mocs, but because Furman would be back on track. Just like you guys were off track initially. I knew, and I am sure you knew, that it was an aberration. The funny thing is how some teams match up with each other in conference. Lately, transitive paths mean pretty much zilch in the SOCON.

I am sure your D is not weak. Its good, but I don't think its great. Like us, a lot of your "D" is your O hogging the ball. I am not saying that is all there is, but lots of the numbers get skewed as a result of the other team only having the ball 20-25 minutes. You are leading the conf in Opponent 3rd down and 4th down conversion rate, but last in red zone D conversion rate. Sacks look really good, but pass def efficiency is average. I was a bit surprised UTC hung as many points on you as they did. Again, we will see if they are really better or not.My point was to begrudge Furman, but to say if you apply the same level of skepticism as is applied to Wofford as you do Furman, you would come to the conclusions I outlined.

The socon season is almost 2/3 over and Wofford's still sitting at the top in the stats. Clemson will change that though.


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[Reign of Terrier]

I may be dumb, but I am not obnoxious.I dunno, that comment was pretty obnoxious

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[Mocs123]

I can't say if Ford is the best running back in the SoCon or not, as I haven't seen Ramsey yet, but I will say that Ford is very good. Considering he's a true freshman he might be better than Craine was. They have a very similar running style where they don't go down at first contact even though they arent huge backs (both 205). Ford has been a huge part of our offense and help to our team, since Arth's teams couldn't run the ball against anyone. I said that Ford was my favorite Moc since before his first carry. First off he signed with us when we didn't have a HC, so he wants to be in Chattanooga. Second in the first game against EIU we kicked a FG just before halftime. Everyone else on the sidelines ran to the locker room, but Ford ran out and high fived each one of the guys in the FG unit. This was a true freshman RB that didn't have a single carry at the time. I'm just glad he's a Moc.

That being said we have to get him some help. He's not had a scholorship backup since the ETSU game, been without a starter on the O-Liine since the JMU game, and was out two starters on the O-Line against Wofford.

Tiano hasn't had a bad year, but he's been inconsistent at times. He can be frustrating as he does some things very well like throw the deep ball, has a strong arm, and fakes well, but he sometimes struggles with the "easy" throws. He hasn't had as much help from his receiving corps as he could have either.

Lastly, I like Pizzo's call's on offense. I like his calls better than any OC we've had in a while.

[ElCid]

My point was to begrudge Furman, but to say if you apply the same level of skepticism as is applied to Wofford as you do Furman, you would come to the conclusions I outlined.

The socon season is almost 2/3 over and Wofford's still sitting at the top in the stats. Clemson will change that though.


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Hmm, I guess. I am not skeptical of Wofford at all, or Furman, or my Dogs. I am skeptical about Chatty still. Maybe I am missing it. I was skeptical of ETSU from the get go. Mercer is a little down from what I thought. Samford is about where I expected. They have this "also ran" thing down pat. WCU is a bit down from what I expected. Their O should have been much better. VMI is way up from what I, and every other human on the planet, expected. xthumbsupx

[PaladinFan]

Hmm, I guess. I am not skeptical of Wofford at all, or Furman, or my Dogs. I am skeptical about Chatty still. Maybe I am missing it. I was skeptical of ETSU from the get go. Mercer is a little down from what I thought. Samford is about where I expected. They have this "also ran" thing down pat. WCU is a bit down from what I expected. Their O should have been much better. VMI is way up from what I, and every other human on the planet, expected. xthumbsupx

The SoCon looks a lot like I thought it would. I'm surprised that ETSU's offense has been as bad as it has been. WCU I expected a bit more from, but playing without Adams most of the year is hard. VMI has been a surprise, certainly.

I said going into the season that Furman was going to have to get their QB situation worked out. That's about where we are. They've got their guy, but he's having the sort of typical ups and downs you might expect from a freshman signal caller.

[PaladinFan]

I can't say if Ford is the best running back in the SoCon or not, as I haven't seen Ramsey yet, but I will say that Ford is very good. Considering he's a true freshman he might be better than Craine was. They have a very similar running style where they don't go down at first contact even though they arent huge backs (both 205). Ford has been a huge part of our offense and help to our team, since Arth's teams couldn't run the ball against anyone. I said that Ford was my favorite Moc since before his first carry. First off he signed with us when we didn't have a HC, so he wants to be in Chattanooga. Second in the first game against EIU we kicked a FG just before halftime. Everyone else on the sidelines ran to the locker room, but Ford ran out and high fived each one of the guys in the FG unit. This was a true freshman RB that didn't have a single carry at the time. I'm just glad he's a Moc.

That being said we have to get him some help. He's not had a scholorship backup since the ETSU game, been without a starter on the O-Liine since the JMU game, and was out two starters on the O-Line against Wofford.

Tiano hasn't had a bad year, but he's been inconsistent at times. He can be frustrating as he does some things very well like throw the deep ball, has a strong arm, and fakes well, but he sometimes struggles with the "easy" throws. He hasn't had as much help from his receiving corps as he could have either.

Lastly, I like Pizzo's call's on offense. I like his calls better than any OC we've had in a while.

It has been my position for some time that we are seeing a resurgence of the SoCon running back. There are some really talented players in these backfields.

[apaladin]

I don't see FU scoring a lot this week because of this pattern in SoCon play:
45-17-58-10-28-not much. UTC wins 31-17. Hope I have to eat those words.

[FUBeAR]

Chattanooga hung over 400 yards on ETSU...and scored way less than 1/2 of the shoulda-been-36 points they slapped up on woffy’s d.

Mercer won't score 20 before garbage time on Wofford.

Live look-in at Woffy’s d over the next 3, maybe 4 weeks...

https://i.giphy.com/media/9M5jK4GXmD5o1irGrF/giphy.gif

[843yapterrier]

1. Wofford One SoCon championship game down, three to go. (Hope for good showing but no injuries in the Valley Saturday)
2. Furman Back on track, but with bigger challenges ahead starting this weekend. (Does Hendrix ever practice with water logged 🏈s?)
3. Chattanooga Proved more legitimacy this past weekend, I’m a fan this weekend 😁.
4A. Samford Winning out potential to make it all messy. 4a via head to head vs. Citadel.
4B. Citadel Winning out potential to make it all messy
6. Mercer Spoiler or more?
7. VMI Feels like a better season than 7. COY.
8.ETSU How many close games can a team loose?
9. Western Carolina


Wofford @ Clemson
WCU @ VMI
Samford @ Mercer
Furman @ UTC
Citadel @ ETSU

[Mocs123]

8.ETSU How many close games can a team loose?



Last year we might have asked how many close games can ETSU win. I think the loss of Hendrik(sp) hurt them in intangible ways. I thought Mitchell threw a nice ball, but there is just something missing on the offensive side. Personally, I don't think they are as bad as their record this year, and weren't as good as their record last year.

[PaladinFan]

Last year we might have asked how many close games can ETSU win. I think the loss of Hendrik(sp) hurt them in intangible ways. I thought Mitchell threw a nice ball, but there is just something missing on the offensive side. Personally, I don't think they are as bad as their record this year, and weren't as good as their record last year.

In my opinion, the 2018 and 2019 seasons for ETSU aren't really as polar opposite as they might seem.

The Bucs won a conference title last year with a negative point differential. Each of ETSU's six SoCon wins were within a margin of three points. That sort of record in close games just isn't sustainable year to year.

This season, there's still a negative point differential, though the defense is statically better than it was last year. The offense is worse, which we all sort of anticipated without a clear go-to guy at QB. What we are seeing is the regression that was likely to occur anyway. The Bucs just aren't dominant enough on either side of the ball to keep winning extremely close games at the clip they were able to last season.

[PaladinNation]

Talking SoCon running backs… Furman has three other running backs that get little press.

Watkins 381 rushing yards 2 TDs, 9 yard average per rush,
Abrams 378 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 5 yard average per rush, 40 yards receiving 1 TD
Anderson 204 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 7 yard average per rush

The other thing left out of the conversation is Grainger's running ability. Grainger has rushed for 400 yards, and has four TDs.
The Grainger that played in the second half of the WCU game in the rain was a different player from the one that seemed lost against the Citadel.
I chalk it up to confidence. The 0:37 drive to kick a field goal at the end of the first half was special, it also shows how dangerous Grainger can be.
With Quarles at OC you can bet Furman is working hard to get the passing game back on track.

It's going to be a fun next three weeks in the SoCon.

[Scrappy94]

1. Wofford
2. Chattanooga
3. Furman
4. The Citadel
5. VMI
6. Samford
7. Mercer
8. ETSU
9. Western Carolina

Western Carolina @ VMI
Furman @ Chattanooga
The Citadel @ ETSU
Wofford @ Clemson
Samford @ Mercer

[walliver]

Power rankings:
1) Furman - Not as dominant as they seemed earlier in the year, but it may just be a mid-season slump
2) Wofford - Offense has picked up, but defense inconsistent. At times we defend the pass well, specially when pressure applied, but still prone to secondary breakdowns.
3) Chattanooga - still in contention, could move up this week
4) The Citadel - Inconsistent, and somewhat hard to predict
5) VMI - solid middle-of-the-pack team - which is good for VMI
6) Samford - Still my biggest negative surprise of the season, but still competing
7) Mercer - could be anywhere from 5th - 7th - Dealing well with adversity
8) ETSU - I picked them middle of the pack this year, not winning though
9) WCU - They didn't get blown out last week, that is an improvement.

