WAY too early SoCon 2019 Predictions

[gofurman]

Southern Conference 2019 records - HAVE NOT Looked at schedules except ours so that would affect this some.. admit my ignorance:

WOFFORD (6-2) Wofford lost some key D Players but returns (like FU) the ENTIRE OL. That's huge on an ooption team that keeps getting in the playoffs. They have basically the entire offense back except 2 (KEY) RBs. I HATE that we travel to WOff. The record in Greenville is so much better - example- see 2017 v 2018 !!

FURMAN (5-3) IF our QB i splaying strong.. 6-2 is possible. IF Not, 4-4 is possible. I'll go 5-3 for now.
MERCER ((5-3) I am w Paul on this. Merecer is be scary - almost beat us with a gimpy QB last year and a RB who is becoming a beast/bear... Healthy QBs they probably win at Mercer last year. Glad this is in Greenville. Could see them getting us and/or Wofford easy.
SAMFORD (5-3) How much was Devlin and Gooden? But we have to travel to their place - i hate goin to Samford. Can we please beat these guys?
-
CHATTY 6-6 (4-4) Just need coaching. Did lose TWO STUDS on DL though! big losses - my mind fails me.. what were their names? One got taken by NFL maybe? Two stars on DL?
CITADEL (4-4) They are on the rise and may upset some SoCon foes
ETSU (4-4) Decent team. Got lucky last year. How will new QB do?
-
W. CAROLINA (3-5) Think they lost most of their OL... Adams is scary !
-
VMI (1-7) I hope they get someone this year. So many close losses -0 just please not us...

to me 4 teams could win the SoCon - Woff, FU, Mercer, Samford. Yes, I am calling ETSU out on this one. I Not an insult. Just a lot of 50/50 breaks seem to go their way. Honestly, wonderful job by them to win Conference in 2018. I would put them a notch below the 4 I named in terms of odds to win conference. If they do it again this year or 2020 I am a believer... they will have found a coach and that's good for SoCon

Things change year to year. My general take in June is this:

Wofford - loses a lot on defense. The offense doesn't lose quite as much, though they graduate their top two running backs. The Terrier offense, though, generally complements its usually strong defense.

My question about Wofford is what happens if the defense takes a small step back defensively. The Terriers win a lot of close games and have recently struggled against teams that throw the ball well (both Samford and Furman beat them last year by double digits). Can their offense pick up that slack?

Mercer - has a lot of talent. They lose some key pieces on both sides to graduation, especially pass catchers. Riddle looks like the real deal, but does not have much game experience to this point to do a full evaluation. I like Devezin a lot at running back.

With Mercer, I think they need to find someone to give Devezin some help. I don't think he (or really any back) can sustain 40+ touches a game for an entire season (which is what he was doing against us in the final game of the year).

Also, Bobby Lamb is now in his 15th season as a SoCon head coach (9 with Furman, going on 6 with Mercer). During that span he's finished with 5 or 6 wins 9 different times including 7 straight seasons (not counting Mercer's single year in the Pioneer League). The last time Lamb coached a SoCon team to more than 6 wins was 2008 with Furman. Like most years, odds are that Mercer will sneak up and bite a team or two, but probably also lose a few head-scratchers.

Samford - Hatcher is a good recruiter, but they lose a ton of production. I don't think they are going to simply replace Hodges, McKnight, and Gooden with the next man up. Gooden, for instance, just about single-handedly beat Furman this year. Samford played without Gooden a few weeks later against the Citadel, and the cadets ran all over that defense.

Samford is going to have to find some guys. They aren't going to reinvent themselves at this stage, but are going to have figure out how to win with new faces. They had gobs of talent in 2018 and limped to a disappointing finish.

ETSU - I believe the Bucs lose both of their QBs from 2018, so they'll be breaking in new players there. I have constantly underestimated ETSU, and probably will again this season. The Bucs played 12 games in 2018, and trailed at some point in 8 of them. They caught lightening in a bottle a few times, I think, but it is going to be hard to sustain another title run when having to play comeback kids every week.

WCU - It's no secret that I think Tyrie Adams is the best QB in the league. I've loved watching him play. WCU had another dissapointing season last year in spite of him.

When you look at the numbers, though, WCU is among the conference leaders in just about everything. If they ever - and that is a big if - figure out a defense they could be a big surprise in the conference. They'll score points, most likely, as long as Adams is healthy. The question is - and has always been - whether they can keep other teams from scoring.

