Welcome to Week 5 of the college football season and the fifth SoConversation between The Citadel beat writer Jeff Hartsell of the Charleston Post and Courier, Elon beat writer Adam Smith of the Burlington Times News and UTC beat writer John Frierson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
We're also happy to welcome guest Todd Shanesy, the Wofford beat writer for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, who was nice enough to join us this week to offer some insight on Saturday's biggest game.
The SoCon schedule really got under way last week with four games, plus Furman hosted Presbyterian in what turned out to be Chris Forcier's coming-out party. What's your take on last week?
JEFF: Citadel coaches must feel a little sick when they look at the numbers option teams like Wofford and Georgia Southern are putting up. Each had three 100-yard rushers in their wins last week, and GSU was one yard short of a fourth. Wofford has been optioning people to death for years, but GSU is in just its second season in the Monkenbone, or whatever they call it.
What's the difference? Citadel coaches must be staying up nights trying to figure that one out.
I must confess that I was not overwhelmed by Furman QB Chris Forcier in the Paladins' 16-6 win over The Citadel a couple of weeks ago, although Furman was content just to pound the ball and Forcier was 9 of 9. He sure broke through with seven TD passes against PC, though word on the street is that the Blue Hose secondary was full of holes. It's hard to argue with a passer rating of 212.73, and a run-pass balance can only help Furman.
I picked Chattanooga to beat App State, and though I was wrong, I'm not too proud to claim a moral victory. The Mocs held App without an offensive TD for the first time since the Mountaineers lost to LSU by 24-0 in 2005.
TODD: Those were some ridiculous numbers with Georgia Southern rushing for 634 yards against Western Carolina (most ever against a Southern Conference opponent) and Furman's Chris Forcier passing for seven touchdowns against Presbyterian (another SoCon record). But to me, last week was about the lack of numbers when Chattanooga kept Appalachian State from an offensive touchdown. Even in a 14-12 defeat, the Mocs sent shockwaves through the league and made it clear what it's going to be like to play them.
ADAM: My shrewd analysis? Wowzers. There's some stuff brewing that could be scary or remarkable or both depending on your vantage point.
Yes, it was against Western Carolina and yes, it was at home, but Georgia Southern piled up more rushing yards in one game than four SoCon teams (Elon, Chattanooga, Samford and Western Carolina) have on the season. That's absolutely awesome production. But for opposing defenses out there ... yikes.
Speaking of defenses, I'm not sure whose was more impressive in the Appalachian State/Chattanooga slugfest. The Mocs' D didn't allow any points - in freakin' Boone of all places - yet App State managed to survive on the strength of defensive and special teams touchdowns. Moving forward, how are you supposed to beat those teams if you can't score much of anything on them?
And eight total touchdowns in three quarters from Furman QB Chris Forcier is, as the college girls say, totally ridic. Not that I hang out with college girls.
JOHN: The statistics from last week's games were pretty incredible. For example, Wofford rushed for 443 yards against Samford. That seemed pretty impressive, until you saw what Georgia Southern did. Maybe more surprising from the GSU-WCU game, the teams combined for 23 penalties. Ouch.
And can we take off our hats and pause a moment for Western Carolina's defense? The Catamounts open the season by giving up 662 yards at Georgia Tech, then gave up 466 to Division II Mars Hill before the Eagles amassed 694.
It doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure out that the Catamounts are going to be last in the FCS in rushing defense. And they're second-to-last (ahead of Valparaiso, which I didn't know played football) in total defense (allowing 607.3 ypg) and scoring defense (48.7 ppg).
What are your thoughts on the game you covered last Saturday?
JOHN: As a guy that loves to watch defensive battles, it was a lot of fun seeing UTC and Appalachian State go at each other the way they did. The Mountaineers' 14-12 win - who would have guessed that final score? - was a brutal result for the Mocs, and doubly so considering UTC squandered a 35-14 fourth-quarter lead against ASU last season.
Both teams missed on some offensive opportunities, but the game belonged to the defenses. No FCS team had held the Mountaineers' offense scoreless since 2004. Appalachian State did what it does so often, it found a way to make the plays to win. In this case it was a 73-yard fumble return for a touchdown on a botched field-goal attempt and a 46-yard interception return for a score.
The Mocs were pretty devastated after this one.
