18 Days Until WCU Basketball Tip-off (at Wright State)

Welcome to the 2018 WCU basketball tip-off countdown.

We will count down the remaining days until WCU basketball tips off at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio on November 7th. In this season's countdown, we will meet the coaches and team members as we countdown.

18 Days until Tip-off

Tony Rack

Position: Assistant Coach
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Alma Mater: Northern Kentucky









Tony Rack joined the Western Carolina men's basketball coaching staff in mid-April of 2018 as an assistant coach. Rack came to WCU from his alma mater at Northern Kentucky University where he most recently served as the Director of Basketball Operations. Rack has previous working experience with WCU head coach Mark Prosser during his time at Winthrop in the same capacity.

"Tony is a great, young basketball mind that will continue the tradition of recruiting and developing student-athletes that will make all of WCU very proud," said Prosser on the addition of Rack.

Rack has spent the past three seasons on the bench at Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights, Ky., overseeing all the basketball operations for the Norse program including team travel, camps, and budgetary responsibilities. He helped contribute to one of the nation's largest turnarounds between the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons as NKU went from nine wins to a NCAA Division I era record 24 victories the following year. The Norse earned their first-ever berth into the NCAA tournament by winning the Horizon League tournament in 2016-17.

In 2017-18, Rack contributed in helping NKU capture its first Horizon League regular season championship, garnering the automatic bid to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) with a second-consecutive, 20-win season.

Following his graduation from NKU, Rack got his first position on a collegiate basketball coaching staff as he moved south to join head coach Pat Kelsey's staff at Winthrop as a graduate assistant and later in basketball operations. He was later assigned the duty of recruiting coordinator on the Winthrop staff. Rack was in Rock Hill, S.C., for three seasons with the men's basketball program where he was a part of 53 victories and the Eagles twice reaching the Big South Conference championship game.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Rack is a 2012 graduate of Northern Kentucky where he was a four-year member of the men's basketball team. As a player, Rack was known for his accuracy behind the 3-point arc at NKU as he led the team in 3-point field goal percentage for three consecutive seasons. As a senior, he finished the year with a 46.1 shooting percentage.

Rack was a team captain as a senior and was also an Academic All-American Nominee, voted to the Capital One Academic All-District IV First Team as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court. He also served as a representative on the NKU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for all four years as an undergraduate.

All told, Rack graduated from NKU as one of the program's most-prolific shooters, ranking third all-time in 3-point field goal percent (.443) and ninth in three's made (160).

A 6-0 guard, Rack also had an impressive prep career at Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Over his final two seasons, Rack led the Greater Catholic League in assists and averaged 4.3 assists as a senior. In 2007, he was the starting point guard of the Moeller team that won the Ohio Division I state title. In addition to his basketball skills, Rack was also a member of the varsity football and baseball teams while a prep.

Rack is the son of Jim and Susan Rack and has an older brother, Kevin.


Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations




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19 Days Until WCU Basketball Tip-off (at Wright State)

Welcome to the 2018 WCU basketball tip-off countdown.

We will count down the remaining days until WCU basketball tips off at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio on November 7th. In this season's countdown, we will meet the coaches and team members as we countdown.


19 Days until Tip-off


Mark Prosser

Position: Head Coach
Hometown: Wheeling, W.Va.
Alma Mater: Marist College









A former associate head coach at Winthrop University and 15-year NCAA coaching veteran, Mark Prosser was introduced as Western Carolina University's 18th head men's basketball coach by Director of Athletics Randy Eaton on March 27, 2018 in a press conference held on campus in the Ramsey Center Hospitality Room.

Prosser, who just completed his sixth year on the men's basketball staff at Winthrop, has ties to the Southern Conference including two stints alongside head coach Mike Young at Wofford College where he helped guide the Terriers to consecutive regular season championships in 2009-10 and 2010-11. WCU is the second head coaching position for Prosser. He is the son of the late Skip Prosser, who guided three programs to a total of eight NCAA tournament appearances during his career.

Between four different NCAA-member institutions, Prosser has been an integral part of recruiting, developing and coaching a total of 28 all-conference players including two conference players of the year, two conference defensive players of the year and a combined eight all-freshman team selections. Teams he has helped coach have appeared in nine conference championship title games and have made five NCAA Tournament post-season appearances, twice pulling off first-round upsets.

"Just over three weeks since Coach Larry Hunter resigned, our search ends today. We didn't find a guy; we found 'THE' guy," said Eaton. "Mark Prosser has everything we were looking for in our next head men's basketball coach: a plethora of experience assisting in building successful mid-major programs, both on-and-off the court; recruiting ties not only to the southeastern United States, but also a strong history of recruiting nationally and internationally; a proven leader of young men, leading them in life as much as the game; a family man, who along with his wife Emily, daughter Ava Grayce, and son Declan, has already become one of us; and a fit in our department, our campus, our community -- in short, the entirety of the Catamount Nation."

Eaton added, "Speaking with those in the college basketball industry who know the business better than I, or those who simply watch televised games, Mark's name continued to come up. Essentially, this is a slam dunk for WCU men's basketball."

