Ferrum Blasted On The Road By Eagles 53-10

Being undefeated is quite a feat, especially at the midpoint of the regular season. I thought Ferrum, coming off of a great homecoming win, may just be poised to end the Eagles aforementioned winning streak. When you are undefeated, you get that way for a simple reason...….the team is good. Ferrum found this out the hard way as Bridgewater ran roughshod over them all day. The scoring came early and often for the Eagles. and by the end of the first quarter, they led, 15-7. The halftime score was 32-10. It only got worse in the second half as Ferrum was held scoreless. While Bridgewater scored 21 more points in the third, Ferrum continued to struggle on both sides of the ball.
For the game, the Panthers gained just 46 yards on the ground, but allowed 127 yards to be gained by Bridgewater. The game through the air was not much better as Ferrum gained 134 yards passing, and converted their only touchdown through the air. Bridgewater gained 269 yards passing, and scored two touchdowns through the air.

Digging a little deeper into the stats, Ferrum ran 10 fewer plays, and lost the time of possession battle by almost 9 mins. The Ferrum ground game was nearly non existent as Ferrum had 30 rushing attempts, and averaged 1.5 yards per play. That will not get it done. Yes, Brian Mann is out with an injury, but there are plenty of reserves on the bench that have to fill his shoes. For the running game to flourish, it, like everything starts at the line of scrimmage. Ferrum has some size, but in some respects, they seem to be overmatched in the trenches.

There were some positives. Ferrum did get to the Bridgewater quarterback twice, and did not turn the ball over. The overall picture is that the offensive numbers are nowhere near what they need to be, and we are allowing too many points. Yeah that sounds like a real "duh" deduction, but it really is that simple. When you have to punt 9 times in a game, you are not effective on the offensive side. When you are giving up about 29 points per game, and only scoring around 23 points per game, that will not convert to many wins.

Now, in Ferrum's defense, they have faced some very strong teams so far into the schedule. Between W&L, Averett, Bridgewater, and Randolph Macon, their combined record is 21-4, with Washington and Lee owning 2 of those losses. In order to be the best, you have to beat the best, and Ferrum is still working hard to get better. I believe that Ferrum has a strong set of coaches, and you will see improvement, starting Saturday.

Vs. Southern Virginia

Today, the Knights come to Adams stadium, and with the same record as Ferrum, will try to hang another loss on the Panthers. This could be a fun game. If Ferrum can do the basics, and win the time of possession battle, they should come away with a win. Southern Virginia is a better team than when we last played them. They can put points on the board. The Knights started their season with a win over Montclair State. Montclair State, last week, shut out Christopher Newport University 24-0. Don't be too alarmed, CNU is having a rare off year as they only have one win so far.

Look for this to possibly be a high scoring affair as both teams can score, and may give up points.

Giving Ferrum the edge, its at home, and it's Folklife Festival weekend!

Ferrum 37

SVU 30

Go Panthers!