Sept. 22 (Thursday)	Series	TV/Digital	Time (ET)
#9/10 Chattanooga at Illinois	First meeting	Big Ten Network / Stats	8:30 p.m.
Sept. 24 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital	Time (ET)
ETSU at Robert Morris	Series tied 1-1	ESPN+ / Stats	12 p.m.
Furman at Charleston Southern	Furman leads 1-0	ESPN+ / Stats	12 p.m.
Western Carolina at #22/21 Samford*	Samford leads 16-3	ESPN3 / Stats	3 p.m.
#16/17 Mercer at Gardner-Webb	First meeting	ESPN+ / Stats	6 p.m.
Wofford at Kennesaw State	Kennesaw State leads 3-0	ESPN+ / Stats	6 p.m.

* Southern Conference game

Notes
• Chattanooga looks to remain undefeated when it visits Big Ten foe Illinois on Thursday, while Samford hosts Western Carolina on Saturday for the only Southern Conference league game this week.

• Five of the SoCon’s nine squads are either ranked or receiving votes 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. 16 in the coaches’ poll and No. 17 in the Stats Perform poll, while Samford is ranked No. 22 and No. 21 in those polls, respectively. Furman is the first team out in both polls, while ETSU is also receiving votes in both rankings.

• The SoCon and the six-member ASUN are the only two FCS conferences to currently have every team ranked 199 or better in the current combined Sagarin FBS and FCS rankings.

• Chattanooga rolled past North Alabama 41-14 on Sept. 17, with quarterback Preston Hutchinson accounting for five touchdowns on the day to earn SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second straight week. The Mocs will be trying to hand the Illini their first-ever loss to an FCS program (17-0).

• Samford, which scored the go-ahead touchdown with just 25 seconds left to elude Tennessee Tech, 33-28, on Sep. 17, is seeking its fifth straight win over Western Carolina. The Bulldogs got 327 yards and four TDs through the air from quarterback Michael Hiers against the Golden Eagles, with three of those scoring tosses going to Chandler Smith, who shares the FCS lead with five TD catches this season.

• Western Carolina’s high-octane offense rolled up a school-record 766 yards of total offense and matched the program scoring record in a 77-21 win over Presbyterian on Sept. 17. Freshman QB Cole Gonzales was 19-for-24 for 276 yards and three TDs through the air and added another 36 yards and a score on the ground in his first career start.

• Western Carolina coach Kerwin Bell is seeking his 100th career win this Saturday.

• Mercer, which posted a 17-0 shutout of The Citadel on Sept. 17, steps back out of conference when it visits Gardner-Webb on Saturday. The Bears got 17 tackles from Isaac Dowling and 138 receiving yards and two touchdown catches from Ty James, who ranks second in the FCS with 372 receiving yards and shares the subdivision lead with five TD receptions.

• After knocking off then-No. 19/18 ETSU on Sept. 17, Furman wraps up its nonconference slate at Charleston Southern on Saturday. The Paladins got another impressive outing from QB Tyler Huff, who threw for 218 yards and two TDs and ran for a game-high 98 yards. Free safety Hugh Ryan had a forced fumble and an interception and kicker Ian Williams booted field goals of 44 and 43 yards as both players earned weekly honors from the SoCon.

• ETSU looks to snap a two-game losing streak when it visits Robert Morris on Saturday. The Bucs saw their potent rushing attack held to just 80 yards in the setback to Furman.

• Wofford fell 27-7 at Virginia Tech on Sept. 17, getting a 3-yard scoring run from Nathan Walker in the fourth quarter for the Terriers’ first points of the season. Wofford will face Kennesaw State for the fourth time since 2018 on Saturday.

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 (9/19)
Saturday's football roundup (9/17)