The SOCON picked up 2 OOC FCS wins and the conference games did not disappoint as ETSU pulled off a huge upset over Western Carolina in the Battle at Bristol and the UTC at Furman game proved to be an entertaining defensive struggle for much of the game.
#9 Chattanooga 21 at Furman 14 (recap)
The Mocs started the season by playing 8 straight quarters of football without allowing a score. While not quite as perfect, Furman’s defense has been impressive. As a result. the fact that the first half was an all out defensive struggle was no surprise. Of the 12 first half possessions by both teams, there were 9 punts, 1 interception, one missed FG and 1 TD, scored by UTC late in the second quarter. The teams combined for only 205 first half yards and a stingy score of 7-0.
The second half saw the fortunes of both teams change. UTC put up 14 more points in the third on their first 2 possessions which went for 70 and 77 yard drives. While UTC made some improvements after the half, Furman’s situation appeared to worsen fast as their starting QB P.J. Blazejowski went out of the game with an injury at the start of the third. On again, off again starter Reese Hannon came in at that point and after a few disappointing drives to get warmed up, he actually began a Furman rally in the 4th quarter. Furman scored with 8 minutes to go in the game after a 55 yard 2 minute drive to make it 21-7. After the Paladins held the Mocs on their ensuing drive, Furman again scored on an 11 play 94 yard drive to make it 21-14. However, that left just 1 minute to go, and Furman’s on-side kick was not successful in any event, and the Mocs preserved the win to go 3-0, 1-0 in SOCON.
The Mocs finished with 288 total offensive yards (142 rush/146 pass). UTC QB Alejandro Bennifield went 11-14 with 1 interception, 1 passing TD and 1 rushing TD. Overall, Furman gained 281 yards with only 85 on the ground. Hannon finished 14-20 for 174 yards passing.
Furman finishes out their brutal September schedule with a trip to Coastal Carolina next week while UTC hosts Samford in what could be a pivotal SOCON game. Furman drops to 0-3, but may very well be the best winless team in FCS.
#13 The Citadel 31 at Gardner-Webb 24 (recap)
The good news for The Citadel is they won again. The not as good news is they had to accomplish a come from behind 4th quarter scoring drive for the third week in a row. But a win is a win and their 3-0 start must be a great feeling for first year head coach Brent Thompson. Gardner-Webb has upset a couple top 25 teams the last few years and they almost got another one on Saturday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs led 4 different times during the ballgame. The Bulldogs of The Citadel came back each time while racking up 419 yards on the ground and returning a punt for 81 yards and a score. That was the first punt returned for a TD by The Citadel since 2008 when Andre Roberts scored against UTC.
Both Bulldogs scored on their opening drives. After that it got a little tougher. The Citadel drives, as expected, were long, laborious affairs. They held the TOP margin at halftime by about 18 to 12 minutes. But the G-W scoring drives also covered lots of ground going for 86 and 70 yards. An inopportune penalty by The Citadel erased a score, and a turnover wasted a long drive for The Citadel in the first half. Still, it looked as though The Citadel Bulldogs had taken control of the game by pounding out 298 yards on the ground before half. This surpassed their average per game output which has been on the lean side so far, and it was good enough to take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
The 3rd quarter saw the Runnin’ Bulldogs come roaring back on both sides of the ball. They held The Citadel to a meager 53 yards in the 3rd quarter which resulted in 4 punts and a turn over on downs. The Gardner-Webb offense ground out a 61 yard scoring drive capped off by a 28 yard scamper up the middle to make it 17-14 with 4:05 to go in the 3rd. As the quarter came to a close, and Gardner-Webb was forced to punt, DeAndre Schoultz returned the punt for 81 yards for a go ahead score to make it 21-17.
