The Bizarre World Of Southern Conference Football

GREENVILLE, S.C.–Most of us who made predictions about the Southern Conference race prior to the 2013 season would probably have as many alterations to it as an NCAA BasketballTournament bracket projection sheet in a given year.

Chaos would be one way to describe how the Southern Conference football season has unfolded to this point.

The Southern Conference season got off to a rather strange start in March, with Appalachian State and Georgia Southern officially announcing the jump to the FBS and the Sun Belt Conference, deeming both programs ineligible for the FCS playoffs and the Southern Conference title race, as a result of the move.

Yet, most of the so-called experts that despite the fact that the Eagles or Mountaineers could not win the league this fall, the two, at least on paper, had more talent than any other in the league, projecting both to once again finish No. 1 and 2 in no certain order at the top of the Southern Conference in 2013.

That certainly has been far from the case this season, as both the Mountaineers and Eagles have struggled in their swan song campaigns inside the league, with Appalachian State undergoing its worst season since 1993, as the Apps head into their final non-conference game of the year with Georgia with just a 2-7 overall record and a 2-4 record in Southern Conference play.

The Black and Gold, who had factored in to the Southern Conference title race in each of the previous eight seasons, winning titles in seven of those campaigns, including a league-standard tying six-straight SoCon crowns, as Appalachian headed into its final season in the SoCon and first season under a new head coach, in Scott Satterfield.

Satterfield is going to turn things around in Boone, but Mountaineer fans have not been too forgiving with the way they have treated himself in his first season on the mountain. Satterfield, after all, is a Mountaineer himself, and he was asked to step into a situation that was one of the most difficult to ask any coach to step into.

Not only did he have to step into the shadow of a legend, replacing one of the 15-winningest coaches in college football history, but also having to step into a transition period for the program. Either one of those situations would have been difficult to deal with in and of itself.

The Mountaineers have lost four games by a TD or less this season, with the only wins this season coming at Elon (31-21) and a Black Saturday triumph against No. 24 Georgia Southern (38-14) a couple of weeks ago. Aside from this weekend’s out-of-conference trip between the hedges, the Mountaineers will close out their Southern Conference membership with a trip to Wofford and one final fitting Battle For The Old Mountain Jug at The Rock on Nov. 23.

Like Appalachian State, Georgia Southern has not seen things fall favorably in the direction for Jeff Monken and the Eagles in their final season as a Southern Conference member.

The Eagles are 4-4 overall and 2-4 in the SoCon heading down the stretch of the 2013 season, as Georgia Southern has lost two-straight, with the most recent of those losses being a 16-14 loss to Furman in the final meeting between those two old league rivals this past weekend at Paulson Stadium.

Monken’s Eagles have suffered a rash of injuries, which have obviously affected the team to this point, but it’s just not the same Georgia Southern team most Southern Conference media and fans are used to seeing roll over Southern Conference foes.

Since Georgia Southern joined the Southern Conference in 1993, it has always been the case that either Appalachian State or Georgia Southern have at least finished within the top four of the league standings, however, both could finish lower in their final season as a league member.

The back-to-back losses by Georgia Southern the past two weeks marks the first time since Monken’s first season in Statesboro in which that has occurred. After those back-to-back losses to Wofford and Chattanooga in 2010, the Eagles proceeded to win their way to the postseason. The Eagles can only go as far as Nov. 23 in 2013, with games remaining against Western Carolina, at Elon and at Florida to close out 2013. Saturday’s game against the Catamounts will mark the final Southern Conference game to ever be played in Paulson Stadium.

Chattanooga, Samford, Wofford and even Furman have their eyes on the Southern Conference title down the stretch. Chattanooga has four Southern Conference titles in its history, but hasn’t been close since the early ’90’s and hasn’t actually claimed a Southern Conference crown since 1984. The Mocs’ lone FCS playoff appearance came in 1986, dropping an opening round contest to Arkansas State, who went on to lose in the national title to Georgia Southern.

The Mocs are sitting pretty, perched atop the Southern Conference standings after their 35-28 win at Appalachian State–their first in three decades in Boone–and head into this weekend’s monumental clash with Wofford with a 7-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the SoCon. The win over the Mountaineers likely did accomplished the Mocs’ second FCS playoff appearance program history.

The 7-2 record for Chattanooga is its best mark at this point in the season since 1980, while the win also clinched the fourth winning campaign in five seasons in which Russ Huesman has been the head coach in the Scenic City. The Mocs have games remaining against Wofford, at Samford and at No. 1 Alabama to close out the regular season. The games against Wofford and at Samford will determine whether the Mocs will lift the title trophy for the fifth time in school history and first time since 1984.

Samford, meanwhile, has claimed a conference title at the Division I level, having played in the Ohio Valley Conference prior to joining the SoCon in 2008. The Bulldogs, who are coached by a former legendary quarterback, in Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, who made a name for himself starring as the signal-caller at Auburn in the late 1960’s and early ’70’s.

