Here we go with Week :

#10 Appalachian State (5-2) @ Furman (3-4)
10/27/07

Time: 3:00pm

TV: SportSouth
Paladin Stadium
Surface: Natural grass
Capacity: 16,000
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     69.91
FU:    51.81
Home advantage: 2.08 points
ASU is favored to win by 16  points

Series: Fu leads 21-13-3

Last Meeting: ASU 40, FU 7

When the season started everyone was looking at Furman and Appalachian State, thinking they would decide this weekend who would be the conference champion. Who would have ever seen this one coming. Instead of deciding first place, these two will fight it out being tied for 6^th place in the Southern Conference. It has been a good long time since a Furman and Appalachian game was almost meaningless. Don’t tell that to Furman. They still remember the beating they took last year in Boone. The game last year was an anomaly compared to how these games have played out in the past. Furman head coach Bobby Lamb is on the hot seat and part of the problem is that he has had trouble beating Appalachian State. Appalachian probably cannot afford a loss to Furman if they want to have any chance at home games in the playoffs. Don’t go telling me this game has no meaning.

To say that Furman has had an up a down season is an understatement. After beating Presbyterian in the opening week, Furman suffered consecutive losses to Hofstra, Clemson and Wofford. Since the loss to Wofford, Furman has won two out of the last three, with wins over Coastal Carolina and Chattanooga last week. Two weeks ago, Furman lost to The Citadel in overtime 54-51.

Appalachian fans have been wondering since 2004: When is Jerome Felton going to graduate? Well, this is the year Felton graduates along with fellow tailback Cedric Gipson, who have been running hard through Appalachian lines for 4 years now. Although it seems like Felton has been around forever, his stats against the Mountaineers are not as gaudy as some may believe. Felton has carried the ball at least one time, in every game that he has played in his career except three. Two of those games were against Appalachian, in 2004 and 2006. Against Appalachian in 2005, where the two schools met twice, Felton carried 36 times for 177 yards on the ground with two touchdowns. In the case of Cedric Gipson: 40 carries for 176 yards and two touchdowns in 4 career games against ASU.

In 2007, Felton is taking the lion’s share of carries for the Furman offense. Felton’s 100 carries this year is over double the carries that second leading rusher Gipson (48) has received. On the season, Felton has 376 yards and 5 touchdowns while Gipson has 220 yards and one touchdown. Also getting touches for the Paladins are Stephone LaFrance with 42 carries for 192 yards and Mike Brown, 27 rushes for 155 yards.

Renaldo Gray and Jordan Sorrells have split time at quarterback this season for Furman. Sorrells has not seen much playing time since the Wofford game and has only thrown 4 passes in the last month. Gray had a great day against The Citadel when he threw for 289 yards and 3 touchdowns and also ran the ball 12 times for 76 yards and a touchdown. Gray’s favorite target on the season is receiver Patrick Sprague, who also had a field day against The Citadel. Sprague caught 9 passes for 238 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Bulldogs. On the season, Sprague has 37 catches for 580 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Say what you want to about the reason Appalachian fell to Georgia Southern, but one thing is certain: It was not pretty. Gone are the days in college football where 35 points will be more than enough to win a football game. Everywhere across the nation, scoring is up, and part of that is due to backing up the kickoffs to the 30 yard line. Touchbacks are way down and when you give good speedy athletes chances to make plays, they will. With the shorter kicks, offenses have shorter fields to work with, thus more points. Sure, I would like to think that scoring in the 30’s is plenty, but those days in college football are gone.

It can be argued that the play of one particular athlete on a field can cause a team to lose, but certainly not win. Some critics say that Armanti Edwards’ arm is not quite there yet. It showed with two very untimely interceptions, with one being returned for a touchdown. But it also can be said that some athletes take games into their own and single-handedly beat teams. Jayson Foster was the example of that to the ASU defense. However, without Armanti Edwards rushing for a school record 220 yards, what chances would ASU have had at all against Georgia Southern? In a comparison, when Armanti Edwards has run the ball the most in his short career, its been when his completion percentage has been lower. Edwards had 29 carries against GSU and connected on 10 of 21 passes (47%). Last year against GSU, Edwards ran 26 times and was 11 for 21(52%) throwing the ball. Against Coastal Carolina in the playoffs, 19 carries for Edwards, 14 for 28 passing. See where I am going with this?

