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’s Corner” appears monthly throughout the season.
Keeler can be found on Twitter @Scott_Keeler
Welcome to the third in-season edition of “Keeler’s Corner.” Month-by-month of the football season, I’ll recap the efforts of each Southern Conference team – in order of the current SoCon standings – and look ahead to what’s on the horizon.
No. 10/10 SAMFORD (7-1 overall, 5-0 SoCon)
Going undefeated in October has Samford on the verge of a historic football season this year. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in the Southern Conference for the first time ever. They are 7-1 overall for the first time since 1992 and for just the third time ever as a member of Division I, which the program moved up to in 1988.
Samford is coming off a 38-3 win Saturday at The Citadel. It was the most lopsided win for a road team at The Citadel since Samford’s last trip there in the spring of 2021 – a 55-7 victory. Despite their defense being on the field for more than 38 minutes, the Bulldogs allowed just a 56-yard field goal. It’s the fewest points given up by Samford since a 20-3 win at Mercer in 2017.
Finding success on offense without having the ball long is nothing new for Samford. The Bulldogs are next-to-last in the FCS in average time of possession at just 24:11 but are averaging 31.5 points per game all season and 38 points per game in SoCon play.
Samford’s offense features the two leading pass catchers in the SoCon in Kendall Watson and Chandler Smith. Watson has 54 receptions for 622 yards and five touchdowns, while Smith has 53 catches for 534 yards and eight touchdowns. While 11 different Bulldogs caught passes Saturday in Charleston, Watson led the way with 10 catches for 113 yards. That gives him three consecutive games with double-digit receptions.
The Bulldogs’ defense is led by linebacker Nathan East, who has 42 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one interception, five quarterback hurries and three pass break-ups.
Player of the year (so far): Quarterback Michael Hiers. In his first season with the Bulldogs, Hiers’ numbers through September were great but not at that same prolific level of his predecessors under Samford coach Chris Hatcher. Through October, they’re getting there. He’s second in the country in completion percentage (76.0), including an astounding 81.8 percent in league play. Hiers has thrown for 2,161 yards, 23 touchdowns and just two interceptions. In Samford’s 55-45 win at ETSU on Oct. 22, Hiers completed 45-of-51 passes for 442 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 50 yards and a score. Those 45 completions are the most by a Division I quarterback in a game this season.
Upcoming game to watch: at Chattanooga, Nov. 12. This could be one of the biggest days ever in SoCon football when the top four teams meet in the penultimate week of the regular season. Samford will try to stop its seven-game losing streak in the series in its first game played at Chattanooga since 2018.
No. 13/19 FURMAN (7-2, 5-1)
Samford isn’t the only SoCon program doing things not done since the 20th century. After a tough 34-27 loss to Samford to start October, Furman has won four consecutive games highlighted by a huge 24-20 win Saturday over Chattanooga.
The previous week, the Paladins posted a 41-3 victory at VMI, giving them a four-game road winning streak for the first time since 1999. That also marked the second time this season that Furman didn’t allow a touchdown. The last time that happened twice in one season was also 1999, when that squad did it four times.
Last Saturday, Tyler Huff had 335 yards of total offense. In its previous two games against Chattanooga, Furman had respective totals of 151 and 170 yards as a team. Huff became just the second Paladin ever to have 200 yards passing and 125 rushing the same game, joining Furman legend Bobby Lamb, who did it in a win over Marshall in 1985.
Running back Dominic Roberto hit his stride in October and leads a Furman rushing attack that ranks ninth in the country averaging 223.9 yards per game. Roberto has rushed for 811 yards, is averaging 6.4 yards per carry, and has scored eight touchdowns.
Turnovers have been essential to Furman’s defense this season as the Paladins are tied for the national lead with 21 takeaways. Hugh Ryan currently has a three-game interception streak and has four for the season. Kam Brinson has one interception and three fumble recoveries. Linebacker Braden Gilby leads the unit with 59 tackles, including 10.5 for loss and three sacks. Special teams have also been a key. The Paladins have blocked six kicks and one punt and returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Kickoff specialist Ian Williams ranks third nationally with 36 touchbacks.
Player of the year (so far): All-American tight end Ryan Miller. Miller was tackled at the 2-yard line on Furman’s opening drive at The Citadel on Oct. 8 and ended up seeing his school-record streak of touchdown receptions end that day. He’s had a touchdown catch in every game since, though, giving him touchdown grabs in 11 of his last 12 games. He’s tied for fifth nationally with nine touchdowns caught this season.
Upcoming game to watch: at Mercer, Nov. 12. The Paladins and Bears are both off this week, which allows more time to prepare for a showdown between teams with the same overall and SoCon records next week. Last fall, Furman was held to 91 yards rushing and threw four interceptions in a 24-3 loss to Mercer.
