Post by Aggie One on Sept 14, 2017 13:48:31 GMT -5
Don’t Let the Small Size Fool Ya
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
Week Two of the college football season had far fewer surprises taking place as the top three teams in the MEAC stepped outside the conference and did not disappoint. Defending champion North Carolina Central struggled early but pulled away in the second half over outmanned Shaw University 41-0 in a game marred by several chippy confrontations and numerous penalties between the two teams.
Despite Hurricane Irma, Bethune Cookman made the trip west to Southeast Louisiana to pick up a hard fought 28-23 victory on the road. North Carolina A&T continued to show off its potent balanced offensive attack by blasting Division II foe Mars Hill in Greensboro.
The Howard Bison were unable to seal the deal against it Kent State as they did the week before against UNLV but still acquitted themselves very well in a 38-31 loss. Morgan State has yet to score a point in their two games as the Bears were shutout for a second consecutive week this time against Albany (NY) 26-0. Norfolk State’s offense also remained stagnant as they could only muster only a couple of field goals in their 20-6 loss to William & Mary in Norfolk.
Appalachian State had no problems dismantling Savannah State 54-7 in Boone in their home opener. In the only conference match up from last week, Hampton got off to a good start by upending Delaware State 28-15 in a game that had three lead changes.
********************************************************************************************************************
This week the out of conference matchups will feature some intriguing matchups that will have football fans heading through the turnstiles. North Carolina A&T (2-0) will take the short trip south to Charlotte Saturday night (0-2) to take on the 49ers in a key in-state FCS vs FBS contest.
Florida A&M (1-1) will find out soon just how improved they are as they will do battle with powerful Tennessee State (2-0) in this year’s Tampa Classic. Norfolk State (0-2) will )have their work cut out for them as they travel to the top-ranked James Madison Dukes (2-0) which is fresh off its demolition of FBS East Carolina last week. Morgan (0-2) won’t fare much better as they head to New Jersey to take on Big Ten member Rutgers (0-2).
Savannah State (0-1) will fly across the country to visit FCS power Montana (1-1). S.C. State (0-1) should have an easy time in Orangeburg with hapless Johnson C. Smith (0-2). The early season tests continue for Howard (1-1) as they will try to upset the Richmond Spiders (1-1) on the road. Hampton (1-1) has a confidence builder against CIAA Livingstone (0-2).
Coach Terry Sims’ Bethune Cookman Wildcats (1-1) will try to make it two in a row as they match with Florida Atlantic (0-2) and Coach Lane Kiffin. North Carolina Central has a bye before their big Thursday Night MEAC contest with SCSU next week in Durham.
*****************************************************************************************************************
This week’s matchup with the University of Charlotte will be an in-state battle pitting the FBS 49ers against the FCS Aggies. Conventional wisdom in years past would immediately put Charlotte in the cat bird seat because of the additional 20 scholarships and a much larger budget, the two key ingredients that makes for the difference between the two classifications in Division One.
However, as we’ve have seen in just the first two weeks, the line between upper tier FCS programs and lower end FBS programs is just not that great. Case in point, in just the first two weeks of this season Howard knocked off UNLV, James Madison roasted East Carolina, provisional Liberty (just one year removed from FCS) stunned Baylor, Tennessee State over Georgia State, New Hampshire rolled Georgia Southern, South Dakota dusted Bowling Green and the list goes on. These are no longer uncharted waters for FCS squads and they certainly aren’t for North Carolina A&T as the Aggies upset Kent State just a year ago in four overtimes in a game that was nationally televised.
Truth be known A&T, Charlotte, App State, and most of the region’s better FCS and FBS mid major programs in this region of the country recruit against each other for the same talent on a regular basis. A perfect testimonial to that fact are the two opposing junior starting quarterbacks in this week’s matchup – A&T’s Lamar Raynard and Charlotte’s Hassan Klugh.
Both Raynard and Klugh signed with A&T three years ago and it was thought at that time that there would a fierce competition for a starting role in the offing as the two youngsters developed. Klugh got the initial head start by getting significant playing including 3 starts as a true freshman while Raynard was red shirted.
Klugh soon decided, for whatever reason, that he would be more happy somewhere else and soon contacted Charlotte who had recruited him heavily during his days at Central Cabarrus High School.
