Saturday was a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day to be a home team in the Big South.
EXHIBIT A:
(2-2) Charleston Southern 35, (2-2) Monmouth 7
Monmouth came into this, their first home game of the 2016 season, with the best overall record in the Big South at 2-1. CSU came into this game after a much-needed bye week, desperate to move on from a month of meaningless games and off-the-field issues. Given that the Big South conference now only consists of six teams, it was imperative that each team come out firing on all cylinders.
Neither team did.
CSU started Shane Bucenell at quarterback in his first game action since coming into the Kentucky State game as an injury replacement three weeks ago only to leave with his own injury several minutes later. In his first career start, Bucenell was uninspiring in the first half but, then again, so was the rest of the CSU offense. The Buccaneers were able to move the ball pretty much at will but repeatedly shot themselves in the peg leg with turnovers and poorly-timed penalties. They did manage a score when QB Robert Mitchell arced a pass perfectly into the back corner of the end zone for WR Kameron Brown between two Monmouth defenders who appeared to be suddenly unaware that passing the ball was an option. Monmouth, however, fared no better on offense. The Hawks were able to get a little bit of a passing game going but every drive in the first half stalled at or near mid-field. At the half-time break, Monmouth had six first downs – all through the air – and had -2 rushing yards on the day.
In the second half, somebody must have yelled something memorable and wholly inspirational in the CSU locker room because the Bucs came out on fire. They took the second half kickoff and RB Mike Holloway promptly scored from 75 yards out on the first play from scrimmage. Monmouth, however, finally did something with their turn with the ball and a scrambling QB Cody Williams hit WR Reggie White in the back of the end zone to cut the lead 14-7. But, that was the extent of the Monmouth offensive output. CSU running backs would score on each of the next three possessions on their way to a 322-yard rushing day as a team and Monmouth would only gather 89 total yards for the rest of the game.
Ultimately, CSU continued their dominance over the Monmouth program. In the three years that the two teams have played each other, CSU has now won all three games by a combined score of 96-14. Somehow, that level of non-competition is unique between these two teams as Monmouth has been very competitive with virtually every other team in the Big South and CSU, even at their best, has had a fight on their hands with the same opponents. Somehow, CSU just has Monmouth’s number.
A couple thoughts on the game itself:
- For the first half, CSU looked like a team trying to find itself and that’s due in part to the quarterback situation. For the last two years, CSU had a known quantity starting at the position in Austin Brown and at backup in Kyle Copeland. Even when one or both were hurt, there was a level of consistency. Now, however, Brown is graduated and Copeland is in a brace, awaiting reconstructive surgery on his knee. Neither Bucenell or Mitchell looked like “the guy” early and it’s telling that the CSU RB’s got most of the workload in the second half. They went to what they do best and that is get those guys the ball.
- Offensively, Monmouth has to have a healthy Lavon Chaney at running back. He did play in this game and was Monmouth’s leading rusher. But, it’s obvious that he isn’t recovered from his injury two weeks ago. What was originally explained as a shoulder injury turns out to be – according to the Monmouth TV announcers, anyway – a dislocated rib which is simply not an injury that can be recovered from in two weeks.
What does this win mean for CSU? – They’re 1-0 in-conference which is huge since there’s only five conference games this season. The Bucs won’t play another game against Big South competition until October 24th so having a conference game in hand now should take a little bit of pressure off over the next several weeks.
What does this loss mean for Monmouth? – It hurts their postseason chances badly but doesn’t eliminate them. Of every school in the Big South, Monmouth is the only team with a strong enough non-conference schedule remaining (Fordham and FBS-transitional Coastal Carolina) that could argue for an at-large bid should they win out. It’s unlikely, yes, but possible.
EXHIBIT B:
(3-1) Jacksonville State 48, (1-3) Liberty 19
Liberty, meet woodshed.
This was as thorough a beating as Liberty has taken at home since the dark dark days of the Ken Karcher era. LU had developed a reputation for knocking off highly-ranked teams at Williams Stadium but, honestly, Jacksonville State is not just a highly-ranked team. The Gamecocks are on another level right now and that was obvious Saturday night.
JSU scored pretty much every way you can score in the first half as QB Eli Jenkins threw for a touchdown early, ran for a touchdown a little bit later, probably cheered wildly as WR Josh Barge ran a punt back for score and, then, Jenkins came back in to run another one in.
Meanwhile, Liberty had no answer on the other end. The LU offensive line got little push up front to start the run game and the quarterbacks found themselves on the run for most of the night. Defensively, the Flames tried to run-blitz early in order to bottle up Jenkins and RB Roc Thomas. That opened up the passing lanes for Jenkins and, when, LU tried to play more straight-up defense, JSU made them pay on the ground.
The only bright spots on the night for Liberty were the kickoff returns from RB Frankie Hickson and a nice throw and catch from a sprinting-for-his-life QB Steven Calvert over the shoulder of WR Dante Shells. Other than that, it was all JSU all the time.
