FB: USA South Athletic Conference

[blackhats]

True, I'm not sure that Ferrum is any better than they were last year.  They are just winning games they lost last year.  Chowan is better than they were last year, because they have transfer scholarship players.  Ferrum is very young, but to date they have played fairly well (at least offensively).  Defensively, the young secondary will continue to improve, but right now they are not very good.  Team speed on the defensive side of the ball is lacking, and it is quite possible that Maryville or Methodist will be able to expose it like Averett did.  I do think that Davis and his staff do a very good job with what they have, because they are rarely playing with a large number of upperclassmen.  Every team that Ferrum plays seems to have four or five more coaches as well, so I really believe that they are doing a masterful job at the mountain. 

[Pat Coleman]

You can claim those players made them better but it doesn't make it so:

Saturday     3     Randolph Macon College     Ashland, VA   W, 16-13
Saturday    10    University of Virginia at Wise    Wise, VA     L, 20-54
Saturday    17    Ferrum College    Murfreesboro, NC     L, 23-46
Saturday    24    Newport News Apprentice    Murfreesboro, NC     L, 14-28
October
Saturday    1    Southern Virginia University (Homecoming)    Murfreesboro, NC     W, 20-0

This doesn't scream out that they're substantially better than last year.

[power0tech]

Somebody up in the booth for CNU is sleeping on that freshmen nose guard.
Who's playing behind 5 other freshmen :- What does it take ?

[Pat Coleman]

Lemme guess -- if we go to CNU's roster and look at the defensive linemen we'll find a freshman named Macklin? What member of his family are you?

Do people understand that their e-mail addresses are posted on their profile? Does anyone read the Terms of Service??

[Allen C]

Hey CNU's Finest...I have to agree with everything you said. I guess I will always love the black and gold, and hope they can continue to play as they have been playing.

Iwould like to think that Ferrum can be 9-0 when our teams play. I will definitly be at that game. I see Methodist as a big obstacle for both of our teams.

It will be interesting to see what CNU does and how bad they beat AU this coming weekend.

Hey, how do you get the school logo on your messages?

[Allen C]

Can two teams from the USAC go to the playoffs?

[narch]

pat...you're brilliant

74 Julius Macklin Fr. DL 5-10 357 Chesapeake, VA  Oscar Smith  

...he's certainly a big 'ol boy, though

allen c - i don't think you've been reading the board or the front page (around the nation, etc.) enough over the last few weeks - ferrum has been getting much love - i think everyone in the conference respects what ferrum can do, especially on offense with a healthy pitts - i hear what you're saying re: comparative scores vs. ac, but i don't put a lot of stock in that theory...of course if i did, ferrum beat ehc 29-13 while the monarchs beat ehc 55-21 - that being said, though, if you don't think that cnu is the favorite in this conference, you're crazy - they are a team that plays an incredibly tough ooc schedule and has every resource possible...great facilities, great coaches, great athletes, lots of depth - they can be beaten, but it takes a good team giving it's best effort to make that happen

and yes, 2 teams from the usasac COULD go to the playoffs (it happened last year) - i doubt it would happen this year, though - cnu is the only team in the conference that has played a really strong ooc schedule, and if they didn't win the conference they would have at least 3 losses...i don't see a 3 loss team making the playoffs without the benefit of the aq - even if ferrum were to go 9-1 with the only loss to cnu, i don't think the ooc schedule is strong enough

[Allen C]

Hey Pat,

Your are also right that Chowan is probably no better than they were last year, but I mentioned Ferrum beating them because I thought that something like that could have a bearing on rankings.

An example would be if for instance William and Mary(1AA) had beaten UNC last year...which they almost did, or had they beaten Marshall this year, it would have certainly had an effect on their ranking.
I guess that there are lots of teams in lower divisions that can still be better that the weak teams in a higher division.

