The Unofficial Furman Football Page

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After the first quarter or so I thought the “bad” Furman team showed up today. We easily could have been down 21-0 (FG by UTC and red zone fumble by them) instead of 9-0. I thought this is deja vu Citadel game all over again. And then Sisson came in and gave us a lift and we looked like the “good” Furman team.

Need to build on this and develop consistency but the comeback today saved the season.

I actually like that we have two QB who have shown they can be great when playing up to their potential.

It was not looking good until Sisson came into the lineup - the offense really executed under his leadership. It almost feels like DG has fallen into a rut playing against equal or lesser competition. One of his big problems is that he eyes down the receiver he's going to throw to almost the whole way. You can see it every time he steps back to pass. Sisson provided the spark needed and should get an opportunity for the start next week. Perhaps some time for DG on the sideline will help him work on the little things.

I think we're a decent team, but we're not great. We should win out and have the automatic bid, but one game at a time. The SOCON looks terribly weak this year. I wouldn't be surprised if only the auto-bid is in the playoffs.

My thoughts:

1. I am genuinely not worried about the QB situation. Our offense requires completing throws to open backs and receivers. Sisson was making those throws and the offense picked back up. Grainger can and has made those throws. I'm glad we've got both guys available.

2. Sisson's passing numbers weren't eye popping, but they provided that consistency in the passing game. We need that consistency to balance out the run.

3. Devin Abrams and our backfield had a heckuva game. Lot of tough running and tough yards out there.

4. Our defense saved our bacon early on holding UTC to a field goal and forcing a turnover early. That might have been the difference in the game.

5. For the second week in a row, our clock management in critical situations, both in the two minute and four minute offenses has been outstanding.

6. Conference road win against a good team. I've got little to complain about that.

The Jackal wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:11 pm

My thoughts:

1. I am genuinely not worried about the QB situation. Our offense requires completing throws to open backs and receivers. Sisson was making those throws and the offense picked back up. Grainger can and has made those throws. I'm glad we've got both guys available.

2. Sisson's passing numbers weren't eye popping, but they provided that consistency in the passing game. We need that consistency to balance out the run.

3. Devin Abrams and our backfield had a heckuva game. Lot of tough running and tough yards out there.

4. Our defense saved our bacon early on holding UTC to a field goal and forcing a turnover early. That might have been the difference in the game.

5. For the second week in a row, our clock management in critical situations, both in the two minute and four minute offenses has been outstanding.

6. Conference road win against a good team. I've got little to complain about that.

Agree on all points. Our runners really played with a tough, winning attitude. How many yards did we have after the first hit? Impressive.

The Jackal wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:11 pm

My thoughts:

1. I am genuinely not worried about the QB situation. Our offense requires completing throws to open backs and receivers. Sisson was making those throws and the offense picked back up. Grainger can and has made those throws. I'm glad we've got both guys available.

2. Sisson's passing numbers weren't eye popping, but they provided that consistency in the passing game. We need that consistency to balance out the run.

3. Devin Abrams and our backfield had a heckuva game. Lot of tough running and tough yards out there.

4. Our defense saved our bacon early on holding UTC to a field goal and forcing a turnover early. That might have been the difference in the game.

5. For the second week in a row, our clock management in critical situations, both in the two minute and four minute offenses has been outstanding.

6. Conference road win against a good team. I've got little to complain about that.

Jackal, all great points. Another guy told me - and he was spot on - that our OL needs just a good deception or 50% pass completion to do what it does running wise. And now we have two options for that at QB.

Each w different strengths - Grainger has slightly better wheels I think. Sisson is the hot hand right now etc.

But yes, the key is we need some eye candy and like today just 11/21 passing. Now obviously (capt obvious but hey, football is obvious in some ways) we are even more dangerous at 15/21. I liken it to watching Harris Roberts kill WOff last year. and yes, DG running is a huge bonus as its an element that can tie up a LB as a spy or whatnot. Can certainly get us two or three key first downs if he gets a lane.

The one guy who is scary for UTC is the RB Ford. freshman - dude is talented. another point that Tiano is a Senior so that means CH beat him all 3 times ! CH is 3-0 vs Chatt. Still, I think Chatt is improving by sending Arth elsewhere. And that's good for the SoCon. The are much better than two years ago.

Other thoughts, love the push from Sisson on the last play for a TD. That is playing tough as a QB.

Oh yeah, how about the punt by Atkins that was downed at the 2? that was worth 7 points ! stop UTC.. they punt to the 32. one pass and TD

Room for improvement - need to clean up the delay of game/false start type stuff which is expected w QB in first big action. different cadence etc. just hope that is better week by week.

one other improvement area as i read back through our UTC gamethread. Until late in game I don't think we got much pressure on Tiano. When it was obviously throw time (4th Q) we did but before that some pretty pro-Furman guys were admitting Tiano had a lot of time to throw. Need to get to the QB a little bit better. That said, we held a good O (with a nasty RB!) to 12 points for most of the day.

DungeonRealm wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:01 pm

Mountain Brook HS, 4.0 GPA, etc. Hamp Sisson is one tough kid. I don't think I have ever seen a QB pushing a RB so hard to keep going forward like he did.

Our RB/TBs are well coached. They keep their feet moving, spinning, and chopping until the whistle blows. This is not the first time we've broken a long run this season on a play that looked stopped.

That is very true. But its the first time I have seen the QB as the primary pusher of the pile.

Lot of UTC's postgame dealt with the end of the game.

Didn't realize it at the time, but UTC was down one possession, had three time outs, and Furman burned 6 minutes off the clock.

Outside of the game's last play (with :06 left), UTC had one possession in the 4th quarter down two scores. Outstanding.

Jasper wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 03, 2019 7:40 am

DungeonRealm wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 02, 2019 10:01 pm

Mountain Brook HS, 4.0 GPA, etc. Hamp Sisson is one tough kid. I don't think I have ever seen a QB pushing a RB so hard to keep going forward like he did.

Great to see this as #7 in SportsCenter Top 10 plays.

UTC took over the ball at 12:48 to go in the 4th. Yes they scored on the drive. 6 + minutes later. Defense made them work for every yard. Then we took over and ran it out.

A few accolades and thoughts…

Coming into the season not sure anyone thought Devin Abrams would contribute at the level he's contributing.
through nine games, 496 rushing yards gained, six rushing touchdowns, 56 receiving yards, one touchdown catch.

Ryan Miller is averaging a whopping 23.5 yards per catch. Get that man the damn ball

Grit. The first quarter and the early part of the second was rough. This team kept churning and chugging and beat a good team, playing it's the best ball of the season on the road. Not easy to do.

Savvy. Sisson was a three-year starter at Mountain Brook. Stepping into a bad situation isn't easy for any quarterback much less a redshirt freshman that has only seen mop-up duty. I was very impressed with Sisson's handle of the running offense. His quickness threw the Moc defense off, Hamp's ability to make quick cuts and surgical pitches after coming in to replace Grainger is noteworthy. And IMO changes things from here on out.

I could be way off here - need some ex-players to step in here - my take Quarles called his best game at OC yesterday. After Sisson came in Quarles tweaked the game plan a bit, put Sisson in plays to roll out and take advantage of his quickness. Maybe my biggest take is how aggressive we played on offense in the second half. And how crisp we can be on offense. The Dins have now proven they can run a two-minute offense.

The early part of the season Furman scored on a lot of explosive plays, my concern was can we just gut-out drives? The last two scoring drives of the game were just that, man on man.

Scott's article...

http://www.furmansportsreport.com/2019/ ... econd.html