Jackal, you won't get a whole lot of argument from me. You know your stuff.. just a few notes. Only thing I am going with is no matter who WOff loses they seem to win the conference.. and i do Not like that but it is truth. Hopefully, we find out that Conklin isn't as good as Ayers at what he does. It may take a year or three to know as he is playing with Ayers guys until then. Each year will allow more of a look at Conklin but it's still primarily Ayers guys until 2020 or so.
OK, went to my research : Wofford, They Lose CB Domonique Lemon, CB Devin Watson, S Jojo Tillery. ** so they lose 3 out of 4 starters in D backfield ~! But honestly only two or three SoCon teams take advantage of that.
DL will miss Miles Brown big time but they get Horton back who is great and missed this year... maybe not ann equal trade but at least close. People forget they were playing without Horton. It was the duo of Brown and Horton that jammed us up in that playoff game in 2017 ... called out honestly, we couldn't run for sh*t versus those two (really go look at the stats in that playoff game in Spartnaburg - PAINFUL). With just Brown and not Horton 2018 we were far better. Now they will have Horton of the 2 so probably similar. scares me is they return their entire OL on an option team... that's rare

Mercer always scares me - how many freakin' close games do we have with those guys? geez. and last year you could see the change as soon as the real QB came in. This year, in all likelikhood, we are playing vs the real QB. WOuldnt be surprised if they beat us. In a larger scale though I agree w you, though FUBeAR will hate this, after 15 years Lamb is a 6/7 win coach. 15 years is enough to say what someone is. Great recruiter / OK coach. Love all he did for Furman!! , just being honest. And that is not to say they wont beat Furman, they easily could.

*I hate that we start Socon w Mercer, ETSU , Sam.. I think those are 3 of our toughest games in addition to Woff. WIsh we had someone else in middle of those 3

[gofurman]

CCH now has three recruiting classes loaded and the CCH staff is heading into its third season. Furman has always plucked a few very good recruits every season — as Jackal mentioned Furman also had far more misses on recruits and got upside down on several positions.

I have to give Clay credit for coming in and not hitting the panic button, he had a plan for the 'identity' of the team. I think we're on the verge of seeing dominant defensive play and dominant offensive line play.

Below I've created a list by class of the offensive line, it's impressive. Class breakdown one senior, six juniors, two sophomores, eight freshmen.

Granted, the 2019 freshmen are unproven and time will tell if they are the next wave. I do know that one of them Johanning is going to show up serious about competing - I was told by the AD and HC at SJCS that Johanning was asked to gain 15 pounds — I've been told he's done that and more.

OT Andy Godwin 6-4 281 R-SR* only senior
OT Bo Layton 6-7 287 R-JR
OT Caleb Auer 6-3 266 R-JR
OT Cody Wyatt 6-2 268 R-JR
OT Ross Detamore 6-4 263 R-SO
OT Pearson Toomey 6-3 250 FR
OT Jackson Soapes 6-2 280 FR

C Cole Neely 6-3 273 JR
C Evan Jumper 6-4 240 FR
C Nick Vivona 6-3 315 FR

OG Jordan Harris 6-4 288 R-JR
OG Reed Kroeber 6-4 286 R-JR
OG Bo McKinney 6-7 307 R-SO
OG Anderson Tomlin 6-5 275 R-FR
OG Jacob Johanning 6-3 270 FR
OG Dan Dodd, III 6-4 290 FR
OG Wyatt Hughes 6-4 290 FR

Astro, nice listing. thanks! agree that I like how CH didn't panic. He came in being selective w recruiting knowing what he wanted to build even if it meant it would take a while... The only reason I said we may be a year or so from 'full power' is look at the OL. I think in an ideal world where we had depth Neely would have been a redshirt (nothing CH could do... I mean we have a true Jr a FR and FR at Center.. one injury from a true FR playing center. so still thin at a few positions but way better than a few years ago.

IE< I agree, overall I love it. just my worthless opinion we are a year away (esp w QB and few places ) from full on depth. which is not an insult, I mean in football it takes 4/5 years at least to build a team - that's to be expected.

I am so impressed we went to playoff in 2017 and won Conference in 2018. way ahead of scheudle if you ask me !

