This is a weekly series we have added to our repertoire covering something new for us, though we have long covered the sport. This article covers college football at the small college level.
This week, we look back at Centre’s game with Rhodes College before peering forward at the game upcoming with the gentlemen from the University of the South (Sewanee). Centre College improved to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the SAA. The Colonels are third in the conference overall and winners of its previous two ball games.
The Colonels finish on the road in ’21 with trips first to Sewanee this coming Saturday and then to Valhalla to play Berry College the following week.
Looking back at Rhodes College…
This past week, Centre played Rhodes College. Roades entered the game 3-4 overall and 2-2 in conference. Centre would celebrate its “Seniors.”
It was quite a dominating performance. The Colonels were 57% on third down (4 of 7) but not very efficient on fourth down, failing on all three attempts to convert.
Centre had 489-yards of total offense in 64-plays for 7.6 yards per play. The Colonels threw for 349-yards and rushed for 140.
Rhodes had 259-yards of total offense on 69-plays for 3.8-yards per play. The Lynx threw for 156-yards while rushing for 103.
Rhodes won the “time of possession” (30:56/29:04) proving correct what Steve Spurrier once said. Spurrier was quoted years ago, at SEC Media days, remarking that “Time of Possession” was among the most useless statistics in all of football. Centre proved this hypothesis losing the Time of Possession battle but winning the game, 49-6.
QB, Trentin “Super” Dupper, coming off a SAA Offensive Player of the Week performance, had another performance which left observers wondering whether he was sure to repeat. Dupper was 24 for 29 for 340-yards passing with 4-TD tosses against no thrown INTs. Dupper also gained 51-yards rushing on 9-carries to tie Patric Edwards for top honors in that statistical category.
Freshman, Will McDaniel, carried it twice for 28-yards and showed real burst and speed on a 25-yard carry which he nearly broke into the end zone. Seniors, Patric Edwards and Jordan Gunter scored two of our rushing TDs, while Gunter added career TD receptions leader to a growing list of plaudits.
Cort Marbaugh led all receivers with 6-cathes for 96-yards with a TD reception while Sam Murray continued his strong play, catching 5 for 80-yards with a TD.
Jordan Gunter caught 4 for 54-yards and a TD while Christian Billiter and Scotty Brown caught the remaining TD receptions on the day. If you’re counting, and believe we have a superfluous TD reception in there, we don’t.
Nick Osterman logged some time Saturday and looked good doing it. Osternman was 2-3 for 9-yards and tossed a TD. Centre had 5-TDs passing on the day in total.
Defensively, both Justin Gainey and Nick Grant picked passes. Gainey took his back 40-yards.
Quinton Moss led all tacklers with 8-stops. Moss also contributed half a TFL and a forced fumble. Armon Wells had 6-tackles with the other half of Moss’s TFL.
Er’Ron Mitchell, Nick German, and Keanan John all broke up passes while Scotty Brown and Miles Smith both blocked kicks. Jack McDowell laced the QB, but after the ball had barely gotten away on its downfield track. It was a severe hit regardless.
Looking forward to Sewanee…
Coming up for the Colonels is a trip to the top of the Cumberland Plateau to play The University of the South (Sewanee). Sewanee is 0-7 overall.
Just for frame of reference, Sewanee lost to Rhodes College earlier in the year 55-13. Draw whatever conclusion you wish from that information.
Sewanee played Millsaps this past weekend, losing 42-32, but made the game more of a contest than many believed the Tigers would.
There was no box score provided from this past weekend’s game until just today. This isn’t uncommon for programs which find themselves mired in the cellar of any conference at any level of play.
It is the inattention to detail which always seems to doom some teams. A failure to compile and study statistical data is just a symptom of a larger sickness.
The week prior to playing Millsaps, Sewanee played Trinity College. Trinity beat them 66-7.
Against Trinity, the Tigers managed a paltry 7-first downs, 104-yards of total offense, and averaged 1.6-yards per play. The Tigers rushed the ball from the scrimmage line 45-times and gained 61-yards.
Trinity accumulated 416-yards of offense against Sewanee. Three-hundred eight (308) of which were through the air with the remaining 108 gained on the ground.
Mitchell Gibbons and Tucker Kirk, either one, have aligned under the center at different points of the season. Cade Golden has gotten some PT too.
Tucker Kirk is a dual threat QB and, like Dupper, has led the Tigers in rushing in several of its games. George Morrice and Michael McGhee get most of the carries not taken by the QB. McGhee is coming off a 150-yard performance against Millsaps and a player we believe to be the Tigers’ first option.
McGhee is from Chattanooga Tennessee. He played for Central High School and his senior year he was a semi-finalist for Tennessee’s “Mr. Football.” He’s a fire plug at 5-9 and weighing in at 215-pounds.
Cyrus Wilson and Grayson Baker are favorite targets downfield for Sewanee. Brody Palmer handles the kickoffs while Jack Satterfield kicks the PATs and FGs in addition to punting.
Jacob Jackson, Kason Holder, and Quinn Johnson lead a defense which has been ravaged this season. Mason Ware is the most reliable down lineman and Harris Cravens and Tyler Wright have been consistent performers on defense all season.
When plays are registered behind the scrimmage line, more likely than not, it will be Holder or Johnson. Both Kegan Glaze and Mason Ware apply the most consistent pressure against opposing passers.
Prognosis;
As we have before said, this is college football and teams can’t be overlooked. The fact Centre is way more talented and a much better football team than is Sewanee is an obvious one.
We believe this game will be a blow-out. Centre should move the record to 7-2 before traveling to Valhalla next week and discovering what kind of team we have become here at the end of the season.
Look for Centre to really put emphasis on picking up late down, short distance situations running the football into the middle of the line. That is an area on which we can improve as our 4th down conversion rate against Rhodes College evidenced.
See you guys at the tailgate! This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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