Gamecocks99
August 17th, 2005, 10:46 PM
An Analytical Furman Football Article From The Hendersonville News
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Furman didn't even need the extra point.
A single touchdown, spread out creatively, from the most potent offense in the school's proud history would have been enough for the Paladins to have a 13-0 record and a trip to the I-AA playoff semifinals last season.
But the last-second heartbreak that marred an otherwise stellar season culminated with a Cedric Ritter fumble -- after Furman had driven 91 yards to the James Madison 1 -- with 5:35 left in a stunning 14-13 loss to the eventual champion on Dec. 4.
The setback left the Paladins with a final record of 10-3, with the defeats coming by a total of five points, while also robbing Furman of a long-awaited second national title many had thought was in the bag.
Nearly eight months later, the Paladins are appropriately hungry. They're also appropriately recognized as one of the nation's top programs, picked preseason No. 1 by at least two publications. They have high-profile stars returning in quarterback Ingle Martin and linebacker William Freeman.
But a nagging question remains for the Furman faithful: Did the Paladins blow their chance?
***"Generally at Furman, we don't get many people in the NFL and we've got three sitting in NFL camps today: Cam Newton, Brian Bratton and Issac West," Paladin coach Bobby Lamb said Tuesday at the Southern Conference rouser. "We lost an enormous amount of talent and we lost seven starters on defense. So that kind of surprised me that we were picked No. 1."
Some would argue the 2004 Furman team was the best in school history, better even than the 13-2 1988 national title team or the 12-3 national runner-up squad of 2001. The numbers back them up.
The Paladins set school records for most yards in a season (5,914), most touchdowns in a season (57), most points in a season (449) and most first downs in a season (318). Martin, a much-hyped transfer from Florida, lived up to his considerable billing with marks for single-season passing attempts (320), completions (198), yards (2,792) and touchdowns (22).
In the regular season Furman lost only to Appalachian State, 30-29, and eventual BCS participant Pittsburgh, 41-38 in overtime, leading both games until the final minutes. They were the clear favorites in the I-AA postseason, making the failure tough to swallow.
"You look back with just sour, a sour taste in the end," Lamb said. "Forget the Appalachian game, forget the Pittsburgh game. The game that mattered was James Madison. We're the No. 2 seed in the tournament and we're sitting there with James Madison on our home field."
Still, prognosticators didn't forget the overall success, picking Furman to win the tough SoCon again and naming the Paladins as of a handful of favorites to win it all. But another look at those darn numbers paints a different picture in Greenville, S.C.
***Eleven starters are gone. In addition to Bratton and West, the top two receivers in school history, talented tight end Willis Sudderth graduated. So did offensive tackles Ben Bainbridge and Stephen Schroeder.
Sudderth and Bainbridge were first-team All-SoCon picks. That, however, may not be the worst of it.
***Despite Furman's 2004 success, the team showed an alarming inability to stop people when it mattered most, especially through the air. A dirty little secret is that despite leading the league at 16.6 points per game allowed, Furman also set school records in 2004 by giving up more first downs (240), offensive plays (903), pass attempts (406) and completions (225) than ever before.
***And of the seven starters gone from that defensive unit, three are from the line and one was standout linebacker Mike Killian. In other words, Furman may not be quite the juggernaut it's being made out to be.
"At the end of the season looking back, we were good enough to win the national championship. But we didn't do it, because we didn't make enough plays against James Madison," Lamb said. "Whether we're good enough this year, that remains to be seen."
Lamb takes hope in the fact that he returns two of the nation's top players in Martin and Freeman, and injuries had a lot to do with Furman's defensive struggles in 2004 -- allowing many players to gain experience they likely wouldn't have gained otherwise.
Freeman, the league coaches' preseason pick to repeat as the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, says the Paladins will benefit from the hard knocks this time around.
***"We definitely lost some quality athletes on both sides of the ball," the 6-3, 235-pound senior from Swansea, S.C., said. "I'm not overshadowing that fact whatsoever. But last year we had a great deal of injury, and when people are injured, when your starters are out, somebody has to play. ... They've been in some plays. They've been in the fire. They're still green, but they're starting to turn."