Prosser comes to Cullowhee after six highly successful years on the bench at Winthrop. Alongside head coach Pat Kelsey -- a former player for and assistant coach with Prosser's father, Skip, at Xavier and Wake Forest -- the Eagles compiled an impressive record of 102-59 over the past five seasons, highlighted by four-consecutive Big South Tournament title game appearances and a 2017 NCAA Tournament berth. Prosser helped orchestrate the offense of the 2015-16 Winthrop squad that ranked 13th nationally with an average of 82.2 points per game including the 23rd-best free throw percentage (74.9-percent) and an average of 8.9 made 3-pointers made per game to rank 32nd overall in the NCAA.

During his tenure in Rock Hill, S.C., Prosser led the development of Big South Player of the Year and All-American honorable mention, Keon Johnson, and first team All-Big South selection, Xavier Cooks. He also was the primary recruiter of Keon Moore, who set the school's NCAA Division seasonal scoring record and was Winthrop's first All-Big South selection since 2006-07.

Prosser began his first of two coaching stretches at Wofford College in the summer of 2002 where he served as an assistant coach for the Terriers in Mike Young's first season as head coach. During that season, Wofford posted a 14-15 overall record, including a 79-77 win at Virginia Tech. In the SoCon, the Terriers were 8-8 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

After one season, he parlayed the experience into an assistant coaching position on Pat Flannery's staff at Bucknell University in Lewisberg, Pa. As an assistant coach, Prosser helped the Bison to a 99-57 record in five years including three Patriot League regular season titles and a pair of tournament crowns. Those squads averaged 20 wins a season while Prosser was on the coaching staff.

It was at Bucknell that Prosser experienced the most post-season success as the Bison scored two NCAA Tournament upset victories during his tenure. In 2005, the 14th-seeded Bison upset No. 3 Kansas in the first round, earning the award for "Best Upset" at the 2005 ESPY Awards, and finished the year ranked 25th overall nationally with a 23-10 record. The following season, No. 9 seed Bucknell defeated No. 8 Arkansas in March Madness. In 2005-06, the Bison went undefeated in Patriot League play, the first team to do so in conference history. The team was ranked in the top 25 for the first time in school history and featured Patriot League Player of the Year Charles Lee. For the NCAA Tournament, the Bison were seeded 9th and defeated Arkansas in the first round. In the second round they were defeated by Memphis to end the season at 27-5, the best record in school history.

While at Bucknell, Prosser signed 2008 Patriot League All-Freshman team selection Todd O'Brien and was involved in the player development of Charles Lee, who went on to sign a professional contract with the NBA's San Antonio Spurs. Lee was a three-time All-Patriot League selection and the 2006 Patriot League Player of the Year.

In the summer of 2008, Prosser returned to the sidelines at Southern Conference-member Wofford. During his first season back in Spartanburg in 2008, the Terriers set a school record with 12SoCon wins. In addition, the team posted its first winning overall record since moving to the NCAA Division I level. The following year, Prosser helped Wofford reach a school-record 26 wins along with the Southern Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

All told, with Prosser on the bench in Spartanburg, the Terriers posted a 63-36 (.636) overall record, highlighted by back-to-back SoCon regular season and tournament championships, and consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. He helped Wofford to a then school-record 26 victories in 2009-10 with a second 20-win season in 2010-11 with a squad that led the SoCon in assists and was also first in assist/turnover margin. Wofford also was eighth in the nation in 3-point percentage and 12th in overall field goal percentage.

Prosser was instrumental in the development of three-time first-team All-SoCon selection Noah Dahlman, a post player who scored more than 2,000 career points and was twice dubbed SoCon Tournament MVP.

A native of Wheeling, W.Va., Prosser played collegiately at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., before a knee injury ended his career prematurely. He began his coaching career as a student assistant coach at Marist until his graduation in 2002, helping the Red Foxes to a share of the Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season title in 2001-02.

Prosser and his wife Emily are the parents of two -- a daughter, Ava Grayce and a son, Declan.


Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations




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This week's Purple & Gold football picks (10-20-18)

It's week #8 in the SoCon, and time to pick this weeks' games.

This week, we have 5 games scheduled, 4 conference games and 1 non-conference game for Saturday









Saturday, 10-20-18

The Citadel (1-4, 1-3 SoCon)  at  VMI (0-6, 0-5 SoCon) 1:30 pm ESPN3
The Bulldogs travel to Lexington for the military football classic game. The Keydets are hoping to make their season with this one game win, but, unfortunately, their losing streak does not end this week. Bulldogs win, 35 - 28.


ETSU (6-1, 4-0 SoCon)  at  Wofford (4-2, 3-1 SoCon) 1:30 pm ESPN+
The Bucs travel to Sparkle City hoping to hold on to first place in the conference race. This is the game that shows us which team is the pretender. In the end, the dogs come out the winner, 31 - 21.


