By THOMAS STOKES
SoCon Weekly Recap
Tennessee Tech: Won against Wofford 42-38
Bobby Wilder is most likely happy with the win but that is probably where his happiness ends. The Golden Eagles had 136 penalty yards on Saturday. A better focused team wouldn’t have committed so many personal fouls. We would be having a completely different conversation about this game if it wasn’t for Jax Leatherwood throwing for three touchdowns in the fourth. Conference foes will take advantage of the undisciplined play that was shown on Saturday so Wilder and company will need to clean this up fast!
Up Next: Golden Eagles will travel to North Carolina to play Western Carolina (6 PM, ESPN+)
Chattanooga: Won against The Citadel 27-8
This is another team from the past weekend that felt underwhelming in its win. At one point The Citadel had more rushing yards than UTC but just couldn’t find the end zone. A better team would have capitalized on this and easily built a lead. Chattanooga’s Kevin Lalin continues to be the backbone of the offense as he scored two touchdowns. It’s going to be interesting to see if defenses can successfully install a game plan in stopping Lalin. Offense has yet to consistently throw the ball so going against a strong defense will bring up the question of how will they respond?
Up Next: The Rail Rivalry as the Mocs play ETSU looking to continue the six-game winning streak in the series. (3:30 PM, ESPN+)
Samford: Won against VMI 45-7
Samford gets win No. 1 for head coach John Grass. The Bulldogs clook toan build on this momentum and potentially spoil possible playoff bids for other teams. The offense had a little over 400 yards, but it was against a VMI team that may not win a game this year. This would have been an impressive performance against anyone else. It will be interesting to watch what Samford can do the rest of the year.
Up Next: Samford goes on the road against FBS team UAB (3:30 PM, ESPN+)
ETSU: Won against Western Carolina 58-31
ETSU looked like a complete team on Saturday, and chose the best time to finally focus. Where was this play in the first quarter of the season? The Bucs start the conference slate 1-0. The defense got Lex Thomas four times Saturday and made the quarterback uncomfortable all game. Tack on seven deflected passes and it shows that the defense finally heard all the critics and stepped up. Now it’s time for Coach Will Healy to hype this team up once again for another trophy game as Chattanooga comes to town. Will ETSU finally beat the Mocs?
Up Next: The Rail Rivalry comes to Johnson City as Chattanooga visits (3:30 PM, ESPN+)
Mercer: Won against Abilene Christian 34-17
JP Pickles opened the game as starting quarterback; it looks like the Bears have made a change. After the disastrous performance from Jaylen King last time out this was a smart move. The offense was not the story in this game though as the defense produced five turnovers Saturday, three of them interceptions. ACU outgained the Bears in total yards but due to the turnovers stood no chance in this game. If you missed this game go back and check out their version of Philly Special to start the scoring off in the game.
Up Next: Mercer travels to VMI (1:30, ESPN+)
Furman: Lost to Richmond 13-9
Quarterback Connor Ackerley started this week for Furman. He performed well but just couldn’t get into the endzone. It seems like Jake Garcia’s injury from last game kept him from playing. There was only one touchdown the entire game and that was in the second quarter when Richmond threw a touchdown pass to take a 10-3 lead. The Furman defense played well, forcing four turnovers, which has been the common theme in Paladins games. At some point the defense needs the offense to wake up and score or it will be a long year. There will be a new play caller this Saturday.
Up Next: Furman faces off against Wofford in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry (2 PM, ESPN+)
The Citadel: Lost to Chattanooga 27-8
The Bulldogs had a chance of winning this game. In the middle of the third quarter, they were ahead in rushing yards but still trailed 13-0. With the inability of the Mocs passing game they should’ve capitalized on moving the ball better than UTC, but they were unable to get any points at all. They now move to 0-2 in the conference with a rough stretch in October.
