This Week in the FCS: The Force Behind Furman; An Instant ClAAssic

By halftime of Furman’s victory over Presbyterian Saturday, the Paladins had 48 points. They eventually cruised to a 62-21 rout to improve to 2-1. Now, a six-touchdown thrashing of the PC Blue Hose might not seem a noteworthy item on which to lead, especially given New Hampshire/Richmond and Hampton/Bethune-Cookman provided instant classics in Week 4, but Furman’s quarterback scored eight touchdowns: seven through the air, and one on the ground. That quarterback is Chris Forcier.

There has been something of a Forcier Curse in college football. Highly touted recruits as preps, each of the three Forcier brothers transferred from his original program: Jason from Michigan to Stanford, Tate from Michigan to San Jose State, and Chris from UCLA to Furman. None experienced much collegiate success, if any at all. Chris is exorcising that stigma with a tremendous start at Furman, throwing for eight touchdowns with no interceptions, completing nearly 77 percent of his attempts and rushing for about 45 yards per game.

His role as a passer was somewhat limited the first two games as he shook off several seasons’ worth of rust, and the Paladins mainly took to the ground. The strategy seems to be paying off. His tremendous outpouring against PC earned him national Player of the Week honors, and is a much-needed positive to offset some of the negativity heaped on the Forciers collectively.

There’s a certain irony to Forcier’s success. The dual skill Chris has shown for the 2-1 Paladins might have served his former program, UCLA, quite well. Rick Neuheisel has waffled between Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut behind center, favoring the former despite the latter’s superior numbers as Prince’s running ability better suits the coach’s offensive philosophy. How Forcier might have fit into this Bruin scheme is one of those unanswerable “what ifs,” and certainly Furman head coach Bruce Fowler cares not.

“The more time he gets out there, the more comfort he gets in our offensive scheme,” Fowler said in Monday’s teleconference.

This Forcier’s third season in the program, but he spent 2009 behind and was sidelined most of 2010 with an injury. He’s now in his fifth year of collegiate football but just his third of eligibility. That should translate to greater maturity, and thus more confidence. If his growing confidence continues to produce big numbers, the Paladins could become a contender in the top heavy SoCon, home to three of the nation’s top eight teams (Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Wofford) and a fourth in the top 25 (Chattanooga).

Chattanooga nearly struck a major blow into the SoCon power structure at Appalachian State, but as so many teams have in the confines of Kidd Brewer Stadium, fell. But something was different about the Mountaineers’ 14-12 defeat in Boone. Other squads have left Kidd Brewer bruised and battered; UTC head coach Russ Huesman had other thoughts.

"“We should never have lost this football game, no way,” Huesman said. “That team is not better than us. … They made plays when they had to,” Huesman said. “We lost, they won, hats off to them, but it hurts. This one hurts more than any that I’ve been involved with. … We had chances to win that game and we didn’t get it done.”"

– via John Frierson, The Chattanooga Times Free Press

The Mocs may not have won, but they proved themselves viable contenders in the SoCon. They also exposed kinks in the armor of the titan that has controlled that league, and the FCS as a whole, much of the past decade.

“I was proud of our guys. They played hard, and I don’t think they were intimidated by the environment,” Huesman said after a few days to reflect.

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Aaron Corp left a Los Angeles area program for the east coast and Championship Subdivision, and like Forcier had a career statistic day this past week. But unfortunately for Corp, his team came out on the losing end in a 45-43 shootout vs. New Hampshire. UR-UNH was a true instant classic and the best game of Week 4, regardless of subdivision. The homestanding Spiders, off to a surprising 3-0 start despite a coaching change made less than two weeks before the opener at Duke, battled back from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter but failed to recover an onside kick to get that crucial final possession.

UR dominated UNH in most offensive facets: 31 first downs to 19; 475 yards to 368; 36:42 of possession to 23:18. The Spiders’ overwhelming edge in yardage was largely a result of the Wildcats winning the special teams battle though, and thus playing on much shorter fields. And while Corp completed 35 passes for 351 yards, both career bests, he also threw four touchdowns — only two to the Spiders.

A pair of pick-sixes proved detrimental to UR, which is now on the lower half of the astoundingly deep Colonial. Preseason favorite William & Mary joins the Spiders on this side of the fence after losing its opener to James Madison, 20-14. Two of the nation’s best defenses certainly lived up to their reputations in Williamsburg, and the Dukes’ proved just a little bit better.

But while JMU was the league’s big winner on the scoreboard, no one lost more in the FCS. On Monday, the JMU athletic department announced the indefinite suspension of quarterback Justin Thorpe. While the Duke offense uses the pass sparingly, Thorpe was a valuable key to the running game, and thus critical ball control on which Mickey Matthews’ team relies.

“We’re still kicking [Saturday’s quarterback situation for the Oct. 1 game vs. Richmond] around,” Matthews said on Monday. “When your quarterback’s suspended, you have to regroup. We’re not the first program to go through it.”

