FCS Playoffs in Spring 2021

[DeepPurple]

Citadel got what they deserved.

[The Jackal]

Citadel got what they deserved.

This whole thing is amusing to me.

Citadel fans are now on their forum making it everyone else's fault. They want legal teams involved. https://dogfan1987.websitetoolbox.com/p ... ?&trail=15

Legal team to do what, exactly? The NCAA is going to step in and overturn a decision of a conference regarding one of its members so that they can play more football games than they are permitted to play? That's asinine.

The Times Free Press (usually a really good course for SoCon news) writes that the Citadel was "strongly encouraged" not to play four games this fall. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/spo ... ll/534538/

They did it anyway. They are like a petulant child that is upset that they are getting a consequence for doing the very thing you asked them not to do.

Adding to the amusement, they went 0-4.

Oh, and because of their antics, they lose not only a home game, but a rivalry game. Their other two biggest rivals - Wofford and VMI - are both road games.

[MidlandsPaladin]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

[The Jackal]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

[The Jackal]

Looks like Chattanooga now has white helmets with "'Nooga" written in script.

UTC appears to now be joining Mercer, Citadel, and Samford in changing their look to copy Furman's.

[The Jackal]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

Watched UTC run one series and I'm pretty confident in my prediction that Furman's biggest challenge in the SoCon will be from the Mocs.

[gofurman]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

I can’t quite go that far after that Army v Ciatdel game. Army won 14-9. Army is 6-1 and just beat Mercer 49-3 ! That’s not an insignificant difference In performance by anyone’s measure. And Citadel gained as many yards vs Army as vice versa. Maybe it was an outlier. At any rate, if not a challenger I think Citadel is fourth or so behind FU, Woff and Chatt

[apaladin]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

Watched UTC run one series and I'm pretty confident in my prediction that Furman's biggest challenge in the SoCon will be from the Mocs.

Might have been a little premature about UTC. Of course it’s too early to tell but after that first drive UTC only had a total of 150 yds against a not too good WKU team. They finished 9-23 and 90 yds passing.

[The Jackal]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

Watched UTC run one series and I'm pretty confident in my prediction that Furman's biggest challenge in the SoCon will be from the Mocs.

Might have been a little premature about UTC. Of course it’s too early to tell but after that first drive UTC only had a total of 150 yds against a not too good WKU team. They finished 9-23 and 90 yds passing.

Nope. That was UTC's first and only game against an FBS team that had already played five contests. UTC, outside of a bogus call, was the better team.

Let me also say this, I think this conference is Furman's to lose. Of the teams that might provide the toughest challenge, I believe UTC will be top of that list.

[The Jackal]

I don't think it is coincidental at all that, with citadel out of the picture, the two SoCon favorites are now scheduled to meet during the last weekend of the season.

I personally think Furman's stiffest challenge will come from UTC.

I am never one to count out Wofford, but they lost a boatload of players off last years team. I think they will return maybe one or two starters on offense. Everyone else graduated or transferred.

The Citadel was not, in my opinion, going to be a challenger. The Citadel has an atypical offense and a usually decent defense. That combo allows them to hang around and pull upsets from time to time. That same combo also results in some ugly losses when things aren't totally working.

As Parcells said, you are what your record says you are. Under Thompson, the Citadel is a .500 team.

I can’t quite go that far after that Army v Ciatdel game. Army won 14-9. Army is 6-1 and just beat Mercer 49-3 ! That’s not an insignificant difference In performance by anyone’s measure. And Citadel gained as many yards vs Army as vice versa. Maybe it was an outlier. At any rate, if not a challenger I think Citadel is fourth or so behind FU, Woff and Chatt

As I mentioned earlier, the Citadel will fall into a good performance or two every year against a good team. In fact, most of the SoCon's recent wins against FBS teams have come from the Citadel.

The Bulldog defense is solid and if their offense doesn't cough the ball up, they can be quite good. The problem, in my observation, is that they don't do those two things with consistency.

So, while I think the Citadel could beat any team on their schedule (including, hypothetically, Furman), they typically don't show up every week and therefore will not be in the conversation by seasons' end. If history is any indicator, they will be .500, which is where they typically are under Brent Thompson

[AstroDin]

^ agree Apaladin.

watched most of the Nooga/WKU game - I think the announcers hit it on the head. Nooga - really prepared for this game. Rusty came out with a tight game plan mixing it up with Arnold (Myrtle Beach) at QB. UTC - for a while kept the Hilltoppers off balance and pushed them around for a while as the Hilltoppers were trying to gain on the field experience for a QB.