This week:
WCU at VMI - VMI will move the ball, and slow down the Cants enough for a 42-28 victory.
Furman at Chattanooga - If the Pukes play like they did in September they win by 28, if they play like they did in October, the Mocs stay in a first place tie, and Paladin fans go full throttle spinning their two FBS losses as virtual wins. I suspect this is tight well into the 4th, but the Pukes pull out a 31-30 win.
The Citadel at ETSU - ETSU is not a bad team, but hasn't figure out how to win yet. If the Chucktown Pups play poorly, the Mountain Pirates could triumph, but I predict ETSU misery continues with a Citadel 35-26 win
Samford at Mercer - Bobby Lamb's hot seat is probably keeping him warm on the cool autumn evenings, and you never know which Samford team is going to show up. I think the Cubbies have enough heart in them to pull out a 27-24 win.
Wofford at Clemson - Josh Conklin is 1-0 against Dabo Swinney. It will take a great effort by the invisible 12th man who knocked down that last Chatty pass last week just to keep this game close. The Tiggers pulled their starters early in the first quarter against UNC-Charlotte, but with their current fall in the polls are not likely to do that this week. I never pick against my team. Wofford wins by -63 points, 10-73 (Understanding this requires understanding Common Core math (and no one who understand mathematics understands common core)).

Playoffs:
Either Wofford, Furman or Chatty wins the autobid. Co-champions at 7-1 would be in (there is no way for a 7-1 three-way tie). Co-champions without the autobid at 6-2 would be on the bubble. Furman's sole OOC win is Charleston Southern who isn't doing well (2-6), Wofford's OOC win (barring a win this weekend) would be Gardner-Webb which is about the same, and Chatty's best OOC win would be 0-9 Eastern Illinois which is worse.
The Citadel is still in contention but has an uphill course. Needing to beat Wofford and Chatty, and having one of those two beat Furman. The Citadel needs to win out to have any real shot at an at-large bid.

[Mocs123]

It will take a great effort by the invisible 12th man who knocked down that last Chatty pass last week just to keep this game close.

Furman's sole OOC win is Charleston Southern who isn't doing well (2-6), Wofford's OOC win (barring a win this weekend) would be Gardner-Webb which is about the same, and Chatty's best OOC win would be 0-9 Eastern Illinois which is worse.


LOL at the 12th man - that's certainly what it looked like!

Not a good year OOC for the SoCon at all - it really looks bad when you lay it out like that. The conferences best wins are GT and Austin Peay.

[PaladinFan]

Talking SoCon running backs… Furman has three other running backs that get little press.

Watkins 381 rushing yards 2 TDs, 9 yard average per rush,
Abrams 378 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 5 yard average per rush, 40 yards receiving 1 TD
Anderson 204 rushing yards, 2 TDs, 7 yard average per rush

The other thing left out of the conversation is Grainger's running ability. Grainger has rushed for 400 yards, and has four TDs.
The Grainger that played in the second half of the WCU game in the rain was a different player from the one that seemed lost against the Citadel.
I chalk it up to confidence. The 0:37 drive to kick a field goal at the end of the first half was special, it also shows how dangerous Grainger can be.
With Quarles at OC you can bet Furman is working hard to get the passing game back on track.

It's going to be a fun next three weeks in the SoCon.

I was pleased to see that Furman's coaching staff seemed more willing to let Grainger run last week. He's got good speed, is elusive in the open field, and has demonstrated an ability to be a pretty tough runner. I am a little concerned about ball security, though, as he doesn't seem to want to tuck the ball while running.

I was also glad to see Furman break out some screen calls, including the pass that broke the game open Saturday. If teams are going to keep pressuring Grainger - and I think they will - some quick screen plays will help slow that down a bit.

[Reign of Terrier]

Live look-in at Woffy’s d over the next 3, maybe 4 weeks...

https://i.giphy.com/media/9M5jK4GXmD5o1irGrF/giphy.gifYou're confusing Wofford's Defense with the 'dins against running QBs in competent offenses. Note: Wofford has one

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[apaladin]

It has been my position for some time that we are seeing a resurgence of the SoCon running back. There are some really talented players in these backfields.

I don't think the pass you are talking about was a screen pass. It was a straight sideways pass that Gordon caught and just out ran everyone. I don't think FU has thrown a true screen pass all year. They also continue to ignore the TE. The FU TE's have caught a total of 7 passes all year and I don't remember the last one.

[gofurman]

I can't say if Ford is the best running back in the SoCon or not, as I haven't seen Ramsey yet, but I will say that Ford is very good. Considering he's a true freshman he might be better than Craine was. They have a very similar running style where they don't go down at first contact even though they arent huge backs (both 205). Ford has been a huge part of our offense and help to our team, since Arth's teams couldn't run the ball against anyone. I said that Ford was my favorite Moc since before his first carry. First off he signed with us when we didn't have a HC, so he wants to be in Chattanooga. Second in the first game against EIU we kicked a FG just before halftime. Everyone else on the sidelines ran to the locker room, but Ford ran out and high fived each one of the guys in the FG unit. This was a true freshman RB that didn't have a single carry at the time. I'm just glad he's a Moc.

That being said we have to get him some help. He's not had a scholorship backup since the ETSU game, been without a starter on the O-Liine since the JMU game, and was out two starters on the O-Line against Wofford.

Tiano hasn't had a bad year, but he's been inconsistent at times. He can be frustrating as he does some things very well like throw the deep ball, has a strong arm, and fakes well, but he sometimes struggles with the "easy" throws. He hasn't had as much help from his receiving corps as he could have either.

Lastly, I like Pizzo's call's on offense. I like his calls better than any OC we've had in a while.

chatt fans

man, your FR Rb looks good. I underlined above. Which two OL are out -Moon and ?

[FU_Paladin08]

I don't think the pass you are talking about was a screen pass. It was a straight sideways pass that Gordon caught and just out ran everyone. I don't think FU has thrown a true screen pass all year. They also continue to ignore the TE. The FU TE's have caught a total of 7 passes all year and I don't remember the last one.

Miller and DeLuca have a combined 1 catch in the last 3 games. You wanna get Grainger back on track, get the ball to your “possession” receivers. Both played a big part in the GSU game where Grainger looked his best.

[ElCid]

Former Citadel Coach Charlie Taffe died today. He was a good one.

https://www.counton2.com/sports/local-sports/former-citadel-football-coach-charlie-taaffe-dies/


CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Citadel’s former head football coach Charlie Taaffe has died at age 69.
In a post on Facebook, Taaffe’s sister said he passed away after a short battle with widespread cancer.
Taaffee served as head football coach for the Citadel between 1987 and 1996 and was arguably the best in the military college’s history.

During his time with the Bulldogs, Taffee compiled a record of 55-47-1 and led the Bulldogs to five winning seasons and three trips to the playoffs....

[FUBeAR]

You're confusing Wofford's Defense with the 'dins against running QBs in competent offenses. Note: Wofford has one

Yes, I see...



Player
Att.
Gain
Loss
Net
TD
Lg.
Avg.


Joe Newman (https://woffordterriers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=5471)
21
89
16
73
0
19
3.5



...I, myself, would use no word other than “competent” to characterize an Option QB running for 3.5 yards per attempt and 0 TD’s. You definitely NAILED IT!

[843yapterrier]

31192

[FUBeAR]

31192
Awesome!...and 7.8 vs. 5 SoCon Teams is also quite impressive & amazingly similar to the SoCon only stats put up by Furman’s top rusher.

...but, very recently, against a pretty good; but not great, D...



Player
Att.
Gain
Loss
Net
Avg.


Joe Newman (https://woffordterriers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=6025)
14
74
8
66
4.7



4.7...Competent+

...but the crux of the preceding comment (a solid & gentlemanly smack-back attempt) was ‘against FU’s Defense.’ ...and all we have to go on, at this time, to validate/invalidate that comment is the most recent edition of that matchup....thus...3.5, it is, i.e., “competent”.”

[Mocs123]

chatt fans

man, your FR Rb looks good. I underlined above. Which two OL are out -Moon and ?

Our center Miskelley. I'm not sure what his status is for the Furman game. I believe he may be back this year, but don't know the extent of his injury. Moon had ACL surgery and is out for the year.

[PaladinNation]

I don't think the pass you are talking about was a screen pass. It was a straight sideways pass that Gordon caught and just out ran everyone. I don't think FU has thrown a true screen pass all year. They also continue to ignore the TE. The FU TE's have caught a total of 7 passes all year and I don't remember the last one.

Hendrix called it a screen pass - said it was the first one this year - due to all the blitzing. Also don't think it's ignoring the TE, appears to me defense are very concerned on getting beat by the TE. I agree Miller is a great weapon hopefully he gets the ball in his hands some more.

[PaladinFan]

Hendrix called it a screen pass - said it was the first one this year - due to all the blitzing. Also don't think it's ignoring the TE, appears to me defense are very concerned on getting beat by the TE. I agree Miller is a great weapon hopefully he gets the ball in his hands some more.

Just my take, but it seems at times like Grainger locks onto his primary target and sometimes misses the open secondary option.

It's not all on him, though. Our OL hasn't been as good in pass protection as they need to be.

Again, I think Furman's increased willingness to let Grainger run and mixing in some screen plays will help the overall passing game. Furman just can't let a defense camp out in the box.