While JMU suffered great loss in victory, Old Dominion has a lot to take away from a defeat. The Monarchs eventually succumbed to last season’s national runner-up Delaware, 27-17, but ODU battling the Blue Hens for four quarters, on the road, in the program’s first ever CAA game says this team belongs in the subdivision’s strongest conference.

Joe Suhoski will have more in his weekly CAA rundown here on SaturdayBlitz.com.

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Sam Houston State, North Dakota State and Southern Utah scored FCS victories Nos. 4, 5, and 6 over the Bowl Subdivision in Week 4. The latter two won in particularly impressive fashion by dominating nearly wire-to-wire and coming out on top by double-digits.

Things started ominously for SUU at UNLV. The Rebels drew first blood, parlaying an interception into seven points — off a field goal fake. Ouch. Few sequences could be more demoralizing for an FCS foe in FBS territory; fortunately for the Thunderbirds, Sam Boyd Stadium became the western annex of Eccels Coliseum. After rattling off a 41-9 run in the subsequent 55 minutes, the SUU fans drowned out the Rebel supporters — not that the UNLV faithful had much to get excited about, watching the Thunderbird defense bully the Rebels to the tune of five sacks and three interceptions before leaving with a quarter-million dollar parting gift.

The defensive prowess SUU exhibited is a positive sign for the now-No. 17 Thunderbirds. SUU’s offense was his hallmark through the previous two wins, but in Vegas looked like a playoff competitor on the opposite side of the ball.

Sam Houston State is also shaping up as a potential playoff teammate, now 3-0 after defeating hapless New Mexico. The Bearkats had already dominated potential Southland Conference frontrunner Central Arkansas with an impressive defense, and at UNM flexed their offensive muscles courtesy of running back Tim Flanders’ five touchdowns.

Flanders is just a sophomore, but a key to the Bearkats’ experience-laden roster. SHSU boasts the most starting experience among the SLC, save Lamar, but Lamar is still on its very first recruiting class. The Bearkats’ running proficiency is a departure from what has dominated the conference in recent years, Stephen F. Austin’s high-powered passing attack.

To get through the league and into the postseason, SHSU must neutralize the Lumberjacks on the road in the first of two mid-October tests away from Huntsville. Should the Bearkats reach their Oct. 22 date with McNeese State in Lake Charles, that game takes on a whole new significance.

The weekend’s third FBS slayer, North Dakota State, is equally built on solid ground offensively. The Bison rammed the ball down Minnesota’s defense for three rushing touchdowns, but also saw a much improved passing game en route to a 336-292 yard advantage and 37-24 victory. The win proclaimed loudly what some have been saying: last year’s run in the NCAA Playoffs was no fluke.

The Bison’s Missouri Valley docket is dotted with significant tests, including the marquee Oct. 29 showdown against Tirrell Rennie and the Northern Iowa Panthers and road tests against fellow MVFC playoff potential programs Indiana State and Southern Illinois.

The only FBS vs. FCS match-ups slated for Week 5 are Towson at Maryland and Bethune-Cookman at Miami. The Tigers are unlikely to notch FCS win No. 7 despite their perfect start — the Terps are assuredly in a bad mood after losing 38-7 to Temple and looking for someone to take out its frustrations. Likewise, BCU is unlikely to carry the momentum over from a heart-stopping defeat of Hampton to the point of beating a foul-mood Miami team that lost in similarly nailbiting fashion vs. Kansas State. But the FCS vs. FCS schedule is the best its been all season. A few games worth following:

Appalachian State at Wofford

The Terriers’ second ranked rushing offense faces the No. 33 Appalachian State rushing defense — a ranking that is a tad misleading given the Mountaineers opened with a rough showing at Virginia Tech. ASU had its cage rattled against Chattanooga as mentioned above. Wofford’s ball controlling style needs to dictate the pace for the Terriers to pull out the win.

Richmond at James Madison

UR can rectify its close Week 4 loss against the suddenly depleted Dukes, and already start the process of shaking up the sure-to-be-shaken CAA.

UMass at Old Dominion

The CAA’s new addition plays its home conference opener against a Massachusetts team on its way out. Jonathan Hernandez and Thomas DeMarco are two of the premiere offensive players in the league.

Delaware at Maine

After getting a scare from a team pegged for the conference’s lower half, the Blue Hens should brace for another. Warren Smith has looked good for the Black Bears.

Sacramento State at Montana State

The Hornets regained some of their sting in knocking off Montana last week, but must maintain against the Big Sky’s reigning champion. Montana State handed defending national champion Eastern Washington its fourth straight loss last week on The Inferno. The Bobcats are 3-0 against FCS competition, and winning with a varied offense.

Georgia Southern at Elon

The nation’s best rushing attack is juxtaposed against one of the nation’s most explosive aerial offenses. The Phoenix are off to a strong start and yet another SoCon team with dark horse potential, and never will Elon be more of a dark horse than squaring off with the nation’s No. 1.