[The Jackal]

Southern Conference 2019 records - HAVE NOT Looked at schedules except ours so that would affect this some.. admit my ignorance:

WOFFORD (6-2) Wofford lost some key D Players but returns (like FU) the ENTIRE OL. That's huge on an ooption team that keeps getting in the playoffs. They have basically the entire offense back except 2 (KEY) RBs. I HATE that we travel to WOff. The record in Greenville is so much better - example- see 2017 v 2018 !!

FURMAN (5-3) IF our QB i splaying strong.. 6-2 is possible. IF Not, 4-4 is possible. I'll go 5-3 for now.
MERCER ((5-3) I am w Paul on this. Merecer is be scary - almost beat us with a gimpy QB last year and a RB who is becoming a beast/bear... Healthy QBs they probably win at Mercer last year. Glad this is in Greenville. Could see them getting us and/or Wofford easy.
SAMFORD (5-3) How much was Devlin and Gooden? But we have to travel to their place - i hate goin to Samford. Can we please beat these guys?
-
CHATTY 6-6 (4-4) Just need coaching. Did lose TWO STUDS on DL though! big losses - my mind fails me.. what were their names? One got taken by NFL maybe? Two stars on DL?
CITADEL (4-4) They are on the rise and may upset some SoCon foes
ETSU (4-4) Decent team. Got lucky last year. How will new QB do?
-
W. CAROLINA (3-5) Think they lost most of their OL... Adams is scary !
-
VMI (1-7) I hope they get someone this year. So many close losses -0 just please not us...

to me 4 teams could win the SoCon - Woff, FU, Mercer, Samford. Yes, I am calling ETSU out on this one. I Not an insult. Just a lot of 50/50 breaks seem to go their way. Honestly, wonderful job by them to win Conference in 2018. I would put them a notch below the 4 I named in terms of odds to win conference. If they do it again this year or 2020 I am a believer... they will have found a coach and that's good for SoCon

Things change year to year. My general take in June is this:

Wofford - loses a lot on defense. The offense doesn't lose quite as much, though they graduate their top two running backs. The Terrier offense, though, generally complements its usually strong defense.

My question about Wofford is what happens if the defense takes a small step back defensively. The Terriers win a lot of close games and have recently struggled against teams that throw the ball well (both Samford and Furman beat them last year by double digits). Can their offense pick up that slack?

Mercer - has a lot of talent. They lose some key pieces on both sides to graduation, especially pass catchers. Riddle looks like the real deal, but does not have much game experience to this point to do a full evaluation. I like Devezin a lot at running back.

With Mercer, I think they need to find someone to give Devezin some help. I don't think he (or really any back) can sustain 40+ touches a game for an entire season (which is what he was doing against us in the final game of the year).

Also, Bobby Lamb is now in his 15th season as a SoCon head coach (9 with Furman, going on 6 with Mercer). During that span he's finished with 5 or 6 wins 9 different times including 7 straight seasons (not counting Mercer's single year in the Pioneer League). The last time Lamb coached a SoCon team to more than 6 wins was 2008 with Furman. Like most years, odds are that Mercer will sneak up and bite a team or two, but probably also lose a few head-scratchers.

Samford - Hatcher is a good recruiter, but they lose a ton of production. I don't think they are going to simply replace Hodges, McKnight, and Gooden with the next man up. Gooden, for instance, just about single-handedly beat Furman this year. Samford played without Gooden a few weeks later against the Citadel, and the cadets ran all over that defense.

Samford is going to have to find some guys. They aren't going to reinvent themselves at this stage, but are going to have figure out how to win with new faces. They had gobs of talent in 2018 and limped to a disappointing finish.

ETSU - I believe the Bucs lose both of their QBs from 2018, so they'll be breaking in new players there. I have constantly underestimated ETSU, and probably will again this season. The Bucs played 12 games in 2018, and trailed at some point in 8 of them. They caught lightening in a bottle a few times, I think, but it is going to be hard to sustain another title run when having to play comeback kids every week.

WCU - It's no secret that I think Tyrie Adams is the best QB in the league. I've loved watching him play. WCU had another dissapointing season last year in spite of him.

When you look at the numbers, though, WCU is among the conference leaders in just about everything. If they ever - and that is a big if - figure out a defense they could be a big surprise in the conference. They'll score points, most likely, as long as Adams is healthy. The question is - and has always been - whether they can keep other teams from scoring.