After sitting out all of 2015, Klugh bided his time behind a pair of upperclassmen but when the offense stalled in 2016, he was tabbed to take over and has been at that post every since leading the 49ers to their only 3 wins in Conference USA. Klugh has stuttered a bit out the gate this year going 20-47 for 152 yards, and just one TD against 3 interceptions albeit that was against MAC upstart Eastern Michigan and Big 12 bully Kansas State.
Raynard was a backup in 2015 and started three games also in his initial season but it was last year when the High Point native began to really show signs of becoming an effective quarterback hitting on 72 percent of his passes during a 6 game stretch before a late season injury sidelined him in the final two games. So far he has had a phenomenal start in 2017 hitting on 36-47 for 583 yards and 8 touchdowns without an interception as the Aggie offense has outscored their first two opponents (Gardner Webb, Mars Hill) by a cumulative score of 101-3.
So the notion that FBS and FCS programs are on different levels is true to a point. But when it comes to talent that is not necessarily the case. Just having talented players isn’t the begin and end all but having more of them in large numbers is.
The drop off between FBS and FCS comes not so much in the first 22 starters but in the top 50 players on the roster. That is where the additional scholarships really makes its presence felt. When you have the luxury that allows you to bring in four really good players at one position rather than just one great one, you will almost always invariably have a clear advantage. It’s not rocket science, not some magical touch with recruiting. It’s a numbers game. Pure and simple.
The talent at the FCS and FBS schools, excluding the Power 5 conferences, isn’t all that substantially different. What is really different between the upper FCS and the lower FBS is the quality of the depth. For most of the FCS, when they match up with the FBS, they take the check, hope to get out of the game without injuries and try to hold the embarrassment to a minimum. Only a few FCS teams have sufficient depth to make it through an entire season without missing a beat.
But for those that are the exception and manage to have develop solid depth, oh boy, they sure can be the proverbial thorn in somebody’s FBS backside. So much so that soon no one will really want to schedule you. Can you say North Dakota State? How about James Madison?
Say you still don’t believe it? Talk to the NFL scouts about Tarik Cohen or any of the other 22 FCS rookies that made 2017 opening day NFL rosters or the 13% of NFL players who aren’t from FBS programs.
Still not enough proof? Then go call up the seven FBS coaches that have lost to FCS teams over the first 2 weeks of 2017 and see what they have to say.
Go ahead. I dare ya.
*******************************************************************************************************************
University of Charlotte football is enigma in my book. They aren’t anywhere near the level of Appalachian State who is quickly becoming an established mid-major FBS program and already have first or second place finishes in their conference and bowl wins in each of their three years as full-fledged FBS members to back it up.
They aren’t FCS either with their 85 scholarships, brand new stadium and seemingly bottomless deep pockets which is something you don’t see a lot of whether you are from Cullowhee, Greensboro or Elon.
No, they are somewhere in between I think. Not quite good enough yet to make that big splash that they seek but still perhaps a cut above lesser FCS programs in the state.
The 49ers are 0-2 after the first couple of weeks and they look to rebound big time against A&T in the very first meeting between the two schools. On paper the Niners are impressive with their size and experience but to date things still haven’t really meshed for them offensively.
Besides former A&T quarterback Hassan Klugh running their offense, Charlotte will have a big offensive line to lean on to control the line of scrimmage. Charlotte has good size up front. Seniors tackles Wolfgang Zacherl (6-4, 290) and Eugene German (6-3,287) will team with junior guards Nate Davis (6-3,306) and Darren Drake (6-2, 309). The H-B will be R..J. Tyler (6-3, 240,Jr.)
When not running the option, Klugh will hand off to sophomore Robert Washington (5-10,227) and will be pitching passes to wide outs Trent Bostick (6-0, 205, Sr.), Mark Quattlebaum (5-10, 160, Jr.) and 6-2 senior T. L. Ford.
Defensively The 49ers are probably the largest front seven that the Aggies will face this season and will be the biggest test for a veteran A&T offensive line to date. Charlotte plays a variation of the 3-4 defense and its talented corps of linebackers are the key.
The big guns there are all conference picks Juwan Foggie (6-1,237, Jr.), Karrington King (6-0,219, Sr.) along with Tyriq Harris (6-2,245, So.), and Markevius Davis (6-1,200). The line centers around nose guard Tyler Fain (6-3,287, Jr.) and tackle Zach Duncan (6-4,259). The defensive backs are all six feet in height or better led by Marquavis Gibbs (6-0,186) , Ben DeLuca (6-1,194), and Ed Rolle (6-0,190).
