Note: The following was written by Scott Keeler, who worked as a reporter at the Greenville News for more than 25 years and continues to cover the Southern Conference. Keeler can be found on Twitter @Scott_Keeler
 
Welcome to the final edition for 2021 of “Keeler’s Corner,” a monthly recap of each Southern Conference team - in order of the SoCon standings. It was the first full conference schedule of football since the 2019 season, which probably feels like eons ago for many. That feeling could be reflected in this year’s final SoCon standings. After Wofford finished alone in first place and ETSU was alone in last in 2019, those teams swapped those positions this fall.
 
No. 8/9 ETSU (10-1, 7-1 SoCon)
If it’s fall and ETSU is having a winning season, it’s almost becoming a safe bet that the Buccaneers are winning a SoCon championship. After finishing in eighth place in the league in 2017, ETSU was part of a three-way tie for the league crown in 2018 before finishing in ninth place in 2019. This fall marked the Bucs’ first outright SoCon title.
That accomplishment helped make Randy Sanders the first ETSU football coach to ever win multiple SoCon Coach of the Year awards, and helped the Bucs earn a bye in the FCS playoffs. Seventh-seeded ETSU will host Kennesaw State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
ETSU opened November by becoming the only SoCon team to earn two wins over VMI - the 2020-21 league champion - this calendar year. The next week, the Bucs outscored Western Carolina 21-0 in the second half to record a 56-35 win. Backup running back Jacob Saylors broke the school’s single-game rushing record in the victory with a 266-yard effort.
That set up a showdown with Mercer in the regular-season finale with the SoCon championship on the line. Tyler Riddell’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Malik Murray with 1:47 left gave ETSU a 38-35 lead and the Bucs held on as Mercer missed a game-tying field goal as time expired. Riddell completed a career-high 26-of-29 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
It marked the fourth time this season that the Bucs won a game in which they were trailing entering the fourth quarter. Of ETSU’s last 31 SoCon games, 26 have been decided by eight points or fewer.
Sophomore linebacker Donovan Manuel has led the Bucs defense down the stretch. Manuel averaged 12.3 tackles per game in November to earn SoCon Player of the Month honors. He finished the regular season with a team-high 103 tackles. Tyree Robinson earned All-SoCon first-team honors for the third time in his career after recording five interceptions this season.
MVP: Running back Quay Holmes. Holmes earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the FCS with 1,461 yards rushing and ranking third in touchdowns with 16. ETSU’s all-time leading rusher (4,142 yards) and scorer (288 points), Holmes is just seven yards away from joining the top 10 leading rushers in SoCon history. Honorable mention goes to Saylors, who leads the FCS with an average of 7.5 yards per carry and is second in all-purpose yards with 1,707. Saylors has 968 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns this season.
 
No. 25 MERCER (7-3, 6-2)
There are “team efforts” and then there’s what Mercer did this year. The Bears were four points away from a SoCon championship with a team that produced only four players on the All-SoCon first and second teams selected by both the league’s coaches and media.
After a bye week to start November, Mercer hosted 2021 SoCon favorite Chattanooga on Nov. 13 seeking a win to set up a winner-take-all game for the SoCon title the following week at ETSU. Despite being held to 163 yards of total offense and averaging 2.7 yards per play, the Bears pulled out a thrilling 10-6 win. Facing a Chattanooga team that was leading the league on turnover margin, Mercer forced five turnovers. The Bears also took advantage of two missed field goals and a missed extra point by the Mocs. After kicking a field goal to push the margin to four with 1:31 left, Mercer recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock to seal the win.
After taking a 35-28 lead at ETSU the next Saturday, Mercer recovered yet another onside kick in the fourth quarter. This time, though, the Bears suffered an interception on the next play. That led to a field goal for the Bucs. Mercer’s next drive also ended with an interception and that led to ETSU’s go-ahead touchdown. The Bears appeared to have tied the game on the final play of regulation with a field goal that bounced off the upright and through, but ETSU called timeout before the kick. The next kick sailed away no good, leaving Mercer with a heartbreaking 38-35 loss.
Wide receiver Ty James broke his own school record for single-game receiving yards with 224 yards on eight receptions in the loss.
The heartbreak lingered the following day when the Bears didn’t receive an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.
First-team All-SoCon picks Solomon Zubairu and Lance Wise led Mercer defensively. Zubairu had five sacks this season, while Wise finished with 59 tackles and three interceptions.
MVP: Running back Fred Davis. Davis rushed for 847 yards this season and ranked seventh nationally with 14 rushing touchdowns. His season was highlighted by a single-game school-record day against Samford in which he ran for 276 yards and five touchdowns.
 
