The SoCon Spread

  ETSU quarterback Cade McNamara (photo courtesy of ETSU athletics) Mercer claims seventh-straight SoCon win; Bears win fourth-straight in series vs. Bucs In what was easily the game of the day on the Southern Conference gridiron, and one of if not the game of the season in terms of one that both SoCon title and playoff implications, East Tennessee State's game against reigning SoCon champion and No. 23-ranked Mercer certainly didn't disappoint. However, after having led for most of the night, it was the visiting Bears that would leave Johnson City without a seventh-straight SoCon win, as Mercer scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to finish off a thrilling 38-34 win over ETSU at William B. Greene Stadium Saturday evening before an announced crowd of 10,567 in attendance. The win sees Mercer improve to 3-1 overall on the young season, and remained a perfect 3-0 in Southern Conference play. ETSU fell to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in league action. The loss by the Bucs overshadowed a bi...

HOMEWOOD, AL--Furman didn't play Samford last season, thanks to Hurricane Helene causing the lights to go out in Greenville for over 90% of the Upstate of South Carolina, and so the last time the two met was at Pete Hanna Stadium in a key mid-season SoCon tilt in 2023, which saw the Paladins sack Samford quarterbacks nine times and leave Homewood with a 27-21 win.  It was Furman's defensive performance that dimmed the lights for Samford's "Hatch Attack" offense in front of an excited and large Parents' Weekend home crowd, which entered with winning expectations inside the same facility as it had two years ago in the latest installment of the SoCon rivalry between the Paladins and Bulldogs.  Much has changed in two years for both programs in terms of player turnover, but for much of Saturday's 31-13 win over Samford, however, it had a very similar feel for Furman's current roster of players and loyal fanbase, as the Paladins ended up with seven sacks ...

Western Carolina quarterback Taron Dickens (photo courtesy of Western Carolina athletics) Catamounts and Bears Looked Like SoCon Title Contenders  When lightning struck during the Mercer-UC Davis in what was the first game of the SoCon Football season, I tweeted that it might be a bad omen. I was halfway kidding, however, through the first now five weeks of the Southern Conference Football season, weather has all too often been too much a part of the story in games around the league, and also throughout conferences--both FCS and FBS--in the Southeastern region of the United States. I've watched a lot of college football in my life, and this certainly seems like the most weather issues I have ever seen in a short time to start a season. With that said, the weather affected all but three games I know of, and those were the Wofford-Virginia Tech, the Chattanooga-Tarleton State game, and The Citadel-Mercer game. The other games were all affected in some way by mother nature. For the se...