Nov. 6 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital	Time
#18/18 VMI at #14/14 ETSU*	ETSU leads 16-10	ESPN+	1 p.m.
#25/RV Chattanooga at Wofford*	Wofford leads 15-12	ESPN+	1:30 p.m.
Furman at Western Carolina*	Furman 34-12-2	ESPN3	2 p.m.
The Citadel at Samford*	Series tied 7-7	ESPN+	3 p.m.

Notes
• A ranked-on-ranked matchup with major postseason implications between ETSU and VMI highlights this week’s Southern Conference football slate.

• ETSU, ranked No. 14 in both the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, welcomes VMI, ranked 18th in both polls. Both squads are 4-1 in SoCon play and looking up at idle Mercer, which has a half-game lead in the league standings at 5-1.

• Also Saturday, No. 25 Chattanooga visits Wofford, Western Carolina hosts Furman and The Citadel heads to Samford.

• The Mocs returned to the national rankings this week after a three-week absence by grabbing the last spot in the AFCA poll. Chattanooga, which appeared in the first six editions of the poll this season, boasts one of the top defenses in the FCS. The Mocs rank first in the subdivision in interceptions (14), second in turnover margin (1.25), third in turnovers gained (20), ninth in sacks per game (3.25), 15th in total defense (294.4) and 17th in scoring defense (18.0).

• ETSU leads the series with VMI 16-10, including a 3-2 mark since the Bucs rejoined the SoCon in football in 2016. The last three games between the squads have been decided by just one possession each. The Bucs won 27-24 in 2018, VMI won 31-24 in overtime in 2019, and ETSU won 24-20 in the spring of 2021, with Quay Holmes rushing for 135 yards and two touchdowns to help hand the 10th-ranked Keydets their lone loss of the regular season.

• VMI quarterback Seth Morgan accounted for a school-record 525 yards of total offense in the Keydets’ 46-45 come-from-behind win over Samford on Saturday, which ranks 10th in a game in SoCon history. Morgan threw for 472 yards, the second-most in a game in program history, and three touchdowns and ran for 53 yards.

• Samford quarterback Liam Welch also had an impressive day in the contest, throwing for 365 yards and a score and running for 68 yards and two TDs.

• Samford has won two straight against The Citadel to even the series at 7-7. After a 61-55, four-OT shootout in 2019, Samford forced seven turnovers in a 55-7 win last season. Welch threw for 306 yards and three TDs and ran for 139 yards and another score.

• Citadel freshman wide receiver Tyler Cherry got his first career touchdown pass last weekend in a 34-7 loss to Mercer. The rookie had five catches for 82 yards, both career highs.

• Quarterback Rogan Wells threw for 309 yards and four TDs and ran for 48 yards and another TD in just over two quarters of work in Western Carolina’s 41-21 win over Wofford on Saturday. Sixteen of those completions were to Raphael Williams, a program record for catches and tied for the most in the FCS this season. 

• Furman looks to snap a two-game skid when it visits Western Carolina on Saturday. The Paladins have won five straight and 20 of the last 23 against the Catamounts.

• Wofford has played the fourth-toughest schedule in the FCS, according to the latest NCAA report.

• Three of the most disciplined teams in the FCS reside in the SoCon. Furman is second nationally in fewest penalties per game with just 3.88, while Mercer and Wofford are tied for third at 4.00.

• The SoCon also boasts three of the top 10 rushing offenses in the FCS, with The Citadel ranking fifth (251.4), Mercer sixth (234.4) and ETSU eighth (221.9).

• Samford quarterback Liam Welch and Mercer safety Lance Wise were named the SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Month for October, respectively, when the awards were announced Thursday afternoon. Welch averaged 316.8 yards of total offense per game and scored 12 total touchdowns, while Wise averaged 7.4 tackles per game and recorded two interceptions and a forced fumble.

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. Thirteen former SoCon players are on NFL rosters 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
Southern Conference names October athletes of the month (11/4)
SoCon names football players of the week (11/1)
Saturday's football roundup (10/30)
SoCon Goes Pro: NFL Week 7 (10/28)