CHATTANOOGA (6-5, 5-3)
Coming off an impressive, albeit shortened spring season, Chattanooga appeared worthy of being called the most talented team in the SoCon. The odds-on favorites to win the league this fall, the Mocs were 2-3 in the middle of October before the pieces started falling into place as they reeled off four consecutive wins.
That streak started with Chattanooga handing ETSU its lone SoCon loss this fall and was capped with a 35-10 win at Wofford to open November. Sitting at 5-1 in the league and having the tiebreaker over ETSU, the Mocs seemed poised to fulfill those preseason expectations.
But then the puzzle fell apart. Chattanooga suffered five turnovers, missed two field goals and an extra point in a 10-6 loss at Mercer. The Mocs still had a realistic shot at an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs with a home win over The Citadel in the regular-season finale the next week. But for the second consecutive week, Chattanooga was shut out in the second half as the Bulldogs rallied for a 24-21 win.
The Mocs lost despite averaging a season-best 7.7 yards per carry. Turnovers were again an issue as Chattanooga lost that battle 3-0. Quarterbacks for the Mocs combined for seven touchdowns and 15 interceptions for the season.
The disappointing end put a damper on what was an outstanding season for Chattanooga’s defense and some Mocs individually.
Chattanooga allowed a total of 188 points, the fewest in a season since giving up 180 in 1985. The Mocs’ defense allowed just 20 points off of the offense’s 18 turnovers. Chattanooga’s offensive line matched the school record by allowing just nine sacks, while Chattanooga’s defense posted 31 sacks. Left guard Cole Strange repeated as the SoCon’s Jacobs Blocking Award winner.
Ailym Ford rushed for 1,071 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Tyrell Price had 853 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Defensively, Jerrell Lawson and Brandon Dowdell had five interceptions apiece, while Jay Person and Ben Brewton had 5.5 sacks apiece. Person also had 12 tackles-for-loss, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.
MVP: Defensive end Devonnsha Maxwell. Maxwell earned SoCon Defensive Player of the Year honors after racking up 15.5 tackles-for-loss, including 12 sacks, giving him 29.5 sacks for his career. Facing an ETSU team that had allowed only four sacks in its first six games, Maxwell broke the single-game school record with five sacks that day.
 
FURMAN (6-5, 4-4)
Furman ended October with its offense being shut down in consecutive losses to ETSU and Chattanooga. When the Paladins opened November at Western Carolina, their offense got rolling - until it stopped. For the third consecutive game, Furman was shut out in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Catamounts scored a pair of touchdowns in the final quarter to rally for a 43-42 win, snapping the Paladins’ five-game winning streak in the series.
The offensive momentum that began at Western Carolina carried over the rest of the way though. Furman topped then No. 20-ranked VMI, 37-31, and then salvaged a winning season with a 41-34 victory at Samford in the season finale.
At Samford, sophomore running back Dominic Roberto rushed for 216 yards and Devin Abrams rushed for 110 as Furman posted a season-high 503 yards of total offense. It capped a strong second half of the season for Roberto, who answered the bell when standout Devin Wynn was sidelined and slowed by injury.
Roberto’s 216-yard effort is the 10th-highest in school history, one yard shy of Wynn’s output in Furman’s last trip to Samford in 2019. After rushing for 56 yards on 17 carries over the first five games of the season, Roberto finished eighth in the SoCon in rushing with 709 yards and six touchdowns. He averaged 7.4 yards per carry.
Parker Stokes had six sacks, while Travis Blackshear had five interceptions and two fumble recoveries to lead the Paladins’ defense.
MVP: Tight end Ryan Miller. Miller, an All-American in the spring season, was even better this fall. He was fourth in the SoCon with 749 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. He averaged 17.4 yards per reception thanks to having a lot of speed for a tight end. Miller had five catches go for at least 50 yards this season, four of which resulted in touchdowns.
 
