Oct. 10 (Saturday)
The Citadel at Army West Point (CBS Sports Network/
online), 1:30 p.m.
Mercer at Jacksonville State (
ESPN3*), 3 p.m.
* Note: Originally scheduled for ESPN+, the game will now air on ESPN3.
Notes:
• After an idle week, the Southern Conference returns to action with two contests on Oct. 10, the first Saturday this fall with multiple SoCon squads in action.
• The Citadel finishes its fall slate at Army West Point, which is helmed by Jeff Monken, who coached in the SoCon at Georgia Southern from 2010-13. The Citadel will be facing the Black Knights for the 10th time and first since 1994. The Bulldogs won two straight in the series before Army West Point kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired in 1994 in the last meeting.
• The Citadel hosted Eastern Kentucky in its lone home contest of the fall on Sept. 26, falling 37-14 to the Ohio Valley Conference squad. Emeka Nwanze ran for a career-high 114 yards in the losing effort, while quarterback Brandon Rainey rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown and threw for 36 yards and another score. Rainey pushed his career rushing total to 2,051 yards, becoming the 16th Bulldog to surpass 2,000 for his career.
• Citadel wide receiver Raleigh Webb had a 28-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, moving into a tie for second in school history with 16 career TD receptions.
• Linebacker Willie Eubanks III, the reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Year, had a career-high 14 tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Eubanks is second in the FCS this season with 11.7 tackles per game and 1.7 tackles for loss per game.
• Backup quarterback Jaylan Adams leads the FCS with a kickoff return average of 20.5 yards this season.
• The Drew Cronic era opens at Mercer as the Bears take on Jacksonville State for the first time in program history. Cronic boasts an .887 winning percentage in four years as a head coach, as he went 22-3 in two seasons at NAIA Reinhardt (2015-16) and 25-3 at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (2018-19), leading his squads to the postseason each year. In between those stints, Cronic served as Furman’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, helping the Paladins earn an at-large bid to the 2017 FCS playoffs and pick up a first-round win and QB P.J. Blazejowski earn second-team All-SoCon honors from the league’s media.
• Mercer returns running back Tyray Devezin, who netted 1,002 yards on a school-record 214 carries and ran for 11 TDs last year, becoming just the second player in program history to surpass the 1,000-yard rushing plateau in a season and the first since Alex Lakes in 2014. With 1,986 career rushing yards, Devezin is just 14 shy of becoming one of three active SoCon players with at least 2,000, as he is set to join Rainey (2,051) and ETSU running back Quay Holmes (2,071).
• The Bears return none of their six All-SoCon selections from last season but do bring back all four of their All-Freshman picks in wide receiver Yahsyn McKee, safety Richie Coffey, punter/kicker Caleb Dowden and long snapper Zach Lassiter.
• Chattanooga senior wide receiver Bryce Nunnelly and Western Carolina senior offensive lineman Grady Thomas are among the record 199 national semifinalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy presented by Mazda and announced by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (NFF).
Recent news:
SoCon Goes Pro: NFL Week 4 (10/6/20)
Nunnelly, Thomas semifinalists for Campbell Trophy (10/1/20)