Samford (3-4, 2-2 SoCon)  at  Furman (2-3, 2-1 SoCon) 2:00 pm ESPN+
The Bulldogs are in Traveler's Rest this weekend, hoping to continue their 2 game win streak, and add another conference game loss to Furman's record. Home field advantage plays a big role in this game, as the Paladins pull out a close win, 28 - 24 over the Bulldogs.


Western Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SoCon)  at  Mercer (3-3, 2-1 SoCon) 4:00 pm ESPN+
The Cats are in Macon this weekend, where the Cats are 1-1 in games against the Bears. While the Bears are a 3 point favorite against Western, the Cats finally put an entire game together, and upset Mercer by a final score of 35-28.





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Head-to-Head Comparison with Mercer

                         Courtesy WCU Athletic Media Relations

Catamount Football Weekly: Week #8 at Mercer

CATAMOUNT FOOTBALL WEEKLY: WEEK 8 - AT MERCER https://t.co/1JwiHVOcmt

— CatamountSportsForum (@CatSportsForum) October 17, 2018

WCU 2-Deep vs. Mercer

Game #7: Mercer

In Western Carolina's seventh game of the season and the first of two back to back road games, the Cats travel to Macon, GA  to play the Mercer Bears.

Western faces the Bears for just the fifth time since Mercer joined the Southern Conference.








Mercer

When: Saturday, October 6th at 4:00 pm
Where: Five Star Stadium, Macon, GA
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
- Talent: Play-by-Play: Gary Ayers; Color Analyst: Daniel Hooker; Host / Producer: Jeff Bryson
TV / video: ESPN3 / CW62
- Talent: Frank Malloy (PxP), Jason Patterson (Analyst), Kristin Banks (Sideline)
Game Notes:     WCU    -     Mercer
Message Board:  MU Bear Down
The Series:  In only the 5th meeting between the two teams, the Cats own a 2-2 record against the Bears, having dropped the last two games played, one in Macon and one in Cullowhee.

Games played by the Bears this season prior to the WCU contest:  (6 games) The Bears are 3-3 as the Cats travel to Macon. Mercer kicked off the season with a 14-66 loss against the Memphis Tigers. The Bears rolled against the Pioneer League's Jacksonville, winning 45-3. In week 3, the Bears traveled to Birmingham where they beat the Bulldogs, 30-24. Returning to Macon, they lost to The Citadel, 31-38. In Lexington, they beat VMI, 48-38, then traveled to New Haven, Conn. to face Yale, in a losing effort 28-35.

Last Season's Game vs. Mercer (Nov. 10, 2017) Turnovers, Special Teams Lead Mercer Past No. 25 Western Carolina, 35-33 - Tyrie Adams threw for a season-high 378 yards and three touchdowns as No. 25 Western Carolina tallied its third-highest total offensive output with 507 yards on Saturday afternoon. However, costly turnovers and big plays in the special teams by Mercer guided the Bears to the upset victory over the Catamounts, 35-33, on Hall of Fame / Senior Day at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

Mercer's Last season's Record (2017):   5-6 overall,  3-2 home,  2-4 away,  4-4 SoCon
Mercer's current season Record (2018):  3-3 overall,  1-1 home, 2-2 away, 2-1 SoCon


Offensive Formation: Spread  (Pistol)
Defensive Formation:  3-4
Starters Returning/Lost:  13  /  9
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost:  6 / 5
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost:  7 / 4
Specialist - Returning/Lost:  4 / 1
Lost from the two-deep roster:  14

Key Losses:
Offense: WR  Chandler Curtis; WR Avery Ward 6; LT  Thomas Marchman; RG  Caleb Yates;
Defense: DE  Jalen Penn; OLB  Kyle Williams; ILB  Lee Bennett; OLB  LeMarkus Bailey;
Specialist:  KR & PR Chandler Curtis

In the offseason, HC Bobby Lamb hired a new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joe Pizzo, safeties coach Mitch Doolittle and cornerbacks coach Darius Safford in addition to three other title changes on his coaching staff. Offensive line coach Casey Vogt will serve as Running Game Coordinator while running backs coach Carter Barfield will be the Co-Recruiting Coordinator alongside La'Donte Harris. Pizzo most recently held the same titles at NCAA Division II North Greenville, Doolittle returns to Mercer after spending one season at PC as their DC, Safford comes from West Georgia.

2018 Mercer Statistics  (6 games):
Rushing Offense: 1026 yards
Yards per game: 143.7
Yards per rush: 4.4 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 41
TDs rushing: 12
Passing Offense: 1499 yards or 249.8 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 13 yards
Passing 1st downs: 89
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 175-107-4
TDs Passing: 12
Total Offense: 3361 yards or 393.5 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 10-3
3d Down Conversions: 40%
4th Down Conversions: 100%
Field goal attempts: 7 - 10
On-side kicks: 0-0
Red Zone Scores: 23 of 25
Red Zone Touchdowns: 18 of 35

Game prediction: Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 20% probability of winning (28-38) over the Bears.

According to Massey, Western Carolina should be 3-4 after this game. I'm going to disagree, the Cats are 4-3 after this game.




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2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings - (after week #7)

Welcome to Purple & Gold's 2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings.

Each Monday throughout the season, we'll release that week's Power Rankings.








