By The Decade: Looking Back at the "Sixes" in SoCon Football
Looking
Back 50 Years of SoCon Football by The Decade
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| App State running back Kevin Richardson scored four TDs vs. UMass in 2006 national title game (photo courtesy of App State Athletics) |
Before each football season, I always enjoy looking back over the decades of how far and how different the league has transitioned through eras historically. Here's a fascinating look back at some of the biggest moments that have shaped SoCon football over the past five decades.
2016
The Citadel’s Dogs are Dominant; Four Qualify for FCS Playoffs
—In many ways, the 2016 season in
the Southern Conference was a breakthrough campaign for Southern Conference
football, as it was the first time in the history of the league in which four
teams would be invited to the postseason, with The Citadel finishing a perfect
8-0 in league play to lift the league’s championship trophy as outright champs.
The
2016 campaign was a breath of fresh air for the league, which just a year
earlier, had only one playoff participant—Chattanooga—signaling what could have
been the first signs of real decline after the departures of Appalachian State,
Georgia Southern, and Elon just a couple of years earlier, however, the ’16
campaign more than restored hope for the league.
It marked the second-straight title for The Citadel,
who was under the direction of first-year head coach Brent Thompson following
Mike Houston’s departure to become James Madison’s new head coach. Wofford,
Chattanooga and Samford would all ultimately end joining the Bulldogs in the
FCS Playoffs in what was a banner year on the SoCon gridiron. The league was
12-3 in the non-conference against the FCS competition.
The Citadel might have been unbeatable in league
play, but it was fellow Palmetto State program Wofford that would actually make
the biggest run in the FCS postseason, as the Terriers made it all the way to
the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, which included knocking out The Citadel,
17-3, en route to reaching the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs would do plenty of
Bulldog things during the 2016 season, finishing out the campaign ranking
second nationally in rushing offense (348.2 YPG). It marked the 13th
time in the previous 14 seasons that a SoCon team finished a campaign ranking
in the top two nationally in rushing offense.
The Terriers would lose a heartbreaker, 30-23, in
double overtime at Youngstown State to see its season end. It would be a season
that would see the Penguins make it all way to the national title game under
the direction of Bo Pelini, losing to James Madison, 28-14, in the national
title game. With Wofford’s advancement
to the quarterfinals, it would mark the best run in a postseason by the
Terriers since the 2012 campaign.
Youngstown State took out not one but two Southern
Conference teams during that 2016 campaign, as the Penguins also found a way
past Devlin Hodges and the Samford Bulldogs in the opening round of the
postseason, posting a 38-24 win over another of the SoCon’s four playoff
participants, sliding past Samford, 38-24, at Stambaugh Stadium.
League games were absolute gridiron wars during the
2016 campaign, as sixteen of the league’s 36 conference games were one
possession football games, continuing a trend that stretched back to the 2013
season, which saw 43.5% (54-of-124) league games decided by one touchdown or
less. In many ways, The Citadel’s entire season was a microcosm of just that,
as the Bulldogs had five of their eight league games decided by one possession,
including its first two wins over Mercer (W, 24-23) and Furman (W, 19-14)
coming by a combined six points.
The league’s top defenses were also some of the
nation’s finest units, with Wofford, The Citadel and Chattanooga all finishing
ranked within the top 10 nationally in total defense. The Terriers sported the
SoCon’s top defense, ranking fifth in the nation in total defense (287.2 YPG),
while Chattanooga was right behind at No. 6 at season’s end, as the Mocs
finished the season surrendering just 293.2 YPG. The Citadel finished the
season at No. 8 in the nation in total defense, yielding just 302.6 YPG.
Beginnings and Endings…
As with any season, the campaign represented both
beginnings and endings, as the 2016 season would represent the beginning for
East Tennessee State, which returned to the SoCon for the first time since 2003
after resurrecting its football program a year earlier. The Bucs would end up
finishing out their first season back in the league with a 5-6 overall record,
including a 2-6 mark in league play in what was a solid return to the SoCon.
There were some notable highlights in ETSU first
season back in the league, including a memorable double-overtime 20-17 win at
national power Kennesaw State, which had avenged a lopsided () loss to the Owls
just a year earlier in what was a first game back on the gridiron for ETSU and
a first game in program history for the Owls. In the regular-season finale, the
Bucs established some momentum moving forward, as the Bucs came up with a
memorable 15-14 win over No. 18 Samford. J.J. Germann’s 28-yard field goal as
time expired allowed ETSU to come away with one of its most memorable wins
since returning to the gridiron.
Like ETSU, it was the start of something new for head
coaches as well, with Brent Thompson getting his new start at The Citadel, as
he would go on to win Coach of the Year by leading the Bulldogs to an
unprecedented, unbeaten season in the SoCon. Thompson was an offensive
innovator, and he took what Houston and made the Bulldogs a buzzsaw hearkening
back to a golden era of Bulldogs football in the late 1980s through the
mid-1990s.
It was the ending for Bruce Fowler, who was in his sixth
season at the helm of the Furman football program, which saw the writing on the
wall after an 0-6 start to the season, culminating in what was a 38-21 setback
to Samford. It marked the Paladins’ worst start to a campaign since 1955 when
the Paladins started the campaign 0-8. The Paladins would go on to a 3-8 mark,
with Reese Hannon setting the career mark for passing yards in the process, as he
finished his career with () passing yards.
The Paladins would end up suffering one of their
most embarrassing halves of football in program history when they faced
Kennesaw State for the first time in program history, as the Owls scored a
Paladin Stadium record 49 first-half points, however, had to hold on to take a
52-42 win after heading to the half with a 49-14 lead. The Paladins surrendered
567 yards of total offense, which included giving up a school record 393 yards
on the ground.
The Paladins would close out the campaign with would
win consecutive games at East Tennessee State (W, 52-7) and at VMI (W, 24-10),
while posting a 49-21 win over Western Carolina on Senior Day to close out the
season with three wins in their final five games. However, it wouldn’t be
enough for Fowler to maintain his job as head coach, and after seven seasons as
the head coach, which included winning a 2013 SoCon title, the Paladins would
ultimately move in a different direction at head coach, as Fowler finished his
six seasons at the helm with a 27-43 record. The Paladins would post a 3-8 mark
overall and a 3-5 ledger in league play, finishing the campaign at sixth place
overall in the SoCon standings.
It was also the ending for Russ Huesman as the head
coach of the Chattanooga Mocs, although for much different reasons. Huesman
would coach his final of eight seasons at the helm of the Mocs’ football
program, having posted an impressive 59-37 at the helm of his alma mater. He
led the Mocs to Southern Conference titles in 2013, ’14 and ’15, while also
leading the Mocs to three FCS Playoff appearances. Huesman’s final season at
the helm at Chattanooga would see the Mocs finish off the campaign with a 9-4
record, which included a 38-16 mark in his final four seasons at the helm. At
the end of his coaching tenure, Chattanooga had been in the national rankings 48
consecutive weeks, which was the sixth-longest streak in the country at the
time.
Huesman would go on to assume the head coaching position
at the University of Richmond, where he remains installed as the head coach
currently. Huesman previously helped Richmond win its first and only FCS
national title as the defensive coordinator of the Spiders in 2008. In his
final season at ETSU, Huesman would help lead the Mocs to a third-straight
nine-win season, including helping lead the Mocs to their fourth FCS Playoff
appearance in program history. In fact, during Huesman’s tenure as the head coach
of the Mocs, he helped lead the program to three of its six FCS Playoff
appearances, and when he broke through to make the postseason for the first
time as Chattanooga’s head coach in 2014, it marked the program’s first FCS
Playoff appearance in three decades.
He would coach four Mocs to All-America honors in
his final season as the head coach, with senior defensive end Keionta Davis
garnering SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors. Senior offensive lineman
Corey Levin, senior running back Derrick Craine, and senior linebacker Nakevion
Leslie were the Mocs to end the season on All-America scrolls.
Game of the Year:
The Game of the Year on the SoCon gridiron came when
The Citadel and Chattanooga squared off at Johnson-Hagood Stadium, and it was
first-year head coach Brent Thompson that would see his No.8 ranked Bulldogs
take down No. 5 Chattanooga, 22-14, in what was an outstanding clash of league
titans.
The win allowed The Citadel to take over sole
possession of first place in the SoCon standings, which is a perch they would
remain in for the remainder of the campaign. The victory marked the first win
in a top-10 clash, losing each of its previous games in which it was involved
in two such games back in 1992, losing both of those contests.
The Bulldogs got on the board first when quarterback
Dominique Allen plunged over the top from a yard out, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0
lead with five minutes to play in the opening quarter. Chattanooga responded on
its first play of the ensuing drive, as quarterback Alejandro Benefield connected
with CJ Board for a 75-yard touchdown to tie the game, 7-7, with 4:49 remaining
in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs would
regain the lead when Allen called his own number again, as he once again
plunged in from a yard out to make it a 14-7 contest, concluding an impressive
18-play, 88-yard drive and taking 9:27 off the clock, which bridged the end of
the first quarter and start of the second quarter.
Just like it had done in the opening quarter, the
Mocs responded once again on the heels of that Bulldogs drive to retake the
lead, as Chattanooga put together put together its most impressive offensive
drive of the day, using 12 plays to cover 76 yards, which concluded with a
1-yard plunge from Derrick Craine, making it a 14-14 game with 3:41 remaining
in the half.
The Citadel would respond by taking the lead for
good when Cody Clark connected on a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the
opening half, giving the Bulldogs all the momentum entering the halftime locker
room, leading the contest 17-14. That would remain the score until the final
play of the third quarter, when faced with a 2nd-and-19 deep in
their own territory, Mocs quarterback Alejandro Benfield dropped back to pass,
however, with The Citadel covering all options, Benfield tossed the ball out of
bounds in his own end zone, and after a short delay, a flag was thrown for
intentional grounding in the end zone, increasing the Bulldogs’ lead to 19-14.
The Bulldogs would then tack on what would prove to
be the winning points in the fourth quarter, as Clark connected on a 32-yard
field goal, which concluded an 11-play, 48-yard drive and would give the
Bulldogs an eight-point, 22-14, lead with just 24 seconds left. The Bulldogs
would hold the Mocs scoreless for the final 33:41 of the game in what was impressive
defensive display by The Citadel, which held the Mocs to just 295 yards of
total offense, holding a 349-295 advantage in total yards output.
Wofford Returns to the Top
Wofford would return to the top of the league after
three subpar seasons under 29th year head coach Mike Ayers. It would
turn out to be Ayers’ penultimate season as the head coach of Wofford, as he
would retire following the 2017 season, having put in three decades work of
work in Spartanburg, helping build a Wofford program into one of the top small
school football programs in FCS Football. The Terriers would finish the season
with a 10-4 record overall, including a 6-2
mark in the SoCon, which was good enough for a tie for second in the
league standings.
Wofford’s season would come to an end in the FCS
Quarterfinals, dropping what was a heartbreaking 30-23 double-overtime contest
to Youngstown State at Stambaugh Stadium. The 19th-ranked Terriers
were led in the contest by quarterback Joe Newman, who finished the game with 125
rushing yards and a touchdown. Lorenzo Long also added a pair of rushing scores
for the Bulldogs, while linebacker Malik Rivera led the Terrier defense,
posting 11 stops in the setback.
The Terriers could find no answers in stopping YSU
running back Jody Webb, who finished with 213 rushing yards, while quarterback
Wells Hunter tossed three touchdowns in leading the Penguins to the win. It was
only the second all-time meeting between the Terriers and Penguins, which came
two decades apart, with the Penguins also claiming a 28-0 in that other meeting
back in 1996. The Terriers were able to reach the quarterfinals of the playoffs
by surviving to get what was a 15-14 win over Charleston Southern before
avenging a 24-21 regular-season overtime loss to The Citadel by going to
Charleston and shutting down the Bulldogs to get a 17-3 win in Charleston. The
Terriers’ only other SoCon loss would be a 28-26 thriller against Samford in
Homewood.
Wofford would also face its own share of adversity
in the season, with the scariest moment occurring in the opening week of the
season, as linebacker Michael Roach collapsed in the third quarter of the season-opening,
21-7, win at Tennessee Tech. Roach would be revived, but would be forced to
retire from football, as he would be diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
and had to have a procedure to implant a pacemaker.
There was also plenty of adversity at quarterback,
with incumbent starter Evan Jacks tearing his ACL during August camp, while Brad
Butler and Brandon Goodson also returned to provide veteran leadership. All
three ended up starting games during the 2016 season, with Butler starting the
first four games of the season vs. Tennessee Tech, Ole Miss, Johnson C. Smith
and East Tennessee State. However, against the Bucs, Butler suffered a torn ACL
to end his season abruptly. Goodson would be installed as the starter for the
next nine games, but left the Terriers’ second-round, 17-3, playoff win at The
Citadel with a sprained ankle, which would eventually left the job to true
freshman quarterback Joe Newman.
Wofford’s most impressive regular-season win would
come on the road at No. 7 Chattanooga, as the Terriers held off the Mocs for a
36-28 win on Nov. 12, 2016, and that win likely solidified the Terriers’
inclusion in the 2016 FCS Playoffs. The Terriers kicked a key field goal—a
24-yarder by David Martin—and that would give the Terriers an eight-point lead
with just over two minutes remaining, and the Wofford defense was able to hold
off the Mocs the rest of the way to come away with what was a memorable Southern
Conference win.
Wofford’s defense would do a number on the Mocs,
limiting Chattanooga to just 265 yards of total output, sacking Mocs
quarterback Alejandro Benefield four times en route to getting the win. Wofford
also picked off Benefield twice in the game, and held a whopping 247-88
advantage on the ground in the key road win.
