By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer
For someone who earlier in the week was as beaten up as a Muhammad Ali sparring partner, Will Ford was more than ready for battle Saturday.
The South Carolina State running back looked in mid-season form against Winston-Salem State. For most of the contest, last year’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year was flying through holes for big yards and making Rams’ defenders grasp at his sore ankles.
Yet Ford’s 193 total yards, 164 coming on the ground, almost went to waste. As late as 3:11 remained in a contest which was far from decided and one in which the Bulldogs still faced the dire prospect of entering the "bye" week with a 1-3 record for the second straight year.
"We couldn’t walk out of Bulldog Stadium with a loss," Ford said. "So we were willing to work and do whatever we had to do to get into the endzone and get some of this pressure off the defense."
After having seen previous trips to the "Red Zone" result in a fumble in the endzone, an interception return of 87 yards which set up the Rams’ lone score and a blocked field goal, SCSU finally hit paydirt with a scoring drive. What started with a long run from Ford ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Travil Jamison with 1:07 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 20-7 victory.
The win and the "bye" could not come at a better time for Ford and several Bulldog players. In completing arguably the toughest four-game stretch to open a season in school history, two of the games against two Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Bulldogs paid a price from a physical standpoint in the form of a long list of players either out of action or playing through various injuries or sicknesses.
Already having lost linebacker David Erby and wide receiver Tron Jackson (both ACLs) for the season and BANDIT Marshall McFadden (elbow) and offensive lineman Nygel Pearson (hand) not scheduled to return for another two weeks, SCSU had at least three players (quarterback Malcolm Long, wide receiver Terrance Smith, offensive lineman Devon Dawson) entering Saturday’s game suffering with the flu and running backs Ford, Jonathan Woods and defensive lineman Sterling Blunt dealing with some form of leg injury.
Quarterback Cleveland McCoy was also not at 100 percent, although like Ford, he finished with a season-high 204 passing yards and a TD. Nevertheless, Pough would have been tempted to give both players a week off ‘bye’ or no ‘bye’.
"I don’t know if we played next week if those guys continue to go like they’re going," he said. "I’ve got to give them some time off and give them a chance to heal up a little bit because man, they are beat up. And we put Jonathan Woods in situations that were unfair because he’s not well."
If there’s a silver lining for the Bulldogs is seeing how much of a productive impact some of the replacements have done. Jamison rushed for a career-best 82 yards and has seemingly pushed himself in position to possibly fill the "Thunder" role once occupied by DeShawn Baker.
"I think Travil Jamison is about ready to play now and he looks like he’s going to be a really good player for us," Pough said. "We get that big back kind of guy now that we had with Baker that we can use that can kind of use to kind of give us a change of pace. I’m hoping that’s something that we can develop in a way that can try to get ourselves together."
Redshirt freshmen offensive linemen Josh Harrison and Johnny Culbreath also saw extended playing time and the defense has received a boost from redshirt freshmen Sam Chester and Jayson Ayers.
"I look at our defensive depth chart and I know people don’t want to hear this, but we’re going to be pretty good next year," Pough said.
For now, the focus is this year and for the next seven days, it will be all about rest and recuperating for the Bulldogs. Pough admitted he didn’t count upon having to deal with the litany of health issues from the difficult schedule, but now that the "bye" week is here, he’s taking whatever measures necessary to get his team close to full strength for the resumption of play Oct. 6 at Norfolk State.
"I might tell (Ford) don’t even show up for the next week," Pough said. "Just go the (heck) away and don’t even come down there. Just come down to get treatment and stay out of the way."
Rough homecoming
Saturday’s loss dropped Winston-Salem State head coach Kermit Blount to 1-3 against the school where he served as an offensive coordinator under Willie Jeffries from 1989-93. His lone win came in 2000 over his former mentor.
"It’s always good to come back to where you’ve already been," Blount said. "But, we’d like to play a little better when we come back. I can guarantee you, the next time they come to us or when come to them, it will be a better ballgame."
Saturday also marked the return of WSSU offensive coordinator Nick Calcutta, who also served under Jeffries like his brother, David, a former running backs coach.
