SoCon Football 2023 Season Recap: (Part 2 of 2)

 

Samford (6-5, 4-4 SoCon) was a team that came into the 2023 season off a historic 2022 campaign, which saw the Bulldogs win 11 games and make it the FCS Quarterfinals before eventually getting knocked off by North Dakota State (L, 9-27), who went on to the national championship game before getting beaten by South Dakota State.

The Bulldogs were selected as the league co-favorites by the league's head coaches, while being picked second in the preseason by the league's media. There was plenty of reason to see why there were such high expectations for the Bulldogs entering the 2023 season, but the Bulldogs returned only nine starters from a team that went on to win the 2022 title.

Six of those starters were back on the offensive side of the football, while three returned on the defensive side of the ball. Most of the excitement surrounding the Samford football program stemmed from the fact that the Bulldogs had one of the best quarterbacks in all of FCS football returning to the fold and a Walter Payton Award candidate to-boot, in Michael Hiers. 

Not only was Hiers back leading the 'Hatch Attack', but also leading wideout Chandler Smith, who like his quarterback was at his position, was one of the top wideouts in the classification entering the season.

Both would end up having outstanding final campaigns in a Samford uniform, however, for both it wouldn't be the type of script the talented quarterback-receiver tandem would have hoped to have play out in their final respective campaigns in a Samford uniform. Those two Bulldogs will now have a chance to parlay their unique talents at the next level.

That being said, it was still an outstanding season for both. Hiers finished out his final season for the Bulldogs, as he completed 315-of-444 passes for 3,056 yards, with 18 TDs and eight INTs. Hiers was the league's leading passer and finished ranking sixth nationally in passing yards. He led a Samford offense that ranked seventh nationally in passing offense (286.7 YPG), and Samford finished the season ranking 17th nationally in total offense (). 

Hiers finished his two years in Homewood passing for 6,600 yards, with 54 TDs and only 12 INTs. 

Smith finished the campaign by hauling in 73 passes for 880 yards and five TDs and was an all-conference honoree as well and ranked second in the SoCon in receiving last season. Smith, who finished his career as one of the most reliable receivers in Samford football history, finished his career with 226 catches for 2,446 yards and 18 career scoring catches. 

Both Hiers and Smith would end up garnering All-SoCon second team honors. 

The third part of that offensive trio was running back Jay Stanton and he would end up finishing second on Samford's all-time career rushing list, while also having a big season this season and ending up garnering all-league honors following a campaign, which saw him finish out his final campaign in a Samford uniform having rushed for  971 yards and 11 scores on the season. 

It would see Stanton finish out his stellar Samford career with 3,487 yards and 35 TDs on 649 career rushing attempts. As a receiving threat, Stanton finished a strong career by hauling in 106-career passes for 106 catches for 629 yards and seven scores in his five seasons as a Bulldogs player.

The Bulldogs would also end up having one of the best young receivers in the country during the 2023 season, in freshman wideout Brendan Jenkins. Jenkins was named the SoCon's Freshman of the Year, as he ended the season by hauling in 40 passes for 304 yards and ranked second on the team with four TD catches. 

The Bulldogs had a tough early season slate, and it led to the team getting behind the eight-ball so to speak to open the campaign.  The Bulldogs opened the season with a huge 69-14 win over Shorter, as Hiers tossed a career-high five touchdown passes in the blowout win. 

The second week saw the Bulldogs run into a buzzsaw in Cullowhee, as the Catamounts handed the defending SoCon champions a surprising setback, knocking off the Bulldogs 30-7 in a game that featured a five-hour weather delay. 

The Catamounts would pile up over 500 yards of total offense, while holding Samford's high-powered offensive attack to just 361 yards of total offense, and Michael Hiers would end up taking a vicious hit just before the weather delay and seemingly was never the same afterwards. He finished the SoCon opener by connecting on 21-of-31 passes for 315 yards and one TD.

Samford's FBS test came with its next outing against local power five foe Auburn, and the Hugh Freeze-led Tigers would end up handing the Bulldogs a 45-13 setback at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Hiers would finish the contest going 18-of-31 for 282 yards, with one touchdown and two INTs through the air, as the Bulldogs fell to 1-2 on the young season. Auburn ended up out-gaining the Bulldogs 562-218 in the game, which included a substantial 222-74 advantage on the ground.

A crowd of nearly 11,000 fans (10,870) piled into Seibert Stadium (now Pete Hanna Stadium) for Family Weekend to take in Samford's SoCon home opener, however, the home faithful would not be treated to the Bulldogs' first Southern Conference win of the season, as the Mocs would spring a big surprise by handing the Bulldogs a 47-24 setback on their home field. 

The Mocs got off to a fast start and never looked back, as Chase Artopeus found wideout Tyler Smith for a 47-yard scoring connection to give the Mocs the early 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. On Samford’s ensuing possession, Alex Mitchell picked off a Michael Hiers pass on his first attempt of the afternoon and returned it 38 yards for a score to make it a 13-0 game following a failed PAT.

It would be a hole that Samford would never be able to dig out of the rest of the afternoon, never getting the margin to less than 10 points the rest of the day. Following a 33-yard Wilson Beaverstock field goal midway through the opening quarter, the Mocs would increase their lead to 17 points when Gino Appleberry scored in a 2-yard run less than a minute into the second quarter to give Chattanooga full command of the game with a 20-3 lead.

