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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 1, 2016 13:04:45 GMT -5
Short-Term Investor's Weekly Guide...Wofford at Furman - Saturday, November 05, 2016 1:30 PM Wofford -5 Over/Under 43 Projected Score = Terriers win 24-19 VMI at Western Carolina - Saturday, November 05, 2016 2:00 PM VMI +6½ Over/Under 54½ Projected Score = Catamounts win about 31-24 Samford at Citadel - Saturday, November 05, 2016 2:00 PM Samford +1 Over/Under 59½ Projected Score = SCBulldogs win about 30-29 East Tennessee State at Mercer - Saturday, November 05, 2016 3:00 PM
East Tennessee State +23½
Over/Under 55½
Projected Score = Bears win about 39-16Georgia Tech (prior opponent) at North Carolina - Saturday, November 05, 2016 3:30 PM Georgia Tech +10½ Over/Under 60 Projected Score = Tar Heels win about 35-25 Tennessee Tech (prior opponent) at Tennessee U - Saturday, November 05, 2016 4:00 PM Tennessee Tech +41 Over/Under 65 Projected Score = Volunteers win 53-12 Tennessee State at Austin Peay - Saturday, November 05, 2016 5:00 PM Tennessee State -12½ Over/Under 66½ Projected Score = Tigers win about 40-27 BTW....there is no posted investment advice for this FCS game... Universidad De Las Americas Puebla at San Diego - Saturday, November 05, 2016 9:00 PM * The Aztecas ( Todos Somos Aztecas - Todos Somos UDLAP) ARE undefeated, but I would put my money on the Toreros
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 1, 2016 15:32:46 GMT -5
ETSU Football's Weekly Press Conference – Mercer Monday, October 31, 2016 JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 31, 2016) – ETSU football held its weekly football press conference on Monday as the Bucs are gearing up for this weekend’s Southern Conference road game at Mercer. Head coach Carl Torbush, junior wide receiver Dalton Ponchillia (Nashville, Tenn.) (a former Mercer Player - 16 DALTON PONCHILLIA) and graduate defensive back Ryan Powers (Jupiter, Fla.) ( a former Stetson Player - 9 RYAN POWERS) met the media to recap last Saturday’s game versus No. 5 The Citadel, while looking ahead to this weekend’s matchup against the Bears. Below are comments from Coach Torbush, Ponchillia and Powers. HEAD COACH CARL TORBUSH - ON MERCER - "We’re going right back into Mercer's home field for the second time and we all know what happened down there last year. We're playing on their Homecoming. Normally, when you have a Homecoming game, you're playing somebody that you feel like you can beat up on and have a lot of smiles after the game. The best thing we can do is go down there, compete and give ourselves a chance to win. They have a lot of their players back from last season and so do we. It's going to be basically the same two teams. Playing them for a second straight year will give us the opportunity to see how much we have improved from a year ago.
Mercer is one of the teams that we modeled our program around a little bit as far as starting things up, because I have known Bobby Lamb for a long time. Bobby has done a great job coaching over his career. He’s a good football coach and has been on the FCS level just about his entire college coaching career. He knew going into it what it was going to take to build Mercer into a strong program and he has done a great job of it. They have great facilities and an excellent fan base. They do an excellent job filling up their stadium on Saturdays.
John Russ is a very talented quarterback who ranks fourth in the conference in total offense. He has accounted for 72 passing touchdowns and 101 career touchdowns already, so he's done a great job. He's a redshirt senior, so he's been there since the very beginning of this program. He’s a very experienced quarterback and he understands the game. He's a guy that we're going to need to slow down to have a chance to win.
They have a really good receiving core and they do a great job spreading the ball around. They have about six receivers who have 200 or more receiving yards. They have great athleticism and have big-time playmakers.
Mercer also has some strong running backs and most of them are whom we saw last year. Payton Usher is a running back that's extremely quick and Alex Lakes is their leading rusher. They are using both those guys and playing both of them quite a bit.
Offensively, they have a good scheme. We're not going to be in the three back option attack this week. It's going to be more what you see at most college football games on Saturdays. They will line up in the I-formation (FUBeAR Comment -  ), and they'll run power football and some bootlegs off of it. We will also see some play action and they will try to hit you with the big play. They'll also get in the conventional offense where they're going to be spread with four wideouts with the one running back in the backfield.