Here are this week's rankings after seven weeks of play (last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1.  (2) ETSU  (6-1, 4-0 SoCon)
Next:  at Wofford

2.  (4) Furman (2-3, 2-1 SoCon)
Next:  Samford

3.  (1)  Wofford (4-2, 3-1 SoCon)
Next:  at Furman

4. (3)  Chattanooga (5-2, 3-2 SoCon)
Next:  Bye

5.  (7)  Samford (3-4,  2-2 SoCon)
Next:  at Furman

6.  (5) Mercer (3-3, 2-1 SoCon)
Next:  Western Carolina

7.  (4) The Citadel (1-4, 1-3 SoCon)
Next:  at VMI

8.  (8) Western Carolina (3-3, 1-3 SoCon)
Next:  at Mercer

9.  (9) VMI  (0-6, 0-5 SoCon)
Next:  The Citadel






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This week's Purple & Gold football picks (10-12-18)

It's week #7 in the SoCon, and time to pick this weeks' games.

This week, we have 5 games scheduled, 4 conference games and 1 non-conference game for Saturday








Saturday, 19-12-18

Mercer (3-2)  at  Yale  (2-2)   1:00 PM ET   ESPN+
The Bears travel to New Haven, Conn to meet the Bulldogs of Yale. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, the Ivy League Bulldogs flex their muscles with at 35-21 win over the visiting Bears of Mercer

Wofford (4-1, 3-0 SoCon)  at  Furman (1-3, 1-1 SoCon) 1:00 pm ESPN+
The premier conference game this week is probably the Terriers visiting the Paladins. The dogs continue their winning ways between these two upstate rivals, 35-21.

ETSU (5-1, 3-0 SoCon)  at  The Citadel (1-3, 1-2 SoCon) 2:00 pm ESPN3
The Bucs make the long trip down to the SC lowcountry, and it will be an extra long ride back home, as the Bulldogs defend their home turf with a 28-14 win. 

VMI (0-5, 0-4 SoCon)  at  Samford(2-4, 1-2 SoCon) 3:00 pm ESPN+
The Keydets roll into Birmingham, primed for a victory. The Bulldogs, however, have something else in mind after their beatdown of the Catamounts last week.  Dog win, 38-31. 

Chattanooga (4-2, 2-2 SoCon)  at  Western Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SoCon) 3:30 pm ESPN+
The Mocs travel across the mountains to Cullowhee hoping to avenge last season's loss in Chattanooga at the hands of the Cats. Both teams coming into the game. Both teams come into the game riding a two-game losing streak, and both teams need a win to try and right the ship.  After the beatdown of like week, the Cats have something to prove to themselves, and the Cats pull out the upset, 31-28. 

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Catamount Football Weekly: Week # 7 - Chattanooga

Catamount Football Weekly: Week # 7 - Chattanooga
https://t.co/4lzedKPQsZ

— CatamountSportsForum (@CatSportsForum) October 11, 2018

Game #6: Chattanooga

For the sixth game of the season, we'll look at the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs travel to Cullowhee for what will be the first home game after two weeks on the road for the Cats. This will be Hall of Fame Day in Cullowhee, and we will also celebrate Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Day. 

Western Carolina won against the Mocs in Chattanooga last season, breaking an eight-game losing streak against the Chattanooga.  Currently, the Mocs are siting in 4th place in the conference standings with a 2-2 conference record, and are 4-2 overall.












Chattanooga

When: Saturday, October 13 - Time 3:30 pm ET
Where: E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
 - Talent:  Play-by-Play: Gary Ayers;  Color Analyst: Greg McLamb; Host / Producer: Jeff Bryson

TV/video:  ESPN+

- Talent:  Play-by-Play: Daniel Hooker; Color Analyst: Daniel Gibson
Message Board:  Chattanooga Moc Nation

The Series: The Cats own a 17-27-0 all-time record against the Mocs, having first played in 1973. Last season the Cats broke an 8 game slide to Chattanooga with a  45-7 victory in Finley Stadium over the Mocs.


Games played by the Mocs this season prior to the WCU contest:  (Six games) The Mocs opened the season at home vs. Tenn. Tech, winning 34-10. For the second game, the Mocs traveled to Charleston to open conference play with the Bulldogs and won 29-28.  In game 3, the Mocs remained on the road traveling to Martin, TN to play UT Martin, again winning 34-24. The Mocs then return home to face another conference foe, Samford which they beat 27-20  For game five, the 4-0 Mocs traveled to Johnson City to play ETSU, but lost a close 3 point game to the Bucs. Chattanooga then returned home to face conference-leading Wofford, losing 10-21.   


The last game played vs. Chattanooga:  September 30, 2017 - Catamount Football Derails Chattanooga in `Complete Team Win,' 45-7 - Western Carolina forced three fumbles - two recovered in the end zone for touchdowns - and running back Corey Holloway eclipsed the 100-yard mark adding a pair of scores on the ground as the Catamounts halted an eight-game losing skid with a strong, 45-7, road win over Chattanooga Saturday night at Finley Stadium. WCU (4-1, 2-0 SoCon) tallied a season-high seven sacks - matching its seasonal total entering the game - to lead a strong defensive effort that limited the Mocs to 172 yards of total offense including just 49 on the ground. Combined, WCU's seven sacks totaled 63 yards in losses.