Jackal, you won't get a whole lot of argument from me. You know your stuff.. just a few notes. Only thing I am going with is no matter who WOff loses they seem to win the conference.. and i do Not like that but it is truth. Hopefully, we find out that Conklin isn't as good as Ayers at what he does. It may take a year or three to know as he is playing with Ayers guys until then. Each year will allow more of a look at Conklin but it's still primarily Ayers guys until 2020 or so.
OK, went to my research : Wofford, They Lose CB Domonique Lemon, CB Devin Watson, S Jojo Tillery. ** so they lose 3 out of 4 starters in D backfield ~! But honestly only two or three SoCon teams take advantage of that.
DL will miss Miles Brown big time but they get Horton back who is great and missed this year... maybe not ann equal trade but at least close. People forget they were playing without Horton. It was the duo of Brown and Horton that jammed us up in that playoff game in 2017 ... called out honestly, we couldn't run for sh*t versus those two (really go look at the stats in that playoff game in Spartnaburg - PAINFUL). With just Brown and not Horton 2018 we were far better. Now they will have Horton of the 2 so probably similar. scares me is they return their entire OL on an option team... that's rare

Mercer always scares me - how many freakin' close games do we have with those guys? geez. and last year you could see the change as soon as the real QB came in. This year, in all likelikhood, we are playing vs the real QB. WOuldnt be surprised if they beat us. In a larger scale though I agree w you, though FUBeAR will hate this, after 15 years Lamb is a 6/7 win coach. 15 years is enough to say what someone is. Great recruiter / OK coach. Love all he did for Furman!! , just being honest. And that is not to say they wont beat Furman, they easily could.

*I hate that we start Socon w Mercer, ETSU , Sam.. I think those are 3 of our toughest games in addition to Woff. WIsh we had someone else in middle of those 3

Every team has losses. However, I think it is particularly notable when you graduate an NFL-caliber defensive lineman like UTC, Samford, and Wofford did this year. Top quality big-bodied defensive linemen are just really hard to find at the FCS level. They are incredibly difficult players to deal with. Teams generally won't fill those holes with "next man up."

My point about Wofford is that the Terriers are generally not overwhelming offensively. They rely on tough run defense and ball control to win. If the defense isn't quite as good (even if better than most in the conference), I expect they'll lose some tough close games. I just don't see their offense picking up that slack.

[AstroDin]

I'll follow up Jackal's lead concerning big-bodied defensive linemen.
Here is the defensive line breakdown:

Jonah Tibbs DE 6-3 274 SR — moved position, I bet he plays both DE and DT in 2019
Alec Hanff DE 6-4 243 R-SR — back from injury for senior season
Seabrook DE 6-3 242 R-JR — could be the starter
Landon Lawrence DE 6-3 255 JR — hope he gets PT in a deep position
Jack Barton DE 6-4 230 FR — had twenty offers, fingers crossed Barton can redshirt, continue to grow into a 240-250 DE
Jalen Clark DE 6-2 230 FR — late pickup not sure if he's full or partial, either way, nice pickup
Trey Rogers DE 6-3 225 FR — assume a PWO

Taylor Hodge DT 5-9 255 SO — quick, strong, not sure he's an every-down tackle, Hodge creates chaos
Matt Sochovka DT 6-4 265 R-SO — looked very good against Clemson then had an injury, looked solid in the spring
London Lewis DT 6-4 287 R-SO — Lewis finally saw the field in the spring, having Lewis available will be a big addition

Parker Stokes NG 6-1 270 JR — no doubt Stokes is ready to step in and replace J Reid, fast and nasty
Cameron Coleman NG 6-3 285 R-FR — many of us have high hopes for Cujo Coleman, appeared injured most of 2018
Devonte Jones NG 6-3 307 FR — when is the last time Furman had a big bodied 300 pound tackle/nose guard with his athletic skill? Picking up Jones over Wofford was H-U-G-E. I think Jones plays in 2019

[The Jackal]

I'll follow up Jackal's lead concerning big-bodied defensive linemen.
Here is the defensive line breakdown:

Jonah Tibbs DE 6-3 274 SR — moved position, I bet he plays both DE and DT in 2019
Alec Hanff DE 6-4 243 R-SR — back from injury for senior season
Seabrook DE 6-3 242 R-JR — could be the starter
Landon Lawrence DE 6-3 255 JR — hope he gets PT in a deep position
Jack Barton DE 6-4 230 FR — had twenty offers, fingers crossed Barton can redshirt, continue to grow into a 240-250 DE
Jalen Clark DE 6-2 230 FR — late pickup not sure if he's full or partial, either way, nice pickup
Trey Rogers DE 6-3 225 FR — assume a PWO

