It was the first full week of conference games in the Southern Conference and the competition did not disappoint. But the biggest news was probably the continued meltdown of Furman as they fell in an out of conference game against Kennesaw State to now go 0-5 on the year. Chattanooga, The Citadel, and Samford all won to remain the current favorites for the SOCON title. There was an overtime thriller between Mercer and VMI as well.
#4 Chattanooga 37 ETSU 7 (Box Score)
The Chattanooga Mocs easily handled ETSU to go 5-0 and 3-0 in the SOCON. UTC again turned in a superior defensive effort in holding ETSU to 132 total yards. The Chattanooga offense also turned in a strong balanced performance with 397 total yards including 180 through the air and 217 passing. They also held the ball for an impressive 35:30.
UTC started a bit slow being held to a field goal on their first possession, but it was a 52 yard kick. Always nice to know you have a kicker, even you don’t usually need him. ETSU drove the ball well on their 1st possession only to lose it deep on an interception. After trading punts, the Mocs went to town scoring on their next two possessions. After driving for a respectable 72 yards on their first two possessions, ETSU was held to a total of 2 yards on their next four possessions. UTC had a comfortable 17-0 lead at the half.
After being held on their first possession of the second half, UTC scored on their next 2 to pull away from the Bucs 31-0. The Mocs defense was in perfect form in the second half holding ETSU to only 39 total yards. The lone ETSU score coming on a UTC fumble deep in their own territory mid way through the fourth.
On the day, Mocs QB Alejandro Bennifield went a decent 16/26 for 180 yards and threw one interception. Mocs running back Derrick Craine totaled 63 Yards and three TDs. The Bucs QB, Austin Herink, went 11/19 for only 40 yards and 1 interception.
The Mocs played disciplined with just 3 penalties for 25 yards while ETSU struggled a little with 6 penalties for 60 yards. Each team lost a fumble.
Chattanooga hopes to avenge last year’s loss to Mercer at home next week. ETSU travels to a rejuvenated VMI.
#9 The Citadel 37 WCU 14 (Box Score)
The Citadel Bulldogs finally got a win without having to come from behind in the 4th quarter. And they did it in convincing fashion on both sides of the ball. With veteran Dominique Allen back starting at QB for the first time this year, The Citadel got their option machine into high gear. They racked up an impressive 602 yards of offense including 522 on the ground. They dominated the pace of the game by holding the ball for a ridiculous 43 minutes and running 94 offensive plays. But while the Bulldog offense was executing its best performance of the year to date, the defense was hard at work as well. The Citadel held WCU to a total of 21 first half yards. In fact, the Catamounts did not cross mid-field until near the end of the 3rd quarter. WCU was held to 122 total yards on the day.
The Citadel did get off to a slow start with a punt and fumble on their first two possessions, but they scored TDs on their next 4 possessions to go up 27-0 at half. They missed a 2pt conversion they tried to sneak in on their third TD. WCU seemed to contain the Bulldogs fullbacks occasionally on the dive, but they had no answer for the pitch outside. So the Dogs just went outside, over and over again. They had 283 yards on the ground by halftime. They also had 91 yards through the air before the half. 75 of those yards came on a pass by running back Cam Jackson to a wide open fullback Tyler Renew for a score.
To start the third quarter, it looked like it would be a repeat of the first half with WCU punting away their first two possessions and The Citadel scoring again to make it 34-0. The Citadel also continued putting serious pressure on WCU’s redshirt Freshman QB Tyrie Adams delivering back to back sacks. On the Catamount’s third possession of the second half, Adams tossed an interception to Bulldog Dee Delaney only to have it nullified by an extremely questionable roughing the passer penalty. This lit a little fire under Western’s offense and they scored 5 plays later on a 7 yard rush by Adams after 2 long passes. The one blight on the Bulldogs all day was their penalties. They totaled an uncharacteristic 13 flags for 120 yards. That also included a 15 yard unsportsmanlike call against The Citadel Head coach Brent Thompson in the 1st quarter.
The Catamounts also scored in the 4th with a 65 yard gallop by WCU’s premier back Detrez Newsome who the Dogs had kept in check most of the day. Newsome finished with 94 yards on the day. Cats QB Adams finished a disappointing 10/19 for 90 yards with one interception. The Dogs sacked him 6 times and also got back up Catamount QB Wes Holcombe once as well. If there was a bright spot on the day for Western Carolina, it was their punter. Ian Berryman gave the Dogs a long field all day by booting it 7 times for an average of 54 yards including a long of 64 and putting three punts inside the 20.