Last Season's Record (Chattanooga):  3-8 overall,  1-4 home, 2-3 away,  3-5 in the SoCon, with wins over VMI. Samford, and ETSU.

This  Season's Record (Chattanooga):  4-2 overall,  2-1 home, 2-1 away,  2-2 in the SoCon,

Base Offensive Alignment:  multiple
Base Defensive Alignment:  multiple
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost:  5   /  6
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost:  6   /  5
Specialist - Returning/Lost:  5   /   1

Key losses:
Offense -  Preseason All-SoCon C - Josh Cardiello; TE - Malcolm Colvin; X - Alphonso Stewart; Z - James Stovall; LS - Emory Norred.

Defense -  Preseason All-SoCon E -4 Taylor Reynolds; Preseason All-American M - Dale Warren; W - Tae Davis; All-SoCon FS - Lucas Webb; C - Trevor Wright

Prior to the start of this season, it was announced that Mocs QB Cole Copeland was suspended for the 2018 season for academic reasons. Head coach Tom Arth said the sophomore will be "re-evaluated" after the season. This is the second time in as many seasons the Mocs lose a starting quarterback for academic issues. Alejandro Bennifield was suspended for the first four games of 2017 because of an NCAA academic issue. Other unexpected losses from the offseason for the The Mocs were all-SoCon tight end Bailey Lenoir and incoming freshman Josiah Futral. Redshirt freshman Chris Broadwater also will not be with the team.

The Mocs lost 20 seniors,  including quarterback Alejandro Bennifield, running backs Darrell Bridges and Richardre Bagley, receivers James Stovall, Alphonso Stewart and Dy’Kari Hickey, fullback Chris Jones, tight end Malcolm Colvin, offensive linemen Josh Cardiello and Alex Hooper, defensive linemen D.J. Prather, Taylor Reynolds and Brandon Bourk, linebackers Tae Davis, Dale Warren, Joshua Phillips and T.J. Jenkins, defensive backs Trevor Wright and Lucas Webb and long snapper Emory Norred.

Since Tom Arth took over as HC in December of 2016, he has had lost 3 DCs, 3 OLB coaches, 3 DB coaches, 2 ILB coaches and 2 DL coaches. Every coach has left for a position at a higher level, including 2 (Brandon Staley-Bears, Demarcus Covington-Patriots) in NFL.

Top returnees:  QB - Cole Copeland (started last 5 games, replaced senior Alejandro Bennifield); Kicker - Victor Ulmo; Punter - Colin Brewer

In the offseason, the Mocs lost their Defensive Coordinator, Tom Kaufman, Defensive Line Coach, Brian Cochran, and defensive backs coach Jonathan Cooley, all to Kent State.
 
The Mocs promoted last year's LB coach, Matt Feeney, to fill the  Defensive Coordinator position and hired Oscar Rodriguez to coach their Inside LB's. Rodriguez comes to Chatt from University of La Verne (CA). The Mocs hired Davern Williams as their DL coach (from East Mississippi Community College) and Jeremiah Wilson as the DB coach.


2018 Chattanooga Statistics
Rushing Offense: 551 yards
Yards per game: 91.8
Yards per rush: 3.4 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 34
TDs rushing:  7
Passing Offense: 1618 yards or 279.7 yards per game
Avg. per pass:  12.8 yards
Passing 1st downs: 63
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 126-208-3
TDs Passing: 10
Total Offense: 2169 yards or 361.5 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 9-5
3d Down Conversions: 34 of 83
4th Down Conversions: 4 of 7
Field goal attempts: 7 - 10
PAT-Attempts: 17 of 17 (100%)
On-side kicks:  0-0
Red Zone Scores: 17 of 19  (89%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 11 of 19  (58%)
Punts-Yards: 27 - 965 - Avg per punt: 35.7
Penalties-Yards: 40 for 317

This weekend in Cullowhee:

• Hall of Fame Weekend: Western Carolina will enshrine its 29th induction class into the WCU Athletics Hall of Fame that includes a Saturday morning ceremony in the UC Grand Room and again recognition during the WCU-UTC football game. • Celebrate 828: The Catamounts are Western North Carolina's football team! Join us to celebrate the region -- the "828" area code! Special game day recognition of several local town mayors.
 • Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) Day: Western Carolina Athletics will again celebrate the culture and traditions of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Members of the EBCI will have an exclusive reserved pregame tailgate area with EBCI representatives participating in the pregame coin toss on the field. Group tickets for EBCI members are available while supplies last at the WCU Cherokee Center. For more information, call (828) 497-7920.
 • Mascot Day: Fans of all ages will be entertained as various mascots from across the region will be invited to the game to join WCU's loveable mascot, Paws.



Game prediction:  Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 35% probability of winning (28-33) over the Mocs.