It is also true that the Apps’ young defensive needs to grow up in a hurry. It is not going to happen overnight though. There will be growing pains, but as a fan you can only hope the worst is behind you. It is obvious what kind of running team the Mountaineers have struggled with. The misdirection option that Wofford and Georgia Southern run are hard for anyone to stop, especially a young defensive line. Furman and Michigan prefer the isolation runs between the tackles and the occasional stretch run to the sideline. ASU contained the Michigan run when it was needed. Furman has some quick players, but has nowhere near the overall speed of the likes of Michigan or Georgia Southern. It is pretty obvious that Jerome Felton will get his share of carries up the middle and Cedric Gipson will dot the “I” and get the option plays to the outside. This Furman team will make you play assignment defense more so than any other opponent on the schedule. What I feel the Mountaineers need to do is use all the talent on the field. Put the ball in the hands of the players who can make plays. That means all the players. This might be the week that ASU breaks out the two-headed quarterback. I feel as if Trey Elder and Armanti Edwards will get their chances this week against Furman. This way both players are fresh and whichever has it going on this week will most likely get the snaps. Defensively, I am not asking for ASU to shut down the Furman offense, but to contain it. I like ASU sending a message this week that they are not finished with the season. Before this season, Furman was the last FCS team to defeat ASU, which has only won three games all time in Greenville. I think ASU will be alright this week, but Furman will give it what they got. Look for ASU to air it out often in this game and work the running game in as needed. Another key in this game will be turnovers. Both teams are turning the ball over more than they are taking it away. Last year in Boone, it was a turnover that broke the game wide open. Wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case on Saturday.

The First Pick:

Big Bad Yosef       35

White Horsemen   21

Here we go with Week 8:

#18  Furman (6-2, 3-1 4th) @ #2 Appalachian State (5-2, 3-0 T1)
10/25/08

Time: 3:30pm

TV: None
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 20,150
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     67.04
FU:    59.42
Home advantage: 2.79 points
ASU is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 10 ½  points (rounded).

Series: Furman leads 21-14-3
Last Meeting: ASU 34, FU 27; October 27^th 2007

Last week, we talked about rivalries and the fans got exactly what they paid for. Two teams with no desire to lose, fighting to the last play. No sooner can the media, fans and coaches rehash what some have called one of the most exciting games in the existent of the Southern Conference, the Mountaineers have to get right back to work as another rival, the Furman Paladins come to Boone for “Black Saturday”. You want close football games? Look no further than the series between Furman and Appalachian State. Eight of the past nine games have been decided by one possession. In many instances, just like last week against Georgia Southern, the games have been decided in closing moments. Corey Lynch sealed a victory in 2007 with a last minute interception. In 2005, Furman was able to block an ASU field goal attempt in the regular season, while Jason Hunter knocked the ball loose from Ingle Martin’s grasp in the National Semifinal game in the closing moments. In 2004, Richie Williams scored a touchdown with thirty seconds left to secure a one point win. And in 2002, Derrick Black and Josh Jeffries combined for a defensive two-point conversion return that has gone down in ASU history as the “Miracle on the Mountain”.  It seems each year in this rivalry writes a new heart throbbing chapter that tries to top the last one. As always, these two schools fight for conference supremacy and playoff positioning. Appalachian hopes to keep pace with Wofford and Elon while Furman hopes to get a much needed “quality win” in their chase to make the playoffs. Furman. Appalachian State. Late October. Kidd Brewer Stadium. Black Saturday. What else is there?

Similar to Georgia Southern, Furman has installed a very non-traditional offensive attack. Furman, which has always been a team that runs first and passes second, has gained roughly 60% of their total offense through the air by way of Jordan Sorrells. In eight games, the junior has completed 62% of his passes for 1764 yards and 15 touchdowns, second in the conference to Elon’s Scott Riddle. Sorrells main target is Adam Mims who has 36 catches for 418 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Mims is also Furman’s leader in punt return yards, with eight returns for 114 yards. That is a 14.2 yard per return average that is slightly skewed by a game against Colgate, where he had 3 returns for 92 yards. Take that out and his average drops to 4.4 per return.

