Southern Conference Football 2014: VMI-Mercer Kicks Off SoCon Triple-Header Saturday

VMI Redshirt Freshman QB Al Cobb Has The Keydet Passing Attack Ranked Eighth In The Nation Through The First Four Weeks

Week 5 Introduction:

SoCon Previews Week5 (Mercer-VMI)

The final Saturday in the month of Saturday will mark the first real weekend of Southern Conference football, with three key games on tap as teams begin to get into the meat of their respective schedules.

The game most folks around the league will have their collective eyes trained upon Saturday will be the one in the Scenic City between Chattanooga and Samford, who along with Furman, tied for the 2013 SoCon football crown, and last year’s clash in Birmingham went right down to the wire.

Samford got league play underway last Saturday with a 63-21 demolition of VMI in a game covered by ESPN3 last Saturday.

The Bulldogs showed they will once again be an offensive juggernaut in the league, and led by running back Denzel Williams, who paced the Bulldogs on the ground with 178 rushing yards and a pair of scores on just 16 carries, garnering Southern Conferene Offensive Player of the Week honors in last week’s win.

Chattanooga (1-2, 0-0) and Samford (2-2, 1-0 SoCon) engaged each other in one of the Southern Conference games of the year last season, with the Bulldogs posting a 17-14 win over the Mocs. The game would be decided on a missed field goal by the Mocs, which clanged against the right upright, and would eventually prove to keep the Mocs out of the postseason, extending the school’s FCS playoff drought to 29 years.

The loss rendered UTC’s first league title since 1984 somewhat hollow, as the Mocs did not get to enjoy the spoils of the FCS postseason, with the lone at-large team chosen for the FCS playoffs being Samford, while Furman took the automatic bid.

That could serve as a bit of extra motivation when the Mocs host the Bulldogs in what will be the 40th meeting in what is known as the “Railway Rivalry” when the teams kick it off at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Finley Stadium.

The Mocs are now the only team ranked in the Southern Conferene, entering the clash ranking No. 15 in the Sports Network’s poll, while Samford is not ranked. The win by the Bulldogs last season snapped what was a four-game winning streak in the rivalry by the Mocs.

Samford hasn’t won in the Scenic City since the Bulldogs’ first year in the league in 2008, as the Bulldogs took a 30-7 win over the Mocs. Chattanooga holds a resounding lead in the overall series, holding a 26-10-3 all-time series edge.

The battle of purple will take place Saturday when Western Carolina invades Furman’s Paladin Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kick. The game, which will be broadcasts by the American Sports Network, could be another enthralling contest, as both teams come in headed in opposite directions.

Furman has lost two-straight coming into the clash, while Western Carolina has claimed a pair of straight wins over Brevard and Catawba after opening the campaign with a narrow four-point loss at FBS South Florida.

Mark Speir, who is now in his third season as the head coach in Cullowhee, is now finally starting to see things come together in harmony for his Catamounts, and the two wins has nearly matched the three wins in his first two seasons as the head coach at Western.

Meanwhile, Furman continues to struggle to find itself offensively this season, combining to score just 14 points the past two weeks, and the Paladins have recorded just five offensive TDs this season. The unit has struggled since losing starter Reese Hannon for the season to a broken ankle in the opener against Gardner-Webb.

It should be an exciting matchup for the 3:30 p.m. matchup in Greenville on Saturday afternoon, as the game will televised by the American Sports Network as a part of a double-header on Saturday.

The Catamounts will be looking to snap a 22-game road losing skid, while taking their first win in Paladin Stadium since a 35-24 in Greenville back in 1994 under the direction of the very successful Steve Hodgin.

The first Southern Conference game of the day will take place in Lexington, VA, between VMI and Mercer, in what will be the first meeting between Mercer and VMI in series history. It’s also the two newest members of the Southern Conference, but a matchup that features some old ties.

Bobby Lamb and Sparky Woods have both won league championships before at different schools, but the last time Lamb faced the Woods was as a quarterback at Furman, when Woods was busy awakening the FCS sleeping giant at Appalachian State. Stay tuned to Saturday Blitz for more previews coming up later today. Enjoy the VMI-Mercer preview.

Mercer QB John Russ and The Mercer Offense Lead The SoCon and Rank 20th Nationally In Total Offense, Averaging 449.8 YPG.