Despite the slow start , no one should be deceived by their average of 430 yards allowed per game. The Niners are a very athletic crew with imposing size on both sides of the ball. Where Charlotte has faltered in its losses in the first two games has been in its lack of execution on offense and giving up unforced turnovers that led to some easy scoring opportunities for both EMU and Kansas State.
Don't look for Charlotte to keep repeating those mistakes against A&T because this game could go a long way in helping the winner close the deal this winter when high school recruits begin making decisions on their college futures. This week’s game with N.C. A&T is going to be extremely interesting. Charlotte’s head coach Brad Lambert has been pumping up just how good this A&T is, both from a personnel standpoint and in their style of play.
It is always difficult for teams in an upper classification to get mentality up for teams from lower brackets while the little guys are always pumped up to take on the role of giant killers. Charlotte has a decided advantage in size and numbers but A&T is a veteran team with a lot of playmakers, speed and are executing near midseason form offensively.
The key to this game will be whether A&T can play Charlotte to a stand off in the trenches and provide adequate time for Lamar Raynard to find his very talented receivers. Defensively both teams will be looking to shut down the run so expect both defenses to put 8 or 9 guys in the box. If Charlotte can run effectively it will be tough for A&T to hold serve for four quarters. However if the Aggies can somehow turn up the offensive tempo of the game then a Charlotte team that hasn't shown a propensity to throw the ball well could be in deep trouble.
I think this game may be a carbon copy of an earlier game played between Tennessee State and Georgia State where both teams trade a some heavy blows as things come down to the wire late. Momentum is a curious thing and a play or two on special teams could break this contest one way or the other. If the Aggie kicking game - coverages, placekicking and punting holds together then there is a better than even shot that another FBS conquest could very well be added to the resume on Saturday night.
It will be close but which ever quarterback can get his offense going and make plays late will win this one in dramatic fashion.
****************************************************************************************************************
PREDICTION
N. C. A&T - 23
Charlotte - 21
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
by Craig R. Turner
bluedeathvalley.com
Week Two of the college football season had far fewer surprises taking place as the top three teams in the MEAC stepped outside the conference and did not disappoint. Defending champion North Carolina Central struggled early but pulled away in the second half over outmanned Shaw University 41-0 in a game marred by several chippy confrontations and numerous penalties between the two teams.
Despite Hurricane Irma, Bethune Cookman made the trip west to Southeast Louisiana to pick up a hard fought 28-23 victory on the road. North Carolina A&T continued to show off its potent balanced offensive attack by blasting Division II foe Mars Hill in Greensboro.
The Howard Bison were unable to seal the deal against it Kent State as they did the week before against UNLV but still acquitted themselves very well in a 38-31 loss. Morgan State has yet to score a point in their two games as the Bears were shutout for a second consecutive week this time against Albany (NY) 26-0. Norfolk State’s offense also remained stagnant as they could only muster only a couple of field goals in their 20-6 loss to William & Mary in Norfolk.
Appalachian State had no problems dismantling Savannah State 54-7 in Boone in their home opener. In the only conference match up from last week, Hampton got off to a good start by upending Delaware State 28-15 in a game that had three lead changes.
********************************************************************************************************************
This week the out of conference matchups will feature some intriguing matchups that will have football fans heading through the turnstiles. North Carolina A&T (2-0) will take the short trip south to Charlotte Saturday night (0-2) to take on the 49ers in a key in-state FCS vs FBS contest.
Florida A&M (1-1) will find out soon just how improved they are as they will do battle with powerful Tennessee State (2-0) in this year’s Tampa Classic. Norfolk State (0-2) will )have their work cut out for them as they travel to the top-ranked James Madison Dukes (2-0) which is fresh off its demolition of FBS East Carolina last week. Morgan (0-2) won’t fare much better as they head to New Jersey to take on Big Ten member Rutgers (0-2).
Savannah State (0-1) will fly across the country to visit FCS power Montana (1-1). S.C. State (0-1) should have an easy time in Orangeburg with hapless Johnson C. Smith (0-2). The early season tests continue for Howard (1-1) as they will try to upset the Richmond Spiders (1-1) on the road. Hampton (1-1) has a confidence builder against CIAA Livingstone (0-2).