VMI (6-5, 4-4)
Following its magical run to a SoCon championship in the spring, VMI positioned itself for a shot at back-to-back crowns by taking a three-game winning streak and a 4-1 league record into November. That included an impressive 45-7 win at Mercer on Oct. 16. But when the calendar turned over, the lights turned out on the Keydets.
VMI opened the month by falling behind at ETSU 21-0 before going on to a 27-20 loss. The following Saturday, the Keydets fell behind at Furman 17-0 and could never catch up in a 37-31 setback. A season finale at home could not cure VMI’s slow starts as it fell behind Western Carolina 21-0. The Keydets rallied to tie that game at 21 but couldn’t manage much else the rest of the way in a 52-24 loss.
While it was a sour end to the season, VMI did manage another winning season. It’s the first back-to-back winning years for the Keydets since a stretch of six consecutive from 1957-62.
A big issue for VMI was injuries at the wide receiver position, including last season’s SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, Jakob Herres. Herres had 47 catches for 500 yards and eight touchdowns this season but only played in eight games.
With Herres hobbled, Michael Jackson stepped up and finished with a team-leading 695 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He had 211 yards receiving and caught the game-winning touchdown against Samford and had a career-high 13 receptions for 177 yards and three touchdowns against Furman.
Sophomore kicker Jerry Rice led the SoCon in field goals, connecting on 17-of-19 with a long of 49 yards.
MVP: Linebacker Stone Snyder. With a SoCon-best 120 tackles this season, Snyder shared Defensive Player of the Year honors in voting by the league’s media. It’s the second consecutive season Snyder has earned that honor. He also led VMI in tackles-for-loss (11), sacks (four), quarterback hurries (five) and fumble recoveries (three).
 
WESTERN CAROLINA (4-7, 4-4)
If taking momentum into next season is a real thing, Western Carolina will be a team to watch out for in 2022. After starting this season 0-6, the Catamounts won four of their last five games to post their best league showing since going 5-3 in SoCon play in 2017. In November, a loss to league champion ETSU was sandwiched between wins over Furman and VMI. That allowed Western Carolina to finish in a three-way tie for fourth place with the Paladins and Keydets.
Against Furman, the Catamounts rallied from a 28-17 second-quarter deficit to take a 31-28 lead on the opening drive of the second half. Western Carolina later rallied from a 42-31 fourth-quarter deficit, outscoring the Paladins 12-0 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 43-42 win.
The next week, the Catamounts and ETSU traded first-half blows to a 35-35 halftime tie. Western Carolina piled up 544 yards of total offense for the game but could not score in the second half. The Bucs stopped the Catamounts on consecutive second-half drives that ended at the ETSU 3- and 4-yard line, respectively, and pulled away for a 56-35 win.
Western Carolina saved its best for last with a season-high scoring performance in a 52-24 win at reigning SoCon champion VMI. The Catamounts raced out to a 21-0 lead midway through the first quarter only to have the Keydets roar back and tie less than four minutes into the second quarter. Western Carolina outscored VMI 31-3 the rest of the way though and finished with 616 yards of total offense.
It marked the third consecutive road win for the Catamounts. The last time Western Carolina did that, head coach Kerwin Bell was the quarterback of Florida’s SEC championship team in 1984.
Bell’s current quarterback, Rogan Wells, earned SoCon Offensive Player of the Month honors for his work in November. Wells accounted for 1,396 yards of total offense and 11 touchdowns in those three games. In the finale, Wells threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 84 yards. Wells ranked second in the SoCon in passing at 288.3 yards per game, second in touchdown passes with 20, and 10th in rushing at 61.4 yards per game.
MVP: Wide receiver Raphael Williams. Williams, a redshirt freshman who transferred from Tusculum, easily led the SoCon in receiving yards (959) and receptions (73). He also shared the league lead in touchdown receptions with nine. His school-record 16 receptions against Wofford tied for the most catches in a single game in the FCS this season.
 