Marshall nor UNC are considered weak compared to W&M. I guess thats the difference

[blackhats]

If you throw out the Randolph Macon game (1st games are always tough to read), then the rest of the results are about right.  Chowan used to not be able to put any points on the board, but at least this year they can claim that they can put up some lights on the Chowan side.  Trust me when I say that they are indeed better (schematically and in personnel).  With Chowan only being one year removed from D-3, be quite certain that there aren't ANY D-3 programs in Virginia this year that could win at UVA-Wise either.  

It really doesn't matter if you are trying to use it for justification or credibility for Ferrum.  Ferrum is, in my opinion, better coached and plays harder than many of those teams.  They have some players, but not bodies like Chowan, Shenandoah, or even Averett and right now Ferrum is a better TEAM.  They have players who play hard, are physical, and have learned to win.  Will they win them all?  No one knows, and I'm sure that Maryville and Methodist are eager for their shots in the immediate future.  However, in the meantime the Panthers and their fans are proud of their season thus far.

Ferrum deserves some accolades, but I think that most Pantherites are conservative in their recognition of the 5-0 start.  You can only play the teams on the schedule, and to this point they've beaten them all (not pretty always... but neither is Hampden Sydney or Bridgewater, who happen to play in a pretty weak ODAC, but for some reason they always seem to be ranked).  

If you like comparing year to year so much, how is Wesley doing this year?  Ferrum should have beaten them last year (lost by one) and beat them soundly the year before.  Year to year comparisons are worthless at this level, so we must all realize that past success or failure at the D-3 level determines a lot less than it does at the scholarship level.  Tradition doesn't win D-3 football games in the south, teams do.  Therefore, it is my opinion that teams should be ranked--not what they have done or not done over the past two or three years.

Pat, I expected more out of you.  You are the voice of what is good about D-3 football---not what is bad or not up to par at the scholarship level.  

[Allen C]

Narch-

You are right, and I am quite pleased with the coverage Ferrum has been getting on D3.com
CNU is definitly the favorite, and your mentioning their resources, and facilities opens another can of worms....They are a State supported college. Are any others in the USAC getting tax dollars to fund their school? I am not trying to be controversial, but it does seem to give the CNU the opportunity for resources that the priivate schools dont have.

Just a thought. any validity????

[Llamaguy]

Narch-

You are right, and I am quite pleased with the coverage Ferrum has been getting on D3.com
CNU is definitly the favorite, and your mentioning their resources, and facilities opens another can of worms....They are a State supported college. Are any others in the USAC getting tax dollars to fund their school? I am not trying to be controversial, but it does seem to give the CNU the opportunity for resources that the priivate schools dont have.

Just a thought. any validity?

Hey Pat,

Is this the first time this angle has ever been explored?

[Pat Coleman]

Pat, I expected more out of you.  You are the voice of what is good about D-3 football---not what is bad or not up to par at the scholarship level. 

And your credibility comes from where? We covered Chowan the past six years -- it's clear (unless you're a Ferrum fan desperately trying to make a point) that they are hardly ahead of last year.

But let's try a different tack: What do you make of the Wesley game against Averett and the Ferrum game against Averett?

Allen, the point is our voters know that Chowan has been Division II for a grand total of about six weeks. They know Chowan is essentially a D-III school with one recruiting class that has scholarships. It's not at all akin to W&M beating a I-A school.

[Allen C]

Ok
So I know CNU is the favorite to win the USAC, but I am wondering if there are any predictions or guesses about the Methodist @ Ferrum game?

And how to you get the helmet logo on your message?

[AdmiralPapi]

The Methodist vs. Ferrum game will be like it always is....a tough battle the whole game with whoever makes less mistakes coming out on top.  The Monarchs and Panthers always get after each other pretty good and a lot of their games have come down to who can make the big plays in the 4th quarter.  I would give the edge to MC this year because it seems their offense is much more balanced this year than in the past but then again I am a little biased  .  Looks like Coach Sy is finally allowing Rocket to do some damage with his arm as well as his legs.  Can't wait to get up MC and see a game.

Narch any significant injuries in Monarch Camp?

[narch]

allen - my prediction is that the fc/mc game is 2 weeks away and if the monarchs get caught up in that game and look past au, it won't matter