Oct. 1 (Saturday)	Series	TV/Digital / Stats	Time
#13/13 Mercer at Wofford*	Series tied 7-7	Nexstar/ESPN+ / Stats	1:30 p.m.
#19/16 Samford at Furman*	Furman leads 13-11	ESPN+ / Stats	2 p.m.
#10/12 Chattanooga at ETSU*	Chattanooga leads 24-19-1	ESPN+ / Stats	3 p.m.
The Citadel at App State	App State leads 29-13	ESPN+ / Stats	3:30 p.m.
VMI at Western Carolina*	Western Carolina leads 24-4	ESPN3 / Stats	3:30 p.m.

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

Nexstar affiliates for Oct. 1 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 full slate of Southern Conference games is on the schedule Saturday for the first time this season, highlighted by Mercer visiting Wofford in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week on select Nexstar affiliates. Additionally, Chattanooga at ETSU is being highlighted as one of the games of the week on Friday’s FCS ALL IN show and has been moved up to a 3 p.m. start due to expected inclement weather due to Hurricane Ian.

• Five of the SoCon’s nine squads are either ranked or receiving votes in the latest national polls. Chattanooga is ranked No. 10 in the AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 12 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25. Mercer is No. 13 in both polls, while Samford is ranked No. 19 in the coaches’ poll and No. 16 in the Stats Perform poll. Furman and ETSU are receiving votes in both rankings.

• Mercer, enjoying its highest national ranking ever, is clicking on offense. Quarterback Fred Payton ranks sixth in the FCS in pass efficiency (171.2) and seventh in passing touchdowns (11), while Devron Harper and Ty James are tied for third with five receiving TDs apiece. When the offense does stall, Mercer can turn to Trey Turk, who ranks third in the FCS with 46.0 yards per punt.

• Wofford came up just shy in its bid for its first win of the season last week, scoring the game’s final 13 points but running out of time to complete the comeback in a 24-22 setback at Kennesaw State. Terrier quarterback Jimmy Weirick threw for a program-record 358 yards, eclipsing a mark that had stood since 1969, and completed a program-record 25 passes, breaking a record that was set in 1951.

• The renewal of the Rail Rivalry has no shortage of intrigue. ETSU is the defending SoCon champion, while Chattanooga is the preseason favorite to win the league this year. Bucs running back Jacob Saylors (119.2 yards per game) and Mocs RB Ailym Ford (105.8) are 1-2 in the SoCon in rushing per game this year. And Saylors and Chattanooga defensive lineman Devonnsha Maxwell are the preseason SoCon Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, with Maxwell currently fourth in SoCon annals with 33.0 career sacks.

• Western Carolina coach Kerwin Bell is seeking his 100th career win this Saturday when the Catamounts host VMI. WCU was held out of the end zone in last weekend’s 35-12 setback to Samford, with Richard McCollum accounting for all 12 points on four field goals. He has a streak of 19 consecutive makes.

• VMI is the final team to open SoCon play. The Keydets are paced on defense by Stone Snyder, who shares the FCS lead with 12.0 tackles per game.

• Samford claimed SoCon Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors after last week’s 35-12 win over Western Carolina, with Michael Hiers completing 80 percent of his passes for 292 yards and four TDs and Isaiah Richardson making eight tackles and picking off a pass in the end zone.

• Furman saw sophomore QB Jace Wilson come off the bench to run for two TDs and throw for another as the Paladins rallied from a nine-point second-half deficit to top Charleston Southern last week, 24-19.

• The Citadel visits former SoCon rival App State on Saturday. The Bulldogs won the final two meetings in the series before the Mountaineers made the move to the FBS.

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
Hurricane Ian schedule changes (9/28)
SoCon names football players of the week (9/26)
Saturday's football roundup (9/24)
Chattanooga falls at Illinois (9/22)
VMI's Ironside named Student-Athlete of the Week (9/21)