Team Prestige: 1 Star
Overall Rating: 83
Offense Rating: 84
Defense Rating: 83
Schedule
Week 1: BYE
Week 2: @ #4 Tennessee
Week 3: @ #14 Northwestern
Week 4: vs. Troy
Week 5: vs. Georgia State
Week 6: @ UL Monroe
Week 7: @ Texas State
Week 8: @ Arkansas State
Week 9: @ UL Lafayette
Week 10: vs. Tulane
Week 11: vs. New Mexico State
Week 12: BYE
Week 13: vs. South Alabama
Week 14: vs. BYU
Week 15: BYE
Porter TD.jpg True Freshman WR Steve Porter was as good as advertised. In his collegiate debut, the Freshman caught 2 TD passes against a Top 5 opponent.
Our 2017 season started off against the toughest opponent we have faced or will face in our first 2 years as a football program... The #4 ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Last year I was nervous about our first game... This year, I'm excited.
Yes, we're playing a damn good team in the Volunteers. But, we have a much improved team this year as our returning players all progressed during the off-season and our 2017 Signing Class provided us with a ton of solid depth.
I'm also excited because the goal of our program is to eventually start a rivalry up with the Vols due to the fact that our universities are only an hour away from each other.
But this year, do we have enough talent to go toe-to-toe with the #4 team in the country?
During the 1st Quarter we most certainly did... At least in terms of our defense.
Our defense shut them out despite giving up a couple long drives down the field. However, our offense was awful. We put up just 36 yards of offense in the 1st Quarter.
We entered the 2nd Quarter tied at 0-0.
The Vols got on the board first as new starting QB Quinten Dormady threw a bomb that was perfectly placed to WR Josh Smith for the 40 yard TD. We responded with a TD of our own on our next possession. Tony Amos led a great drive which was capped off on a 1 yard run by backup RB Tauren Peters.
The Vols would take the lead right back as time expired in the 2nd inning as Aaron Medley drilled a 32 yard FG from the right hash.
So at halftime, Tennessee led 10-7.
The Vols put up the only points in the 3rd Quarter on an 8 yard pass from Dormady to Josh Smith on the slant pass. With this TD the Vols jumped out to a 17-7 lead heading into the epic 4th Quarter.
Just 4 seconds into the 4th Quarter we scored on a 17 yard TD strike from Tony Amos to Freshman WR Steve Porter. Amos threw the ball up to Porter in the back of the end zone on a jump ball and Porter was able to get up and over Emmanuel Moseley to catch the ball. The Vols responded back on their next possession with a TD of their own. This time, Quinten Dormady found Senior WR Josh Malone who got behind CB Jamaal Jenkins. Dormady put the ball right on the money as the Vols' scored on a 32 yard TD.
Less than a minute and a half later, we scored another TD. Tony Amos threw a deep ball to Steve Porter and Porter came down with the ball in the back of the end zone. Porter was able to shake Malik Foreman near the line of scrimmage and the Strong Safety was covering the Tight End, which allowed Porter to become wide open for the 31 yard score. The score was now 24-21 Tennessee, with 2:03 left in the game.
On just their 2nd play of their ensuing possession, the Vols scored on a huge TD. Quinten Dormady threw a deep ball to Tight End Ethan Wolf. Wolf was wide open in the middle of the field as the Kodiaks' brought both safeties on a blitz. Wolf outran Kodiak LB Atari McLaurin and was gone for the 71 yard TD. The Vols led 31-21 with 1:27 left in the game...
At this point, it looked like the game was over... But we weren't done just yet.
On the ensuing kickoff Tauren Peters returned the ball 86 yards before he was tripped up on the 12 yard line. On the very first play of our drive, we scored on a 12 yard TD run by Norris Blalock. Blalock took the handoff going up the middle, got to the 2 yard line, trucked Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr., and then crossed the goal line with 1:08 left in the game. The score was 31-28 in favor of the Vols.
Obviously if there is 1:08 left in the game, you're going to go for the onside kick. So, we attempted the onside kick, but the Vols recovered the ball and would run the clock out as they held on for the 31-28 win.
It was a fantastic effort by our guys. No one gave us a shot to win this game and we took the #4 team in the country down to the wire in front of 100,000 people in attendance.