Taylor Hodge DT 5-9 255 SO — quick, strong, not sure he's an every-down tackle, Hodge creates chaos
Matt Sochovka DT 6-4 265 R-SO — looked very good against Clemson then had an injury, looked solid in the spring
London Lewis DT 6-4 287 R-SO — Lewis finally saw the field in the spring, having Lewis available will be a big addition

Parker Stokes NG 6-1 270 JR — no doubt Stokes is ready to step in and replace J Reid, fast and nasty
Cameron Coleman NG 6-3 285 R-FR — many of us have high hopes for Cujo Coleman, appeared injured most of 2018
Devonte Jones NG 6-3 307 FR — when is the last time Furman had a big bodied 300 pound tackle/nose guard with his athletic skill? Picking up Jones over Wofford was H-U-G-E. I think Jones plays in 2019

Furman's resurgent defensive front has been a revelation.

It was not that long ago that we were constantly raiding our linebacking corps to fill out our defensive line's depth chart. That did little other than make us worse at two different positions.

Guys like Gary Wilkins, Brad Minter, and TJ Warren were all recruited as linebackers and played a 4-3 DE. All three were probably well undersized for that role early in their careers (Minter was 215, Warren 196, and Wilkins 204). They would have been great options in the current 3-4 defensive scheme as a Bandit, but really were ill-fit as a 4-3 defensive end.

You see the emphasis, though.

Look at Gary Wilkins - a really good player for us. Wilkins was listed as a 204 lbs linebacker when he was recruited. He started as a redshirt junior against NDSU at 236 lbs as a DE. So, in four seasons, he'd added 30 lbs and even then was probably undersized for the position.

Now we are recruiting freshmen that are as big as where Wilkins was as a redshirt junior. Heck, we are recruiting linebackers that are almost that size. Give those guys a few years in a weight and conditioning program.

Look also at our linebacker two-deep in that game, which included Carl Rider (214), Marcus McMorris (200), Cory Magwood (216), and Bryon Jonson (210). Our linebacking corps this season probably includes Elijah McKoy (225), Donovan Perryman (225), Braden Gilby (220), and Jack Owen (220). That doesn't include guys like Josh Agbenou (227) and JR Schroeder (220), who are incoming freshmen.

That isn't to take anything away from those players, who were really good for us on a pretty decent defense in 2013. It is just to highlight how we have put an emphasis on recruiting bigger and more physical players at the outset and are going to be less reliant on guys to play out of position and spend four years getting to a weight where they can make an impact.

[gofurman]

True. the point about replacing nfl possible DL is true. That’s hard to do at FCS level . However, we lost a great one in Jaylan Reid. Maybe the NFL didn’t look his way but that guy was a difference maker ! We lost our best starting DL too. Plus That Guy never quit. He played so hard. The hope is, as you all point out, that we have depth to replace the Jaylan Reid types

[DeepPurple]

Besides the recruiting of really good players, CCH has done a great job bringing in quality assistant coaches/coordinators. We have made a big step forward in this area. We lost some good ones last year, we hired some more good ones this year. His connections allow him to hire really good guys that are also really good fits for Furman University Football. I am looking forward to "Toe meeting leather"!

[AstroDin]

Besides the recruiting of really good players, CCH has done a great job bringing in quality assistant coaches/coordinators. We have made a big step forward in this area. We lost some good ones last year, we hired some more good ones this year. His connections allow him to hire really good guys that are also really good fits for Furman University Football. I am looking forward to "Toe meeting leather"!

great point -Furman avoided a coaching talent drop after Staggs and Addison Williams left - Great move promoting Vaughn. Then another set of great moves -- bringing in Ojong and Wright. I've been impressed since day one - Ojong has been an immediate force on social media, and also it appears in recruiting. It looked to me that Ojong and Wright (watching the spring game) have quickly built a great rapport with the players. Credit both coaches for getting Quandarius Weems to come back for his redshirt senior season.

[The Jackal]

Besides the recruiting of really good players, CCH has done a great job bringing in quality assistant coaches/coordinators. We have made a big step forward in this area. We lost some good ones last year, we hired some more good ones this year. His connections allow him to hire really good guys that are also really good fits for Furman University Football. I am looking forward to "Toe meeting leather"!

great point -Furman avoided a coaching talent drop after Staggs and Addison Williams left - Great move promoting Vaughn. Then another set of great moves -- bringing in Ojong and Wright. I've been impressed since day one - Ojong has been an immediate force on social media, and also it appears in recruiting. It looked to me that Ojong and Wright (watching the spring game) have quickly built a great rapport with the players. Credit both coaches for getting Quandarius Weems to come back for his redshirt senior season.

