Furman 20, #3 Appalachian State 10
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Chris Forcier passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for 64 yards to propel unranked Furman to a 20-10 upset victory over FCS consensus third-ranked Appalachian State in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Forcier, a senior and the nation's passing efficiency leader, completed 9-of-16 passes and threw first half touchdown strikes covering 4 and 79 yards in keying Furman (6-3, 5-2 SoCon) to its third consecutive league victory and second triumph over an FCS Top-5-ranked opponent in this season.
The win also snapped the Paladins' six-game series losing skid to Appalachian State (6-3, 4-2 SoCon), who as a consensus No. 3-ranked team marked the second highest ranked foe an unranked Furman squad had ever defeated.
Forcier's first scoring strike of the game, a 4-yard hook-up with Ryan Culbreath, staked the Paladins to an early 7-0 lead.
A Tersoo Uhaa 3-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter upped the Paladins' lead to 14-0, and Furman made it 20-0 on Forcier's connection with Sederrik Cunningham behind the Mountaineer secondary on a 79-yard scoring strike with 5:56 to go in the first half.
Appalachian State got on the board on a Travaris Cadet 2-yard touchdown plunge with less than a minute to go before intermission
The Mountaineers' bid to narrow Furman's lead came up short in the third quarter when quarterback Jamal Jackson was stopped short of the goal line on a fourth-and-goal play from the Furman 1. After taking over on downs the Paladins used a 54-yard pass from Forcier to tight end Cameron Mason to the Appalachian State 37 to regain field position.
ASU eventually cut the Furman advantage to 20-10 on a Drew Stewart 41-yard field goal with 13 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Furman's defense kept ASU in check in the fourth quarter, forcing a Mountaineer punt from the Paladin 43 with just under 10 minutes remaining, and later with a Ricky Lang sack of Jackson, whose fumble on the play was recovered by E.J. Vinsang at the Furman 37 with 1:22 to go.
Appalachian State forged a 399-365 advantage in total offense, running 83 plays to Furman's 51, but the Paladins' averaged a stellar 7.2 yards per offensive play and effectively closed out the Mountaineers in the fourth quarter with a 68-yard drive that featured 13 consecutive rushes, including Forcier third down runs of 13 and 12 yards for first downs.
Nathan Wade paced all defenders with a season high 17 tackles, and Mitch McGrath finished with 13 stops and an interception.
Ryan Steed recorded his third interception in consecutive weeks in the first quarter, halting a Mountaineer scoring threat on the game's first possession.
Furman recorded three sacks in the game and recorded a 4-2 advantage in turnovers to remain atop the SoCon in turnover margin.
Chattanooga 24, Samford 9
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- An inventive offensive game plan rode a stout defense as the Chattanooga Mocs won 24-9 at Samford on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. Chattanooga (5-5/3-4 SoCon) played three quarterbacks while limiting the Bulldogs (5-4/3-4 SoCon) to 24 points below their scoring average.
The Mocs defense registered four sacks and scored a touchdown in the win. Wes Dothard had the score with a 43-yard fumble return to open the second half.
UTC held a 10-6 lead at the half behind a trio of quarterbacks. With starter B.J. Coleman out with a shoulder injury for the fourth straight game and freshman sensation Terrell Robinson severely limited, sophomore Graham Nichols got the start.
But he was not alone behind center. The Mocs offensive coaches used a liberal mix of Nichols, wide receiver Sloan Allison and Robinson throughout the day. In fact, all three had a hand in UTC's first scoring drive with Robinson's three-yard run providing a 7-0 lead near the end of the first quarter.
After Cameron Yaw's 36-yard field goal closed the gap to 7-3 with 9:45 to go in the half, the trio was at it again. They engineered a 17-play, 68-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes of play clock.
A touchback started the epic march on the 20. Allison converted a first down with a punishing run off right guard from a direct snap. On fourth-and-a-foot, Robinson looked stuffed but broke out around left end for 11 yards. The drive ended at the Samford 12 with a 29 yard Nick Pollard field goal. Allison (27) and Robinson (25) accounted for 52 of the 68 yards.
The Bulldogs answered with an impressive drive of their own. Dustin Taliaferro led them to the Chattanooga 10 where Chris Lewis-Harris stopped Stanley Robinson on a third-and-two play to force another field goal for a 10-6 halftime margin.