This will be a great opportunity to see where we are. It will be a good challenge for our football team. The thing I'm excited for, and I think our players are excited, is to see the improvement we have made from last year to this year. When you go back and play the same team you played last year, in the same environment, it gives you an opportunity to see how much improvement you've made in a year. We'll find that out really quick, because both teams basically have the same players that were on the field back from last year’s game."
DOES IT MAKE IT EASIER TO PREPARE FOR A TEAM THAT YOU PLAYED LAST YEAR? - "I think it makes it a lot easier. We are going to spend a lot of time looking at last year's film. They're going to run very similar offensive schemes and it will give us a chance to fix some of the mistakes we made. We will spend as much time on last year's film as they will."
ON USING THE HOMECOMING GAME AS A MOTIVATIONAL TOOL - "That's a motivating factor. I don't care what level you're on. Whether it's high school, FCS, Division II or FBS, when you're somebody's Homecoming game, they usually try to play a team they feel like they've got a pretty good chance to win if they play up to the best of their ability. Obviously, we use that as a motivating tool. I don't know if it means anything. I know on the schedule, when you see Homecoming, it's usually a game that you like to mark up as a W."
DOES THE WIN OVER KENNESAW STATE GIVE THE TEAM MORE CONFIDENCE HEADING INTO THIS WEEKEND’S GAME AT MERCER? - "I think it makes you more competitive. If you're an athlete and somebody beats you, and beats you handily, you'd like to have another shot at him. It's just like a boxing match. If you get beat that first match in 15 rounds, you'd like to have another shot at him to see what you can do again. Hopefully we can show how much we improved from a year ago and give us a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter."----------
JUNIOR WIDE RECEIVER DALTON PONCHILLIA - ON MAKING THE RETURN TO MERCER - "It will be exciting to see some old friends, but I think as a team, we're very excited to go back down there and show the improvement we've made from last year. Personally, I don't want to treat this game differently than any other because I don't want to let emotions get in the way of my play."
WITH WHAT YOU GUYS DID AGAINST KENNESAW STATE, DOES THAT GIVE THE TEAM CONFIDENCE FACING A TEAM THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SEEN LAST YEAR? - "I think so. We saw that earlier this season at Kennesaw State. We showed a lot of improvement from that game, so we should be able to use that to our advantage this weekend. Mercer is a good football team, but we all remember what they did to us last year. We need to play well for the entire game and can’t make any mistakes."
ON THE DIFFICULTIES OF PLAYING FROM BEHIND - "It's definitely difficult playing from behind. As a team, I think we need to mature a little bit more and come out stronger. I think that's one of the areas that we have struggled with this year. We need to be focused and come out strong at the beginning of the game." AS A PLAYER, DO YOU LIKE TO TRY TO GO INTO A HOMECOMING GAME AND SPOIL IT FOR THAT HOME TEAM? - "I think it's always exciting going into another team's Homecoming game and have the opportunity to spoil it, because it would always hurt to also lose a homecoming game. I would say everyone on the team would be excited to go and ruin Mercer’s Homecoming."----------
GRADUATE DEFENSIVE BACK RYAN POWERS - ON BEING FAMILIAR WITH PLAYING MERCER - "We played Mercer every year when I was at Stetson. They have a good offense and do a lot of different things. Even though I was with a different team, I think it helps being able to see them before. It’s something that I can go back and look at, and hopefully, pick up on some things that can help us out this weekend." ON FACING MERCER’S PASSING ATTACK - "Every week we go into the game with a different game plan. Obviously, Mercer is going to throw the ball a little bit more than what we've seen in the past. Our game plan isn’t going to change too much as far as other teams we've played, but it's definitely going to be different because of the style of offense Mercer runs."
ON DEFENSE BEING ON THE FIELD A LOT THIS SEASON - "As a defensive player we have to be ready for stuff like that; that’s what happens in football games. We always have to be ready for any kind of change of possession or getting back on the field. We have to remain focused and be ready to get out there whenever our time is called. It’s an opportunity for us to turn the game around, get a turnover, or get some momentum going." ON THE DEFENSE HAVING MORE CONFIDENCE BY FORCING TURNOVERS THE LAST FEW GAMES - "The turnovers have definitely helped instill some confidence into our defense. I think we've done a good job of forcing turnovers. Our biggest thing is we just need to execute our game plan a little bit better, and that's what we really need to focus on this week." |
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 1, 2016 15:46:04 GMT -5
These are ETSU's highlights against The Citadel's Starters...