For the Bulldogs superlatives, it was Reggie Williams who took the rushing crown for the day with 133 yards on 17 carries. Cam Jackson went 85 on 14 carries and he also tossed the previously mentioned TD pass. Rod Johnson ran 6 times for 69 yards and 3 TDs. Dominique Allen went 43 yards on 11 carriers, but he pitched it, accurately, probably 25 times on the day. Through the air, he went a poor 1/6 for 11 yards and he tossed the Bulldogs only interception of the year. Back-up QB Jordan Black, who started the previous three games, went 2/3 for only 3 yards, but that included a TD pass.
The big takeaway for Western Carolina is they need to step up on defense. They had their moments, but they never quite figured out how to stop the continued option attack of the Bulldogs. It appeared that they started to slow it down in the second half when they finally stayed on assignment, but the Dogs simply adjusted and threw their defensive scheme off. On offense they have a good, but inexperienced QB in Adams, but his offensive line needs to give him more time. They better figure out both issues before Wofford comes to town next week.
The Citadel needs to work on their discipline and eliminate their penalties which included 4 false starts and two costly roughing the passer penalties. Anyone can complain about the refs, but they need to stop giving them ammunition. Dominique Allen also needs to up his passing game a bit. The Bulldogs get a break next week, of sorts, as they face Div II North Greenville.
Samford 28 Wofford 26 (Box Score)
It was run versus pass in this matchup between the Wofford Terriers and the Samford Bulldogs. Pass won, barely. Despite holding the ball for over 38 minutes and gaining 291 yards on the ground, Wofford came up short. Specially, they threw an interception on their 2 point conversion in an attempt to tie the game late in the fourth.
After Samford punted on their first possession, and Wofford gave it up on downs deep in their own territory on a 4-1, Samford struck first scoring in two plays. It was calculated risk on Wofford’s part that didn’t pan out. On their next possession, the Terriers did what they do best. They drove for 81 yards in 9 plays and chewed up nearly 5 minutes of the clock to tie it up. After trading some punts Wofford scored next on a 48 yard field goal to take the lead, 10-7. But Samford answered right back on 7 play 78 yard drive that took only 1:33 to take the lead. It was a drive that had 1 rushing play for 1 yard.
After Wofford punted again, Samford again struck to make it 21-10 on a 5 play, 71 yard drive. They did run it twice this time for 4 yards, but the drive took all of 1:32. Wofford then took 16 plays to go 75 yards to make it 21-17 at halftime. The Terriers drive took 6:32. Wofford definitely had a hard time stopping Samford’s Devlin Hodges, but their best defense was to just keep the ball out of his hands for as long as possible.
The 3rd quarter was a bit quiet with the Terriers scoring a field goal on their opening possession. After trading a bunch of punts and Samford missing a 51 yard field goal, the next score wasn’t until late in the fourth when the Bulldogs put a 74 yard drive of 9 plays together. They did take 3:15, but they again only rushed once for 9 yards. Not to be outdone, Wofford went on relatively fast scoring drive of 1:36 with only 5 minutes to go in the game. They were helped by a 25 yard completion and a roughing the passer call against Samford. The drive went 83 yards in 4 plays and was capped off by a 16 yards TD run by Lorenzo Long. Needing the 2 point conversion to tie, Terrier QB Brandon Goodson tossed an interception.
Wofford still had a chance with 3:24 to go. They gave up one first down to Samford, but forced the Bulldogs to punt and started a desperation drive with 14 seconds remaining. An incomplete pass and sack sealed the deal for Samford, 28-26.
Samford’s Devlin Hodges finished the day going an enviable 28/32 and 315 yards, 4 TDs and no interceptions. However, yet again, Samford finished with another dismal tally in rushing. They had a paltry 30 yards for the day. Wofford went 291 yards on the ground for a 4.7 yards per carry average. Terrier QB Brandon Goodson went 7/13 and 108 with the interception on the 2pt conversion. Wofford’s Lorenzo Long finished with 117 yards on the ground. Defensively, Wofford only got to the Samford QB twice and had 1 QB hurry. The Bulldogs may not need to run if their QB has time to make the throws he needs.