Despite being a tad overshadowed by the passing game, you must always respect the Furman running attack. Mike Brown is the Paladins leading rusher and is as fast as any back in the conference. Brown leads the team with a 621 yards and five touchdowns. Brown is a versatile back who will remind Appalachian fans of Kevin Richardson, as he has also caught 22 passes for 242 yards. Behind Brown, there is not much depth to the Furman running game. Replacing a Paladin legend like Jerome Felton is hard to do, but that job falls in the hands of freshman Tersoo Uhaa, who has 188 yards on 48 attempts. Uhaa is tough to tackle as he stands at 5’8” and 200 pounds, and can get tough yardage when needed. Uhaa had a career high 11 carries against The Citadel last week.

Furman has always had pretty good defenses, even when their teams were young. Furman has given up only 327 yards and 20.2 points per game which is good enough for third best in the conference in both categories. Furman switched defensive philosophies last year to a 4-2-5 alignment. Basically, there are two inside linebackers and two cornerbacks with three safeties. Three defensive starters for the Paladins rank in the top 10 in tackles in the conference. They are led by defensive back William Middleton who as 66 total tackles, three sacks, three interceptions and nine defended passes. Linebacker Brandon Williams is leading tackler with 68 total tackles, 31 solo stops, and 8.5 tackles for loss.

It may sound like a broken record, but it’s a record that keeps playing over and over again for Appalachian. Armanti Edwards has shown for the last three weeks why he is one of the best football players anywhere. Edwards accounted for another 333 total yards, five more total touchdowns and maybe most importantly, zero turnovers in the win against Georgia Southern. In three conference games this year, Edwards has totaled 1008 yards and has been responsible for 15 touchdowns. Edwards has not thrown an interception in 97 attempts and became the first player since Adrian Peterson to win three straight conference offensive player of the week awards.

With each passing week, Appalachian has found a play or two on offense that they felt could exploit opposing defenses. Against Georgia Southern, to keep from the Eagles from stuffing the box, Appalachian threw four out patterns to Josh Johnson, which went for 49 yards. On each completion, they chains moved for a first down. Those four plays and Johnson’s sure hands were enough to give Appalachian some room in between the tackles to keep the defense guessing. Last year, against Furman, Appalachian had Armanti Edwards and Kevin Richardson run for over 100 yards on the way to 300 total rushing yards. I think Furman is suspect to the middle of the field. The five defensive backs have accounted for a total of 10 interceptions but their job is to keep the offense in front of them. You might see more short passes from the Mountaineers this week in order to keep the Paladins from feasting on errant passes in the secondary.

The last time these two schools met in Boone, the game was somewhat of an aberration. The Mountaineers gave Furman a 40-7 loss that stands as the most lopsided victory for the Mountaineers in series history. The game was knotted up just before half as Furman lined up for a field goal attempt. Corey Lynch blocked the kick and scooped the ball up and raced to the end zone for a seven point Mountaineer advantage. Furman was too deflated after halftime to muster a charge. I do not imagine a similar result this time around. Furman will be very steady on offense and will use the clock to their advantage. Furman leads the conference in red zone touchdowns, which is a compliment to how stable their offense has been. Bobby Lamb has seen enough videotape of the Appalachian offense and knows keeping Armanti Edwards off the field will be to his advantage. As has been in past Furman games, turnovers will be very important. Although both teams are in the positive in terms of turnover margin, Furman has lost 10 of 14 fumbles and Appalachian leads the conference with 12 interceptions. Appalachian has only turned the ball over 10 times this year to Furman’s 15 total turnovers. The Appalachian secondary must be up to the challenge as Furman has only given up 7 sacks on the season. Appalachian showed an inability to consistently get to the passer against Georgia Southern as Antonio Henton racked up close to 300 yards passing. This game is probably biggest for the Mountaineer linebackers. Furman likes to throw underneath crossing routes and short hooks. The linebackers will also be held accountable to make plays in the running game. The defense showed tremendous heart against Georgia Southern and I think it will carry over against Furman. Jerry Moore will be gunning for his 200^th career win and there is not a sweeter victory for Appalachian fans than to beat Furman. This game will be close throughout, but I think Armanti Edwards is too much for the Paladins to handle in the end.

