The SoCon Spread

GREENVILLE, S.C.— The team picked to win the 2026 SoCon crown is a program that has claimed each of the previous two SoCon gridiron titles, as Mercer is the preseason coaches pick to win the 2026 Southern Conference football crown it was announced by the league office at the league’s annual football media day Tuesday at Hotel Hartness.  The Bears picked up a total of 76 points and six first-place votes in the poll. Mercer also enters the 2026 season under the direction of a new head coach, as the Joel Taylor era is set to commence this fall in Macon.  The poll was conducted by the nine-coach panel, with no coach able to vote for his own team. Over the past five seasons, the Bears have won 49 games, including a 37-11 mark in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Bears have a 21-3 mark over the past three seasons in league play, and have made three-straight FCS Playoff appearances, and will enter the campaign with a string of 12-straight league wins, posting a p...

 Big Opportunities Await the SoCon in the Non-Conference We all know last season was one of those seasons that saw the SoCon really damage itself when it came to having multiple teams in the FCS playoffs due to the inability to pick up any key out of conference wins. It was a combination of losses that led to only one real serious playoff contender. West Georgia's wins over Samford and East Tennessee State were big, while Chattanooga, which played arguably the toughest non-league slate, dropped games to both Tarleton State (l, 52-24) and then non-conference member Tennessee Tech (L, 45-17), as the two Top 10 foes soundly dealt the Mocs a pair of setbacks.  Mercer and Furman, however, both had by far the biggest setbacks of the non-conference season and were the brunt of many jokes throughout the rest of the season following week one and two losses to Presbyterian.  The Bears, who went on to win the SoCon crown by finishing off the campaign 8-0 in league play, dropped a 15...