For someone who earlier in the week was as beaten up as a Muhammad Ali sparring partner, Will Ford was more than ready for battle Saturday.
The South Carolina State running back looked in mid-season form against Winston-Salem State. For most of the contest, last year’s Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year was flying through holes for big yards and making Rams’ defenders grasp at his sore ankles.
Yet Ford’s 193 total yards, 164 coming on the ground, almost went to waste. As late as 3:11 remained in a contest which was far from decided and one in which the Bulldogs still faced the dire prospect of entering the "bye" week with a 1-3 record for the second straight year.
"We couldn’t walk out of Bulldog Stadium with a loss," Ford said. "So we were willing to work and do whatever we had to do to get into the endzone and get some of this pressure off the defense."
After having seen previous trips to the "Red Zone" result in a fumble in the endzone, an interception return of 87 yards which set up the Rams’ lone score and a blocked field goal, SCSU finally hit paydirt with a scoring drive. What started with a long run from Ford ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Travil Jamison with 1:07 remaining to give the Bulldogs a 20-7 victory.
The win and the "bye" could not come at a better time for Ford and several Bulldog players. In completing arguably the toughest four-game stretch to open a season in school history, two of the games against two Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Bulldogs paid a price from a physical standpoint in the form of a long list of players either out of action or playing through various injuries or sicknesses.
Already having lost linebacker David Erby and wide receiver Tron Jackson (both ACLs) for the season and BANDIT Marshall McFadden (elbow) and offensive lineman Nygel Pearson (hand) not scheduled to return for another two weeks, SCSU had at least three players (quarterback Malcolm Long, wide receiver Terrance Smith, offensive lineman Devon Dawson) entering Saturday’s game suffering with the flu and running backs Ford, Jonathan Woods and defensive lineman Sterling Blunt dealing with some form of leg injury.
Quarterback Cleveland McCoy was also not at 100 percent, although like Ford, he finished with a season-high 204 passing yards and a TD. Nevertheless, Pough would have been tempted to give both players a week off ‘bye’ or no ‘bye’.
"I don’t know if we played next week if those guys continue to go like they’re going," he said. "I’ve got to give them some time off and give them a chance to heal up a little bit because man, they are beat up. And we put Jonathan Woods in situations that were unfair because he’s not well."
If there’s a silver lining for the Bulldogs is seeing how much of a productive impact some of the replacements have done. Jamison rushed for a career-best 82 yards and has seemingly pushed himself in position to possibly fill the "Thunder" role once occupied by DeShawn Baker.
"I think Travil Jamison is about ready to play now and he looks like he’s going to be a really good player for us," Pough said. "We get that big back kind of guy now that we had with Baker that we can use that can kind of use to kind of give us a change of pace. I’m hoping that’s something that we can develop in a way that can try to get ourselves together."
Redshirt freshmen offensive linemen Josh Harrison and Johnny Culbreath also saw extended playing time and the defense has received a boost from redshirt freshmen Sam Chester and Jayson Ayers.
"I look at our defensive depth chart and I know people don’t want to hear this, but we’re going to be pretty good next year," Pough said.
For now, the focus is this year and for the next seven days, it will be all about rest and recuperating for the Bulldogs. Pough admitted he didn’t count upon having to deal with the litany of health issues from the difficult schedule, but now that the "bye" week is here, he’s taking whatever measures necessary to get his team close to full strength for the resumption of play Oct. 6 at Norfolk State.
"I might tell (Ford) don’t even show up for the next week," Pough said. "Just go the (heck) away and don’t even come down there. Just come down to get treatment and stay out of the way."
Rough homecoming
Saturday’s loss dropped Winston-Salem State head coach Kermit Blount to 1-3 against the school where he served as an offensive coordinator under Willie Jeffries from 1989-93. His lone win came in 2000 over his former mentor.
"It’s always good to come back to where you’ve already been," Blount said. "But, we’d like to play a little better when we come back. I can guarantee you, the next time they come to us or when come to them, it will be a better ballgame."
Saturday also marked the return of WSSU offensive coordinator Nick Calcutta, who also served under Jeffries like his brother, David, a former running backs coach.
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