The First Pick:

Purple Pansies            27

Golden Rods               38

Here we go with Week 8:

#7 Appalachian State (5-2, 4-0 T1) @ Furman (4-3, 3-2 T3)
10/31/09

Time: Noon

TV: WLOS Ch. 13 Asheville
Stadium: Paladin Stadium
Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 16,000
Jeff Sagarin Rankings:
ASU:     58.10
FU:    49.57

Home advantage: 3.27 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin rankings by 5 points (rounded).

Series: Furman leads 15-21-3
Last Meeting: Appalachian 26, Furman14, October 25, 2008

Appalachian and Furman will meet for the 40^th time on Saturday in one the most competitive series in all of college football. Furman is one of the few opponents that holds an all time series lead over Appalachian. The Mountaineers have won four straight in the series for the first time, but only one of those victories came in Greenville. The last time Furman beat Appalachian was in the 2005 regular season game, where Appalachian had a field goal blocked as time expired. This rivalry is one that has recently become less one-sided. The Mountaineers have won seven of the last eight meetings and eight of the last ten meetings between the two schools. Furman coach Bobby Lamb has been a blessing to many Appalachian fans since the 2002 game that was dubbed the “Miracle on the Mountain”. Since then, Furman seems to be cursed in this long rivalry. Will Halloween night be what Furman needs to reverse the trend?

Furman was put in very sticky situation by their schedule when they scheduled two FBS teams in Missouri and Auburn. That alone placed a huge emphasis on their conference schedule. Basically, if Furman didn’t win the Southern Conference, a birth to the FCS Playoffs were in serious jeopardy. Last week, Furman was upset by The Citadel, who was previously winless in SoCon action. Furman, now at 4-3, and most likely on the wrong side of the playoff bubble, still has to play FBS Auburn and three of their most fiercest rivals in the SoCon in Appalachian, Wofford and Georgia Southern. Finishing at 7-4 would be considered a success, but will probably still leave them on the outside of the FCS Playoffs. The situation isn’t any better for head coach Bobby Lamb. Making the playoffs are the benchmark for Furman fans and the Paladins have missed the playoffs the last two years and have a combined record of 13-10 in those seasons. A win over Appalachian is exactly what Lamb needs to turn back the dial on the hot seat on which he currently sits.

This year the Paladins have struggled in many areas, and most of those areas are on the defensive side of the ball. The Paladins are giving up 411.7 yards a game, which is good enough for last in the Southern Conference and 107^th nationally. On the offensive side, Furman is respectable averaging just under 28 points a game, yet only runs the ball for an average of 146.6 yards per game, which is not what they are used to. Furman has always been a run first team, but the times of Louis Ivory and Jerome Felton are long gone. Fullback Tersoo Uhaa is second on the team in rushing with 327 yards and eight touchdowns, but has seen his role steadily decrease in each game since the start of the season. Uhaa has only 101 yards rushing in his last four games. Freshman Jerodis Williams is the speedster, who has a ten yard gain in every game this season, but probably lacks touches, as he only averages nine carries a game.

Senior quarterback Jordan Sorrells has been the most consistent part of the Furman offense. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes this year, with six of those coming in the last two weeks against Samford and The Citadel. Sorrells has thrown only five interceptions, but three of them came in two of Furman’s losses. Sorrells has completed 21 or more passes in Furman’s last five games and averages 33 attempts per game this season. His favorite receiver is Adam Mims, who has one third of Sorrells’ completions. Mims 50 catches trails only Elon’s Terrell Hudgins 71 catches for the SoCon lead. Mims only has one touchdown catch on the year, while tight end Chris Truss has six catches, three for touchdowns. Seven different Furman receivers have caught touchdown passes.

