Pirate Galaxy » e it through one round at The Barclays

(STATS) -- The Southern Conferences two best teams will beat you in different ways. The Citadels bread and butter is its death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts triple option while Chattanooga will spread things out, equally content to run or throw.The team thats lurking as the SoCons challenger to those contenders has an entirely different idea in mind: Take to the air and get down the field -- fast.Samford has been one of the most one-dimensional offenses in the country so far, but Devlin Hodges has been so good spreading the ball around that an almost complete lack of a running game hasnt hindered Chris Hatchers team.The offense, known as the Hatch Attack, is working thanks to its sophomore signal caller.Hodges took over midway through his redshirt freshman season in 2015 after starter Michael Eubank went down, and the results were promising right away. He tossed 11 touchdowns and three interceptions while starting the Bulldogs final five games, completing 70.4 percent of his throws while averaging a whopping 44.6 pass attempts and 345.4 yards per game. Throw in 303 rushing yards and it looked like Samford had a dual-threat QB for three years to come.He hasnt had nearly that success on the ground through the first four games of his sophomore season -- the Bulldogs are 118th of 125 FCS teams in yards per carry (2.5) and 121st in yards per game (68.0), but that hasnt held them back. Twelve of Samfords 20 scoring drives have taken less than two minutes, with four coming in a minute or less.The Hatch Attack mandate is simple: Get the ball to the talented receiving trio of Emmanuel Obajimi, Kelvin McKnight and Karel Hamilton and get out of the way.This offense is built for me, Hodges said last month. My job is to get the ball to the wide receivers as fast as I can and let them make plays. As long as I can get them the ball, Im confident that they are going to make plays and get yards after the catch. We have a great chemistry.Hodges has upped his completion percentage to an FCS-best 73.3, though thats perhaps not too surprising given the quick-release nature of the Bulldogs offense. His 10.37 yards per completion rank just 93rd of 114 qualifying QBs.There might be an opportunity to take some more shots downfield against Furman (0-5, 0-2). The Paladins have seen only 66 passes hit the air so far this season -- the next-lowest total in the FCS is Columbias 86, and the Lions have played three games -- but those throws have yielded a subdivision-high 11.32 yard per attempt.The bulk of the damage, though, has been done on the ground. Furmans opponents have averaged 46 carries per contest and 5.0 yards per tote -- maybe enough of a reason to believe theres hope yet for Samfords running game to get going. Should Hurricane Matthew dump a lot of rain on Greenville, South Carolina, prior to or during Saturdays contest, it may need to.I think we need to get better in all phases, especially in the running game, offensive coordinator Russ Callaway said Wednesday. We have to do a better job, out wide, of blocking. We have to do a better job of inside blocking. We have to do a better job with the running backs, the quarterbacks, really everybody. But, obviously, improvement in the running game would be huge for us.Furmans record looks unsightly, but the quality of the Paladins competition is hard to ignore. The were in a one-score game midway through the fourth quarter at Michigan State in the opener. They led at The Citadel until the final two minutes, lost by a touchdown to Chattanooga and were undone by turnovers and special teams at Coastal Carolina. Furmans worst performance came in last Saturdays 52-42 loss to option-heavy Kennesaw State -- the Paladins trailed 49-14 at the half -- but theyll be facing an entirely different type of offense this week.Theyve had a great deal of bad luck this season, Hatcher said.Samford lost both games against the SoCons resident powerhouses last season, and came up empty in its first test in this one, falling 41-21 at Chattanooga on Sept. 24. The Bulldogs schedule looks pretty manageable over the next few weeks before an Oct. 29 trip to Mississippi State, though. The big one lies a week later with a visit to The Citadel that could make or break Samfords shot at a playoff spot.But dont expect Samford to look past Furman. The Paladins came from 17-0 down at halftime to stun the Bulldogs 20-17 on Jon Croft Hollingsworths field goal as time expired last Oct. 31.You can never underestimate anyone, Samford defensive back Marquis McCullum said. Especially teams that have struggled early on in the season.Theyre always looking for that next opportunity to get them going to where they want to be.Bouchon Hydro Flask France .