THE CITADEL (4-7, 3-5)
Speaking of taking momentum into next year, The Citadel snapped a five-game losing streak with back-to-back victories to end the season. The Bulldogs’ rather bizarre league showing started with a win over reigning SoCon champion and then-No. 18-ranked VMI and ended with a win over preseason favorite Chattanooga.
The Citadel opened November with a 35-14 loss at Samford. The Citadel possessed the ball for over 41 minutes and converted four-of-five fourth downs but could only muster two scores against a Samford team that allowed 39.5 points per game this season.
The offense got rolling the next week in The Citadel’s home finale, although it took a bit. Wofford jumped out to a 14-3 lead after one quarter and took a 28-17 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs stormed back though and held on for a 45-44 overtime win when Dominick Poole broke up the Terriers’ potential game-winning two-point pass. In the spring, The Citadel rallied from a 24-7 deficit for a 28-24 win at Wofford.
Another comeback win followed in the season finale, as the Bulldogs traveled to Chattanooga and stunned the Mocs, 24-21. The Bulldogs trailed 21-14 at the half before shutting out Chattanooga in the second half. Sam Llewellyn’s 57-yard touchdown run with just more than six minutes left in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner. Against a Mocs defense that allowed just two rushing touchdowns all season, the Bulldogs ran for 330 yards and two scores.
Poole earned SoCon Freshman of the Year honors by the league’s media as he finished with 51 tackles, nine pass breakups and two interceptions. Destin Mack shared the league lead with five interceptions, including one against Chattanooga that helped seal the win.
MVP: Quarterback Jaylan Adams. Adams finished fourth in the SoCon in rushing with 948 yards and also ran for 12 touchdowns. It’s the most yards rushing by a Bulldog since Tyler Renew ran for 1,096 yards in 2016. Adams also passed for 1,071 yards and seven touchdowns.
 
SAMFORD (4-7, 3-5)
Samford’s offense put up the kind of numbers we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the Bulldogs over the years. Samford led the SoCon in scoring with an average of 37.9 and was second in total offense with 448.7 yards per game. But those lofty offensive stats didn’t translate to success this season as the Bulldogs lost their most SoCon games since going 2-6 in league play in 2010.
After suffering its fourth defeat by seven points or fewer in a 46-45 loss to VMI to close out October, Samford opened November with a strong defensive showing in a 35-14 win over The Citadel. The typically pass-happy Bulldogs had just 118 yards in the air as they ran for a season-high 252 yards.
The next week, Samford had the college football world buzzing for a couple of hours as the Bulldogs raced out to a 42-35 halftime lead at Florida. It’s the most points ever allowed by the Gators in a half. Samford didn’t find the same level of success in the second half as Florida came back for a 70-52 win. The 52 points were the most ever scored by an FCS team against a Power 5 opponent since Division I split in 1978. The Bulldogs finished with 530 yards of total offense. No other Florida opponent had more than 459 yards this season.
The offensive momentum really didn’t carry over in the season finale at home the next week, though. Furman took a 35-10 lead midway through the third quarter and while Samford didn’t quit, it was a deficit too large to overcome as the Bulldogs fell 41-34.
Quarterback Liam Welch earned first-team All-SoCon honors as he ranked fifth in the country in total offense (352.4 yard per game) and seventh in passing (306 yards per game). He also passed for 22 touchdowns and set a SoCon record with 582 yards passing against ETSU.
MVP: Wide receiver/returner Montrell Washington. Washington found multiple ways to torment opponents this season as he caught nine touchdowns, ran for six touchdowns and returned kicks for three touchdowns. He led the country in all-purpose yards per game (176.2) and led the SoCon in scoring (9.8 points per game) and punt returns with a 17.4 yards per return average. He finished second in the league in receiving with 813 yards.
 
WOFFORD (1-10, 0-8)
Just two years removed from winning a third consecutive SoCon championship, 2021 was a year to forget for Wofford. The Terriers won their first game in the spring but lost the next four before calling an end to that season. This fall, they opened with a win at Elon but couldn’t put another notch in the win column the rest of the way.
It’s the first time Wofford ever suffered a winless season of SoCon play. Its 10 losses are the most in a season since 1987, the year before the legendary tenure of Mike Ayers began.
The Terriers opened November by collecting just 136 yards of total offense in a 35-10 home loss to Chattanooga. The following week, it appeared Wofford might break through at a place they’ve enjoyed visiting. The Terriers jumped out to a 28-17 halftime lead at The Citadel as they looked for their 12th win out of 13 trips to Charleston. The Bulldogs rallied, though, and held on for a 45-44 overtime win when Peyton Derrick’s potential game-winning two-point conversion pass was broken up.
Wofford trailed 10-7 midway through the second quarter of the season finale at North Carolina before falling 34-14.
The Terriers’ offense ranked last in the SoCon with an average of 323.8 yards per game. Meanwhile, Wofford’s defense allowed 454.5 yards per game and was not opportunistic. The Terriers didn’t force a turnover over any of their last four games. They finished with nine turnovers gained this season, including just two interceptions. Out of 123 FCS teams, only Howard forced fewer turnovers and had fewer interceptions.
MVP: Running back Irvin Mulligan. Mulligan earned second-team All-SoCon honors after finishing fifth in the league with 854 yards rushing and eight touchdowns. The junior averaged 6.9 yards per carry.