SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL 2019 702 North Pine Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303 • 864-591-5100 • Fax: 864-591-3448 Phil Perry, Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations (FB contact) ® facebook.com/SouthernConference • twitter.com/SoConSports • instagram.com/SouthernConference 2019 SOUTHERN CONFERENCE FOOTBALL STANDINGS NOTES • Seven games adorn the Southern Conference CONFERENCE OVERALL schedule this Saturday, with Mercer visiting No. 15/17 Rank Teams W-L Pct H A ST W-L Pct H A N ST Furman in the lone league contest and six schools hosting nonconference tilts. RV/RV Mercer 1-0 1.000 0-0 1-0 W1 2-1 .667 0-1 2-0 0-0 L1 VMI 1-0 1.000 0-0 1-0 W1 2-1 .667 1-0 1-1 0-0 W2 • The Citadel downed Georgia Tech on Sept. 14, 27-24 in overtime, for its first win over an FBS team since Samford 1-0 1.000 0-0 1-0 W1 1-2 .333 0-0 1-1 0-1 W1 2015 and its ninth overall. Senior kicker Jacob Godek --/RV Chattanooga 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 - 1-2 .333 1-0 0-2 0-0 L2 nailed the winning 37-yard field goal in OT, while quarterback Brandon Rainey ran for 70 yards and a 15/17 Furman 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 - 1-2 .333 1-0 0-2 0-0 L2 score and threw a 30-yard TD pass in three quarters RV/25 The Citadel 0-0 .000 0-0 0-0 - 1-2 .333 0-1 1-1 0-0 W1 of work. With the win, the Bulldogs moved into the STATS FCS poll at No. 25 this week. --/RV ETSU 0-1 .000 0-1 0-0 L1 1-2 .333 1-1 0-1 0-0 L1 Western Carolina 0-1 .000 0-1 0-0 L1 1-2 .333 1-1 0-1 0-0 W1 • In a game that endured two weather delays and ended after 1 a.m., VMI outlasted defending SoCon --/RV Wofford 0-1 .000 0-1 0-0 L1 0-2 .000 0-1 0-1 0-0 L2 tri-champion ETSU in overtime, 31-24. Reece Udinski hit Javeon Lara for a 21-yard touchdown in the first overtime and the Keydets got the stop they needed Rankings listed AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25/STATS FCS Top 25 on fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line on the Bucs’ ensuing possession to collect their first win in league play since 2016. VMI running back Alex Ramsey ran for 57 yards and a pair of touchdowns and caught 11 UPCOMING SCHEDULE (*SoCon game; rankings listed AFCA/STATS; all times Eastern) passes for 56 yards. Sept. 21 (Saturday) Series TV/Digital Time • Samford picked up a big road win of its own, *Mercer at #15/17 Furman Furman leads 9-6-2 Nexstar/ESPN+ 1 p.m. downing No. 22/21 Wofford, 21-14. The win was the Robert Morris at VMI Series tied 2-2 ESPN+ 1:30 p.m. Bulldogs’ fifth straight over Wofford and snapped the #2/2 James Madison at Chattanooga First meeting ESPN+ 4 p.m. Terriers’ 18-game winning streak in home openers Charleston Southern at #RV/25 The Citadel The Citadel leads 6-5 ESPN+ 6 p.m. dating back to 2000. Gardner-Webb at Wofford Wofford leads 19-8 ESPN+ 6 p.m. Alabama A&M at Samford First meeting ESPN3 7 p.m. • Chattanooga, which boasts one of the toughest Austin Peay at ETSU ETSU leads 14-12-2 ESPN+ 7:30 p.m. schedules in the nation, hosts consensus No. 2 James Madison on Saturday to complete a grueling stretch of games that has also seen the Mocs face then-No. 17/18 Jacksonville State and FBS Tennessee in con- Nexstar affiliates for this week’s Ingles SoCon Game of the Week secutive weeks. WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville) WCBD (Charleston) • For the second straight week, Furman gave an FBS WMUB (Macon) team fits, falling to Virginia Tech 24-17 a week after WWCW (Roanoke) dropping a 48-42 contest at Georgia State. The Pala- dins led the Hokies 14-3 at the half. • Kicker Grayson Atkins assumed sole possession of SOCON PLAYERS OF THE WEEK PRESENTED BY GEICO the Furman record for consecutive field goals made, as his 22-yard strike in the fourth quarter extended his OFFENSIVE DEFENSIVE SPECIAL TEAMS mark to 13 straight makes dating back to last season. Chris Oladokun, Jr., QB Braden Gilby, R-Fr., LB Jacob Godek, Sr., K • The Paladins dropped two spots to No. 15 in the Samford Furman The Citadel AFCA FCS Coaches’ Top 25 this week and one posi- tion to No. 17 in the STATS poll. Wofford, which fell to Oladokun picked up his second Making his first career start, Gilby Godek hit a pair of field goals unranked Samford, dropped out of both polls, from honor of the season after leading had a game-high 12 tackles, in- in the Bulldogs’ 27-24, overtime Nos. 22 and 21, respectively. the Bulldogs to a 21-14 road win cluding seven solo stops and a win at Georgia Tech on Saturday, over No. 22/21 Wofford on Satur- tackle for loss, as the Paladins converting a 47-yard attempt late • Mercer received votes in both polls, while ETSU, day. The junior from Tampa, Flori- dropped a 24-17 contest at Virgin- in regulation to put The Citadel Chattanooga and Wofford are receiving votes in the da, accounted for two of Samford’s ia Tech on Saturday. The redshirt on top and nailing a 37-yarder in STATS poll only. three scores, rushing for a team- freshman from St. Petersburg, overtime for the walk-off