Incarnate Word

[FUBeAR]

You peeps saying we need to win this game to change the SoCon ‘narrative’ / respect level aren’t wrong, but Furman winning this game, and the next, and even the next 2 will be insufficient to change the narrative.

Already seeing MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA peeps/fans & some (allegedly) non-aligned pundits diminishing Furman’s domination of a now-elite WITHIN-the-CAA Elon Team… “Oh yeah, Elon’s just bad on the road.” “Elon’s OL/DL are the weakest in the CAA. They just caught Delaware/Richmond/W&M when they were down/hurt/napping/etc.” and on it goes ad infinitum.

Excuses, accommodations, and minimizations will be applied to any future Playoff wins by the Paladins. It’s guaranteed.

No…it will take multiple SoCon Teams getting multiple Playoff bids and winning multiple Playoff games, defeating consensus Top MVFC & Big Sky Teams (NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State) in the Playoffs, over multiple Playoff years.

Not sure that CAN be accomplished within the current Playoff / Committee / Ranking structure. Sadly.

Sensing a broad-based push to make some structural changes soon - just an undercurrent at this point - hopefully to become a wave.

So…until then, all we can do is WIN … and, in our ‘travels,’ support FU & the SoCon as a whole. This ‘narrative’ that there is a “Power 3” (MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA) in FCS arose from Fans & (biased) pundits proliferating it. They’ve done a nice job. SoCon peeps have not. We can change that.

I get it. At the same time, we've got some teams that need to start carrying some water.

Mercer and UTC had every opportunity to punch their ticket into the post season and, frankly, keep out the extra CAA or Big Sky teams. They didn't get it done.

We can get annoyed with all the Big Sky, CAA, MVFC teams crowing about their collective strength, but we had the chance to get four teams in and two of those teams tripped on their shoelaces.

We don't get to see whether Mercer would have beaten Richmond because they couldn't score from the 5 yard line on 6 tries. We don't know whether UTC would have dispatched Gardner Webb because they fell on their face in Cullowhee. At some juncture, you gotta do what it takes to finish the drill.

Exactly the kind of BS that MVFC & Big Sky fans don’t say about other Conference Teams. Instead, they recognize that Mercer & Chatt, with their records as they stood, SHOULD HAVE BEEN SELECTED ahead of Fordham & Delaware, et al. AND they yell it out to high heaven. Heck, they do that for 6-5 UNI, MoSt, and UCD every year.

Small-minded BS like this is part of what keeps a SoCon Champion Furman out of the Playoffs in 2018.

[The Jackal]

You peeps saying we need to win this game to change the SoCon ‘narrative’ / respect level aren’t wrong, but Furman winning this game, and the next, and even the next 2 will be insufficient to change the narrative.

Already seeing MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA peeps/fans & some (allegedly) non-aligned pundits diminishing Furman’s domination of a now-elite WITHIN-the-CAA Elon Team… “Oh yeah, Elon’s just bad on the road.” “Elon’s OL/DL are the weakest in the CAA. They just caught Delaware/Richmond/W&M when they were down/hurt/napping/etc.” and on it goes ad infinitum.

Excuses, accommodations, and minimizations will be applied to any future Playoff wins by the Paladins. It’s guaranteed.

No…it will take multiple SoCon Teams getting multiple Playoff bids and winning multiple Playoff games, defeating consensus Top MVFC & Big Sky Teams (NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State) in the Playoffs, over multiple Playoff years.

Not sure that CAN be accomplished within the current Playoff / Committee / Ranking structure. Sadly.

Sensing a broad-based push to make some structural changes soon - just an undercurrent at this point - hopefully to become a wave.

So…until then, all we can do is WIN … and, in our ‘travels,’ support FU & the SoCon as a whole. This ‘narrative’ that there is a “Power 3” (MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA) in FCS arose from Fans & (biased) pundits proliferating it. They’ve done a nice job. SoCon peeps have not. We can change that.

I get it. At the same time, we've got some teams that need to start carrying some water.

Mercer and UTC had every opportunity to punch their ticket into the post season and, frankly, keep out the extra CAA or Big Sky teams. They didn't get it done.

We can get annoyed with all the Big Sky, CAA, MVFC teams crowing about their collective strength, but we had the chance to get four teams in and two of those teams tripped on their shoelaces.

We don't get to see whether Mercer would have beaten Richmond because they couldn't score from the 5 yard line on 6 tries. We don't know whether UTC would have dispatched Gardner Webb because they fell on their face in Cullowhee. At some juncture, you gotta do what it takes to finish the drill.

Exactly the kind of BS that MVFC & Big Sky fans don’t say about other Conference Teams. Instead, they recognize that Mercer & Chatt, with their records as they stood, SHOULD HAVE BEEN SELECTED ahead of Fordham & Delaware, et al. AND they yell it out to high heaven. Heck, they do that for 6-5 UNI, MoSt, and UCD every year.

