The 2024 season offers plenty of chances for Southern Conference football as a whole, but by the time teams finish the first month, it will largely be decided whether or not the SoCon will be worthy of a top four seed in the postseason.
Much of the argument was that the SoCon’s overall power couldn’t produce such a team to threaten the FCS Blueblood hierarchy of South Dakota State, Montana, North Dakota State, and Montana State, which seemed a unit harder to break than the Soviet Union’s influence on the Eastern Bloc countries during the cold war, however, with one week remaining in the 2023 season, there Furman sat with only one loss and all that stood between in a legitimate argument for a No. 2 seed was a win over one-win Wofford.
The Paladins, who had won two games with backup quarterback Carson Jones under center had done the hard part to clinch the SoCon title with a final game left in the season, doing the hard work with wins at Chattanooga (W, 17-14) and VMI (W, 37-3) to clinch its first outright Southern Conference title in 33 years, however, a 19-13 loss at Wofford ended the Paladins’ and the SoCon’s argument for a top two seed last season.
There simply weren’t enough games between the SoCon and other peer power conference programs to defend or refute any way to put Furman in that conversation even, and even if their had been, Furman’s loss to a one-win program rightfully put it on the road after a bye and one home game, which the Paladins won, 26-7, over league rival Chattanooga.
With that said, Furman fought valiantly on the road against a very good Montana team and did so with the backdrop of FCS football’s best atmosphere to overcome as a result of that regular-season finale setback at Wofford.
The Paladins may have dropped a 35-28 overtime contest to eventual national runner-up and awakened Big Sky giant Montana that cold early December evening in Missoula , but the Paladins did more in that one game to win the respect of the FCS and the SoCon than the league had been able to do since Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Elon departed the league following the 2013 season.
With such momentum, it has created a window of opportunity for the league unlike it has had in quite sometime, and it might be now or never for the SoCon to win that respect back that it has forfeited in recent seasons, with the rise of the Big Sky and Missouri Valley Football Conference (formerly the Gateway Conference), as well as the consistent successes enjoyed by the the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
The SoCon is not only fighting the fact that it lost two programs, in App State and Georgia Southern that have done more for a conference than any that has moved up a level than any two teams in FCS history, but the league office made the decision only to replace what it lost and not add to what it had. There’s a certain admirable stubbornness in such a decision, but at the same time, it’s made the path to a Top four seed than it already was by losing just App State and Georgia Southern alone.
The good news in all this I suppose is the CAA has lost some ground, with Richmond and Delaware set to join already departed James Madison on the move out of the league to join the Patriot League and Conference USA, respectively, it is a prime opportunity for the SoCon to seize such an opportunity. With Villanova, Elon, William & Mary, and New Hampshire still remaining in the CAA for now, it gives the CAA a collection of some good programs with tradition, but what has lost Is far greater than what remains.
Much the same dilemma the SoCon has faced over a seven-year span decline over the past decade only to see a slow, meteoric rise as a league once again over the past three seasons by being on the doorstep of an appearance at the penultimate stage of the FCS postseason. Now is the time.
The SoCon has a chance to bury a long-held narrative against it this fall with several games that have highlighted below. It’s primarily the reason why I said the league will have largely decided its own fate for the postseason by the time a clear-cut frontrunner begins to establish itself in late October and early November.
With that said, the SoCon has a chance to let results speak for themselves. I’ll include some thoughts on some key matchups below and even give some predictions as to what I think will transpire in those matchups.
There’s an old saying that states the strength of a conference can often be determined by that league’s weakest link. For the better part of the past four decades, that team has more often than not been VMI. However, the Keydets have managed some success since their return to the league in 2015. Still, many would regard them as the weakest link in the league’s history.
Despite losing 25-straight games to the Tribe in series history, this VMI team is not the one your grandfather might remember. This squad can hold its own and, of the three SoCon teams facing the Tribe, it might not have the longest shot at victory. I like VMI’s chances as the opening game opponent for both teams.
Danny Rocco has had the entire off-season to prepare. With the burden of 25-straight losses and veterans returning in the trenches on both sides of the ball, I believe running back Hunter Rice and quarterback Colin Shannon will do just enough to secure the first upset of the 2024 season.
Remember, William & Mary wasn’t very strong offensively last season and struggled against teams like Wofford and Charleston Southern. While the Tribe will be solid defensively under head coach Mike London, I’m uncertain about their offensive improvements during the off-season. This game is expected to be low-scoring.
Final Prediction: VMI 19, William & Mary 16
Western Carolina will kick off its 50th season at EJ Whitmire Stadium when it hosts CAA member Campbell on Sept. 7 in Cullowhee. This game falls into the “must-win” category for the Southern Conference in terms of non-conference games.
It will mark just the third all-time clash between the Catamounts and the Camels on the college football gridiron. Western Carolina has lost both prior meetings, which took place in 1937 and 1939. The Catamounts suffered a 20-0 setback in 1937 in Buies Creek and were defeated 7-6 just two years later.
The Camels, under new head coach Braxton Harris, were selected to finish 11th in the 16-team preseason CAA poll. On defense, Campbell’s top player is senior linebacker CJ Tillman, who is a preseason Third-Team All-CAA selection. Tillman led the Camels with 98 tackles, 5.5 TFL, and 1.5 sacks in 2023. The Camels' defense, which ranked 101st in the FCS in total defense (417.5 YPG) last year, will need to improve this fall.
On offense, Campbell will have one of the top offensive weapons in the CAA with the return of wideout VJ Wilkins. Wilkins, who was a preseason All-CAA pick and garnered Freshman All-America honors, caught 52 passes for 546 yards and four touchdowns in 2023, also adding 616 return yards.
