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| VMI claimed a 31-24 win at ETSU in OT last season (photo courtesy of VMI athletics) |
To say it's been an eventful week in Southern Conference football is a bit of an understatement to say the least. The big news this week is that Chattanooga decided it does not want to complete its spring season, opting out of its remaining three games of the spring due to COVID-related issues.
This has caused some major headaches for the conference office, as the Mocs were in the running for the spring championship, having posted a 3-1 record so far this spring. The Mocs postponed their first game of the spring against VMI, citing COVID-19 as the reason for having to cancel that game. With the Mocs' cancellation of the remainder of the fall season, that means Western Carolina will automatically have an off-week built in for this week.
Transfer Portal:
We've seen some strange things we aren't used to this spring, however, one thing we haven't been expecting is player's so quick to jump into the transfer portal.
Just this week, three significant player's jumped into the transfer portal, as both D'Mauriae VanCleave and TJ Luther have put their names into the transfer portal for Wofford, while Western Carolina running back Donnavan Spencer also made his name available for transfer. Below are previews for this weekend's three game's inside the SoCon.
The Citadel (0-9, 0-5 SoCon) at Wofford (1-3, 1-3 SoCon), Gibbs Stadium/1 p.m. EST
The Citadel heads to the upstate of South Carolina in search of its first victory of the 2020-21 season, as the Bulldogs come to Spartanburg riding a school-record losing streak of 11 games. Wofford has lost three of its four games it has played this spring, and for the three-time defending Southern Conference champions, things have certainly been less than ideal.
It's been a strange spring for everyone, but when you consider that back in 2019 Brent Thompson's Bulldogs and Josh Conklin's Terriers were in the thick of the SoCon title race, you know just how crazy COVID-19 has made things. When these two Palmetto State rivals get together on Saturday afternoon, it will mark the 73rd all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and Terriers, with The Citadel holding a 42-29-1 advantage in the all-time series.
Wofford has been dominant in this series between the two since Wofford joined the Southern Conference as an official member back in 1997. The Terriers saw a 16-game winning streak come to an end in the series in 2015, as the Bulldogs were able to claim a 39-12 win in Charleston. The Bulldogs also won in the regular-season in 2016, posting a 24-21 overtime win in Spartanburg. However, when the two met in Charleston in the second round of the FCS playoffs, the Terriers were able to claim a 17-3 win to move on to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
Since joining the Southern Conference as an official member back in 1997, Wofford has won 20 of the past 24 meetings between the two programs. Wofford was able to claim its third-straight Southern Conference title, with a 31-11 win in Charleston when the two last met at Johnson-Hagood Stadium on Nov. 23, 2019.
Coming into Saturday's contest, the Terrier offense, which ranks 31st nationally in total offense (382.0 YPG) and eighth in the FCS in rushing offense (230.2 YPG), continues to be led by signal-caller Jimmy Weirick (36-of-66 passing, 511 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs/52 rush yds, 1 TD). Without Luther and VanCleave as big-play threats on offense, particularly in the passing game for the Terriers, Weirick will be relied upon to find some other big-play threats for the Terrier offense on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if the departure of those two influences the play-calling of the Terriers on Saturday.
One thing that remains true is that the Terriers will still have the ever-reliable running back Nathan Walker (34 rush att, 170 yds, 2 TDs, 5.0 YPC) to hand the ball to if all else fails. Both Irvin Mulligan (39 rush att, 249 yds, 2 TDs, 6.4 YPC) and Ryan Lovelace (46 rush att, 223 yds, 2 TDs, 6.4 YPC). have also run the football well for the Terriers this spring.
Wofford's leading weapon in the passing attack this spring has been tight end/punter Landon Parker. Parker has hauled in eight passes for 155 yards and has a pair of touchdown receptions.
Despite the fact that six starters returned on the defensive side of the football for the spring season, the Terriers have struggled to stop foes consistently this spring, having surrendered 394.2 YPG (70th in FCS) and 27.8 PPG (62nd in FCS). That's at least a little bit of good news for the Bulldogs, as they look to snap their school-record losing streak heading into Saturday's rivalry matchup.
Leading the Terrier defense so far this spring has been senior inside linebacker Brandon Brown (26 tackles, 2 PBUs, 1 QBH) and senior outside linebacker John Beckley (24 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 1 PBU). Defensive end Michael Mason (18 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 QBHs, 2 FFs) is one of the most dominant defensive lineman in the Southern Conference.