If it's one area we have to improve on, it has to be our pass coverage. To put it bluntly, we got f****** torched all game long in the secondary.
Quinten Dormady threw for 515 yards, 4 TD's, and 0 INT's in his first game as a starter. WR Josh Smith caught 8 passes for 154 yards and 2 TD's. 3 other Tennessee receivers finished with over 75 receiving yards.
That just simply can't happen if we want to win games. It really is amazing that we were able to hang in there like we did while allowing so many passing yards.
Up next we'll take on #14 Northwestern on the road in another really tough game. I'm excited to see how our team will use this loss as motivation for next Saturday's tough game.
SMSU Kodiaks at Tennessee Volunteers
Sep 6, 2017
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
SMSU Kodiaks (0-1)
0
7
0
21
28
#4 Tennessee Volunteers (1-0)
0
10
7
14
31
Team Stats Comparison
SMSU
TENN
Total Offense
344
596
Rushing Yards
109
81
Passing Yards
235
515
First Downs
13
16
Punt Return Yards
8
23
Kick Return Yards
114
0
Total Yards
466
619
Turnovers
0
1
3rd Down Conversion
2-10 (20%)
7-15 (46%)
4th Down Conversion
0-0 (0%)
0-2 (0%)
2-Point Conversion
0-0 (0%)
0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
6-2-0 (33%0
4-1-1 (50%)
Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
SMSU
TENN
3:49
(TENN) TD: J. Smith, 40 yard pass from Q. Dormady
0
7
1:40
(SMSU) TD: T. Peters, 1 yard run
7
7
0:00
(TENN) FG: A. Medley, 32 yard FG
7
10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING
SMSU
TENN
3:32
(TENN) TD: J. Smith, 8 yard pass from Q. Dormady
7
17
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING
SMSU
TENN
4:56
(SMSU) TD: S. Porter, 17 yard pass from T. Amos
14
17
3:29
(TENN) TD: J. Malone, 32 yard pass from Q. Dormady
Re: Smoky Mountain State University | A Teambuilder/Story Dynasty (NCAA 14)
Quote:
Originally Posted by ThatBritishGuy
Would have been huge to pull the upset on Tennessee, close but no cigar! Should be in for a cracking season tho!
I was pleasantly surprised with how well the team did as a whole. I'm sure we'll get a win against them at least once in the next 5 years as I do believe I'll start scheduling them as a yearly, out-of-conference rival. I think, in the future, a SMSU/Tennessee rivalry could produce some really exciting games.
As for the rest of the season, I'm pumped. I think we have a legit shot at winning the Sun Belt this year and our 2018 Signing Class could be better than the 2017 Signing Class. I don't think I've ever seen so many 3 star gems before in one Signing Class!
Thanks for the comment! I really appreciate you following along!
Peters TD.jpg Senior HB Tauren Peters scores our first TD of the game on a 1 yard run in the 2nd Quarter
Just one week after our devastating loss to Tennessee, we had to travel on the road to take on the 14th ranked, Northwestern Wildcats.
Northwestern was 1-0 on the season as they dominated FCS Midwest 47-7 in Week 2. The Wildcats were also looking like the favorites, from a talent perspective, in the Big 10's West Division. So, this obviously provided our young team with another huge challenge.
Here is the thing I like about our young team... We don't give up. We didn't give up against the Vols despite our slim chances to win late in the game. And we didn't give up in this game either.
Northwestern got on the board first on this play.
It was 2nd and 8 from the 47 yard line. I was already on edge over the fact we let them convert on two separate 3rd downs. It was a 3 receiver set, Thorson was in the shot gun with a lone RB in the backfield in Justin Jackson. Thorson snapped the ball, our slot corner, David Haynes blitzed. I f****** hate DB blitzes, but our Defensive Coordinator, Kyle Duke, called one anyway. Of course the receiver in the slot, Macan Wilson, ran a vertical route. Our starting SS Kris Fordinal was caught out of position, Thorson wound up, threw a bomb to Wilson and put the ball right where it needed to be. After two converted 3rd down attempts, the Wildcats found themselves in the endzone on a 47 yard TD because of busted coverage.