Like The Citadel, Wofford’s primary mode of
operation would be the ground attack, as the Terriers would finish the season ranked
fourth nationally in ground yardage, as the Terriers averaged 279.6 YPG for the
2016 season, with Lorenzo Long putting the finishing touches on what was an
outstanding Wofford career, as he finished his four years at Wofford ranked in
the top five in career rushing yards. He finished off his stellar Wofford
career with 3,479 rushing yards, while setting a single-season mark for rush
attempts, with 249 totes of the pigskin over the course of the 14-game 2016
campaign. He finished the season with 1,424 rushing yards and 18 TDs.
The 2016 season would mark a breakthrough season for
Wofford football, and with its qualification for the FCS postseason, it would
also mark the first of four-straight FCS Playoff appearances. Wofford would
follow up the 2016 breakthrough with three more postseason appearances to go
along with back-to-back-to-back SoCon gridiron titles.
Samford’s Emergence
Samford had a rare breakthrough season in 2013 under
former legendary head coach and Auburn Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Pat Sullivan,
as the Bulldogs were part of a three-way title in the SoCon along with Furman
and Chattanooga.
Samford was under the direction of then second-year
head coach Chris Hatcher, and the Bulldogs had done decently enough in
Hatcher’s first season in charge, as it had been a rebuilding season, finishing
6-5 in his first season in leadership of Samford’s football program.
The Bulldogs, who joined the SoCon as an official
member in 2008, would lay down a marker in 2013, as it would mark the first
SoCon title and playoff appearance five years after joining the league.
However, that title would be stripped and all the wins over the course of that eight-win
(8-5) and the share of the SoCon title would be later be stripped due to
Samford playing that season with an ineligible player.
When Samford came into the league in 2008, Chris
Hatcher was actually the head coach at Georgia Southern, and for one of the
league’s perennial powers and all-time breadwinners, Samford would prove to be
a serious thorn in the side of the Eagles, managing beat Hatcher twice in 2008
and ’09, while posting three-straight wins over Georgia Southern in its first
three seasons as a SoCon member.
The 2016 season, then, for all intents and purposes,
the 2016 season marked a real breakthrough for Samford football. The Bulldogs
started off the season with big wins over Mars Hill (W, 77-7) and at Central
Arkansas (W, 35-29).
That would set up a big clash against Chattanooga on
the road, as the Mocs came into the matchup ranked No. 3 in the nation,
however, it would not be a favorable evening for Devlin Hodges and the
Bulldogs, who would end up dropping a 41-21 contest on the road in what their
most substantial defeat all season.
The Samford bounce back would be real following a
28-26 win over Wofford the following week in what was an epic game at Seibert
Stadium. Hodges would lead the way for the Bulldogs in the win, as he ended the
contest by connecting 28-of-32 passes for 315 yards and all four Samford
touchdowns. Little did anyone know at that time that Wofford would turn out to
be a team that made a huge turnaround themselves in the 2016 season, however,
Samford’s win would serve as a major springboard forward to future success.
The tight game was defined by big plays in the
passing game for the Bulldogs, with Hodges tossing scoring passes of 51 and 23
yards as a part of his four-touchdown outing. It was a good thing the passing
game was working in good order, however, as the ground attack for Samford could
only muster 30 yards in total. The win over Wofford, however, would be the
first of three-straight SoCon wins, as the Bulldogs went on to wins at Furman
(W, 38-21), vs. VMI (W, 55-21) and vs. Western Carolina (W, 30-17) before stepping
out of conference one final time to face FBS foe and SEC member Mississippi
State on the final Saturday in October.
The Bulldogs of Homewood gave the Bulldogs of
Starkville a real test before eventually dropping a 56-41 contest, trailing
just 28-20 at the halftime and having some at Davis Wade Stadium legitimately
worried about the outcome. Devlin Hodges likely needed to ice his arm down
afterwards, as he connected on 42-of-69 passes for 468 yards and four scores,
helping Samford stay alive in the contest all afternoon. The incredible
performance would see Samford’s Bulldogs outgained just 669-627 in total
offense on an afternoon that had a complete offensive display on both sides.
Hodges set a record for most offensive plays in a single game in the loss with
86 total snaps in the loss.
The loss would drop the Bulldogs to 6-2 on the
season, however, Samford remained in an amazing shape in the SoCon standings,
having started league play 4-1 and with a monumental challenge ahead of it to
open the month of November, as for the second-straight week, Samford would
engage in a “Battle of the Bulldogs” with preseason league favorite and league
unbeaten The Citadel in Charleston. While not the Game of the Year on paper to
start the season, which many had reserved for The Citadel’s clash with Chattanooga,
the matchup between Samford and The Citadel was an epic battle nonetheless and,
unfortunately from Samford’s perspective, one that would result in a
second-straight loss and a second league loss, as The Citadel’s Bulldogs posted
a thrilling 37-34 overtime win at Johnson-Hagood Stadium over Samford to remain
unblemished in league play, as well as overall.
With Samford leading 34-31 in regulation, The
Citadel’s Cody Clark would connect on a 34-yard field goal to tie the game,
34-34, with just three seconds remaining to ultimately force overtime. In
overtime, Samford’s defense was able to hold The Citadel to another Clark field
goal attempt, which this time he converted from 36 yards out, making it a 37-34
The Citadel lead. Samford was forced to settle for a field goal attempt of its
own following a solid effort by The Citadel’s defensive unit, however, Reece Everett’s
44-yard attempt hit the right upright and was no good, ending the game and
resulting in a three-point, 37-34, loss for the Bulldogs.
After slipping past Mercer, 24-19, in the
regular-season home finale, Hodges and the Bulldogs needed a good performance
on the road in their final game of the regular-season at East Tennessee State
to lock up an at-large bid to the postseason. What the Bulldogs got was
anything but a convincing performance, dropping a 15-14 decision in Johnson
City, putting the Bulldogs squarely on the bubble for the FCS playoffs. In
previous seasons, the benefit of the doubt was usually given to SoCon teams,
especially with the likes of App State and Georgia Southern being league
members, but in the previous two campaigns, bids had been hard to come by for
the league. Only Chattanooga had made the playoffs in 2014 and in ’15, The
Citadel and Chattanooga were a part of the FCS postseason. Despite the
one-point loss to the Bucs on the final day of the regular-season for the
Bulldogs, Samford found themselves among the 24-team field on Selection Sunday,
as Samford was matched up with Youngstown State on the road in the opening
round of the playoffs.
The season would ultimately come to an end at
Stambaugh Stadium against the Penguins, and after things looked good early
following a Kelvin McKnight 19-yard scoring catch from Hodges with just under
two minutes remaining in the first quarter, tying the game, 7-7, things would
balloon out of control from there. YSU would reeling off 24 unanswered points
to take a 31-7 lead following a Jody
Webb six-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter, making it a 31-7 game.
The Bulldogs would at least tack on 17 points in the final quarter to make the
score a bit more respectable, as McKnight’s four-yard scoring catch with 28
seconds remaining set the final margin at 14, as the Penguins moved on with a
38-24 win. For Samford, it had been a season in which the SoCon had experienced
the Hatch Attack offense to its fullest, as Devlin Hodges would begin to show
the caliber of quarterback he was, finishing the season with what was a league
record 4,310 yards of total offense at the time. Hodges would end up breaking
his own mark in 2017, however, the 4,310 yards of total offense still ranks
second in league history to this day.
Hodges also set the single-season SoCon mark with 11
games of 250 or more yards of total offense, while his 10 games of 300 or more
passing yards were also a new SoCon single-season mark. It was a breakthrough
season for the Bulldogs, and over Hatcher’s next nine seasons in Homewood, he
would have the Bulldogs contending atop the league often.
2006
Back
on Top of the Mountain
The 2006 campaign in the Southern Conference would
be another solid season, and though it lacked the overall drama that the ’05
campaign had delivered, the result of both the conference season and the FCS
season at-large would be the same, as Appalachian State dominated its way to a second
of three-straight national titles.
Despite Appalachian’s dominance, it would be a
season that would see Furman, Wofford and Georgia Southern all hit a bit of a
snag. Only Furman would end up joining the Mountaineers in the FCS postseason,
and that wouldn’t be a long stay in the postseason, as the Paladins dropped a
31-13 contest at Montana State in Bozeman in the opening round of the playoffs.
While the top teams might have been on the decline,
other programs like The Citadel and Elon were making some improvement. It was
also a disappointing for a Chattanooga team, which in ’05, had looked like it
was a program on the mend once again under third-year head coach Rodney Allison
following a 6-5 season, which included a 3-4 mark in Southern Conference play.
However, despite having a strong nucleus returning,
which included running back Eldra Buckley, who had set the school’s
single-season rushing mark with 1,233 yards in ’05, the Mocs slumped to just a
3-8 campaign, including just a 2-5 mark in league play a year later. In fact,
only Appalachian State (14-1, 7-0 SoCon), Furman (8-4, 6-1 SoCon) and Wofford
(7-4, 5-2) would finish the league with winning records.
The Mountaineers would prove to be among the most
dominant teams in FCS history, losing just once, which was a 23-10 loss in the
season opener against North Carolina State before hosting James Madison in what
was billed as a game that pitted each of the two previous national title
winners against each other.
The Mountaineers dominated on both sides of the
ball, and the ’06 season would be one in which we were first introduced to the
talents of quarterback Armanti Edwards. Edwards, of course, would go on to
become one of the top talents in the history of SoCon Football under center,
winning a pair of Walter Payton Awards before his time would be up as a
Mountaineer.
Appalachian State came into the ’06 season with a
target squarely painted on its back, as the Black and Gold were the ’05
reigning national champion. It wouldn’t phase Appalachian, however, which after
its opening game loss in Raleigh, reeled off 14-straight wins, including 12 by
double digits, en route to a second-straight title.
Following the loss to North Carolina State, the Apps
returned to Boone to face off against James Madison in a matchup of the last
two national champions. The Mountaineers got a stern defensive effort, holding potent
Dukes offense in check the entire afternoon, however, couldn’t get its offense
entirely untracked in the process.
The Black and Gold would eventually get going in the
second quarter to seemingly break open what had been a tight game. David
Rabil’s 22-yard field goal gave the Dukes an early 3-0 lead. With Armanti
Edwards getting his first bit of playing time under center along with starter
Trey Elder, the Black and Gold drove 80 yards in 11 plays to take their first
lead of the game on a Edwards seven-yard scoring run, which gave Appalachian
the 7-3 lead with 4:15 remaining in the opening quarter of play.
The Apps defense would set up their second score of
the afternoon, as Jeremy Wiggins picked off a Justin Rascati pass and returned
it 22 yards to the JMU 26. Kevin Richardson capped off the short five-play
drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge at the 13:36 mark of the second quarter to
make it a 14-3 App State lead.
Richardson added a second 1-yard scoring plunge with
only 19 seconds remaining in the half, finishing off another 80-yard drive,
giving the Mountaineers a comfortable 21-3 lead heading into the halftime
locker room at The Rock. The lone points of the second half came from JMU with
8:43 remaining in the game, as L.C. Baker hauled in a 47-yard scoring strike
from Rascati, and that made the score a more respectable 21-10. The win over
the 2004 national champions got the Apps off to a strong start in ’06, and it
would be one in which they wouldn’t look back from en route to another title
run.
App State reeled off wins over Mars Hill (W, 41-0)
and at Gardner-Webb (W, 41-6) to set up a big conference opener vs Elon at Kidd
Brewer Stadium. The Black and Gold were dominant from start to finish in their
league opener, as the Mountaineers moved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in league play
with a convincing 45-21 win over the Phoenix on a sun splashed Saturday in the
High Country. The Mountaineer offense amassed 559 yards, with 266 on the ground
and another 303 through the air, and with Armanti Edwards at the full-time
controls of the unit, the Apps simply looked like a machine that could score
points at will against its FCS opposition. The Mountaineers were also strong
defensively on the day, holding a normally potent Elon passing attack in-check
for most of the afternoon, holding the Phoenix to 293 yards through the air and
just 19 on the ground.
Next up was a trip to Chattanooga at the Scenic
City, and the hapless Mocs were easy work for ASU, as the Mountaineers rolled
to a 56-21 win on the road to open the month of October. The Mountaineers
cruised to a 35-0 halftime lead and never looked back, as it would be the first
of two appearances for the Apps in that venue during the ’06 season, and also
marked App State’s first return to the venue since downing Northern Iowa on the
same turf, 21-15, in the ’05 national title game. Edwards was awesome in his
accuracy and decision-making, as he completed 12 of 14 passes for 311 yards and
three touchdowns and no INTs. The win would see the Mountaineers move to 5-1
overall and 2-0 in league action.
The Apps returned to Boone on Oct. 14 to face a
Wofford team that could never be taken lightly. By now, the Apps were ranked
No. 1 in all of FCS football, however, Wofford always provided tough competition,
and it was usually a fun battle when the two legendary head coaches and their
teams—App State’s Jerry Moore and Wofford’s Mike Ayers—squared off against each
other on the gridiron. What would ensue over 60 minutes of football at Kidd
Brewer Stadium would be one of two games decided by single-digits over the
course of the 15-game ’06 season, as the Mountaineers held off Wofford to get a
14-7 home win. The Mountaineers took a 14-0 lead into the halftime locker room,
as Armanti Edwards connected with Dexter Jackson on a 12-yard scoring strike at
the 8:11 mark of the opening quarter, and then recorded a 16-yard scoring
scamper with 4:50 to play in the opening quarter to give Appalachian the only
points it would need for the entire afternoon, as the Black and Gold held on
for a gritty, 14-7 win.