The flags were flying during the game, a characteristic of many SOCON games on Saturday. Wofford was penalized 11 times for 111 yards while Samford had 9 for 70 yards. Neither team turned over any fumbles.
Having now faced a potent passing attack, Wofford must realize it needs to figure out how to stop opposing QBs a bit better. They will face a dangerous Tyrie Adams of Western Carolina next week.
Samford got another win without any sort of running game. They now have only 51 yards against their 3 Div I opponents. But a win is a win. They will face a reeling Furman team in Greenville next week. The might just get some yards on the ground.
Mercer 33 VMI 30 (Box Score)
In the most thrilling SOCON game on Saturday, the Mercer Bears defeated the Keydets of VMI. This game had everything that makes college football fun.
It looked as though Mercer would dominate early as they went up 14-0. The second score was aided by a blocked punt deep in Keydet territory. The Bears defense forced the Keydets to punt their first three possessions including 2 three and outs. But a Mercer fumble near midfield late in the first quarter got VMI going and they scored on a 6 play, 54 yard drive to cut Mercer’s lead to 7 early in the 2nd. But the Bears answered right back on a 10 play, 75 yard scoring drive to regain a 14 point lead. The two teams traded 4 punts to close out the half.
The second half started like the first one ended with a series of punts for most of the 3rd quarter. Mercer did miss a 48 field goal as well. VMI got going as the quarter came to close and finished off an 11 play, 88 yard drive to again make it a 7 point game again at 21-14. But the real fun was just about to start.
VMI needed to get a stop and score to tie things up. The Keydet defense did their part and forced Mercer to punt. VMI began their drive with 13:30 to go in the game. However, the Keydet drive sputtered out at the VMI 45 on a 4th and 14 and VMI was forced to punt it away. But VMI had something else in mind. A fake punt. They snapped it short to Ryan Francis who attempted to toss it to a VMI receiver but Mercer’s Jeremy James snagged an interception at the Mercer 40. If he was thinking, he should have just dropped it and he would have gained 16 yards in field position. Luckily VMI’s stubborn defense held the Bears at the goal line and Mercer had to settle for 3.
But VMI would not be denied and they took their next possession 70 yards in 6 plays to get back within 4 at 24-20 with just 5 minutes in the game. The XP was blocked. The key play in this drive was a 50 yard pass by TE (converted QB) Ryan Swingle after Cobb had tossed a backward pass to him. Mercer appeared to put it away on their next possession after QB John Russ tossed a 69 yard TD pass. But an offensive pass interference call erased it and resulted in a Mercer punt. After reviewing it a few times, it was a very weak call away from the play.
VMI got the ball on the 50 with plenty of time on the clock with 3:13. VMI slogged down the field chewing up clock as they went. There were 4 penalties (2 each team) and three timeouts. VMI faced two 4th downs and made both. Finally, with just 19 seconds remaining, VMI’s Cobb connected with Ryan Swingle on a 10 yard TD pass for the go ahead, and apparently the game winning score to make it 27-24 VMI. That earlier missed point by VMI got magnified, but with only 19 seconds to go, VMI coach Scott Wachenheim probably did not care at that point.
But Mercer had one last chance for a miracle play, on a day where miracle plays were occurring with seemingly regularity all across the college world. Mercer ran the kickoff back to their 32. Now, follow along closely. With 00:13 on the clock and no time outs, Russ made a pass to receiver Kelby Brock who got wrapped up at the 50, who then tossed it to teammate Jordan Marshall who got 10 more yards to the VMI 40. Not sure if that was a planned hook and ladder, but it was executed perfectly with Marshall in full stride. And in what is yet another one of those questionable calls, VMI got tagged for a late hit out of bounds for 15 more yards to put the ball on the 25 and put Mercer in position for a makeable field goal. They obviously got it. It was a pretty exciting ending. Go watch it on ESPN 3 about 2:55 mark (ESPN3)
The OT was fairly anticlimactic considering how the regulation period ended. Mercer’s defense held VMI with good pressure on Cobb during their possession in OT. VMI got their field goal which is more than they can say their last game where the missed a couple in OT against Bucknell. But Mercer would now not be denied and John Russ connected with Avery Ward for an 18 yard TD and the win. Whew! Who couldn’t love FCS football after a finish like that?