The Citadel counters with an offense that averages 286.6 YPG (75th in FCS), including a ground attack that ranks seventh-best in the FCS, averaging 230.4 YPG in rushing offense. Leading the Bulldog once again Saturday will be Jaylan Adams (20-of-41 passing, 209 yds, 2 TDs, 2 INTs/128 rush att, 519 yds, 5 TDs, 4.1 YPC), who will be back under center for The Citadel after missing last Saturday's 55-7 loss to Samford due to concussion protocol. In three of five spring games, the Bulldogs have rushed for 300 or more yards, including 309 yards in last week's 55-7 home loss to Samford.
While Adams continues to represent a large part of the Bulldog offense, The Citadel head coach Brent Thompson continues to be impressed with the continued improvement of Nathan Storch (90 rush att, 311 yds, 1 TD, 3.4 YPC) at fullback. The big-play threat in The Citadel passing attack remains Raleigh Webb (17 rec, 282 yds, 4 TDs, 16.6 YPR).
On the defensive side of the football, the Bulldogs come into Saturday's clash ranking 54th nationally in total defense (365.0 YPG) and 78th in scoring defense (33.1 PPG). The top defensive player for the Bulldogs entering Saturday afternoon will once again be Willie Eubanks III (54 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks).
Final Score Prediction: Wofford 24, The Citadel 14
East Tennessee State (3-1, 3-1 SoCon) at No. 10 VMI (5-0, 5-0 SoCon), 1:30 p.m./Foster Stadium
VMI has the rare opportunity to play for a Southern Conference title Saturday when it meets East Tennessee State at Foster Stadium, while ETSU has a chance to keep its hopes alive for a league crown with a win.
Like basketball, the SoCon football crown will also be decided on percentage points. With Chattanooga recently announcing it will no longer participate in the spring season, it means the Bucs will play one less game than the Keydets will this spring, meaning the Bucs will not only need to win Saturday in Lexington, but also will need VMI to lose its regular-season finale at The Citadel on April 17, while it the Bucs will need wins over the Keydets at Mercer next week.
A lot is riding on this game between two SoCon members that re-joined the league in 2014 and '15, respectively. Should the Keydets win Saturday against the Bucs, it would claim its eighth Southern Conference football crown in league history, including its first league crown since 1977.
Saturday's meeting between the Keydets and Bucs will mark the 26th all-time meeting between the Bucs and Keydets, since the two first met on the gridiron back in 1979. ETSU holds a 15-10 lead in the all-time series, however, VMI claimed a thrilling 31-24 win in overtime in Johnson City last season.
The Keydets have been impressive the entire spring, winning games in heart-stopping fashion, which is why I have given them the title "Cardiac Keydets." The Keydets have recorded three of their five wins this fall by a combined seven points, including a pair of one-point wins over both Furman (W, 14-13) and Samford (38-37 OT), respectively.
Adding even more drama to the mix is the fact that star quarterback Reece Udinski (124-of-172 passing, 1,087 yds, 7 TDs, 2 INTs) has played his last game as a Keydet player, as he suffered a knee injury in the win over Samford a couple of weeks ago. He will continue his football career at Maryland as a grad transfer. Udinski rewrote the VMI record books, leaving as the program's all-time leading passer, as well as setting a new NCAA record for passes without having thrown an INT (368 passes thrown without an INT).
Taking the reins at quarterback and already having led the Keydets to a come-from-behind win in his first-ever start against Wofford last Saturday will be redshirt freshman Seth Morgan, who garnered national player of the week honors following a game that saw him complete 24-of-35 passes for 375. yards and four touchdowns in the 36-31 win over the Terriers. Morgan also rushed for 76 yards in the in win, finishing with 451 yards of total offense, which accounts for the second-most total offense yards in school history.
Morgan has one of the best receiving corps' in all of FCS football to call upon, led by Jakob Herres (48 rec, 583 yds, 6 TDs, 12.1 YPR), who comes off an outstanding contest catching the football against the Terriers. In the win over the Terriers, Herres hauled in 15 passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
The good news is the running game will be given a boost with the return of Korey Bridy (77 rush att, 313 yds, 4 TDs, 4.1 YPC) returns to the backfield after having to miss last week's contest. Bridy is also has 11 catches for 42 yards.