GAME OVERVIEW: It will be a battle of 0-1 teams in the Southern Conference on Saturday when Mercer travels to VMI for a key league showdown. For the Bears, it will ark their first Southern Conference road game, while it will mark the first Southern Conference home game since 2003. The Bears opened Southern Conference play back on Sept. 6, with a 25-20 loss to Furman, while the Keydets opened their Southern Conference slate last weekend with a 63-21 loss at Samford. Saturday’s contest between the two Southern Conference newcomers will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Saturday’s matchup between the Bears and Keydets matches the league’s two top offenses against each other to this point in the campaign, with the Bears leading the league in total offense, averaging 449.8 YPG, while VMI ranks second in the league in total offense, averaging 425.0 YPG.

THE COACHES: Mercer’s Bobby Lamb and VMI’s Sparky Woods are two league coaches in their second respective stints at Southern Conference programs, with Lamb having served as the head coach at Furman for nine seasons (2002-2010), winning a Southern Conference title in 2004 and claimed the Southern Conference Coach of the Year honor in that very same campaign.

Lamb also presided over four Paladin teams that made FCS playoff runs while at Furman. Lamb is now in his second season as the head coach at Mercer, having compiled a record of 80-43 record in his 11th season as a head coach, including a 13-3 mark as the head man in Macon.

Back in the mid-1980s, Sparky Woods was responsible for getting the ball rolling for a sleeping giant in FCS football as the head coach of Appalachian State. In 1986, Woods led the Mountaineers to the first of what would become 12 Southern Conference crowns.

In 1987, he led the Apps to an undefeated season in league play and all the way to the FCS semifinals before Marshall came to Boone and handed the Mountaineers a 24-10 loss. It would stand as the Mountaineers’ best run in the FCS postseason until matching that feat 13 years later, and the program which Woods helped spark, would eventually break through and win a then unprecedented three-straight national titles from 2005-07.

During his time at the helm of the Black and Gold, Woods compiled a record of 38-19-2 before moving onto South Carolina to become the head coach in 1989, where he spent five seasons, posting a 25-27-3 mark at the helm of the Gamecocks. Woods took over as the head coach at VMI in 2008 and has compiled a record of 16-55 at the helm in Lexington. All told, Woods is 78-98-5 at the helm of the Keydets.

Lamb and Woods have never faced off as head coaches on the gridiron, however, Lamb was the signal-caller against Woods’ Appalachian State teams in both 1984 and ‘85, as the Commerce, GA native was 1-1 against Woods during his time as a signal-caller. In 1984, the sixth-ranked Paladins were upset by Woods’ Mountaineers, 21-14, in Boone on a day that the goalposts came down at Conrad Stadium and is still what many regard as a program definining win and one that started the dominoes falling in the right direction for Appalachian State.

In 1985, Lamb returned the favor, downing Woods’ Mountaineers, 21-7, in Greenville. Lamb returned as an offensive assistant at Furman in 1986 and would face off against Woods and the Apps three more times, with a 1-1-1 mark.

The Paladins and Apps would tie, 17-17, in Boone in ‘86, while the Paladins dropped a 16-8 decision to Woods’ eventual SoCon champion Mountaineers in 1987. In 1988–a year which saw Furman claim its lone national title–the Paladins went to Boone and came away with a 24-9 win in a matchup between a pair of ranked FCS programs. The win ended a 20-game Southern Conference winning streak for the Black and Gold. In total as a player and assistant coach, Lamb is 2-1-1 against Woods.

THE OFFENSES: Mercer enters Saturday’s contest continuing to utilize the pistol offense with some effectiveness. The Bears, who averaged over 270 rushing yards per game last season to lead the Southern Conference, enter Saturday’s road clash in Lexington. The Bears come into Saturday’s league clash once again running the football well out of the Pistol offense, averaging 228.8 YPG on the ground this season to rank 20th nationally.

Leading the Mercer offense this season has been John Russ, who has quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with among the SoCon’s signal-callers. This season, Russ ranks third in the SoCon in total offense behind only Western’s Troy Mitchell and VMI’s Al Cobb, as he has amassed 894 yards (761 pass yds, 133 rush yds) of total offense through the first four weeks of the season.

All told, Russ has 10 TD responsibilities (9 passing, 1 rushing) so far this season. He comes in ranking as the the SoCon’s third-leading passer, having connected on 49-of-80 passes for 761 yards and nine scores so far this season.

