Nov. 12 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital / Stats	Time
Western Carolina at ETSU*	Series tied 25-25-1	ESPN+ / Stats	1 p.m.
#9/10 Samford at #12/11 Chattanooga*	Chattanooga leads 33-10-3	ESPN+ / Stats	1:30 p.m.
VMI at Wofford*	Wofford leads 13-12	ESPN+ / Stats	1:30 p.m.
Virginia-Lynchburg at The Citadel	First meeting	ESPN3 / Stats	2 p.m.
#16/13 Furman at #11/14 Mercer*	Furman leads 10-8-2	Nexstar/ESPN+ / Stats	3 p.m.

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

Nexstar affiliates for Nov. 12 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
• A ranked-on-ranked battle between Furman and Mercer on Saturday is the Ingles Southern Conference Game of the Week on select Nexstar affiliates. Three other league games are also on the slate, including Samford visiting Chattanooga in another battle of ranked squads, which will be previewed on FCS ALL-IN on ESPN+ on Friday at 7 p.m. ET and has been tabbed the FedEx Ground FCS Game of the Week by Stats Perform.
 
. Other league games see ETSU host Western Carolina in the Blue Ridge Border Battle and VMI visit Wofford. In nonconference action, The Citadel hosts Virginia-Lynchburg on Saturday.
 
• Four SoCon squads are nationally ranked this week. In the AFCA FCS Coaches’ top 25, Samford is No. 9, Mercer is No. 11, Chattanooga is No. 12 and Furman is up three spots to No. 16. In the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, Samford is No. 10, Chattanooga is No. 11, Furman is No. 13 and Mercer is No. 14.
 
• With a win Saturday, Samford would move to 7-0 in conference play and lock up at least a share of the SoCon title. The Bulldogs would clinch the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a win and a Mercer loss to Furman.
 
• Furman, Mercer and Chattanooga lurk just one game back of the Bulldogs with identical 5-1 league marks heading into this weekend’s play. The Bears are seeking their first SoCon title and first FCS playoff berth.
 
• Chattanooga running back Ailym Ford needs just 47 yards to become the first player in program history with three 1,000-yard seasons. Teammate Devonnsha Maxwell has 35.5 career sacks, putting him just 1.5 back of the SoCon and Chattanooga record of 37.0 set by Davis Tull from 2011-14.
 
• Samford quarterback Michael Hiers leads the FCS with a 76.4 completion percentage this season. He is 249-for-326 for 2,483 yards and just one three interceptions this season.
 
• ETSU RB Jacob Saylors and Mercer WR Devron Harper both set program records for all-purpose yards on Oct. 29. Saylors had 369, the third-highest total in SoCon history, on 245 yards rushing and a 124 yards on kickoff returns. Harper had 293 yards on 22 rushing, 80 receiving, 65 on kickoff returns and 126 on punt returns, including an 87-yard return for TD.
 
• Furman All-American tight end Ryan Miller is third in the SoCon in catches per game (5.9) and sixth in receiving yards per game (64.3). He has 12 TD catches in his last 12 games, including nine in as many games this season.
 
• Western Carolina running back Desmond Reid is averaging 7.2 yards per carry (694 yards on 96 carries), the most by a WCU freshman back all-time.
 
• VMI kicker Jerry Rice matched a program record with five made field goals in last week’s 34-15 loss to Samford.
 
• After an 0-6 start, Wofford saw its two-game winning streak come to an end with its 36-29 setback at Western Carolina last week.
 
• The Citadel showcased a balanced attack in its loss to Chattanooga last week, rushing for 188 yards and throwing for 118 yards.
 
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
UTC's Lowery named Student-Athlete of the Week (11/9)
SoCon names football players of the week (11/7)
Saturday's football roundup (11/5)
Southern Conference names October athletes of the month (11/4)
Keeler's Corner: In-season update #3 (11/3)