And with Freeman, 6-2, 260-pound junior end Roy Ravenell, also a preseason first-team all-league pick, and 6-1, 190-pound sophomore safety Andrew Thacker, the SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2004, Furman has solid veterans to build around. Freeman had a team-high 100 tackles last season, while Ravenell had a team-high 6.5 sacks and Thacker 70 tackles and an interception.
Offense, even without Bratton and West, figures to remain a strength as long as Martin is around. Perhaps the most talented quarterback to ever play in the Southern Conference, the 6-3, 225-pound senior will, if he matches his junior production, own multiple career passing records in just two seasons of work.
He'll be helped by the return of senior center Corey Stewart and senior guard Patrick Covington as well as sophomore fullback Jerome Felton, all preseason first-teamers. ***Lamb says Felton, who had 10 rushing touchdowns as a freshman, is the most talented fullback in school history.
***Behind them, as well as senior tailback Brandon Mays, a former T.C. Roberson High standout, the goal is to pound the ball on the ground to make Martin even more dangerous. Adding depth is senior tight end John Rust and junior tackle Andrew Thornburg, preseason second-team picks despite not even starting full time last season.
"Any time you can run the ball, you've got a chance to be successful," Lamb said. "I think that's one thing we'll be able to do."
Lamb also has confidence in his no-name wideouts.
"Obviously, 90 percent of the footballs went to (Bratton and West) last year," Lamb said. "We're fortunate to have a good core coming back. They just haven't caught a lot of balls. Brian Stone is our leading receiver coming back, but it'll be receiver by committee this year.
"John Rust will be a very integral part of our offense. Our running backs caught 32 balls out of the backfield last year, and I look for that number to go up even higher than that."
According to Freeman, "it's time for another" national title at Furman -- for more than just school pride.
"If we want to argue that we play in the best conference in I-AA, we've got to prove it," he said.
So, what do you guys think? Are they the king of the hill? Will Furman capture their throne?
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Furman didn't even need the extra point.
A single touchdown, spread out creatively, from the most potent offense in the school's proud history would have been enough for the Paladins to have a 13-0 record and a trip to the I-AA playoff semifinals last season.
But the last-second heartbreak that marred an otherwise stellar season culminated with a Cedric Ritter fumble -- after Furman had driven 91 yards to the James Madison 1 -- with 5:35 left in a stunning 14-13 loss to the eventual champion on Dec. 4.
The setback left the Paladins with a final record of 10-3, with the defeats coming by a total of five points, while also robbing Furman of a long-awaited second national title many had thought was in the bag.
Nearly eight months later, the Paladins are appropriately hungry. They're also appropriately recognized as one of the nation's top programs, picked preseason No. 1 by at least two publications. They have high-profile stars returning in quarterback Ingle Martin and linebacker William Freeman.
But a nagging question remains for the Furman faithful: Did the Paladins blow their chance?
***"Generally at Furman, we don't get many people in the NFL and we've got three sitting in NFL camps today: Cam Newton, Brian Bratton and Issac West," Paladin coach Bobby Lamb said Tuesday at the Southern Conference rouser. "We lost an enormous amount of talent and we lost seven starters on defense. So that kind of surprised me that we were picked No. 1."
Some would argue the 2004 Furman team was the best in school history, better even than the 13-2 1988 national title team or the 12-3 national runner-up squad of 2001. The numbers back them up.
The Paladins set school records for most yards in a season (5,914), most touchdowns in a season (57), most points in a season (449) and most first downs in a season (318). Martin, a much-hyped transfer from Florida, lived up to his considerable billing with marks for single-season passing attempts (320), completions (198), yards (2,792) and touchdowns (22).
In the regular season Furman lost only to Appalachian State, 30-29, and eventual BCS participant Pittsburgh, 41-38 in overtime, leading both games until the final minutes. They were the clear favorites in the I-AA postseason, making the failure tough to swallow.