Last week against Georgia Southern, was the game that many of Appalachian fans have longed for. The Appalachian defense was dominant and offensively, the Mountaineers were able to coast throughout the entire second half. Appalachian has now registered over 600 yards of offense in three straight games. There is one team in the Southern Conference that hasn’t gained that many yards all season long. Overall, the Mountaineers are averaging seven yards per play. Devon Moore leads the SoCon in rushing yards and Armanti Edwards is the conference’s leading passer in yards per game. Brian Quick leads the conference in yards per catch and is second in receiving yards per game.

It has been a long time since I can remember an Appalachian defense that was so dominant against Georgia Southern. Usually these two schools light up the scoreboard in all aspects. However, Appalachian limited Georgia Southern to only 171 total yards and only 15 yards rushing. Who would have ever thought five years ago, that Georgia Southern would only rush for 15 yards in an entire game. The defense has finally stopped worrying about schemes and alignments and are just plain getting after it. Appalachian has some of the best athletes in the conference on defense and they are letting that athleticism dictate what happens on the field. We have now seen six straight quarters of football, where the Mountaineers have only allowed two offensive touchdowns. If they can continue this streak of steady defense, the sky is the limit, especially with the points the Apps have been scoring.

The series between Appalachian and Furman in the last ten years has been decided in games that generally come down to the final possession. Forget the 40-7 victory by Appalachian and this rivalry has been decided by an average of 4.4 points since 2000. In that span, Appalachian has won by one point on three different occasions. Furman’s two wins came by six points in 2001 and three points in 2005. However since 2005, when the spread offense became the norm in college football, Furman has been left behind in the old “I” formation and has only since has moved to a more pass-oriented spread offense. The problem is that they didn’t make a change quickly enough. When you think about Furman football, the average fan does not know what kind of offense they run and it is hurting them. Everyone knows Appalachian runs a spread, where quickness is a key. Since 2005, including this season, Furman has lost 13 SoCon games. In that same time, Appalachian has lost three. Time has passed Furman by and not much has changed this year. Furman no longer has a dominating defense that can wins games by itself. In fact, they are downright pitiful. Furman has only recorded five sacks on the season. You cant give quarterbacks all day to throw the ball, and certainly not Armanti Edwards. They have allowed 24.3 first downs a game to their opponents. Last week, the Furman defense was torched by the Citadel and its hard to teach defense in one week. It is a process. I think Furman will try and keep the ball away from Appalachian as much as possible. It is a bit of a broken record, but in 2008, Furman possessed the ball for nearly 35 minutes. It was the four turnovers that did them in. This season, in their four wins, they have four turnovers. In their three losses, they have six turnovers. They must take care of the ball in order to have a chance against Appalachian. The Mountaineers have not been the beneficiary of many turnovers this year, but luckily they have not missed them. Furman can afford to give the ball the Appalachian when they are averaging 37 points a game without getting turnovers. Appalachian will march up and down the field all day long no matter where the ball. No need to make it easier for Appalachian to put six on the board. I think Furman will take care of the ball better. They will mix it up in the passing game just enough to keep Appalachian off balance, but it in the end, I don’t there is enough Furman defense to hold Appalachian down. They are all close ones in Greenville, but I don’t expect the score to be indicative of how the game was played.

The First Pick:

Furmanites               20

Mountaineers           34

Here we go with Week 8:

Furman (4-3, 2-2 T4^th) @ #1 Appalachian State (7-0, 5-0 1^st)

Time: 3:30pm

TV: None
Stadium: Kidd Brewer Stadium
Surface: FieldTurf

Capacity: 21,650
Jeff Sagarin Ratings:
ASU: 69.47
FU: 59.82

Home advantage: 2.95 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 12 ½   points (rounded).

