In looking at this Saturday's game, a few things surprised me when pouring over the statistics. One, so far this season, Methodist (1-4, 0-2) has scored more points on the season than Ferrum. The Monarchs also have more passing yards than Ferrum. Methodist has thrown 8 passing touchdowns, and Ferrum has thrown but 4.
Some of this can be explained by the fact that Ferrum is still basically an option offense. That means fewer passes. The fact is that Methodist has a strong quarterback in Travis Murphy, and a corp of receivers that he will share his passes with. Murphy has thrown for 849 yards, and is completing almost 50% of his passes.(63 of 128 with 1 interception)
On the other side of the ball, the Monarchs have struggled. Defensively, Methodist has had a difficult time defending the run and the pass. To date they have given up 1137 passing yards (227 per game), and 724 yards on the ground for an average of almost 145 per game.
In short, Methodist has beaten Guilford (1-4), lost to Emory and Henry by 7 points, Lost to Maryville by 2 points, and scored 14 in the last 51 seconds to earn a somewhat respectable 26-14 loss to Christopher Newport.
This is not a team to take lightly, but Ferrum should be up to the challenge. The Panthers (3-2,2-0) can look for a constant passing attack from Methodist, and though they will be tested on the ground, I feel that Ferrum will be up to the test.
Look for a game that could be high scoring, and exciting to watch. In the end, the battle of the two first year head coaches should be won by Coach Harper.
My Prediction:
Ferrum 40
Methodist 21
As for the rest of the conference:
CNU @ Averett
NCW @ Greensboro
Maryville @ SHENANDOAH
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