I have a confession.
There were no power rankings last week.
I wish I had some elaborate explanation. Family emergency. Internet outage. Investigative suspension.
Nope.
I forgot. Matthew Piras reminded me.
So here we go. You get two weeks of Southern Conference football shoved into one article.
As I write this, I realize how much I missed writing my unbiased takes on the SoCon.
While I was away, ETSU went to Charleston, spotted The Citadel 10 points, then beat them 34-16. The Bucs followed that performance with an undefeated bye week and now sit alone at 3-0 in the Southern Conference.
Mercer keeps winning, although I’m still not buying the hype.
Wofford has quietly become interesting.
VMI remains a humanitarian concern.
And Tennessee Tech still lost 44-20 to Western Carolina.
I didn’t forget that part.
Let’s rank them.
1. ETSU (5-2, 3-0 SoCon)
Beat The Citadel 34-16, then bye
First place.
Undefeated in the Southern Conference.
Seven straight SoCon wins dating back to last season, the longest conference winning streak in program history.
Things are getting suspiciously enjoyable.
The Citadel actually went up 10-0, which briefly had me preparing for one of those afternoons.
Then ETSU remembered they were better.
The Bucs outscored them 34-6 the rest of the way. Special teams blocked a punt for a touchdown, TJ Peyton ripped off an 85-yard touchdown run, and what looked annoying became comfortable pretty quickly.
Then came the bye.
No turnovers. No injuries. Nobody scored on us.
Excellent performance.
Now ETSU heads to VMI at 3-0 in conference play.
Two losses … one doesn’t count … one was to a top-25 ranked team in Campbell. Remember when I unfollowed Barstool ETSU because of their overreactions after game 1? Ha.
Anyways, I’m going to say something I haven’t been able to say much over the years:
ETSU controls its own destiny in the SoCon.
Please don’t make this weird.
2. Wofford (5-3, 4-2 SoCon)
Beat Elon 16-0, beat VMI 41-14
Wait.
Is Wofford good?
Since losing that ridiculous game to Tennessee Tech, the Terriers have beaten Furman, shut out Elon and hammered VMI.
That’s three straight wins.
I spent September trying to figure out what Wofford was. Apparently Wofford was also trying to figure out what Wofford was.
They may have reached an agreement.
I still don’t completely trust them, but they’re 4-2 in the conference and trending in the right direction.
Welcome to No. 2.
Please don’t make me regret this.
3. Chattanooga (4-3, 3-1 SoCon)
Beat Samford 19-3, then bye
Chattanooga responded to scoring three points against ETSU by holding Samford to three points.
Very mature.
The Mocs won 19-3, got back in the win column and then had a week off to contemplate what ETSU did to them.
They’re still 3-1 in conference play and absolutely in the SoCon race. Remember, their loss to Tech doesn’t count against them in the SoCon standings. Crazy, but true.
I still have the same question, though.
If somebody stops the run, then what?
ETSU asked that question.
We’re still waiting on Chattanooga’s answer.
4. Mercer (6-2, 3-1 SoCon)
Beat Western Carolina 17-14, beat Samford 31-21
I know Mercer is ranked.
I know they’re 6-2.
I know they’ve won four straight.
Everyone relax.
Western Carolina went to Macon and lost 17-14. Then Mercer beat a 1-6 Samford team by 10.
Congratulations.
Should we alert the Vatican?
The Bears are obviously solid. They play defense, they run the ball, and they keep winning football games.
They also benched Jaylen King. I’m sorry, Jaylen.
But I’m just not seeing this terrifying national powerhouse everybody keeps trying to sell me.
They’re ranked. They’re winning.
Fine.
I remain whelmed.
5. Western Carolina (3-4, 1-2 SoCon)
Lost to Mercer 17-14, then bye
Honestly, Western’s stock didn’t drop much for me.
That’s fine.
If anything, it strengthens my belief that Western is much better than the record looks.
They followed the 44-20 public execution of Tennessee Tech by going to Mercer and losing by three.
They’re 3-4, but we’ve seen them absolutely cook offensively, embarrass Tech and take Mercer to the wire on the road.