Series: Furman leads 21-16-3
Last Meeting: Appalachian 52, Furman 27, October 31, 2009

Earlier in this decade, Furman and Appalachian State had some of the most dramatic finishes you could ever imagine. At one point, seven straight games were decided by one possession, with Appalachian winning five of those contests. And then there was a turning point that occurred during the 2005 playoffs. That game was the most recent classic in this series. Including that win in 2005 that propelled Appalachian to its first national championship game, the Mountaineers have won five straight games with Furman. It is the longest winning streak for Appalachian in the series. Furman has not won a playoff game since the 2005 season, and has struggled to less then Furman like records in the past couple seasons. However, do not let the records or the winning streaks fool you. This has been highly contested series since the first game in 1971 that ended in a scoreless tie, and I would not expect anything different on this Black Saturday.

Furman entered the season with high hopes, with the return of dual threat quarterback Chris Forcier. A return to the playoffs seemed to be on the horizon. Forcier was exactly the kind of quarterback that Bobby Lamb wanted to run his spread offense. However, Forcier was lost for the season in the loss to South Carolina, and with it, the Paladins hopes to return to the playoffs might also have been as well. The following week, Furman was pummeled by Wofford and still had many challenging conference games remaining. Furman appeared to regain its form last weekend, when it took a big lead into the fourth quarter at home against Chattanooga. However, the Mocs were persistent, and may have learned a few lessons from their loss to Appalachian at the beginning of the season. The Mocs scored 26 straight points in the final frame and stunned the Paladins. In what had to be a gut-wrenching loss, the Paladins must find some inner strength if they are going to compete with the top-ranked team in their head coach’s personal house of horrors.

The Furman offense was once built on running the football, and running the football some more. That is not the case any longer. Despite their average of 156 yards per game rushing, which is ranked 48^th nationally, Furman has not been very consistent on the ground. In conference games this season, Furman has only averaged 93 yards a game, for a total of 375 yards in four games. The averages are skewed from games against Colgate and Howard, where the Paladins rushed for 666 yards. Chris Forcier only played against Colgate, but did gain 130 yards that day.

Take away the blowout wins over Colgate and Howard and the Paladins scoring average also take a significant hit. Thirty-one points a game is good enough for 18^th nationally, but take out the 45 from Colgate and the 56 from Howard, and the Paladins find themselves scoring 24.4 points per game. That would only be good enough for 56^th nationally, tied with Massachusetts, which is scary considering CAA teams are not exactly burning up the scoreboard this season. The Paladins are going to have to come up with some big plays from receiver Adam Mims (42 catches, 553 yards, 4 TD) and Mike Brown (266 yards, 4.8 ypc) if they plan to keep up with the Mountaineers.

Last weekend, the Mountaineers did exactly what they needed to do in a rivalry games situation. It was obvious before the game, that Appalachian has much better talent than Western Carolina. Appalachian came out and took care of business quickly by going up 20-0 on the Catamounts, pretty much squashing any hopes they had of an upset. The offense looked stagnant and bored in the second half, but there was also no pressure from the Catamount offense to score more points. In several situations down the stretch, even with the game mostly decided Appalachian turned back Western Carolina on more than one fourth down and also held on a goal line stand. In the age of spread offenses and high scores, it seems that defensive stands are almost a thing of the past in college football. It was nice to see that burning fire on the defensive side of the ball.

The Mountaineer defense continues to get burned through the air by opposing offenses. At this point in the season, one is led to believe that is just a part of the scheme, compared to being mental lapses in the secondary. Furman basically has one go to receiver in Adam Mims, and he will get his fair share of balls thrown his way. Furman only averages 181 yards a game in the air, and also allows 2.71 sacks per contest. Compare that to Appalachian’s defense which gives up 218 yards a game and get this, averages 2.71 sacks a game. Sounds like Jabari Fletcher, John Rizor and Bobby Bozzo, who have combined for 13.5 sacks, will have their way in the Paladin backfield on Saturday.            