"Don't call that s*** again!" I yelled into the headset at our Defensive Coordinator Kyle Duke. "How many times did you call that f****** play last year and how many times did it work?"
The right answer was once. I remember last year against Marshall, our slot CB at the time, Corey Neal, was actually able to sack the QB. That is the ONLY time it has worked out of like 15 times of calling that play.
Anyway, back to the game.
After a 3 and out on our next possession, Northwestern followed that up with a 3 and out of their own.
Finally, on the ensuing drive, we scored our first TD of the game. Tony Amos led a great drive down the field, which included converting a 3rd and 12 where he scrambled out of the backfield. Once Amos got near the 1st Down marker, he dove forward and was just barely able to pick up the first down. It was a remarkable play.
That play gave us the momentum we needed to score later in the drive as Tauren Peters took the hand off, and plunged right through the heart of the Northwestern defense on the 1 yard TD run. We had tied the game up with 4:40 left in the 2nd Quarter.
However, Northwestern responded on their next drive with a 49 yard FG from the right hash to reclaim the lead. It was 10-7 at that point and that's how we would enter halftime.
I'm not joking when I say, damn near nothing happened in the 3rd Quarter. No one scored, I think we picked up 2 first downs, Northwestern picked up 3 first downs, and there were no turnovers, no sacks, nothing. This was the most frustrating quarter of football I've ever witnessed.
Going into the 4th Quarter, Northwestern still held the 10-7 lead.
With 3:46 left in the 4th Quarter, Northwestern tacked on to their lead with a 43 yard FG. It was now 13-7. There was no need to panic. One TD, convert the extra point, and we're on our way to a massive upset.
On our ensuing possession we were finally moving the damn ball down the field.
However, with 1:48 left in the game, our drive stalled at the 26 yard line and found ourselves in a 4th and 2 situation. We could either kick the field goal, or go for it. A field goal did us no good, and it was only two yards, so we elected to go for it.
We called a Read Option. Northwestern must have known that was coming, because Amos faked the handoff, took a step, and got drilled in the backfield for a 3 yard loss.
All the Wildcats had to do now was run out the clock... And that's exactly what they did.
So, we ended up dropping another tough, close game on the road by a score of 13-7.
If there was one encouraging aspect of this game, it was the fact that our secondary played much better. We only allowed 205 passing yards. 42 of those yards came off of HB Screens. So, our secondary really stepped up today against a pretty decent passing attack.
In Week 4, we get our first home game of the season as we open up Sun Belt Conference play against Troy.
Tony Amos.jpg Tony Amos bounced back after his inconsistent performance against Northwestern. Amos accounted for 377 total yards of offense.
For the first time in 2017, we were playing at home. Our home opener also served as our Sun Belt opener as we took on the Troy Trojans.
Troy has had a rough couple weeks to start the season. In Week 2 they opened up the season with a 26-21 loss to FCS Midwest. Then in Week 3, they got destroyed by Texas Tech, 42-10. Both of those losses happened at home for Troy.
Would they be able to turn it around against us?
Well, in the 1st Quarter they sure as hell didn't.
We received the ball to start the game and on our first possession we drove right down the field and scored on a 27 yard TD pass. Tony Amos found WR Steven McDaniel wide open over the middle of the field for the score. McDaniel ran a Vertical route as Troy blitzed their Strong Safety. McDaniel flew past the Linebacker who was covering him and we scored easily on our opening possession. That was HUGE for us considering we struggled to move the ball last week.
Troy's possession resulted in a quick punt. Then, on our ensuing possession, we scored on yet another TD. This time, starting RB Norris Blalock (who has fully recovered from an injury suffered in the Tennessee game) took the hand off and plunged forward 8 yards for the rushing TD. With 2:34 left in the 1st Quarter we were already up 14-0.
Once again, our defense forced Troy to punt, and we capitalized once again by scoring another TD. On this TD, Tony Amos threw a bullet to the outside shoulder of True Freshman Steve Porter who was running a corner route. Amos placed the ball exactly where it needed to be and Porter made a leaping catch at the goal line. Heading into the 2nd Quarter, our offense couldn't be stopped and our defense was swarming the ball. This game was going to get ugly.