Hiers and the Bulldogs offense would respond to cut the Mocs’ lead to 10 once again when the reigning SoCon Player of the Year connected with wideout Ty King on what was a 21-yard scoring strike to get Samford to within 20-10 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

However, by this point in the game the Chattanooga offense was beginning to look unstoppable. Artopeus had full command of the Chattanooga offense and he was putting the ball where Samford defenders weren’t, and that set things up quite nicely for the Mocs ground game, led by star running back Ailym Ford and arguably the best reserve running back in the SoCon, Gino Appleberry. It would be Ford that would cap the first of consecutive scoring drives for the Mocs, plunging in from three yards out to increase the lead to 17.

After the Mocs defense forced a turnover on downs, Chattanooga’s offense would make Samford pay. Artopeus and the Mocs offense needed just six plays to cover then needed 52 yards to pay dirt, and it was Ford that drove the ball into the end zone once again, as his 3-yard score gave Chattanooga it’s largest lead of the afternoon, at 34-10, with 2:46 left in the half.

Hiers and the Bulldogs would at least give themselves a chance to make a comeback in the second half, as the Bulldogs covered 75 yards in 10 plays, with Jay Stanton’s 3-yard scoring run with 30 seconds left in the half, slicing the Mocs lead in half at the break, as Chattanooga went into the locker room with a 34-17 lead.

Samford at least made things interesting temporarily in the third quarter when Chandler Smith scored on a 21-yard run from his wideout position. His run came just 1:24 just in the second half to make it a 34-24 contest. The only points for the remainder of the third quarter came from Chattanooga, as Georgia Tech transfer kicker Jude Kelley added a 48-yard field goal with 9:09 left in the quarter, extending the Mocs lead back to 13 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Mocs would tack on 10 more points to make the game academic, as Kelley added.a 26-yard field goal a little over three minutes into the final frame to make it a 40-24 game. The final nail in Samford’s coffin and maybe its season came when Kameron Brown picked off a Michael Hiers pass and returned it 78 yards for a score, giving the Mocs a 47-24 lead with just 7:23 remaining. That would obviously end up being the final score.

The loss to the Mocs would see the Bulldogs fall to 1-3 overall and were suddenly the defending league champions were 0-2 in league play. There was no margin for error from here on out. 

The best news might have been the Bulldogs' next opponent that, like Samford, was one that had been struggling, as East Tennessee State paid a visit to Seibert Stadium on the final Saturday of September.

For the first time since the opener against Shorter, things started to click on both sides of the football for the Bulldogs, and the defense was particularly settled down after the halftime break, as Samford notched its first Southern Conference win of the season by handing the Bucs a 42-28 setback.

It was a big day for the Samford running game, and in particular, Jay Stanton, who finished the day by posting his best day running the football in a Samford uniform. He ended up rushing for 177 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 carries. The 177 yards on the ground were a career-high for the senior running back. 

The Bulldogs posted a big offensive afternoon, out-gaining the Bucs 547-342 in the game, improving to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in league play and would head into the month of October looking to turn the season around and remain in the FCS playoff race, and maybe even keep faint hopes alive of defending its 2022 SoCon title.

The month would start in Spartanburg against a Wofford program that found itself once again trying overcome adversity. The Bulldogs would claim a ninth-straight win in the series and would keep the Terriers winless on the season, handing Wofford a 31-10 setback on its home turf in Spartanburg.

It was a windy afternoon in Spartanburg, and that maybe should have hampered Samford's prolific aerial passing game, however, it didn't and Hiers would have another solid day throwing the football, and the defense posted its best performance of the season against a Division I foe. 

Hiers finished the contest by connecting on 30-of-42 passes for 239 yards with a touchdown, while the Bulldogs limited the Terriers to just 251 yards and 10 points, with Wofford's lone touchdown of the day coming with only 5:42 remaining in the contest and many of the reserves in the game for the Bulldogs, as Ryan Ingram ran it in from two yards out to finalize the margin. 

The win over the Terriers got the Bulldogs to .500, at 3-3 on the season and evened their SoCon record at 2-2.

Next up was No. 5 Furman, and for a game that was billed in the preseason as the Southern Conference championship game, now became, at least for Samford, a game to keep its FCS playoff hopes alive. 

It would also be an afternoon which would see the name of Seibert Stadium officially changed to Pete Hanna Stadium at Bobby Bowden Field. Hanna starred for Samford football as a center and halfback on offense and linebacker on the defensive side of the football back during the late 1950s when Bobby Bowden was the head coach. He is noted for having scored the first touchdown in the history of Seibert Stadium.

While it was a beautiful, sun splashed day for the dedication, and though the Bulldogs would put a good fight, it would be a day that would be forgettable in many ways for both the team and Samford football fans that showed up hoping to see Samford turn its 2023 football season around against No. 5 Furman.

Furman's 27-21 win at Pete Hanna Stadium all but canceled any hopes consecutive FCS playoff appearances, as the Paladins came in and recorded an FCS single-game high nine sacks for the 2023 season en route to the win. 