"You look back with just sour, a sour taste in the end," Lamb said. "Forget the Appalachian game, forget the Pittsburgh game. The game that mattered was James Madison. We're the No. 2 seed in the tournament and we're sitting there with James Madison on our home field."
Still, prognosticators didn't forget the overall success, picking Furman to win the tough SoCon again and naming the Paladins as of a handful of favorites to win it all. But another look at those darn numbers paints a different picture in Greenville, S.C.
***Eleven starters are gone. In addition to Bratton and West, the top two receivers in school history, talented tight end Willis Sudderth graduated. So did offensive tackles Ben Bainbridge and Stephen Schroeder.
Sudderth and Bainbridge were first-team All-SoCon picks. That, however, may not be the worst of it.
***Despite Furman's 2004 success, the team showed an alarming inability to stop people when it mattered most, especially through the air. A dirty little secret is that despite leading the league at 16.6 points per game allowed, Furman also set school records in 2004 by giving up more first downs (240), offensive plays (903), pass attempts (406) and completions (225) than ever before.
***And of the seven starters gone from that defensive unit, three are from the line and one was standout linebacker Mike Killian. In other words, Furman may not be quite the juggernaut it's being made out to be.
"At the end of the season looking back, we were good enough to win the national championship. But we didn't do it, because we didn't make enough plays against James Madison," Lamb said. "Whether we're good enough this year, that remains to be seen."
Lamb takes hope in the fact that he returns two of the nation's top players in Martin and Freeman, and injuries had a lot to do with Furman's defensive struggles in 2004 -- allowing many players to gain experience they likely wouldn't have gained otherwise.
Freeman, the league coaches' preseason pick to repeat as the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, says the Paladins will benefit from the hard knocks this time around.
***"We definitely lost some quality athletes on both sides of the ball," the 6-3, 235-pound senior from Swansea, S.C., said. "I'm not overshadowing that fact whatsoever. But last year we had a great deal of injury, and when people are injured, when your starters are out, somebody has to play. ... They've been in some plays. They've been in the fire. They're still green, but they're starting to turn."
And with Freeman, 6-2, 260-pound junior end Roy Ravenell, also a preseason first-team all-league pick, and 6-1, 190-pound sophomore safety Andrew Thacker, the SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2004, Furman has solid veterans to build around. Freeman had a team-high 100 tackles last season, while Ravenell had a team-high 6.5 sacks and Thacker 70 tackles and an interception.
Offense, even without Bratton and West, figures to remain a strength as long as Martin is around. Perhaps the most talented quarterback to ever play in the Southern Conference, the 6-3, 225-pound senior will, if he matches his junior production, own multiple career passing records in just two seasons of work.
He'll be helped by the return of senior center Corey Stewart and senior guard Patrick Covington as well as sophomore fullback Jerome Felton, all preseason first-teamers. ***Lamb says Felton, who had 10 rushing touchdowns as a freshman, is the most talented fullback in school history.
***Behind them, as well as senior tailback Brandon Mays, a former T.C. Roberson High standout, the goal is to pound the ball on the ground to make Martin even more dangerous. Adding depth is senior tight end John Rust and junior tackle Andrew Thornburg, preseason second-team picks despite not even starting full time last season.
"Any time you can run the ball, you've got a chance to be successful," Lamb said. "I think that's one thing we'll be able to do."
Lamb also has confidence in his no-name wideouts.
"Obviously, 90 percent of the footballs went to (Bratton and West) last year," Lamb said. "We're fortunate to have a good core coming back. They just haven't caught a lot of balls. Brian Stone is our leading receiver coming back, but it'll be receiver by committee this year.
"John Rust will be a very integral part of our offense. Our running backs caught 32 balls out of the backfield last year, and I look for that number to go up even higher than that."
According to Freeman, "it's time for another" national title at Furman -- for more than just school pride.
"If we want to argue that we play in the best conference in I-AA, we've got to prove it," he said.
So, what do you guys think? Are they the king of the hill? Will Furman capture their throne?