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Post by elonpride on Oct 7, 2013 15:27:52 GMT -5
So the team travels to Wofford on Saturday. In recent history, we've fared fairly well down there, playing the last 3 of 4 games tight and going 2-2.
2005: 14-9 L 2007: 24-13 W 2009: 34-6 W 2011: 48-28 L
Hopefully we'll have some folks on D back from injuries, and having learned something the GT loss.
Apparently Wofford has a lot of problems guarding the run between the tackles. I'd like to see this new found running game take advantage of that.
Let's also hope Bennett will be in the backfield this week. We'll need him.
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Post by trianglephan on Oct 7, 2013 16:17:42 GMT -5
I would like to propose that our DC give the Gardner Webb DC a call to get their Wofford game film. They obviously executed a good game plan against Wofford's option to hold them scoreless. Our D scheme and execution against GT's option was horrific. Way too much blitzing that burned us big time for scores up the middle. We need to play basic assignment football in this one. Perhaps go with 4-4 and bring another backer in the box since they haven't shown much of a passing game. Curious to hear other opinions on a defensive scheme for this game.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2013 16:58:26 GMT -5
4-4 is a classic run stopping D. Everyone needs to play their assignment diligently though. If not what happened last year will happen again this year. I think you're right about the blitzing too. Wofford hasn't been immune to turnovers either. They have just been able to recover their own miscues so far. Wofford's TO's is how we beat them in 2007 when they were ranked 6th in the country.
I saw this on Wofford's board:
Personally I hope we can hang about 50 on Elon. Their attitude toward the SoCon is more offensive than ASU and GSU. They had a win today, and we had better be ready for them. In the recent past they have not been able to stop our running game. Trample them into the formerly ponded turf at Gibbs and send them back to recruit students who are Duke wannabes
This is hilarious to me. So what are they recruiting? Furman wannabes? Too funny.
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Post by fc4life on Oct 7, 2013 17:22:34 GMT -5
The G-W game was played in a monsoon.
I respect Woffy a ton. They are one of only a few schools that can match our academics in the SoCon (Dav/Fur/Woffy). I wish we could have worked a way to get them and Furman into the CAA.
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Post by keepitreal on Oct 7, 2013 17:25:20 GMT -5
I watched the Wofford Insider video on their website. According to their coach, several 1st string players on their D line that were injured for Gardner-Webb returned to action as starters in the Woff-Presbyte game and were very instrumental in controlling the line. I also notice they run basically the same O as last year, except the RBs are a little smaller but faster than the great Eric B. They also threw some for big gains early with some pretty fast WRs.
With that said I think our O should do well and the D will really need to play disciplined, with assignments for each RB and the QB (he can run too). I like our chances in this one - I expect a lot of scoring on both sides.
The above mentioned video is a good watch as it starts with Coach Ayers' pre-game talk to players - very impressive, very tough, very motivating. I think he is one of the great coaches in FCS, especially with the size of his school. I went on the Baylor webboard after they beat Wofford 63-0 and what impressed the Baylor folk most was when Baylor played its school song at the end of the game, the Wofford players, instead of leaving the field, stood beside the Baylor players while the Baylor band played. Very classy. I have noticed that even when they were beating the crap out of us last year there was no in-game celebrations or in your face trash talk, just good hard nose football. I asked my nephew who plays on Elon if that was the case from his perspective the last two years and he agreed. Many a time I think instead of trying to emulate the App St or Samford programs, we should be emulating the Wofford program.
Just my two cents.
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Post by dungeonjoe on Oct 7, 2013 19:26:20 GMT -5
I appreciate the respect, thanks. Wofford's offense is still trying to find itself. Last week was our most complete game as we had one QB to truly shine and run the triple option effectively. Injuries have been a problem, but that is true for us all, right?
Looking forward to a good game for our last meeting for a while.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2013 9:16:27 GMT -5
Two of the problems defending against the TO, (wingbone, flexbone), are knowing who has the ball and cut blocking. IMO the hardest team to defend has been Woffy over the years. I can sit intently watching a good Wofford QB going through the progressions of handoffs and I swear I have a hard time knowing who has the ball. Lembo said one time that the key to defending against Wofford is to tackle anyone coming out of the backfield. So the D has to stick specifically to their assignments. The problem with tackling everyone coming out of the backfield is their cut blocking. One second you're standing in front of one of their OL and in an instant you're lying on top of that same OL on the ground as the RB flies past you. Wofford is the best at this IMO. GSU has been bigger and faster over the years but nobody has been stealthier and run the TO to perfection more than Wofford.