ETSU won this game 38-7
ETSU beat Western Carolina 34-31
ETSU beat Kennesaw State 20-17. Kennesaw State's current record is 6-2.
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 1, 2016 22:59:03 GMT -5
Part I of my weekly 'other board' Power Rankings & Picks...but I added Comments for the BearDownMU 'Audience' (only) Power Rankings now...picks later Because I'm tired - it's a long season - I've decided to let Mr. David Wilson rank the Top 6 Teams in the SoCon this week, instead of the 5 that he has ranked for me in recent weeks. I'll sort out the bottom 3. And, as has become my custom, I'll also post Mr. Wilson's Comparative Ratings of all 13 FCS Conferences. | Wilson SoCon Rank | Wilson National Rank | Team | W | L | Wilson Rating | FUBeAR Comment | | 1 | 1 | The Citadel | 8 | 0 | 864 | Still #1 in the USA - Tough matchup w/Sammy this week, but Johnson Hagood will be packed out and they may have even added a new coat of EXTRA-Toxic Lead Paint to the Visitor's Stands. | | 2 | 4 | Chattanooga | 8 | 1 | 802 | Taking a rest and pulling hard for the AL Bulldogs this week. Craine's ankle gets better as he looks to be the 1st back to go over 100 yards this season vs. Woffy in 2 weeks...if an FU RB (or QB) doesn't beat him to the punch. | | 3 | 11 | Samford | 6 | 2 | 764 | Went toe-to-toe with the SEC last week. Can their D slow down El Cid? Can their QB, who threw for a slew of yards and TD's vs. that SEC Team carve up a Bellhop Defense that gave up over 300 yards and 2 TD's to a D2 QB? | | 4 | 18 | Wofford | 5 | 3 | 736 | Won a VERY physical game by throwing the ball around the Bears and capitalizing on Mercer's miscues. After 2 TOUGH weeks, I'm not sure they have enough in the tank to go on the road and defeat a resurgent Furman Team | | 5 | 24 | Mercer | 4 | 4 | 709 | Errors on Special Teams & in coverage, along with a little help from the 'usual (striped) suspects,' overshadowed an outstanding performance by Mercer's Defense and an adequate one by the Bears' O...considering Mercer's #1 RB and #1 WR were unable to play due to injury. Bears still have a sliver of a chance at the post-season this season, but must win out impressively and have a lot go right for them to get there. | | 6 | 40 | Furman | 2 | 6 | 671 | Paladins have put together solid back-to-back wins and still have a chance to finish as high as 3rd in the SoCon. Watching Mercer's 'textbook' video of how to stone Woffy's ground game (10 1st downs/205 yards/3.4 ypa) should help Furman's D this week. Unlike Mercer, FU goes into this game healthy on Offense and they have been throwing the ball with precision to multiple receivers. Can Woffy's secondary handle that? Will the SoCon Officials call all of the PI's on the Terriers DB's and LB's? Zebras called 3 of them last week. | FUBeAR SoCon Rank
| FUBeAR National Rank | Team | W | L | FUBeAR Rating | FUBeAR Comment | | 7 | >40 | WCU | 1 | 7 | <671 | Have shown some life recently and they fired their DC last Sunday. With Cobb and VMI's Starting Left OT possibly out and a Defense that is likely to feel rejuvenated, the Cats are probably feeling some much-needed confidence this week. | | 8 | >41 | VMI | 3 | 5 | <672 | Having lost 4 or their last 5, the Keydets are starting to see their hopes for much improvement over last year's 2-9 record fall away. With Cobb's injury and a continued inability to run the football, the Roos will need to dig SOMETHING out of their pouch to have a chance to pick up even 1 win in their final 3 contests vs. WCU, El Cid, and Woffy. | | 9 | >42 | ETSU | 3 | 5 | <673 | Hard to rank them last after having beaten WCU AND since they are playing the Bears this week, but I think WCU went into some kind of crazy FUNK in the 2nd half of that game, which was followed up by 5 losses to the Teams ranked 1-5 above. If Mercer can avoid a similar FUNK following a hard-to-take loss to Woffy, that probably relegates ETSU to the basement this year. |
SoCon still has 5 Teams ranked in the Top 24, nationally! How many total Teams are in the Playoffs this year? Wilson
Conference
Rank | Conference | Rating | | 1 | Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) | 735 | | 2 | Southern Conference (SoCon) | 721 | | 3 | Big Sky Conference (BSC) | 677 | | 4 | Big South (w/o CCU) | 674 | | 5 | Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) | 666 | | 6 | Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) | 631 | | 7 | Southland Conference (SLC) | 627 | | 8 | Patriot League (PL) | 599 | | 9 | Ivy League | 596 | | 10 | Northeast Conference (NEC) | 564 | | 11 | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) | 558 | | 12 | Pioneer Football League (PFL) | 527 | | 13 | Southwestern Athletic Conference | 504 |
SoCon still ranked highly at #2, but yielded the #1 spot to the MVFC this week & the Patriot League overtook the Ivy League. All other Conference Rankings remained the same from last week. |
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 2, 2016 7:39:21 GMT -5
ETSU's Starting Line-up @ The Citadel from their Game Notes
OFFENSE
QB 7 AUSTIN HERINK 6-3 206 SO.
