Oct. 15 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital / Stats	Time
The Citadel at Wofford*	The Citadel leads 44-30-1	ESPN+ / Stats	1:30 p.m.
VMI at #9/10 Chattanooga*	Chattanooga 17-9-1	ESPN3 / Stats	1:30 p.m.
Western Carolina at Furman*	Furman leads 34-13-2	Nexstar/ESPN+ / Stats	2 p.m.
ETSU at #11/12 Mercer*	ETSU leads 4-3	ESPN+ / Stats	4 p.m.

* Southern Conference game
FCS rankings listed AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25/Stats Perform FCS Top 25

Nexstar affiliates for Oct. 15 Ingles SoCon Game of the Week
ECBD/The Lowcountry’s CW (Charleston)
WMUB (Macon)
WMYT/My 12 (Charlotte)
WWCW/The CW Virginia (Lynchburg/Roanoke)
WYCW/The CW62 (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville)

Play-by-play: Pete Yanity
Analyst: Jared Singleton

Notes
• Furman welcomes Western Carolina on Saturday for the Ingles Southern Conference Game of the Week on select Nexstar affiliates, while nationally ranked Mercer and Chattanooga squads try to remain unbeaten in SoCon play and Wofford hosts in-state rival The Citadel.

• Three SoCon squads are ranked in the top 15 in the latest national polls. Chattanooga is ranked No. 9 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 10 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. Mercer is No. 11 in the coaches’ poll and No. 12 in the Stats Perform poll, while Samford, which is idle this weekend, is No. 15 in both polls. Furman is receiving votes in both polls.

• Furman has held three of its four FCS opponents to fewer than 20 points this season and shares the FCS lead with 16 turnovers gained, with Kam Brinson sharing the FCS lead with three fumble recoveries. The Paladins downed The Citadel 21-10 last weekend, with Dominic Roberto running for 133 yards and two touchdowns and Braden Gilby recording 12 tackles, including three for lost yardage.

• Western Carolina, which averages 33.7 points per game, was kept out of the end zone for the second time in three games last weekend, as it fell at Mercer, 49-6. Catamount kicker Richard McCollum is tied for 11th in the FCS with 1.50 field goals per game and is 10th with a .900 field goal percentage.

• Mercer, which hosts defending SoCon champion ETSU, has been dominant on both sides of the ball this season, outscoring its FCS opponents 216-40. Mercer remains one of just three FCS teams yet to throw an interception this season, while its defense paces the FCS with 12 interceptions of its own. Quarterback Fred Payton is fourth nationally in pass efficiency at 185.2 and is 99-for-147 for 1,433 yards and 16 touchdowns so far this season. Devron Harper shares the FCS lead with eight TD catches.

• ETSU earned its first SoCon win of the season last weekend, topping VMI 44-21. Jacob Saylors had a career-best 29 carries for 183 yards and three TDs, while Tyler Keltner converted three field goals from 40-plus yards. Both earned SoCon weekly honors.

• Chattanooga, which was idle last week, hosts VMI for the first time since the 2018 season and will play at home for the first time since Sept. 17, when it downed North Alabama 41-14. The Mocs have been stingy on defense, ranking 11th in the FCS in scoring defense at 16.2 points allowed per game.

• VMI, looking to snap a three-game losing streak and pick up its first SoCon win of the season, is vying for its third straight win over the Mocs, a feat it has never accomplished. The Keydets earned a 37-34 win in overtime last season and won 31-24 in 2019. The squads didn’t meet in the spring 2021 season.

• Wofford dropped a 28-14 contest at Samford last weekend it is first game under interim head coach Shawn Watson. The Terriers, who have opened league play against three nationally ranked squads, have lost 16 straight games but welcome a foe in The Citadel that they have beaten in 20 of the last 24 meetings. 

• The Citadel, which has dropped three straight since stunning then-No. 8 ETSU on Sept. 10, has won two straight against Wofford and is looking for its first three-game streak against the Terriers since winning 15 straight in the series from 1959-90. 

SoCon Points of Pride
• 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 47 total FCS playoffs appearances.
    • Six of the nine SoCon teams appeared in an FCS top-25 national poll in the 2020-21 season and five of nine did so in the fall 2021 campaign.

• 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 2020-21.

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

• The SoCon had 15 FCS All-America selections in fall 2021 season. Two of them were drafted into the NFL, with Chattanooga OL Cole Strange becoming the SoCon’s first first-rounder since 1974 when he was taken 29th overall by the New England Patriots. Samford WR Montrell Washington was selected in the fifth round by the Denver Broncos.

• 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 2022 campaign is the 101st season of SoCon football. Founded in 1921, the SoCon is the fifth-oldest Division I conference.

Recent news
SoCon names football players of the week (10/10)
Saturday's football roundup (10/8)
UTC's Curtis, Maxwell earn Hula Bowl invitations (10/7)
Keeler's Corner: In-season update #2 (10/7)
Wofford announces football leadership change (10/6)