|
by ROB JENKINS
Sports Editor
The Matchup
Appalachian State is 5-2 and ranked No. 7 in the country after defeating Georgia Southern 52-16 last weekend.
Furman is 4-3 coming off a 38-28 loss at The Citadel last Saturday.
How ASU can win
The Mountaineers finally played a complete game Saturday against
Georgia Southern, racking up 712 yards of offense and holding the
Eagles to 171 yards.
Now all they have to do is find a way to repeat that performance.
The offense should be OK against the Paladins, as Furman is allowing a Southern Conference worst 411.7 yards per game.
The Apps
need Armanti Edwards to just keep being himself. Edwards leads the
SoCon in passing yards per game, passing efficiency and total offense.
After
putting up big numbers at Wofford the week before Georgia Southern,
Brian Quick and Devon Moore saw their production decline against the
Eagles.
Georgia
Southern held Quick to 74 receiving yards and no touchdowns and Moore
only mustered 31 yards, but was able to score three touchdowns.
Both
players will need to return to form, because the Mountaineers cannot
expect 100-yard games from CoCo Hillary, Matt Cline and Travaris Cadet
every game.
On the defensive side, ASU needs to key on stopping the passing connection between Jordan Sorrells and Adam Mims.
Sorrells
ranks third in the SoCon in passing yards per game (224.7) and passing
efficiency (133.2 rating) and Mims is second in receptions per game
(7.1) and third in receiving yards per game (73).
How Furman can win
The Paladins have to find some way to try to slow down the Appalachian
offensive juggernaut, but that task does not look promising considering
Furman’s defensive stats.
Aside
from being dead last in the SoCon in total defense, the Paladins also
rank last in passing yards allowed per game and fourth in rush defense.
Furman
will need a big game from linebacker Kadarron Anderson. Anderson leads
the SoCon in tackles with 91 (46 solo, 45 assisted).
Offensively, the Paladins need to get the ball in Jerry Williams’ hands more often.
Williams, a freshman tailback, leads the team in rushing, but the most he has carried the ball in a game is 14 times.
Last
week against The Citadel, Williams carried the ball nine times for 83
yards. Furman should try to give him the ball 20 times Saturday.
The bottom line
Furman puts up good offensive numbers, but they do not have enough defense to stop the Mountaineers.
Appalachian’s offense is firing on all cylinders right now, and the defensive problems appear to be fixed.
But the game is at Furman, and their home crowd might keep them in the game for a while.
ASU 52, Furman 31
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments