Wofford, Furman, S.C. State thinking playoffs this weekend

By

Posted 9:00AM on Friday, October 25, 2002

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Wofford coach Mike Ayers knows his team has a daunting task when the Terriers journey into the mountains to face Appalachian State on Saturday. Wofford (5-2, 3-1 Southern Conference) hasn't beaten the Mountaineers since 1971 and Ayers knows they better stop that streak if the Terriers have any hopes of contending for a conference championship or making the postseason. "Every week from here on out, it's in essence a playoff game and you better come with a playoff mentality and you better come with a little bit extra," Ayers said. The Terriers find themselves in an unfamiliar place atop the conference as one of four SoCon teams with just one league loss. Several other South Carolina teams would like to stay near or at the top of their conferences too. Furman (5-2, 3 (1)- travels to East Tennessee State and South Carolina State 5-2, 2-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) plays Hampton. In other games, The Citadel plays host to Georgia Southern, Lenior-Rhyne heads to Presbyterian and Catawba is at Newberry. Wofford will need to cut down on turnovers, giving up good field position and big plays to remain on top after this weekend's game in Boone, N.C., Ayers said. "We've never played well up on the mountain and we've somehow got to find a way to do that. The last two times we went up there it was almost embarrassing, really," Ayers said. But there is good news for Wofford. The Terriers leading rusher Jesse McCoy, who is averaging more than nine yards a carry and about 70 yards a game, will return. He missed last week's 31-24 win over Western Carolina after suffering a concussion a week earlier in the loss to VMI. "All of the sudden, we're in this position where we're in late October and by golly, we're ranked up at the top with some other guys," Ayers said. The Paladins are used to being on top but not used to winning at East Tennessee State's dome. Furman has lost its last three games indoors, but coach Bobby Lamb said it has nothing to do with the venue. "It's not the dome, trust me," Lamb said. He said the Paladins have failed to execute on previous trips to Johnson City, Tenn. He pointed to the Paladins 8-1 record in the dome before suffering the three-straight losses. For the second-straight week in Orangeburg, South Carolina State hosts a team that's unbeaten in the MEAC. Bethune-Cookman 26-7 ended the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak last Saturday and first-year head coach Buddy Pough said his team has to regroup mentally against Hampton (5-2, 3 (0)-. This is a "do-or-die" game, Pough said. Hampton is riding a three-game winning streak after its 31-14 victory over Norfolk State. Pough said the Bulldogs' offense has to be ready for stunts and blitzes and the defense has to lookout for the fast wideouts. "They don't let you get comfortable anywhere," Pough said. Georgia Southern, which moved a step closer to an unprecedented sixth-straight Southern Conference championship after upsetting Appalachian State last week, faces The Citadel 2-5, 1 (3)-. The Eagles are riding a five-game winning streak against the Bulldogs and have two more league games after The Citadel against East Tennessee State and Furman. If they win all three, they will be the conference champions. Presbyterian 4-3, 1-2 South Atlantic Conference) is looking for its first win at the new 6,500-seat Bailey Memorial Stadium against Lenior-Rhyne (3-3, 1 (2)-. The opening game at the stadium didn't go well for the Blue Hose, which lost 47-14 to Carson-Newman. Newberry 1-6, 0 (3)- will try to get out of the cellar in the South Atlantic Conference against Catawba 5-1, 3 (0)-, which is coming off a 41-7 win over Wingate. The Indians have lost five straight, including a 24-7 loss against Tusculum last week.