JEFF: As was The Citadel after an 18-15 OT loss at Elon. The Bulldogs matched the Phoenix mistake for mistake, then went them one better by missing a 37-yard field goal in OT to tie it up. The Citadel also missed a 20-yarder earlier in the game that might have prevented overtime in the first place. Elon stacked the line and did a good job of bottling up the Bulldogs' option except for three plays, and The Citadel can expect similar strategies until it shows it can complete a pass or two.
ADAM: Elon was chugging the Maalox again and sweating out another down-to-the-wire ending. The Phoenix topped The Citadel 18-15 in overtime in a mistake-prone game defined by field goals - Elon made four, The Citadel missed its only two - and blown opportunities.
Elon, living on the edge the last two weeks, has defeated N.C. Central and The Citadel by a combined margin of four points and greatly benefited from both of those opponents botching field goals that would have either won or extended the games.
Two turnovers against The Citadel increased Elon's total to 12 on the season. The Phoenix ranks 118th out of 121 FCS teams in turnover margin. Aye, aye, aye. No es bueno.
TODD: Wofford took care of business on both sides of the ball, really, against Samford with the offense having three players rush for more than 100 yards and the defense holding the Bulldogs to 1.4 yards per attempt. But potentially season-wrecking flaws were exposed on kickoff coverage (Samford's average starting spot in the first half was its 47-yard line) and penalties (Wofford had nine for 104 yards and one brought back a long kickoff return).
The Mountaineers were in the most anticipated game last week and the same is true this week. Here's Saturday's slate of games (rankings from coaches' poll): No. 1 Georgia Southern at Elon, No. 3 Appalachian State at No. 6 Wofford, Gardner-Webb at Samford, The Citadel at No. 17 UTC and Furman at Western Carolina. What stands out to you this week?
ADAM: Obviously, App State at Wofford is my headliner and I'm sure our hired gun, Todd, can provide some valuable insight here. On paper it's App State's most difficult road game in the SoCon. Everybody always gets pumped for App, but I have to think Wofford will be extra fiery. Despite having some great teams in recent years, the Terriers have beaten App only once in their last seven tries.
I'm interested to see Georgia Southern's triple-option machine in person and if Elon can avoid self-destructing and mount a challenge.
Furman and Forcier could keep lighting it up against a Western Carolina team allowing 48.7 points per game. The Citadel, completely dependant on its rushing attack right now, should be in for a long night against that stingy Chattanooga defense.
JOHN: I'd love to be in Spartanburg for the App State-Wofford game, which should be a great one. I was very impressed by the Mountaineers' defense last week and ASU sure has its hands full with the Terriers, who will provide a very different challenge from pass-first UTC.
If Elon can get out of its own way and avoid the costly turnovers, the Phoenix might be able to put a scare into Georgia Southern. UTC, meanwhile, could be in for another defensive battle this week against the Bulldogs since the Mocs' offense is having some issues and The Citadel is only allowing 14.3 points per game.
JEFF: Though App State spoiled my record last week, I can't shake the feeling that the Mountaineers are not the powerhouse of recent years. They've got that thing, though, where they are used to big games for high stakes, and making plays to win them. App has handled Wofford in recent years, but I kind of like the Terriers at home this time. GSU and Furman should be tested in their road games, but also should come out ahead. And The Citadel's defense is good enough to keep the Bulldogs in the game at Chattanooga for 30 to 45 minutes, but not for 60 without a lot more help from its offense.
TODD: The only thing that jumps out to me is the Appalachian State-Wofford game and I'm excited I'll be there. I expect Georgia Southern, Chattanooga, Furman and Samford to win pretty easily, actually. The game in Spartanburg? Who knows. Wofford hasn't played well against Appalachian State since winning at home in 2007 and that was the only victory since 2003, also at home. Both of those were championship seasons for the Terriers.
The top three rushing teams in the FCS are SoCon schools that run a version of the triple-option -Georgia Southern 416.0 ypg, Wofford 355.7 and The Citadel 298.3. How miserable must it be for the defensive coordinators in the league right now?
TODD: You'd think it would be easier for opposing defenses with three teams featuring the option. There is more time spent preparing, even during the offseason. But the problem is that Wofford, Georgia Southern and The Citadel all do it a little bit differently. Wofford has survived through the years, even when it was the only team running the option, by constantly adapting and adjusting.