[Mocs123]

Just my take, but it seems at times like Grainger locks onto his primary target and sometimes misses the open secondary option.

It's not all on him, though. Our OL hasn't been as good in pass protection as they need to be.

Again, I think Furman's increased willingness to let Grainger run and mixing in some screen plays will help the overall passing game. Furman just can't let a defense camp out in the box.


locking on to a single target can be a big problem for a lot of QB at our level, particularly young QB's. My guess is he will get better at that the next few seasons.

[PaladinFan]

locking on to a single target can be a big problem for a lot of QB at our level, particularly young QB's. My guess is he will get better at that the next few seasons.

Oh, I think he's going to be fantastic. He's making - and learning from - mistakes.

What is positive, though, is that he isn't throwing the ball to the other team and turning it over.

[gofurman]

Oh, I think he's going to be fantastic. He's making - and learning from - mistakes.

What is positive, though, is that he isn't throwing the ball to the other team and turning it over.

PaladinFan I agree. However in that Citadel game he about did. Threw it twice right into the LB hands on first or second drive.. maybe that was a harbinger of things to come that day. Hope that's outlier.


Anyone playing Furman is going to load the box and force Grainger to throw until he proves he can consistently beat them. He's proven in the past that he can, and I think the risk there is Furman could run out to a big lead on you. That's still the best way to limit the Paladin offense.

What I was glad to see on Saturday was a few more wrinkles than we saw against the Citadel. The staff was more comfortable letting Grainger run the ball, which he did well. They also mixed in some screens, which I really think we need to see more of.

Paladinfan, Ive been offline some for a few days. I completely agree with you here. Let's be honest. If you give us 5 yard runs we are going to do that all day. The best chance for the other team to beat Furman is to test Grainger. He has been great at times (GSU etc) but then less than pedestrian and once just AWFUL (v Citadel) - that was just scary bad. literally throwing the ball 5 yards short of everyone. I have been watching a long time and never seen anything like that. Ive seen Brent Rickman and guys like Bonaventure. never seen that. Our WRs were wide open all day and DG couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I have seen plays like that but never an entire game.

therefore I too like using Grainger's feet and simple screen passes to get confidence early.

Also agree the risk w stacking the box v our run is we get out to a big lead.. or we collapse like v Citadel. I think that's why I see a pattern of Furman either runs away (CSU, Mercer, Samford) when running game AND DG are on or gets in a fight (ETSU, Citadel). Vs ETSU DG was 6-14. Vs Citadel he was 5-25 xeyebrowx and there is our one FCS loss. I am sure from here on out we see defenses stack v our run and make DG beat us because he has shown (at least in rainy situations) there is a chance he won't. wcu is the possible outlier in this as DG was 4-10 but our run game was just too much for them so we pulled away in a weather afternoon from 13-7 at half to win 28-7. Sounds obvious but what I am saying is that we don't have many "medium win games" - we either race out to a lead and put the pedal to the metal (which is awesome that as opposed to laying off) or we struggle early on Its a nailbiter. Vs FCS we have won by 33, 35, 44 and 21. Or we won by 7 (ETSU) and lost by 17 (Citadel). So we only have the one close/medium 7-14 point win.

[Reign of Terrier]

I think Grainger is a good player but I also think he was overhyped after an objectively greatGeorgia State game and pulverizing bad defenses like Mercer and CSU.

He's only a freshman after all

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[gofurman]

I think Grainger is a good player but I also think he was overhyped after an objectively greatGeorgia State game and pulverizing bad defenses like Mercer and CSU.

He's only a freshman after all

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


you may well be right. I am not 100% sold on him at this point. good feet, but only time will tell.

[FUBeAR]

Interesting ‘Fun Fact’ to watch in the Samford @ Mercer game this week...



Mercer (123rd) and Samford (124th) have the two lowest time of possession averages in the FCS this season.




TIME OF POSSESSION
G
Poss. Time
Avg/G


1.
The Citadel
9
325:40
36:11


2.
Wofford
7
245:07
35:01


8.
Mercer
8
205:58
25:44


9.
Samford
8
184:21
23:02



bellhops & yapdogs are #1 & #2 in FCS, by the way.

[PaladinFan]

I think Grainger is a good player but I also think he was overhyped after an objectively greatGeorgia State game and pulverizing bad defenses like Mercer and CSU.

He's only a freshman after all

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I'm not sure "overhyped" is the right word, but he's had the ups and downs you'd expect from a freshman QB.

The biggest knock right now is the completion percentage. If that completion percentage ticks back up closer to 60%, I think you'll start seeing Furman win by much bigger margins again.

I also think it is worth noting that Grainger is supported by mostly freshmen at the center of Furman's offensive attack. The Center (Jumper) is a true freshman. Most of the five rotational backs Furman employs (Anderson, Roberto, Abrams) are freshmen. Devin Wynn is the only non-frehsman/sophomore in Furman's backfield.

[kdinva]

Interesting ‘Fun Fact’ to watch in the Samford @ Mercer game this week...



Mercer (123rd) and Samford (124th) have the two lowest time of possession averages in the FCS this season.




TIME OF POSSESSION
G
Poss. Time
Avg/G


1.
The Citadel
9
325:40
36:11


2.
Wofford
7
245:07
35:01


8.
Mercer
8
205:58
25:44


9.
Samford
8
184:21
23:02



bellhops & yapdogs are #1 & #2 in FCS, by the way.

Mercer's number includes 36 min. TOP vs. VMI..... xconfusedx

IF only the Keydets could have tackled Mercer's RBs that day.....

[PaladinNation]

The back half of the football season is loaded with landmines for so many teams.

Wofford is on the road @Clemson, @Mercer, @Citadel has Furman at home
Furman is on the road @UTC, @Wofford, has VMI and Point at home
UTC is on the road @Samford, @VMI, has Furman and Citadel at home
Citadel is on the road @ETSU, @UTC, has Wofford at home
VMI is on the road @Furman, @Army, has WCU and UTC at home

That's a lot of big matchups.

Wofford has a loaded backend schedule, not saying it's going to happen but Wofford could lose its last four games. I think the Mercer matchup is going to be dangerous for the Terriers. Furman vs Wofford will be big, and playing the Dogs in Charleston if played right now I'd go advantage ChuckTown Dogs.

Furman has to keep its head focused against a very good Moc team and play through any adversity that could happen in the game. It appears the Dins have worked through playing in the rain as well as due to rain in the upstate the Dins have practiced everyday this week in the rain. I'll state the obvious a team with first time starters at crucial positions confidence and focus is key.

As Furman enters its last four games of the season and possible playoff games looming, when does Dejaun Bell see the field?

[Reign of Terrier]

Wofford will not lose to Mercer. Mercer gives up well over 200 yards on the ground per game. Their defense has allowed opposing teams to score 27 or more in each of the last 6 games.

Wofford's offense, last I checked, was #1 in total offense. It won't break off *too much* playing Clemson, but expect them to remain top 3.

When I say "Wofford derangement syndrome," I mean some are using wishful thinking here.

Western Carolina, ETSU and Mercer, when it all averages out, are the worst teams in the league this year. I wouldn't pick them to beat anyone outside of the other two this year.

Wofford, Furman, and the Citadel are at the top. Chattanooga is TBD. Samford and VMI can beat and lose to anyone. Mercer vs Wofford is not going to be a matchup game like ETSU vs the Citadel (the only "upset" I see possible from the bottom 3). They just don't have the defense.

If I'm wrong, I'll eat my crow, but there's really no good reason to think, before the game is played that Mercer will beat Wofford.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[ElCid]

Interesting ‘Fun Fact’ to watch in the Samford @ Mercer game this week...



Mercer (123rd) and Samford (124th) have the two lowest time of possession averages in the FCS this season.




TIME OF POSSESSION
G
Poss. Time
Avg/G


1.
The Citadel
9
325:40
36:11


2.
Wofford
7
245:07
35:01


8.
Mercer
8
205:58
25:44


9.
Samford
8
184:21
23:02



bellhops & yapdogs are #1 & #2 in FCS, by the way.

That's just weird. Didn't seem to matter for Samford though.

[Mocs123]

That's just weird. Didn't seem to matter for Samford though.

They can still put plenty of points on the board, but I think it's detrimental to their defense. Their D gets tired and winded and that generally turns games into a shootout. That will win you some games, but I don't think that will win championships. The Samford offense needs to help their defense out.

[ElCid]

I think the Mercer matchup is going to be dangerous for the Terriers. Furman vs Wofford will be big, and playing the Dogs in Charleston if played right now I'd go advantage ChuckTown Dogs.


Except we haven't done well against Wofford at home. I wish it was in the upstate myself.xrotatehx Massey gives us a current home field advantage of -0.57. There are only 8 FCS teams that have a negative HFA. We currently have the second worse HFA in FCS. I remember when it used to be tough to play in Charleston. Ugh. It sort of odd, but the teams with the top HFA are the 14 teams of the Big Sky. Must be the air travel required for most games.


Wofford will not lose to Mercer. Mercer gives up well over 200 yards on the ground per game. Their defense has allowed opposing teams to score 27 or more in each of the last 6 games.

Wofford's offense, last I checked, was #1 in total offense. It won't break off *too much* playing Clemson, but expect them to remain top 3.

When I say "Wofford derangement syndrome," I mean some are using wishful thinking here.