No. 12/11 MERCER (7-2, 5-1)
One week after being dealt its first FCS loss this season, Mercer bounced back in a big way last Saturday with a 55-14 win at VMI. The Bears, who scored 63 points in their season opener, have scored at least 42 points in five of their past six games.
The one time they didn’t was in a 41-21 loss at Chattanooga two weeks ago as Mercer lost on the Mocs’ home field for the first time since 2016. Perhaps most stunning about the Bears’ 55-point response last Saturday was the fact that they turned it over on their first two possessions. The lone points of the first quarter came on an 87-yard punt return by Devron Harper.
While the Chattanooga loss knocked Mercer out of first place in the league standings, the Bears are seemingly in first place in every stat category. Mercer leads the SoCon in: scoring offense (40.3 points per game), total defense (291.8 yards allowed per game), pass defense (182.1), pass efficiency rating (178.4), pass defense efficiency (101.7), defensive interceptions (17), PAT kicking (98 percent), sacks allowed (5), third-down conversions (51.8 percent), opponents’ third-down conversions (31.8 percent), fourth-down conversions (91.7 percent - on 11-of-12), red zone offense (86.5 percent) and red zone defense (71.9 percent).
Quarterback Fred Payton has thrown for 2,242 yards with 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Payton’s pass efficiency rating of 181.51 ranks third nationally.
Ten different Bears have accounted for those FCS-best 17 interceptions, led by T.J. Moore with three. Mercer’s defense is led by Isaac Dowling, who ranks third in the SoCon with 82 tackles, including nine for loss, and has two interceptions.
On special teams, sophomore Trey Turk’s 45.3 yards per punt average would rank in the top five nationally if his 29 punts were enough to qualify.
Player of the year (so far): Wide receiver Devron Harper. This actually could go to either Harper or big-play specialist Ty James. Mercer’s dynamic receiving duo has 10 touchdown catches apiece, one shy of the national lead. Harper gets the edge for the other ways he finds the end zone, as he has four rushing touchdowns along with one kick return and one punt return for a score. Last Saturday, he shattered the school record for all-purpose yards with 293. Harper had 126 yards on punt returns, 80 receiving, 65 on kickoff returns and 22 rushing.
Upcoming game to watch: at Samford, Nov. 19. Talk about one extreme to the other. Based on what happens the next two weeks, this regular-season finale could either determine the SoCon champion or who possibly gets snubbed for an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs. Last fall, the Bears won a shootout with the Bulldogs, 45-42.
No. 11/12 CHATTANOOGA (6-2, 4-1)
After handing Mercer its first FCS loss two weeks ago, Chattanooga suffered the same fate last Saturday when it fell at Furman, 24-20. After Furman took a 24-10 lead on a touchdown just 45 seconds into the second half, the Mocs did all the rest of the scoring but could not complete the comeback.
Their next-to-last drive reached the Furman 7-yard line but ended on a blocked field goal. Chattanooga’s final drive began at the Furman 40 but ended four plays later on a fourth-down incompletion. The loss knocked Chattanooga out of first place in the league standings and out of the top 10 in the FCS polls for the first time in nine weeks.
In the showdown against Mercer a week earlier, the Mocs raced out to a 24-0 lead less than three minutes into the second quarter and cruised to a 41-21 victory. Chattanooga forced six turnovers in the win and scored 24 points off them.
On Oct. 15, Chattanooga piled up 609 yards of total offense and held VMI to minus-4 yards rushing on 28 attempts in a 41-13 victory. It was the lowest rushing output allowed by the Mocs since holding the Keydets to minus-16 yards rushing in 2018. It was the most yards of total offense for Chattanooga since collecting 695 against App State in 2004.
The Mocs rank eighth nationally in scoring defense at 17.4 points allowed per game. Despite allowing 185 yards rushing to Furman on Saturday, Chattanooga is still ninth in the FCS at 98.4 yards rushing allowed per game. Linebacker Jay Person leads the unit as he ranks fifth nationally with 13 tackles-for-loss, including 6.5 sacks. Kameron Brown is tied for the league lead with four interceptions for the Mocs.
The Mocs have outscored opponents 69-3 in the fourth quarter all season.
Player of the year (so far): Running back Ailym Ford. While he didn’t make the trip to Furman after the physical contest against Mercer, Ford still ranks eighth nationally averaging 117 yards per game. He’s been especially outstanding in SoCon play as he’s rushed for 140.5 yards a game against league foes. Ford, who has eight rushing touchdowns this season, became the fifth player in school history with more than 3,000 career yards rushing during the win over Mercer.
