FCS Playoffs in Spring 2021

[Flagman]

What’s an associate pastor?

[Furmanoid]

Another conference has announced their spring schedule. The OVC begins Feb. 21st. I’m sure the SoCon will be last to announce.
https://fbschedules.com/ovc-football-sc ... -released/

Sunday games? Think the SoCon may follow suit?

I, for one, certainly hope not. I'm not sure my church would let me take off 8 straight weeks.

It would seem almost a formality at this point given how many universities at this level have shared facilities. You can't have two different sports playing on the same field at the same time. I think at least some of the facilities in the SoCon (UTC, for instance) are in municipally owned facilities that likely have other non-SoCon stuff scheduled.

Others with athletic administration experience (there are a few of you on here) may have some insight into the complexity of trying to pull off having two sports seasons playing simultaneously.

I get what you are saying, but who, other than football, uses a football stadium? Soccer and maybe track some places? Where in America would there be a shortage of nearby track and soccer facilities that could be rented cheap from municipalities or high schools? I think your average Rec Dept manager or high school AD could schedule this stuff pretty easily.

I believe FU Women’s LAX is still ‘a thing’ and uses Paladin Stadium as their Home Field
Mercer Men’s & Women’s LAX use 5 Star Stadium as their Home Field
VMI definitely has a track around their Football Stadium & both a Men’s and Women’s Track Team

While Football is obviously the most important sport for any school, as it should be , the LAX & Track peeps just don’t see it that way. They think that stadium was built for them & that they allow Football to share it with them...Much like the WCU Band believes the 1st half of WCU Football home games are just to give the fans something to do while they tune up and the 2nd half is played only to keep from having all of their fans leave at once following their performance and cause a traffic jam in Cullowhee.

In other words, they ain’t about sharing. It’s a challenge - not an insurmountable challenge, but facilities, like event staffing & security are challenges as well.

In today’s environment it would be pretty stupid for a track or lacrosse coach to pitch a fit about anything. I’d just tell them to play at TR HS or hit the road so we can get somebody cheaper.

[gofurman]

several things gave The Citadel trouble playing EKU.

The EKU big back got stronger and stronger as the game went on and the DOGS had no answer in the fourth.
Furman has two 220+ backs, both can run between the tackles and catch.

The EKU quarterback had ok mobility - ended up with 57 rushing yards to go with 274 passing yards and four touchdowns. Also, Citadel got beat on two long throws over the top.
Grainger and Sisson IMO are far more effective runners, and Furman has the makings of a very good receiving corp, with a blend of speed and some size.


I'll put this on The Citadel - they put the ball on the ground a lot and EKU took away the big play-action plays.

The DINS did not show up well against the CItadel last season but I just don't see the same team. Furman has key parts back, has new pieces to blend in, and several key players got critical game experience. I hear rumors they won't play in the spring but I'd circle Chatty as the leading competition if they play. I say that not expecting a cakewalk at Mercer.

I've said this before, but Furman is some consistent QB play away from being a holy terror on offense.

Our completion percentage in 2019 was around 52%. If that completion percentage jumps to over 60% (which isn't a big ask in this offense), I think we will be a title contender.

Let's beat Citadel and Wofford and win a freakin playoff game before we throw around terms like "holy terror". WE got terrorized in the 2019 playoffs. I am aware that game snowballed vs AP but they were making us look very slow in space with their athletes last year. They did. Also, "title contender" makes me cringe a little bit for a conference that lost both games in first round last year. SoCon needs to step up and so do we. We are one of the better teams in the conference but the whole conference looks average at best nationally.

I have hope and belief that we can get there but 'title contender' is a hard one when we can't get to the quarterfinals yet in playoffs. Granted, CCH is in only his, what 4th year of coaching for us and 3rd year of recruiting(?) - joined Dec 2016... and has done a WONDERFUL job. I am just saying let's see how these next two years play out. Are we SoCon champs? Can we get to the quarterfinals/semifinals? That last one would really encourage me.

Here's my take on this -

Last season we averaged 33.4 ppg. The "showtime" Paladins of 2005 averaged 34.9 with Ingle Martin, Jerome Felton and a bastion of offensive weapons. Same yards per play average (6.4).

Now, it's hard to compare eras in football, but suffice to say, the 2019 offense was already statistically in the discussion with historically great Furman offensive teams. We were the SoCon's best unit on both sides of the ball. That includes playing two FBS teams.

So, then what went wrong?

Our offense struggled in 4 games (I'm throwing out Virginia Tech) - Citadel, Wofford, ETSU, APSU. Two of those games were played in the rain and wind (make of that what you will). But, from my vantage point, all four games looked very similar.

Each of those teams had a defense that could force us out of our game plan. They knew that the QB play was the weakest part of the offense, they loaded the box, brought pressure, and forced our young QBs to beat them in the air.

Now, mind you, every team attempted to do this to Furman. Against most teams, Furman is a really tough matchup up front. It was only against teams that had horses up front that was struggled, because it exposed us.

Now, do I think the Citadel is better than we are? I don't. It's clear they aren't. You can watch them for 10 minutes and see that. Do they have enough talent on defense to make sledding tough? Yes. Should they match us blow for blow? No.

Watch the Citadel game again. Our completion percentage that game was 20%. It was was 7-3 game at half time. We had plenty of opportunities and failed to capitalize.

Watch that game and you will see Furman receivers open everywhere. We just struggled to the ball to them. It was cold, rainy, windy, and the Citadel has enough talent on defense where we couldn't just shove them around up front. They kept us in our end zone and it basically was the game.

