Oct. 9 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital	Time
#19/RV Chattanooga at #RV/RV VMI*	Chattanooga leads 17-8-1	ESPN+	1:30 p.m.
Furman at Wofford*	Furman leads 54-33-7	ESPN+	1:30 p.m.
#RV/RV Mercer at Western Carolina*	Mercer leads 5-2	ESPN3	3:30 p.m.
The Citadel at #13/12 ETSU*	ETSU leads 17-12	Nexstar/ESPN+	4:30 p.m.

Nexstar affiliates for the Oct. 9 Ingles SoCon Game of the Week
The Citadel at ETSU, 4:30 p.m.
ECBD/The Lowcountry’s CW (Charleston)
WBTW/News 13 (Myrtle Beach)
WMUB (Macon)
WMYT/My 12 (Charlotte)
WWCW/The CW Virginia (Lynchburg/Roanoke)
WYCW/The CW62 (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville)

Play-by-play: Pete Yanity
Analyst: Todd Agne

Notes
• Highlighting the Southern Conference’s week six schedule, The Citadel takes on its second straight nationally ranked opponent when it visits No. 13/12 ETSU on Saturday in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week on select Nexstar affiliates.

• Also on Saturday, preseason SoCon favorite Chattanooga visits defending league champion VMI, Furman makes the short trip up I-85 to face rival Wofford, and Western Carolina hosts Mercer.

• The Citadel upset then-No. 22/18 VMI 35-24  Saturday to win the Silver Shako for the first time since 2018. Junior quarterback Jaylan Adams ran for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown and threw for 114 yards and a score to lead the Bulldogs on offense. Freshman corner Dominick Poole was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week presented by GEICO after posting five tackles, three pass breakups and an end zone interception.

• ETSU remained perfect on the season with its 27-21 win over Wofford. The Bucs got 81 rushing yards and a TD from running back Quay Holmes, who also caught four passes for a career-high 104 yards and another score. His 77-yard TD reception with 10:46 left to play accounted for the winning points.

• The Citadel has won three of five in the series since ETSU revived its program in 2015, though the Bucs have won two of the last three.

• Chattanooga won its SoCon opener over Western Carolina 45-17, holding the Catamounts to just 277 total yards, nearly half their season average against FCS competition. Mocs QB Cole Copeland threw for 239 yards and accounted for three TDs.

• VMI had a season-high 396 yards of total offense in the loss at The Citadel. All-American Jakob Herres had nine catches for 115 yards, moving into 10th in SoCon history with 210 career catches.

• UTC and VMI did not meet last season. The Keydets won the last meeting, 31-24 in 2019, snapping the Mocs’ five-game winning streak in the series.

• Wofford, whose three games have come against ranked opponents, gave ETSU all it could handle last week, taking a 21-20 lead into the fourth quarter before falling by six. Kicker/punter Atkins Roberts was named the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week after pinning ETSU inside its own 20-yard line three times on the day.

• Furman was idle last week. The Paladins have lost two straight to fall to 2-2 on the season, including a 24-3 loss to Mercer to open league play on Sept. 25.

• Wofford has won five of six in the series, though the teams did not meet last season.

• Mercer outslugged Samford 45-42 on Saturday, with running back Fred Davis running for 276 yards and five touchdowns, both school records. He was named the Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week.

• Western Carolina QB Carlos Davis threw for a career-best 225 yards and two TDs in relief of injured starter Rogan Wells at Chattanooga. Freshman Calvin Jones had two kick returns for 133 yards, including an 87-yard return on the opening kickoff.

• Mercer has won five straight vs. Western Carolina.

• Two SoCon teams are nationally ranked this week. ETSU is 13th in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and 12th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, while Chattanooga is No. 19 in the AFCA poll and receiving votes in the other. VMI and Mercer are receiving votes in both polls.

• The SoCon announced its players of the month for September on Friday. Samford quarterback Liam Welch earned offensive honors after throwing for 380.5 yards per game and nine touchdowns in four games. Chattanooga linebacker Ty Boeck took defensive honors after averaging 9.3 tackles per game with 4.0 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in three contests.

• Wofford kicker/punter Atkins Roberts added to his list of weekly accolades Wednesday, as he was named the SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week. He’s also the reigning SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week presented by GEICO and the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week. Two Furman players, quarterback Hamp Sisson and placekicker/punter Timmy Bleekrode, have also been named the SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week so far this academic year. The weekly award, open to all SoCon sports in season, honors academic as well as athletic achievement.

SoCon Points of Pride
• The 2021 season is the 100th of Southern Conference football. The SoCon is the fifth-oldest NCAA Division I college athletic association.

• Since it began competing in FCS, the SoCon has amassed the second-most national championships with eight. Also boasting another eight national championship runner-up finishes, the league has 16 title-game appearances, the most among FCS conferences.

• The SoCon prides itself on quality and depth.
    • Eight of the nine current SoCon football members have participated in the FCS Playoffs with seven different schools receiving bids since 2016.
    • Overall, current SoCon football members have combined for 46 total FCS playoffs appearances.
    • Six of the nine SoCon teams appeared in an FCS top-25 national poll in the 2020-21 season.

• The SoCon has had seven Walter Payton Award winners, two Buck Buchanan Award winners and five Eddie Robinson Award winners. VMI Coach Scott Wachenheim won the Eddie Robinson Award (FCS National Coach of the Year) in 2020.

• Sixty-one former SoCon players and coaches have been enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

• The SoCon had 12 FCS All-America selections in 2020-21.

• The SoCon broadcasts all of its home games on ESPN+ and has an over-the-air television network that will air eight games in five southern states in 2021.

• Sixteen former SoCon players were on active NFL rosters last season and five more were on practice squads. Former Citadel wide receiver Andre Roberts, former Samford defensive back James Bradberry and former Georgia Southern kicker Younghoe Koo, who played in the SoCon as a freshman, were Pro Bowlers. Fourteen former SoCon players are on NFL rosters entering this season, with seven more on practice squads.

• The SoCon has been playing Division I FCS football since the 1982 season. The NCAA created two subdivisions for Division I football beginning in 1978 with the creation of I-A (now FBS) and I-AA (now FCS). The SoCon was shifted from I-A to I-AA along with the Ivy League and Southland Conference following the 1981 season, joining the Mid-Continent, Big Sky, MEAC, SWAC, OVC, and Yankee conferences, along with a number of independents, as I-AA participants.

• The SoCon is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2021. The league contested the first-ever collegiate conference basketball tournament in 1921, tackled freshman eligibility in 1922, became the first conference to adopt the 3-point field goal in basketball in 1980 and developed women’s championships in 1984.

Recent news
SoCon Goes Pro: NFL Week 4 (10/7)
Wofford's Roberts named Student-Athlete of the Week (10/6)
SoCon names football players of the week (10/4)
Saturday's football roundup (10/2)
Southern Conference names September athletes of the month (10/1)
Chattanooga's Lawson semifinalist for Campbell Trophy (9/30)