Georgia Southern: On Paper (Part 1)

We know they run the triple option, are the #1 rushing offense in the country (4,314 yards/392 ypg), and apparently have quite the reputation for cut blocks. Here’s what else you need to know about GSU:

OFFENSE

• Quarterback Jerick McKinnon (5-9/208) is a little beast. The junior does everything: quarterback, receiver, kick returner, slotback and defensive back. His stats this season fill in pretty much every category, and he leads the team in rushing and passing. (note: the NCAA stats I found differ from the SoCon stats, so…)
  175 carries for 1234 yards and 13 tds (by comparison, the Bears have rushed as a team for 1459 yards and 16 TDs on 405 carries)
  15-for-30 for 412 yards and 5 tds, just 2 ints
  6 receptions for 127 yards and 1 td
  2 interceptions for 41 yards, 2 pass breakups, 2 qb hurries
  143 yards per game total offense
• Dominique Swope (So./5-11/221) is option number two out of the backfield. The fullback just edges out McKinnon with 14 touchdowns.
• When McKinnon isn’t playing QB is looks like Ezayi Youyoute (So./5-11/188) is the guy that is most of the time. Youyoute had thrown it 29 times himself this season and run for 467 yards on 73 carries.
• Those three guys average 6.6/6.1/6.4 yards per carry. And none of them is even close to Jonathan Bryant’s (Jr./5-9/175) 9.2 ypc. And I’m not done, they have two more guys with 392+ yards on the season.
• As you might expect, the few receptions that receivers have a huge plays. No one receiver stands out much more than the others.

Game Notes Notes

Not a lot to add this week. We pretty much know the drill. And I think the 2-deep was exactly the same as for EIU two weeks ago.

Two Weeks

The latest Sports Network projection (PDF) has us headed to Georgia Southern after an opening bye.

The final two Saturdays of the regular season will be like locking Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey together in a room together.

In Week 11, unbeaten Lehigh might be playing for its playoff life against Colgate. There’s also Stony Brook-Liberty, James Madison-Villanova and South Dakota State-North Dakota State.

In Week 12, there’s Towson-New Hampshire, Indiana State-Youngstown State, Tennessee State-UT Martin, Eastern Illinois-Central Arkansas and Cal Poly-Northern Arizona. Those games also will bring the playoff atmosphere a little early.

I hope people realize that we still have a very important final game of the regular season. Eastern Illinois could be playing for a playoff spot. They play a pretty weak SEMO team this weekend at home, and then come to Conway. If UT Martin loses to Tennessee State on the same day, EIU would win their conference.

Like just about everybody else in the OVC, they are a very good passing/scoring team. Also like everybody else, they give up tons on defense. (They beat Murray State by one point at home, 50-49. Our defense held Murray State to 20 points. Since then, they’ve scored 28, 49, 70, 52, 59, 35, 49. And they lost three of those.)

The point is, a win over a decent-to-good OVC team could be the difference between us playing week one and having the bye. Maybe even staying home in week 2 depending on what else happens “above” us.

We need to be talking up this game to friends/alums as much as any other. It could be the last chance to see our guys play close to home… at least for a while.

Game Notes Notes – Northwestern State

Injury Updates

• Out: Kyle Stouffer, Marvin Mitchell and Anthony Blackmon (season)

Record Watch

• Dominique Croom is still stuck at 7th on the career receiving yards list after only getting 18 yards last week. . He’s now 23 yards behind Steve Wood for 6th.

Depth Chart Notes

• For the first time all season – I believe – there are no changes to the depth chart. That should be great news.

Other Notes

• The Bears were losing 20-14 at halftime last season. A 21-point third quarter and second-half shutout sound a bit lit some of this year’s games where things just haven’t clicked for a half.
• On paper, the game appears much closer than the final score. The second half included  defensive and special teams touchdowns.
• The Bears have run the ball 323 times this season and thrown it 310.
• We’re going to have to replace two studs next season. Grandy and Croom are tied with 40 receptions and 6 touchdowns each. Grandy’s long is 75 yards. Croom’s is 74.
• Thomas Hart has one catch this season. Chase Dixon (with 5) has taken some of those opportunities away, but I would have predicted much more from Hart after last season.
• I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here – and it isn’t shown on the game notes – but if you haven’t noticed, Joe Carmical has moved from defensive end to full back. I’m excited about the possibilities of that for the future.

UCA Homecoming 2012 is here!

copied and pasted from the Alumni Association’s e-mail

Visit the UCA Homecoming website for the full schedule of events.

Tuesday, October 30

7 pm – Homecoming Pep Rally
Farris Center

Thursday, November 1

7:30 pm – Gary Pucket and the Union Gap
Reynolds Performance Hall
Tickets: (501) 450-3265 or uca.edu/tickets

Friday, November 2

7 pm – “Ultimate Homecoming Party”
Centennial Valley Events Center
Tickets: $40 uca.edu/homecoming

9 pm – Purple Reign
Michelangelo’s Italian Ristorante, Downtown Conway
Tickets: purchased at the door

Saturday, November 3 – GAME DAY

11 am – Half-Century Club Induction & Lunch
Honoring the Class of 1962
McCastlain Hall
Tickets: $30 uca.edu/homecoming

1pm – Tailgating Begins
Bruce Street

2 pm – Legacy Walk Dedication
Amphitheater (in front of the Student Center)

3 pm – Alumni & Friends Tailgate Party
Crafton Alumni Pavilion
Catered by The Fish House
Tickets: $5-$10 uca.edu/homecoming

3 pm – Homecoming Parade
Donaghey Avenue and Bruce Street, UCA Campus

7 pm – UCA vs. Northwestern State University
Estes Stadium
Tickets: ucasports.com

9:30 pm – Bear Bash (immediately following the game)
King’s Dueling Piano Bar, Downtown Conway

Game Notes Notes – Southeastern La

Injury Updates

• Probable: Rojae Jackson and Karl Brady
• Out: Kyle Stouffer, Marvin Mitchell and Anthony Blackmon (season)

Returning from Suspension

• Dominique Allen, Larry Duval

Record Watch

• Dominique Croom jumped up another spot to 7th on the career receiving yards list. He’s just 41 yards behind Steve Wood for 6th.

Depth Chart Notes

• After being listed as the starter for three weeks, DJ Appe has moved from center to right guard, switching positions with Corey Howard who started the season at centerAlex Willis is the backup again and Corey Howard is back as the starter after playing guard in the last couple games..
• With Allen back from suspension, CJ Simon shifts from starting right tackle to right guard.
• Jacoby Walker is, again, not on the depth chart at all this week. But I stopped by practice for 30 minutes or so on Tuesday, and he was getting lots of reps at receiver and lots of passes thrown his way.
• As is usual for us so far this season, there’s not really anything different about the defense.

Other Notes

• In last season’s SLU game, Jackie Hinton ran 13 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. William Matthews also had a great game with 70 yards on 12 carries. In fact, all four running backs (Blackmon and Bobo) averaged 5 yards per carry or more.
• The passing game was clicking too. Nathan Dick was 20-for-28 for 299 yards and 5 touchdowns. Five. The offense totaled 586 yards.
• The defense stifled the SLU run and intercepted Brian Young four times. It wasn’t all positive though, he did throw for 409 yards when he was completing passes to his own teammates.
• The Lions defense has held SLC offenses to just 22 points per game and leads the league in total defense at 287 yard. Those numbers may be skewed a bit because they haven’t faced the top three offenses yet this season.