Taking a page from The Citadel playbook, Gardner-Webb answered back with a 91 yard drive in 15 plays in the 4th quarter. They chewed up 6:41 on the clock and went ahead 24-21. The Citadel answered yet again with a 10 play 72 yard scoring drive. The key play of this drive being a 41 yard dash by Dominique Allen to the G-W 3 on a 3rd and seven. Allen punched it in two plays later to make it 28-24. With 2:45 to go Gardner-Webb had a chance since they appeared to be moving the ball well in the second half. However, The Citadel defense cranked up the heat and sacked the G-W QB Tyrell Maxwell twice for a loss of 15 yards and forced a punt from the G-W 2 with less than minute to go. The Citadel added a field goal a few plays later to make it 31-24 for a final.
The Citadel had two 100 yard rushers (Reggie Williams-112 and Dominique Allen-108) and it appears that they finally got some traction in their option attack. They tallied 419 yards on the day, even with G-W doing an outstanding job stuffing The Citadel FBs between the tackles. As a result, The Citadel ran outside, more than normal, for much of the game and resulted in the FBs gaining only 37 yards on the day. The Citadel also had a token 12 yards through the air.
At 3-0 and 2-0 in the SOCON, The Citadel takes a breather next week before meeting WCU on 1 October.
ETSU 34 Western Carolina 31 (recap)
It could have been a movie script. The Bucs were playing their first conference game following ETSU’s return to the Southern Conference. They pulled off a stunning upset two weeks ago against Kennesaw State who had humiliated them last year. They were also playing in the venue that recorded the largest college football attendance ever last week and while they would not come close to filling it, they were still there, at the Bristol Motor Speedway. ETSU would have the hardest part in that all they had to do, was win the game. All they had to do is beat a decent Catamount team that missed the FCS playoffs last year by a couple whiskers.
Towards the end of the first half, with WCU up 21-3, it looked like ETSU would not hold up their end of this Cinderella story. But them something happened to turn the tide. WCU fumbled and the Bucs swaggered their way down the field in 8 plays for 71 yards to score as the first half ended. Down 21-10 at half, they had the momentum and they would also get the ball first to start the second half.
In the first half, ETSU had punted 4 times, fumbled, and got a FG on their first 6 possessions. They only had 4 possessions in the entire second half, but they scored on every one of them. They opened the third quarter with a 10 play 75 yard drive to make it 21-17. Their defense must have been inspired and they forced a three and out on Western. The Bucs then proceeded to drive 76 yards in 16 pays for another score to take the lead 24-21. That drive was assisted by 3 WCU penalties including a personal foul and an unsportsmanlike conduct. The frustration must have been mounting by this time. That drive took 7:26. That is serious ball control.
After forcing WCU to punt yet again, the WCU defense stirred a bit and held the Bucs to a FG this time to make it 27-21. WCU answer back with a FG of their own to keep it within 3 points at 27-24.
The Bucs then proceeded to go on a 13 play 75 yard drive for 6:37 to make it 34-24 with little over a minute to go in the game. The Cats would answer back in under a minute, but it was too little, too late and ETSU had pulled out a beautiful upset victory to mark its return to the Southern Conference. Take that Cinderella.
ETSU totaled 474 yards of balance offense and lost one fumble. Bucs QB Austin Herink went 24/37 for 269 yards and 3 TDS. Most important of all, they held the ball for 38 minutes! It’s pretty hard to win if you only have the ball for 22 minutes. More to the point, in the second half WCU had the ball for less than 7 minutes! Western needs to get their defense in gear. Their offense can score, that is, if they ever get the ball. Western put up 443 yards including 343 through the air. Tyrie Adams went 26/39, 2 TD and no picks in a losing effort. WCU’s Detrez Newsome had only 32 yards, but also 2 TDs on 11 carriers.
Western Carolina gets a week off to work on ball control and defense. They will need to with The Citadel up next on 1 Oct. ETSU travels to Spartanburg next week to face Wofford to see if they can continue their Cinderella story.