Western Carolina, ETSU and Mercer, when it all averages out, are the worst teams in the league this year. I wouldn't pick them to beat anyone outside of the other two this year.

Wofford, Furman, and the Citadel are at the top. Chattanooga is TBD. Samford and VMI can beat and lose to anyone. Mercer vs Wofford is not going to be a matchup game like ETSU vs the Citadel (the only "upset" I see possible from the bottom 3). They just don't have the defense.

If I'm wrong, I'll eat my crow, but there's really no good reason to think, before the game is played that Mercer will beat Wofford.


This is pretty much spot on.

Also, I think Clemson may actually go for some style points this week, if you let them, to help in the computer rating. They need 50+ to not take a hit. There is a diminishing result above that, but I would expect their best effort against you. I though you might be able to get a couple scores on them, but the more I think on it, maybe not. If you reach 250 yards I would be impressed.

[Mocs123]

xrotatehx Massey gives us a current home field advantage of -0.57. There are only 8 FCS teams that have a negative HFA. We currently have the second worse HFA in FCS. I remember when it used to be tough to play in Charleston. Ugh. It sort of odd, but the teams with the top HFA are the 14 teams of the Big Sky. Must be the air travel required for most games.



Interesting....Where on Massey's site can you find the HFA? I've always felt Charleston was a tough place to play for whatever that's worth.

[PaladinFan]

They can still put plenty of points on the board, but I think it's detrimental to their defense. Their D gets tired and winded and that generally turns games into a shootout. That will win you some games, but I don't think that will win championships. The Samford offense needs to help their defense out.

There are some games this season where Samford's defense was on the field for almost twice as many plays as their offense.

That's who Chris Hatcher is, unfortunately. If you are going to move as fast as they do on offense, you really need to be lighting up the scoreboard against everyone. Samford just isn't good enough offensively to play the style the play, in my opinion.

[ElCid]

Interesting....Where on Massey's site can you find the HFA? I've always felt Charleston was a tough place to play for whatever that's worth.

Just go to the main rating page for FCS.....https://www.masseyratings.com/cf2019/fcs/ratings

Look at the HFA column and click on any of the "HFA" labels on it. Every column is sortable.

I will add that the SOCON has some of the lowest HFAs in general.

I should have also said, that if you are using a phone you may have to use one of the dropdown menus to get "more columns". Just depends. Sometimes they all come up, sometimes they don't initially.

[PaladinFan]

Wofford will not lose to Mercer. Mercer gives up well over 200 yards on the ground per game. Their defense has allowed opposing teams to score 27 or more in each of the last 6 games.

Wofford's offense, last I checked, was #1 in total offense. It won't break off *too much* playing Clemson, but expect them to remain top 3.

When I say "Wofford derangement syndrome," I mean some are using wishful thinking here.

Western Carolina, ETSU and Mercer, when it all averages out, are the worst teams in the league this year. I wouldn't pick them to beat anyone outside of the other two this year.

Wofford, Furman, and the Citadel are at the top. Chattanooga is TBD. Samford and VMI can beat and lose to anyone. Mercer vs Wofford is not going to be a matchup game like ETSU vs the Citadel (the only "upset" I see possible from the bottom 3). They just don't have the defense.

If I'm wrong, I'll eat my crow, but there's really no good reason to think, before the game is played that Mercer will beat Wofford.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I haven't seen much this season in the FCS to definitively say anything will or won't happen. There are three or four really good teams, and then a lot of teams that are pretty hit or miss.

Wofford will be favored against Mercer, but if historic trends mean anything, the Bears typically finish .500 and they more often than not upset at least one ranked team every season. History suggests they have a few wins and an upset still left in the tank.

I think a lot of Tyray Devezin. He almost single handedly beat Furman last year in Macon. If he's healthy, I'll give them a puncher's chance against anyone. David Durden is also listed on the depth chart. If he's a full go, that's another big weapon.

[Mocs123]

Very interesting. I wonder how that is calculated? It does seem odd that the top 14 teams are all Big Sky teams? I know they have to travel a lot but don't MVFC teams have about the same travel?

[ElCid]

Very interesting. I wonder how that is calculated? It does seem odd that the top 14 teams are all Big Sky teams? I know they have to travel a lot but don't MVFC teams have about the same travel?

I think they bus a lot more. SOCON is all bus, MVFC might be 60/40 bus air, I don't know. Big Sky might be 80/20 air bus. Just guessing. And then you have a lot of altitude out there to deal with at a few locations.

[Mocs123]

Also odd that Chattanooga seems to have the largest home field advantage in the conference? I find that odd as I love our team, I love our city, I even think we have a nice stadium, but an imposing atmosphere it's not. The stadium holds 21K so it looks empty with 10K, and we don't have the rowdiest crowd in my opinion. Of current SoCon oponents, I've only been to ETSU and Samford so I obviously haven't seen everyones game day atmosphere first hand, but I find it hard to imagine Chattanooga having the best.

[kdinva]

WCU 24 at VMI 45
Furman 27 at UT-C 23
The Citadel 34 at ETSU 24
Samford 35 at Mercer 37
Wofford 20 at Clemson 51

[PaladinFan]

PaladinFan I agree. However in that Citadel game he about did. Threw it twice right into the LB hands on first or second drive.. maybe that was a harbinger of things to come that day. Hope that's outlier.



Paladinfan, Ive been offline some for a few days. I completely agree with you here. Let's be honest. If you give us 5 yard runs we are going to do that all day. The best chance for the other team to beat Furman is to test Grainger. He has been great at times (GSU etc) but then less than pedestrian and once just AWFUL (v Citadel) - that was just scary bad. literally throwing the ball 5 yards short of everyone. I have been watching a long time and never seen anything like that. Ive seen Brent Rickman and guys like Bonaventure. never seen that. Our WRs were wide open all day and DG couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. I have seen plays like that but never an entire game.

therefore I too like using Grainger's feet and simple screen passes to get confidence early.

Also agree the risk w stacking the box v our run is we get out to a big lead.. or we collapse like v Citadel. I think that's why I see a pattern of Furman either runs away (CSU, Mercer, Samford) when running game AND DG are on or gets in a fight (ETSU, Citadel). Vs ETSU DG was 6-14. Vs Citadel he was 5-25 xeyebrowx and there is our one FCS loss. I am sure from here on out we see defenses stack v our run and make DG beat us because he has shown (at least in rainy situations) there is a chance he won't. wcu is the possible outlier in this as DG was 4-10 but our run game was just too much for them so we pulled away in a weather afternoon from 13-7 at half to win 28-7. Sounds obvious but what I am saying is that we don't have many "medium win games" - we either race out to a lead and put the pedal to the metal (which is awesome that as opposed to laying off) or we struggle early on Its a nailbiter. Vs FCS we have won by 33, 35, 44 and 21. Or we won by 7 (ETSU) and lost by 17 (Citadel). So we only have the one close/medium 7-14 point win.

College football, I think, has created a peculiar environment where style points matter almost as much as real points. Other sports don't suffer from this. Margin of victory does not matter near as much in other sports regardless of the quality of the opponent. No baseball team has ever cared whether they win 10-1 or 2-1. The goal is to win the game.

We look at football in a sort of zero sum mentality. We expect the offense to be an unstoppable force and the defense an unmovable object. In reality, though, all those parts of the game should be working in concert together. The play calling, strategy, and focus of the game should center around the singular goal of winning. Who cares if the margin is 7, 21, or 40? Why does that even matter?

There are few, if any, athletes are team that are at the top of their game every time out. The real testament to a team, I think, is when they are able to get wins even though things aren't exactly working the way they want.

Sometimes a pitcher doesn't have his "best stuff." The great pitchers are the ones that can still find ways to get guys out and put his team in a position to win the game. Football is the same way in my opinion. Sometimes you aren't peak. You still have to find a way to win.

[Reign of Terrier]

College football, I think, has created a peculiar environment where style points matter almost as much as real points. Other sports don't suffer from this. Margin of victory does not matter near as much in other sports regardless of the quality of the opponent. No baseball team has ever cared whether they win 10-1 or 2-1. The goal is to win the game.

We look at football in a sort of zero sum mentality. We expect the offense to be an unstoppable force and the defense an unmovable object. In reality, though, all those parts of the game should be working in concert together. The play calling, strategy, and focus of the game should center around the singular goal of winning. Who cares if the margin is 7, 21, or 40? Why does that even matter?

There are few, if any, athletes are team that are at the top of their game every time out. The real testament to a team, I think, is when they are able to get wins even though things aren't exactly working the way they want.

Sometimes a pitcher doesn't have his "best stuff." The great pitchers are the ones that can still find ways to get guys out and put his team in a position to win the game. Football is the same way in my opinion. Sometimes you aren't peak. You still have to find a way to win.

This right here.

At the Wofford-Chattanooga game, I was sitting with an older gentleman and I was talking about how Chattanooga was calling a great game (good shuttle pass for a touchdown when we had our third down package, good zone read by Tiano that was sold excellently, etc.). He made the comment "well that means we're getting out-coached."

Internally, I face-palmed. In football you can do everything right and the other team can do and one player can make one mistake and it's a touchdown. At this level consistency is underrated. What separates Wofford and Furman from the rest of the conference is that consistency. I think we're in the midst of seeing Chattanooga develop it and the Citadel too.

[PaladinFan]

This right here.