Small-minded BS like this is part of what keeps a SoCon Champion Furman out of the Playoffs in 2018.

I get it.

If you watch the games, Mercer was plenty good enough. On paper, they had holes in their resume. UTC was the same.

At the end of the day, when you are sitting at 7-4 (as Furman has before) you leave the decision firmly in the committee's hands, which have an inconsistent and entirely unclear approach to selecting at large teams.

The way to change the narrative, though, is to get teams in the playoffs and win playoff games. The MVFC has all been buoyed by the dominance of North Dakota State. The SoCon used to benefit from this fallacious line of thinking. Now they don't.

[JohnKX512]

You peeps saying we need to win this game to change the SoCon ‘narrative’ / respect level aren’t wrong, but Furman winning this game, and the next, and even the next 2 will be insufficient to change the narrative.

Already seeing MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA peeps/fans & some (allegedly) non-aligned pundits diminishing Furman’s domination of a now-elite WITHIN-the-CAA Elon Team… “Oh yeah, Elon’s just bad on the road.” “Elon’s OL/DL are the weakest in the CAA. They just caught Delaware/Richmond/W&M when they were down/hurt/napping/etc.” and on it goes ad infinitum.

Excuses, accommodations, and minimizations will be applied to any future Playoff wins by the Paladins. It’s guaranteed.

No…it will take multiple SoCon Teams getting multiple Playoff bids and winning multiple Playoff games, defeating consensus Top MVFC & Big Sky Teams (NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State) in the Playoffs, over multiple Playoff years.

Not sure that CAN be accomplished within the current Playoff / Committee / Ranking structure. Sadly.

Sensing a broad-based push to make some structural changes soon - just an undercurrent at this point - hopefully to become a wave.

So…until then, all we can do is WIN … and, in our ‘travels,’ support FU & the SoCon as a whole. This ‘narrative’ that there is a “Power 3” (MVFC, Big Sky, and CAA) in FCS arose from Fans & (biased) pundits proliferating it. They’ve done a nice job. SoCon peeps have not. We can change that.

I get it. At the same time, we've got some teams that need to start carrying some water.

Mercer and UTC had every opportunity to punch their ticket into the post season and, frankly, keep out the extra CAA or Big Sky teams. They didn't get it done.

We can get annoyed with all the Big Sky, CAA, MVFC teams crowing about their collective strength, but we had the chance to get four teams in and two of those teams tripped on their shoelaces.

We don't get to see whether Mercer would have beaten Richmond because they couldn't score from the 5 yard line on 6 tries. We don't know whether UTC would have dispatched Gardner Webb because they fell on their face in Cullowhee. At some juncture, you gotta do what it takes to finish the drill.

Exactly the kind of BS that MVFC & Big Sky fans don’t say about other Conference Teams. Instead, they recognize that Mercer & Chatt, with their records as they stood, SHOULD HAVE BEEN SELECTED ahead of Fordham & Delaware, et al. AND they yell it out to high heaven. Heck, they do that for 6-5 UNI, MoSt, and UCD every year.

Small-minded BS like this is part of what keeps a SoCon Champion Furman out of the Playoffs in 2018.

I get it.

If you watch the games, Mercer was plenty good enough. On paper, they had holes in their resume. UTC was the same.

At the end of the day, when you are sitting at 7-4 (as Furman has before) you leave the decision firmly in the committee's hands, which have an inconsistent and entirely unclear approach to selecting at large teams.

The way to change the narrative, though, is to get teams in the playoffs and win playoff games. The MVFC has all been buoyed by the dominance of North Dakota State. The SoCon used to benefit from this fallacious line of thinking. Now they don't.

The SoCon and the rest of the FCS needs to commit to playing each other cross conference. Until there are yearly cross conference games, there will always be a discrepancy. This should be a priority of the NCAA before these divisions split even more. However, money decides all.

[purplehorse123]

No doubt in my mind Mercer and UTC could have won a game in the tourney. The “Power 3” is complete BS.

[FUBeAR]

No doubt in my mind Mercer and UTC could have won a game in the tourney. The “Power 3” is complete BS.

[FUTex]

Hello everybody,

I will be at the game in San Antonio this Saturday. I look forward to seeing Flagman and the others who can make it. Its been a long time.

[Bootie]

Hello everybody,

I will be at the game in San Antonio this Saturday. I look forward to seeing Flagman and the others who can make it. Its been a long time.

Dang good to see you here Tex, like old time. I don’t think I’m going to make the trip this time, hate to miss you.

[cavedweller2]

Looks like someone still needs an image.

[The Jackal]

Looks like someone still needs an image.

And for the first time we're playing in Texas.