Up Next: The Citadel will be on the road against a Top 25 team in South Carolina State (2 PM, ESPN+)
Wofford: Lost to Tennessee Tech 42-38
Wofford finally found an offense in this game, but it was special teams giving up a kick return to start the second half that you must look at as the momentum shift. Ethan Drumm had a zero turnover day but the defense disappeared in the fourth quarter, which cost the Terriers a huge conference shifting upset. Starting the SoCon slate at 0-2 almost certainly means winning out is a must, and Wofford will need upsets of teams above them down the road for any hope for the playoffs. If the Terriers play like this going forward, they’ll prove the coaches wrong because they’ll most certainly finish higher than seventh in the SoCon. That road starts next week in a big rivalry game.
Up Next: Wofford will play in the South’s Oldest Rivalry against Furman (2 PM, ESPN+)
VMI: Lost Samford 45-7
A lot of work will need to be done this coming offseason for the Keydets. This was their best chance to get a win, and they were crushed in every aspect of the game. The offense gave up three turnovers, allowed Samford to rack up double the amount of yards, and got a third of the first downs that Samford got. There was nothing positive to say about this VMI team on Saturday. I mentioned Samford could still play spoiler, but I haven’t seen anything that tells me VMI will be in that same situation. I would give the Keydets a chance against The Citadel just because it’s a rivalry, but they will most likely end with a winless season.
Up Next: VMI welcomes the Mercer Bears to Lexington (1:30 PM, ESPN+)
Western Carolina: Lost to ETSU 58-31
This game wasn’t as close as the final score. WCU got a couple of touchdowns against the defensive guys who are second and third on the depth chart late in the game. At halftime the score was 34-7 ETSU, and it seemed like the result was resolved by then. The Catamounts, who usually have an explosive offense, were not on their A-game Saturday. They’ll need to bounce back fast due to Tennessee Tech coming to visit this Saturday.
Up Next: Western Carolina looks to win in conference against Tennessee Tech 6:00 PM ESPN +
Viewership Guide (All Times in Eastern)
Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry: Furman vs Wofford (2 PM, ESPN+)
The Paladins and Terriers first met on December 14, 1889, where Wofford won 5-1 (scoring back then was something). This is considered one of the oldest Southern rivalries in college football history. This year’s game will be the 100th meeting between the schools and the two teams seem to be on different trajectories. Furman is still having issues with its offense, and perhaps the rivalry will lend some juice to a lackluster unit. FCS Nation Radio reported that offensive coordinator Justin Roper asked to relinquish his duties as play caller. Losing wouldn’t be the end of the world for Furman because it would be the Paladins’ first in-conference loss. However, the Paladins don’t use the transfer portal like most of the SoCon schools, so there are players who don’t want to lose to Wofford for a fourth time. Wofford finally found an offense on Saturday, but its defense and special teams (which had been the backbone of the team) went topsy turvy. This is a must-win game if the Terriers have any hope of a postseason appearance. A win this season will be four in a row for Wofford during this rivalry. Furman leads the rivalry with a record of 56-36-7 all time. Just a note on this, if you go back to 1930-1937, Wofford didn’t score a point in those games being outscored 227-0.
South Dakota State vs Illinois State (7 PM, ESPN+)
This would’ve been a #2 vs #3 matchup, if Illinois State had remembered to show up against Northern Iowa the week before. That loss dropped the Redbirds down to No. 10 in this week’s poll. In a conference as stacked as the Missouri Valley Football Conference, one upset could cause a lot of issues when it comes to playoff seeding. A team like Illinois State now needs a lot of help to stay in the conversation for a top-8 seed and that starts this weekend. On the SDSU side they are just looking to be competitive and try to win even with their quarterback Chase Mason out. This is a tough game to miss but hopefully he will be back next week. Josh Holst started for Mason last Saturday in a 42-7 rout of Eastern Illinois and relied heavily on the rush game. Holst did throw for 176 yards and a touchdown, so he looked comfortable taking over the starting job. Eastern Illinois, however, is not the 2025 national championship runner up so the schedule ramps up if Mason is still unable to go.
End of September Top 8 conversation
At the end of every month of the regular season, we will look at the current power rankings to determine the top 8 FCS teams. We will also touch on some teams that could sneak into this group. These schools will get the bye for the first round of the FCS playoffs.