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Post by phoenixfc on Oct 8, 2013 9:31:31 GMT -5
Disappoints me to read the Wofford post that we have had a poor SoCon attitude...not sure where that comes from, because I don't know any Elon fan who trashes Wofford - quite the opposite. Most of us have always respected them for both their academics and their athletic programs. It kind of amazes me that a student population their size can turn out high level athletic programs across the board AND that they do it with a high academic standing. I always dread the Wofford game - but it's out of respect for their high achievements on the field. As for this week...I am not sure we can ever prepare enough for the triple option, esp. when it's as well executed as Wofford typically demonstrates. Hopefully our team will play well for 4 quarters and stay focused on what the coaches have taught them to do, and the ride home from Spartanburg will be a good one.
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Post by dungeonjoe on Oct 8, 2013 12:41:12 GMT -5
Disappoints me to read the Wofford post that we have had a poor SoCon attitude...not sure where that comes from, because I don't know any Elon fan who trashes Wofford - quite the opposite. Most of us have always respected them for both their academics and their athletic programs. It kind of amazes me that a student population their size can turn out high level athletic programs across the board AND that they do it with a high academic standing. I always dread the Wofford game - but it's out of respect for their high achievements on the field. As for this week...I am not sure we can ever prepare enough for the triple option, esp. when it's as well executed as Wofford typically demonstrates. Hopefully our team will play well for 4 quarters and stay focused on what the coaches have taught them to do, and the ride home from Spartanburg will be a good one. I don't think that understanding about Elon is universal. Elon saw an opportunity to make a move many believed to be a better fit for the school. Who can blame Elon for that? I am ignorant about travel costs and associated expenses so I hope it works our the way Elon fans want it. What are the key injuries the Phoenix have for this week? Wofford will be down a couple at LB; there is talk of burning a redshirt or two.
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Post by elonpride on Oct 8, 2013 12:51:09 GMT -5
Disappoints me to read the Wofford post that we have had a poor SoCon attitude...not sure where that comes from, because I don't know any Elon fan who trashes Wofford - quite the opposite. Most of us have always respected them for both their academics and their athletic programs. It kind of amazes me that a student population their size can turn out high level athletic programs across the board AND that they do it with a high academic standing. I always dread the Wofford game - but it's out of respect for their high achievements on the field. As for this week...I am not sure we can ever prepare enough for the triple option, esp. when it's as well executed as Wofford typically demonstrates. Hopefully our team will play well for 4 quarters and stay focused on what the coaches have taught them to do, and the ride home from Spartanburg will be a good one. I don't think that understanding about Elon is universal. Elon saw an opportunity to make a move many believed to be a better fit for the school. Who can blame Elon for that? I am ignorant about travel costs and associated expenses so I hope it works our the way Elon fans want it. What are the key injuries the Phoenix have for this week? Wofford will be down a couple at LB; there is talk of burning a redshirt or two. I think the DL is pretty banged up, and we lost a couple guys for the year early on. We're also a little banged up in the backfield on offense. In the 2nd versus Furman, they were down to 1 RB. I think that BJ Bennett will be back this weekend. Other than that, I'm not sure what other injuries we may have, but it seems the coaches have been running in quite a few subs on D.
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Post by elonpride on Oct 9, 2013 7:43:48 GMT -5
Also regarding injuries, I forgot to mention that Miles Williams is out for the season. He's probably the best we had at DB.
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Post by eufbalumni on Oct 9, 2013 16:41:02 GMT -5
Wofford is so successful for one main reason: they're coaching staff has been the same for literally decades. I want to say Ayers has been there 29 years??? Ridiculous. They have PERFECTED everything that works for their program from the types of kids they recruit all the way to how they train them and get them to play on Saturdays. Go watch Ayer's pre-game speeches on youtube. They know they aren't as athletic or as big, but by owning this and buying into their style of playing tremendously hard and perfecting the techniques that they use (TO is built for less talented teams), they win games. There's maybe 1 or 2 guys on Wofford's defense that could break the 1st team for a normal SOCON team, but they know what they do well and they do those things very well, year after year.