Al Cobb finished 31/43 for 309 yards and a TD toss for VMI. More importantly he threw zero interceptions. VMI did the give up one fumble though. On the ground VMI went a disappointing 29 yards, but Cobb got sacked 7 times for 45 yards. Mercer’s John Russ went 23/36 for 249 yards and 2 TDs. VMI’s defense only got to him once. On the ground Mercer’s Alex Lakes gained 91 yards on 21 runs and had 1 TD. Payton Usher went for 90 yards on 20 attempts and also had a TD. VMI’s Aaron Sanders and Mercer’s Avery Ward both had 100 yard games receiving.
Penalties hurt both teams as they got tagged about the same and both were victims of SOCON Referee dementia. Both teams had 8 flags; VMI was penalized 70 yards and Mercer 93. As far as an impact on the game it almost appeared to be a wash. TOP was about even.
VMI hung in there even while down for most of the game. They made a great fourth quarter effort to come back and even though they did not win the game, their is something in the air in Lexington. They are learning how to win again. It takes time. And Mercer appears to have found a way to win those close games now with regularity.
VMI gets ETSU at home next week. The Bears face the Mocs in Chattanooga, in what they hope will be a close game.
Kennesaw State 52 Furman 42 (Box Score)
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Furman needs to take these word by Winston Churchill to heart. The Paladins are facing a third consecutive losing season for the first time since the 1950s. It may indeed feel like failure is fatal right now after losing to a team playing their second year of football. I think it is clear to anyone watching that Furman has loads of talent, but that it is being employed in the wrong way somehow. There is probably blame enough to go around between everyone involved including the coaches, the players, and the school itself. How they dig themselves out will take an effort by all involved. That is, if they have the courage to do what is needed.
The world seemingly came to an end for the Paladin faithful this past Saturday with a horrendous loss to the upstart Kennesaw State Owls. With 8 minutes to go in the second quarter, Kennesaw State was crushing Furman 35-0. The Owls scored on their first 5 possessions. Furman helped a little by fumbling the ball on their first possession. But Kennesaw made most scores the honest way on drives of 5 plays for 75 yards, 7 plays for 97 yards, 1 play for 62 yards and 9 plays for 90 yards. How could a defense that held Michigan State to 28 points allow such gains? Furman gave up huge chunks of real estate on these drives. This type of lethargy points to a break down in emotions by the Paladins. Not sure what stopped the bleeding but they did finally start to fight back.
Down 35-0 Furman took its next drive 60 yards in 2 plays to make it 35-7. The Paladin’s scored on a 53 TD toss by Reese Hannon. Furman’s defense got into the act as well by holding the Owls to a three and out on their next possession. Furman struck again in two plays to cut the deficit to 35-14. But Kennesaw State wasn’t done yet and they answered back with a 6 play, 60 yards drive to extend the lead to 28 points again. Furman tossed an interception on its next possession and the Owls made them pay with a 1 play 46 yard TD pass to make it 49-14. At halftime Kennesaw St had 467 yards of offense to Furman’s 174.
The Paladins must have dug deep into their souls to come back out in the second half and try and make a fight of it, but they did. The Owls only had 4 possessions not counting their last one in victory formation. Furman made them punt on three of them and held them to a field goal on the other. They held the Owls to 103 yards of offense in the second half. But Kennesaw chewed up enough clock in those drives to shorten the game enough to make Furman’s job nearly impossible. On Furman’s part they found their offense fairly effective in the second half. They scored on their first 4 possessions to make it 52-42 with 5:30 to go in the game. Furman attempted an on-side kick at that point, but Kennesaw recovered and had enough offense left to chew up almost 4 minutes of clock. When Furman got it back at their 11 yard line they were on empty and fumbled in any event on a 4th and 8.
On the day Kennesaw State totaled 567 yards. They had no turnovers. Furman finished with 69 yards on the ground. Reese Hannon went a respectable 28/40, for 330 yards, with 2 interceptions and 5 TDs. Furman lost 2 fumbles and Kennesaw got 14 points off turnovers, more than the margin of victory.
Furman needs to regroup. Maybe hitting bottom will do the trick. They face Samford at home next week, we will see.
Power Ranking
- Chattanooga
- The Citadel
- Samford
- Wofford
- Mercer
- VMI
- Western Carolina
- ETSU
- Furman