Here's an example I've cited before, but watch Deluca spin around the Citadel's DB to the point he couldn't even find him. Literally, the DB lost the WR he was juked so hard. There were examples like this over and over. Guys were open. We had the right plays called. We just couldn't get the ball to them.

Easier said than done, right?

It is my opinion that if our completion percentage ticks up and as our freshman QBs now get more comfortable in the offense, you'll see us explode. At the moment, we can push around many of teams we play. We probably don't even have to throw it. To play at that next level, though, we have to start hitting open receivers and force good defenses to back off. Once we do that, we'll pose a major threat.

Jackal, I agree - the FCS games we lost basically came down to less-than-stellar QB play and/or inability to run. The two go hand-in-hand obviously. We crushed Samford (still shocked how easy that was).. with running.. and once running got going there is no pressure on the play-action passes so the QB has no real game pressure on him. One of the few wins where I felt our QB had to perform to win and did so was at UTC where Sisson did a great job leading a comeback. Grainger's similar game (unfortunately a loss) was v Georgia State where there was indeed game pressure to keep scoring as we couldn't keep GSU from scoring. But most of our FCS losses (if memory serves) were like Woff and Cit - can't run, can't win. Then Our passing game just fell apart ( wide open receivers ) once the opponent either stacked the box or had strong DL. Game pressure/psychology I guess? - those very same passes that we complete when we have a lead we would miss in a tight game vs Citadel or Woff

And I guess that's why the best QBs are known as clutch (like Ingle Martin for us).. they step up when the game is tight. Hope our guys can do that with another year under their belt now. I believe it is possible

[AstroDin]

a lot of Furman's clutch QBs from the past didn't start until their junior year.

Ingle Martin started as a JR and SR
Billy Napier started as a JR and SR
Justin Hill was a three-year starter SO-SR
Frankie DeBusk was also a three-year starter SO-SR
Bobby Lamb was a starter as a JR and SR
I know Whitehurst was a four-year letterman not sure if he was a two-year or three-year starter.

I felt like we had a great rhythm of developing quarterbacks - then after Ingle came in we started hunting for a silver bullet at QB and we shuffled players and at the same time shifted into different offenses - we lost our offensive identity. We have continuity now with Clay and George and two quarterbacks entering their third year as redshirt sophomores.

Granger and Sisson are both talented guys - we will see come 2021 how far they've come. One thing is for sure the coaches have surrounded them with talent. I think the 2021 o-line will be better, the backfield is stacked, and Furman has loaded up an impressive receiver corps.

[FUBeAR]

Hmm...SoCon release after SoCon wraps up their 2020 2-day Fall Meetings

https://soconsports.com/news/2020/10/1 ... tings.aspx

Something seems to be missing here...

[apaladin]

Like I said the SoCon commish job has to be the easiest high paying job in the country.

[gman84]

They don't have a plan for this current basketball season. Spring football is months away, no need to be concerned with football. They are waiting for Dr. Fauci's advice. Just heard he wants us to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings. And they wonder why people are having mental health issues!

[FUBeAR]

They don't have a plan for this current basketball season. Spring football is months away, no need to be concerned with football. They are waiting for Dr. Fauci's advice. Just heard he wants us to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings. And they wonder why people are having mental health issues!

Not to mention the Turkey Futures & Cranberry Index tanked after Grinch Fauci’s announcement stole Thanksgiving!

[Paul C]

Big diff between football and basketball is outdoors (usually) vs indoor.....I worry about indoors.....not so much for outdoors.

[Furmanoid]

When many schools and states are prohibiting fans from attending outdoor football games, it’s hard to see how anybody will let fans in an indoor arena. This is especially true with steady media drumbeat about the second wave. Maybe they could pave the baseball field, put up some hoops and play outside.

[FUBeAR]

Relevant...

Big Sky will be less Big this Spring

https://hornetsports.com/sports/fball/ ... 1015i09uoy

[apaladin]

Relevant...

Big Sky will be less Big this Spring

https://hornetsports.com/sports/fball/ ... 1015i09uoy

Just laughable!!

[The Jackal]

Relevant...

Big Sky will be less Big this Spring

https://hornetsports.com/sports/fball/ ... 1015i09uoy

I will be surprised if this is the only one.

Important to remember that the Big Sky and Sacramento State have a lot more hurdles than a school like Furman. The Big Sky is a massive geographic conference and most of the road games necessitate air travel.

Sac State, of course, plays in California, which has been among the most stringent state governments on coronavirus protocols.

With more complex travel needs, it also hurts that there is likely no available "money games." The PAC 12 was the last FBS conference to opt to play and even then are only playing a shortened conference only schedule.

It may just be that they decided it wasn't worth it - Long conference road trips, no chance for money games, large travel budgets, and strict virus protocols that would heavily reduce revenue.

[soconjohn]

Not all teams have decided they want to participate in a season in the spring...The SoCon needs enough not to forfeit an auto bid to the playoffs

[FUBeAR]

Not all teams have decided they want to participate in a season in the spring...The SoCon needs enough not to forfeit an auto bid to the playoffs

Knowledge or conjecture?
If knowledge, cool.
Need 5 (> or = 50%) of 9 to keep the AutoBid, right?
If so, that means at least 5 are unsure (or sure they do not want to).
So, which 5 (or more) are unsure (or sure they do not want to) if they want to participate in the Spring? If any of those 5 (or more) are sure they do not wish to participate, please indicate which ones.

If conjecture, conject on...which 5 (or more ) do you THINK are unsure (or sure they do not want to)?