According to Massey, Cats should be 3-3 after this game.  




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2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings - (after week #6)

Welcome to Purple & Gold's 2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings.

Each Monday throughout the season, we'll release that week's Power Rankings.








Here are this week's rankings after five weeks of play (last week's ranking in parenthesis):


1.  (1)  Wofford (4-1, 3-0 SoCon)
Next:  at Furman

2.  (2) ETSU  (5-1, 3-0 SoCon)
Next:  at The Citadel

3. (3)  Chattanooga (4-2, 2-2 SoCon)
Next:  at Western Carolina

4.  (4) The Citadel (1-3, 1-2 SoCon)
Next:  ETSU

5.  (5) Mercer (3-2, 2-1 SoCon)
Next:  at Yale

6.  (6) Furman (1-3, 1-1 SoCon)
Next:  Wofford

7.  (8)  Samford (2-4,  1-2 SoCon)
Next:  VMI

8.  (7) Western Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SoCon)
Next:  Chattanooga

9.  (9) VMI  (0-5, 0-4 SoCon)
Next:  at Samford 









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Game Day in Birmingham

GAMEDAY Oct. 6 Birmingham, Ala. 1:30 PM http://ow.ly/OoJy30m6uqU  - ESPN3 http://ow.ly/aP6R30lJ6II  http://ow.ly/wYsq30m6urJ 

Courtesy WCU Athletics Media Relations                      

Adams selected as SoCon Offensive Player of the Month

2-deep Roster at Samford

Game #5: Samford

Almost halfway through the season, and for the fifth game, we'll look at the preseason #1 ranked Samford Bulldogs. The Cats travel to Homewood, AL for the second straight road game.

Since Samford joined the Southern Conference in 2008, Western is 3-12 against the Bulldogs after last season's four-point upset win over the #17 nationally ranked Dogs in Cullowhee.








Samford

When: Saturday, October 6 - Time  1:30 pm ET
Where: Seibert Stadium, Homewood, AL
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
- Talent:  Play-by-Play: Gary Ayers;  Color Analyst: Daniel Hooker; Host / Producer: Jeff Bryson
TV/video: ESPN3
Game Notes:      WCU     -       Samford    (when they become available)
Message Board:  Bulldogs Unleashed
The Series: The Cats are 3-12 overall against the Bulldogs since winning the first outing back in 1969. Samford owned an eleven game winning streak against Western until 2015 when the Cats broke that streak in Cullowhee with a 56-36 win over the Dogs. The Cats are 2-5 against the Dogs in Cullowhee, and 1-7 in games played in Birmingham.

Games played by the Dogs this season prior to the WCU contest:  5 games -  At 1-4 so far, the Bulldogs do not have a DI win.  The Bulldogs opened against Shorter College (home) for their only win, losses to Florida State, Mercer, Chattanooga and Kennesaw State followed.

Last game played vs. Samford: (Sept. 24th, 2017)  - Catamount Score Thrilling Upset Win Over #17 Samford -  Western Carolina tailback Detrez Newsome rumbled for a go-ahead touchdown, hitting the right pylon to put the Catamounts ahead with 93 seconds remaining in regulation on Saturday night at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. But it wasn't until a last-second pass deflection would allow what remained of 12,018 fans to unleash a post-game celebration that was over a decade in the making. Senior defensive back Keion Crossen batted away a pass attempt in the back of the end zone as time expired on the final play of the game as Western Carolina upset the 17th-ranked Samford Bulldogs, 38-34, in the Southern Conference opener for both squads. The victory was WCU's first over a nationally-ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision team since 2006, halting a 27-game slide.

Last Season's Record (Samford): 8-4 overall, 5-1 home, 3-3 away,  6-2 SoCon  - conference losses to Western Carolina & Chattanooga - First round loss in NCAA FCS playoffs to #16 Kennesaw State

Offensive starters - Returning/Lost:  10  /  1
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost:  6  /  5
Specialist - Returning/Lost:  4  /  2
Lost from 2-Deep Roster - 13
Offensive Formation: Multiple
Defensive Formation: 4-3

Key losses: DT - Ke’Tyrus Marks, MLB - Deion Pierre, WLB - Shaheed Salmon, CB - Omari Williams, FS - Carter McManes, SS - Sam Pettway, WR - TD Marshall, P/KO - Austin Barnard

Top returnees:  Preseason All-American and SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, Devlin Hodges; Preseason All-American and SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, Ahmad Gooden

Three national publications had the Bulldogs ranked in the top 15 nationally preseason, and had Samford as the favorite to win the Southern Conference title. Senior defensive lineman Ahmad Gooden was named to the preseason All-America team by Street & Smith's, Athlon Sports and Lindy's Sports. Senior quarterback Devlin Hodges earned preseason All-America honors from Street & Smith's and Lindy's Sports.