The lone points of the second half came from Wofford
running back Kevious Johnson, as he scampered 12 yards with just under 11
minutes left in the third quarter to slice Appalachian’s lead in half. However,
the Mountaineers’ defense, which held Wofford’s vaunted ground game to just 145
yards on the day (2.8 yards-per-rush), would do the rest in pitching a shutout,
as the Mountaineers improved to 6-1
overall and 3-0 in the league.
The next game might have proved to be the game of
the 2006 season on the Southern Conference gridiron, as App State headed to
Paulson Stadium to face off against Georgia Southern. The Eagles were having a
down season under first-year head coach Brian VanGorder, however, in a rivalry
deeper than hate, you can always expect it will be a tough battle from start to
finish, and on Oct. 21, 2006, that’s exactly what we would get when No. 2 App
State faced un-ranked Georgia Southern.
The game would be pure cinema, but Appalachian State
managed to escape with its perfect SoCon mark intact, claiming its
seventh-straight win after a loss to the Wolfpack in the season opener, with a 27-20
double-overtime win over the Eagles at Paulson Stadium. It was App State’s
first win in Statesboro since 1996 and only the second win all-time in that
facility. Things looked like they might go south, however, as App State and
Georgia Southern were tied, 10-10, early in the fourth quarter, when the game
seemingly swung in favor of the Eagles when Ronnie Wiggins scooped up a
Mountaineers fumble and raced 17 yards for the go-ahead score, as the Eagles
assumed a 17-10 lead with 12:18 remaining.
A little over a minute later, the Mountaineers now
faced one of the few adverse situations in a game the entire season, trailing
late in a football game. That hadn’t been the case in any of the Mountaineers’
previous FCS games previously. Appalachian’s response was golden, however, as
Edwards found wideout William Mayfield behind the Eagles secondary for a
65-yard scoring strike just 72 seconds after Wiggins’ defensive scoop and
score, tying the game, 17-17, with 11:06 remaining. That would be the score, as
the two teams headed for overtime.
Both App State’s Julian Rauch and Georgia Southern’s
Patrick Bolen connected on short field goals in the first overtime session, as
the score remained tied, 20-20, heading to the second overtime period. Following
Kevin Richardson’s three-yard scoring scamper, which gave the Mountaineers the
27-20 lead following Rauch’s PAT, the Eagles’ offense, which had been so effective
behind Travis Clark when it needed to be for most of the afternoon, couldn’t
generate anything on the ensuing possession. The Mountaineer defense swarmed
Jayson Foster on an attempted reverse to open the drive, as the Eagles
speedster was held to just a one-yard gain on GSU’s opening drive of the second
overtime period. Three-straight incompletions from Clark, and the Mountaineers
were able to escape Statesboro with a 27-20 win to improve to 7-1 overall and
5-0 in league play.
Appalachian returned to Boone to close out the month
of October facing another of its bitter rivals, as Furman came to Kidd Brewer
Stadium for the first time since the previous December, when ASU had handed the
Ingle Martin-led Paladins a 29-23 setback in the FCS semifinals in what was
widely regarded as the two top teams in FCS football during the ’05 season.
Despite Furman carrying the No. 8 national ranking
into the clash with the Black and Gold, the Paladins would prove to be no match
for the Mountaineers, as the Black and Gold turned the game with a blocked kick
early in the second quarter to help turn the tide of the game. Better than
24,000 fans packed Kidd Brewer Stadium and the surrounding hillside, as many
were locked in anticipated a battle to the previous seven between the two
programs, which had been decided by a combined 21 points.
It was Black Saturday in the High Country, which was
also a day when teams came to Boone and usually left with a loss. The
Mountaineers actually found themselves trailing once again in as many weeks, as
Furman opened the scoring when Renaldo Gray snuck over the top of the
Mountaineer defense for a one-yard scoring plunge, giving the Paladins a 7-0
lead, as Furman converted a Mountaineer fumble into the first points of the
day. Little did the Paladins know that it would be the final points of the
afternoon.
App State tied the game early in the second quarter,
as the Mountaineers drove 73 yards in 12 plays, including a fourth down
conversion, and the drive would be capped by a three-yard scoring run by Kevin
Richardson with 7:09 remaining in the half.
The Paladins appeared ready to retake the lead late
in the half, as they were driving towards the fieldhouse end of Kidd Brewer, following
an ASU turnover, advancing the ball all the way down to the 14. However, Appalachian’s
Corey Lynch broke through to block Scott Beckler’s 31-yard field goal attempt
and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown, giving the Mountaineers a 14-7 lead
with just 1:15 remaining in the first half.
The second half belonged to the Black and Gold, as
Appalachian went 90 yards in seven plays to was capped by a 39-yard jaunt from
Kevin Richardson to make it a 21-7 Mountaineer lead with 9:06 left in the third
quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Furman’s special teams woes continued, as
William Middleton’s effort to receive the deep kickoff by Julian Rauch carried
him backwards into the end zone, but the field judge, overruled the referee,
who had signaled touchback and placed the ball at the just outside the goal
line where Middleton took a knee. On the first play from scrimmage to running
back Cedric Gipson off left guard, the Mountaineer defense swarmed, and Gipson
did not get of the end zone, and the Mountaineers had another two points via a
safety, increasing the lead to 23-7 and the rout was on.
On the ensuing possession for App State, the Paladin
defense forced a turnover on downs, but that momentum was short-lived, as
Renaldo Gray’s pass was picked off by App State cornerback Jerome Touchstone and
returned to the Furman 38. Appalachian was forced to settle for a 38-yard
Julian Rauch field goal to make it a 26-7 lead with just under two minutes
remaining in the third quarter.
Furman would see another special teams mishap lead
to another Mountaineer score on its next possession, as the Paladins attempted
a fake punt, but it was snuffed out by Appalachian, as Monte Smith tackled
Paladin punter Trent Hawk after just a two-yard gain on 4th-and-10,
setting up the Black and Gold offense at the Furman 29. Two plays later,
Richardson did his end zone dance again, scampering 27 yards for the score to
make it 33-7. Richardson then capped his performance with another one-yard
scoring plunge on a short four-play drive, as Monte Smith recovered a Cedric
Gipson fumble at the 18, and that capped the scoring and the Mountaineers had
eased past the Paladins for a change, with the final score being, 40-7. The
Mountaineer defense held the Paladins to just 198 yards of total offense on the
afternoon.
At 8-1, and 6-0 in Southern Conference play, the
Mountaineers hosted Senior Day on the opening weekend of November, as the
top-ranked Mountaineers faced off against The Citadel at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Just like it had done against Furman a week earlier, the Mountaineers were able
to breeze past another Palmetto State foe, garnering what was a decisive 42-13
win over the Bulldogs to clinch a second-straight Southern Conference
regular-season title in the process. The Mountaineers rolled up 240 yards on
the ground and another 208 through the air, showcasing the overall balance that
had made them such a dominant force on the offensive side of the football
throughout the 2006 season. The Apps would end up outgaining their visitors
from Charleston, 448-286 on the afternoon.
The final game of the regular-season took the
Mountaineers to Cullowhee, N.C., for the annual “Battle for the Old Mountain
Jug” as Appalachian State met mountain rival Western Carolina at EJ Whitmire
Stadium. The Mountaineers once again overwhelmed their Southern Conference
opposition to close out the campaign with a perfect 8-0 league mark, as the
Mountaineers left Cullowhee with the Old Mountain Jug and a 31-9 win. Kevin
Richardson was once again strong running the football, finishing the contest with
128 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 22 carries, highlighting a ground attack
that allowed the Mountaineers to control the clock for much of the afternoon in
the win.
At 10-1 overall and a perfect 8-0 in the Southern Conference,
it was on to the FCS Playoffs, as the Mountaineers headed into the postseason
with the No. 1 overall seed. The Chanticleers had played App State in its 2005
home opener, and that had been a game where you could really begin to see the
turn as a program that the Black and Gold had made, as it was against a Coastal
Carolina team that was very good, but still a young program at the FCS level,
having only gotten their start on the gridiron as a program from scratch in
2003. While the Mountaineers entered the postseason as the No. 1 overall seed,
Coastal Carolina arrived in the FCS Playoffs as the No. 13 seed. The
Mountaineers would make it 11 wins in a row, taking down a good Chanticleers
team, 45-28, dominating the opening half to take a 31-0 lead into the locker
room.
The Chanticleers tried to make things interesting in
the second half, as Coastal Carolina star quarterback Tyler Thigpen used a one-yard
touchdown plunge and a 14-yard pass to Jerome Simpson to get the Chants to
within 18 points , following a missed 2-point conversion play, at 31-13.
However, an Armanti Edwards 15-yard scoring scamper with 1:27 remaining in the
third quarter restored order, as the Mountaineers took a 38-13 lead. It was
part of a big day under center for the App State rookie signal-caller, as he passed
for 226 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 172 yards and another two
scores, as he was his own one-man wrecking crew against the Chanticleers.
In the second round of the playoffs, the
Mountaineers welcomed Big Sky member Montana State into Kidd Brewer Stadium,
and the Bobcats had upset on their minds after having made easy work of fellow
SoCon foe Furman, 31-13, in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs on their home
turf.
The Bobcats managed to hang around tougher than
most, but by the end, it was once again a dominant performance on both sides of
the football, as the Black and Gold defense controlled quarterback Jack Rolovich
and wideout Michael Jefferson and a talented Bobcats offense for most of the
evening.
Unlike the Chanticleers, who fell behind 31-0 at the
half the previous week, the Bobcats were very much still in the game against
App State at the break in this one, as they trailed only 17-10 at the half
after Appalachian had built an early 14-0 lead.
Early in the third quarter, Kevin Richardson broke
free for a 61-yard scoring scamper to make it a 24-10 game and it looked like
the Mountaineers might pull away. However, the Bobcats continued to make it
impossible for the Mountaineers to rest easy, as Bobcats running back scored on
a four-yard run to make it a 24-17 game late in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter, however, would belong to
Appalachian, and the Mountaineers would tack on a pair of scores to ensure
their advancement on to the semifinal round of the playoffs.
On the first play of the final quarter, the
Mountaineers weren’t falling for any of Montana State’s tricks, as Michael
Jefferson took the ball on an end around, but heavy pressure by the
Mountaineers forced an errant throw, and the ball was plucked out of the air by
Corey Lynch at his own 20 and he proceeded to return it 29 yards to his own 49
where the Mountaineer offense would set up shop. Eight plays later, Richardson
was in the end zone again on a one-yard scoring plunge to make it all but
academic at this point, as the Black and Gold assumed a two-score lead, at
31-17. App State would tack on one more score on a short Richardson scoring run
to set the final margin at 21.
In the semifinals of the playoffs, the Mountaineers
would welcome a former FCS juggernaut trying to recapture old glory when
Youngstown State paid a visit to Kidd Brewer Stadium for the FCS semifinals.
There would be little doubt who was the better team, however, as Appalachian
dominated its way to yet another win and national championship game, as the
Mountaineers easily breezed past the Penguins for a 49-24 win to move into the
title game.
The Mountaineers rolled up over 500 yards of total
offense in the win, as Appalachian gained 517 yards of total offense to be
exact, which included 353 yards on the ground. Both quarterback Armanti Edwartds
and running back Kevin Richardson would deliver 100-yard rushing performances
in the win for the Black and Gold, and the Mountaineers’ school-record 13th-straight
win allowed them to make their second-straight appearance in the FCS National
Championship game. Richardson finished his night with 145 yards on the ground,
while Edwards rushed for 110, marking the first time since 2003 that the Apps
had two different 100-yard rushers in the same game.
The Mountaineers rolled up 343 yards before the break, having doubled their opposition by the time the two entered the halftime locker room, with the Black and Gold holding the 28-14 advantage. Edwards and Richardson also accounted for all four of Appalachian’s first-half touchdowns. On the first carry of the third quarter, however, Richardson was tackled hard on his right shoulder, exiting the game with the minor injury and making way for sophomore running back Devon Moore.
After Edwards added a 10-yard scoring scamper to put the Apps ahead 35-14, Moore got into the act with his own 25-yard scoring run to make it a 42-17 contest, and Edwards’ final rushing score of the night made it academic with 8:57 remaining, as the Mountaineers pushed the lead to 49-17. Edwards’ only passing touchdown of the evening came in the opening half, which was an 18-yard strike to wideout Hans Batichon.
The Mountaineers were back in Chattanooga, chasing a
second-straight national title and to do that, the Black and Gold would have to
find their way past a tough UMass team out of the Atlantic 10, which would mark
a little bit different challenge than Northern Iowa had a year earlier. UMass
also had one national title to their credit, which came in 1998, and the
Minutemen had to knock off a Southern Conference foe to win their only crown,
downing Georgia Southern, 55-42, on a rain-soaked Finley Stadium turf in
Chattanooga.
Don Brown’s Minutemen were one of the top defensive
teams in all of FCS Football, and had knocked off Lafayette (W, 35-14), New
Hampshire (W, 24-17), and most impressively, won at Montana (19-17) to reach
the national title game to take on the Mountaineers. Like Appalachian, the
Minutemen had lost just once during the regular-season, and that was a 21-20
loss to FBS member Navy in the second week of the season. The game between
Appalachian State and UMass offered a clear-cut national title game between the
nation’s top two teams, who both entered the clash with identical 13-1 records.