Nooga isn't an exciting big play team. They have some weapons at tailback and really good receiver and Arnold is a pretty decent QB. They're going to try to play physical and where they can out athlete ya. I do think Nooga will do well in the SoCon in the spring season.

This is just a guess my guess for what it's worth —

Furman has caught up and IMO starting to pass the league in the trenches. Furman under CCH has done a really good job with deception on offense, in our tougher games last season we ran into some walls - and our young guns struggled. I expect improvement in line play.

The big advantage I give Furman over the rest of the SoCon (and I could by drinking purple Kool-Aid) is the potential for explosion plays. The depth of talent at running back and receiver is rare and they have interesting skill sets. Wayne Anderson and Kendall Thomas are fast tailbacks that can take it to the house on any play AND their excellent receivers. BTW… Devin Wynn BTW… has a career receiving average of 12.2 yards per catch. We can ball at running back.

I think receiver is going to step into an interesting role this season. This season we have two FBS transfers Noah Henderson 6-1 200 and Luke Shiflett 6-2 196 - both are very athletic big body receivers (you can add Zach Peterson) these guys can play the possession role but they can also beat you over the top. Dejuan Bell - I don't think we've seen yet his potential - CCH has mentioned Bell over and over since this off-season.

Here is where I'm reaching — I think Furman struggled against Wofford and APSU getting guys open. I think CCH and Quarles are looking at Kelton Gunn and Bailor Hughes to be answers. Gunn was a track star that played RB/WR, Hughes was Mr. Everything. Hughes reminds me of an FCS level Amari Rodgers. Rogers is basically a running back (5-11 210) that plays receiver - he eats yards after the catch. Hughes is 5-11 203 and had 2,622 all-purpose yards in HS almost a split between rushing and receiving.

Opponents DB's and Safeties will have to deal with the receivers and tight ends that do line up as receivers - this puts linebackers on Anderson, Thomas, Wynn, and Hughes. I'll be curious to see how the coaches take advantage of all this talent.

I'll close the circle - I think this Furman team will be better suited to grind it out and also create explosive plays.

[The Jackal]

Like many things, Furman is going to have more depth at receiver.

Setting aside some of our inconsistent QB play, last season we had almost no depth at WR. Virtually every pass directed to a WR went to either Gordon or Deluca. Most of the rest of the pass attempts were to backs or TEs.

Gordon's backup at FLK was Avery Armstrong. Armstrong was a good player for us, but in 31 games over three seasons we almost never threw the ball to him. He was primarily a blocker when in on offense. So, the primary backup to our key WR was essentially a nonfactor in the passing game.

Deluca's backup at SE was originally intended to be Shiflett. Shiflett missed a lot of time with injury. By seasons' end, Deluca's backup was Zach Peterson, who had only one catch for 9 yards despite playing every game. So, again, our backup at a key pass catching position was largely a non-factor in the passing game.

Add to that, of course, that Dejuan Bell missed most of the season. He'd have been a key receiving threat, but didn't see the field. Even when he finally was able, it looked like they were holding him back for a redshirt.

Furman also had a transfer of Cam Burnette, who would have been a key piece of this year's team. Burnette, unfortunately, is playing for ECU and has caught just one ball this season. I imagine he'd have a lot more opportunities with Furman, but that's water under the bridge now.

Going into this season, we won't have Gordon, but Bell should be able to step in there well. We should have Deluca and a healthy Shiflett. Henderson looks like a solid player from what we know. Peterson has experience now. If we get some play out Gunn and Hughes, we could have a much deeper grouping than we had last season.

In fact, Hendrix has already mentioned that we may see some 3 WR sets. To this point, Furman hasn't run much of that at all under Hendrix - just not enough available bodies.

[AstroDin]

There is no guarantee with a transfer but Shiflett and Henderson were both recruited by Furman.

Hender was the 28th ranked receiver in Tennessee in his senior year. I remember thinking after watching his HS film, he would be a great fit at Furman. The reality was he's a 3 star with a ton of FBS offers. Henderson is tough… and gets a lot of yards after the catch.