The Bears also bring the league’s rushing leader into Saturday’s contest, in redshirt freshman Alex Lakes, who has amassed 446 yards and seven scores through the first four games of the season, averaging a whopping 7.7 YPC.

Mercer’s top receiving threat entering Saturday’s league road opener has been J.T. Palmer, who ranks sixth in the SoCon in receptions, having hauled in 18 catches for 239 yards and three scores in through the first four weeks.

Tight end Robert Brown is also a valuable option in the passing game for the Bears, having caught eight passes for 120 yards and a pair of scores, ranking second on the team in receiving.

On the offensive line, the Bears have endured some injuries, but expect to get back left guard Wilson Heres this week, who is MU’s best player along the offensive front. The offensive line for the Bears has helped Mercer rank 20th nationally with a league-leading 449.8 YPG this season. The Bears also rank second in the league in scoring offense, averaging 39.0 PPG.

In Bobby Lamb’s 16 games as head coach at Mercer, the Bears are 13-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game, and 0-3 when being held below 30 points, including a 25-20 loss to Furman to open Southern Conference play back on Sept. 6.

VMI enters with a top-flight offense of its own, and one that comes in ranking eighth nationally in passing offense, as the Keydets have averaged 292.0 YPG through the air this season, led by freshman quarterback Al Cobb.

Cobb has been outstanding for the Red ad Gold this fall, having connected on 66.9% (89-of-133) of his throws this season for 987 yards with five TD passes to go along with three picks.

Cobb has had several solid targets to pick from in the passing game this season, but leading the way this season has been the conferene’s receiving yardage leader, in Aaron Sanders, who has caught 23 passes for 378 yards and a TD this season, averaging 16.4 YPR.

In fact, the league’s top two receivers in terms of receiving yards, wear the VMI Red and Gold, with Doug Burton ranking second in the league in receiving yards, hauling in 16 passes for 293 yards and a pair of scores this season. Burton is averaging an impressive 18.3 YPR in 2014.

VMI’s attack has been balanced as well, with the Keydets entering Saturday’s SoCon home opener ranked sixth-best rush offense, averaging 133.0 YPG. Leading that attack this season has been Deon Watts, who comes in ranking sixth in league in rushing to this point in the 2014 season, having rushed for 280 yards and a pair of scores, averaging 4.7 YPC.

Through the first four games, VMI has struggled to keep pressure off of Cobb, which is the nature of a spread option, passing-oriented offense. The Keydets have surrendered six sacks through the first four weeks.

All told, VMI comes into Saturday’s home clash with the Bears averaging 425.0 YPG, which ranks 33rd nationally and second to only Mercer in the SoCon. The Keydets also rank fifth in the SoCon in scoring offense, averaging 29.5 PPG.

THE DEFENSES: Mercer enters Saturday’s contest utilizing an odd front defense, as the Bears utilize a 3-4 alignment on the defensive side of the football. The Bears come in allowing 359.0 YPG this season, ranking fourth in the Southern Conference as well as 37th in FCS in total defense.

One thing the Bears have utilized on the defensive side of the football under the direction of Bobby Lamb the past couple of seasons has been defensive speed. It all starts up front with Mercer’s defensive line, which is led by Tunde Ayinla at one of the defensive end positions.

So far this season, Ayinla has racked up 17 tackles, 3.5 TFL and a sack. Ayinla, who is the Bears’ most-talented and athletic player along the defensive front, will team with Cody Jones (11 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 FR) along the front, while set to start at nose tackle on Saturday afternoon will be Bret Niederreither (9 tackles, 0.5 sack), who has been one of the unsung heroes of the Mercer defense to this point in the 2014 season.

The Bears bring one of the more talented linebacking units in the SoCon to Lexington for Saturday’s clash with Keydets, led in the middle by Tyler Ward, who is once again leading the Mercer defense in tackles, having amassed 41 tackles so far this season, which is 22 more tackles than the next highest Bear in total tackles, which is fellow inside linebacker Devin Davison, who has totaled 19 stops so far this season.

Additionally, Ward has added an interception, which came in Mercer’s first-ever game as a Southern Conference member against Furman, and the hometown Macon product has also produced 1.5 TFL this season. Davison has added a forced fumble and a pass breakup to his 19 stops this fall. Ward’s 41 tackles ranks him tied for fourth in the league in total stops this season.