The game would play out as a classic offense vs.
defense showcase, and App State running back Kevin Richardson was indeed
healthy, and that would prove bad news for the Minutemen. The game was close
throughout, but it would be Richardson that would ultimately be the difference,
lifting the Mountaineers to a second-straight national title, rushing for 179
yards and four touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers to the 28-17 triumph. His
fourth rushing touchdown of the night, which ultimately sealed the win, gave
him the FCS record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 30. His 30th
rushing score broke the previous FCS record of 29, which was held by former
Colgate legendary running back Jamaal Branch, who previously set the mark in
Colgate’s run to the national title game in 2003.
Not to be outshined too much by Richardson was the
performance by Mountaineer signal-caller Armanti Edwards, who finished his
night by completing 12-of-19 passes for 146 yards, while also gaining 81 yards
on 15 carries. With Richardson’s 179 and Edwards’ 81 yards on the ground, it
was all part of another dominating night on the ground against the nation’s
toughest defensive unit coming in, as the Mountaineers totaled 285 rushing
yards for the game.
Speaking of just how good UMass’ defense had been
during the postseason, they had yet to allow a second half during the
postseason. The last until the early portion of the fourth quarter when
Richardson’s four-yard scoring run put the Mountaineers ahead 21-14 with 13:22
remaining. The Minutemen had to settle for a Chris Koeplin 42-yard field goal
on their next possession, getting UMass to within four points, at 21-17, with just
under nine minutes remaining. However, Richardson and the Mountaineers would
put the game away using 14 plays to drive 80 yards, which was capped by a
two-yard plunge from Richardson, putting the Mountaineers ahead 28-17 with just
two minutes left, all but putting another national trophy in possession of the
Mountaineers.
Fittingly, Appalachian State safety Corey Lynch
picked off an errant Liam Coen pass on the ensuing UMass possession to
officially seal a second-straight national title for the Mountaineers, as App
State became the first team since Georgia Southern in 1999 and 2000 to repeat its
national title run of a year earlier.
Things looked good for the Minutemen early in the
game, as Matt Lawrence capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive for UMass, giving it
its only lead of the night, at 7-0 to cap a successful opening possession of
the game. From there, the Mountaineers would tie the game when Richardson
bolted for his longest run of the night, which saw him score on a 45-yard run, cutting
back against the grain and outracing the Minutemen secondary to the end zone,
tying the contest, 7-7.
The score remained tied until just under a minute
remaining in the opening half of play, as Richardson’s six-yard scoring scamper
with 49 seconds remaining in the half gave the Mountaineers the lead for the
first time in the game, and they would maintain going into the halftime locker
room with a 14-7 lead. The Minutemen scored the only points of the third
quarter to tie the game once again, 14-14, when Brad Listorti hauled in a
17-yard pass from Liam Coen to cap an impressive, 11-play, 81-yard drive.
Furman’s Decline
While Appalachian’s program had always been strong,
the 2005 season would see the Mountaineers begin to rise nationally, as the
Black and Gold had always been a strong program among their SoCon brethren.
With a second national title in 2006, the Mountaineers had officially surpassed
others in the league, and that included Furman, which claimed its only crown in
1988, but had made two other appearances in the national title game, which came
in both 1988 and 2001.
The Paladins had reached the brink of a national
title in 2005, dropping a heartbreaking 29-23 contest at Appalachian State in
the semifinals. It was as if the torch was passed in that very moment. From
1996-2005, however, Furman had seen a resurgence in its football program after
a brief hiatus from 1991-95, which saw a minor decline after a dominant period from
1978-90.
The Paladins were 86-38 from 1996-2005, which
included three SoCon shared crowns and seven FCS Playoff appearances. The 2006
season, at least on the surface, wouldn’t appear to be the start of a decline
for Furman football, but in hindsight, it most certainly was just that. Though
the Paladins finished 8-3 overall and were 6-1 in the Southern Conference, its 31-13
loss at Montana State in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs in Bozeman should
have been alarm bells of such a decline, and if not that, it should have been
apparent in one of the three regular-season losses, which was a 40-7 setback at
Appalachian State.
Still, the Paladins were good, and despite have two
young quarterbacks, in both Renaldo Gray and freshman Jordan Sorrells, the
Paladins did their best to keep their heads above water and maintain a presence
nationally.
Furman’s 2006 season would mostly be defined by
close games, whether they be wins or losses. Furman still had some star players
around within the program, and 14 starters returning in today’s era of college
football would seem like a huge amount of returning talent, especially off a
squad that had reached the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs just a year earlier. The
biggest key on offense for the Paladins would be big fullback Jerome Felton,
who had rushed for almost 1,000 yards in his first season in Greenville.
Furman’s season started in thrilling fashion, as the
fifth-ranked Paladins upended Jacksonville State, 17-13, in what was a
second-straight season in which the contest between the Gamecocks and Paladins came
down to the wire. Furman backup quarterback Jordan Sorrells, who was in for an
injured Renaldo Gray, tossed a 19-yard scoring strike to Brantley Kendall out
of the backfield on a wheel route with just 19 seconds remaining, as the
Paladins held on for the 17-13 win in the season-opener at Paladin Stadium.
Following a 24-7 win over then NCAA Division II West
Georgia, the Paladins stepped out of conference in up in competition when they
headed to Chapel Hill to face off against North Carolina. The Tar Heels were
able to hold off a Paladin team that was clicking offensively, as Renaldo Gray
had arguably his best game in a Furman uniform, but the Paladins couldn’t
recapture the glory they once enjoyed in 1999 with a 28-3 win in Kenan Stadium,
as the Paladins fell 45-42 in the matchup seven years later.
For the game, Jerome Felton rushed for 67 yards and
four touchdowns, while Gray led a Furman offense that generated a ridiculous
521 yards against their FBS opposition. The big day for the offense included
converting 16 of 21 third downs and punting the ball away a total of just five
times the entire night. Gray finished the contest, connecting on 20-of-26
passes for 310 yards and one touchdown, as the Paladins fell to 2-1.
Next up would be Western Carolina and the opening of
the 2006 SoCon slate. The Paladins hadn’t forgotten the feeling of what a 41-21
loss at Western Carolina to open the SoCon slate in ’05, and Jerome Felton took
it upon himself to make sure the Catamounts remembered the ’06 meeting with the
Paladins, as he set a Southern Conference record with six rushing touchdowns in
leading Furman to one of its most demonstrative performances of the ’06 season,
as the Paladins went on to a 42-7 win.
Next up would involve a trip to Wofford to face off
against a solid Terriers football team, but the third-ranked Paladins would
find their way past Wofford for a 35-21 win at Gibbs Stadium to move to 2-0 in
league play. With the game tied, 7-7, the Paladins would take the lead for good
when William Middleton took Chris Tommie’s kickoff following Wofford’s
game-tying score 100 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. After Furman built
a 21-7 lead, Wofford responded with a 96-yard kickoff return of its own from
Brandon Berry late in the opening half, getting to within 21-14.
However, Furman’s Renaldo Gray connecting with
Patrick Sprague on a 33-yard scoring strike to restore the two-touchdown
advantage, and after safety Andrew Thacker picked off a Ben Widmyer pass and
returned it 48 yards to the Wofford 11, Gray would sneak over the top of the
Wofford defensive line some five plays later to give the Paladins a three-score,
35-14, lead to put the game out of reach.
The Paladins would step out of conference for the
final time when they headed to Coastal Carolina to take on the Chanticleers for
the first time in program history, and it would be a thriller, as the
Chanticleers, which would end up in the FCS Playoffs at the end of the season,
would hand the Paladins their second of three regular-season losses, as Coastal
Carolina won a thriller, 29-27, at Brooks Stadium.
Senior quarterback Tyler Thigpen was simply
sensational for the Teal and Black, as he passed for 274 yards and three
scores, while running for a fourth, as the nation’s second-leading passer completed
21-of-33 passes, with scoring strikes of 4,3, and 8 yards. Thigpen’s eight-yard
scoring strike to Jerome Simpson, who made an acrobatic, one-handed catch in
the back of the end zone with 5:41 remaining proved to be the game-winner.
The Paladins were forced to turn to freshman
signal-caller Jordan Sorrells, and his 19-yard scoring strike to Justin Stepp
with 9:35 left to give the Paladins a 27-21 lead. However, Quinton Teal came
through and blocked the PAT and then Sean Lundy proceeded to return it 90 yards
for two points, cutting Furman’s lead to just four points, at 27-23, whipping
the crowd into a frenzy.
After Scott Becker’s kickoff went out of bounds, and
as a result, it allowed for the Chanticleers to have excellent field position.
From there, the Chants went 65 yards in 12 plays to put what proved to be the
game-winning points on the board, as on fourth-and-goal from the Furman 8,
lofted a pass to Jerome Simpson in the back of the end zone, who made an
acrobatic catch, giving the Chanticleers the lead for good at 29-27. The two-point
conversion attempt was no good.
Furman would threaten on the ensuing possession,
moving down to the Coastal Carolina 40, but three-straight incompletions by
Sorrells forced the Paladins to turn the ball over on downs to Coastal Carolina
with 2:43 remaining. After forcing a punt, the Paladins would get the ball back
on their own 23 with 54 seconds left. However, three more incompletions before
Sorrells was sacked by Ronnie Mason to end the game.
The Paladins fell to 11th in the new FCS
poll following their defeat on the road against Coastal Carolina, as a 4-2, 2-0
Furman team headed back into league play with a tricky test against a Kevin
Higgins The Citadel team at Paladin Stadium. The Bulldogs had given the
Paladins all they wanted a year earlier before, taking the Paladins into triple
overtime before Furman was finally able to escape Johnson-Hagood Stadium with a
39-31 win.
This test against The Citadel wouldn’t be an easy
one, but despite building a 23-0 lead at the half, but had to hold on for a
23-17 win inside the friendly confines of Paladin Stadium. For a
second-straight week, the Paladins had to rely on the services of Jordan
Sorrells under center, with Renaldo Gray nursing a high ankle sprain. Sorrells
passed for 251 yards and big fullback Jerome Felton rushed for all three
Paladin touchdowns, which all came in the opening half, as the Paladins held
off a furious second half rally behind quarterback Duran Lawson and wideout
Andre Roberts, as Lawson passed for 246 yards, while the Bulldogs defense held
Furman to a total of 85 yards in the second half, as The Citadel finished with
a slight 358-339 in total offense. But the Paladins had found their way to 5-2
overall and 3-0 in the SoCon.
The next week would be another “tougher than it
looked on paper” type game for the Paladins, who welcomed a solid Chattanooga
team into Paladin Stadium for Homecoming, as the Mocs were having a season that
hadn’t lived quite the expectations they had coming into the campaign. The Mocs
came in 2-5 and had already equaled their loss total from the previous season
in what was thought to be a turnaround season for Chattanooga under Rodney
Allison.
However, the Paladins would find some more late-game
heroics, which had seemingly been a theme throughout the season since the
outset, and those heroics seemed to almost involve redshirt freshman
quarterback Jordan Sorrells. He would again be the star of the show on this
particular Saturday, as he tossed a 23-yard scoring strike to Cedrick Gipson in
the first overtime period, and that was enough to lift the Paladins to a 28-22
overtime win over the Mocs in front of a Homecoming crowd of 12,470 fans
on-hand at Paladin Stadium.
Sorrells’ game-winning pass was set up by Andrew
Thacker’s interception of Mocs quarterback Matt Lopez on the first overtime
possession. Despite the narrow win, the Paladins had been dominant for most of
the day, outgaining the Mocs, 482-297, and also snapped the ball 24 more times
(84-60) than the Mocs in the contest. The win also marked Furman’s 12th-straight
home win. It was Sorrells’ second-career start, and he would end up tying a
Furman freshman record, with 335 yards passing to go with a pair of touchdown
tosses.
That would set up the game of the year in the
Southern Conference, which ended up being anything but, as the No. 8 Paladins
headed to Boone, N.C., to take on the SoCon’s top team, Appalachian State, in a
battle of the SoCon’s two undefeated teams, but it would end up being a
one-sided affair even though for much of the first half it was an evenly played
football game on both sides. The special teams unit had been a problem all
season for the Paladins, and in the loss early to Coastal Carolina, the issue
was magnified on the blocked PAT that was returned for two.
On this afternoon—”Black Saturday” to be completely
accurate—it would be yet another blocked field goal, which this time was
returned for a touchdown, that would end up changing the momentum for good in
the game, as Corey Lynch blocked and scooped up Scott Beckler’s 31-yard field
goal attempt and returned it 79 yards for a score, making it a 14-7 game. Later
in the game, the Paladins inadvertently took a knee on a kickoff return at the
one following an App State touchdown, which gave the Mountaineers two more
points, and a failed fake punt by Furman at its own 29 led to Appalachian’s
penultimate score of the game, as Kevin Richardson sprinted 27 yards on the
second play of the ensuing drive to make it 33-7 and officially put the game
out of reach, as the top-ranked Mountaineers would eventually hand the Paladins
the 40-7 loss, which was their worst SoCon loss in 14 years, only eclipsed by a
42-point setback at Marshall in 1992 (L, 48-6).
With that being the third loss of the season, there
was now no margin for error for Furman moving forward in the 1996 campaign, as
the Paladins were now 6-3 overall and 4-1 in league play with two games
remaining. The Paladins headed on the road for the final time in the
regular-season to Elon, which would open the month of November and would
ultimately be a crucial game for Furman when it came to their FCS Playoff
hopes.