The stout Paladin defense held the Samford offense to just 337 yards of total offense, however, the game would get off to a positive start, as Brendan Jenkins hauled in a 38-yard scoring pass from Michael Hiers on Samford's opening possession to put the Bulldogs on top in the biggest game of the season. It was one of two scoring catches in the contest for Jenkins. 

That would remain the score until Furman tied early in the second quarter when Joshua Harris hauled in a 2-yard pass from Paladin quarterback Tyler Huff to tie the score, 7-7, on the opening play of the second frame. 

The Paladins would add two more scores before the half, as Ian Williams connected on a 38-yard field goal with just over three minutes remaining in the opening half of play, and then Paladin freshman wideout Ben Ferguson made an acrobatic, one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone, as his SportsCenter highlight grab saw the Paladins head to the half with a 17-7 lead.

Samford would again make things interesting in third quarter when Hiers finished off the drive with a 15-yard scoring pass to Jenkins to get the Bulldogs back to within three (17-14)  with 10:13 left in the third quarter.

However, Furman restored its 10-point lead on the ensuing drive, as Dominic Roberto scored on a 5-yard run to give the Paladins a 24-14 lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter the Bulldogs would once again make things interesting when Chandler Smith found the end zone on a 22-yard end-around, getting the Bulldogs to within, 24-21 with 11:23 left.

 But Furman's stout defense, which harried, hurried, and hit Hiers the entire afternoon, taking him down with the ball eight times, would ensure Furman got to the finish line with the road win. The Paladin offense only needed one more field goal, which this time came from Axel Lepvreau from 46 yards out, helping increase Furman's lead to six (27-21) with 7:47 remaining. 

Furman's defense locked down the Bulldogs on its final two possessions of the day, running out the Pete Hanna Stadium clock and returning to Greenville with a six-point, 27-21, win. 

In the losing effort, Hiers completed 36-of-41 passes for 291 yards with a pair of touchdowns and non INTs. However, the Furman defense held ground game to just 46 yards, thanks in large part to nine sacks by its defense. Jenkins hauled in seven passes for 77 yards and a pair of scores to lead the receiving efforts for Samford.

Following the setback to the Paladins, the Bulldogs faced a tricky road trip to Lexington, VA, to face the VMI Keydets. 

Though it certainly wasn’t easy, Samford emerged victorious from Foster Stadium, as the Bulldogs secured what was a 27-14 game in a contest in which they were able use the third 100-yard game of the season by Jay Stanton to secure the win. 

The Bulldogs put together a balanced offensive attack in the win over the Keydets, finishing the contest with 222 yards through the air and another 216 on the ground. 

Samford took the early 10-0 lead on a 26-yard field goal by Wilson Beaverstock and a 32-yard scoring run by Stanton late in the opening quarter, giving the Bulldogs an early two-score cushion.

VMI would strike back on the scoreboard in the second quarter, as Hunter Rice scampered 47 yards for a score to make it a 10-7 contest. However, Stanton restored Samford's 10-point lead a little over a minute later, as he raced 36 yards for a score to conclude a five-play, 75-yard scoring drive to make it a 17-7 game with 13:46 left in the half. 

The fireworks were far from over in the half, as the two teams went scoreless in the second half. Following Stanton's second rushing score of the day, the Keydets produced the game's first aerial score when tight end Aiden Twombly hauled in a 30-yard scoring strike from Collin Ironside to make it a 17-14 game with 11:15 left in the half. 

The Bulldogs would use their longest, most extensive drive when back in possession of the football. Samford used 14 plays to cover 78 yards, concluding with a Damonta Witherspoon 3-yard scoring run to make it a 24-14 contest.

Beaverstock's 33-yard field goal with just over a minute remaining in the half would conclude the scoring for the game, as Samford went home from its longest SoCon road trio with a 27-14 win. 

The Bulldogs returned to Homewood to pick up their second-straight win, handing The Citadel a 37-7 setback for its most lopsided win over a conference foe of the season.

Jay Stanton, who rushed for 96 yards and a pair of scores, and also had a receiving score, ascended to No. 2 on the school’s all-time rushing list behind Chris Evans. The Bulldogs ended up owning nearly a 200-yard advantage in total offense (504-308).  The Bulldogs racked up 353 yards through the air, as Michael Hiers finished the day completing 26-of-36 passes for 353 yards and three scores in the lopsided win.

The win by Samford saw it improve to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in league action heading into the final two games of the season.

Samford's final Southern Conference game of the season involved a trip to Macon, GA, facing off against a Mercer team trying to finish out its season win in hopes of garnering an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs. 

The Bulldogs and Bears would battle in another close game, however, unlike a year earlier in Birmingham the game wouldn't need overtime to settle the victor, as Mercer held off Samford for a 28-21 win, ultimately proving to be the win that would get the Bears an at-large bid to the playoffs for the first time in program history.

Hiers finished his final game against SoCon competition by connecting on 25-of-38 passes for 210 yards and a pair of scores, while throwing a crucial INT in the final quarter, as the Bulldogs were trying to erase a 14-point deficit. 

It was another strong rushing effort for Jay Stanton, who like the week prior against The Citadel, flirted with a 100-yard rushing afternoon, as he finished the day by rushing for 98 yards on 16 carries. 