[DeepPurple]

We should be a more complete, mature, football team this FEB. We can run the ball as well as anyone, this will make many things open up for our offense. Our play action passing game should be exceptional. It is good to be us. Go FU!

[gofurman]

^ agree Apaladin.

watched most of the Nooga/WKU game - I think the announcers hit it on the head. Nooga - really prepared for this game. Rusty came out with a tight game plan mixing it up with Arnold (Myrtle Beach) at QB. UTC - for a while kept the Hilltoppers off balance and pushed them around for a while as the Hilltoppers were trying to gain on the field experience for a QB.

Nooga isn't an exciting big play team. They have some weapons at tailback and really good receiver and Arnold is a pretty decent QB. They're going to try to play physical and where they can out athlete ya. I do think Nooga will do well in the SoCon in the spring season.

This is just a guess my guess for what it's worth —

Furman has caught up and IMO starting to pass the league in the trenches. Furman under CCH has done a really good job with deception on offense, in our tougher games last season we ran into some walls - and our young guns struggled. I expect improvement in line play.

The big advantage I give Furman over the rest of the SoCon (and I could by drinking purple Kool-Aid) is the potential for explosion plays. The depth of talent at running back and receiver is rare and they have interesting skill sets. Wayne Anderson and Kendall Thomas are fast tailbacks that can take it to the house on any play AND their excellent receivers. BTW… Devin Wynn BTW… has a career receiving average of 12.2 yards per catch. We can ball at running back.

I think receiver is going to step into an interesting role this season. This season we have two FBS transfers Noah Henderson 6-1 200 and Luke Shiflett 6-2 196 - both are very athletic big body receivers (you can add Zach Peterson) these guys can play the possession role but they can also beat you over the top. Dejuan Bell - I don't think we've seen yet his potential - CCH has mentioned Bell over and over since this off-season.

Here is where I'm reaching — I think Furman struggled against Wofford and APSU getting guys open. I think CCH and Quarles are looking at Kelton Gunn and Bailor Hughes to be answers. Gunn was a track star that played RB/WR, Hughes was Mr. Everything. Hughes reminds me of an FCS level Amari Rodgers. Rogers is basically a running back (5-11 210) that plays receiver - he eats yards after the catch. Hughes is 5-11 203 and had 2,622 all-purpose yards in HS almost a split between rushing and receiving.

Opponents DB's and Safeties will have to deal with the receivers and tight ends that do line up as receivers - this puts linebackers on Anderson, Thomas, Wynn, and Hughes. I'll be curious to see how the coaches take advantage of all this talent.

I'll close the circle - I think this Furman team will be better suited to grind it out and also create explosive plays.

Basically two things held us back last year.. it was a 'good year' with playoffs etc. But to win a SoCon and advance in the playoffs we need to improve exactly what Astro says here

1) " in our tougher games last season we ran into some walls - and our young guns struggled. I expect improvement in line play." Clearly Citadel and Woff jammed us at the line (our OL vs their DL and them stacking the box) and we couldn't help our QB with consistent run plays like we could vs Sam and Mercer. A frequent poster on here and I agreed we had been living with more offensive 'deception' plays than we quite realized at that time (last year) and we weren't quite the true strong OL we thought. We were good but not dominant. That's what Citadel figured out.

2) consistent QB play - again, WOff and Citadel - .. I think Citadel was the 5-25 game ? Oh man. 5-25 passing for a total of 44 yards passing. That still haunts me. And then Citadel ran all over us for 360 yards. That part gets forgotten though I suppose our D was tired (I can't recall that specific right now). Heck we had a +2 TO ratio and still lost like that. A +2 turnover ratio in college equates to a win rate over 80%... Vs Woff we were 13/30 passing for 98 yards and an INT. So it's not hard to see the coorelation in our 2 conference losses.

- Also, in both those losses - and I grant when the O can't stay on the field your D wears out... Woff ran 51 times and only attempted 8 passes. They ran all over us for 288 yards. It was ol' school. Citadel did the same as they only attempted 7 passes. Yet they ran 60 times for 360 yards. So it was run run run and you can't stop us ' in both losses. There was no thinking they were going to pass the ball. Again, our O has to stay on the field longer to keep the D fresh. I was a little surprised how well the Citadel ran on us.. 3rd and 6? no problem.

Shore up the passing game and OL and the D probably comes along as they aren't as worn out.