Upcoming game to watch: vs. Samford, Nov. 12. If Chattanooga wins at The Citadel this Saturday, it will have a chance to jump right back atop the league standings in this showdown the following week. The Mocs have won 11 of the last 12 games in the series, including a 55-13 win at Samford last fall.
WOFFORD (2-6, 2-3)
What a difference a month and a coaching change can bring. When Wofford opened October with a 42-7 loss to Mercer, the Terriers were last in the country in scoring, averaging 7.2 points per game. Josh Conklin resigned as head coach five days later.
Two days after Conklin quit, Wofford was tasked with going on the road to face first-place Samford. While the Terriers fell 28-14, it was a respectable showing especially considering what the team had endured that week. It marked Samford’s lowest-scoring output in SoCon play.
A week later, Wofford ended a 16-game losing streak and got interim coach Shawn Watson his first win with a 31-16 victory over The Citadel. The game was tied 7-7 when the Terriers went on a 24-0 scoring run from the 4:30 mark of the second quarter to the 13:18 mark of the third. Jimmy Weirick threw three touchdowns in the spurt.
A week after ending the second-longest active losing streak in the FCS, Wofford made it a winning streak. The Terriers, who scored 50 points over their first six games, nearly matched that total in four quarters last Saturday in a 48-41 win over ETSU.
Landon Parker’s 31-yard touchdown catch on a fourth-and-15 play tied the game at 41-41 with 2:54 left. Wofford, which didn’t have an interception on defense over its first six games, got its second pick of the season at an ideal time. Amir Annoor returned an interception 19 yards to the ETSU 12-yard line with 44 seconds left. Three plays later, Nathan Walker ran nine yards for the game-winning score.
Micheal Mason leads Wofford’s defense with 5.5 sacks.
Player of the year (so far): Quarterback Jimmy Weirick. Weirick broke the school’s single-game passing record he’d set earlier this year on Saturday with 409 yards and three touchdowns. He threw for 358 at Kennesaw State on Sept. 24. The previous record of 306 was set by Harold Chandler in 1969. For the season, Weirick has thrown for 1,606 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions.
Upcoming game to watch: at Furman, Nov. 19. Furman could have a lot on the line in this regular-season finale. Wofford would undoubtedly love nothing more than to spoil those hopes of its biggest rival as well as end its season on a high note.
THE CITADEL (2-6, 2-4)
Like Wofford, The Citadel was averaging just over seven points a game after opening October with a shutout loss at App State. The offense finally got a spark Oct. 22 at Western Carolina.
Sophomore Graeson Underwood became the Bulldogs’ third different starting quarterback this season and led them to a 34-21 victory. Underwood rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. He also completed 4-of-7 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns. The Citadel scored on each of its first six possessions and had double-digit play totals on five of those. That led to a total time of possession of 42:49 for the Bulldogs.
That spark didn’t carry over to last Saturday, though, as The Citadel lost at home to Samford, 38-3. The Bulldogs’ opening drive was a frustrating one that has become all too familiar this season. The Citadel went 64 yards on 15 plays and shaved 8:51 off the clock but came away with no points. On fourth-and-4 at the Samford 14, the Bulldogs’ Braden Walker was tackled one yard shy of the first-down marker at the 11.
The Citadel’s defense has been led by linebacker Hasan Black, who has team-highs in tackles (63), tackles-for-loss (nine) and sacks (three).
Player of the year (so far): Kicker Colby Kintner. Kintner gets the nod after providing the lone highlight of the Samford game when he connected on a school-record 56-yard field goal. It broke the previous long of 53 set twice in 1984 by Greg Davis and was one yard shy of the SoCon record. Kintner is 8-of-9 on field goals this season and 9-of-10 on extra points.
Upcoming game to watch: vs. Chattanooga, Nov. 5. On paper, this may not scream “game to watch,” but you’d be hard-pressed to find a series that’s been tighter over the past few years. Each of the last seven meetings have been decided by no more than eight points. After three consecutive one-point wins for the Mocs in the series, The Citadel won 24-21 in Chattanooga in last fall’s season finale.
WESTERN CAROLINA (3-5, 1-4)
After evening its SoCon record at 1-1 by opening October with a 38-17 win over VMI, Western Carolina stumbled the rest of the month. The Catamounts have gone a month without a win as they lost three consecutive games before last Saturday’s bye.
Western’s typically high-powered offense was grounded and turned the ball over five times in a 49-6 loss at Mercer on Oct. 8. The offense got on track the next week at Furman to the tune of 691 yards of total offense – the most the Paladins have ever allowed. But after falling behind 44-20 entering the fourth quarter, the Catamounts’ rally fell short in a 47-40 loss.
At Furman, freshman Cole Gonzales replaced injured starting quarterback Carlos Davis in the third quarter and passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns over Western’s final five drives.