The Bulldogs lost two assistant coaches in the offseason, DL coach, Victor Cabral and running backs coach, Derrick Foster


2018 Samford Statistics (5games):
Rushing Offense: 567 yards
Yards per game: 113,4
Yards per rush: 3,9 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 33
TDs rushing: 5
Passing Offense: 1647 yards or 329.4 yards per game
Passing 1st downs: 83
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 165-242-8
TDs Passing: 13
Total Offense: 2214 yards or 442.8 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 7 - 4
3d Down Conversions: 28 of 68
4th Down Conversions: 10 of 15
Field goal attempts:  7 - 9
PAT-Attempts:  17 of 17 - 100%
Red Zone Scores: 21 of 24 - 88%
Red Zone Touchdowns: 15 of 24 - 63%
On-Side Kicks:  0 - 0
Penalties-Yards:  37 - 322 Avg. per gm 64,4
Punts-Yards: 37 - 322   Avg. per gm 64.4
Sacks:  2

Game prediction:  Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 31% probability of winning (28-35) over the Bulldogs.

My prediction:  According to Massey, Cats should be 3-2 after this game.  I'm going to disagree, the Cats are 4-1 after this game.

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2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings - (after week #5)

Welcome to Purple & Gold's 2018 SoCon Football Power Rankings.

Each Monday throughout the season, we'll release that week's Power Rankings.






Here are this week's rankings after five weeks of play (last week's ranking in parenthesis):

1.  (1)  Wofford (3-1, 2-0 SoCon)
Next:  at Chattanooga

2.  (4) ETSU  (4-1, 3-0 SoCon)
Next:  Gardner-Webb

3. (2)  Chattanooga (4-1, 2-1 Southern)
Next:  Wofford

4.  (5) The Citadel (1-3, 1-2 SoCon)
Next:  Bye

5.  (6) Mercer (3-2, 2-1 SoCon)
Next:  Bye

6.  (8) Furman (1-3, 1-1 SoCon)
Next:  Bye

7.  (3) Western Carolina (3-1, 1-1 Southern)
 Next:  at Samford

8.  (8)  Samford (1-4,  0-3 SoCon)
Next:  Western Carolina

9.  (9) VMI  (0-5, 0-4 SoCon)
Next:  Bye





Watch for Friday's SoCon picks.......


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This week's Purple & Gold football picks (9-29-18)

It's week #5 in the SoCon, and time to pick this weeks' games.

This week, we have 6 games scheduled, 3 conference games and 3 non-conference games for Saturday







Saturday, 9-29-18
Mercer (2-2, 1-1 SoCon) at VMI (0-4, 0-3 SoCon) 1:30 pm  ESPN3
The Bears travel to Lexington looking for their second conference win of the season, unfortunately for Mercer, the Keydets are looking for win #1, and find it against the Bears. winning 37-35.


Western Carolina (3-0, 1-0 SoCon) at Furman (0-3, 0-1 SoCon) 2:00 pm ESPN+
The Cats travel down the mountain looking to break a 2 game slide to the Paladins. The offensive unit rolls to a 35-14 win over the struggling Paladins.


The Citadel (1-2) at Towson (2-1)   4:00 pm
The Bulldogs travel to Towson after last weeks comeback win, with hopes of remaining in the win column. The Tigers have different plans and protect the home with at 35-28 win over the dogs.


Wofford (2-1) at Gardner-Webb (1-3) 6:00 pm ESPN+
After their bye week, the Terriers travel to Boiling Springs, NC to face the runnin' dogs. Never one to make it look easy, Wofford wins a closer than expected game, 35-24. 


Samford (1-3) at Kennesaw State (3-1)  6:00 pm  ESPN3
The Bulldogs are on the road to Kennesaw to meet the #4 ranked Kennesaw State Owls. KSU is just too much for the overmatched Bulldogs, losing 35-27.


Chattanooga (4-0, 2-0 SoCon) at ETSU (3-1, 2-0 SoCon) 7:30 pm ESPN+
The Mocs are in Johnson City to meet the home standing Bucs. UTC keeps their record perfect with a big win over the Bucs, 21-17.

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WCU vs. Furman: Head-to-Head

Courtesy WCU Athletic Media Relations                                                                

WCU 2-Deep Roster vs. Furman

Courtesy WCU Athletic Media Relations           

Game #4: Furman

For the fourth game of the season, the Cats are on the road to Travelers Rest, SC  to meet the Paladins in the 2018 football edition of The Battle for Purple Supremacy.

The Cats have dropped two straight to Furman and are looking to change that streak.










Furman

When: Saturday, September 29 - Time: 2:00 pm  EST
Where: Paladin Stadium, Greenville, SC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
- Talent:  Play-by-Play: Gary Ayers;  Color Analyst: Daniel Hooker; Host / Producer: Jeff Bryson
TV / video:  ESPN+   &  CW62
Game Notes:      WCU  -        Furman     -        SoCon Weekly Release
Message Board (Furman):  GoPaladin.com
The Series: The Cats are only 12-31-2 overall against the Paladins in the series.