They’re dangerous.
Also, every respectable Western performance continues to make ETSU’s 58-31 win look hilarious.
So I support their continued development.
6. Furman (2-5, 1-2 SoCon)
Lost to Tennessee Tech 20-15, then bye
Furman.
I asked you for one thing.
One.
They went to Cookeville and lost 20-15.
Five points.
You couldn’t find six more points for me?
I still don’t think Furman is nearly as bad as 2-5 suggests. They’ve beaten Mercer and played several close games against good teams.
But eventually “better than their record” just becomes your record.
The bye came at a good time.
Please return with offense.
7. The Citadel (2-5, 0-3 SoCon)
Lost to ETSU 34-16, lost to Texas A&M 41-0
The Citadel led ETSU 10-0.
That’s the positive.
Then ETSU outscored them 34-6.
Then they went to College Station and Texas A&M beat them 41-0.
That’s less positive.
I’m not going to analyze the A&M game. They went to an SEC stadium, collected a check and returned home.
That’s commerce.
The bigger issue is 0-3 in the SoCon.
They’re such a weird team. They beat an FBS school?!
8. Samford (1-6, 1-3 SoCon)
Lost to Chattanooga 19-3, lost to Mercer 31-21
Remember when Samford beat VMI 45-7 and I thought maybe something had changed?
Something had not changed.
They scored three points against Chattanooga and then fell behind Mercer 21-0 roughly seven minutes into the game.
That’s generally considered a poor opening strategy.
They did battle back and make the Mercer score respectable.
Unfortunately, “made the loss more respectable” is becoming a fairly important part of the Samford résumé.
They’re 1-6.
Not ideal.
9. VMI (0-7, 0-3 SoCon)
Bye, lost to Wofford 41-14
The bye week was encouraging.
VMI allowed zero points.
Then football returned.
Wofford won 41-14.
VMI actually led 14-3. It was so cool. It made me smile.
ETSU comes to Lexington next.
I love VMI. I love the triple option. Ashley Ingram remains my guy.
But this is now less of a football season and more of a prolonged character-building exercise.
And unfortunately, I need ETSU to contribute to the character building this weekend.
This actually breaks my heart. I love these guys.
Nothing personal.
10. UNCG (0-0)
Still undefeated.
Still hasn’t allowed a point.
And unlike Tennessee Tech, UNCG did not lose by 24 to Western Carolina.
Consistency matters.
11. Tennessee Tech (6-1, 3-1 SoCon)
Beat Furman 20-15, beat Eastern Kentucky 49-20
Oh, they’re 6-1 now?
That’s wonderful.
I’m happy for them.
Tech survived Furman by five and then beat Eastern Kentucky in a nonconference game.
EKU actually may suck. They also attempted less than 10 passes. It’s football. They’re setting the sport back.
Apparently this has restored everyone’s confidence.
Unfortunately, I possess object permanence.
I remember Cullowhee.
I remember 44-20.
I remember 53 rushing yards.
You can’t just put a blanket over that game and tell me the object disappeared.
Halloween is looking veeeery interesting.
This Week
ETSU is 3-0 in the Southern Conference.
That’s really the headline after our accidental two-week sabbatical.
Western Carolina scored 31 on ETSU.
Chattanooga scored three.
The Citadel scored 16.
Three conference games. Three wins. And now the Bucs come out of a bye with VMI waiting in Lexington.
Handle business.
Elsewhere, Mercer is 6-2 and ranked, and I’m apparently supposed to be terrified.
I’m not.
Wofford might actually be good, which is a sentence I did not expect to type a month ago.
And Tennessee Tech has won two straight since Western Carolina beat them 44-20.
Sorry.
Hadn’t mentioned that in a few paragraphs.
As for the rankings:
- ETSU
- Wofford
- Chattanooga
- Mercer
- Western Carolina
- Furman
- The Citadel
- Samford
- VMI
- UNCG
- Tennessee Tech
ETSU is alone atop the Southern Conference.
Mercer is overhyped.
UNCG remains undefeated.
Tech remains eleventh.
We’re back.
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