Oct. 8 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital / Stats	Time
Wofford at #15/13 Samford*	Samford leads 14-5	ESPN+ / Stats	1 p.m.
ETSU at VMI*	ETSU leads 17-10	Nexstar/ESPN+ / Stats	1:30 p.m.
Furman at The Citadel*	Furman leads 61-37-3	ESPN3 / Stats	2 p.m.
Western Carolina at #12/12 Mercer*	Mercer leads 6-2	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. 8 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
• VMI hosts ETSU on Saturday for the Ingles Southern Conference Game of the Week on select Nexstar affiliates, while nationally ranked Mercer and Samford squads try to remain unbeaten in SoCon play and The Citadel welcomes Furman in the league’s oldest active rivalry.

• Three SoCon squads are ranked in the top 15 in the latest national polls. Chattanooga, idle this week, is ranked No. 9 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 11 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. Mercer is No. 12 in both polls, while Samford is ranked No. 15 in the coaches’ poll and No. 13 in the Stats Perform poll. Furman is receiving votes in both polls.

• ETSU, the defending league champion, is seeking its first conference win of the season. Bucs running back Jacob Saylors, the preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, paces the league in rushing (112.0 yards per game) and all-purpose yards per game (134.6) this season.

• VMI dropped a 38-17 decision at Western Carolina last week despite picking up two interceptions and blocking a punt for the second straight game. Chance Knox had nine catches for 105 yards, both career highs. 

• Mercer continues to climb the national rankings, again reaching its highest-ever spot in the polls this week. The Bears, who host Western Carolina on Saturday, are one of just three FCS teams yet to throw an interception this season, with quarterback Fred Payton fourth nationally in pass efficiency at 180.4. He is 83-for-125 for 1,186 yards and 13 touchdowns so far this season.

• Western Carolina’s offense continues to hum. The Catamounts rank fifth in the FCS in completion percentage (.706), second in first downs (148), fourth in passing offense (351.2), second in total offense (549.8) and ninth in scoring offense (39.2). Coach Kerwin Bell earned his 100th career victory with the Catamounts’ win over VMI. Carlos Davis threw for 336 yards and four TDs in the contest.

• Samford claimed both SoCon Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week after its 34-27 win at Furman last weekend. Running back Jaylan Thomas ran for 104 yards and three TDs on just five carries, while Nathan East also earned FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting 10 tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles.

• Wofford hits the road for the fourth time in six weeks to open the season when it visits Samford on Saturday. The Terriers, who will be facing their third ranked SoCon team of the season, will be attempting to snap a 15-game losing streak dating back to last year.

• The Citadel and Furman, who will be meeting for the 102nd time Saturday, have faced each other each year since 1919, with the exception of three years during World War II.

• The Citadel faced former SoCon foe App State last week, falling 49-0. The Bulldogs rank third in the FCS in time of possession this season, controlling the ball for 37:05 per game.

• Paladin quarterback Jace Wilson completed a school-record 38 passes on 59 attempts for 329 yards and three TDs in Furman’s loss to Samford.

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 (10/3)
Southern Conference statement on officiating (10/3)
Saturday's football roundup (10/1)