At the Wofford-Chattanooga game, I was sitting with an older gentleman and I was talking about how Chattanooga was calling a great game (good shuttle pass for a touchdown when we had our third down package, good zone read by Tiano that was sold excellently, etc.). He made the comment "well that means we're getting out-coached."

Internally, I face-palmed. In football you can do everything right and the other team can do and one player can make one mistake and it's a touchdown. At this level consistency is underrated. What separates Wofford and Furman from the rest of the conference is that consistency. I think we're in the midst of seeing Chattanooga develop it and the Citadel too.

I think Furman fans tend to overlook that.

Furman didn't play particularly well against the Citadel. That was really the first time they'd played objectively poorly since the 4th quarter of the ETSU game last season. Furman doesn't always win, but you know what you going to get from them every time out.

[Mocs123]

This right here.

At the Wofford-Chattanooga game, I was sitting with an older gentleman and I was talking about how Chattanooga was calling a great game (good shuttle pass for a touchdown when we had our third down package, good zone read by Tiano that was sold excellently, etc.). He made the comment "well that means we're getting out-coached."

Internally, I face-palmed. In football you can do everything right and the other team can do and one player can make one mistake and it's a touchdown. At this level consistency is underrated. What separates Wofford and Furman from the rest of the conference is that consistency. I think we're in the midst of seeing Chattanooga develop it and the Citadel too.

It's nice to hear someone say that we might be out-coaching somebody this year. I can promise that nobody thought that the past two years.

[Reign of Terrier]

It's nice to hear someone say that we might be out-coaching somebody this year. I can promise that nobody thought that the past two years.Todd Arth lost that game because he never developed Tiano to throw a ball other than a fast ball.

No wonder he is 0-7 at Akron YIKES

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[CitadelGrad]

Except we haven't done well against Wofford at home. I wish it was in the upstate myself.xrotatehx Massey gives us a current home field advantage of -0.57. There are only 8 FCS teams that have a negative HFA. We currently have the second worse HFA in FCS. I remember when it used to be tough to play in Charleston. Ugh. It sort of odd, but the teams with the top HFA are the 14 teams of the Big Sky. Must be the air travel required for most games.



This is pretty much spot on.

Also, I think Clemson may actually go for some style points this week, if you let them, to help in the computer rating. They need 50+ to not take a hit. There is a diminishing result above that, but I would expect their best effort against you. I though you might be able to get a couple scores on them, but the more I think on it, maybe not. If you reach 250 yards I would be impressed.


Clemson will go for style points. Based on SOS so far, the first CFP ranking will likely put Penn State ahead of Clemson.

[gofurman]

College football, I think, has created a peculiar environment where style points matter almost as much as real points. Other sports don't suffer from this. Margin of victory does not matter near as much in other sports regardless of the quality of the opponent. No baseball team has ever cared whether they win 10-1 or 2-1. The goal is to win the game.

We look at football in a sort of zero sum mentality. We expect the offense to be an unstoppable force and the defense an unmovable object. In reality, though, all those parts of the game should be working in concert together. The play calling, strategy, and focus of the game should center around the singular goal of winning. Who cares if the margin is 7, 21, or 40? Why does that even matter?

There are few, if any, athletes are team that are at the top of their game every time out. The real testament to a team, I think, is when they are able to get wins even though things aren't exactly working the way they want.

Sometimes a pitcher doesn't have his "best stuff." The great pitchers are the ones that can still find ways to get guys out and put his team in a position to win the game. Football is the same way in my opinion. Sometimes you aren't peak. You still have to find a way to win.

I understand this. I was just saying Furman has a couple of patterns.. One is we don't seem to win 'close'. This year we either kill someone ( FCS we have won by 33, 35, 44 and 21. Or we won by 7 (ETSU) and lost by 17 (Citadel) ) or maybe lose... And that's good. Who wouldn't want to kill other teams? I mean, we can say a Win is a Win but we see what losing the QB has done to ETSU this year. all those close wins and now it's 0-5 ! I don't think you could take one guy (even QB) off Furman and have quite that same effect. Heck, that proof is there" we made playoffs in 2017 with one QB. SoCon champs in 2018 with a different Qb.. and are doing fine this year with yet another qb ! Three years of good success, three different QBs.

The other pattern this year is ability (or lack of) to take a gut punch and respond with a win (which is sort of related). Now, granted two were vs FBS where you wear out.. but GSU we were winning 20-3 and they came roaring back and punched us to make it 20-17 at half. we did fight but lost 48-42. Our D never figured them out after the first few drives. Vs VTech we led 14-3 at half. VT hit the 3rd quarter hard and was up 17-14 before we got moving.. we never quite got back in it though again the team didn't quit fighting. Citadel was just a HORRIBLE passsing day and then OL couldnt get a yard etc. Cit was a little different but we never really had any O (though D was good) until Q 4. The one time we might have responded to adversity would be ETSU with the fumble keeping it close and we finally pulled away y for 17-10. I never really worried about wcu as they just couldn't stop our run


PaladinFan and youngterrier, I am not looking for style points - I get that. Though sure I would prefer to win by 25 than 7 as it may be indicative of team strength .. we often see NDSU cruise, right? I was just commenting on patterns really.

[FUBeAR]

1. Furman
2. Chattanooga
3. The Citadel
4. Mercer
5. Wofford
6. VMI
7. Samford
8. ETSU
9. Western Carolina

Western Carolina @ VMI - 31-28
Furman @ Chattanooga - 34-14
The Citadel @ ETSU 21-20
Wofford @ Clemson 1,000,000 - 14
Samford @ Mercer 30-24

[PaladinFan]

I understand this. I was just saying Furman has a couple of patterns.. One is we don't seem to win 'close'. This year we either kill someone ( FCS we have won by 33, 35, 44 and 21. Or we won by 7 (ETSU) and lost by 17 (Citadel) ) or maybe lose... And that's good. Who wouldn't want to kill other teams? I mean, we can say a Win is a Win but we see what losing the QB has done to ETSU this year. all those close wins and now it's 0-5 ! I don't think you could take one guy (even QB) off Furman and have quite that same effect. Heck, that proof is there" we made playoffs in 2017 with one QB. SoCon champs in 2018 with a different Qb.. and are doing fine this year with yet another qb ! Three years of good success, three different QBs.

The other pattern this year is ability (or lack of) to take a gut punch and respond with a win (which is sort of related). Now, granted two were vs FBS where you wear out.. but GSU we were winning 20-3 and they came roaring back and punched us to make it 20-17 at half. we did fight but lost 48-42. Our D never figured them out after the first few drives. Vs VTech we led 14-3 at half. VT hit the 3rd quarter hard and was up 17-14 before we got moving.. we never quite got back in it though again the team didn't quit fighting. Citadel was just a HORRIBLE passsing day and then OL couldnt get a yard etc. Cit was a little different but we never really had any O (though D was good) until Q 4. The one time we might have responded to adversity would be ETSU with the fumble keeping it close and we finally pulled away y for 17-10. I never really worried about wcu as they just couldn't stop our run


PaladinFan and youngterrier, I am not looking for style points - I get that. Though sure I would prefer to win by 25 than 7 as it may be indicative of team strength .. we often see NDSU cruise, right? I was just commenting on patterns really.

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.

Bottom line is that Furman has beaten something like 11 of the last 13 FCS teams they've played. There aren't many teams in the nation that can say that.

[gofurman]

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.

Bottom line is that Furman has beaten something like 11 of the last 13 FCS teams they've played. There aren't many teams in the nation that can say that.

I probably am not articulating it well. I guess I am saying Furman either shoots out to a nice lead by Q2 and then just races out to a big win or it’s. A dog fight. Might sound obvious but it is More a pattern with us than with most teams in SoCon. Woff Sam I had no idea who would win at half. Chat Woff I had no idea the winner even at half. Furman vs CSU or Mercer or Sam etc I knew we were rolling. Even western I didn’t worry at 13-7half. If Furman can just start well we roll. First 20 minutes are huge for us. I think DG feeds off early success more than an older Qb who is perhaps even keeled. He needs a little early success and I agree w you I am glad to see a few more runs for him and screen passes to get him going. We can’t beat the best teams without some passing success and deception in the run game. Hope we can run well and give him some easy passes to start at UTC. Also I agree our D is great

the one guy that really scares me tomorrow is the RB. Tackle him! Let’s win Furman

[SUPharmacist]

VMI
Chattanooga
Citadel
Mercer
Clemson

[BearDownMU]

What in the world is going on with Furman? This is not the same football team I watched the first few weeks of the season.

[gofurman]

What in the world is going on with Furman? This is not the same football team I watched the first few weeks of the season.

There is your answer. Grainger at QB just has been off the past few weeks. Sooo. finally enter Sisson as backup QB - we come back from down score of 0 - 9 (Grainger w a pick and fumble) to win 35-20. All we need to keep the running game going is someone to complete some drn passes. Sisson does that and makes good reads too. Furman 35 - 20. so w Sisson its 35-11. We almost held em to 12. Our D is really strong as PaladinFan has mentioned. Now with s little help from O hopefully we can return to normal.

some at FU have been hesitant to admit what I am saying but I just got a PM saying 'credit to you on that call of QB' - maany thought weather was a factor. I am not so sure. Hopefully Grainger returns to normal self soon.. everyone has slumps

[gofurman]

VMI
Chattanooga
Citadel
Mercer
Clemson

THANK YOU SUPharmacst - its uncanny

[ElCid]

Wow, exciting game in Johnson City. Dogs hold ETSU at goal on 4th and goal at 6 after ETSU completed pass to 1. Another come back win. Go ahead score was a late 73 yard TD pass. ETSU played really good today. Not sure how they haven't won a SOCON game. Dogs still alive.

