Scouting Samford

[FUTex]

The Evil Portal remains wide open.

If any of you guys happen to notice on your daily routine an ever-upward spiraling gyre of demonic figures gushing forth from an open pit to hell, please let me know. We need to locate this thing before we can close it.

[apaladin]

I checked out UWG's roster, and about 70% of the team were transfers from FBS programs, with about 15 of those coming from Power 5 schools. So I would not judge Samford poorly from this game.

Ok but they lost their next 2 games to Abilene Chrisrtian 38-24 and E. Kentucky 26-7.

[apaladin]

Expect rain on Saturday. The weather geeks say rain thursday and friday, none Saturday, but we all know this will change as they never get it right this far in advance.

Told ya! Rain has now crept into Saturday morning.

[gofurman]

There's probably no team I enjoy beating more than Samford. They aren't a rival by any means, it's just satisfactory.

Samford probably isn't as good as they were last year. The one area that gives me pause with them is that their QB, Crittendon, is a pretty good runner and we just got chewed up by a running quarterback.

This is spot on. It’s not just talent and coaching. It’s MATCHUPS. Just like basketball. Some teams are a bad matchup.

What is very helpful is we just saw how we couldn’t handle this same issue vs WM so we have no real excuse to not fix it or at least mitigate it with another week where I am sure this will be a BIG FOCUS.

Let's get back to SCOUTING SAMFORD. And not UWG - which I know there is some relelvance but still.

What does Samford do well. Again, the matchup is not a good one. A running QB is scary. MATCHUPS are a huge key. MATCHUPS.

While I am sure we are working on defending the running QB - I am sure they are watching that WMary tape and working on more QB runs - in all probability. I mean, I would be.

and Look, for all the turnovers and penalties etc. If we rush for 384 yards in every contest we are 3-0 in FCS. Heck, just 200 yards rushing probably leads to 3-0 FCS. Look at William and Mary beating us or Montana responding with dominant running over Western Carolina. Both came from behind. Passing teams seem to fade while rushing teams seem to get stronger as the game wears on. Again, that is why CCH himself preaches every year that we should "RUN THE BALL AND STOP THE RUN"

[FUwolfpacker]

Samford game notes: https://samfordsports.com/documents/202 ... an2024.pdf

Crittendon can certainly run but I don't think that's the first thing he wants to do. He ran for almost 100 against WG but only 28 against Alabama State (granted ASU is supposed to have a very good defense). He's got 102 yards on 41 attempts. I haven't watched a lot of Samford but I wonder how many of those were designed runs versus being forced from the pocket. Ideally, Furman would be able to get some pressure by closing down the pocket versus a reckless speed rush where you run by the QB and give him an easy QB draw (Hendrix referenced this in the Monday presser as well).

I don't think they are throwing it down field quite as much as they did with Hiers. He's only averaging about 6.5 yards per attempt which is fairly average, I think. Samford will throw a lot of those short passes and make you tackle. They'll do that for sure but we'll see if they test our corners (and the refs) deep.

Their kicker's first name is Forrest and their kickoff guy's last name is Beaverstock. Could be some issues there. Didn't notice anyone named "Dam" which is disappointing. They also have a guy who's first name is Midnight which is pretty cool.

[The Jackal]

Expect rain on Saturday. The weather geeks say rain thursday and friday, none Saturday, but we all know this will change as they never get it right this far in advance.

Told ya! Rain has now crept into Saturday morning.

A potential Cat 3 hurricane will hit Georgia in the next few days. I would be greatly surprised if there's not rain in Greenville.

[FUBeAR]

Samford game notes: https://samfordsports.com/documents/202 ... an2024.pdf

Crittendon can certainly run but I don't think that's the first thing he wants to do. He ran for almost 100 against WG but only 28 against Alabama State (granted ASU is supposed to have a very good defense). He's got 102 yards on 41 attempts. I haven't watched a lot of Samford but I wonder how many of those were designed runs versus being forced from the pocket. Ideally, Furman would be able to get some pressure by closing down the pocket versus a reckless speed rush where you run by the QB and give him an easy QB draw (Hendrix referenced this in the Monday presser as well).