That success didn’t carry over the following week at home against The Citadel, though. The Bulldogs took a 31-0 lead in the third quarter and went on to a 34-21 win.
Davis’ health has been a problem this season. After getting hurt against Georgia Tech, he didn’t run very much at all the next few games. That changed at Furman, though. In one half plus one drive of the second half, he had 209 yards passing and 104 rushing before leaving with another injury.
Mistakes continue to plague Western, which is one of the most penalized teams in the country. The Catamounts average 8.4 penalties for 83.8 yards per game. Only one FCS team has lost more turnovers than Western’s 21.
Player of the year (so far): Running back Desmond Reid. Reid’s made just one start all season, but he’s rushed for 582 yards and three touchdowns. The freshman is averaging 83.1 yards per game and his 7.7 yards per carry average is third-best in the country.
Upcoming game to watch: vs. Wofford, Nov. 5. Two teams trending in opposite directions meet this week in Cullowhee. Western will have had an extra week to try to figure some things out and get healthy. The Catamounts, who snapped a four-game losing streak in the series with a 41-21 win last season, will be going for their first home win over Wofford since 2014.
ETSU (3-6, 1-6)
It’s been a Jekyll and Hyde season for reigning SoCon champion ETSU. Over their first three SoCon games, the Bucs allowed 23.7 points per game, but only scored 15.7 per game to get off to an 0-3 start. Over their past three league games, ETSU has averaged 39.7 points per game but allowed a stunning 52.7 points a game for another three-game losing streak.
In the middle of those skids was a short-lived time when both sides were right in a 44-21 win at VMI on Oct. 8.
At Mercer on Oct. 15, ETSU cut the Bears’ lead to 38-33 in the fourth quarter before Mercer pulled away for a 55-33 win. The Bears finished with 587 yards of total offense. The next week, the Bucs got a career-high 389-yard passing day and a school-record five touchdown passes by Tyler Riddell. That wasn’t enough to overcome Samford’s 609 yards of total offense on 94 plays in a 55-45 loss.
Last Saturday, ETSU had 562 yards of total offense and star running back Jacob Saylors had a career-high 369 all-purpose yards. But Wofford piled up 580 yards of offense, including 409 passing, to rally for a 48-41 win.
This season has to feel all too eerily similar to 2019 when the Bucs followed up a SoCon title in 2018 by going 1-7 in league play.
Freshman linebacker Chandler Martin leads the SoCon with 95 tackles, including 9.5 for loss and 3.5 sacks. Sophomore Alijah Huzzie shares the SoCon lead in interceptions with four and also has 12 pass break-ups this season.
Player of the year (so far): Running back Jacob Saylors. Saylors leads the SoCon and ranks fourth in the country in rushing with 1,092 yards. He’s averaging 6.1 yards per carry and has rushed for 14 touchdowns. He had 245 yards rushing against Wofford, 22 shy of the single-game school record he set last season. He ranks fourth nationally with 164.3 all-purpose yards per game.
Upcoming game to watch: vs. Western Carolina, Nov. 12. ETSU has a week off before wrapping up conference play with the Blue Ridge Border Battle next week. The game was tied 35-35 at the half last season before the Bucs blanked the Catamounts in the second half to pull away for a 56-35 win.
VMI (1-7, 0-5)
Injuries throughout the year have been a major part of an unproductive football season for VMI. The Keydets are next-to-last in the SoCon in scoring offense (15.5 points per game), last in scoring defense (38.1), last in total offense (267.5 yards per game) and last in total defense (437.8).
VMI has simply not been able to generate enough big plays. The Keydets’ longest play against SoCon foes is a 46-yard pass. Its longest run is 30 yards. Both of those came against Western Carolina. VMI only has one other run of at least 25 yards all season, a 31-yard carry against 1-7 Bucknell.
Injuries and inconsistency have led to three different starting quarterbacks this season. A total of four quarterbacks have thrown at least 29 passes. They’ve combined for five touchdowns, 13 interceptions and been sacked 30 times.
Like Western Carolina, the Keydets have also suffered 21 lost turnovers this season.
Despite missing one game due to injury, All-American linebacker Stone Snyder still ranks third in the SoCon in tackles with 70. Alex Oliver is one shy of the conference lead in interceptions with three and also has seven pass break-ups.
Player of the year (so far): Sophomore linebacker Christian Dunn. Dunn ranks fourth on the team with 55 tackles, but leads VMI in tackles-for-loss (7.5), sacks (5.5) and quarterback hurries (3).
Upcoming game to watch: vs. The Citadel, Nov. 19. After 12 consecutive losses in the series from 2003-18, VMI wrestled the Silver Shako away in 2019 and retained it in the spring of 2021. Last fall, The Citadel got it back with a 35-24 victory.