The 11th-ranked Paladins, however, would
find a way past the Phoenix for a 24-13 road win, as the Paladins got a pair of
rushing touchdowns from Jerome Felton, who became Furman’s all-time leading
scorer in the process, while Cedrick Gipson added 122 yards and another score, as
Furman moved to 7-3 and 5-1 in SoCon play heading into its regular-season
finale at home against Georgia Southern. Furman went into the locker room with
a 24-6 halftime advantage, and despite not scoring in the final two quarters,
the Paladin defense did enough to hold the Phoenix at bay, limiting Elon to
less than 300 yards of total offense (298 yds), as Furman ended the day with a 409-298
advantage in total offense.
The final game of the regular-season against Georgia
Southern had big-time ramifications, as the Paladins faced an Eagles team in an
unfamiliar place, which was well out of the FCS Playoff and SoCon title picture
for the first time since 2003.
Strangely, it was both Furman and Georgia Southern
that had met three years earlier with Georgia Southern in a similar spot, but
at least in that season they were squarely on the FCS Playoff bubble. That
season had seen the Eagles find their way to a 29-24 win, however, it hadn’t
been the last game of the season.
In fact, since Georgia Southern joined the SoCon as
an official member in 1993, the Paladins had never faced an Eagles team as late
as Nov. 11 on the calendar. Georgia Southern was under the direction of
first-year head coach Brian Van Gorder, and the fans weren’t particularly
pleased with the fact that the Eagles were going to miss the playoffs for just
the second time since 1995.
In what was a new wrinkle, Georgia Southern ran
option for the first time all season after being a traditional offense for much
of the season under their first-year head coach, but the Eagles had pulled out
all the stops in this one, putting the speedy Jayson Foster back under center in
the second half after he played wide receiver and in the slot in the first
half, with Travis Clarke starting the game under center. Furman held off the
Eagles, 13-10, in what was a defensive struggle for much of the cloudy, gloomy
afternoon at Paladin Stadium. The 10 points by the Eagles matched their lowest
output of the season, and neither team eclipsed 300 yards of total offense,
with Furman holding a slight 298-276 advantage in total offense in the game.
It was an option play that gave the Eagles their
only touchdown in the game, as the Eagles tied the contest, 7-7, when Foster faked
a pitch on an option play and sprinted 83 yards for a touchdown, outracing the
Paladin secondary in the process, as it was on the opening play of the drive
following Furman’s initial score of the game, tying the contest just 33 seconds
after Furman had taken the lead on a 17-yard scoring grab from running back
Brantley Kendall. The 83-yard jaunt was the longest run by an opponent in
Paladin Stadium history.
With just under four minutes to play in the opening
half, Bo Galvin’s 40-yard field goal gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead. However,
Furman’s defense would see to it that it would be the final points of the
contest for Georgia Southern.
Furman would go ahead 13-10 in the second half on a
pair of third quarter field goals from Scott Beckler from 21 and 37 yards,
respectively, and with just 5:10 remaining in the game, the Eagles took the
ball at their own 18 and drove it all the way to the Furman 16 following a Hal
Scarborough 15-yard reception from Clarke on a 4th-and-2 play that
netted a first down at the Furman 16. The Paladin defense held on the next
three plays, however, and Galvin trotted on for a potential game-tying, 32-yard
field goal, but it missed wide left and Furman managed to hold the ball the
rest of the way, escaping with the narrow 13-10 win to become playoff bound. The
13 points in a win for Furman was the lowest total in a winning performance
that Furman had enjoyed since a 12-6 win over Western Carolina in 1982.
The Paladins made the playoffs, but got a rude
awakening once in the postseason, taking on Montana State in Bozeman. The
Paladins had no answers for the Bobcats, who pummeled Furman 31-13 in the
opening round of the postseason at Bobcat Stadium. With snow having been piled
up around the sidelines from a snowstorm that had come through just a couple of
days earlier, the Paladins had no answers on either side of the ball all
afternoon, as the Bobcats outgained Furman, 355-273, and held the Paladins to
just 53 total yards in the first half alone.
The Bobcats wasted little time getting on the board
in the contest, as Jack Rolovich hooked up with Donnell Wheaton for a 51-yard
scoring strike in the opening quarter, with the game less than three minutes
old. A 25-yard scoring toss to Michael Jefferson midway through the second
quarter to make it 24-0. The Bobcats eventually stretched the to 31-0 early in
the second half with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard scoring
plunge from Rolovich to end Montana State’s scoring for the afternoon. Furman
eventually got on the board late in the third quarter when Austin Holmes
recovered a fumble at the Bobcat 27. Three plays later, Renaldo Gray would hook
up with Cedrick Gipson for a screen pass in the flat, and Gipson did the rest,
as he went all the way to the end zone for a touchdown to make it a 31-7
contest. Jerome Felton’s 1-yard scoring plunge on the final play of the game
provided the final margin.
The loss would see the Paladins conclude their
season 8-4, and it would prove to be the beginning of a decline, as the
Paladins wouldn’t reach the postseason again until 2013. The six seasons that
would follow would eclipse the previous longest playoff drought for the
Paladins since winning their first Southern Conference title in 1978, as the
Paladins did not make the postseason from 1991-95. The Paladins posted a record
of 33-34 over the next seasons combined. Furman would undergo a coaching change
at the conclusion of the 2010 season, with Bobby Lamb getting fired and former
Furman and Vanderbilt defensive coordinator Bruce Fowler would be hired to
replace him. Fowler’s crowning achievement as the head coach would be winning
the 2013 Southern Conference title, as Furman claimed its 13th
league crown and the Paladins would even win a playoff game over South Carolina
State (W, 30-20) in 2013 before eventually getting ousted by eventual national
champion and top overall seed North Dakota State (L, 38-6) in Fargo. The 2006
season would definitely be a turning point for Furman football, as since that
season, the Paladins have had success, but its been much harder to come by and
sustain than it was from 1996-2005.
Georgia
Southern’s Failed Experiment
Furman certainly wasn’t the only team that found the
2006 season to be one in which things changed in a negative direction, as
Georgia Southern found life under a new head coach tougher than expected. The
Eagles had been used to winning a lot of football games, and legendary head
coaches like Erk Russell and Paul Johnson set a bar of excellence so high that
it was hard to notice successful coaches even when the Eagles had them. Such
was the case of Mike Sewak.
Sewak lasted all of four seasons as Johnson’s
successor in Statesboro following Johnson’s departure to become the head coach
at the Naval Academy. In those four seasons, Sewak compiled a 35-14 overall
record, which included a 23-7 mark against SoCon foes and finished no lower
than third in the SoCon standings, which included a pair of titles in 2002 and
’04.
Failure to make it back to the national championship
game and missing the playoffs all together in 2003, as well as a pair of first
round losses were all failures that weighed heavily against Sewak, and after a
50-35 loss to Texas State in the ’05 playoffs in San Marcos, Sewak was fired.
With his firing, a new experiment would be tried. In
came Brian VanGorder, who would become the sixth head football coach of Georgia
Southern’s football program in the modern era, and his tenure wouldn’t last
longer than one season.
He would end up leading Georgia Southern away from
the option-based attack, which had been nuanced under different head coaches,
with the triple option eventually giving way to the flexbone, but when Van
Gorder took the reins, he wanted to completely go away from any option-based
attack, as the Eagles would run more of a pro-style offense in 2006.
Without the personnel to pull off such a transition,
you can only imagine what kind of disaster awaited Georgia Southern’s football
program in ’06. In only one season at the helm, Van Gorder managed to lead the
Eagles to their worst record since bringing football back in 1982, as Georgia
Southern finished 3-8 and well out of any playoff picture and like Furman, it
would signal the end of a bit of a decline for the program, which would only
spend seven more seasons as a SoCon member, leaving for the FBS following the
2013 season.
Georgia Southern wouldn’t reach the playoffs again
until 2010, and Brian VanGorder, which had come to Statesboro from the
Jacksonville Jaguars, where he had spent the 2005 season as the franchise’s
linebackers coach. From 2001-04, Van Gorder was the defensive coordinator for
the Georgia Bulldogs, and in so most Georgia Southern fans saw that as a similar
path as that of former legendary head coach Erk Russell.
The 3-8 campaign in ’06 marked Georgia Southern’s
second losing season since restarting its program in 1982 following a 41-year
hiatus, and the 3-8 season was even worse than the 4-7 campaign of 1996 season,
which was led by interim head coach Frank Ellwood during a time in which the
entire football program was on probation.
Van Gorder took the all-conference caliber option
quarterback—Jayson Foster—who would go on to win the Walter Payton Award in 2007
and moved him to wide receiver and brought in a pro-style quarterback, in
Travis Clarke. In 2005, Foster had set a SoCon record by rushing for a
touchdown in all 12 games, which was the only NCAA Division I-AA player to
accomplish that feat and his 1,481 rushing yards set a record for the most
rushing yards by a quarterback in Division I-AA Football history.
Georgia Southern started the season with a 17-13
loss to non-scholarship Central Connecticut State in Paulson Stadium, which signaled
an unceremonious start to VanGorder’s start as a NCAA Division I Football
coach. His only previous experience as a head coach came at Wayne State at the
NCAA Division II level, leading the Warriors to just a 17-16 mark over the
course of three seasons. Home losses to Chattanooga (L, 27-26) and FCS
transitioning North Dakota State (L, 34-14) put the Eagles’ playoff hopes on life
support. Appalachian State’s 27-20 overtime win over the Eagles in Paulson
Stadium made sure Georgia Southern fans would be spending Thanksgiving Weekend
back in Statesboro preparing themselves for another Jeff Price basketball
season.
In mid-January, VanGorder announced he would be
resigning as the head football coach at Georgia Southern to take over as the
linebackers coach for the Atlanta Falcons, leaving Georgia Southern Director of
Athletics in a strange predicament, having to make a hire in January when most
coaching hires for the upcoming season had already been secured. Chris Hatcher
would except the head coaching spot for the 2007 season.
The
Rest of the League Was Underwhelming…
For the most part, the rest of the SoCon gridiron
scene was not one to remember outside of Appalachian’s return to the top of the
mountain in ’06. Furman was the only other team to join the Mountaineers as a
part of the postseason in the SoCon, and after the Paladins were walloped in
the first round, it left many to question whether or not the SoCon could
sustain any success outside of Appalachian State’s golden age of its program.
Ultimately, Wofford (7-4, 5-2 SoCon) would
put together a decent 7-4 season under Mike Ayers, and there were signs that
the Terriers would be a factor nationally again in the coming seasons. The
Terriers finished the ’06 campaign with a 5-2 mark in league play, which was
good enough for third-place in the league standings behind both Appalachian
State and Furman.
The Terriers had enjoyed a two-quarterback system,
with Josh Collier and Ben Widmyer leading the way, and that duo would be
largely responsible for seeing the Terriers claim a share of the SoCon title in
’07, as Wofford would make a return to the FCS postseason. Kevious Johnson led
the Wofford ground attack, as he teamed with Michael Hobbs to rush for 1,309
yards and 15 TDs during the ’06 season.
The Citadel (5-6, 4-3 SoCon) would
finish out year No. 2 under Kevin Higgins with a 5-6 record, and it was a
season that continued to see the Bulldogs make progress under their new head
coach. One of the key quarterback-wide receiver combos to emerge in the ’06
season would be Bulldogs quarterback Duran Lawson and wide receiver Andre
Roberts would be a combo that SoCon fans would begin to familiarize themselves
with.
Lawson would end the season passing for 2,138 yards,
with 14 TDs and 11 INTs, as he would finish as the league’s second-leading
passer in ’06. Roberts would finish out his season in the top 10 in receiving
in the league, completing the campaign with 35 catches for 557 yards, with five
touchdowns.
Like The Citadel, Elon (5-6, 2-5 SoCon) would
help establish its own aerial assault under head coach Pete Lembo, as the
Phoenix would finish out the 2006 season with Wes Pope ending the season as the
league’s leading passer, finishing the campaign by completing 228-of-375 passes
for 2,572 yards, with 16 TDs and 12 INTs. Pope’s favorite receiver would turn
out to be Terrell Hudgins, who ended the campaign leading the SoCon with 69
catches for 1,027 yards and eight touchdowns.
The 2006 season would mark a turnaround for Elon’s
football program, and in his third season at the helm, Lembo would have the
Phoenix in the FCS Playoffs for the first time since stepping up a level. Elon
finished the 2006 season with a 5-6 overall record, including a 2-5 mark in
Southern Conference play, which was good enough for a fifth-place finish in the
conference standings.
Chattanooga (3-8, 2-5 SoCon) was
maybe the most disappointing team in the Southern Conference during the 2006
season, especially after the Mocs had put together had put together a 6-5
record a year earlier and seemed to be on an upward trend under head coach
Rodney Allison in what was his third season as the head coach. With guys like
running back Eldra Buckley and quarterback Matt Lopez, the offense was good
enough coming into the season to be one of the best in the league, with a good
balance.
However, the Mocs ended up being a bit
underwhelming, while the defense ended the season being downright
disappointing. The Mocs finished the season ranking fifth overall in total
offense (340.2 YPG) and seventh in total defense (379.0 YPG), while also
finishing the campaign ranking seventh in scoring offense (18.3 PPG).
About the only positive to come out of the 3-8
season was the performance of running back Eldra Buckley, who finished out the
season ranking second to only Kevin Richardson in rushing, as the former JUCO
star running back completed the season with 1,204 rushing yards and seven
touchdowns on 215 attempts, averaging 5.6 yards-per-carry.