I don't think they are throwing it down field quite as much as they did with Hiers. He's only averaging about 6.5 yards per attempt which is fairly average, I think. Samford will throw a lot of those short passes and make you tackle. They'll do that for sure but we'll see if they test our corners (and the refs) deep.

Their kicker's first name is Forrest and their kickoff guy's last name is Beaverstock. Could be some issues there. Didn't notice anyone named "Dam" which is disappointing. They also have a guy who's first name is Midnight which is pretty cool.

Using Play by Play data, not including Sacks or Kneel downs

18 - 101 vs. UWG
8 - 20 vs. Florida
10 - 25 vs. ALState
36 - 146 Total = 12 attempts/game @ ~4 ypa … not great

Not 100% precise as some of the rushes may have been ‘flushes,’ but it does give us an idea that he is prolly running more than typical Hatch Attack QB’s run…and he’s not doing it very effectively…which sort of surprised FUBeAR. FUBeAR recalls him being quite the scamperer in his fill-in duty for Hiers. Maybe finding the going a bit tougher when Defenses are prepared for him & his ‘set of skills,’ as opposed to Hiers’ tools.

BTW - having now watched a good bit of Woffy & Mercer … and knowing ETSU’s QB from his G-W days, QB’s running the ball (well) is gonna be a hallmark of this season in the SoCon. Gonzalez from WCU and Artopoeus from Chatt can hoof it pretty good too (they just like to do it less) … and Bennett from CIT can run well also (when not playing against the #1 Run D in FCS (that has played more than 1 game)). W&M should have been a great learning experience for the Paladin D heading into SoCon play…

“Stop the Run” means “Stop the QB Run also” this season.

[Paul C]

Expect rain on Saturday. The weather geeks say rain thursday and friday, none Saturday, but we all know this will change as they never get it right this far in advance.

Told ya! Rain has now crept into Saturday morning.

A potential Cat 3 hurricane will hit Georgia in the next few days. I would be greatly surprised if there's not rain in Greenville.

It will be dry on Sat. Put the money on the dresser.....

[gofurman]

Samford game notes: https://samfordsports.com/documents/202 ... an2024.pdf

Crittendon can certainly run but I don't think that's the first thing he wants to do. He ran for almost 100 against WG but only 28 against Alabama State (granted ASU is supposed to have a very good defense). He's got 102 yards on 41 attempts. I haven't watched a lot of Samford but I wonder how many of those were designed runs versus being forced from the pocket. Ideally, Furman would be able to get some pressure by closing down the pocket versus a reckless speed rush where you run by the QB and give him an easy QB draw (Hendrix referenced this in the Monday presser as well).

I don't think they are throwing it down field quite as much as they did with Hiers. He's only averaging about 6.5 yards per attempt which is fairly average, I think. Samford will throw a lot of those short passes and make you tackle. They'll do that for sure but we'll see if they test our corners (and the refs) deep.

Their kicker's first name is Forrest and their kickoff guy's last name is Beaverstock. Could be some issues there. Didn't notice anyone named "Dam" which is disappointing. They also have a guy who's first name is Midnight which is pretty cool.

Using Play by Play data, not including Sacks or Kneel downs

18 - 101 vs. UWG
8 - 20 vs. Florida
10 - 25 vs. ALState
36 - 146 Total = 12 attempts/game @ ~4 ypa … not great

Not 100% precise as some of the rushes may have been ‘flushes,’ but it does give us an idea that he is prolly running more than typical Hatch Attack QB’s run…and he’s not doing it very effectively…which sort of surprised FUBeAR. FUBeAR recalls him being quite the scamperer in his fill-in duty for Hiers. Maybe finding the going a bit tougher when Defenses are prepared for him & his ‘set of skills,’ as opposed to Hiers’ tools.

BTW - having now watched a good bit of Woffy & Mercer … and knowing ETSU’s QB from his G-W days, QB’s running the ball (well) is gonna be a hallmark of this season in the SoCon. Gonzalez from WCU and Artopoeus from Chatt can hoof it pretty good too (they just like to do it less) … and Bennett from CIT can run well also (when not playing against the #1 Run D in FCS (that has played more than 1 game)). W&M should have been a great learning experience for the Paladin D heading into SoCon play…

“Stop the Run” means “Stop the QB Run also” this season.

