SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Southern Conference begins it's 89th season of collegiate football on Saturday as eight of the league's nine teams will be in action. Appalachian State visits Chattanooga in the league's only conference match-up this weekend. That game will be televised by SportSouth at 3:00 p.m.
Elon, Samford and Western Carolina all visit ACC opponents to start the season, while Wofford travels to take on Ohio University. Georgia Southern plays host to Savannah State while The Citadel entertains Chowan.
POLL POSITION: Appalachian State is ranked No. 3 in both the FCS Coaches and Sports Network preseason polls. The Mountaineers return 16 offensive and defensive starters from the 2009 squad which finished 11-3 and advanced to the NCAA semifinals.
• Elon is ranked seventh in both preseason polls. The Phoenix advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time in school history. Elon returns 41 lettermen from a team that went 9-3 last season.
• Furman, Wofford, Chattanooga and Georgia Southern all earned votes in both polls.
ELITE COMPANY: Elon quarterback Scott Riddle has led the conference in passing yards each of the past three seasons. If Riddle leads the SoCon again in 2010, he will become the first player in league history to lead the conference in passing yards for four consecutive seasons. Marshall's Michael Payton (1990-92) is the only other player to lead the conference in passing three straight years.
• Samford's Chris Evans has led the league in rushing the past two years. He has a chance to join Furman's Stanford Jennings (1981-83) and VMI's Thomas Haskins (1994-96) as the only players in SoCon history to lead the league in rushing three straight seasons.
DEFENSIVE ROTATION: Elon led the conference in total defense last season, yielding just 248.3 yards per game. It was the eighth straight season that a different school led the conference in total defense. Chattanooga is the only team that has not led the league in total defense at least once, dating back to 2002.
FAMILIAR FACES: Wofford returns a league-high 20 starters for the 2010 season. The Terriers boast nine returning starters on both offense and defense. The Citadel's offense and Western Carolina's defense return the fewest amount of starters (5) of any offensive or defensive unit in the league.
• The league's nine teams combine to return 66 percent of their starters (148 of 225) from 2009.
2010 SoCon Starters Returning/Lost
Team Offense Defense Spec. Total (Pct.)
Appalachian State 9/2 7/4 3/0 19/6 (76%)
The Citadel 5/6 6/5 2/1 13/12 (52%)
Elon 7/4 6/5 3/0 16/9 (64%)
Furman 6/5 6/5 0/3 12/13 (48%)
Georgia Southern 7/4 7/4 3/0 17/8 (68%)
Samford 8/3 7/4 3/0 18/7 (72%)
Chattanooga 9/2 7/4 2/1 18/7 (72%)
Western Carolina 8/3 5/6 2/1 15/10 (60%)
Wofford 9/2 9/2 2/1 20/5 (80%)
Total 68/31 60/39 20/7 148/77 (66%)
MAKING THE GRADE: In addition to achieving success on the gridiron, SoCon teams boast impressive academic credentials. In the latest data released by the NCAA in June, Southern Conference football teams posted an Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 952, eight points higher than the national average of 944 for Division I football programs. It was the second consecutive season that the SoCon average was higher than the national rate for Division I.
HELMET DECAL: Throughout the 2010 season, Southern Conference football teams will show their support for those being negatively impacted along the Gulf Coast by wearing helmet decals with the initials GC.
More than 160 SoCon football players come from states that share a coastline being affected by the oil spill. The nine institutions that play SoCon football agreed to display the decals to express their support and encouragement for the people living in the region.
Use of the decal was approved by the NCAA's rules committee and supervisory officiating organization upon request by the conference.
EXPERIENCED COACHES: Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore and Wofford head coach Mike Ayers are the deans of SoCon coaches, having combined for 287 victories while coaching in the Southern Conference ... Moore's 189 wins at Appalachian are the most in league history ... Ayers (98) is third on the list behind Moore and Duke's Wallace Wade ... Furman's Bobby Lamb (62 victories) needs two more victories to enter the top 10.
SoCon Wins Leaders Wins
1. Jerry Moore, Appalachian State (1989-present) 189
2. Wallace Wade, Alabama (1923-30); Duke (1931-41; 1946-50) 171
3. Mike Ayers, ETSU (1985-87); Wofford (1997-present) 98
4. D.C. Walker, Wake Forest (1937-50) 77
5. Frank Howard, Clemson (1940-52) 69
Dick Sheridan, Furman (1978-85) 69
7. H.C. Byrd, Maryland (1921-34) 68
8. Jimmy Satterfield, Furman (1986-93) 66
Bob Waters, Western Carolina (1977-88) 66
10. Jim Donnan, Marshall (1990-95) 64
11. Bobby Lamb, Furman (2002-present) 62