Murphy at Swain

OtisDriftwood

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2001
6,958
1,861
113
Last game of the regular season and a SMC championship on the line…just like old times! If Murphy wins, the Dogs will be your undisputed SMC Champs, while a Swain win would create a three way tie if Robbinsville handles Cherokee. A Swain win and a Robbinsville loss would give the Devils the title and the tie breaker for playoff seeding with Murphy.

On paper, Murphy is the better team and should win. But, games aren’t played on paper, especially in this rivalry. Should be a classic. Who wins?
 

OtisDriftwood

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2001
6,958
1,861
113
I think Murphy wins but it doesn’t look like Swain can catch you in RPI so it looks like they’ll be seeded behind Murphy, win or lose, from what I see.
Hope Murphy wins, but if they don’t, there’s something fundamentally wrong about the RPI if the Dogs are still ranked ahead of Swain.
 

Goldendomer10

Senior
Oct 4, 2022
516
909
66
Hope Murphy wins, but if they don’t, there’s something fundamentally wrong about the RPI if the Dogs are still ranked ahead of Swain.
If we (Pisgah) beat Brevard and Swain wins that could be a nice little RPI boost for the Maroon Devils, so at second glance they may be able to get the jump.
 

ncfootball_17

Senior
Mar 26, 2009
720
726
93
If Swain wins, it'll be close. Just giving them the win will put both of them at 7-3 and other numbers are very close. Not to mention some other very big games that could change the seeding (if Swain wins).

As stated, the Pisgah and Brevard game is big. I think Brevard wins, hurting Swains OWP but improving their OOWP.

East Surry plays Mount Airy. East Surry will more than likely lose, causing Murphy OWP go down, but OOWP go up.
AC Reynolds plays T.C. Roberson. If AC loses, this could hurt Murphy's OWP. I know nothing about either team, but I would say it should be close based on what I see online.
 

recycled2

Freshman
Jul 7, 2025
31
59
18
There is no playoff seeding for conference champs. It is all based on straight rpi.

Last game of the regular season and a SMC championship on the line…just like old times! If Murphy wins, the Dogs will be your undisputed SMC Champs, while a Swain win would create a three way tie if Robbinsville handles Cherokee. A Swain win and a Robbinsville loss would give the Devils the title and the tie breaker for playoff seeding with Murphy.

On paper, Murphy is the better team and should win. But, games aren’t played on paper, especially in this rivalry. Should be a classic. Who wins
 

recycled2

Freshman
Jul 7, 2025
31
59
18
Assuming he is healthy, how do you think the game goes?
I think it will be close but that Murphy pulls away,say about 24-14. The unpredictable factor is how many penalties will Murphy get? Murphy seems to have more skill, but Swain appears to be better upfront. 55 gets a lot of press for Swain but 53 maybe their best overall lineman.
 
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OtisDriftwood

All-Conference
Sep 22, 2001
6,958
1,861
113
I think it will be close but that Murphy pulls away,say about 24-14. The unpredictable factor is how many penalties will Murphy get? Murphy seems to have more skill, but Swain appears to be better upfront. 55 gets a lot of press for Swain but 53 maybe their best overall lineman.
This sounds very reasonable, especially the part about penalties. Murphy had over 100 yards in penalties last week. If they don’t clean that up then this game WILL get away from them. I’ve seen it happen before in Bryson City. There have been a lot of great Murphy teams over the years that have come back from over there with an L. Hopefully this isn’t one of them. Gotta protect the ball, limit the penalties, and the D has to get off the field on third downs. Murphy does these three things, they win IMO.
 
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KW2346

All-Conference
Feb 9, 2011
4,355
3,485
113
Craziest was when Murphy recovered a fumble and ran the wrong way in a loss in 2017 making it a three way tie with Cherokee...Cherokee was only small 1a team so they got a one seed from the conference.
 

WNCfootball

Senior
Oct 30, 2020
621
771
57
Good old fashioned Mtn rivalry. Used to be the game of the year in the SMC. Feel like it’s lost its luster recently bc Swain hasn’t been as good.