Coach Terry Sims’ Bethune Cookman Wildcats (1-1) will try to make it two in a row as they match with Florida Atlantic (0-2) and Coach Lane Kiffin. North Carolina Central has a bye before their big Thursday Night MEAC contest with SCSU next week in Durham.
*****************************************************************************************************************
This week’s matchup with the University of Charlotte will be an in-state battle pitting the FBS 49ers against the FCS Aggies. Conventional wisdom in years past would immediately put Charlotte in the cat bird seat because of the additional 20 scholarships and a much larger budget, the two key ingredients that makes for the difference between the two classifications in Division One.
However, as we’ve have seen in just the first two weeks, the line between upper tier FCS programs and lower end FBS programs is just not that great. Case in point, in just the first two weeks of this season Howard knocked off UNLV, James Madison roasted East Carolina, provisional Liberty (just one year removed from FCS) stunned Baylor, Tennessee State over Georgia State, New Hampshire rolled Georgia Southern, South Dakota dusted Bowling Green and the list goes on. These are no longer uncharted waters for FCS squads and they certainly aren’t for North Carolina A&T as the Aggies upset Kent State just a year ago in four overtimes in a game that was nationally televised.
Truth be known A&T, Charlotte, App State, and most of the region’s better FCS and FBS mid major programs in this region of the country recruit against each other for the same talent on a regular basis. A perfect testimonial to that fact are the two opposing junior starting quarterbacks in this week’s matchup – A&T’s Lamar Raynard and Charlotte’s Hassan Klugh.
Both Raynard and Klugh signed with A&T three years ago and it was thought at that time that there would a fierce competition for a starting role in the offing as the two youngsters developed. Klugh got the initial head start by getting significant playing including 3 starts as a true freshman while Raynard was red shirted.
Klugh soon decided, for whatever reason, that he would be more happy somewhere else and soon contacted Charlotte who had recruited him heavily during his days at Central Cabarrus High School.
After sitting out all of 2015, Klugh bided his time behind a pair of upperclassmen but when the offense stalled in 2016, he was tabbed to take over and has been at that post every since leading the 49ers to their only 3 wins in Conference USA. Klugh has stuttered a bit out the gate this year going 20-47 for 152 yards, and just one TD against 3 interceptions albeit that was against MAC upstart Eastern Michigan and Big 12 bully Kansas State.
Raynard was a backup in 2015 and started three games also in his initial season but it was last year when the High Point native began to really show signs of becoming an effective quarterback hitting on 72 percent of his passes during a 6 game stretch before a late season injury sidelined him in the final two games. So far he has had a phenomenal start in 2017 hitting on 36-47 for 583 yards and 8 touchdowns without an interception as the Aggie offense has outscored their first two opponents (Gardner Webb, Mars Hill) by a cumulative score of 101-3.
So the notion that FBS and FCS programs are on different levels is true to a point. But when it comes to talent that is not necessarily the case. Just having talented players isn’t the begin and end all but having more of them in large numbers is.
The drop off between FBS and FCS comes not so much in the first 22 starters but in the top 50 players on the roster. That is where the additional scholarships really makes its presence felt. When you have the luxury that allows you to bring in four really good players at one position rather than just one great one, you will almost always invariably have a clear advantage. It’s not rocket science, not some magical touch with recruiting. It’s a numbers game. Pure and simple.
The talent at the FCS and FBS schools, excluding the Power 5 conferences, isn’t all that substantially different. What is really different between the upper FCS and the lower FBS is the quality of the depth. For most of the FCS, when they match up with the FBS, they take the check, hope to get out of the game without injuries and try to hold the embarrassment to a minimum. Only a few FCS teams have sufficient depth to make it through an entire season without missing a beat.
But for those that are the exception and manage to have develop solid depth, oh boy, they sure can be the proverbial thorn in somebody’s FBS backside. So much so that soon no one will really want to schedule you. Can you say North Dakota State? How about James Madison?
Say you still don’t believe it? Talk to the NFL scouts about Tarik Cohen or any of the other 22 FCS rookies that made 2017 opening day NFL rosters or the 13% of NFL players who aren’t from FBS programs.
