Reflections on Va Tech game

[Jasper]

There are no moral victories but if there were...….this would be it. Great game by the team and staff today. We should be very proud of our players. It was a winnable game against a 21 point favorite power 5 team on their home field. We did not win and that is the bottom line but my own FU scorecard at this point in the season is 3 -0.

Big missed interference call in the first half changed the game. They were incredibly lucky on the fumble when our RB did not actually hit the ground but landed on another player. And then there was the phantom block on the sensational Grayson kick. Even the homie announcers on ACC hated that BS call. Hoke cooking.

Lot of great play by the Dins. O line and back did well against a big bad ACC line. Darrell Grainger is an excellent QB and the D was great . Great calls by the staff and great execution by our kids. There is so much more to be positive about after this game that I am not even going to name names.

Now let's run thru the SoCon like a steamroller and get into the playoffs. THIS is a very good very team. VERY!

[DungeonRealm]

Paladins played great

Regardless of how well we played the refs were 100% going to find a way to screw us over and they did several times throughout the game, and major league at the end, just sickening to see what some sports have come to these days, all the joy gets sucked out by BS

[DungeonRealm]

Just like last week when the refs screwed us I figured it would happen again and sure enough it did

In my eyes we are 3-0 and one of the best teams in FCS

And I will never watch another FBS game again, ever

[DungeonRealm]

[Jasper]

After watching the highlights again, I am even more impressed by the Paladin effort in this game against a good Power 5 program. It is a shame that the game was marred by such a ridiculous call on the onside kick attempt. It was simply wrong in every aspect. That nonsense aside, we have a great deal to be optimistic about.
I am most impressed by the improvements made by our defense; both the players and the coaching staff after last week's performance. We came out much more aggressive and it paid off. Adrian Hope and Dru Seabrook sent their 6' 9", 320 lb. tackle to a quick seat on the bench. Jordon Willis played smart and aggressive. Big game by Gilby and the freshmen DB's are forcing themselves on to the field. Cally Chizik fires like a missile on a blitz.

To me, the key play of the game was the luck that VT had on Devin Wynn's "fumble". If Devin lands on the ground, it is no fumble. He landed instead on the tackler and it was a fumble. Sheer chance.

This is a very good Furman football team and I think the players and coaches are now believing that. We could easily be 3-0 right now with 2 wins over FBS teams. It is now time to take care of business in the SoCon and make sure we get to the playoffs. This team just showed it can make a run there.

[apaladin]

I really liked the way the defense played yesterday. Holding them to 24 point and season low in total offense was a great job. Every one is talking about the made up call on the onside kick and rightfully so. On the other hand, after the Abrams run we couldn't punch it in and took too much time off the clock. If we had scored the TD it's a different scenario and we would have only needed a FG to tie. Even if we had not got shafted the chance of us scoring a TD were not good but it would sure have been nice to have had that chance.

[apaladin]

FYI the ACC came out less than 24 hours after the refs botched the last seconds of the UNC/WF game Friday night and said the refs were wrong. I bet right now they will not say a word about our game yesterday.

[FUPlayer74]

This is one of the most athletic teams we've had in a long time. No problems matching up with the FBS boys in speed or
strength.

[DungeonRealm]

This is one of the most athletic teams we've had in a long time. No problems matching up with the FBS boys in speed or
strength.

Absolutely!

[FUpaladin08]

I really liked the way the defense played yesterday. Holding them to 24 point and season low in total offense was a great job. Every one is talking about the made up call on the onside kick and rightfully so. On the other hand, after the Abrams run we couldn't punch it in and took too much time off the clock. If we had scored the TD it's a different scenario and we would have only needed a FG to tie. Even if we had not got shafted the chance of us scoring a TD were not good but it would sure have been nice to have had that chance.

That FG had me scratching my head. 1st and goal on the 5, down by 10 with 2 mins approaching and we settle for a FG. We needed to make sure that ends up 7 points so a FG to tie on a last possession could happen. Scoring a TD after the insides kick would have been very difficult. Just wish we’d had the chance to try.

[JohnW]

My usual reaction to a P5 game, even in the good years, has been don't get embarrassed, stay healthy, every other game on the schedule is more important. So I should feel great about yesterday's performance, but the truth is I don't. I am disappointed we did not win that game. This is odd because prior to the game, with the inherent disadvantages, our poor defensive showing, and Bud Foster having two weeks of tape to prepare for our offense, I felt we had little chance of winning. However, after seeing the teams line up and play, that was a game we should have won. We did not make plays we are capable of making and we made mistakes we don't normally make. We were not overwhelmed by superior talent, not awed by the "big time" atmosphere, certainly not out coached, we didn't play as well as we can, and that's why we lost. Period. If I saw it the players and coaches know it. They can do better and I fully expect they will. Mercer might be in trouble.