Western Carolina (2-9, 0-7 SoCon) ended up being one of the worst teams in FCS Football during the 2006 season, and it would be the beginning of the end for head coach Kent Briggs leading the WCU program. He would coach one more season in Cullowhee before eventually giving way to Dennis Wagner following the another disappointing season a year later. Things seemed to start well for the Catamounts, which started the season with a resounding win over Chowan (W, 42-0) and then won against a nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky team (W, 20-17) before heading to take on Furman in both the Catamounts’ road opener and league opener. After Jerome Felton set a new SoCon record with six rushing touchdowns in a single game, the Catamounts suffered their first of nine-straight losses by a 42-7 scoreline in Greenville. The Catamounts two most heartbreaking results would come in back-to-back overtime losses to Chattanooga (L, 30-27) and at The Citadel (L, 17-14) in the middle of the season. In the final four weeks of the season, the Catamounts scored a grand total of 16 points.
Marshall’s
Division I-AA Journey Ends in Glory
Marshall knew that the 1996 season would be its
final season in the Southern Conference and as an FBS member, so there weren’t
any rules against a team transitioning up a level having more scholarships in
their final season as a Division I-AA member, allowing the Thundering Herd to
basically build one of the most dominant teams in the history of Division I-AA
Football.
It would allow first-year head coach Bob Pruett come
in and assemble an all-star team, and with players like Florida State transfer
wideout Randy Moss and University of Florida transfer quarterback like Eric
Kresser, the Thundering Herd would be an unstoppable machine among their
Division I-AA brethren during the 1996 season.
The Thundering Herd would finish the season a
perfect 15-0, which included an 8-0 mark in Southern Conference play en route
to claiming what would be their second national title in five years. The
Thundering Herd team that was built in 1996 was arguably the greatest team in
the history of NCAA Division I-AA. There are some other comparable teams, like
the 2023 South Dakota State team, the ’07 Appalachian State team and the 2014 North
Dakota State team, but one thing is for sure, prior to 1996, no team in Division
I-AA had been close to being as dominant as the Thundering ended up being in
’96.
Marshall dominated in the national title game
against Montana—a team which also entered the national title game unbeaten at
13-0—as the Thundering Herd easily dispatched of the Grizzlies 49-29 in front
of the home faithful at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in what would be the final game
as a Division I-AA program for the Herd.
The win over the Grizzlies in the national title
game was the ultimate revenge for Marshall, which had defeated Marshall, 22-20,
in Huntington, and it was a result that was considered a major upset.
Marshall’s 1996 season was one that came in a time in which the Southern
Conference was at the height of its powers as a Division I-AA (now FCS)
powerhouse conference.
The Herd would end the season by having 11 players
named to various All-America teams, with Kresser and Moss headlining all of
them. Defensive lineman Billy Lyon, offensive guard Aaron Ferguson, offensive
tackle Jamie Wilson, linebacker Jermaine Swafford, defensive end BJ Cohen,
cornerback Melvin Cunningham, linebacker Larry McCloud, punter Chris Hanson and
place-kicker Tim Openlander all joined Kresser and Moss on those various
All-America teams. A total of 17 players garnered all-conference recognition at
the end of the regular-season.
The Herd ended the season by out-scoring their
competition a combined 658-210 over the course of 15 games. One of the reasons
for such dominance was freshman phenom Randy Moss, who single-handedly
dismantled opposing defensive backfields. Moss finished his one season playing
that the Division I-AA level by hauling in 78 passes for 1,709 yards and 28
touchdowns, averaging an outrageous 21.9 YPR. His 1,709 receiving yards ranks
as the third-best single-season receiving total in program history, while his
28 touchdown receptions are the most in school history and tied for the most
receiving scores in a single-season in Division I-AA history.
His performance in Marshall’s 59-14 opening round
win over Delaware is a performance that will live on the annals of history, as
he hauled in astounding eight catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns in the
big win. In the title win over Montana, Moss hauled in nine passes for 220
yards and four touchdowns. The Thundering Herd was so dominant during the 1996
season that they beat their opposition by an average margin of 26.9 PPG.
The Thundering Herd were led by Danny Wuerffel’s
backup at the University of Florida—Eric Kresser—and that allowed 1995 SoCon
Freshman of the Year quarterback Chad Pennington to enjoy a redshirt season.
The combo of he and Randy Moss was essentially unstoppable. There was no real
competition for the Thundering Herd in the regular season or in the playoffs.
As far as the regular season was concerned, the Southern Conference was widely
recognized as the top FCS (formerly Division I-AA) conference in the country,
which put even more emphasis on Marshall’s complete domination of the
competition.
One of the matchups most had their proverbial
calendars circled for was the week three battle between Marshall and Georgia
Southern, as the Thundering Herd were on the road in Statesboro, which is never
an easy place to get a win. It was Marshall’s third-straight win over a Georgia
Southern program, which entered the Southern Conference in 1993 having won four
of their six national titles, and that included handing the Eagles a loss in
their first season as a league member in ’93—a season in which the Eagles
claimed the SoCon crown in their first season of membership.
Four-straight blowout wins followed against Western
Kentucky (W, 37-3), Chattanooga (W, 45-0), at VMI (45-20) and vs. Western
Carolina (W, 56-21), setting up a big matchup in Boone against defending SoCon
champion Appalachian State. The Mountaineers were playing for their playoff
lives at the point in the campaign, as the Black and Gold already had three
losses to Wake Forest (L, 19-13), Furman (L, 20-14) and East Tennessee State
(L, 31-10) and needed to beat the big green machine Thundering Herd in order to
maintain any hopes of getting an at-large playoff invitation.
The Mountaineers needed to win out, with easily the
toughest matchup on the schedule being against the undefeated Thundering Herd.
On this cloudy, cool Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium, the Mountaineers would
play one of their best games the entire season, but still managed to score just
10 points, and despite holding the visiting Thundering Herd to just 24 points,
ended up on the wrong end of a 14-point loss. The Thundering Herd defense was
once again elite against the Mountaineers, limiting the Mountaineers to less
than 200 yards of total offense. It would be the closest game the Thundering
Herd would play all season.
In the grand scheme of the season, Appalachian State
would be the last true test the Thundering Herd would face in their final
campaign playing under the NCAA Division I-AA banner. Following a 31-point,
56-25, win vs The Citadel, the Thundering Herd traveled to Johnson City to face
off against East Tennessee State team that was also unbeaten in league play,
sporting a 6-0 record. The Bucs and Herd would play before a sellout crowd—in
football not basketball—at the Memorial Center and for a while, the ETSU defense
would keep the Bucs in it, as ETSU held Marshall scoreless in the opening
quarter of play—a feat no other team had managed to accomplish during the ’96
campaign. However, it wouldn’t be until the second quarter that Kresser and
Moss would begin to crack the ETSU defensive code in the second quarter, and
still then it was only a 10-3 lead for the Herd at the half.
The Bucs were doing the best job yet of helping keep
Moss in check. However, when corner Bron Witten, who was covering Moss, went
out of the lineup with an ankle sprain early in the third quarter, it would
change the momentum of the game, as Moss found himself a lot more room to work
with. While Moss eventually got going in what was a 34-10 Marshall win, his six
catches for 155 yards a were somewhat modest in comparison to the standards he
had already set during the season. Still, the win clinched a share of the
regular-season Southern Conference title for Marshall.
On Nov. 16, Marshall hosted bitter rival Furman for
a chance to clinch the title outright, however, it was Furman that went to the
half with a rare 17-14 lead. The second half would be all Thundering Herd, as
Marshall would end up outscoring the Paladins 28-0 in the second half. It would
be the first of two lopsided wins for the Thundering Herd vs. Furman during the
’96 season, as the two would meet just a couple of weeks later in the second
round of the Division I-AA Playoffs. First it would be the see Moss put
together his epic performance in getting the 59-14 home win over Delaware.
Marshall would then hand Furman its worst Division I-AA Playoff loss in program
history, posting what was a 54-0 win over the Paladins in a game that would see
the Paladins overwhelmed from the outset.
In the Division I-AA semifinals, the Thundering Herd
faced off against Northern Iowa, and it would be a game that would see the Thundering
Herd get a little bit more of a stiffer challenge. Marshall was able to turn it
on in the second half after a bit of a sluggish start to the afternoon against
Mark Farley’s crew, as the Thundering Herd took just a 10-0 lead into the
halftime locker room. The second half would see the Panthers put up a solid
fight, but ultimately Eric Kresser, Randy Moss and the Thundering Herd defense
were too much for the Panthers to bottle in the second half, as Marshall
outscored the Panthers 21-14 in the second half to move on national title game for
the fourth time in five years.
The Thundering Herd would get the chance for the
ultimate revenge, taking on Montana in Huntington, WV, for a second-straight
season. Marshall would leave no doubt as to who the best team in Division I-AA
Football in 1996 was, as both teams would arrive in the national title game
unbeaten. The Thundering Herd arrived 14-0, while Montana managed to advance to
the national title game with a 13-0 record.
The Thundering Herd and Eric Kresser would jump out to a 23-6 halftime
lead over Brian Ah’Yat and the Montana Grizzlies. There would be no Dave
Dickenson heroics this season, but only the finishing touches on maybe the most
dominant season ever turned in by a team at this subclassification of NCAA
Division I football.
Montana did manage to make a decent showing in the
second half, putting up 23 points, however, the Thundering Herd put up 26 more
points to coast to the 20-point, 49-29, title game win. Kresser ended his one
season in Huntington by tying the school’s single season passing touchdowns
record, with 35, tying assistant coach Tony Peterson. Moss finished out his one
season at the Division I-AA level with 174 points scored, setting a new
Southern Conference record in the process. His 28 scoring catches in a single
season tied the SoCon career mark for receiving scores.
East
Tennessee State’s Breakthrough Season
Marshall wasn’t the lone team making noise in the
Southern Conference in 1996, as East Tennessee State (10-3) would end up
enjoying a breakthrough campaign to make the Division I-AA postseason.
The Bucs finished second in the Southern Conference
behind Marshall, posting a 6-1 mark in Southern Conference action, with the
Bucs’ lone loss coming against Marshall. With the likes of Greg Ryan under
center, Brandon Walker at running back and BJ Adigun at wideout, the Bucs had
an offense that could rival any team in the SoCon or FCS.
The Bucs were under the direction of former Georgia
assistant coach Mike Cavan, who would install a run-and-shoot offense with some
effectiveness in Johnson City, as it would end up being a record-setting
campaign for the Bucs when it was all said and done.
Ryan would end the season by setting a single-season
mark for passing yards, as he finished the campaign, as he would finish the
campaign by passing for 2,595 yards on 237-of-383 passing, with 22 TDs and 13
INT, as he posted an impressive 61.9% passing rate. His 13 games with at least
100 yards passing were a school record, as were his nine games with at least
200 yards passing.
Ryan wasn’t the only one to have a record-breaking
season on the offensive side of the football for the Bucs, as freshman running
back Brandon Walker finished the campaign with 1,303 yards and 13 TDs on 246
attempts, averaging 5.3 yards-per-carry. Walker’s speed and vision were uncanny
for a rookie player, finishing the season with 2,211 yards of total offense,
and his eight 100-yard rushing performances were a new school record. Walker
would go on to garner SoCon Freshman of the Year honors.
Wideouts Greg Johnson and BJ Adigun proved to be
tough customers for most teams to contend with, with Johnson leading the Bucs
by hauling in 66 passes for 954 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 14.5 YPR in
his final season as Bucs receiving option.
During the magical season for the Bucs, Johnson tied
single-game marks for receptions by hauling in 10 receptions in both ETSU’s
31-10 win over Appalachian State and the lopsided 38-0 win over VMI. The 31-10
win over the Mountaineers in the friendly confines of the Memorial Center
proved to be one of the most significant regular-season wins in the history of
ETSU football, as the Mountaineers came to Johnson City on a Saturday night in
early October ranked No. 4 in the nation in a game billed as one of the biggest
in the history of the rivalry.
As much as the Bucs were tough to contain
offensively from Saturday-to-Saturday in the SoCon on offense, it was a
defense, which featured one of the top front sevens in Division I-AA that
played maybe an even bigger role in seeing ETSU produce its best team in school
history in 1996.
With defensive linemen like James Russell and Curtis
Eason along with linebacker standouts like Derek Fudge and Mario Hankerson, the
Bucs were physical and allowed barely anything on the ground. When the Bucs
faced off against the Mountaineers in the prime time contest at the mini-dome,
ETSU not only stared down one of the best rushing offenses in the SoCon and in
the nation, which was led by speedy quarterback Gerard Hardy and bruising
running back Damon Scott, the Bucs also had to deal a 15-game losing streak in
the series to the Mountaineers, which was definitely more of a rivalry of
proximity than actual challenge on their side of Roan Mountain.
A crowd of almost 11,000 piled inside the Memorial
Center to witness the game, and they witnessed a complete domination on both
sides of the football, as the Bucs easily snapped the 15-game losing streak to
the Mountaineers, announcing themselves as a real player on the national scene
and in the SoCon title race from that point forward during the ’96 campaign. The
ETSU defense limited Appalachian to just 198 yards of total offense en route to
the 21-point win.
If the Bucs started the month with a win that got
the attention nationally after a win over No. 4 Appalachian State, then the win
on the final Saturday of October would see the Bucs garner even more attention
nationally, as ETSU took down another nationally-ranked foe that it had
traditionally struggled against the Mountaineers on the gridiron, as evidenced
by the 10-straight setbacks to Appalachian on the field coming in. On this
evening, however, there was a different vibe inside the friendly confines of the
mini-dome, and the Bucs no-nonsense defense completely shut down Gerard Hardy
and the Mountaineers’ offense. The 31-13 win my the Bucs on this particular
evening in Johnson City also turns out to be the most-recent, as the
Mountaineers claimed their seventh-straight win over ETSU when the two last met
back in 2024, with Appalachian picking up what was a 38-10 win in Boone. The
Bucs and Mountaineers have met twice since the Mountaineers made the move up. This
night was special for the Bucs. The win over the fourth-ranked Mountaineers
signaled the Bucs were a real player in the Southern Conference race.