1) Montana State
The defending national champions got a pass for different reasons in the last couple of weeks. First, the Bobcats had to be overlooking Central Connecticut State and then NAU took them to the wire after four of MSU’s All-American starters were unable to go. This coming month the ‘Cats will not want to sleepwalk and would most likely want to use this time to get healthy in a very weak Big Sky Conference schedule in October with Cal Poly potentially being the toughest game on Halloween. The real test will be the November portion of the schedule to see if they can stay at the top seed.
2) Tarleton State
The Texans started the year beating a very good Prairie View A&M team following that up with being the first FCS school this season to upset an FBS school, with Bowling Green taking the loss. Tarleton has an easy schedule ahead for the rest of the year. The last real test of this schedule will be October 10th, at Austin Peay. If the Texans survive there, they should see a Top 2 seed but may drop to No. 3 depending on other schools strength of schedule.
3) Montana
After the 62-22 beat down of a UC Davis team ranked in the top 10 at the time, Top 10 ranked at the time, Montana has an argument for a Top 2 seed. By the end of the season, the Griz may just be there, but I like Montana State and Tarleton State just a tiny bit more right now. Eli Gillman will go into October with 800 yards of total offense and 13 touchdowns, making his case for the Walter Peyton Award at the end of the year and adding to all the records and accolades he will end his career holding. Speaking of October, it looks like the Griz should walk through the month since they face a lot of bottom-half Big Sky teams. The toughest game is Oct. 10 at Northern Arizona.
4) Lehigh
Lehigh gets to benefit from Illinois State going down. So, the potentially undefeated Mountain Hawks may see themselves as a Top 4 seed when it comes playoff time. The toughest remaining game for the Hawks will be on the road against Villanova on October 24th.
5) Stephen F Austin
The Lumberjacks started out 4-0. SFA should find itself favored in all its remaining games and I feel a No. 5 seed will be realistic if the Lumberjacks go undefeated. Most important game for the Lumberjacks? All of them. Just don’t have an upset, because the Southland Conference sucks.
6) Illinois State
The Redbirds have taken the unpredictable playoff run as a non-seeded team to the 2025 championship game and used that for momentum into the 2026 season. But with the upset by Northern Iowa, Illinois State now drops in the seeding.
7) North Dakota
If North Dakota survives this absolute monster of October, it should earn a Top 8 seed going into November. The Fighting Hawks face South Dakota State, South Dakota, and Youngstown State back-to-back-to-back. If they can pull out a win in all three, they’ll be in the conversation for a Top 4 seed.
8) South Dakota State
SDSU is eighth only because I’m worried about the Mason injury making the Jackrabbits season go sideways again this year. But if they play like they did on Saturday, it might not matter who the quarterback is. Now it was just Eastern Illinois and that isn’t a comparable metric to what SDSU has to play in October. Next month, if Mason comes back and the Jackrabbits survive the stretch that includes Illinois State, South Dakota, and North Dakota they will absolutely move up in the rankings to a Top 4 (or higher) seed for sure.
Honorable Mention
Tennessee Tech most likely will have to go undefeated to be anywhere near the conversation for a Top 8 seed. The issue is the Golden Eagles still have an FBS game on schedule. You may not know this, but the Golden Eagles were on the committee’s Top 10 list twice last year (10th in October and 7th the week of Kentucky in November). After that money game, the Golden Eagles moved down to the 13th seed on Selection Sunday. Could their FBS game being so late be an issue again for the playoff committee?
Idaho State is here as a sleeper pick. October favors the Bengals who host their toughest game of the month Saturday against Northern Arizona. They could be at 8-1 going into their two toughest games of the entire schedule in November.
Finally, after beating South Dakota handily, Youngstown State returns to the conversation of a Top 8 seed. The Penguins might have the hardest path to the top, but they do have the reigning best player in FCS. I would have called October easy but Northern Iowa should have the Penguins’ attention after upsetting No. 3 Illinois State.