I will reserve judgment on how the new coaches will adapt. We have a new first-time DC and a couple of young coaches on that side of the ball.

Generally, though, I think we've seen a huge improvement in that area. ETSU game notwithstanding, Furman has been able most of the last two years to get a lead and hold it. They execute late in games and rarely surrender a lead.

There's not a huge talent gap in the SoCon. Most teams are recruiting the same types of players. The mark of a good program, though, is being able to develop those players and for the players to execute when called upon.

[gofurman]

Besides the recruiting of really good players, CCH has done a great job bringing in quality assistant coaches/coordinators. We have made a big step forward in this area. We lost some good ones last year, we hired some more good ones this year. His connections allow him to hire really good guys that are also really good fits for Furman University Football. I am looking forward to "Toe meeting leather"!

great point -Furman avoided a coaching talent drop after Staggs and Addison Williams left - Great move promoting Vaughn. Then another set of great moves -- bringing in Ojong and Wright. I've been impressed since day one - Ojong has been an immediate force on social media, and also it appears in recruiting. It looked to me that Ojong and Wright (watching the spring game) have quickly built a great rapport with the players. Credit both coaches for getting Quandarius Weems to come back for his redshirt senior season.

I will reserve judgment on how the new coaches will adapt. We have a new first-time DC and a couple of young coaches on that side of the ball.

Generally, though, I think we've seen a huge improvement in that area. ETSU game notwithstanding, Furman has been able most of the last two years to get a lead and hold it. They execute late in games and rarely surrender a lead.

There's not a huge talent gap in the SoCon. Most teams are recruiting the same types of players. The mark of a good program, though, is being able to develop those players and for the players to execute when called upon.

agree. Other than VMI, there just isn't a big three'. yes, some are better than others but there isn't much gap. Hope CCH can reestablish us as a top two program every year - where the goal is a SoCon title and playoffs are a given. What a start he has - 2017 playoffs (and a playoff win) and 2018 SoCon title !

[The Jackal]

Besides the recruiting of really good players, CCH has done a great job bringing in quality assistant coaches/coordinators. We have made a big step forward in this area. We lost some good ones last year, we hired some more good ones this year. His connections allow him to hire really good guys that are also really good fits for Furman University Football. I am looking forward to "Toe meeting leather"!

great point -Furman avoided a coaching talent drop after Staggs and Addison Williams left - Great move promoting Vaughn. Then another set of great moves -- bringing in Ojong and Wright. I've been impressed since day one - Ojong has been an immediate force on social media, and also it appears in recruiting. It looked to me that Ojong and Wright (watching the spring game) have quickly built a great rapport with the players. Credit both coaches for getting Quandarius Weems to come back for his redshirt senior season.

I will reserve judgment on how the new coaches will adapt. We have a new first-time DC and a couple of young coaches on that side of the ball.

Generally, though, I think we've seen a huge improvement in that area. ETSU game notwithstanding, Furman has been able most of the last two years to get a lead and hold it. They execute late in games and rarely surrender a lead.

There's not a huge talent gap in the SoCon. Most teams are recruiting the same types of players. The mark of a good program, though, is being able to develop those players and for the players to execute when called upon.

agree. Other than VMI, there just isn't a big three'. yes, some are better than others but there isn't much gap. Hope CCH can reestablish us as a top two program every year - where the goal is a SoCon title and playoffs are a given. What a start he has - 2017 playoffs (and a playoff win) and 2018 SoCon title !

We are in a different era. There is a great deal more competition in the market.

It used to be that Furman could sell itself on being a top academic school in the South that will play for titles at the FCS level. Now there are probably four teams in just our own conference that are trying to sell recruits on the same thing.

[MNORM]

Thought it might be an appropriate time to revisit this thread.
I think it's fair to say that, before the season, most of us thought we'd have about a a 6-2 SoCon record, and 8-4 overall. I believe the early successes we had (and the early failures of Wofford) may have elevated expectations somewhat. I consider this season a success...SoCon ring or not. I'm hoping for a home playoff game and a chance for a second round upset over a seeded team.
Go Dins. Beat Point...see you Saturday (and Friday at Timmons).