Samford would take the lead in the second quarter when Demonta Witherspoon found an opening and sprinted 22 yards for a score, making it a 7-6 game in the cold, wet field conditions. 

In the third quarter, Mercer would rebound to re-take the lead, as Bears wideout Devron Harper sprinted 23 yards for score to make  it a 14-7 game after the Bears successfully converted the two-point play, as Mercer tight end Sam Ablee hauled in a short pass from quarterback Carter Peevy to make it seven-point margin. 

Samford tied the game midway through the third quarter, as old reliable Chandler Smith was able to haul in a 30-yard scoring strike from Michael Hiers, as the Bulldogs tied it up, 14-14, with 7:46 remaining in the quarter. 

The see-saw battle would continue, as Mercer continued to have a response. The Bears added the first of two unanswered scores when Peevy found the end zone on a six-yard scamper, allowing the Bears to assume a 21-14 lead with 1:40 remaining in the third.

Peevy would add his second rushing score of the day when he plunged over from a yard out to make it 28-14 game with 8:11 remaining. The score concluded what was an impressive eight-play, 87-yard drive to double the lead. 

With Samford now in desperation mode trying to salvage any hopes at a remote playoff bid, to their credit, the Bulldogs never surrendered the fight. With 4:35 remaining, DJ Rias hauled in a 10-yard scoring pass from Hiers to make it a 28-21 game.

The Bulldogs defense would get a much needed stop, as Samford's offense would get the ball back one last time, however, the Bears would pick off Hiers and seal the win and the program's first-ever FCS playoff bid.

With nothing to play for other than pride, Samford saved its signature performance of the season for the final game of the 2023 regular-season, welcoming in No. 19 UT-Martin for the final game of the 2023 regular-season. 

The Skyhawks knew a win at Seibert Stadium in the regular-season finale would be enough to qualify them for the 2023 FCS postseason, while Samford needed a win to finish off a winning campaign and to send its talented seniors, like wideout Chandler Smith, quarterback Michael Hiers, and running back Jay Stanton out on a high note with a winning season. 

On what was a beautiful afternoon in Homewood, the Bulldogs got a monster day from running back Jay Stanton, who finished out the day by rushing for a career-high 193 yards, marking the most rushing yards by a Bulldog running back since Fabian Truss rushed for 219 yards in a game against Elon in 2012. 

In what was a 27-17 win by the Bulldogs over a ranked Skyhawks team and a former rival from Samford's days as an Ohio Valley Conference member, it was Stanton's 61-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter, which gave the Bulldogs their final touchdown of the 2023 season, giving them a 24-10 lead.

Stanton wasn't the only senior that would make his mark in the final showcase in front of the home fans, as Chandler Smith finished his career leaving one last memory, as he returned a punt 90 yards for a score late in the opening quarter, tying the contest, 10-10. 

After UAB graduate student Wilson Beaverstock gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead following a 28-yard field goal, the Skyhawks responded by scoring 10 unanswered points on a 70-yard run by running back Sam Franklin followed by an Aidan Laros 20-yard field goal to take an early 10-3 lead. However, from that point forward it was all Bulldogs, closing out the season in strong fashion.

In Hiers final performance before the Samford home faithful, he ended the contest by connecting on 22-of-37 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown, while his counterpart Kinkead Dent connected on 23-of-38 passes for 261 yards, with a touchdown and two INTs. The Skyhawks finished out the day with a slight edge in total offense, out-gaining the Bulldogs, 445-440. 

Overall, the 6-5 season was a big disappointment by Samford's standards, which it had set in 2022 after putting together a magical 11-win campaign, which was heavily reliant on the transfer portal.

In an effort to repeat that in 2023, the Bulldogs once again leaned heavily on the portal since it had been so successful in 2022, but the results turned out to be far different. That said, there was enough talent back on the offensive side of the ball, which included talented quarterback Michael Hiers, to ensure Samford would at least have a respectable season. 

There were major areas of deficiency on both sides of the football, however, for Chris Hatcher's club, and they were areas that foes used to exploit in a big way throughout the 2023 season.

While there were few weaknesses on the offensive side of the football, the offensive line comes to mind as being one of those that will need some major re-tooling during the off-season if the Bulldogs hope to once again compete at the top of the Southern Conference and for a potential league title in the fall of 2024. 

The Bulldogs finished the 2023 season ranking 119th in the nation in sacks allowed, surrendering 39 on the season, which was highlighted by Furman's nine takedowns of Samford quarterbacks in a mid-season clash. 

The defensive side of the ball was more break than bend this season, too. Last season, though the Bulldogs surrendered some yards, they were opportunistic in causing turnovers, while also proving to be physical up front against the run. 

Those characteristics that made Chris Boone's defense seem so much improved last season returned to being more of a weakness this season, which was much like the 2021 season and a big reason that Boone was brought back to Birmingham in the first place.

The Bulldogs ranked 83rd nationally in total defense (385.6 YPG), which isn't necessarily horrible, however, it's not good enough for the Bulldogs to be at the elite level, especially since the Bulldogs offense wasn't as prolific as it was a year ago. 