Personal note:
- I have watched a lot of FCS football over the last two decades and there are only a few players that I have ever seen in person that were so dominant at their position that they dominated every aspect of the game even when they weren’t on the field. Even when they were on the bench, each of the other team’s decisions in every other phase – be it offense, defense or special teams – had to be based on how it would help them contain that singular player once he stepped back between the lines. In short, without denigrating FCS football or FCS players, these are guys who I’ve seen who simply didn’t belong on an FCS field with FCS players. It’s a very short list: Randy Moss, Terrence West, Vince Redd. Until Saturday night, that was the entire group. Now, add Roc Thomas to it. I’ve never before seen such a combination of speed, power, balance and spatial awareness in one person. The stuff he was doing on Saturday was some mutant X-Men level shape-shifting teleportation nonsense. I’m talking about spinning off of a full hit, juking another guy and accelerating past a third all in one movement and faster than an eye blink. I still don’t know exactly what he did and it’s too unpleasant to go back and watch the broadcast to figure it out. It was painfully impressive.
What does this loss mean for Liberty? – The Flames’ only path to the postseason runs through the Big South conference autobid. Liberty needed to pick up a quality non-conference win and too many of those slots were filled with FBS teams or Jacksonville State. The only non-conference games left on the LU schedule are Robert Morris and Coastal Carolina and Coastal is probably not enough on its own. The good news is that Liberty gets each of the three conference teams they lost to on the road in 2015 at home in 2016.
EXHIBIT C:
(3-1) Florida Tech 28, (1-3) Presbyterian 7
Presbyterian finally played a game at home on Saturday and, to mark the occasion, the Blue Hose lost to a team from Division 2. In fairness, despite being in just their fourth year as a program, Florida Tech was ranked at #19 in the D2 polls and will surely rise after this past weekend.
Early in the first half, FIT proved they were there to win. After PC’s opening drive went 3-and-out, the Panthers drove the length of the field and capped it with a 1-yard dive for touchdown to take an early 7-0 lead. The score remained the same for most of the first half even though FIT was clearly the dominant force in the game. Just as Chattanooga and Central Michigan did in previous weeks, Florida Tech stacked the box on defense against RB Darrell Bridges and dared the PC quarterbacks to beat them and, just as in previous weeks, those quarterbacks weren’t up to the challenge. Presby QB Will Brock, who was starting in place of the injured Ben Cheek, left the game early with an ankle injury himself and was replaced by walk-on QB John Walker. Neither were particularly effective. On defense, despite giving up the early touchdown, the Blue Hose managed to keep FIT out of the end zone until right before the half. After Presby kicker Brett Norton pushed a field goal attempt wide right, the Panthers took over the ball at their own 20-yard line with just over a minute left in the first half. Over the course of the next 28 seconds, FIT went the full 80 yards on three straight screen passes to the same player and took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
That would be enough.
PC taped Brock’s ankle up and sent him back into the game but he couldn’t save them. After FIT hit a wheel route to the tight end for an 80-yard touchdown play early in the third quarter, the game was essentially over. Brock’s touchdown pass to WR Darquez Watson gave the Blue Hose a flicker of hope but Florida Tech slammed that door shut with a pick-six in the fourth that ended the scoring.
On the whole, Florida Tech was clearly the more experienced team. The Panthers found a weaknesses in the PC secondary and exploited them, going so far as to pretty much abandon the run entirely in spite of their mounting lead. Presbyterian, on the other hand, having found themselves down 21-0 early in the third quarter, also abandoned the run. The result was a combined 95 passing attempts between the two teams. Presby’s threw the ball 63 times on the night, almost as many attempts as they had through the prior three games combined.
To touch on the same questions from last week:
- How significant is QB Ben Cheek’s injury? It’s serious enough that, despite being listed on the depth chart, Cheek didn’t even dress for the game. What’s curious is that Brock – a former walk-on – was replaced by John Walker, a current walk-on. Is Cheek the only scholarship-recruited quarterback at PC? That’s just odd.
- Presby’s defense is not what it was. There have been some injuries here and there but youth and lack of depth have taken their toll. PC gave up 400+ yards of offense to Florida Tech. FIT is a good D2 team but are no better than what Presby is going to see in the rest of the Big South.
- Bridges’ 16 carries for 67 yards was his lowest output of the season to date.
What does this loss mean for PC? – If Campbell was a win you can build on, this was a loss that will eat you. Losing to a D2 is bad enough but this comes at the worst possible time, just before an open date that allows the frustration to fester a little bit. Presbyterian has nothing left to play for but a conference title and an out of sync defense along with the round-robin at quarterback makes that the longest of long shots.
(2-2) Ohio 37, (1-3) Gardner-Webb 21
Gardner-Webb traveled up to Athens, OH and fell in a game that was nowhere as close as the final score would indicate. It’s not that Gardner-Webb was bad, it’s just that they had no chance. Ohio was simply methodical and relentless until they no longer had to be.