TB 6 JAJUAN STINSON 5-9 183 SO.
FB 48 HADDON HILL 6-1 228 r-FR.
TE 87 DYLAN DOCKERY 6-2 220 SO.
X 9 DRAKE POWELL 6-2 198 SO.
Y 38 CHAD PRITCHARD 5-11 179 SR.
Z 86 KOBE KELLEY 6-2 184 SO.
LT 74 MATT BREWER 6-5 276 SO.
LG 65 BEN BLACKMON 6-3 289 r-FR.
C 57 MATT PYKE 6-2 297 SO.
RG 62 MASON MCNUTT 6-4 273 r-FR.
RT 75 PATRICK MCFALL 6-6 277 SO.
OL Avg Size = 6-4 / 282
1 SR / 8 SO / 2 R-FR
DEFENSE
DE 45 NASIR PLAYER 6-5 257 r-FR.
DT 97 TREMOND FERRELL 6-2 288 SO.
DE 91 CHRIS BOUYER 6-2 276 SO.
LB 53 TREY QUILLIN 6-2 230 SO.
LB 10 AUSTIN GATEWOOD 6-1 221 SO.
LB 8 RIVER BORUFF 6-1 219 SO.
LB 40 DYLAN WEIGEL 6-0 220 SO.
CB 13 JEREMY LEWIS 5-11 171 r-FR.
FS 14 RYAN POWERS 5-11 195 GR.
SS 31 PAUL HUNTER 5-11 183 JR.
CB 22 TAVIAN LOTT 5-11 182 SR.
DL Avg Size = 6-3 / 274
D-Front 7 Avg Size = 6-2 / 244
1 GR (R-SR) / 1 SR / 1 JR / 6 SO / 2 R-FR
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 3, 2016 3:27:05 GMT -5
ETSU On-Campus Stadium Construction Progress (BTW - This video goes dark at 1:40, but comes back just before the 3:00 mark) Awww...this brings back a lot of memories to those of us who have been involved with Mercer Football from 'Day 1.' Looks to me that the Bucs are going to have a really nice on-campus environment there. Having played in the Mini-Dome, the Bucs previous Home Stadium (if you can call it that), I can confidently say this will be a HUGE upgrade. Playing in that building was certainly a memorable experience, but I think most anyone who played there would prefer if they COULD forget it!  |
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 3, 2016 15:36:10 GMT -5
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 3, 2016 16:18:34 GMT -5
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 3, 2016 16:51:30 GMT -5
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Post by BearDownMU on Nov 4, 2016 9:32:21 GMT -5
It really has been dead around here this week. And it's Homecoming. Seems like the Wofford game might have sucked the wind out of everyone.