One of the more notable weaknesses for the Bulldogs on the defensive side of the ball during the 2023 campaign as opposed to its 11-win campaign of the previous season was its inability to get pressure on opposing quarterbacks as much as it was able to do a year earlier. In fact, the Bulldogs finished with six less sacks in 2023 (16 sacks) as it recorded in 2023 (22 sacks).

The Bulldogs also finished the 2022 season with 21 takeaways (11 INTs, 10 FRs), while Samford finished the season with only 12 giveaways (4 INTs, 8 FRs). By contrast, in 2023, the Bulldogs recorded just 14 takeaways (7-INTs,7 FRs), while completing the campaign with 12 giveaways (8 INTs, 4 FRs). 

There are some major departures on both sides of the ball, as Stanton (RB), Hiers (QB), Smith (WR), DJ Rias (WR),  Jabari Brooks (OL), Jayme Motley-Simmons (OL), Cooper Frazier (OL), and RJ Starkey (WR) represent the major losses on the offensive side of the ball. The good news the Bulldogs are set to bring back veteran offensive lineman Chris Noble, as well as talented wideout Brennan Jenkins.

The Bulldogs are slated to return six on defense barring any major hits due to the portal, but some of those significant losses include all-conference defensive lineman and the team's top pass-rusher, Joseph Mera, as well as linebacker Noah Martin and defensive back Devin Smith. The good news is the Bulldogs are slated to return top defensive back Kourtlan Marsh for the 2024 season.

It's hard to say whether or not the Bulldogs will be considered a favorite or not heading into the 2024, but no one seems to mine the portal to both extremes better than head coach Chris Hatcher and staff. They either find a lot of diamonds (2022), or in some cases, a lot of zirconia (2023), and that's something that has at times fooled even the eyes of the expert jeweler Hatcher himself upon first glance. 

 

The Bulldogs will have as much offensive talent as anyone as that is the case in each season that Hatcher has been in Homewood. It will be fun to see what Samford does in the off-season in preparations for 2024.

The bottom four teams in the league were comprised of a couple teams that had new head coaches, with VMI (5-6, 4-4 SoCon), East Tennessee State (3-8, 2-6 SoCon), Wofford (2-9, 2-6 SoCon) and The Citadel (0-11, 0-8 SoCon) both welcoming in new head coaches this past season, while East Tennessee would end up making a coaching change at the end of the season.

Positives can be found for each of those programs, however, heading into the off-season. 

Normally, VMI is expected to finish last in the league, but when Scott Wachenheim was able to help the Keydets to a regular-season title and playoff invite during the spring 2020-21 season, which was compromised by COVID, people started to have some hope for the program that winning could actually be done at VMI.

In the aftermath of COVID, however, the truth was maintaining success and keeping players around without a graduate school at VMI proved to be exceptionally tough to overcome.

Entering the 2023 season, VMI had plenty of questions, but it seemed to have a pretty firm grip on coming into the season was quarterback, with the Keydets having several that already had game experience, which came as a result of major injury issues in the 2022 campaign, with as many as five quarterbacks seeing action for VMI during that campaign.

The 2022 season, however, would end up being the swan song for Wachenheim, who just couldn't keep his team together from one season to the next, and without that guaranteed continuity with the new direction in which college football is seemingly headed, coupled with the fact that the The Institute didn't have a grad school, it let to the abrupt resignation of Wachenheim after VMI finished with a dismal 1-10 record.

The man brought into replace Wachenheim was Danny Rocco, and the defensive mastermind would engineer nothing short of a remarkable turnaround story. VMI's 5-6 record in 2023, which included going .500 in league play, was nothing short of miraculous.

Rocco would use a ball-control offense, which utilized running back Hunter Rice in a variety of different ways, while relying on a tough, tenacious defense to help keep the Keydets in most every game they played this past season.

Non-conference play would see the Keydets finish 1-2, beginning the season with a 12-7 win over Pioneer Football League member Davidson, which would then be followed by road losses at Patriot League member Bucknell (L, 13-21)  and ACC member North Carolina State (L, 7-45).

Rocco's first Southern Conference game as head coach would come against Wofford in a driving rain, and points were hard to come by for both teams. With points hard to come by, it was the presence of Hunter Rice that showed why he is maybe the most underrated running back in FCS football, due to his ability to affect the game on the offensive side of the ball in so many different ways with his athleticism.

It was exactly that versatility that Rocco called upon in what was a 17-14 win over the Terriers at Foster Stadium, as his jump pass for tight end Aidan Twombly with just under 15 seconds remaining in first half, which saw the Keydets take a 14-7 lead to the break.

VMI would eventually hold on for the 17-14 win and would give Rocco's Keydets something to celebrate after what was a tumultuous 2022 season. 

Rice would finish the contest with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown, while also tossing a touchdown.

Two weeks later on the road in the Battle for the Silver Shako at Johnson Hagood Stadium, the Keydets would end up posting a 17-13 win over the Bulldogs to claim the Silver Shako for the first time since that memorable championship season of 2020. 

Chance Knox had an outstanding afternoon catching the football for VMI, as he hauled in nine passes for 98 yards and Hunter Rice once again was chewing up a SoCon foe on the ground with his running ability, rushing for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.

The Keydets defense, which was a strength throughout the 2023 season, managed to limit the Bulldogs to just 282 yards of total offense in the win, with defensive back Josh Knapp and linebacker Evan Eller leading the way defensively, posting nine and eight tackles, respectfully.