ADAM: Surely it's difficult for the defensive coordinators, but what about the defensive players? Getting the triple option stuffed down your throat, dealing with the cut blocks, collisions and deception three times a season, that hurts just thinking about it. But, of course, I'm very much a wimp.
App State, Elon, Furman and Chattanooga all face option teams in back-to-back SoCon games at some point this season. In terms of preparation, that's got to be a plus. It's a bruising one, though.
JEFF: Not as miserable as it could be. The fact that are three option teams in the SoCon actually helps, as there is some carryover from one foe to the next. And I'm sure many coaches are doing like Elon's Jason Swepson, who has been devoting 10 minutes of each practice session to defending the option since spring practice.
Wofford has made it more difficult in recent years by diversifying its offense to what Clemson defensive coordinator Kevin Steele called "40 percent Georgia Tech, 30 percent South Carolina and 30 percent Auburn." If and when The Citadel gets its option operating at the level of GSU and Wofford, the misery index should go up.
JOHN: It does amaze me that the option is as effective as it is, year after year, both in the FCS and with bowl subdivision schools like Georgia Tech. If you're a defensive coordinator, you have to be praying for an off week before you play one of these teams.
The Mocs don't have an off week before playing The Citadel on Saturday, but at least they have Georgia Southern the following week so they should be pretty well prepared when they head down to Statesboro.
What makes Wofford so scary, as UTC well knows, is that is also has a very good receiver in Brenton Bersin. Every catch seems to go for 30-plus yards.
Bonus question: What's your worst road game-related horror story?
JOHN: I asked this question because last week at ASU I walked a few hundred yards in the pouring rain to my car after the game - I had a raincoat, but no umbrella - and I get to the parking lot and discover that my car is gone. It had been towed because I parked in the wrong space; right lot, wrong space (and towing seems a bit extreme in that situation). Somehow my heart and my laptop survived and I eventually got my car back.
Other notable incidents include getting bumped off my early-morning flight to Nebraska earlier this season (after driving to Atlanta the night before so I wouldn't have to get up at 4 a.m.) and at Presbyterian in 2009 I got locked inside the stadium and eventually had to climb a very pointy fence to get out.
TODD: It wasn't a road game. It was at home, actually, Forgive me for not speaking last season when Chattanooga was in town, John. I had food poisoning or some other kind of nastiness and couldn't form words all day. I don't even think I asked questions in postgame interviews. I think I just put my recorder in peoples' faces and hoped they said something. I got sick on the way to the game, again during warm-ups, at halftime and I had my own two-minute drill in the fourth quarter. The rest of the time I sat there sweating. I never even wrote much down. Horrible, horrible day. But it was for a Southern Conference title. I'm a gamer. And the story came out OK somehow.
JEFF: I can't recall the exact details, but it involved a South Carolina State game at Murray State in 1985 when Frank Beamer was the Racers' head coach. I don't know why we covered the game, and for some reason it involved a taxi ride from Nashville to Murray, Ky. Then there was the night of the South Carolina at Ole Miss basketball game in Oxford, when I walked into a club in Memphis and saw B.B. King up on the stage. Yes.
ADAM: This is a fantastic question. And get this, the very week before Frierson's fence adventure in 2009, I had to pull a Presbyterian prison break of my own. It was a steep climb and I almost took the point of an iron spear in the crotch on the way over that thing.
Instead of getting locked in, like at Presbyterian, I got locked out of the press box at Stony Brook in 2008 while Tropical Storm Hanna was dumping a monsoon on Long Island. Nothing like sitting down to write as a waterlogged mess.
The N.C. A&T band, which I love, has drowned out many a post-game interview and rendered me momentarily deaf several times.
And once at Chattanooga, a miscommunication prompted me to venture into the locker room where I ran into a convoy of Elon coaches coming out of the showers. They were buck naked. It still haunts me.
I don't know how we're going to top that next week, but we'll try. If you've got a question, e-mail the writers at jhartsell@postandcourier.com, asmith@thetimesnews.com or jfrierson@timesfreepress.com. The guys are also on Twitter: @Jeff_fromthePC, @Adam_Smith10 and @MocsbeatCTFP.