Nov. 26	Series	TV/Digital / Stats	Time
#15/12 Elon at #11/11 Furman	Furman leads 12-8	ESPN+ / Stats	12 p.m.

Notes
• Furman hosts Elon on Saturday in a first-round battle in the 2022 NCAA Division I Football Championship, while Southern Conference champion Samford earned the No. 6 national seed and a first-round bye.
 
• The SoCon has gone 110-79 (.582) all-time in the FCS playoffs, winning eight national titles. Furman claimed the first of those in 1988, becoming the first private school to win what was then the I-AA championship.
 
• The Paladins, who finished the regular season 9-2 overall and went 7-1 in SoCon play, earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs. Furman rides a six-game winning streak into the postseason.
 
• Furman will be hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2005. Furman is 11-7 in playoff games at Paladin Stadium.
 
• Furman is 19-17 all-time in the FCS playoffs. Its last appearance came in 2019.
 
• A win Saturday would give Furman its first 10-win season since going 11-3 in 2005 and would put the Paladins in the postseason second round for the first time since 2017.
 
• Furman leads the series against its former SoCon brethren, 12-8. The squads have met in the playoffs just once, with the Paladins claiming a 28-27 road win in the first round of the 2017 championship.
 
• Furman brings a consensus No. 11 ranking into the postseason, while Elon is ranked No. 15 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 12 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. The Paladins are 3-1 against ranked squads this season.
 
• An at-large selection out of the Colonial Athletic Association, Elon went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in league play this season.
 
• The Phoenix ended the regular season with three straight wins and is in the playoff field for the first time since 2018.
 
• Elon is seeking its first-ever FCS playoff win.
 
• The Phoenix has beaten four teams in the playoff field, including handing No. 5 national seed William & Mary its lone loss of the season. Elon is 3-2 against ranked squads this season.
 
• Elon defensive back Marcus Hillman is among the 30 national finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award. He enters the postseason with 73 tackles (50 solo), including 16.5 for loss and 8.5 sacks. He has also forced four fumbles on the season.
 
• Samford went 10-1 overall and 8-0 in league play in the regular season to win their first-ever outright SoCon title. The Bulldogs’ lone loss this season has come at the hands of defending FBS national champion Georgia.
 
• The Bulldogs, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2017, are hosting a playoff game for the first time. Samford will be making its sixth playoff appearance.
 
• On Dec. 3, Samford will face either Idaho or Southeastern Louisiana, who square off Saturday in the first round.
 
• Three SoCon players were named finalists for the Walter Payton Award, including Samford quarterback Michael Hiers. Three league players were named finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, one was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award and Bulldog coach Chris Hatcher was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
 
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
Furman’s Ashby named Student-Athlete of the Week (11/23)
UTC's Curtis named finalist for Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award (11/23)
All-Southern Conference coaches football teams announced (11/22)
All-Southern Conference media football teams announced (11/22)
Three named finalists for Buck Buchanan Award (11/22)
Three SoCon players tabbed Walter Payton Award finalists (11/22)
CSC Academic All-District football teams announced (11/22)
WCU's Reid named finalist for Jerry Rice Award (11/21)
Samford's Hatcher finalist for Eddie Robinson Award (11/21)
SoCon names football players of the week (11/21)
FCS playoff field announced; Samford, Furman earn bids (11/20)
Saturday's football roundup (11/19)