The Day After

[fu77fan]

I wish I could say that I feel better the day after the loss. But all I can think about is how we literally had the game won. We had the lead 38-34 , stopped IW , and therefore had the ball with a first down. We had all the momentum. The holding penalty was a killer. I feel very confident that without that one penalty, we would be playing next weekend.
Truly a game of inches!

IW might have been the better team yesterday, but we had the game won. A missed opportunity for sure! I hate it !

[purplehorse123]

There are so many “if only’s” and “what if’s”. I think back to UIW’s first TD when Lindsey Scott blindly threw the ball up in the air for a TD as he was falling backward onto the ground.

Or “what if” Ryan Miller had played in the 3rd quarter?

It reminds me of us losing to Nevada in the playoffs in 1990 in 3 OT’s 42-35.

Many opportunities to win but unfortunately a stinging loss. That is football.

[apaladin]

Yep it will take a while. Feel really bad for the team and coaches. As for the holding call, pretty sure it was bogus. I watched the replay and who he called it on was a good 10 yards away on the opposite side of the ball and certainly had no bearing on the play. Didn’t really see anything that was holding. CCH said in the presser it was the only call he made the whole day. If that wasn’t enough we get another false start to put us at the 5. So we go from near the forty to the five. Huge call. At the start of the playoffs I really didn’t think we were a true contender but after yesterday I think we were. Thats what hurts the most as it seems like we were in a very good position. We seemed to be getting better every week. Next year seems so far away and who knows how long it will be to get back in that position. Hoping those with eligibility will feel like they have some unfinished business.

[FU Hoopla]

Basketball is calling you

[apaladin]

Basketball is calling you

I’m there! This is by far the hardest playoff loss to get over since 2005. All the others we were just there and not really going anywhere. This team was different, getting better every week and had a shot to go deep into the playoofs. Probably still a longshot but still a shot.

[gofurman]

Basketball is calling you

I’m there! This is by far the hardest playoff loss to get over since 2005. All the others we were just there and not really going anywhere. This team was different, getting better every week and had a shot to go deep into the playoofs. Probably still a longshot but still a shot.

AP, yeah it is almost easier if we get blown off the field.

I do agree that UIW was definitely the better team. But we could have won.

Hope we kill it in basketball - I was there in Charleston the whole time.. not so great

But hey our basketball team is about the same as UNC right? LOL - they stated (UNC players) that they came back to "WIN IT ALL!" Hubert Davis jumped in quick to reign that in as he has maturity. LOL


anyway, AP, Check your PM on here man ! Been a while ... Thanks !!

[Davemeister]

Hoping those with eligibility will feel like they have some unfinished business.

Yes. Our team should order a load of "Unfinished Business" T-Shirts.

Both & Slaw came back to settle some Unfinished Business. They set an example for the Football Seniors.

[palafan]

The disaster was the back-to-back-to-back penalties taking us back to the one yard line.

[purplehorse123]

The disaster was the back-to-back-to-back penalties taking us back to the one yard line.

I never blame a single play or in this game even a series of plays. I can think of so many things. Lindsey Scott’s first TD pass he pulled out of his rear end, Huff’s interception to open the second half, better D on one of many long pass plays etc. A game of inches. Our O and D underperformed in the first half.

Proud of our comeback!

I personally will be pulling for UIW to win it all.

[The Jackal]

The disaster was the back-to-back-to-back penalties taking us back to the one yard line.

I never blame a single play or in this game even a series of plays. I can think of so many things. Lindsey Scott’s first TD pass he pulled out of his rear end, Huff’s interception to open the second half, better D on one of many long pass plays etc. A game of inches. Our O and D underperformed in the first half.

Proud of our comeback!

I personally will be pulling for UIW to win it all.

Wouldn't surprise me to see UIW beat the probably overrated Sacramento team.

I imagine most of the FCS was watching UIW put up a lot of offense against an objectively good defense. Not sure anyone would want to see UIW for their next game.

[The Jackal]

Basketball is calling you

I’m there! This is by far the hardest playoff loss to get over since 2005. All the others we were just there and not really going anywhere. This team was different, getting better every week and had a shot to go deep into the playoofs. Probably still a longshot but still a shot.

2005 was tough because Furman was likely the top team in the country.

Small mistakes that might not cost us individual games, but in a tight game against a good opponent, they are magnified.

[Davemeister]

Let's unpack this:

With less than 3 minutes left, Furman had a 38-34 lead and took over possession on downs. We had three opportunities to win.

#1 - We could have held on to the ball and run out the clock. Instead, we were called for back-to-back penalties and had to punt from our end zone.

#2 - After that, our D could have stopped UIW from scoring. Instead, on 3rd - and - 10 we gave up a TD pass.

#3 - We took the ensuing kick-off and had the ball with just under two minutes left, and plenty of time-
outs. We could have scored a TD and won, or kicked a FG and gone into OT. Instead, we threw an INT.

Three strikes, we're out.

As badly as our team played in the 2nd Quarter, it took a lot of guts for our guys to come out in the final half and claw their way back into the lead. I'm proud as hell of 'em. In the end, we just ran out of gas and they made a few plays more than we did.

Final Words: CCH said we were up against a more-talented team that played better than we did. Lt. Huff said "Can't wait till next year."

[Furmanoid]

I think CCH has it right. They were better. We almost stole it, but the better team won. The great thing to me is that we didn’t quit. I’ve seen us quit a lot in the past. And I just feel like we have some sort of idea what we want to do on offense. That’s refreshing.

Can we ever get over the talent gap at the top of FCS? Probably not, but we may get close enough that other qualities offset it. That’s why I was exploding when 2 first half drives were killed by false starts. We aren’t good enough to do stupid stuff. The other guys are supposed to be the dummies. I bet we get all that cleaned up.

[Affirm]

Let's unpack this:

With less than 3 minutes left, Furman had a 38-34 lead and took over possession on downs. We had three opportunities to win.

#1 - We could have held on to the ball and run out the clock. Instead, we were called for back-to-back penalties and had to punt from our end zone.

#2 - After that, our D could have stopped UIW from scoring. Instead, on 3rd - and - 10 we gave up a TD pass.

#3 - We took the ensuing kick-off and had the ball with just under two minutes left, and plenty of time-
outs. We could have scored a TD and won, or kicked a FG and gone into OT. Instead, we threw an INT.

Three strikes, we're out.

As badly as our team played in the 2nd Quarter, it took a lot of guts for our guys to come out in the final half and claw their way back into the lead. I'm proud as hell of 'em. In the end, we just ran out of gas and they made a few plays more than we did.

Final Words: CCH said we were up against a more-talented team that played better than we did. Lt. Huff said "Can't wait till next year."

Great summary and commentary.

[Affirm]

Basketball is calling you

I’m there! This is by far the hardest playoff loss to get over since 2005. All the others we were just there and not really going anywhere. This team was different, getting better every week and had a shot to go deep into the playoofs. Probably still a longshot but still a shot.

2005 was tough because Furman was likely the top team in the country.

Small mistakes that might not cost us individual games, but in a tight game against a good opponent, they are magnified.

It actually seems like longer ago than 2005 that we were “likely the top team in the country”. I am not arguing that we were not, just saying it seems longer ago.