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. Bouchon Hydro Flask . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. http://www.hydroflaskbouteille.fr/ . Andreas Johnson had a goal and two assists while Jacob de la Rose also scored for Sweden (2-0-0). Esa Lindell and Rasmus Ristolainen replied for Finland (1-1-0) Lindell opened the scoring for Finland just 41 seconds into the game, but the hosts quickly regained their composure and tied the score less than four minutes later on Wennbergs first of the game. Hydro Flask Rose . JOHNS, N. Bouteille dEau Hydro Flask . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club.FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- The FedEx Cup is all about the $10 million bonus at the end of the four playoff events.For a dozen or so Americans, the only cup that matters now is one that doesnt pay a dime.The Ryder Cup couldnt be ignored Thursday.Patrick Reed shared the lead after the opening round at the Barclays. Rickie Fowler, J.B. Holmes and Kevin Chappell were among those one shot behind. All four of them are very much in the mix to make the U.S. team, with qualifying for the top eight spots ending after this week.Of course its on my mind, Reed said after his 5-under 66 gave him a share of the lead with Martin Laird.Its easy to forget about the FedEx Cup and its big bonus because there are still 15 rounds left to reach that point. The opening day at Bethpage Black, one of the toughest on the PGA Tour schedule, was just trying to beat the wind and stay in the game.LEADERS: Reed had a good laugh at his own expense on Tuesday when he was asked to bang the gavel for the ceremonial bell closing at the New York Stock Exchange. Dressed in a blue suit with an American tie, he banged once, twice ... and on the third try, he broke the gavel.The only thing he broke Thursday was par.Reed opened with 10 pars, a strong feat considering he started on the tougher back nine, and then ran off three birdies and an eagle for a 66.Martin Laird also had a clean card, with four birdies on the front nine and a shot out of the rough to the elevated green on the 16th to 6 feet for his fifth birdie. Hes not worried about the Ryder Cup. He is No. 89 in the FedEx Cup, so the first order of business was to be among the top 100 to advance to next week.RYDER RAMIFICATIONS: Fowler looked like a shoo-in to be on the Ryder Cup team when he started the year in great form. But missing the cut in two majors and not doing much in the other two havent helped. He is No. 12 and would need at least a two-way tie for fourth this week to have any chance.Opening with a 67 was a good start.Thats the No. 1 priority coming into the year, Fowler said. Id say thats always one of the main goals coming into a Ryder Cup year. Even in the off year, youre thiinking about it.dddddddddddd That was the whole reason playing last week, trying to get more points. It would be nice to have a chance to make that team without having to get picked.J.B. Holmes was at No. 8 until Reed passed him last week. Holmes moved into position with his third-place finish at the British Open, but he has been pressing since then and has missed his last three cuts. The big hitter spent two hours with the shortest club in the bag -- his putter -- earlier this week, and it paid off.As for Chappell? Depending on however else does, he probably has to win to make the team.BETHPAGE: The Black is a big ball park, the start of a playoff series that favors the big hitters -- the TPC Boston next week, Crooked Stick in Indiana after that, and then East Lake. That also was the rotation in 2012, and it would have seemed to put the medium hitters at a disadvantage.Or maybe not. Brandt Snedeker won the FedEx Cup in 2012.EARLY EXITS: British Open champion Henrik Stenson had planned to skip one of the FedEx Cup playoff events because of a busy schedule at the end of the year, including his trip to Rio for a silver medal in golf.He made it through one round at The Barclays with a 74 and enough discomfort in his right knee that he withdrew. Stenson is at No. 14 in the FedEx Cup and likely will fall out of the top 20 at the end of the week.Brett Stegmaier also withdrew with a wrist injury through nine holes. He was at No. 101, and with the top 100 advancing, his season is over.THE CUT: Making it to the weekend at The Barclays is one of the most important cuts of the year, particularly because of the playoff format. Anyone beyond the top 100 has no chance of extending the season. Anyone just inside the top 100 probably wont stay there if they miss the cut.Scott Brown was a good example. He is at No. 81 and opened with a 10-over 81. He was projected to fall to No. 100. That could change. A year ago, the highest-ranked player to get eliminated was Padraig Harrington at No. 87. ' ' '