Samford got the ball first to open the second half but that is when Dothard made his big play. On third-and-one at the Samford 41, Taliaferro ran over right guard and appeared to have the first down when Dothard broke free. He caused, recovered and returned the fumble 43 yards for his second score of the season and a 17-6 Mocs lead.
It was purely a defensive game from there. Chattanooga gained just four first downs the entire second half. As the offense managed the ball and did not turn it over, the defense kept making plays.
Samford trailed 17-6 late in the third quarter before finding its stride offensively. Starting on his own 20, Taliaferro quickly marched his charges down the field. A 15-yard pass completion was followed by a 14-yard Robinson run. The next play was a Taliaferro 43-yard offering to Riley Hawkins inside the Mocs 10 to the eight. The quarter ended with Samford readying for second-and-goal at the five.
The fourth opened with Chaz Moore making a play. As Taliaferro rolled right, his attempt to the end zone was corralled by Moore who fell as he landed at the one-foot line staving off another Bulldogs scoring attempt.
Nichols made a nice play on 3rd-and-10 from that spot to get some breathing room for the Mocs. He was flushed out of the pocket to the right lofting a perfect strike to Joel Bradford on the 23 for the first down. The drive stalled three plays later, but Bradford booted a 58 yard rolling rugby punt to the Samford 14.
The Bulldogs offense went back on the attack. It once again drove to within sight of the end zone only to see the Mocs defense make a big play. This time it was career sack leader Joshua Williams. Williams chased down a scrambling Taliaferro for a 16-yard loss on second down forcing an eventual field goal try making it 17-9.
While Chattanooga could not manage to run out the clock, Bradford went back to work with his foot. He kicked a 59-yard roller resulting in Samford starting on its own 16 with 2:44 to go.
After an incomplete pass, freshman defensive end Davis Tull put an exclamation point on the defensive performance with a heavy sack of Taliaferro on the Samford nine. Two incompletions later gave the UTC offense the ball first-and-goal from the nine. Taharin Tyson cashed in from a yard out three plays later for the 24-9 final margin.
Ryan Consiglio had a game-high 14 tackles to lead Chattanooga. Williams added six stops including two of the Mocs' four sacks as Tull and Josh Freeman collected the other. Lewis-Harris had a season-high nine tackles for the stingy unit.
Nichols was the passing leader for the quarterback, trio completing 11 of 17 for 66 yards. Marquis Green was the top rusher with 44 yards on 12 carries.
The offense accumulated 154 yards rushing via six different rushers. Allison had 32 (nine rushes) and Robinson 29 (nine carries) for the day.
Bradford is known more for his receiving as a returning All-American for UTC, but his feet were vital today. His left one anyway, as he punted nine times with four downed inside the 20 and three of 50-plus yards.
Taliaferro was Samford's top performer. He completed 24 of 43 passes for 250 yards and an interception. Kelsey Pope was his favorite target with 10 catches for 82 yards.
Fabian Truss entered the day as the third-leading rusher in the Southern Conference. He was held to just 46 yards on 10 carries as Chattanooga held the Bulldogs to half its rushing average with just 92 yards on 36 totes, an average of 2.6 yards per carry.
#9 Wofford 42, Western Carolina 24
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Wofford football team left the state of South Carolina for the first time this season and defeated Western Carolina 42-24 at Whitmire Stadium. The Terriers jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back as Donovan Johnson and Eric Breitenstein each had 100+ rushing yards. Wofford had 500 rushing yards in the contest.
The Terriers are 7-2 on the season and 5-1 in the SoCon. Western Carolina is 1-8 overall and 0-7 in conference play. For Wofford, Donovan Johnson had 10 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns, Eric Breitenstein had 16 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown. Mitch Allen added 90 yards and a touchdown, along with 4-of-6 passing. Bryan Youman also had two rushing touchdowns. The Catamounts were led by Jacoby Mitchell with seven catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Zac Brindise was 23-of-30 for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
The Catamounts had the ball to open the game and gained two first downs before punting. On the first drive of the day for the Terriers, a 25-yard run by Donovan Johnson moved the ball inside the red zone. Eric Breitenstein capped the drive with a two-yard run to take a 7-0 lead at 5:56 in the first quarter.
Western Carolina was driving on their next possession, but Blake Wylie intercepted Zac Brindise and returned it 28-yards to the Catamount 48-yard line. Wofford added to the lead with a four-yard run by Bryan Youman for a 14-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter. Western Carolina had a 34-yard run by Michael Johnson on their next drive, but was forced to punt.