VMI set the tone from the outset of the game, opening the game with the football and eating up almost seven minutes off the clock, converting a fourth down conversion and a third down conversion inside the Bulldogs red zone before Rice bulldozed his way over the goal line for the first points of the day.

In the fourth quarter, the Keydets finished off the memorable afternoon, using a 12-play, 86-yard drive to once again take a healthy amount of time off the clock (6:13), and Rice would cap the drive just like he did the first one of the day--wtih a scoring run--only this time it was from 19 yards out. 

The Keydets would fight hard over the next two weeks, however, would fall to both Samford (L, 14-27) and to No. 17 Chattanooga (L, 23-24), with the loss to the Mocs coming in heartbreaking fashion, as VMI missed the potential game-tying PAT, leaving the Keydets a point short on the scoreboard, despite dominating the final three quarters of football.

The Keydets finished the afternoon out-gaining the Mocs, 440-356 in total offense, as the Keydets used a career afternoon from Hunter Rice, who posted a career-high 208 rushing yards and three touchdowns, capping what was a memorable day. 

VMI would win two out of its final three games to finish with an even .500 record in SoCon play, as the Keydets went on the road to post a 31-24 win over East Tennessee State for their second road win of the season. 

The Keydets would end up coming from behind to get the win, as VMI trailed 24-14 entering the fourth quarter, but used a furious rally in the final quarter to outscore the Bucs, 17-0, and come away with the memorable 31-24 road win.

It was a big day for several Keydets as one might expect, especially quarterback Colliln Shannon, who recorded his first-ever 200-yard passing effort en route to leading the Keydets to the league road win. 

While the win was big, there would be one more triumph to celebrate before the end of the 2023 season, and that would come in what would be the final game of the season against Western Carolina in a game that the Catamounts needed a victory in to secure a potential FCS playoff bid. 

After dropping a 37-3 contest at Furman, which ultimately clinched the outright Southern Conference title for the Paladin, the Keydets would have one more surprise up their proverbial sleeves to close the season. 

On senior day at Foster Stadium, Western Carolina came to Lexington needing a win to secure a potential FCS playoff bid, however, it was VMI that spring the ambush and upset the Catamounts, 27-24, on the final day of the regular-season to end any hopes of an FCS playoff appearance for the Catamounts.

It was another big day for Hunter Rice and the Keydets ground attack, as Hunter Rice rolled up 138 yards and four touchdowns to lead VMI to arguably its biggest win of the season. 

There's plenty of momentum moving forward for Rocco and the Keydets, as he heads into his second season in Lexington.

The same can likely be said for Wofford's Shawn Watson, although it wouldn't necessarily start out that way in the 2023 season, as losses in the first nine games of the season had many around Terrier football that it might be in for a winless season.

For a program that had won only four games combined in each of the previous two seasons, games at The Citadel and vs. No. 2 Furman would be all that stood between Watson and the off-season.

Most figured the only realistic opportunity would come in the penultimate week of the regular-season, when the Terriers traveled down I-26 to face off against The Citadel in a battle of winless programs.

Both had some absolutely awful losses to compare, with the Bulldogs having been blown out by a bad South Carolina State team (L, ), while Wofford's worst loss--a 23-20 setback to non-scholarship Presbyterian at Gibbs Stadium--was arguably worse.

The problem for both the Terriers and Bulldogs throughout the 2023 season had been offense, and it would show in the NCAA's final statistical data for the season. Both ranked last in most offensive categories when they squared off against each other on the gridiron on Nov. 13 in Charleston. That's also how two of the worst offenses in the nation would end the season.

It doesn't take all that much deductive reasoning, then , to make the logical leap to figure that when the Terriers and Bulldogs met on the gridiron on Nov. 11, that it would be an ugly game. The one separating factor between the two teams is that the Terriers had a better defense, and it's one that had kept Watson's team in games for a majority of the season, despite their record.

The Terriers had been in games, however, just hadn't won any. The same could not be said of The Citadel, who was under the direction of its own first-year head coach, in Maurice Drayton.

When Drayton told the media that his team wasn't very good coming into the season, he wasn't lying. 

To make matters worse, then the two teams from opposite regions of the Palmetto State squared off against each other at Johnson-Hagood Stadium on a rainy, cool late fall afternoon. The Terriers nor the Bulldogs reached 300 yards of total offense in the game, as the two teams combined for less than 500 total (497 yds). The Terriers would out-gain the Bulldogs by 29 yards (263-234) en route to a 11-3 win.

The game's lone touchdown would come a little over midway through the opening quarter of play, as Kyle Parsons plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Terriers a 6-0 lead, and then Ryan Ingram ran it in from a yard out for a 2-point conversion to make it an 8-0 Wofford lead with 6:16 left in the opening quarter. 

The Bulldogs got their only points on the rainy Saturday at Johnson-Hagood Stadium via a Colby Kintner 25-yard field goal, which concluded a long, 16-play, 68-yard drive that took 9:17 off the game clock, making it an 8-3 Wofford lead as the two teams headed to the locker room for the half.