SPOT ON. Like good ol triple option Furman and GSU etc !!! The QB run is a serious weapon ... HUGE difference in 2nd and 10 (even a good throw away pass to save a sack) and 2nd and 6 because of a scamper. HUGE

[Roundball]

Expect rain on Saturday. The weather geeks say rain thursday and friday, none Saturday, but we all know this will change as they never get it right this far in advance.

Told ya! Rain has now crept into Saturday morning.

A potential Cat 3 hurricane will hit Georgia in the next few days. I would be greatly surprised if there's not rain in Greenville.

It will be dry on Sat. Put the money on the dresser.....

It's a fast moving storm that should be north of us by Friday afternoon. That said, the forecasts of extreme rain and high winds don't sound good for our area on Thursday night and Friday morning.

[FUwolfpacker]

Furman game notes are up: https://furmanpaladins.com/documents/20 ... _Notes.pdf

Ferguson starting over Holbrook. Apparently it happened last game, but it wasn't listed that way on the W&M game notes. Hester still starting as Harris is out. Tormey now the back up TE. Herbert back in the lineup but backup at Bandit, not LB. Wonder if that's more in response to his pass coverage ability relative to Chiedo. I think everything else is about the same.

[The Jackal]

Tormey may have been TE2 against William and Mary. It looked like he got popped on a pass breakup during the play before Pryor had his long catches. May have been knocked out of the game and Pryor inserted.

I'm also wondering if we may see more Gavin Hall this week. I think sometimes the biggest gap for young running backs is in pass protection, and having a freshman center, freshman QB, and freshman RB in the game at the same time may be a bit risky.

[FUwolfpacker]

Tormey may have been TE2 against William and Mary. It looked like he got popped on a pass breakup during the play before Pryor had his long catches. May have been knocked out of the game and Pryor inserted.

May have been. Pretty sure it still said Ruckh on the game notes but obviously some things got switched around with Harris being out of the lineup.

[The Jackal]

A few thoughts on the Bulldogs:

1. We have generally had a pretty good game plan for how to deal with Samford's offense. It's been a long time since I've thought "we just can't stop these guys."

2. Furman has already faced two tempo air raid type offenses in Ole Miss and Stetson. So, that bodes well in our favor.

3. Crittendon has been around Samford a while. He's got decent numbers on the year passing with 212 ypg and 67% completions. It can be interesting to see that play out, though, because generally Samford's QBs have to hit higher numbers in that offense (they throw the ball around 80% of the time). Heirs the last two years was upwards of 272 ypg and 75% completions.

4. The third down conversion rate is not great for them at 36%. They've converted every 4th down attempt this season, though.

5. Interestingly, in three games they have attempted only 2 field goals and missed both of them.

6. I would call Crittendon a quarterback that can run as opposed to a "running" QB. He's got some wiggle. Crittendon is not as big as Darius Wilson at W&M, and Samford may not want him taking a bunch of hits with a lot of running plays. I still suspect their coaches won't pass up the opportunity given how rough Furman was last week at keeping limiting the QB run game. Furman's issue was not so much that it let Wilson out of the pocket, it's that they let him run straight ahead and our linebackers couldn't get off the block before he was buy us. Furman, again, will need to keep Samford's QB in the pocket, just need to do a better job of getting him on the ground.

7. Samford's offense is designed to get yards. They typically are not a stellar rushing team. They will pick up yards between the 20s, but what makes the difference against them is what you can do inside the 20s. It's like playing the option - you have to stay disciplined every play and force them to methodically drive the field. Don't let them get space and beat you on a deep ball.

They'll get some shots in. They always do. We've just gotta punch back.

[gofurman]

I’d still love to see us mix up the OL a little. Sometimes you see some things if you take a series from the sidelines.

Interesting. As Jackal noted,. On some occasions The hat on hat run plays do seem to fir out personnel better - I LOVE that untouched td run vs WM.