The Flames begin their quest for the Big South title this week against conference rival Coast Carolina. After a tough 3-3 start to the season, and with a bye week to think about their last minute loss to Old Dominion, the Flames’ path is only getting steeper as they come up against the undefeated Chanticleers and their star running back Lorenzo Taliaferro.
Lorenzo Taliaferro is one of the top RB’s in the FCS (photo from toledoblade.com)
The Coastal Carolina website helpfully points out that Lorenzo’s last name is pronounced Tau-La-Fair-Oh. The phonics-busting name is the first thing I noticed about the senior RB. Next, I saw his numbers for this season, and realized that knowing how to pronounce Taliaferro is vital, as announcers and fans will be saying it over and over on Saturday.
Through the first six games of Coastal Carolina’s schedule, Taliaferro has already put up 835 yards on 125 carries. That spreads out to 139.2 per game and 6.7 per carry. He also has a nose for the endzone, with 14 touchdowns, 13 of them rushing and one receiving.
Those eye-popping numbers have Taliaferro ranked 2nd in the nation in scoring, 3rd in rushing TD’s, and 4th in rushing yards per game. This is extremely impressive for a junior college transfer who had limited playing time in his first FCS season last year.
While Taliaferro is the Chanticleers most productive offensive player, don’t look for him to be too involved in the passing game. He has just 10 receptions for 52 yards. That’s okay, though, because the way he’s running, he’s taking all the pressure off of his quarterback Alex Ross.
Taliaferro is coming into Lynchburg as the reigning Big South Offensive Player of the Week, after his 144 rushing yard, 3 touchdown performance against Gardner-Webb. He’s also just 272 yards away from the Coastal Carolina single season rushing record and just two scores away from the school’s single season rushing touchdown record. That could all add up to enough motivation for a huge game.