The lone points of the second half came in the fourth quarter, as the Terriers got their field goal just 45 seconds into the final frame, as the Terriers covered 52 yards in 13 plays before having to settle for a Bridger Jones 32-yard field goal to make it an eight-point lead, at 11-3.  That would be enough to help secure the Terriers lone win of the season.

Both Wofford and The Citadel's problems on the offensive side of the ball could be traced to inexperience under center. There was no real definitive starter for either team entering the season, and whenever that happens, it's normally not a good sign.

The Citadel had hoped its guy would be Dustin Fletcher () would be the answer under center after he transferred in from Miami of Ohio, while if couldn't be, the hope was it could be Graeson Underwood (). Neither proved to be the answer, however.

Wofford also had its share of issues, and some of those stemmed from injuries in the preseason, as well as some others being utilized at other positions, such as Cade Rice making the move from under center to tight end. 

A combination of Bryce Corriston (), Pauly Seely () and Amarri Odom () all combing to lead the Terrier offense at some point during the 2023 campaign. Seely and Odom are a pair of talented, inexperienced Terrier signal-callers, yet it would be that duo that would end up leading the Terriers to their lone two wins of the season, which of course, came in final two games of the season.

Wofford would then proceed to produce one of the biggest upsets in recent memory on the Southern Conference gridiron in recent memory, as the Terriers spoiled Furman's change at a perfect finish to its Southern Conference championship season, as the Terriers downed the Paladins, 19-13, inside the friendly confines of Gibbs Stadium.

The magnitude of such an upset hearkens back to the SoCon's storied past and to the early 1990s, as the winless VMI Keydets went to Boone and handed former Southern Conference member and No. 10 ranked Appalachian State a shocking 26-23 overtime loss, costing the Mountaineers a share of the 1994 Southern Conference title on the final day of the regular-season. 

While that wouldn't end up being the case for Furman, as Furman had clinched the outright SoCon football crown a week earlier with its win over VMI,  the six-point loss certainly took the Paladins out of the conversations for a top two or four seed, which would have guaranteed at least one more home game in the FCS Playoffs. 

Wofford's program, too, knew about being on the wrong end of an upset, although the Terriers 2002 loss in Lexington to VMI had come much earlier on in the campaign. The ramifications of that 23-20 setback to the Keydets would be felt long after, however, as despite finishing 9-3 during that particular season, and with a pair of top 10 road wins at App State and Georgia Southern, the Terriers were left out of the FCS playoffs. 

But the final game of the regular-season would belong to Wofford, which sprung an upset few expected with their six-point triumph on their home field. For a team that had an early season, 23-20, setback to non-scholarship Pioneer Football League member Presbyterian, the Terriers had certainly come a long way within just the 2023 season.

Two weeks ago, the Terriers had lost 21 of their past 26 football games and were headed for a winless season going into another long off-season.

Two weeks removed from that dark forecast, the Terriers have now secured back-to-back wins together since knocking off The Citadel (W, 31-16) and East Tennessee State (W, 48-41) in consecutive weeks in late October last season.

It marked the highest ranked foe Wofford has defeated since knocking off No. 1 Appalachian State (W, 42-31) on Sept. 22, 2007.

The Paladins held their fifth-straight foe to less than 20 points, and ended up sacking Wofford signal-caller Amari Odom three times, while picking him off once.

Odom completed 9-of-18 passes for 92 yards and was intercepted once, while Jones finished the day 18-of-38 passing for 99 yards and an INT.

Leading Furman’s ground attack was Myion Hicks, who finished with 70 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Wofford’s ground attack was paced by Ryan Ingram’s 111 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

The Terriers would open the game by putting up points on their opening drive, as Bridger Jones connected on a 46-yard field goal to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead with 10:21 remaining in the opening quarter. The play concluded an eight-play, 46-yard drive

The Paladins would tie the game late in the quarter after Xavier Stephens sacked Terrier starting quarterback Amarri Odom and the loose ball was recovered by Matt Sochovka at the Wofford 10.

After reaching the four on a six-yard pass on third down, the Paladins had to settle for a 22-yard Ian Williams field goal to tie the game with 4:39 left in the opening quarter.

The Paladins defense would force its third turnover of the opening half when Luke Clark applied a big hit on Wofford running back Ryan Ingram, forcing the ball free and the ball would be recovered by Jack Barton.

The Paladins netted a first down, however, before having to settle for a field goal, as Williams connected on his 10th-straight field goal to give the Paladins a 6-3 lead with remaining in the opening half of play.

Wofford was the lone team to find the end zone in the opening half and it would come on a 4th-and-2 play at its own 47.

The Paladins had most their defense aligned along the line of scrimmage in an effort to prevent Wofford from reaching the yard to gain, however, Terrier running back Ryan Ingram eluded one tackle and was off to the races, finishing it off 53 yards later in the end zone to give the Terriers a 10-6 advantage.

Furman would have one more chance at the end of half, but Ian Williams’ 32-yard field goal attempt would bang off the right upright and was no good to make to keep the deficit for the Paladins. That would remain the score as the two teams entered the halftime locker room with a surprising scoreline.

The surprises would continue early in the third quarter, as on a 4th-and-1 play a missed exchange led to a 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Wofford’s Maximus Pulley to provide even more shock to the system for those watching around the nation, giving the Terriers a 16-6 lead. A missed Bridger Jones PAT left the margin at 10.