The Keydets bring an offense into Saturday's contest ranking 12th nationally in total offense (443.2 YPG) and 20th in the scoring offense (31.8 PPG).
The real reason the Keydets find themselves in position to claim a Southern Conference title for the first time since 1977 is because of how good they have been defensively. VMI comes in ranking 59th nationally in total defense (371.6 YPG) and rank seventh nationally in total sacks (19.0/3.80 sacks-per-game), including one game against Furman, which saw the Keydets record nine sacks, in what was a key 14-13 win.,
Leading the VMI defense so far in the spring of 2021 have been its outstanding corps of linebackers, with Connor Riddle (46 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 5.0 sacks, 1 INT, 2 PBU, 1 QBH) and Stone Snyder (43 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 2 QBHs), while Jordan Ward (10 tackles, 3.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks) and Warren Dabney (10 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1.0 sack) anchor the VMI defensive front.
ETSU continues to improve on the offensive side of the football, and Brock Landis (9-of-21 passing, 60 yds) will likely be making his second start for the Bucs Saturday. He was able to lead the Bucs to a 24-17 win in the Blue Ridge Border Battle last time out against Western Carolina.
Part of the reason the Bucs have been more explosive on the offensive side of the football this spring is due in large part to having home run hitters at wide receiver, who can stretch the defense deep, with Julian Lane-Price (10 rec, 178 yds, 1 TD, 17.8 YPR) and Will Huzzie (14 rec, 177 yds, 1 TD, 12.6 YPR) offering big-play threats via the aerial attack.
By ground, the Bucs continue to ride the legs of Quay Holmes (79 rush att, 416 yds, 6 TDs, 5.3 YPC/8 rec, 47 yds) and Jacob Saylors (37 rush att, 223 yds, 6.0 YPC/11 rec, 81 yds, 1 TD, 7.4 YPR), as both were able to eclipse the 100-yard plateau in last Saturday's win vs. Western Carolina.
ETSU continues to be solid on the defensive side of the football, as the Bucs enter this huge Southern Conference clash ranking 17th in the nation in total defense (281.5 YPG). The Bucs are led on defense by a good front seven, which is anchored by veteran linebacker Jared Folks (31 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) and all-conference defensive back Tyree Robinson (23 tackles, 2.o TFL, 1 FR).
Final Score Prediction: VMI 24, ETSU 21
Furman (3-2, 3-2 SoCon) at Mercer (3-5, 3-2 SoCon), Five Star Stadium/3:30 p.m.
Fresh off an off-week, Furman retrurns to league play by taking on a suddenly hot Mercer team, which comes to town having won two-straight, including a 35-28 win at No. 9 Chattanooga last weekend, handing the Mocs their first loss of the spring. Drew Cronic, who is in his first year as the Mercer head coach, has spent 10 years as an offensive assistant in two different stints at Furman under both Bobby Lamb and Clay Hendrix.
Cronic spent nine seasons as the wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator under Lamb at Furman, and he spent one season as the Furman offensive coordinator in 2017. That’s seemingly the area that Furman has struggled to find consistency on that side of the football this spring. Furman, which was the preseason favorite to win the SoCon football race in the spring, could muster only 170 yards of total offense last time out in the 20-18 loss to Chattanooga.
That was the lowest output by a Furman offense against an FCS opponent, and it was the lowest first lowest offensive total for the Paladins since the 2018 opener against No. 2 Clemson, when the Paladins could muster only 163 yards in a 40-7 loss to the Tigers. The win by the Bears last week was big in terms of being able to get the program turned around sooner than later. With last Saturday’s win over UTC, it kept Mercer and Furman very much in the SoCon race heading down the stretch this season. Of course, the loser of Saturday’s game in Macon finds themselves officially eliminated from the Southern Conference race.
The Bears have seemingly gotten better with the progression of the spring season. Saturday’s meeting between the Paladins and Bears will mark the 19th between the two programs, with Furman holding the 10-6-2 all-time series edge, and have won the last three games in the series, including a 45-10 contest last season. The last time the Bears got a win in the series between the two was the 2016 campaign, when Mercer was able to post a 27-24 win over the Paladins.