We added on even more to our lead in the 2nd Quarter. It took a while, but with 2:06 left in the half, we scored on a 5 yard TD pass from Tony Amos to TE Joe Bush. We ran the play "Spacing" and Joe Bush ran to the goal line, pivoted immediately, and Amos put the ball right in his chest. To make matters worse, Bush was WIDE open because Troy blitzed their Linebackers... And we were on the 5 yard line. Thanks to Amos' 3rd TD pass of the half, we held a 28-0 lead.
However, Troy responded with just 25 seconds left in the half as they finally got on the board with a TD of their own. Troy's QB, Brandon Silvers, dumped a pass out in the flat to HB JaMarcus Henderson. Henderson made CB Jason Durbin miss and then was tackled forward into the end zone for the 4 yard score. Heading into halftime, we led 28-7.
We scored first again in the 3rd Quarter on another 25+ yard TD pass. Tony Amos fired a bullet over the middle of the field to Redshirt Freshman Terrence Cole. Cole made a nice leaping grab, broke a tackle, and sprinted into the end zone for the 32 yard TD. With Amos' 4th TD pass of the game, our lead was now extended to 35-7.
Troy responded on their next possession as Brandon Silvers threw a 5 yard bullet to Senior WR Justin Wyatt on the slant route. The score was now 35-14...
That would be the last time Troy would score in this game.
We put up two more TD's in the 4th Quarter. The first was a 7 yard run by Senior HB Tauren Peters. Peters took the Read Option hand off and ran untouched into the end zone.
Our final score in the game was set up by an INT by Senior WIDE RECEIVER Kenyon Meeks. Due to the lack of bodies in our secondary, we had to play Meeks as our slot corner when our 2nd team defense entered the game in the 4th Quarter. Troy QB Brandon Silvers tried to throw a lob pass on the out route to lead his receiver towards the sideline. But, the pass didn't have enough air under it and Meeks jumped the pass and picked it off. Our sideline went absolutely nuts as a Senior WR intercepted a pass on defense. That's going to be one of the plays of the year.
Anyway, with 1:56 left in the game, Sophomore HB Jason Strong scored on a 1 yard run after he set us up at the goal line a play before on a really impressive 16 yard run.
After a quick 3 and out by Troy, we would run the clock out and finally get in the win column with a huge 49-14 win over a Sun Belt rival.
In Week 5 we take on Georgia State (0-2) at home. The GSU game will be a huge recruiting weekend for us as we will have 6 of our top targets come in for a visit.
Steven McDaniel TD.jpg Steven McDaniel scores this 27 yard TD on our opening drive of the game.
Norris Blalock TD.jpg Norris Blalock scores midway through the 1st Quarter on this 8 yard TD run.
Steve Porter TD.jpg Steve Porter celebrates, on the damn goal line, after his 29 yard TD catch.
Troy Trojans at SMSU Kodiaks
Sep 20, 2017
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
SCORE
Troy Trojans (0-3)
0
7
7
0
14
SMSU Kodiaks (1-2)
21
7
7
14
49
Team Stats Comparison
TROY
SMSU
Total Offense
310
614
Rushing Yards
43
246
Passing Yards
267
368
First Downs
16
27
Punt Return Yards
0
10
Kick Return Yards
58
24
Total Yards
368
648
Turnovers
1
2
3rd Down Conversion
3-12 (25%)
5-9 (55%)
4th Down Conversion
0-0 (0%)
1-2 (50%)
2-Point Conversion
0-0 (0%)
0-0 (0%)
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals
4-2-0 (50%)
4-4-0 (100%)
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING
TROY
SMSU
4:17
(SMSU) TD: S. McDaniel, 27 yard pass from T. Amos
0
7
2:34
(SMSU) TD: N. Blalock, 8 yard run
0
14
0:48
(SMSU) TD: S. Porter, 29 yard pass from T. Amos
0
21
SECOND QUARTER SCORING
TROY
SMSU
2:06
(SMSU) TD: J. Bush, 5 yard pass from T. Amos
0
28
0:25
(TROY) TD: J. Henderson, 4 yard pass from B. Silvers
07-24-2017, 08:00 PM