On the next drive for Wofford, Donovan Johnson broke a tackle and went 45-yards for a touchdown. The Terriers lead was 21-0 at 10:16 in the second quarter. Western Carolina went three-and-out and punted on the ensuing possession. Wofford fumbled a handoff and the ball was recovered by the Catamounts at 27-yard line. An apparent touchdown by Western Carolina was called by due to an illegal forward pass, but they scored on a 19-yard touchdown reception by Jacoby Mitchell to make it a 21-7 game with 6:45 left in the half.
After a 33-yard run by Mitch Allen, Donovan Johnson ran the ball in from 15-yards out to take a 28-7 lead with 4:09 remaining in the first half. The Catamounts went three-and-out and punted back to Wofford with three minutes on the clock. The Terriers gained three first downs and scored on a 15-yard run by Mitch Allen for a 35-7 advantage with 42 seconds left before halftime. The Catamounts added a 51-yard field goal as time expired to make it a 35-10 game at the break.
The Terriers opened the second half with the ball and scored on a 2-yard run by Bryan Youman on fourth down. Wofford used 6:22 on the 13-play drive to take a 42-10 lead. Western Carolina used a 41-yard reception by Jacoby Mitchell to get the ball in the red zone, but Zac Brindise fumbled the ball at the two-yard line, which was forced by Zach Bobb and recovered by Mike McCrimon in the end zone for a touchback.
With the ball back, Brian Kass took over at quarterback for Wofford. After gaining a first down, the Terriers punted for the first time in the game. The Catamounts picked up two first downs, but failed to convert on fourth-and-eleven and turned it over on downs. Wofford then went three-and-out and punted back to Western Carolina. The Catamounts scored on a 13-yard Zac Brindise touchdown pass to Gary Green with 9:44 left in the game for a 42-17 score.
The Terriers picked up two first on their next drive, but a fumble gave the ball back to the Catamounts. Western Carolina added another touchdown when Zac Brindise found Jacoby Mitchell for a 24-yard touchdown reception with 3:53 left in the game for a 42-24 tally. Wofford was able to run out the clock for the victory.
Wofford had 544 total yards, with 500 on the ground. Western Carolina had 397 total yards, 251 of which were passing. Wofford had the time of possession advantage by a 33:46 to 26:14 margin. Wofford was 7-of-11 on third downs and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Western Carolina was 8-of-15 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Each team had six penalties.
#4 Georgia Southern 14, The Citadel 12
STATESBORO, Ga. - Two blocked extra points and a missed field goal in the final seconds proved the difference in Georgia Southern's (8-1, 6-1) 14-12 win over The Citadel (4-5, 2-5) on Saturday, November 5th, at Paulson Stadium. The Eagles made a halftime lead stand after holding the Bulldogs to 121 yards in the second half, forcing two punts and intercepting a pass.
The Eagles totaled 320 yards of total offense with a balanced attack of 191 yards rushing and 129 yards through the air. Robert Brown rushed for 90 yards on 17 carries, while Jerick McKinnon totaled 46 yards and Nico Hickey amassed 41 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Jaybo Shaw completed four passes including a 63-yarder to Darreion Robinson in the first quarter.
The Citadel scored two first half touchdowns, but were held to 264 total yards due in part to a stingy second-half Eagle defense. Darien Robinson carried the ball nine times for 92 yards for a 10.2 average. One of their quarterbacks, Aaron Miller, rushed a team-high 19 times for 80 yards and completed one pass for 17 yards.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start due to a 50 yard kickoff return to open the game, and a 15 yard personal foul to start the opening drive on the GSU's 31 yardline. Two plays later, Robinson crossed the goal line for the opening touchdown. The Eagles blocked the ensuing point after attempt and quickly responded with a touchdown of their own.
Georgia Southern went ahead 7-6 with a one-play drive just two minutes into the game. Shaw completed a pass to Robinson, which he busted for a 63-yard touchdown. Neither team would score again until the second quarter when a 17-play drive ended in a two yard run by Miller. The Eagles blocked the extra point again, and went ahead by the final score 14-12 with 3:53 remaining in the first half. Hickey capped off a seven-play drive with a 14 yard rushing touchdown which was setup by a pass interference penalty.