[apaladin]

I think we are trying to talk ourselves into believing that UIC is not as advertised siting competition etc. I personally think they are very legit and besides being ridiculously good on offense they are good on defense as well. Thry can only play who was on their schedule. We have given up big passing plays in every game this year. We will be facing the best passing team we have seen all year. How will it play out? Who knows. We will find out come Saturday. Regardless of the outcome this has by far been the most enjoyable FU football season since 2005. 10 wins, 7 straight, got a little respect at CU, went from off the radar to top 10, beat every team in the SoCon when TH played, beat our rivals snd especially as my 6 year old grandaughter said “ we best the snot out of Wofford” Anyway win or lose Saturday it has been a great year we can look forward to next year with more anticipation than we have in a long time. Go Paladins!

[Roundball]

I think we are trying to talk ourselves into believing that UIC is not as advertised siting competition etc. I personally think they are very legit and besides being ridiculously good on offense they are good on defense as well. Thry can only play who was on their schedule. We have given up big passing plays in every game this year. We will be facing the best passing team we have seen all year. How will it play out? Who knows. We will find out come Saturday. Regardless of the outcome this has by far been the most enjoyable FU football season since 2005. 10 wins, 7 straight, got a little respect at CU, went from off the radar to top 10, beat every team in the SoCon when TH played, beat our rivals snd especially as my 6 year old grandaughter said “ we best the snot out of Wofford” Anyway win or lose Saturday it has been a great year we can look forward to next year with more anticipation than we have in a long time. Go Paladins!

You might as way go ahead and pick us to lose, so we can be assured of a win!

[Affirm]

I think we are trying to talk ourselves into believing that UIC is not as advertised siting competition etc. I personally think they are very legit and besides being ridiculously good on offense they are good on defense as well. Thry can only play who was on their schedule. We have given up big passing plays in every game this year. We will be facing the best passing team we have seen all year. How will it play out? Who knows. We will find out come Saturday. Regardless of the outcome this has by far been the most enjoyable FU football season since 2005. 10 wins, 7 straight, got a little respect at CU, went from off the radar to top 10, beat every team in the SoCon when TH played, beat our rivals snd especially as my 6 year old grandaughter said “ we best the snot out of Wofford” Anyway win or lose Saturday it has been a great year we can look forward to next year with more anticipation than we have in a long time. Go Paladins!

You might as way go ahead and pick us to lose, so we can be assured of a win!

[The Jackal]

I think we are trying to talk ourselves into believing that UIC is not as advertised siting competition etc. I personally think they are very legit and besides being ridiculously good on offense they are good on defense as well. Thry can only play who was on their schedule. We have given up big passing plays in every game this year. We will be facing the best passing team we have seen all year. How will it play out? Who knows. We will find out come Saturday. Regardless of the outcome this has by far been the most enjoyable FU football season since 2005. 10 wins, 7 straight, got a little respect at CU, went from off the radar to top 10, beat every team in the SoCon when TH played, beat our rivals snd especially as my 6 year old grandaughter said “ we best the snot out of Wofford” Anyway win or lose Saturday it has been a great year we can look forward to next year with more anticipation than we have in a long time. Go Paladins!

UIW is very good. I do not believe anyone is negating the fact that they are good.

At the same time, I don't think you can argue that their numbers are not at least in part a product of their schedule. There are very few good defenses in the Southland Conference. They played very few objectively good teams on their schedule.

I also get the impression that their coaches are trying to put up gaudy numbers on purpose. There's plenty of examples of UIW throwing deep balls up 50+ points. Stuff I wouldn't expect Hendrix to do when the game is already in hand.

I fully expect UIW to hit on some pass plays. They're good at it. At the same time, we know it's coming. If we execute, tackle, slow down their run, and make them one dimensional, we'll have a pretty good shot at slowing them down.

[The Jackal]

Not sure how I feel about this, but a national FCS writer actually predicts Furman to win.

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-202 ... ions-bzbz/

I liked this quote:

Furman will be the most complete team UIW has faced this season, and that includes FBS Nevada. Its defense is playing at a really high level, including shutting down a good Elon offense last week in an emphatic 31-6 win.

[Affirm]

Not sure how I feel about this, but a national FCS writer actually predicts Furman to win.

https://herosports.com/fcs-football-202 ... ions-bzbz/

I liked this quote:

Furman will be the most complete team UIW has faced this season, and that includes FBS Nevada. Its defense is playing at a really high level, including shutting down a good Elon offense last week in an emphatic 31-6 win.

May we have the Gamecocks attitude from last Saturday against CU - and may we also have the breaks the Gamecocks had. At half, though down significantly, Beamer publicly stated “we ARE going to win this game”. But in our case, may it be by more than just one point. It definitely will NOT be at all easy.