[gman]

We were the better team for the first 3 weeks. That’s all I need to reflect on as we enter SoCon play. The SoCon is worse than ever this year, so I am looking for us to win out. Should be an exciting rest of the season.

[Jasper]

My usual reaction to a P5 game, even in the good years, has been don't get embarrassed, stay healthy, every other game on the schedule is more important. So I should feel great about yesterday's performance, but the truth is I don't. I am disappointed we did not win that game. This is odd because prior to the game, with the inherent disadvantages, our poor defensive showing, and Bud Foster having two weeks of tape to prepare for our offense, I felt we had little chance of winning. However, after seeing the teams line up and play, that was a game we should have won. We did not make plays we are capable of making and we made mistakes we don't normally make. We were not overwhelmed by superior talent, not awed by the "big time" atmosphere, certainly not out coached, we didn't play as well as we can, and that's why we lost. Period. If I saw it the players and coaches know it. They can do better and I fully expect they will. Mercer might be in trouble.

Excellent observations, JohnW. It was a game that we could have and likely should have won. We were not outplayed, outcoached, out physicaled, outclasses or any other "out". I hate to be hokie…. but I think we did not BELIEVE we were going to win and that is a big element in sports. That might be true of our players as well as our coaches. It is a very human reaction when going against a supposedly superior foe. I liken it to golf when a mid handicap ( say 15) golfer shoots 37 on the front nine and then plays the back in 49. He doesn't BELIEVE he is capable of scoring in the 70's so he doesn't. He blows up on the back and winds up with an 86; a score with which he is "comfortable". It happens all the time - trust me I know from experience. In this case, I don't think we were totally comfortable beating the mighty Va Tech of TV fame and so we did not. (with a big assist from the refs). This 2019 version of the Furman Paladins is in fact a very good football team that is capable of running the table for the balance of this season and making some real noise in the playoffs. But they have GOT TO BELIEVE. And when they do get to that point of belief, the opposing team will know and feel that attitude just as much. Football is said to be a very basic game of blocking and tackling but there are intangibles in every sport and that is what we need to develop to win. Believe - get tough - finish the damned job.

[Bootie]

Still scratching my head over letting the clock expire at the end of the first half with the ball.

[gofurman]

My usual reaction to a P5 game, even in the good years, has been don't get embarrassed, stay healthy, every other game on the schedule is more important. So I should feel great about yesterday's performance, but the truth is I don't. I am disappointed we did not win that game. This is odd because prior to the game, with the inherent disadvantages, our poor defensive showing, and Bud Foster having two weeks of tape to prepare for our offense, I felt we had little chance of winning. However, after seeing the teams line up and play, that was a game we should have won. We did not make plays we are capable of making and we made mistakes we don't normally make. We were not overwhelmed by superior talent, not awed by the "big time" atmosphere, certainly not out coached, we didn't play as well as we can, and that's why we lost. Period. If I saw it the players and coaches know it. They can do better and I fully expect they will. Mercer might be in trouble.

Excellent observations, JohnW. It was a game that we could have and likely should have won. We were not outplayed, outcoached, out physicaled, outclasses or any other "out". I hate to be hokie…. but I think we did not BELIEVE we were going to win and that is a big element in sports. That might be true of our players as well as our coaches. It is a very human reaction when going against a supposedly superior foe. I liken it to golf when a mid handicap ( say 15) golfer shoots 37 on the front nine and then plays the back in 49. He doesn't BELIEVE he is capable of scoring in the 70's so he doesn't. He blows up on the back and winds up with an 86; a score with which he is "comfortable". It happens all the time - trust me I know from experience. In this case, I don't think we were totally comfortable beating the mighty Va Tech of TV fame and so we did not. (with a big assist from the refs). This 2019 version of the Furman Paladins is in fact a very good football team that is capable of running the table for the balance of this season and making some real noise in the playoffs. But they have GOT TO BELIEVE. And when they do get to that point of belief, the opposing team will know and feel that attitude just as much. Football is said to be a very basic game of blocking and tackling but there are intangibles in every sport and that is what we need to develop to win. Believe - get tough - finish the damned job.

See what you did there. Lol. That said VT was a little better. Our D great but they shut our O down. We had to run mid a lot to keep them off Grainger. Then w play action they still got to him despite the fact we ran the bal so much. We look great!!! Just objectively Vt was a little better. It’s ok

Beat the SoCon