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 Western Carolina visits Furman this Saturday at 2:00 pm. |
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Oct. 7, 2008
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina head football coach Dennis Wagner again took part in the weekly Southern Conference Head Football Coaches Teleconference on Tuesday morning. He talked about last week's loss to Samford, as well as looked ahead to this Saturday's match-up with the No. 20/21 Furman Paladins in Greenville, S.C.
Wagner also addressed questions about the Catamount program has he reached the mid-point of his first season at the helm at WCU.
Western Carolina (2-4, 0-2 SoCon) visits Furman on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 2:00 pm. The Catamounts - which have dropped 17-straight SoCon games over the past three seasons after falling to Samford, 21-6, last Saturday - will be looking to snap a two-game slide to Furman since a 41-21 upset win over the then second-ranked Paladins back in the 2005 season.
Including that upset of the No. 2 Paladins in '05, Western Carolina is just 6-55-2 all-time against nationally-ranked NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams sine 1985. All six of the wins have come at home as WCU is 0-32-1 against ranked foes on the road.
Furman (4-2, 1-1 SoCon) ranks at the top the conference in terms of total defense, leading the league with 16 sacks through six games. The Paladins have won six-straight games at home over the Catamounts since 1994, WCU's last win in Greenville (35-24).
Both Furman (146.2 yds/gm) and Western Carolina (178.0 yds/gm) rank 1-and-2 in terms of pass defense on the season. Conversely, the Paladins rank second in the SoCon in passing offense at 235.8 yds/gm through the air, while WCU is fifth at a 214.5 yard average.
Kickoff is slated for 2:00 pm from Paladin Stadium. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network with a 1:00 pm air time. Fans can listen to the game locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee or 680 AM WRGC in Sylva. Other outlets include 1480 AM WPFJ, the Dove in Franklin; in Bryson City on 1590 AM WBHN; and in Hendersonville on 1600 AM WTZQ.
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Here is an excerpt from Tuesday morning's teleconference:
Head Coach Dennis Wagner, Western Carolina:
On the home loss to Samford:
"Our hats off to Samford and the way that they played (on Saturday). They did a good job. When they needed scores, they were able to get them. I thought that they really hurt us on special teams. Our special team play gave them great field possession and allowed them to be physical; keep the ball and move it on the ground."
"We had at least three drives that were over 12 plays long but couldn't come away with any points. We got inside the forty five times and only came away with two field goals. It's frustrating that we couldn't put the ball in the end zone offensively. Defensively, we have got to get off the field on third down. We would make good plays to put ourselves in a good position, but on third down, we allow people to move the chains."
"We need to make our biggest improvement will have to be on special teams. That really hurt us last week."
On the #20/21 Furman Paladins:
"Furman is an excellent football team. They are very disciplined and play hard and I know that they will be excited to play. They do some great things on offense and defense - rank among the leaders in total defense and lead the conference in sacks. They are very aggressive."
On rebuilding the WCU football program:
"I think that things are going well. It's our opportunity to reestablish things and start traditions and to do the things we want to do. I'm proud of the players in that we really haven't had anyone leave the team or quit. We have just got to learn how to finish games and to put ourselves in positions to win games. It's not like we got blown out this last week. It's just the fact that we had opportunities to win the game; Samford certainly let us hang around long enough that we should have closed the door. I'm disappointed in that sense that we are not taking that step forward. But, we knew coming in that this was going to be a process that was going to take time. We would be willing to play some young players and be willing to live with their mistakes and try to get them corrected and move forward as we go through the season."
"If we do our job (as players and coaches) and stay the course and have a plan, we can only get better. We said at the beginning of the year, we wouldn't measure our success by wins and losses, although that's the bottom line -- you have to win football games and find ways to do it. But I want to see us get better. I want to see us take steps forward in every game."
On quarterback situation:
"We told them both that they were going to compete this week in practice. We are going in with the thought that if they are even, then the senior (Andy Horn) is the guy that plays because he has gotten us to this point thus far. Andy's had a few injuries and he's been banged up and not performed to his ability and that opened the door for Zack (Jaynes) to come in and play. He got a change to go in for a couple drives in The Citadel game, took us down for a touchdown. He got into the Samford game and moved the ball, but didn't get us into the end zone. He made a couple mistakes that young guys do - and we're willing to live with that. We are going to need both of these guys through this whole process. We still have six teams left to play and they are all very fine football teams. So, we are going to compete this week and make a decision. If it's close, the senior will start - but the young freshman will play."
On challenges playing nationally-ranked Furman:
"Any time you're good in pass defense, your people up front have got to be doing something good. You're not allowing a quarterback to get through his progressions and I think that ties into that they are leading the conference in sacks. They have gotten pressure on the quarterback; they mix up their package with a lot of fire zones where they keep you guessing as to where the pressure is coming from. They have done a good job coaching-wise in using their talent to best suit their defense. But, they do a good job against the run, too."
Head Coach Bobby Lamb, Furman:
On loss at Elon:
"Elon is a very good football team. It has been noted at how quickly they have become a good team. Coach (Pete) Lembo and his staff have done an amazing job. We did not play with our `A' game. Bottom line, we turned it over four times and each one came on our side of the 50. Every time you do that, you are going to have trouble winning a game."
Preparations for Western Carolina:
"It looks like Coach Wagner and his staff is going with a lot of young players with a great system. He knows how to win; he has been involved with winning programs. With the new staff and system, it's a little easier to prepare now that we are in game six or so and it helps us having six tapes on them. They are trying to build a program and trying to do it the right way."
On Western Carolina's quarterbacks, Zack Jaynes and Andy Horn:
"Both young men have different abilities. (Jaynes) runs it better while the other (Horn) throws it better. We have to be ready for both of them because they are trying be balanced on offense. They weren't able to be as balanced last week because of falling behind."