Still not enough proof? Then go call up the seven FBS coaches that have lost to FCS teams over the first 2 weeks of 2017 and see what they have to say.
Go ahead. I dare ya.
*******************************************************************************************************************
University of Charlotte football is enigma in my book. They aren’t anywhere near the level of Appalachian State who is quickly becoming an established mid-major FBS program and already have first or second place finishes in their conference and bowl wins in each of their three years as full-fledged FBS members to back it up.
They aren’t FCS either with their 85 scholarships, brand new stadium and seemingly bottomless deep pockets which is something you don’t see a lot of whether you are from Cullowhee, Greensboro or Elon.
No, they are somewhere in between I think. Not quite good enough yet to make that big splash that they seek but still perhaps a cut above lesser FCS programs in the state.
The 49ers are 0-2 after the first couple of weeks and they look to rebound big time against A&T in the very first meeting between the two schools. On paper the Niners are impressive with their size and experience but to date things still haven’t really meshed for them offensively.
Besides former A&T quarterback Hassan Klugh running their offense, Charlotte will have a big offensive line to lean on to control the line of scrimmage. Charlotte has good size up front. Seniors tackles Wolfgang Zacherl (6-4, 290) and Eugene German (6-3,287) will team with junior guards Nate Davis (6-3,306) and Darren Drake (6-2, 309). The H-B will be R..J. Tyler (6-3, 240,Jr.)
When not running the option, Klugh will hand off to sophomore Robert Washington (5-10,227) and will be pitching passes to wide outs Trent Bostick (6-0, 205, Sr.), Mark Quattlebaum (5-10, 160, Jr.) and 6-2 senior T. L. Ford.
Defensively The 49ers are probably the largest front seven that the Aggies will face this season and will be the biggest test for a veteran A&T offensive line to date. Charlotte plays a variation of the 3-4 defense and its talented corps of linebackers are the key.
The big guns there are all conference picks Juwan Foggie (6-1,237, Jr.), Karrington King (6-0,219, Sr.) along with Tyriq Harris (6-2,245, So.), and Markevius Davis (6-1,200). The line centers around nose guard Tyler Fain (6-3,287, Jr.) and tackle Zach Duncan (6-4,259). The defensive backs are all six feet in height or better led by Marquavis Gibbs (6-0,186) , Ben DeLuca (6-1,194), and Ed Rolle (6-0,190).
Despite the slow start , no one should be deceived by their average of 430 yards allowed per game. The Niners are a very athletic crew with imposing size on both sides of the ball. Where Charlotte has faltered in its losses in the first two games has been in its lack of execution on offense and giving up unforced turnovers that led to some easy scoring opportunities for both EMU and Kansas State.
Don't look for Charlotte to keep repeating those mistakes against A&T because this game could go a long way in helping the winner close the deal this winter when high school recruits begin making decisions on their college futures. This week’s game with N.C. A&T is going to be extremely interesting. Charlotte’s head coach Brad Lambert has been pumping up just how good this A&T is, both from a personnel standpoint and in their style of play.
It is always difficult for teams in an upper classification to get mentality up for teams from lower brackets while the little guys are always pumped up to take on the role of giant killers. Charlotte has a decided advantage in size and numbers but A&T is a veteran team with a lot of playmakers, speed and are executing near midseason form offensively.
The key to this game will be whether A&T can play Charlotte to a stand off in the trenches and provide adequate time for Lamar Raynard to find his very talented receivers. Defensively both teams will be looking to shut down the run so expect both defenses to put 8 or 9 guys in the box. If Charlotte can run effectively it will be tough for A&T to hold serve for four quarters. However if the Aggies can somehow turn up the offensive tempo of the game then a Charlotte team that hasn't shown a propensity to throw the ball well could be in deep trouble.
I think this game may be a carbon copy of an earlier game played between Tennessee State and Georgia State where both teams trade a some heavy blows as things come down to the wire late. Momentum is a curious thing and a play or two on special teams could break this contest one way or the other. If the Aggie kicking game - coverages, placekicking and punting holds together then there is a better than even shot that another FBS conquest could very well be added to the resume on Saturday night.
It will be close but which ever quarterback can get his offense going and make plays late will win this one in dramatic fashion.
****************************************************************************************************************
PREDICTION
N. C. A&T - 23
Charlotte - 21