[CitadelGrad]

Wow, exciting game in Johnson City. Dogs hold ETSU at goal on 4th and goal at 6 after ETSU completed pass to 1. Another come back win. Go ahead score was a late 73 yard TD pass. ETSU played really good today. Not sure how they haven't won a SOCON game. Dogs still alive.

We got our asses whipped all game and still came away with the win. Either ETSU is jinxed or The Citadel is a team of destiny.

[ElCid]

Also, I think Clemson may actually go for some style points this week, if you let them, to help in the computer rating. They need 50+ to not take a hit. There is a diminishing result above that, but I would expect their best effort against you. I though you might be able to get a couple scores on them, but the more I think on it, maybe not. If you reach 250 yards I would be impressed.


Wow, Wofford gains 256 against Clemson....impressive.:D

[kdinva]

Kudos to WCU for their win in Lexington. Adams played the whole game, showed no signs of any limp or any injury. Showed great leadership. WCU picked off Udinski early in the 4th quarter (ending his streak at 391), at the WCU 10, and the 'Cats drove 90 yards and got a HUGE TD, on a 4th and 1 HB burst from the VMI 41. VMI with a total of five turnovers (led to 17 Cat points), and VMI blew six points in the kicking game. WCU had the ball for 37 minutes (Mercer had the ball for 36 minutes in their win over VMI), kept the VMI offense on the sideline.

This is the 4th straight game for VMI vs. WCU that 4 or 5 plays made the difference, and WCU won all four.

Hard to believe that "this" WCU team was winless in the SoCon prior to today....

[gofurman]

Kudos to WCU for their win in Lexington. Adams played the whole game, showed no signs of any limp or any injury. Showed great leadership. WCU picked off Udinski early in the 4th quarter (ending his streak at 391), at the WCU 10, and the 'Cats drove 90 yards and got a HUGE TD, on a 4th and 1 HB burst from the VMI 41. VMI with a total of five turnovers (led to 17 Cat points), and VMI blew six points in the kicking game. WCU had the ball for 37 minutes (Mercer had the ball for 36 minutes in their win over VMI), kept the VMI offense on the sideline.

This is the 4th straight game for VMI vs. WCU that 4 or 5 plays made the difference, and WCU won all four.

Hard to believe that "this" WCU team was winless in the SoCon prior to today....

winless western wins.. ETSU winless almost beats Citadel - there is a fine line in SoCon top and bottom

[gofurman]

I probably am not articulating it well. I guess I am saying Furman either shoots out to a nice lead by Q2 and then just races out to a big win or it’s. A dog fight. Might sound obvious but it is More a pattern with us than with most teams in SoCon. Woff Sam I had no idea who would win at half. Chat Woff I had no idea the winner even at half. Furman vs CSU or Mercer or Sam etc I knew we were rolling. Even western I didn’t worry at 13-7half. If Furman can just start well we roll. First 20 minutes are huge for us. I think DG feeds off early success more than an older Qb who is perhaps even keeled. He needs a little early success and I agree w you I am glad to see a few more runs for him and screen passes to get him going. We can’t beat the best teams without some passing success and deception in the run game. Hope we can run well and give him some easy passes to start at UTC. Also I agree our D is great

the one guy that really scares me tomorrow is the RB. Tackle him! Let’s win Furman

UTC has themselves a nasty RB - hes a freshman. ! and indeed he is veeery hard to tackle ! he is a real beast

[PaladinFan]

Kudos to WCU for their win in Lexington. Adams played the whole game, showed no signs of any limp or any injury. Showed great leadership. WCU picked off Udinski early in the 4th quarter (ending his streak at 391), at the WCU 10, and the 'Cats drove 90 yards and got a HUGE TD, on a 4th and 1 HB burst from the VMI 41. VMI with a total of five turnovers (led to 17 Cat points), and VMI blew six points in the kicking game. WCU had the ball for 37 minutes (Mercer had the ball for 36 minutes in their win over VMI), kept the VMI offense on the sideline.

This is the 4th straight game for VMI vs. WCU that 4 or 5 plays made the difference, and WCU won all four.

Hard to believe that "this" WCU team was winless in the SoCon prior to today....

WCU with #12 under center is a completely different animal.

[BearDownMU]

WCU with #12 under center is a completely different animal.

Sometimes. He played against us. lol

[PaladinFan]

In case you didn't see it, check out the game sealing play by Hamp Sisson.

Furman goes for it on 4th and 2 with :15 left in the game. UTC initially slows down Devin Abrams, who is then basically wrapped up and shoved by Sisson, the QB. He basically drives him free of his tackler and into the end zone.

https://twitter.com/ESPNCFB/status/1190758124652826624?s=20

[kdinva]

Mercer misses a 35 yd FG at 00:01............tied at 23, going to OT.

[PaladinFan]

Mercer broadcasters don't know the targeting rule.

[kdinva]

mercer and Samford going to OT #3, tied at 33

[Smitty]

WCU with #12 under center is a completely different animal.


The coaches also changed a few things on offense this weekend which seemed to help out.

[BearDownMU]

Mercer broadcasters don't know the targeting rule.

Not really *Mercer's broadcasters*. We are the one team in the league that doesn't use grads or homers or former players or people associated with the program. We do for radio. Not for TV. TV is Frank Malloy (UGA grad who is an anchor on the CBS affiliate in Macon) and Jason Patterson (who is a SoCon guy).

[FUBeAR]

Western Carolina @ VMI - 31-28
Furman @ Chattanooga - 34-14
The Citadel @ ETSU 21-20
Wofford @ Clemson 1,000,000 - 14
Samford @ Mercer 30-24

Frickin’ ETSU’s dumba$$ coaches cost FUBeAR a perfect day w/ 3 upsets picked. Been tellin’ ‘em to just run the dang ball all season & what do they do with the game on the line? 4 passes. SMH!

How ‘bout my Catamounts. 1st time I’ve picked them to win a SoCon game in...forever. Had a hunch.

Well...Clemson’s O kinda let me down, but they called off the dogs a bit too early to hit the 7 figure mark I projected against woffy’s suspect D.

[gofurman]

WCU with #12 under center is a completely different animal.

somewhat - I agree but its played up too much how he has been out. He has played in most games. He missed NC State (loss anyway) and NG (win anyway - barely). only socon game out was when hurt v Wofford , right? so really there SoCon record is pretty right on... he was hurt v Furman but only at the end.. So #12 has been in every game except WOff and they have lost them all anyway. makes me wonder about next year... though I belive in TEAM. And Western has freshman OL and youngsters all over the place. other than qb they will be better in a lot of places next year

[PaladinFan]

Not really *Mercer's broadcasters*. We are the one team in the league that doesn't use grads or homers or former players or people associated with the program. We do for radio. Not for TV. TV is Frank Malloy (UGA grad who is an anchor on the CBS affiliate in Macon) and Jason Patterson (who is a SoCon guy).

I thought they did a fine job. They just weren't up to speed on the targeting rules, which, admittedly, has changed just about every season.

[PaladinFan]

Every time I see them play, I am always amazed at how physically big Samford's offensive line is.

[SU DOG]

Every time I see them play, I am always amazed at how physically big Samford's offensive line is.

Unfortunately every time I see us play there are other things that amaze me.:(

[PaladinNation]

After watching Hamp Sisson play when a game is on the line with starters I'm guessing his days as just the mop-up guy are over. Grainger has big upside but I have to be honest he's learning live. Sisson is a savvy RPO QB, it's saying something that he can come into a game down 9-0 and play a more complete game than a 5th year QB that played in the SEC for two years.

Excited to see how the Dins play in these final two SoCon match ups, also curious to see how defenses scheme now that you have to consider Sisson.

PS, thank goodness Furman got Sisson over Wofford.

[kdinva]

The coaches also changed a few things on offense this weekend which seemed to help out.

and they worked......37 minutes T O P for the Cats was HUGE, as much so as forcing FIVE VMI turnovers. Keydets had 6 TO's in all of their first 8 games....

[kdinva]

...How ‘bout my Catamounts. 1st time I’ve picked them to win a SoCon game in...forever. Had a hunch......

must be the water in Lexington, anytime someone really needs a win, they come to Lex Vegas and get healed.....

[gofurman]

Every time I see them play, I am always amazed at how physically big Samford's offensive line is.

yep, i think the theory is we (Sam) either pass block or if we miss it will take the opposing DE about 3 seconds to get around our huge OL anyway. Those dudes are huge and make it easy to get off a quick pass. I honestly don't know how you can get to a QB in 3 seconds at all much less getting around those OL at Sam

[gofurman]

After watching Hamp Sisson play when a game is on the line with starters I'm guessing his days as just the mop-up guy are over. Grainger has big upside but I have to be honest he's learning live. Sisson is a savvy RPO QB, it's saying something that he can come into a game down 9-0 and play a more complete game than a 5th year QB that played in the SEC for two years.

Excited to see how the Dins play in these final two SoCon match ups, also curious to see how defenses scheme now that you have to consider Sisson.