The way to beat them is to beat them at their own game. Play very soundly and don't give them anything. If you don't turn the ball over on offense, eventually talent will win out. On D, as with every TO team you MUST stop the dive. If LB's are spending that split second making sure the FB isnt breaking through on the dive then they are losing that important first step towards staying head up on the guy that they are supposed to be covering. Wofford doesn't have enough talent to win a heads up game, but this is tough to do because they very often make less mistakes then their opponent, giving them a 'head start' so to speak.
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Post by crabbyterrier on Oct 9, 2013 17:24:43 GMT -5
Disappoints me to read the Wofford post that we have had a poor SoCon attitude...not sure where that comes from, because I don't know any Elon fan who trashes Wofford - quite the opposite. Most of us have always respected them for both their academics and their athletic programs. It kind of amazes me that a student population their size can turn out high level athletic programs across the board AND that they do it with a high academic standing. I always dread the Wofford game - but it's out of respect for their high achievements on the field. As for this week...I am not sure we can ever prepare enough for the triple option, esp. when it's as well executed as Wofford typically demonstrates. Hopefully our team will play well for 4 quarters and stay focused on what the coaches have taught them to do, and the ride home from Spartanburg will be a good one. i think there is a bit of the "jilted lover syndrome" going around our fans and many socon fans concerning the moves of elon, gsu and app. most people respect elon for their academics and sports teams they have fielded. i have spoken to a numbe of high school kids that were thinking about elon as a college choice and told them they could get a quality education there. i am looking forward to the game sat to see what our new playes on D can do against your balanced run/pass game. as DJ mentioned, we have suffered some injuries to some key players on both sides of the ball and we will be starting a freshman QB. he started against pc and did very well. hope it continues. welcome to everyone making the trip to sparklecity! safe travels to you and here's to a hard-fought, injury-free game!!! GO TERRIERS!!!
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Post by dungeonjoe on Oct 9, 2013 19:05:32 GMT -5
Wofford is so successful for one main reason: they're coaching staff has been the same for literally decades. I want to say Ayers has been there 29 years??? Ridiculous. They have PERFECTED everything that works for their program from the types of kids they recruit all the way to how they train them and get them to play on Saturdays. Go watch Ayer's pre-game speeches on youtube. They know they aren't as athletic or as big, but by owning this and buying into their style of playing tremendously hard and perfecting the techniques that they use (TO is built for less talented teams), they win games. There's maybe 1 or 2 guys on Wofford's defense that could break the 1st team for a normal SOCON team, but they know what they do well and they do those things very well, year after year. The way to beat them is to beat them at their own game. Play very soundly and don't give them anything. If you don't turn the ball over on offense, eventually talent will win out. On D, as with every TO team you MUST stop the dive. If LB's are spending that split second making sure the FB isnt breaking through on the dive then they are losing that important first step towards staying head up on the guy that they are supposed to be covering. Wofford doesn't have enough talent to win a heads up game, but this is tough to do because they very often make less mistakes then their opponent, giving them a 'head start' so to speak. Ayers spent some time here as an assistant in the early 80s, but has been head coach for 27 years, I think. I guess I would add to your points by saying Wofford recruits to their system; they don't build the offense around the player talent for the most part. So the players know the system coming in quite often. My observation is its about technique vs. talent. Blocking schemes and defensive sets for us are a great equalizer.
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Post by crabbyterrier on Oct 9, 2013 22:13:08 GMT -5
The above mentioned video is a good watch as it starts with Coach Ayers' pre-game talk to players - very impressive, very tough, very motivating. I think he is one of the great coaches in FCS, especially with the size of his school. I went on the Baylor webboard after they beat Wofford 63-0 and what impressed the Baylor folk most was when Baylor played its school song at the end of the game, the Wofford players, instead of leaving the field, stood beside the Baylor players while the Baylor band played. Very classy. I have noticed that even when they were beating the crap out of us last year there was no in-game celebrations or in your face trash talk, just good hard nose football. I asked my nephew who plays on Elon if that was the case from his perspective the last two years and he agreed. Many a time I think instead of trying to emulate the App St or Samford programs, we should be emulating the Wofford program. Just my two cents.[/quote] my two favorite pregame speeches by coach ayers: 2013 el cid game athletics.wofford.edu/news/2013/9/7/FB_0907130101.aspx?path=football2011 clemson game www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUsrBPjtDwMi've seen him as a guest speaker at several alumni functions and before it was over, half the people there were ready to suit up and go bang some heads! he is such a great coach and builder of men!!! GO TERRIERS!!!
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