Mercer 34 Tennessee Tech 27 (recap)
Mercer occasionally has a habit of putting itself in a hole early. Giving up a 100 yard kickoff return to start Saturday’s game against Tennessee Tech was a prime example. But while that can be a back breaker, it can also be a great motivator. Mercer did answer on their ensuing drive, but they were stymied deep in Tech territory by a holding penalty and forced to kick a FG to make it 7-3.
After trading 4 punts between them, Mercer caught a break and recovered a fumble at their own 22. Striking fast, Mercer QB John Russ tossed a 45 yard pass to quickly flip the field. Three plays later, Russ ran it in from 15 yards out to make it 10-7 Mercer. Not to be outdone, the Golden Eagles answered right back with a 6 play, 62 yard scoring drive, aided by a Mercer unsportsmanlike penalty, to make it 14-10 going into the half.
The third quarter saw an explosion of scoring and more than just a bit of controversy. After forcing a Mercer 3 and out on their first possession, the Golden Eagles flew 71 yards in 7 plays to go up 21-10. Mercer answered back on a 9 play 87 yard drive that ended with a 22 yard toss by Russ to Sam Walker. This was the first of two second half TDs for this combo. After forcing a fumble on TTUs next possession, Mercer seemed to be taking charge. They pawed their way down the field for 66 yards on 10 plays and Russ tossed it to Walker again, this time from 9 yards to make it 24-21.
After the Mercer defense forced a 3 and out, the momentum had certainly shifted in their favor. Starting from their own 1 after the punt, Mercer faced a long drive ahead of them. After an off-sides penalty on TTU, Mercer attempted a pass and it was incomplete, or so they thought. A TTU player ran over a picked up the ball thinking it might be a lateral that got away and walked into the end zone. The Line Judge made the call of a TD for TTU after apparently ruling it was a catch and fumble. The Mercer players, coaches, and fans, were obviously incredulous. The Mercer receiver never even had any sort of control. It actually looks like the ball may have never even touched the receiver’s hands but hit his forearms. Also, there was never any bean bag throw by any official to mark a fumble. Regardless, the call stood and TTU went up 27-24 after Mercer blocked the XP.
This situation may have lit a fire under the Mercer Bears. In the three 4th quarter possessions by TTU, they got a cumulative total of 1 yard. Mercer also grabbed an interception. After the dust settled, the Bears scored another TD and FG to seal the win 34-27.
Mercer’s John Russ went 23/35 passing for 259 yards and 2 TDs. He tacked on 2 TDs running as well. Overall, the Bears totaled 401 yard on offense. Mercer gave up 257 yards including only 18 on the ground. Mercer also won the turnover battle benefiting form 3 lost fumbles and 1 interception tossed by TTU.
Mercer gets a week off before returning to SOCON play 1 Oct at VMI.
Wofford 59 JC Smith 0 (recap)
It took Wofford a little while to get going against the Div II Golden Bulls of JC Smith. Holding a lackluster 17-0 lead at half, Wofford would explode in the second half with 42 points including 21 defense points. On the day Wofford racked up 482 yards and held JC Smith to 102. Wofford played 72 different players during the game including 12 different ball carriers. Lorenzo Long gained 127 yards and 3 TDs on 13 carries.
Brad Butler and Brandon Goodson shared QB duties with Butler going 10-12 through the air for 124 yards. Goodson added 28 more yards on 2 completions. While this is a pretty good showing for Wofford, it was obviously against lesser competition. Last year they averaged 69 yards passing a game.
Racking up 9 penalties for 80 yards, and dropping 4 fumbles and losing one of those, Wofford will need to clean up its execution before it hits SOCON play. Originally hoping to ease into SOCON play, Wofford faces off against a feisty ETSU next week who is fresh off its upset of WCU.
Power Ranking
- UTC
- The Citadel
- Samford
- Wofford
- Mercer
- ETSU
- VMI
- WCU
- Furman