Gardner-Webb answered Ohio’s opening score with a long touchdown march of their own. But, after Ohio scored again, G-W was stuffed at mid-field on back-to-back short yardage plays and turned the ball over on downs early in the second quarter. The Bobcats drove another score in and the Bulldogs next possession ended with QB Tyrell Maxwell taking a third down sack. Ohio drove again and scored again and followed that up by sacking Maxwell on third down again, this time in his own end zone for a safety. Getting the ball back one more time before the half, OU went down the field again but missed a field goal on the last play, leaving the halftime score at 30-7. That was the only drive in the first half where Ohio didn’t get into the end zone.
As dominant as Ohio was in the first half, under head coach Frank Solich, they haven’t been a program interested in humiliating other teams. In the second half, the Bobcats came out and ran their offense but, after scoring once more to take a 37-14 lead, it was obvious the sense of urgency was gone. The two teams traded punts and turnovers for the bulk of the remaining time. By the time, G-W tacked on a late score with just over two minutes remaining, the game had long been well decided.
There was really nothing remarkable about this game. Once Ohio stuffed the Bulldogs on 3rd-and-1 and again on 4th-and-1, it was clear that Ohio wasn’t going to allow Gardner-Webb to win this game and there was nothing that G-W could do about it. After that, it the game felt more like a working scrimmage for both teams. By game’s end, Ohio had scored touchdowns on five of their ten possessions. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb took the opportunity to work on their offense and improve the downfield passing game. At 1-3, Gardner-Webb’s record isn’t great but they looked better offensively against Ohio than they did against The Citadel. Defensively, not so much but it was pretty clear early that Ohio was going to set the stage in that regard.
What does this loss mean for Gardner-Webb? – Just like almost everyone else in the conference, the road to the post-season leads through the Big South autobid. G-W’s only remaining non-conference opponent is D2 Benedict.
(2-1) Kennesaw State 36, (2-2) Duquesne 28
In the first ever flight for the Owls, Kennesaw landed in Pittsburgh to take on the Dukes of Duquesne.
Early on, Duquesne made this a physical contest and Kennesaw State wasn’t completely prepared for it. The result was a chippy first half that saw the officials having to get in between some jaw-jacking players every few plays and, occasionally, deliver some friendly chatter of their own. For the first half, momentum swung back and forth between the two teams like an undecided voter on debate night. KSU scored first on a quarterback dive from the 1-yard line and got the ball back on a defensive stand only to fumble the ball directly into the hands of a DU defender who returned it for touchdown. In the second quarter, KSU would return the favor as DB Justin Blackmon would intercept a Duquesne pass and return it for touchdown. Even so, the Dukes would score again just before the half and went into the break with a 17-16 edge.
The second half, however, belonged to KSU WR Justin Sumpter. Early in the third quarter, Sumpter slipped his defender and got behind everyone. Backup QB Daniel David hit Sumpter in stride and it was a 67-yard foot race to the house. After another KSU touchdown on the ground, David found Sumpter again in the fourth quarter, this time for 15 yards and another touchdown that put KSU up by 16 with just over six and a half minutes left. But, in between touchdowns, Sumpter and his pogo-stick jumping ability were snagging jump balls out of the air and bailing his team out of one jam after another. Sumpter finished the day with eight catches for 187 yards and two TD’s. Equally as important, however, five of those catches converted 3rd or 4th downs for KSU and another one bailed them out of a backed up situation at their own goal line.
Duquesne pulled within eight points on a late touchdown but elected to kickoff deep and play defense. But, the Owls and their triple-option offense successfully ran out the clock and the Dukes never got the ball back.
As much as KSU’s identity is wrapped up in their run-oriented offense, it was their defense and their passing game that decided the day. Kennesaw picked off Duquesne four times – three from Blackmon alone – and threw the ball for 312 yards as opposed to just 147 yards on the ground.
Two concerns for Kennesaw from this game:
- The kicking game was a little shaky. They missed a makeable FG in the second quarter that would have put them up by two scores and shanked an extra point to start the game. Officially, the PAT was blocked but it was blocked by the right upright.
- Who’s the next QB on the roster for KSU? You might want to get him warmed up. Through three games, the Owls have used three quarterbacks and only one has finished a game he started. Season starter Trey White hasn’t returned yet from his groin injury suffered against ETSU and Chandler Burks – who started this game – was forced out when a Duquesne defensive end slammed him face first into the turf of Rooney Field. It was a legal but completely vicious hit and Burks didn’t move for a while. It would be surprising if he made the trip to Furman this week.
What does this win mean for Kennesaw? – Well, aside from being the Big South’s only non-conference win on the day, by virtue of Duquesne being a conference champ and playoff participant in 2015, it’s probably the biggest non-conference win of the season for the Big South which isn’t saying much at all.
Biggest surprise of the week: Kennesaw’s passing game. Lobbing the ball to Sumpter on fourth down was very effective.
Biggest disappointment of the week: Presbyterian losing being dominated at home by a D2 school. Ranked or not, that’s just…wow.