Following a 41-20 win over The Citadel in
Charleston, in which the Bucs put the Bulldogs offense in reverse most of the
afternoon, rather than The Citadel actually having any kind of success
converting an actual reverse, which was featured on a billboard off I-26 as you
make your way into Charleston County towards The Citadel’s campus, which
featured the slogan “Watch for the Reverse in ‘96”. The Bulldogs tried one and
ended up resulted in a huge loss. It even was cause for a comical response
about advertising its playbook on a billboard coming into town on Mike Cavan’s
weekly television show broadcast locally on Fox Sports South.
The 21-point win in Charleston set up the game of
the year in the SoCon to that point in the season, as No. 19 Furman squared off
against No. 14 East Tennessee State in Johnson City. It would be a game that
would see a pair of 6-1 teams squaring off against each other in a solid crowd
of just under 7,000 fans inside the mini-dome. The Bucs high-octane attack took
advantage of a Furman secondary that was caught off guard, and Greg Ryan
stunned the normally sound Furman defense, as he tossed scoring passes to both Greg
Johnson and BJ Adigun on strikes of 22 and 54 yards, respectively, giving the Bucs
the early 14-0 lead.
Much like The Citadel and Appalachian State had
found out in previous weeks, the Bucs defense was no joke, and so the Paladins were
scoreless in the opening 15 minutes of football, as the Bucs maintained their
commanding advantage. In the second half, however, the Paladins would find a
little bit of rhythm and got on the board with a 22-yard field goal from Jody
Wade after a stalled drive deep inside Bucs territory. The Paladin defense
slowed down the high-octane Bucs passing attack in the second quarter, and it
slowly but surely the Paladin offense started to navigate its way against the
tough Bucs defense, as Braniff Bonaventure’s 14-yard scoring strike to wideout
and punter Jody Wade got the Paladins to within five at 14-9, however, a
botched two-point conversion attempt failed and it left the score at 14-9 at
the half.
Both defenses settled in during the start of the
second half, as neither team could find points. Four seconds into the fourth
quarter, another short field goal by Wells—this one from 23 yards out—got the
Paladins to within two, at 14-12. With just over four minutes left, Bucs fans
could breathe a little easier, as Walker’s 14-yard scamper extended ETSU’s lead
to nine, at 21-12, following Jerry Chapman’s PAT.
Furman would make things interesting late, as strong
safety Seth Ramaley recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown with
1:42 remaining, as the Paladins got back to within two points, however, the
Bucs were able to hold on for what was a vital 21-19 win in a battle of SoCon unbeatens.
Both the Paladins and Bucs would ultimately reach the postseason in what was an
especially strong year for the league.
The job was not yet done, however, as the Bucs had
to go on the road and into especially hostile territory a week later to face
off against Georgia Southern at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, GA. It was a
Georgia Southern team that was on probation under the direction Frank Ellwood,
but the Bucs would find their ground game was working in good order in
Statesboro, as the Bucs were able to use a strong day from Brandon Walker, who
rushed for 170 yards and scored the Bucs’ lone offensive touchdown of the game,
as the defense was able to hold Georgia Southern’s powerful flexbone offense at
bay en route to what was a 17-14 win at Allen E. Paulson Stadium.
The Eagles hung in the game throughout the contest,
despite having 19 players suspended, including 10 starters, for the game. But
it was ETSU that came up with the big defensive stop when it needed it most, as
the Bucs stopped the Eagles cold on fourth-and-inches at the 35 yard line with
6:03 remaining in the game, halting a potential game-winning score for the
Eagles. Both of the Bucs’ touchdowns came in the opening 30 minutes of
football, with the only other time ETSU reached the end zone coming on a 16-yard
fumble return for a score by safety Adam Walton.
Following
the win in Statesboro, the Bucs then suffered their lone loss in SoCon play, as
No.1 Marshall overcame a sluggish start to post what was a 34-10 win before a
sellout crowd at the Memorial Center. The loss to the Thundering Herd would be
disappointing, however, there was still a lot to play for the following week at
Chattanooga, as the Bucs traveled to meet their bitter rival at historic
Chamberlain Field. The Bucs found a way to get what was a 28-24 win, scoring
three touchdowns in the second half to get the win to record what was the
second-best regular-season in program history and best since 1969, as ETSU
finished the season with a 9-2 overall record and a 7-1 in Southern Conference
play.
That meant an opening round playoff game on home
turf, as the Bucs welcomed the Villanova Wildcats in the opening round of the
NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs. ETSU found a way to bottle up the high-powered
Wildcats offense under head coach Andy Talley, slowing Villanova quarterback
Clint Park and 6-6 future NFL wideout Brian Finneran just enough to hold on for
a 35-29 win in front of a crowd of just under 5,000 on Thanksgiving Weekend. A
key fourth down stop by Mario Hankerson with the Wildcats driving with less
than three minutes remaining in the game and ETSU was able to run out the
remaining time off the clock, thanks to the running of freshman phenom Brandon
Walker. ETSU’s 10th win of the season tied the 1969 team, which went
on to finish 10-0-1 record
Next up was a trip to bitterly cold Montana to face
off against the defending national champions in Missoula. This time, however,
the Bucs ran into a team that was on its way back the national title game, as Brian
Ah Yat passed for 404 yards and a pair of scores, while Brian Gales ran for a
couple of more scores, as the Grizzlies moved to 13-0 and ended ETSU’s magical
1996 season with a 44-14 win over the Bucs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in the
Division I-AA quarterfinals.
The Grizzlies won the game rather easily, despite
committing five turnovers in the game. The Grizzlies scored 30-straight points
after the Bucs had tied the contest, 7-7. In his final game with ETSU,
quarterback Greg Ryan finished 29-of-51 passing for 313 yards with a pair of touchdowns
and two INTs.
While the Bucs made a name for themselves like they
had never done before since joining the SoCon in 19 seasons as a league member.
Coakley Wins the Buchanan; Furman’s Resurgence
For the second-straight season, Dexter Coakley went
on to claim the Buck Buchanan Award, which prior to Mercer’s Andrew Zock
claiming the award in 2026, marked the only time a Southern Conference player
had claimed the most prestigious defensive award handed out by the league. He
concluded a truly remarkable career at Appalachian State and ended his career
in ’96 as one of the best defensive players in Southern Conference history.
Coakley’s ’96 award was the perfect capper to a
career in the SoCon, which saw him help the Mountaineers to a perfect 11-0 regular-season
a year earlier, as well as the program’s fourth of what would become 12
Southern Conference titles before the Mountaineers would leave for the Sun Belt
following the 2013 season. Coakley was the 1993 Southern Conference Freshman of
the Year and was a three-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year selection,
winning the award as a sophomore, junior and senior, respectively. He would
finish out his career as one of two Appalachian State players to be named
consensus All-American in three different seasons and would go on to enjoy a 10-year
NFL career, including garnering NFL All-Pro honors in 1999, 2001 and ’03,
spending his playing career with both the Dallas Cowboys and missed just one
game his entire NFL career due to injury. He is a member of both the College
Football (Class of 2011), South Carolina Football (Class of 2025) and App State
(Class of 2005) Halls of Fame and is one of five Mountaineers to have his
jersey number (No. 32) retired. Coakley’s 616-career tackles from 1993-96 ranks
second all-time in league history behind only The Citadel’s Brian Ruff, who
registered 755 total tackles from 1973-76.
The ’96 season would also mark a return to success
for the Furman football program, which was under the direction of third-year
head coach Bobby Johnson at the time. The Paladins would make a triumphant
return to the postseason under Johnson, marking their first appearance in the
Division I-AA playoffs in six years, as the Paladins went on to finish the
season with an impressive 9-4 mark, as the Paladins would originally fall into
Marshall’s warpath in the FCS Playoffs, as the Paladins suffered their worst
playoff defeat in 20 postseason appearances with a 54-0 loss to the Thundering
Herd in Huntington.
Prior to that, however, the Paladins had some
memorable moments and wins during the ’96 season. The Paladins got off to a
good start with a respectable 19-3 loss at Clemson, which saw Clemson holding
just a 9-3 lead at the break prior to scoring 10 points in the third quarter to
put the game away. Despite gaining just 122 yards on the day, Furman’s defense,
which was led by linebacker Orlando Ruff’s 14 tackles, did enough to keep the
Paladins alive in the game the entire afternoon in the baking heat inside Memorial
Stadium, as the Paladin defense limited the Tigers to just 332 yards of total
offense and only one offensive touchdown the entire afternoon.
Ernest Crosby’s four-touchdown outburst would lead
the Paladins to a more than respectable 27-13 win over South Carolina State. He
would finish the home opener with one the top ground game performances in the
history of Furman football, finishing the afternoon with 16 carries for 243
yards to go along with his four rushing touchdowns. The Paladins then made easy
work of transitioning Wofford (W, 33-3), VMI (W, 31-14) and Western Carolina
(W, 45-30) before heading up to Boone ranked No. 13 in the country and squaring
off with No. 14 Appalachian State at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Buoyed by another strong ground performance from
Crosby, who added 155 rushing yards and had a pair of scoring catches, and
another elite effort on the defensive side of the ball by holding the Black and
Gold to just 285 yards of total offense and 14 points, the Paladins escaped
Boone with a 20-14 win. It was Furman’s first win over a ranked foe since 1990
and its fifth win in a row since opening the campaign with a 19-3 loss at
Clemson.
Appalachian State took the early lead after taking
the opening drive 78 yards in eight plays, as Damon Scott plunged in from a
yard out to give the Mountaineers the early 7-0 lead. The Paladins had quite
the response, however, as the ‘Dins marched 80 yards in six plays, as
quarterback Braniff Bonaventure hooked up with Earnest Crosby out of the
backfield for a 7-yard scoring strike to tie the game, 7-7.
The Mountaineers proceeded to regain the lead early
in the second quarter when Scott found the end zone for a second time in the
contest, as he scampered to paydirt from four yards out this time around, with
the Mountaineers assuming the 14-7 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in
the half. ASU’s lead, however, would last just over 90 seconds, however, as the
Paladins tied the game on a 3-yard scoring run by Marq Cerqua with 8:23
remaining in the third quarter. The key play in the drive was a 69-yard scamper
by Crosby to get the Paladins all way to the Mountaineer 3-yard line and Cerqua
would do the rest.
Furman’s defense pitched a shutout in the second
half, allowing the Mountaineers to gain only 80 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, the Paladins would get just enough from its offense, scoring the
only points of the second half just as time expired in the third quarter, with
Crosby hauling in his second scoring catch of the day—this one on an eight-yard
scoring strike from Bonaventure—concluding one of the drives of the season,
which covered 98 yards in 17 plays and took almost nine minutes (8:45) off the
third quarter clock. Jason Wells’ PAT would be blocked by Appalachian, leaving
the Paladins to cling to just a six-point (20-14) advantage over the duration
of the final 15 minutes of football.
The defense, however, would make the six-point lead
stand up, as the Paladins clinched the win, as defensive tackle Michael Brown
came up with a strip-sack and subsequent fumble recovery at the Appalachian 29 with
just over two minutes remaining, sealing the dramatic road win for Furman. It
was a great win for the Paladins. It remains the last time the Paladins
captured a win in Boone some 30 years later, as the Paladins would go on to
lose their final nine games at “The Rock” from 1998-2012 in Appalachian State’s
time spent in the league as one of Furman’s premier league rivals.
The Paladins would post a sixth-straight win a week
later, downing The Citadel, 35-25, in Greenville, as the Paladins held off a
furious fourth quarter rally from their arch-rival. The Bulldogs held a healthy
450-300 advantage in total offense, as the Paladins found themselves seemingly
in control of the game leading 31-10 in the fourth period before the Bulldogs
rallied only to come up 10 points short. Furman would eventually see its
six-game winning streak come to an end a week later in Johnson City, as the
Paladins dropped a 22-19 nailbiter to ETSU.
The Paladins would finish the season with a 3-1 mark
to get an at-large invite to the 16-team Division I-AA Playoffs. Furman
returned to Paladin Stadium the following weekend to battle bitter rival
Georgia Southern, and even the the Eagles were having a down season and on
probation by their lofty standards, it would still end up being a fourth
quarter type of game, as the Paladins garnered a hard-fought, 21-14, win in
front of a solid crowd of 11,616 fans on-hand at Paladin Stadium. Paladin
quarterback Braniff Bonaventure was efficient, throwing for 174 yards and
accounting for all three Furman touchdowns with his arm on the afternoon, and
his 8-yard scoring strike to All-SoCon and All-America tight end Luther
Broughton with 7:33 remaining would break a 14-14 tie, as the Paladin defense
would once again do just enough to hold the power Eagles big-play offense
in-check en route to what was a 21-14 triumph.
After suffering its only setback down the stretch
run of the regular-season—a 42-17 loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd in a
game that the Paladins led 17-14 at halftime—Furman had more than enough to
overcome Tennessee-Chattanooga in the regular-season finale, downing the Mocs,
42-21, as the Paladins played like a team eager to get back to the postseason
for the first time in six years. The Paladins rolled up 516 yards of total
offense, including 284 on the ground, en route to winning their eighth game of
the season.
In what was arguably the most thrilling game of the season, the Paladins headed to Walkup Skydome for an opening round Division I-AA Playoff date against Big Sky powerhouse Northern Arizona, which had a high-octane ground attack led by maybe the best running back in all of Division I-AA Football, in Archie Amerson.
