The Unofficial Furman Football Page

Jasper wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:24 am

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

gman wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:43 am

Jasper wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:24 am

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

gman wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:43 am

Jasper wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:24 am

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

Jasper wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 1:22 pm

gman wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:43 am

Jasper wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 8:24 am

From looking at the OOC results this season, including last night's scores, it appears that not only is the league very strong this year but it is also very balanced. WCU, our next opponent, nearly beat Wake Forest last night and they were picked near the bottom in preseason polls. Even VMI appears to be competitive. Couple all that with the fact that 7- 0 Furman will have a target on their backs as a result of the well publicized wins over Loyola and Villanova, the Paladins will have a tough road ahead. Hidden in all the fun talk about national rankings is the reality that we have not played well at all in the last 2 games at all. We have been dogged by sloppy ball handling, poor shot selection, inconsistent scoring (aside from Rafferty) and too much standing around the perimeter since the excellent Villanova effort. That will have to improve or we will be in trouble against this strong league despite the current board euphoria.

I was at the Asheville game. I just watched the game on tv. To say that we didn’t play well is a gross overstatement. Yes, we have room for improvement. The top teams have room for improvement too. I thought the defense played really well. We ran our offense with crisp passing, taking advantage of our inside and outside shot opportunities. We were ahead by 20 points with 3 minutes left in the game. My goodness. You sound like those few Clemson fans not happy with a 21 point victory over the Shamecocks.

I guess we watched different games then. We shall see.

edwards555 wrote: ↑

Wed Nov 28, 2018 11:40 am

Compared to the two or more bid leagues (Power 5, Big East, AAA) there is little parity in the Southern. BPI ratings as of 11/28
Wof 51 ETSU 113 Sam 229 Chat 312
UNCG 55 Cit 161 WC 298 VMI 319
Fur 73 Mer 186

You can disagree with the ratings, however you will generally not find teams in the top conferences below 150. Yes, bottom 6 teams in our league will win some games against the top 4. That's luck, not parity. Remember Wofford beat UNC last year and finished 5th in conference play. Maybe a 2-3 loss team who has away wins like ours this year gets a look at tournament time but there has not been one of those in a long time.

Paul C wrote: ↑

Thu Nov 29, 2018 11:38 am

I don't think I've ever seen the SoCon with FOUR teams ranked in the top 100, and SIX teams in the top 1/2 of D1....it's usually 1 or 2 in the top 100...and some years none. The top of the conference is stronger than it's been, maybe ever...and the middle is solid too.

65 UNC-G
76 Wofford
89 ETSU
93 Furman
132 Mercer
147 Samford
175 Citadel
314 Chattanooga
322 Western Carolina
323 VMI

If this becomes the "new normal" rather than a short term anomaly we could see an at-large bid one of these days. Will still be very difficult but possible.