PS, thank goodness Furman got Sisson over Wofford.

here on AGS we are more HONEST.. on gopaladins.. not so much. Its a little funny as I see the same guys here and there (gopaladins.com) and yet the posts here are clearly different here. That's not snarky - its just true. The SAME people post things here they dont post there. Anyway, Both FU QBs are freshman (well, Redshirt FR) and will have ups and downs - the coaches decided Grainger's slump has just taken a little too long and it was time for a change. Tough call w a guy who killed it early in season and was national freshman of the week... But it worked and every player should be about the TEAM winning.

SO Glad we have both Grainger and Sisson. Very glad. Grainger has a tremendous upside but, as is often the case w freshman, is going through a short rough patch. That's actually good in a way - I spoke with Chandler Catanzaro this morning (NFL kicker from Clemson) and he said the BEST THING to ever happen to him in football was losing and struggling his freshman year in college. I thought that was interesting after watching FU this year. Catanzaro told me the struggles made him so much better later. He said the early success he had in some places didn't help him.


To PaladinNations point recruiting is HUGE - glad we have Sisson and Grainger on our team

[PaladinNation]

GF you push it on gopaladins - IMO too far - from being "honest" to always being right — your truth serum posts are not everyone's cup of tea.

My post is my honest take and not critical of DG. He played one-year of QB in high school and this is his first season as a starter. DG is far from the first QB to be pulled for struggling during a game.

You stir things up on the home base and the general feeling is YOU want to be right and want people to give you credit for whatever…

It's not about you on here or gopaladins. You were railed on because you felt wronged by FuBear over a worn out topic "Grainger's Rain performance" and turned it into a thread that - whether it was your intention or not called out DG. And thankfully it was removed.

Move on.

[The Cats]

must be the water in Lexington, anytime someone really needs a win, they come to Lex Vegas and get healed.....

Now, don't try to take our job away from us...... we usually make every team we play look like North Dakota State.

[kdinva]

Now, don't try to take our job away from us...... we usually make every team we play look like North Dakota State.

so noted, yet WCU always makes a few more plays than the Keydets in these contests....

[PaladinFan]

After watching Hamp Sisson play when a game is on the line with starters I'm guessing his days as just the mop-up guy are over. Grainger has big upside but I have to be honest he's learning live. Sisson is a savvy RPO QB, it's saying something that he can come into a game down 9-0 and play a more complete game than a 5th year QB that played in the SEC for two years.

Excited to see how the Dins play in these final two SoCon match ups, also curious to see how defenses scheme now that you have to consider Sisson.

PS, thank goodness Furman got Sisson over Wofford.

Possibly. I'm of two minds on this.

If Sisson were the clear superior option, he'd be the starter, not Grainger. Regardless of what posters may think or say, no one knows more about those players than that coaching staff. They have consistently given the ball to Grainger.

Grainger just seems to be struggling to get the ball to open receivers. The Furman passing game was as open yesterday as it was against WCU, the Citadel, and ETSU. Sisson was able to find the receivers and get the ball out. Grainger has struggled to do that the last few weeks.

The pass to Ryan Miller in the 2nd Q was a good example. Beautiful play action, the defense was out of position, and the ball is thrown a half step behind Miller, who would have run for 30 yards if not a touchdown on that play. Instead, Furman punts. Everything worked except for the ball didn't get from point A to point B.

Sisson made the plays, though, and you can't ignore that.

That said, it isn't the first time a backup QB has come in to bail out Furman. I think Jordan Sorrells came in relief and won a game against JSU a number of years ago. I remember Renaldo Gray stepping in for an ineffective Ingle Martin at the Citadel to lead the team back. It happens.

Having two game-ready QBs is a luxury. Go with the hot hand.

[FUBeAR]

That said, it isn't the first time a backup QB has come in to bail out Furman. I think Jordan Sorrells came in relief and won a game against JSU a number of years ago. I remember Renaldo Gray stepping in for an ineffective Ingle Martin at the Citadel to lead the team back. It happens.

Having two game-ready QBs is a luxury. Go with the hot hand.Certainly NOT the 1st time. In 1979 FU’s Starting QB was a SR & the returning 1978 SoCon Player of the Year. Apparently, he contracted a severe case of color blindness during the off-season & kept throwing the ball to the other Team. After opening the season 0-5, including losses to NAIA Teams, Wofford & PC, he was replaced by Tim Sorrells, father of Jordan, and FU went 5-1 the rest of the way. Only a missed XP @ VMI kept the Paladins from winning their 2nd straight SoCon Championship, a streak that would have run to 6 straight before FU had a middle of the pack finish in ‘84. That QB change took a lot of Coaching courage. This change is relatively easy, certainly carries WAY less finality & as Coach Hendrix said after game, and Mercer has seen with Riley/Riddle - “We’re going to need both of those guys.” ... and I’m sure we will.

[gofurman]

for FU or any team - struggles for any player.. ANY player whatever position, can be a great thing long-term.. they may not seem like it at the time.. but I spoke w Chandler Catanzaro today (clemson and NFL kicker) and when asked his best teacher he said "struggling my first year kicking in college was the best thing that ever happened to me"

[gofurman]

Possibly. I'm of two minds on this.

If Sisson were the clear superior option, he'd be the starter, not Grainger. Regardless of what posters may think or say, no one knows more about those players than that coaching staff. They have consistently given the ball to Grainger.

Grainger just seems to be struggling to get the ball to open receivers. The Furman passing game was as open yesterday as it was against WCU, the Citadel, and ETSU. Sisson was able to find the receivers and get the ball out. Grainger has struggled to do that the last few weeks.

The pass to Ryan Miller in the 2nd Q was a good example. Beautiful play action, the defense was out of position, and the ball is thrown a half step behind Miller, who would have run for 30 yards if not a touchdown on that play. Instead, Furman punts. Everything worked except for the ball didn't get from point A to point B.

Sisson made the plays, though, and you can't ignore that.

That said, it isn't the first time a backup QB has come in to bail out Furman. I think Jordan Sorrells came in relief and won a game against JSU a number of years ago. I remember Renaldo Gray stepping in for an ineffective Ingle Martin at the Citadel to lead the team back. It happens.

Having two game-ready QBs is a luxury. Go with the hot hand.

what is odd for Furman is we could have THREE QBs of the same age next year. Its possible Grainger, Sisson and Shiflett all get a shot at QB as R-Sophomores. not sure Ive seen that very often

[walliver]

After watching Hamp Sisson play when a game is on the line with starters I'm guessing his days as just the mop-up guy are over. Grainger has big upside but I have to be honest he's learning live. Sisson is a savvy RPO QB, it's saying something that he can come into a game down 9-0 and play a more complete game than a 5th year QB that played in the SEC for two years.

Excited to see how the Dins play in these final two SoCon match ups, also curious to see how defenses scheme now that you have to consider Sisson.

PS, thank goodness Furman got Sisson over Wofford.

I believe his high school wore very impressive Gold and Black uniforms. I was dismayed when he chose the horrible fashion choice of wearing purple.

[SU DOG]

I believe his high school wore very impressive Gold and Black uniforms. I was dismayed when he chose the horrible fashion choice of wearing purple.

Their colors are actually green & gold. Furman always seems to find good players in the B'ham Metro Area. I also think they have a large alumni group down here.

[PaladinFan]

Their colors are actually green & gold. Furman always seems to find good players in the B'ham Metro Area. I also think they have a large alumni group down here.

I would consider Birmingham one of the largest areas for Furman alums. We have routinely pulled players out of that area. There are a few now on the two deep, but maybe only one starter - DE Jonah Tibbs out of Spain Park.

I believe Sisson's sister ran cross country for Furman, so there was already a family connection.

[PaladinFan]

So, here's where I think we are in terms of playoff positioning:

1. Furman

Furman's path is simple. Beat VMI and Wofford (and almost assuredly, Point) and they'll be the auto-bid at 9-3 (7-1).

Things get a little more interesting if Furman goes 1-1 against VMI and Wofford. Furman would be 8-4 (6-2), which is usually a shoo in for a SoCon team. I still think they'll be a top 20 team, even with a loss. They won't have 7 D1s, though. However, I think there won't be that deep of a potential 24 team field, so they'd likely still be in.

2. Wofford

The Terriers has a similar path as Furman, but a bit more difficult considering they have more SoCon games remaining. Win them all, and they are in as the auto-bid at 8-3 (7-1).

A loss might do them in, especially if that loss is to Furman. At 7-4 (6-2), Wofford will be a bubble team and their only shot at a big resume-building win is against the Paladins. 7-4 with a win over Furman helps their resume tremendously.

3. The Citadel

The Citadel is in the same boat. Beat UTC and Wofford. They'd be 8-4 (6-2).

Lose one and they'll be 7-4 (5-3). That's usually not good enough in most years, though the Bulldogs do have the wildcard of the GT win - a P5 victory no other FCS team has.

4. UTC

The Mocs still have a path forward with Samford, the Citadel, and VMI. Win out, and they'd be 7-5 (6-2). They're still firmly on the bubble.

Any loss will probably do UTC in.

[Reign of Terrier]

So, here's where I think we are in terms of playoff positioning:

1. Furman

Furman's path is simple. Beat VMI and Wofford (and almost assuredly, Point) and they'll be the auto-bid at 9-3 (7-1).