Nicknamed the “Arch Deluxe” after the popular
McDonald’s menu option at the time, Amerson was the real deal—a great
combination of power and speed, which was tough for even the toughest defenses in
the country to slow down. The Lumberjacks were led by one of the top offensive
minds in Division I-AA at the time, in head coach Steve Axman. It was the first
time the Lumberjacks had ever made the Division I-AA Playoffs, and they came
out determined to make it a memorable first appearance.
Buoyed by a balanced attack, which featured a brash
rookie quarterback named Travis Brown and a talented corps of wideouts, the
Paladins had their hands full on the defensive side of the ball all evening,
and it would be the Paladins that found themselves in a 21-7 deficit late in
the opening half. Later the Paladins found themselves trailing 31-21 and needed
a miracle down by 10 points and less than two minutes remaining. Furman would
launch one of the greatest comebacks in school history over the final five
minutes of the game, using five plays to travel 65 yards for a touchdown to get
within three, as Jody Wade hauled in an 8-yard scoring strike from Braniff
Bonaventure with 1:16 remaining to make it a 31-28 game.
After a failed onsides kick attempt. The Paladins
needed a miracle and got one, as Brown fumbled the center-quarterback exchange
on the second play of the next series, and the Paladins recovered the ball at
the NAU 35. From there, Furman would get a 10-yard scoring grab from Wade for
his second TD reception in a span of about four minutes, giving the Paladins,
remarkably, a 35-31 lead. The Paladins capped their flurry of 21 points in the
final 4:24 of regulation, as linebacker Bernard Scott intercepted a Brown pass
and returned it 34 yards for a score on the first play of the ensuing drive,
sealing what was a crazy, 42-31, Furman win.
A week later, Furman would see its season come to an
abrupt end, as the Paladins ran into the juggernaut Marshall, losing 54-0 as
the Thundering Herd went on to win their next two games to claim the ’96
National Title, putting the finishing touches on the most dominant season in
Division I-AA (now FCS) history. As for Furman under Johnson, the ’96 season
would begin the rise of the Paladins back to national prominence, as the
Paladins would share the conference title with Georgia Southern and Appalachian
State three years later, and would make the playoffs four times over the next
six seasons, including reaching the national title game in 2001 only to lose to
Montana, 13-6, in the lowest scoring championship game in FCS history.
1986
Appalachian
State Experiences Breakthrough Season
For all the success and championship trophies won,
the 1986 campaign would hold special significance for both Appalachian State
and Marshall football, as it would be a breakthrough of sorts, while it would
also mark a season in which Furman would take a slight step back after having
been so dominant in the first five years of the decade, including making the
national title game a year earlier.
The Mountaineers, who were under the direction of
former legendary head coach Sparky Woods, would finish off the season with a 9-2-1
record, which included a 6-0-1 record in league play, with the lone blemish
having been a 17-17 tie at archrival Furman at Conrad Stadium in Boone. The Paladins
would get a Mike Wood 26-yard field goal with just 45 seconds remaining to forge a
17-17 tie. The Paladins outplayed the Mountaineers for much of the afternoon,
holding the Mountaineers to just 17 points, and a pair of John Settle touchdown
runs, with one of those covering 88 yards in spectacular fashion. It would the
two teams that would end up being the SoCon’s lone two representatives in the q11Division
I-AA Playoffs.
Led by John Settle, the Mountaineers would win what
would be their first of 12 Southern Conference titles, as Appalachian became a
force in the Southern Conference for the first time. Following the 17-all tie
against Furman, the Mountaineers would win their final three games of the
season at Marshall (W, 27-17), at VMI (W, 19-6) and vs. North Carolina A&T
(W, 55-9) to clinch their place in the Division I-AA Playoffs as the outright
Southern Conference champion.
In its first-ever playoff game, the Mountaineers
would host Nicholls State at Conrad Stadium. With quarterback Todd Payton under
center, and with one of the top running threats in all of Division I-AA
Football, in John Settle, the Mountaineers made things interesting, as the
Black and Gold trimmed what had been a 25-13 deficit to just two points, at
28-26, in the fourth quarter. However, place-kicker Bjorn Nittmo’s 42-yard
potential game-winning field goal with just 18 seconds remaining sailed wide
left, the Mountaineers saw their first-ever Division I-AA Playoff appearance
come to an abrupt ending, with a 28-26 loss to the Colonels.
It had been another outstanding performance from the
’86 Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year—Appalachian State running
back John Settle—as he finished out his Hall-of-Fame career as a Mountaineer in
style, rushing for 236 yards on 37 carries, including the final touchdown of
the season in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard scoring run to get the
Mountaineers to within two with just over two minutes remaining.
Appalachian State had needed a miracle and nearly
got one, as the Colonels put the ball in the air instead of keeping on the
ground in their final possession of the afternoon, as the Mountaineer defense
came up with an interception to set up Nittmo’s game-winning opportunity,
however, the Mountaineers couldn’t capitalize and Appalachian their first and
only Division I-AA loss of the season, with a 28-26 setback to the Colonels. Payton
finished his afternoon by connecting on 18-of-35 pass attempts for 294 yards
and a pair of touchdowns. The Mountaineers headed into the postseason as the
No. 6 seed in the 16-team field, and actually held a 13-6 lead in the third
quarter before Nicholls State quarterback Doug Hudson was able to rally his
team for the win, as the Colonels scored on three of their next four
possessions to shock Appalachian.
The Colonels season would march on, as Nicholls
State season would come to an abrupt ending the following week in Stateboro,
GA, with a 55-31 loss to defending and eventual national champion Georgia
Southern, who got a big day from quarterback Tracy Ham en route to the 24-point
win. Settle finished the ’86 campaign having rushed for 1,661 yards and 20
touchdowns and became the first Mountaineer player to ever have his jersey
retired directly following the season. The Mountaineers’ only other loss of the
season other than the one they had against Nicholls came in the second game of
the season against Wake Forest, as Appalachian dropped a 21-13 decision to the
Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem. The Mountaineers finished up No. 5 in the
national polls.
Furman Reaches Postseason
The 1986 season story was much Appalachian State, as
the Mountaineers dethroned the Furman Paladins as the SoCon champions, forging
that 17-17 tie at Conrad in the middle of the season, as the Paladins would
actually lose a couple of conference games that season at East Tennessee State
(L, 25-13) and vs. Western Carolina (L, 19-13), as the Paladins went from No. 3
in the country to falling to No. 18 in a three-week span. The Paladins didn’t
lose in their final five games of the season, including the 17-17 tie in Boone
the following week and then pulled off wins over Presbyterian (W, 45-31),
Davidson (W, 59-0), at Chattanooga (W, 21-10) and vs. arch-rival The Citadel
(W, 37-14) to reach the postseason for a fourth time in five seasons.
The Paladins welcomed the 1982 national champion
Eastern Kentucky Colonels to Paladin Stadium on Nov. 29, and the Roy Kidd-led
Colonels captured what was a 23-10 win in Greenville over the Paladins to move
on to the next round of the Division I-AA Playoffs, subsequently ending the
season for the No. 10 ranked Paladins. The Colonels overturned a 7-3
first-quarter deficit with a pair of scores in the second quarter, as Dale
Dawson connected on a 28-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and
that was followed by a Oscar Angulo 9-yard scoring catch from quarterback Mike
Whitaker with just 1:38 left in the half, as the Colonels went to the locker
room with all the momentum and a 13-7 advantage.
In the second half, Furman had the ball to open the
second half, marching the ball down the field 53 yards to the EKU 24, but had
to settle for a 42-yard field goal from Mike Wood, getting back to within
three, at 13-10, with just under nine minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The game seemingly turned on EKU’s next possession, however, as Whitaker found
wideout Mike Cadore behind the Paladin secondary for a 39-yard scoring strike a
little over two minutes after Wood’s field goal, and the PAT put EKU up 20-10.
The Colonels’ score seemed to suck the life out of the Paladins for the
remainder of the game. EKU’s special teams slammed the door shut by blocking a
Wood 27-yard attempt on Furman’s next possession and Dawson added his third
field goal of the game—a 30-yard effort with 1:22 remaining—to add a little
insurance, as the Colonels advanced with a 23-10 win over the Paladins.
Furman would see its season end much sooner than its
’85 campaign when it made a storybook trip to the title game only to blow a big
third quarter lead and lose a 44-42 heartbreaker to future SoCon member Georgia
Southern, as the Paladins’ ’86 season would end after round one in the
playoffs, concluding the season with a 7-3-2 record. In many ways, the ’86
season for Furman, who was under the direction of first-year head coach Jimmy
Satterfield after Dick Sheridan left to become NC State’s coach following Furman’s
national runner-up season in ’85, was about near misses. A pair of 17-17 ties
against Georgia Tech and Appalachian State and back-to-back SoCon losses by a
combined 18 points were the difference between a good season and a great one.
1976
Pirates Pillage One More Title Before
Leaving the SoCon
The 1976 season was a year of transition for
Southern Conference football, as it was beginning to evolve into the league it
is today. Western Carolina would join the SoCon in its inaugural season in the
league, while it would be East Carolina, which posted a 9-2-0 mark, which
included a 4-1 record in SoCon action, as the Pirates captured the league crown
in their final season as a league member.
The Catamounts, however, wouldn’t officially play a
league season with games that counted in the conference standings until the ’77
campaign, however. The Pirates would finish a game ahead of William & Mary,
who would also be playing their final season as a SoCon member, with the Tribe
finishing the season with a 7-4-0 overall record, including what was a 3-2 mark
in Southern Conference play.
The Pirates won the title in their final season as a
league member, as ECU was led by head coach Pat Dye. Like Marshall 20 years in
the future, the Pirates would leave the NCAA Division II ranks. It was in the
middle of what turned out to be a Golden Era of ECU football under Dye’s
leadership, as he led the Pirates from 1974-79. In ECU’s final five seasons in
the SoCon from 1972-76, the Pirates claimed three SoCon titles and posted an overall
record of 42-13, which included an impressive league mark of 25-5 over that
same span.
ECU would reel off wins in its first six games of
the season, which included a 23-14 win over in-state rival North Carolina State
after opening the season with a 48-0 trouncing of Southern Miss to open the
season. The Pirates would suffer their first defeat to any team in week seven,
dropping a 12-10 defensive struggle in Chapel Hill against the North Carolina
Tar Heels.
The Pirates then took on Western Carolina a day
before Halloween in what would be the first meeting between the two teams in 10
years, and it would be the Pirates that would come away with what was a close,
24-17, win over the Catamounts in a battle of cross-state rivals. While the
Pirates were exiting the SoCon to what would become the NCAA Division I-A ranks
as an independent the following season, the Catamounts would be the newest
SoCon member, as the Catamounts would play their first official season as a
league member in 1977.
It would be a hard-fought when for the Pirates, who
found a way to slow down a power WCU running game, led by Darrell Lipford, who
rushed for 25 times for 106 yards and a pair of scores, just enough to come
away with the seven-point win and remain unbeaten in the SoCon. After the Catamounts
overcame a 14-3 deficit to take a 17-14 lead over ECU following a 1-yard
scoring plunge by Lipford late in the third quarter courtesy of two ECU
fumbles, the Pirates were able to close out the game by scoring the game’s
final 10 points in the final quarter. The go-ahead score came on a 12-yard
scoring run from Willie Hawkins, finishing off an impressive afternoon with 15
carries for 116 yards and what proved to the game-winning score. Later in the
fourth period, Pete Conaty added a 24-yard field goal, as ECU improved to 7-1
overall and 3-0 in SoCon play.
A 20-10 win at Richmond in City Stadium a week later
saw the Pirates improve to 8-1 overall and 3-0 league play. Then came a trip to
Greenville and Sirrine Stadium to take on a Furman program that the Pirates had
beaten 10-straight times, however, in what was a hard-fought game between both
teams, the Paladins picked a great time to end the long losing streak to the
Pirates, handing ECU a 17-10 setback before a crowd of 13,600 fans on-hand in the
other Greenville. With the game tied 10-10, Larry Robinson ripped off the
longest scoring run of the season for Furman, dashing 84 yards midway through
the third quarter, and the Paladin defense would do enough the rest of the way
to ensure the Paladins were able to hold on for a 17-10 win.
It would be a game that head coach Art Baker, who
took over as the program’s head coach three years earlier, as the biggest win
in his tenure as the head coach. The Paladins would take advantage of a pair of
turnovers by the Pirates for its other 10 points in the seven-point win. The
win by the Paladins helped to delay ECU’s SoCon title plans for at least one
more week. It was a breakthrough win for Furman’s program, who would claim its
first of a league standard 15 SoCon titles two years later.
In the final game of the season and the final game
of ECU’s run as a Southern Conference member, the Pirates would host Old North
State Rival Appalachian State and its vaunted double-wing offense under the
direction of Jim Brakefield. However, the Mountaineers would prove to be no
match for ECU before a crowd of better than 15,000 on-hand at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium. In a game shown regionally on ABC, as the Pirates rushed for 317 of
their 474 yards of their total offensive output in the game, while holding the Mountaineers
to a total of 211 yards of total offense, including limiting the Black and Gold
to just 51 yards through the air. After the opening quarter ended tied, 7-7,
the Pirates would score the game’s final 28 points to go on to the league title.
The ’76 season was one that would see some new
league rivalries really start to form, with Appalachian State and Furman really
starting to have some competitive contests, with the ’76 contest in Greenville
ending in a 14-14 tie. A year later, Furman would experience its first bit of
resistance from Bob Waters’ Western Carolina team a year later, tying the
Catamounts 24-24 in Greenville. William & Mary was on its way out of the
league alongside Richmond.
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