The Mountaineers will begin the gauntlet of the conference schedule this weekend with three straight games against some of the more hated rivals. Furman has been one of those teams for a long time, and has been scheduled as the Black Saturday since the renewal of the game in 2002. We all remember how that one went down, Josh Jeffries, Derrick Black, and Who Cares!!! Furman has not won in Boone 14 years. The Paladins mobile quarterback, Cody Worley is averaging 1.3 yards per carry. Mike Brown has not been the same since 2008, if not before. I just do not see this Furman team as being explosive, or capable of holding down another offense. The Paladins are giving up 225 yards a game on the ground, 111^th in the nation. Their lone bright spot is probably their secondary, which has picked off six passes, and returned four of them for touchdowns. If DeAndre Presley is going to throw an interception, it might be this weekend, but the Paladins are going to need more than just on turnover to stick around this weekend. Furman is going to have to do something that an Appalachian opponent has not done this season, and that is keeping them less than 35 points, and that still might not be enough. Furman will have to keep the Mountaineer offense off the field for a significant amount of time. In three Furman losses, the opposing team has dominated the line of scrimmage. Wofford and Chattanooga possessed the ball for 36 minutes each. South Carolina possessed it for 34 minutes. Good defenses are only good if their offense can give them time to rest, and score some points as well, and the Furman offense has not been good in either of those categories. The Mountaineers will dominate, but the final score will not indicate it.

The First Pick:

Furple                          23

Mountaineers              38

Here we go with Week 9:

#3 Appalachian State (6-2, 4-1 T2) @ Furman (5-3, 4-2 4^th)

Time: 1:30pm

TV: None

Live Video: www.furmanpaladins.com        

Paladin Stadium         

Surface: Natural Grass

Capacity: 16,000 


Jeff Sagarin Ratings: 


ASU: 66.65

FU: 61.55

Home: 2.64 points

Appalachian is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 2 ½ points (rounded).

Series: Furman leads 21-17-3

Last Meeting: Appalachian 37, Furman 26, October 30, 2010, Boone, NC

WXAPP’s Greenville Gameday Weather Trends:

Sunny

9 AM: Mid 40’s

Kickoff: Low 60’s

End of Game: Mid 60’s

APPTASTIC Football Weather!  

            In the biggest game of the season, the Appalachian State Mountaineers put up on their best show of the season. Is this thread on repeat? We could have said that for each game the last three weeks. Fortunately, it is a true statement. Appalachian is currently on a three game winning streak where it has played better and better with each passing week. The opponents have also been a little better with each game, from Citadel to Samford to then top ranked Georgia Southern. This week, the script changes with a road trip to Paladin Stadium against a team that is less talented than last week’s opponent. I say less talented based solely on the result between those two schools, a 50-20 Georgia Southern win. Furman used to own Appalachian in the early years, but since, Appalachian has won six straight in the series. Take it further, and Appalachian has defeated a Furman football team in nine straight seasons. In 2005, Furman won the regular season game while Appalachian won the national semifinal at home. However, the last four wins for Furman in this series were all played in Greenville in 1997, 1999, 2001 and 2005. For only the second time in this series, Appalachian and Furman will play in November and recently, the later this game is played in the season, the better the results are for Appalachian. Furman has not beaten Appalachian in the third week of October or later since 1992.

             For two seasons, Appalachian was able to avoid dynamic Paladin quarterback Chris Forcier. In 2009, the Mountaineers received a taste of Forcier in the fourth quarter of a blowout game. Forcier was unable to complete a pass, but did run seven times for forty-one yards, including a twenty-five yard touchdown run. In 2010, Forcier was injured early in the season and was unable to suit up against Appalachian. This year, Forcer is healthy, leads the country in passer efficiency and manages the game very well for the Paladins. Forcier is at his best when the running game is working for Furman, and they are not forced into playing a game of catch up. That is a real nice way to say, Furman is better when Forcier does not have to win the game for the Paladins. The fewer passes Forcier throws has shown to help Furman. Forcier has thrown 23 or more passes twice this season, both were losses. When throwing 21 passes or fewer, the Paladins are 5-1. Forcier has thrown 17 touchdown passes and four interceptions. In Furman’s three losses, Forcier has thrown all of his interceptions and four touchdowns. Two of those losses were to Samford and Georgia Southern, who are tied the SoCon lead with 12 interceptions. The conferences third leading team in interceptions: Appalachian with 11.