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Post by FUBeAR on Nov 5, 2016 2:09:28 GMT -5
Part II of my 'other board' Power Rankings & Picks Posts... Last Week...4-1* MY PICK: Mercer @ Wofford 26-24 / ACTUAL: AnkleChewers won 31-21 - Didn't know Mercer's #1 WR broke his foot in practice on Wed. putting a big damper on the Bear's game plan nor did I properly anticipate the Special Teams & Coverage miscues made by the Bears, On the other hand, I really didn't expect Mercer's D to shut down Woffy's running game quite as thoroughly as they did. So, on balance, I blew this pick. Rat(Dog)s!! * MY PICK: Furman @ VMI 24-21 / ACTUAL: Paladins prevailed 24-10 - Got the game right and nailed the winner's points. If Cobb doesn't get knocked out in the 1st half, I believe the Roos would have a put a few more points on the board and made me look smarter. Oh well. * MY PICK: ETSU @ The Citadel 52-0 / ACTUAL: Bellhops won 45-10 - Well, I think the score coulda been 52-0, but the BoysOfSamsonite wanted to keep more of their powder dry for the ALBullPups this week. * MY PICK: Chattanooga @ WCU 42-13 / ACTUAL: Mocs won 38-25 - I've been saying the Catamounts are better than their record; I just didn't know when they were going to prove it. Not a bad showing against the 3-times-in-a-row...maybe 4-time SoCon Champs * MY PICK: Samford @ Mississippi State 49-24 / ACTUAL: MSBullPups won 56-41 - Right pick - overestimated both Teams D's or underestimated their O's...not sure which 33-13-1 - .717 for the Season - Seems fairly decent
This Week* Wofford @ Furman 1:30 PM - No doubt, the PorchYappers have A LOT riding on this game and FU has been down until recently...BUT...the 'Dins are resurgent and have found an offense with Hannon throwing (A LOT) and also running. Also, Woffy has, traditionally, not played very well in G'Vegas and the Terriers are coming off 2 VERY physical close games, while FU is coming off a bye week and 2 games that they pretty much controlled from kickoff until final whistle. FU has gotten more healthy and Woffy has gotten banged up. Heck, even the guy who blocked Mercer's Punt and scored the TD off the block is out this week (for a very noble reason - woffordterriers.com/news/2016...ne-marrow.aspx) I'm going with the upset. Paladins win 24-16
* Samford @ The Citadel 2:00 PM - As I did last week, I've been pondering on Sammy's game all week. I was spooked from picking them last week because of their low point total vs. WCU. I guess they showed me that they CAN score points. BTW - If they only scored 30 on WCU, who fired their DC the following week, and they scored 41 on MissState, what does that say about MissState's DC's future? Anyway, back to the BIG matchup in the SoCon this week. Someone made me recall a crazy game I played in down in Charleston many years ago with a final score of 45-44 and the Bellhops were on the losing end of that one. So, as tribute to that forced recollection, I'm going to 'assign' 89 points to this game and go with the ALBulldogs 56-33
* VMI @ WCU 2:00 PM - Cats found their O last week vs. the Mocs and they find their D this week without their former DC and facing a Cobb-less group of Roo's without much else in their pouch. I see Adams, Newsome, and the Robinsons putting up BIG numbers this week. Catamounts lay waste to the Keydets as they take out a season's worth of frustration 63-10
* ETSU @ Mercer 3:00 PM - I've seen some big numbers predicted, but I don't see it. The Bucs want to avenge last year's 52-0 shelling of their MountainPirate Schooner, just as they did when they whipped Kennesaw to open the Season. Mercer has played 5 very physical games in a row (including their game with APSU). They are a banged up Team on Offense right now and they really don't have much depth remaining on that side of the ball. This contrasts with their Defense, which is using 20+ Players in a regular rotation. So, I see this game as a closer-than-expected Defensive battle, but the Bears, as has become their custom in 1-score games, pull it out in the end, 24-17. |
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Post by BearDownMU on Nov 5, 2016 16:19:27 GMT -5
There is absolutely zero energy on our sideline. This is really tough to watch. It's Homecoming and it doesn't look like anyone wants to be here
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Post by mumd on Nov 5, 2016 16:34:55 GMT -5
There is absolutely zero energy on our sideline. This is really tough to watch. It's Homecoming and it doesn't look like anyone wants to be here Yep I'm in the stands and I totally agree. Should have stayed at my tent drinking beer. They wouldn't even let me bring in boiled peanuts. |
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Post by MUfan on Nov 6, 2016 6:08:00 GMT -5
Victory is ours.
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Post by mercerfan on Nov 6, 2016 8:42:06 GMT -5
Just curious if the 92 yards in penalties for Mercer concerns anyone?
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), and they'll run power football and some bootlegs off of it. We will also see some play action and they will try to hit you with the big play. They'll also get in the conventional offense where they're going to be spread with four wideouts with the one running back in the backfield. 