Things get a little more interesting if Furman goes 1-1 against VMI and Wofford. Furman would be 8-4 (6-2), which is usually a shoo in for a SoCon team. I still think they'll be a top 20 team, even with a loss. They won't have 7 D1s, though. However, I think there won't be that deep of a potential 24 team field, so they'd likely still be in.

2. Wofford

The Terriers has a similar path as Furman, but a bit more difficult considering they have more SoCon games remaining. Win them all, and they are in as the auto-bid at 8-3 (7-1).

A loss might do them in, especially if that loss is to Furman. At 7-4 (6-2), Wofford will be a bubble team and their only shot at a big resume-building win is against the Paladins. 7-4 with a win over Furman helps their resume tremendously.

3. The Citadel

The Citadel is in the same boat. Beat UTC and Wofford. They'd be 8-4 (6-2).

Lose one and they'll be 7-4 (5-3). That's usually not good enough in most years, though the Bulldogs do have the wildcard of the GT win - a P5 victory no other FCS team has.

4. UTC

The Mocs still have a path forward with Samford, the Citadel, and VMI. Win out, and they'd be 7-5 (6-2). They're still firmly on the bubble.

Any loss will probably do UTC in.Maybe not both Wofford and the citadel are in at 7-4/7-5 (citadel plays 12), but one of them is.

It's going to be hard to keep a team with a P5 win and a top 10 win out, and it's going to be hard to keep a team 7-3 against FCS with 4 playoff wins in the last 3 years out.

As I said in another thread, the only time that the socon has not had 2 in the playoffs since the field has expanded to 24 was when literally the entire conferences but Chattanooga didn't have more than 5 D1 wins.

If the final standings look like this:
Wofford 8-3 (7-1)
Furman 8-4 (6-2)
The Citadel 7-5 (5-3)

Or
Wofford 7-4 (6-2)
Furman 8-4 (6-2)
The Citadel 8-4 (6-2)

Then we get 2+ in. Keep in mind, both Wofford and the Citadel are "hot." The citadel has won 4 straight. Wofford has won 5 in FCS play. I have hard time seeing the committee leaving out BOTH a Citadel team that finishes at least 5 of 6 or a Wofford team finishing at least 7 of 8.

What's more, if Samford breaks .500 on the year (6-5 in FCS play), I don't think you can say Wofford has any bad losses (at least compared to the rest of the bubble), provided SC State wins out (they should).

As much as people want to pretend the socon is down, the reality is that the only substinative difference from last year is that the citadel and ETSU have switched places, Furman whipped Samford, and Wofford dropped an early one to an SC state squad that was ~7 points away from the celebration bowl.

But because everyone has a hard on for the purported power conferences, they dropped Wofford like a rock and created impossible standards for any of these teams to climb the rankings.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[PaladinFan]

Maybe not both Wofford and the citadel are in at 7-4/7-5 (citadel plays 12), but one of them is.

It's going to be hard to keep a team with a P5 win and a top 10 win out, and it's going to be hard to keep a team 7-3 against FCS with 4 playoff wins in the last 3 years out.

As I said in another thread, the only time that the socon has not had 2 in the playoffs since the field has expanded to 24 was when literally the entire conferences but Chattanooga didn't have more than 5 D1 wins.

If the final standings look like this:
Wofford 8-3 (7-1)
Furman 8-4 (6-2)
The Citadel 7-5 (5-3)

Or
Wofford 7-4 (6-2)
Furman 8-4 (6-2)
The Citadel 8-4 (6-2)

Then we get 2+ in. Keep in mind, both Wofford and the Citadel are "hot." The citadel has won 4 straight. Wofford has won 5 in FCS play. I have hard time seeing the committee leaving out BOTH a Citadel team that finishes at least 5 of 6 or a Wofford team finishing at least 7 of 8.

What's more, if Samford breaks .500 on the year (6-5 in FCS play), I don't think you can say Wofford has any bad losses (at least compared to the rest of the bubble), provided SC State wins out (they should).

As much as people want to pretend the socon is down, the reality is that the only substinative difference from last year is that the citadel and ETSU have switched places, Furman whipped Samford, and Wofford dropped an early one to an SC state squad that was ~7 points away from the celebration bowl.

But because everyone has a hard on for the purported power conferences, they dropped Wofford like a rock and created impossible standards for any of these teams to climb the rankings.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

It has long been my opinion that it is much harder to climb the polls than to fall in them. There's a clear recency bias in those determinations.

With Wofford, they actually benefited from that bias to begin the season. The Terriers were not a top 10 team. While their current position in the polls may not e "fair," the Terriers really have no one to blame but themselves - the polls are going to punish ranked teams for losing to unranked opponents, and especially in consecutive weeks. Their schedule just really didn't give them any other opportunities to climb back into the polls by notching notable wins.

The good news is this will all work itself out. Wofford is hot, but also has the toughest part of their schedule still to play. They've got arguably their two toughest FCS games remaining. I'm also not rubber stamping a win on their trip to Macon.

[FUBeAR]

While their current position in the polls may not e "fair," the Terriers really have no one to blame but their [B]Head Coach.

I'm also not rubber stamping a win on their trip to Macon.

fyp

[Sir William]

Things get a little more interesting if Furman goes 1-1 against VMI and Wofford. Furman would be 8-4 (6-2), which is usually a shoo in for a SoCon team. I still think they'll be a top 20 team, even with a loss. They won't have 7 D1s, though. However, I think there won't be that deep of a potential 24 team field, so they'd likely still be in.

Given this scenario, Furman actually would have 7 D1 wins:
1 - Chuck South
2 - Mercer
3 - ETSU
4 - Samford
5 - WCU
6 - UTC
7 - either VMI or Wofford

Would rather just win the conference outright, but if 8-4, that should be enough for an at-large. Of course, best not to put yourself in the hands of the playoff committee (see 2018).

[PaladinFan]

Given this scenario, Furman actually would have 7 D1 wins:
1 - Chuck South
2 - Mercer
3 - ETSU
4 - Samford
5 - WCU
6 - UTC
7 - either VMI or Wofford

Would rather just win the conference outright, but if 8-4, that should be enough for an at-large. Of course, best not to put yourself in the hands of the playoff committee (see 2018).

You are correct. My fault.

[Reign of Terrier]

It has long been my opinion that it is much harder to climb the polls than to fall in them. There's a clear recency bias in those determinations.

With Wofford, they actually benefited from that bias to begin the season. The Terriers were not a top 10 team. While their current position in the polls may not e "fair," the Terriers really have no one to blame but themselves - the polls are going to punish ranked teams for losing to unranked opponents, and especially in consecutive weeks. Their schedule just really didn't give them any other opportunities to climb back into the polls by notching notable wins.

The good news is this will all work itself out. Wofford is hot, but also has the toughest part of their schedule still to play. They've got arguably their two toughest FCS games remaining. I'm also not rubber stamping a win on their trip to Macon.

Of course you're not, you have Wofford derangement syndrome. This entire post is that. xlolx

We deserved to be our preseason ranking for what we had coming back and what we had put together over the last 3 years. We deserved to be knocked out of the top 25, but at this point we also deserve to be top 18 or so. I can't name 20 teams definitely better than us right now. Maybe 10-12, but not 20.

Meanwhile, You guys have been out for Wofford's blood forever. We went 0-2, then I remember reading posts that said Wofford would lose to GW. No adjustments in prognostication after we whipped them. Then they said we would lose to VMI after ETSU...It was 48-24 with about 4 minutes left. No adjustment.

Then, certainly certainly certainly! ETSU would beat us....and we led 28-3 at halftime. But of course, we have to narrativize the event like it was still competitive in the fourth when it wasn't. But then, no, it would be Chattanooga that would be the Terriers downfall! Power Rankings #1 Chattanooga would beat #2 Wofford. A close call, but it didn't happen, and then the next week we don't rank Wofford #1 in power rankings.

So of course you don't think Wofford will beat Mercer as a done deal.

[BearDownMU]

Good thing we actually have to go play it. Or should I just tell our guys it's already over? They could go to Waffle House or something instead...

[Reign of Terrier]

Good thing we actually have to go play it. Or should I just tell our guys it's already over? They could go to Waffle House or something instead...

Nah dawg, Mercer typically plays Wofford tougher at home than away, my point here was the derangement syndrome. I could give a long-winded analysis of stats and stuff (TL;DR Mercer's offense isn't quite consistent enough and run defense is so-so, while Wofford's strength is running the ball), but that kind of stuff is an obvious analysis of the game. It's good enough to say "nothing is certain and upsets happen, but Wofford should probably win this one."

The smart bet is to take Wofford in a comfortable win, but the derangement syndrome says "oh no, look out for Mercer." Which, fine, I'm not trying to say is hopeless or dumb (especially if you're a Mercer fan, the game is played on Saturdays, not paper, after all), but in the context of the trends I'm outlining (predicting Wofford losing every week), it's not surprising.

See, I admit I have Furman derangement syndrome, but being honest about that keeps me in check. My gut says we're better than the 20 point loss last year and that we can beat the Dins, but preseason, I picked the Dins to win it. My gut also told me that they'd have trouble with Ailym Ford, but I still picked them to win last week.

[FUBeAR]

Delusional Victim Syndrome - FUBeAR picked an L for the micropups last week & exactly hit on the number of points they would score. Sure, I thought Swinney might try for a wee bit more style points, but the take on the mini-yelpers was laser guided exact. FUBeAR, obviously, knows that Team better than their own Head Coach does!