The last game played vs. Furman:  October 28, 2017 - Catamounts Drop Homecoming Game to Furman, 28-6 - Furman's Antonio Wilcox rushed for a career-high 202 yards and a score while backfield teammate Kealand Dirks added a pair of scores and 119 yards on the ground as the Paladins rushed past No. 18/20 Western Carolina, 28-6, on a rain-soaked Homecoming Saturday at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The win was the sixth-straight for the Paladins after starting the season at 0-3, while WCU saw its four-game home winning streak snapped. Furman moved into a tie for first place in the SoCon with an upstate rival, Wofford, while WCU slipped into a tie with Samford for third overall.

Games that the Paladins played prior to the WCU contest:   3 with a fourth game canceled.  The preseason #2 ranked Paladins opened the season in Clemson, SC with a 48-7 defeat at the hands of the Tigers, then traveled to Elon, NC only to be taken down 45-7 by the Phoenix. Game three scheduled in Traveler's Rest with Colgate was canceled due to Hurricane Florence.  Expecting to get back on the right track, the Paladins then traveled to Johnson City, TN to play the preseason 8th ranked Bucs, only to have those expectations dashed by a 2 point loss to ETSU.

Last Season's Record (Furman): 2017 - 8-5 overall, 4-1 home, 4-4 away,  6-2 SoCon  - SoCon losses were to Wofford and Samford

Offensive Formation: Multiple
Defensive Formation: 3-4
Starters returning/lost:  18  /  7
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost:   5  /  6
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost:  10  /  1
Specialist - Returning/Lost:    3  /  2

Key Personnel Lost  -
Offense -  QB - P.J. Blazejowski; All-SoCon RB - Antonio Wilcox; All-SoCon TE - Andy Schumpert, All-SoCon LG - Terrell Bush, All-American C - Matthew Schmidt, SE - Logan McCarter, P - J.C. Hollingsworth, PR - Logan McCarter,

Defense -  All-SoCon Freshman LB - Reynard Ellis

This football season has been a huge disappointment for the Paladins so far and has not proceeded as they expected, with the loss to Clemson, the super beatdown by FCS opponent Elon, and a road loss to SoCon foe ETSU has the Paladins with their backs to the wall. Furman will have to win out to meet their preseason expectations of defending their SoCon title and another run at the NCAA football playoffs. This is a big game also for the Cats as well. who are looking to open the season at 4-0 for the first time since the 1960's.   In the ETSU loss, Furman went back to their senior QB, Harris Roberts. Roberts started the opener at Clemson game but played only the first three snaps. A preseason injury to his throwing hand was not yet healed. He did not play at Elon.

At the end of last season, the Paladins lost their offensive coordinator, Drew Cronic to the head coaching position at Lenior Rhyne University. Furman head coach Clay Hendrix moved asst. coach George Quarles' from tight ends coach to offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and hired Connor Shaw as the Paladins' new tight ends coach. IMO, the loss of Cronic has had a major negative impact on the Paladin offense, as well as has the loss of BJ Blazejowski.

This is Quarles first stint as an offensive coordinator, coming to Furman as a successful high school head coach in Tennessee. Other situations on the offensive side of the ball required that the Paladins to replace 6 starters due to graduation, including starting quarterback PJ Blazejowski, All-American center Matthew Schmidt, All-SoCon running back Antonio Wilcox, and All-SoCon tight end Andy Schumpert, who caught 32 passes for 652 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns en route to earning consensus All-Southern Conference honors.  These are major losses on offense for the Paladins, and it shows this season.

The defensive side of the ball should be the Paladians strength in 2018, as they lost only one starter, but All-SoCon Freshman team LB - Reynard Ellis.  Furman was very young last season on the defensive side of the ball and finished 3d overall in scoring defense in the SoCon.

Lineup Changes: Furman’s starting lineup versus ETSU included a two players making their starting debuts, sophomore Cole Neely at center and redshirt freshman Matt Sochovka at defensive tackle. Redshirt senior Harris Roberts returned to the starting lineup against ETSU as well, completing 10-of-21 passes for 149 yards in the 29-27 loss. Roberts earned the first start of his career against Clemson on Sept. 2, but played only one series before giving way to redshirt freshman JeMar Lincoln. Nine Paladins have made their career starting debuts this season, with center Cole Neely and defensive tackle Matt Sochovka the latest to join the group last Saturday against ETSU.

2018 Furman Statistics  (3 games):
Rushing Offense: 451 yards
Yards per game: 150.3
Yards per rush: 3.1 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 30
TDs rushing: 4
Passing Offense: 262 yards or 87.3 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 12.5 yards
Passing 1st downs: 12
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 21-45-1
TDs Passing: 1
Total Offense: 713 yards or 237.7 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 10-4
3d Down Conversions: 15 of 43 (35%)
4th Down Conversions: 0 of 2 (0%)
Field goal attempts: 2 - 4
PAT-Attempts: 55 of 55 (100%)
On-side kicks: 0-1
Red Zone Scores: 7 of 9 (78%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 5 of 9 (56%)
Punts - Yards: 19 - 751 - Avg per punt: 39.5


Game prediction:  Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats only have a 30% probability of winning (28-35) over the Paladins.

My Prediction:  According to Massey, the Cats should be 3-1 after this game.  I'm going to dissagree, the Cats win the battle and are 4-0 after this game.

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