The Paladins would see the Terriers tack on a late 42-yard field goal by Jones to make it a 19-6 contest with lead with 50 seconds left in the third. Jones’ second field goal of the game came as a result of a Carson Jones INT, which gave the Terriers the football inside Furman territory.

Early in the fourth quarter it would be the Paladins that would begin to make things interesting and when Myion Hicks ran the ball in from 11 yards out to get the Paladins to within six, at 19-13, with a scoring run to seemingly give Paladins all the momentum with 12:07 remaining in the game. The Hicks TD run concluded what was a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive by the Paladins.

Furman’s defense, which has been outstanding all season, was once again elite Saturday and again provided a prime opportunity to salvage the win.

The Paladins finished the contest holding a 188-184 advantage in total offense, with the Terriers holding a slight 92-89 advantage in rushing yards.

While Wofford's season ended with a bang, The Citadel's season would end as the worst in program history, and while the Terriers got to taste the thrill of victory twice to close out the season, the Bulldogs would close out a season failing to win a game for the first time in program history.

The Bulldogs certainly ended the season in the conversation for worst team in FCS football. While Wofford was polishing off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory in SoCon football history, the Bulldogs were on the road in Johnson City taking on another program that had fallen on hard times, in the East Tennessee State Buccaneers.

While Maurice Drayton was coaching his first season as the head coach was likely surely thankful to season the 2023 season come to an end to get an early start on recruiting, for ETSU head coach George Quarles, it was his final game as the head coach of ETSU in what had been a tumultuous second season as the head coach of ETSU.

Entering the matchup against The Citadel, Quarles had won only five games as the head coach of the Bucs football program, which included three against Division I programs. Quarles was in over his head from the start, and despite returning 17 starters from a team that won 11 games en route to a Southern Conference crown in 2021 in the final season under Randy Sanders before he retired, could never get the type of momentum generated to sustain the championship winning success established under Sanders.

That wasn't the only obstacle in the way of Quarles, as he was tied to ETSU's former Director of Athletics, who was fired shortly before the 2022 season due to some situations involving the Bucs basketball program, which he conveniently allowed to be swept under the rug. With Carter being tied to Quarles, and their association as friends for a long time prior to Carter becoming Director of Athletics at ETSU, it was never going to end well for Quarles as the head coach of the Bucs.

Quarles actually came to ETSU from his alma mater, Furman University, where he had been a member of the offensive staff for the Paladins for the five seasons prior, including four as Furman's offensive coordinator. Prior to returning to Furman, where he was once a member of the Paladins' 1988 national title winning team, Quarles had been a highly successful high school coach at Maryville High School, where he lost only nine games and won 11 state titles during one of the most successful runs for a program in Volunteer State high school football history.

With that said, it had been emotional season for Quarles and the Bucs, with everything  that could have gone wrong seemingly having gone wrong for ETSU. The Bucs were so beat up injury-wise at quarterback that they were down to a non-scholarship starter by the time The Citadel arrived for the regular-season finale at William B. Greene Stadium.

Drayton, if anything, could relate to such struggles. Nothing had gone right since Drayton arrived, with seemingly everything a challenge, and add to that the Bulldogs just weren't a very good football team.

Hope springs eternal that the 2024 season will bring some talent from the portal that will address the problems that plagued the Bulldogs throughout the 2023 season. 

It actually made for a great football game to close out the season, with the Bucs able to finish out the season and Quarles his short tenure as head coach, on a high note, with a 35-23 win over the Bulldogs. 

The Bucs lost their three quarterbacks to injury early on in the season, and were down to William Riddle as their primary signal-caller for the final half of the season. The walk-on quarterback would lead the Bucs to the 12-point win in the final day of the regular-season, despite being down the ladder on the depth chart.

The Bucs were a team that battled a great deal of adversity during the 2023 season, and with a new new sheriff in town as coach in the form of Tre Lamb, the Bucs look to be a team on the rise in the Southern Conference in 2024. 

In the win over The Citadel to close out the 2023 season, Bucs showed some bright spots in some key areas moving forward into a new era under Tre Lamb, and in particular, on the defensive side of the football. 

While ETSU struggles were mostly on the offensive side of the ball due to injuries and just overall turnover, its defensive during the 2023 season was something that was worthy of compliment all things being considered, and most of those compliments and praise could be heaped upon a Sheldon Arnold II, who was the heartbeat of the Bucs defense throughout the season. 

In the regular-season finale against The Citadel, it was Arnold that got the ball literally moving in a positive direction with a 99-yard blocked field goal return for a touchdown. That would be a good thing for the Bucs, who once again struggled offensively, as The Citadel finished the contest with a 95-yard advantage (373-278) in total offense. Additionally, the Bulldogs also ended the afternoon by running 40 more plays from scrimmage. 

The Citadel, Wofford and ETSU all have quarterback issues to correct moving forward this season, and it looks as though Wofford might have the most settled of the three situations moving forward into the 2024 season.

While the bottom three will have their work cut out for them once again in 2024, expect all three to be much improved, with perhaps even one of those three being a dark horse to challenge for an upper tier finish in the league in 2024.