The Bulldogs were unbeaten in Southern Conference play going into Saturday’s game at The Citadel, and had won seven-straight Southern Conference league games dating back to last season, and it appeared that would continue to be the case this past weekend after the Bulldogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead  only to see The Citadel storm back to score 28 unanswered, as the cadets would eventually hold on for the 28-26 win.

Despite Saturday’s loss on the road, the Bulldogs fell only three spots in the FCS national polls, checking in at No. 20 with a 6-3 overall record and a 4-1 mark in SoCon action.

The Bulldogs have not been to the FCS postseason since 1992, and they will have something to say about who the Southern Conference champion is in 2013, with a crucial stretch of games remaining, beginning at Furman this weekend before closing out the season with home contests against Chattanooga (Nov. 16) and Elon (Nov. 23). Should the Bulldogs find a way to post their third-straight win over Furman this weekend, then the Bulldogs would have the most favorable remaining slate of any of the teams in title contention to close out the campaign.

Wofford was the team most thought would, if not be nipping at the heels of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, in what really would be the mythical SoCon race this season, but most felt the Terriers, who have finished in the top three of the league’s standings in five of the last six seasons, including claiming a share of the title in three of those seasons, including last season.

The Terriers are ranked No. 17 heading into Saturday’s game with No. 24 Chattanooga in the Scenic City. This game will be a proving ground for Wofford, as they are the team that has had all the championship success in recent history, while Chattanooga is the program trying to get back to that tradition of being atop the SoCon as they were in the late 1970’s and early ’80’s.

Head coach Mike Ayers has had two weeks to get his team prepared for this trip to Chattanooga, and the Terriers have won three-straight in this series, with at least one of those likely squelching Chattanooga’s postseason hopes. It should be a good one in the home of Rock City and Moon Pies Saturday.

The Terriers, who are 6-3 and 4-1 heading into Saturday’s game, have maybe the toughest road ahead of those vying for a Southern Conference crown, with games against Appalachian State and at Furman following this weekend’s clash with the league-leading Mocs. A win in any one of the three probably gets Wofford in the playoffs.

Though the Paladins are 4-5 and 3-2 to this point in the season, in the crazy world of the Southern Conference this season, they remain alive for a SoCon title. The Paladins head into this weekend’s clash with No. 20 Samford coming off a 16-14 win at Georgia Southern.

A win by Furman against Samford and No. 17 Wofford down the stretch would certainly help Bruce Fowler’s young team’s cause. The Paladins also have one road game remaining at Western Carolina on Nov. 16.

The Paladins will face a Samford team that has won two-straight against the Paladins by a combined nine points, including a 26-20 win over the Paladins in the friendly confines two years ago. In four of the five meetings between the two since the Bulldogs joined the SoCon in 2008, this game has by a TD or less. Chances are this weekend will be no different, as Bruce Fowler’s young Paladins continue to surprise.

The Citadel, Western Carolina and Elon bring up the rear of the standings, but all three have shown the ability to compete with the top of the league this season.

The Catamounts lost a heart-breaker to Wofford a few weeks back, but were able to end a 26-game Southern Conference losing streak against Elon, with a 27-24 win in Cullowhee a couple of weeks ago.

The Citadel has been in every game this season, with its biggest loss being an 11-point setback at home to open Southern Conference play against Wofford. The Bulldogs, who are 3-6 and 3-4 in the SoCon, have seen eight of their nine games decided by a touchdown or less.

Higgins’ Bulldogs have one Southern Conference game remaining against Elon this Saturday before closing out the 2013 season with games against VMI and at No. 8 Clemson. It’s been a little bit of a disappointing season for Higgins’ Bulldogs, who returned 16 starters off a 7-4 team a year ago. Saturday’s victory against league-leading and 17th-ranked Samford made up for at least a little of the frustration The Citadel has suffered through in 2013.

Finally, Elon is in its final season as a Southern Conference member before moving to the Colonial Athletic Association in 2014. The Phoenix are 2-7  overall and 1-4 in the SoCon heading into final stretch as a SoCon member.

The Phoenix haven’t enjoyed the type of success as a Georgia Southern or an Appalachian State, but Elon has certainly been competitive, as the Phoenix have been in nearly every SoCon game this season. Elon’s lone SoCon win came on the road at Furman, with a 28-25 win at Furman.

The SoCon becomes more of a mystery each week, but this week will go a long way in determining a clearer picture of the title race, with the Furman-Samford and Chattanooga-Wofford games either further muddying the championship picture, or bringing it more into focus. Stay tuned because it should be an interesting stretch run in what has been a bizarre season in Southern Conference football.

SoCon Power Rankings:

1. Chattanooga

2. Samford

3. Wofford

4. Furman

5. The Citadel

6. Appalachian State

7. Georgia Southern

8. Western Carolina

9. Elon