Defense keeping No. 9 Wofford afloat
By Todd Shanesy
todd.shanesy@shj.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 12:35 a.m.
With its offense sputtering during the second half of the past three games, Wofford relied heavily on its defense to win a share of the Southern Conference football championship.
Facts
SATURDAY
Wofford (8-2) at USC (8-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: Pay-per-view
Radio: Wofford (105.7 FM, 910 AM), USC (97.1 FM, 104.3 FM, 1400 AM)
Rankings: Wofford No. 9 in FCS, USC No. 12 in FBS
The Terriers, 8-2 and ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, only scored once in the third and fourth quarters of their final three league games, but won two of those to earn a slice of the title with Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
In the two wins, against the Citadel and last week against Chattanooga, the offense was shut out in the second half. But the defense stiffened, allowing the Terriers to hold on for victories of 24-21 and 16-13 in overtime, respectively.
Wofford ends its regular season 1 p.m. Saturday against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“There is an old saying that you fill the stands with offense and you win championships with defense,” Wofford head coach Mike Ayers said. “I’ve always believed that.”
Wofford leads the Southern Conference and ranks No. 10 in the nation at the FCS level in scoring defense, allowing only 17.1 points per game.
The Terriers also have been the league’s best against the run, giving up an average of only 122.4 yards. And that includes games against two of the top four rushing teams in the nation, Georgia Southern and The Citadel. Wofford held the No. 1 team, GSU, to 136 yards below its average. In the first half last week, Chattanooga managed just 7 yards on 13 carries.
“If you look at last week it’s pretty much what our philosophy has been,” Ayers said. “Our main goal is to stop the run and make the offense more one-dimensional. Then, hopefully, we can put pressure on the quarterback and give our defense a chance to get off the field.”
Wofford also has been among the nation’s best in red-zone defense. The Terriers are tied for 10th in the FCS with opponents scoring on only 68 percent of trips inside the 20-yard line and only 46 percent of those have been touchdowns. Among the leaders, only Marist (34 percent), North Carolina A&T (35 percent) and South Dakota State (41 percent) have been better. The only one of those still in the playoff chase is South Dakota State, which needs a win this week against South Dakota.
The biggest-red zone defensive stands of the season came last week, when Wofford stopped Chattanooga on third down at the 13 in overtime and held the Mocs to a field goal, setting up a game-winning touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein.
“Our red-zone defense has been really good,” Ayers said. “We’ve just been playing great, especially when the other team is threatening. The defense is a huge reason that we’ve gotten to this point in the season. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into those guys being as good as they are. (Defensive coordinator) Nate Woody and his staff are tremendous teachers. And they’ve come up with the right plan every week.”
Wofford hasn’t been giving up many long-yardage plays, either. Chattanooga’s longest pass was a 27-yarder. Samford’s longest play was 18 yards.
“We don’t want the ball thrown over our heads,” Wofford corner back C.J. Turner said. “Our theory is that if we made them throw the ball underneath, they won’t beat us. Our defensive line and linebackers have been getting great pressure on the quarterbacks and that allows the defensive backs to break on the ball.
“When we come together every day at practice, we say defense wins championships. If we keep points off the board, we win the game.”
By Todd Shanesy
todd.shanesy@shj.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 12:35 a.m.
With its offense sputtering during the second half of the past three games, Wofford relied heavily on its defense to win a share of the Southern Conference football championship.
Facts
SATURDAY
Wofford (8-2) at USC (8-2)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: Pay-per-view
Radio: Wofford (105.7 FM, 910 AM), USC (97.1 FM, 104.3 FM, 1400 AM)
Rankings: Wofford No. 9 in FCS, USC No. 12 in FBS
The Terriers, 8-2 and ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, only scored once in the third and fourth quarters of their final three league games, but won two of those to earn a slice of the title with Georgia Southern and Appalachian State.
In the two wins, against the Citadel and last week against Chattanooga, the offense was shut out in the second half. But the defense stiffened, allowing the Terriers to hold on for victories of 24-21 and 16-13 in overtime, respectively.
Wofford ends its regular season 1 p.m. Saturday against South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium.
“There is an old saying that you fill the stands with offense and you win championships with defense,” Wofford head coach Mike Ayers said. “I’ve always believed that.”
Wofford leads the Southern Conference and ranks No. 10 in the nation at the FCS level in scoring defense, allowing only 17.1 points per game.
The Terriers also have been the league’s best against the run, giving up an average of only 122.4 yards. And that includes games against two of the top four rushing teams in the nation, Georgia Southern and The Citadel. Wofford held the No. 1 team, GSU, to 136 yards below its average. In the first half last week, Chattanooga managed just 7 yards on 13 carries.
“If you look at last week it’s pretty much what our philosophy has been,” Ayers said. “Our main goal is to stop the run and make the offense more one-dimensional. Then, hopefully, we can put pressure on the quarterback and give our defense a chance to get off the field.”
Wofford also has been among the nation’s best in red-zone defense. The Terriers are tied for 10th in the FCS with opponents scoring on only 68 percent of trips inside the 20-yard line and only 46 percent of those have been touchdowns. Among the leaders, only Marist (34 percent), North Carolina A&T (35 percent) and South Dakota State (41 percent) have been better. The only one of those still in the playoff chase is South Dakota State, which needs a win this week against South Dakota.
The biggest-red zone defensive stands of the season came last week, when Wofford stopped Chattanooga on third down at the 13 in overtime and held the Mocs to a field goal, setting up a game-winning touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein.
“Our red-zone defense has been really good,” Ayers said. “We’ve just been playing great, especially when the other team is threatening. The defense is a huge reason that we’ve gotten to this point in the season. There’s a lot of hard work that goes into those guys being as good as they are. (Defensive coordinator) Nate Woody and his staff are tremendous teachers. And they’ve come up with the right plan every week.”
Wofford hasn’t been giving up many long-yardage plays, either. Chattanooga’s longest pass was a 27-yarder. Samford’s longest play was 18 yards.
“We don’t want the ball thrown over our heads,” Wofford corner back C.J. Turner said. “Our theory is that if we made them throw the ball underneath, they won’t beat us. Our defensive line and linebackers have been getting great pressure on the quarterbacks and that allows the defensive backs to break on the ball.
“When we come together every day at practice, we say defense wins championships. If we keep points off the board, we win the game.”