win. The high 79 yards and a touchdown Florida, also forced a fumble late Longwood, Florida, senior, who • Mercer suffered its first loss of the season on Sept. 14, and throwing for 230 yards and a in the first quarter, setting up Fur- was 3-for-3 on PAT attempts, also falling 48-34 to Austin Peay. The Bears got a big game score, going 17-for-25 through the man’s first touchdown to put the kicked off five times for an average from sophomore wide receiver David Durden, who air. His 30-yard touchdown run in Paladins on top 7-3. of 64.4 yards. Godek helped The had a career-best 129 yards and two touchdowns and the third quarter proved the differ- Citadel to its first win over an FBS notched 146 yards on four kickoff returns for a total ence in the contest as the Bulldogs opponent since 2015, when the of 275 all-purpose yards. Redshirt senior linebacker topped the Terriers for the fifth Bulldogs downed South Carolina Will Coneway had a game-high 13 tackles to match straight time and halted Wofford’s in what was the last FBS win for a his career high and is 12th among active FCS players 18-game win streak in home open- SoCon squad. with 238 in his career. ers. • Samford quarterback Chris Oladokun leads all FCS players in yards per pass attempt (13.17), while Mercer QB Robert Riddle shares the FCS lead in passing TDs (11) with Eastern Washington’s Eric Barriere. Citadel QB Brandon Rainey is third in rushing TDs with five and Mercer’s David Durden is second in kickoff returns at 40.3 yards per attempt. #SoConFB Weekly Release Sept. 16, 2019 Page 1 PRESEASON ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE SOCON PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year PRESENTED BY GEICO Tyrie Adams, QB, R-Sr., Western Carolina Nasir Player, DL, R-Sr., ETSU Offensive (career honor) First Team Offense Second Team Offense Sept. 2 .........................Chris Oladokun, Jr., QB, SAM (1) Sept. 9 .....................Darren Grainger, R-Fr., QB, FUR (1) QB Tyrie Adams, R-Sr., Western Carolina QB Reece Udinski, Jr., VMI Sept. 16 ......................Chris Oladokun, Jr., QB, SAM (2) RB Quay Holmes, R-So., ETSU RB Devin Wynn, Jr., Furman Sept. 23 ..................................................................................... RB Tyray Devezin, Jr., Mercer RB Tyrell Price, Sr., Chattanooga Sept. 30 ..................................................................................... OL Bo Layton, R-Jr., Furman OL Haden Haas, R-So., The Citadel Oct. 7 .......................................................................................... OL Austin Sanders, R-Sr., Mercer OL Drew McEntyre, Sr., The Citadel Oct. 14 ....................................................................................... OL Nick Nixon, Sr., Samford OL Ben Blackmon, R-Sr., ETSU Oct. 22 ....................................................................................... OL Justus Basinger, Sr., Wofford OL Tre’mond Shorts, R-So., ETSU Oct. 28 ....................................................................................... OL Michael Ralph, Sr., Wofford OL Andy Godwin, R-Sr., Furman Nov. 4 ......................................................................................... Nov. 11 ....................................................................................... TE Owen Cosenke, Jr., Western Carolina OL Cole Strange, R-Jr., Chattanooga Nov. 18 ....................................................................................... WR Bryce Nunnelly, Jr., Chattanooga OL Blake Jeresaty, Jr., Wofford Nov. 25 ....................................................................................... WR Javeon Lara, Sr., VMI TE Chris Ellington, Sr., Mercer WR Thomas Gordon, Sr., Furman Defensive (career honor) First Team Defense WR David Durden, So., Mercer Sept. 2 .........................Marshall Cooper, Sr., LB, UTC (3) DL Joseph Randolph II, Sr., The Citadel Sept. 9 ................................Kaleb Tucker, Sr., DB, VMI (1) DL Jason Maduafokwa, R-Sr., ETSU Second Team Defense Sept. 16 ........Braden Gilby, Furman, R-Fr., LB, FUR (1) DL Nasir Player, R-Sr., ETSU DL Dorian Kithcart, R-Sr., Mercer Sept. 23 ..................................................................................... Sept. 30 ..................................................................................... DL Thad Mangum, Sr., Wofford DL Justin Foster, Sr., Samford Oct. 7 .......................................................................................... LB Willie Eubanks III, Jr., The Citadel DL Nelson Jordan, So., Samford Oct. 14 ....................................................................................... LB Adrian Hope, R-So., Furman DL Mikel Horton, Jr., Wofford Oct. 22 ....................................................................................... LB Marshall Cooper, Sr., Chattanooga LB Elijah McKoy, Jr., Furman Oct. 28 ....................................................................................... DB Tyree Robinson, Jr., ETSU LB Will Coneway, R-Sr., Mercer Nov.