Mercer comes into the matchup with freshman quarterback Carter Peevy (53-of-100 passing, 685 yds, 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 92 rush yds, 2 TDs) leading the offense so far this spring, while walk-on Harrison Frost (40-of-66, 407 yds, 4 TDs, 4 INTs), who is the more experienced of the two quarterbacks, has also seen action under center for the Bears this spring. Frost started the game against the Paladins back in 2018, which was Furman’s last trip to Macon, as the Paladins clinched a share for the Southern Conference title with a 35-30 win in Macon.
Peevy leads a Mercer offense that enters Saturday’s matchup ranking 65th in the nation in total offense (304.5 YPG), 33rd in rushing offense (168.0 YPG), 77th in pass offense (136.5 YPG), and 42nd in scoring offense (24.8 PPG).
The Bears have had to find some new leadership in the running game following the graduation of Tyray Devezin, with the new leaders of that ground attack being led by Nakendrick Clark (76 rush att, 312 yds, 4 TDs, 4.1 YPC) and Brandon Marshall (48 rush att, 241 rush yds, 3 TDs, 5.0 YPC). Kendrick, a transfer from Appalachian State, is a big bruising back, who is good in short-yardage situations.
Marshall is coming off a big game agsainst Chattanooga last time out, as he rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns. Marshall also has seven catches for 43 yards this season.
Johnson will play one of the ‘joker’ positions within the Bears offense. He will be a threat both as a runner and receiving threat coming out of the Mercer backfield. Johnson will also be a threat as a kick returner, having posted a 102-yard kick return to open the fall season against Jacksonville State.
The Bears have an offensive line, which returned all five starters from a year ago, with Caleb Etheridge, Connor Krieger, Trey Iorillo, John Thomas and Andrew Robinson all returning along the offensive line for the spring season.
Mercer continues to be a defense that improves as the season goes along, despite welcoming the return of just five starters total from a year ago. Luke Ward and Richie Coffey returned at the two safety positions, while Harrison Poole returned at cornerback. DJ McDaniel and Barron King returning along the defensive front.
It’s a Mercer defense that has proven to be much improved this season, and one that comes into the matchup with the Paladins ranking 47th nationally in total defense (359.4 YPG), 76th in scoring defense (32.4 PPG), 75th in rush defense (200.6 YPG), 20th in pass defense (158.8 YPG), 34th in sacks (2.50 SPG), and 72nd in turnover margin (-0.88).
The leader on the defensive side of the football for the Bears this spring has been Lance Wise (64 tackles) at one of the linebacker positions, and he remains among the top tacklers in the Southern Conference so far this season, as his 64 tackles through eight games this fall rank him seventh overall in the league in tackles-per-game, as he is averaging eight tackles-per-contest.
The Bears also have the league’s best pass-rusher, as freshman defensive end Isaac Dowling (64 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 5.0 sacks) leads the Southern Conference with five sacks in eight games so far during the 2020-21 season. He also ranks ninth in the SoCon in tackles-for-loss so far this spring, having recorded five tackles-for-loss.
Furman comes into Saturday’s contest against Mercer ranking 36th nationally in total offense (375.6 YPG), 40th in scoring offense (24.8 PPG), 51st in passing offense (192.4 YPG), 24th in rushing offense (183.2 YPG), and tied for 26th in red zone offense (15 RZ scores/6 rush TDs/5 pass TDs/4 RZ FGs).
Furman quarterback Hamp Sisson comes into Saturday’s contest in Macon having completed 67-of-120 passes for 957 yds, with 10 TDs and seven INTs. The top weapon at Sisson’s disposal this spring has been senior running back Devin Wynn (84 rush att, 425 yds, 5.1 YPC/3 rec, 55 yds). Wynn is the top offensive weapon the Paladins have, as he is a threat as both a runner and receiver coming out of the backfield. Wynn has had an outstanding career for the Paladins, having rushed for 2,382-career yards.
Furman’s two top receiving options have been tight end Ryan Miller (12 rec, 173 yds, 4 TDs, 14.4 YPR) and wideout Ryan DeLuca (16 rec, 311 yds, 1 TD, 19.4 YPR) having been two of the best big-play options the Paladins have had in the passing game so far this spring.
The Paladin defense has been outstanding so far this spring, allowing just 91 points in five games, as well as just 294.6 YPG this spring. The Paladins have been led on the defense this spring by linebacker Nicky Kuzemka, who leads the team with 32 tackles. The Paladins also have one of the top defensive back’s in the Southern Conference this spring, as Darius Kearse has 22 tackles and three INTs.
Final Score Prediction: Furman 30, Mercer 20
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