Outside linebacker was hit by a significant injury before the season ever got underway for the Bears, when All-SoCon candidate and maybe the Bears’ top player on the defensive side of the football went down with a season-ending injury which required surgery during the final week of fall camp, in Tosin Aguebor.

Though Aguebor could have certainly been used, the Bears have fared pretty well at the position all things considered.

Corey Lockett and Kyle Williams have done an excellent job of manning the bandit and SAM linebacker positions so far this season. Williams has been a pleasant surprise for the Bears, who replaced the injured Aguebor, and he really showed how much he could disrupt the offensive flow of an opponent in Mercer’s SoCon opener a couple of weeks ago against the Paladins, producing four tackles, two tackles-for-loss and a sack.

All told, Williams has 15 tackles, three TFLs and a sack in 2014. Lockett has also been key on the perimeter for the Bears with his speed and ability to close on the edge, and he enters Saturday’s clash with Keydets set to make his third start of the season after missing the past couple of weeks due to injury. He comes in having made four stops in those two outings.

Rounding out the Mercer defense is a talented secondary, which has seen improvement with each passing week this season and currently ranks fourth in the SoCon against the pass (173.0 YPG) this season. The Keydets will obviously present one of the greatest challenges to that unit this season, entering the clash with league’s top passing attack, averaging 292.0 YPG.

Leading the secondary this season for the Bears has been free safety Lendell Arnold, who has gotten off to a strong start in 2014, posting 16 tackles and a PBU through the first four weeks of the season.

Joining him at safety for the Orange and Black at strong safety will be Mike Gray (11 tackles, 1 PBU), while All-SoCon candidate Alex Avant (14 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 5 PBUs, 1 INT) and Jeremy James (12 tackles, 4 PBUs, 1 FR) are slated to hold down the cornerback positions.

Avant’s five PBUs lead the league this season, and as a team, the Bears lead the league with five picks so far this season.

Mercer’s defense is surrendering 22.0 PPG so far this season, which ranks the Bears 37th nationally entering the clash with the Keydets.

VMI has struggled on the defensive side of the football this season, ranking 110th in FCS in total defense (511.8 YPG) so far in 2014, and the Keydets have really struggled to stop the run this season, ranking 112th against the run (283.2 YPG).

The Keydets come into the matchup employing the 3-4 defensive alignment, which will obviously be familiar to the Mercer offense. Defensive end John Washington (9 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) will anchor the defensive front, teaming with both nose tackle Joe Nelson (6 tackles, 1.0 sack, 1 PBU) and Amon-Ra Clay (7 tackles, 1.0 TFL), which rounds out the starting three along the defensive front for the Red and Gold.

The top player on the VMI defense entering Saturday afternoon’s clash in Lexington will be Logan Staib, who will patrol the perimeter of the Keydet defense, is an all-conference caliber linebacker.

Staib comes into Saturday’s contest having posted 15 stops, with a pair of tackles-for-loss and a sack, while having also broke up a pass this season.

Inside linebaker Darnell Ashton comes in leading the Keydets’ defense coming into Saturday, having posted 27 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and has forced a fumble this season.

The Keydets have been a little better at stopping the pass this season, with VMI coming into their home league opener, ranking 77th in college football in pass defense this season, surrendering 228.5 YPG through the air.

The VMI secondary is being paced cornerback James Fruehan, who comes into the contest ranking second on VMI’s statistical ledger in tackles this season, with 24 stops. In addition to his tackles total, Fruehan has also racked up 1.5 TFL and has an INT this season.

FINAL PREDICTION: Coming into the season, I felt like this is one game that was important for both clubs, but it now looks clearly like Bobby Lamb’s Bears will be able to not only compete in the Southern Conference in the Bears’ inaugural season in the league, but might actually be able to even compete for a league title. It’s really hard to tell so far since the Bears have only had the one Southern Conference game, which was a 25-20 loss at home to Furman at MU Stadium a couple of weeks ago. That being said, it will also be a different test on Saturday against the Keydets, with it being the pressure of a Southern Conference road game for the first time in league history for Lamb’s team. I think the home surroundings will be enough to keep the Keydets in the game, but I look for Mercer’s pistol offense to be too much for the Keydets to handle, as Sparky Woods’ Keydets drop to 0-2 in league play with a close home loss.

Mercer 42, VMI 31