            On the defensive side of the ball, Furman has perhaps two of the SoCon’s best players in Kadarron Anderson and Ryan Steed. Anderson leads the conference in tackles per game with 11.75 per contest. Anderson has registered thirteen or more tackles in five of his last six games. Anderson has landed on the All-SoCon first team in each of the last two seasons. Anderson’s only interception of his career was DeAndre Presley’s first interception thrown of the season in 2010. Ryan Steed is your typical shutdown corner who is considered a top NFL prospect in 2012. Steed has twelve career interceptions, three of them returned for touchdowns. Steed’s two interceptions this season have come in the last two games against Chattanooga and Wofford.

            Although it was not a perfect offensive performance, Appalachian put enough points to defeat Georgia Southern. Appalachian was granted good field position for most of the first half which lead to a 17-3 halftime lead. Jamal Jackson had good moments, and others that would make one scratch their head. For the most part, all three of Jackson’s touchdown passes were to wide open receivers. Andrew Peacock scored on a twenty-five yard catch in the first quarter and Brian Quick scored twice. However, Jackson had several passes batted down, which is a great concern for a quarterback that stands 6’3” tall. Some credit must be given to Southern’s defensive line, which could be considered the best line in the conference. Jackson also threw an ill-advised pass out of his end zone in the fourth quarter that was intercepted. Luckily the Mountaineer defense was able to produce a goal line stand to keep the Eagles off the board.

            The Mountaineer defense did exactly what it was supposed to do against Georgia Southern. They attacked the point of the option and stayed home on the ends. Every time the Eagles went misdirection there were three black shirts waiting on Shaw and company. The Appalachian line all but took away the fullback dive. Southern did have some success with the pitches and options, but it was very limited. The Eagles had two drives that travelled further than fifty yards. One was their opening drive in the third quarter, and the other produced a turnover on downs at the Mountaineer two yard line on their next possession. The Mountaineers only allowed eleven first downs, four completed passes and 135 yards rushing. Appalachian accumulated seven tackles for loss, two sacks and two interceptions.

            Furman’s season can be looked at in halves. In their first four games, they played a much easier schedule than their last four games. Their first four includes their FCS non conference games in Presbyterian and Coastal Carolina, and SoCon games against The Citadel and Western Carolina. Their last four opponents were Samford, Georgia Southern, Wofford, and Chattanooga. The loss to Coastal Carolina was unexpected, even though it was a road game. The Samford loss might have put any other team over the edge. The playoffs looked bleak with games against Southern, Wofford and Appalachian on the horizon. As we mentioned earlier, the Paladins were trashed by Southern, but answered back nicely with a somewhat improbable win over Wofford and a gutsy win over Chattanooga. Now Furman is faced with having to win two of its final three to even have a chance at the playoffs. Even more interesting, is that Furman’s playoff hopes hinge solely on this game against the Mountaineers. After Appalachian, the Paladins will face Elon at home and Florida on the road. A 7-4 Furman team could sneak in as the SoCon’s fourth team, but it must share the conference title to do so. The Paladins have an outside chance of conference championship, but those hopes will be dashed with a loss this weekend. So there is a reason beyond just beating Appalachian for Furman to win this weekend. I think all of this could work in favor of the Mountaineers. All it takes is for Jerry Moore to tell the players, “They have a chance. Furman is playing for their season.” When all is said and done, I do not think the Paladins will have enough offense this weekend. The Appalachian defense is playing at the top of its game right now and I just can not imagine the Paladins scoring more than a couple touchdowns. The Mountaineers must treat the second leading rusher in the conference in Jerodis Williams the same way they did Robert Brown of GSU and Fabian Truss of Samford. Both backs were held well below their averages against Appalachian The Mountaineer offense is a mismatch for the Furman defense. Not only did the three option teams run on Furman, but so did Coastal Carolina and Samford. Appalachian will run the ball on Furman and will also mix in the short passing game with screens, which are basically running plays, substituting offensive lineman for blocking wide receivers. Furman is near the bottom of the conference in punting and punt returns, but keep an eye on Sederrik Cunningham, who averages 27 yards per kickoff return and has returned three for touchdowns this season.

The First Pick:

Bobby’s Lambs           20                   

Mountaineers              35