Given Campbell’s defensive struggles last season, this game could favor Western Carolina significantly.
Final Score Prediction: Western Carolina 42, Campbell 21
Another huge clash between the SoCon and CAA, as Wofford takes on outgoing CAA member Richmond in a key non-conference matchup early in the 2024 season. Richmond, like William & Mary, is a proud and decorated FCS football program, having claimed a national title back in 2008.
This game will mark just the second all-time clash between the two teams. The only other meeting between the Terriers and Spiders was during the 2007 FCS playoffs, where the Spiders won 21-10 at Gibbs Stadium. At that time, Wofford had entered the contest off a win at Montana in the opening round. Richmond was led by dynamic running back Tim Hightower, who went on to play in the NFL after his standout career with the Spiders.
The Spiders will be heading to the Patriot League in 2025, leaving the CAA behind. Richmond was an FCS playoff participant last season, and like William & Mary, was a Southern Conference member from 1936-76. The Spiders are currently led by Russ Huesman, a former Southern Conference head coach who spent eight seasons at Chattanooga before taking the job at Richmond.
Veterans from Richmond's playoff run last year, including wideout Nick DeGennaro and linebacker Wayne Galloway, remain key players. The Spiders were picked to finish second in the preseason Coastal Athletic Association poll by the league’s head coaches. On the other hand, Wofford was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams by the league’s head coaches.
Keeping this one close will be a small victory for the Terriers, and their defense will likely be strong enough to ensure that at least.
Final Score Prediction: Richmond 24, Wofford 17
The last time Elon faced a Southern Conference foe on the gridiron, it didn’t go well for the Phoenix. They ended up on the wrong end of a 31-6 loss at Furman in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs back in 2022. However, the Phoenix are expected to be one of the teams to beat in the CAA this fall. Since leaving the SoCon for the CAA a decade ago, Elon has faced Southern Conference teams on several occasions, posting a 4-4 record against the league. The Phoenix have faced Furman four times (2-2), Wofford (1-2), and The Citadel (1-0).
Western Carolina will be the second CAA opponent for the Catamounts during the 2024 season, as they host Campbell in a non-league test a week before heading to Elon. The game between the Catamounts and Phoenix, slated for Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. at Rhodes Stadium, will mark the home opener for the Phoenix and the first meeting between the two North Carolina programs since the 2013 season.
In that last encounter, Western Carolina was able to hold off Elon for a 27-24 win in Cullowhee, marking WCU’s lone NCAA Division I FCS win of the season. That victory ended a 33-game losing streak against Division I competition for WCU, as well as a 26-game skid in league play. It also brought an end to a seven-game losing streak to Elon, as the Catamounts were buoyed by a large, boisterous crowd to secure that Homecoming win 11 years ago.
During the 11-season span in which the Phoenix and Catamounts shared league membership in the Southern Conference, the Catamounts won their first three games against the Phoenix (2003-05) before losing the next seven (2006-12). All told, this will be the 44th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Phoenix holding a 24-17-2 all-time series edge.
If the Catamounts want to snap their 41-year playoff drought, a game like the one against Elon is a "must-have." It’s my feeling that the Catamounts need to go 1-1 against Elon and Montana to have the kind of season they hope to achieve under head coach Kerwin Bell, who heads into his fourth season at the helm of the WCU program. The Catamounts had the nation’s top offense (504.1 YPG) last season and return the league’s player of the year, quarterback Cole Gonzales.
Elon is coming off a 6-5 season, with all six of its victories coming inside league play as the Phoenix posted a 6-2 mark, tying with Delaware for fourth in the final league standings. Head coach Trent Triscani, now in his sixth season, has 15 starters returning from that team, including eight on offense and seven on defense. One key player to watch is senior defensive back Caleb Curtain, the CAA’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year, who led the team with 80 tackles and four interceptions in 2023, including one he returned for a score against Wake Forest.
Put simply, this game is a must-have for Western Carolina. While I don’t like that the Catamounts have to be the home opener for Elon entering the 2024 season, I do like the fact they will be doing it with an experienced QB leading the way in Gonzales. I think the Catamounts squeeze one out late.
Final Prediction: Western Carolina 28, Elon 26
In a second trip for a team sporting the color purple in as many seasons, Western Carolina will face Montana on Sept. 21. Last year, Furman suffered a 35-28 FCS playoff loss to the Montana Grizzlies in the FCS quarterfinals. The Grizzlies, of course, made it all the way to the FCS National Championship before losing to South Dakota State. Montana has been no stranger to success in the FCS ranks and will likely once again be a top-five team nationally when Western Carolina makes the trek to Missoula.
This game will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Western Carolina is coming off a 7-4 season and was recently ranked No. 23 in the HERO Sports preseason Top 25. The Catamounts, who had the top offense in all of FCS football, return one of the top quarterbacks in Cole Gonzales.
Montana counters with a defense that was among the best in the nation last season, finishing 18th nationally in total defense (314.7 YPG), 15th in rushing defense (108.5 YPG), and fifth in scoring defense (17.2 PPG). The Grizzlies will have a new quarterback this fall following the departure of Clifton McDowell to the transfer portal. However, there's a strong lineage at quarterback for the Grizzlies, with Keali'i Ah Yat and Logan Fife competing for the starting role. Other key players include running back Eli Gallman and standout wide receiver and return specialist Junior Bergen.
Final Score Prediction: Montana 35, Western Carolina 30
New East Tennessee State head coach Tre Lamb will quickly gauge how good his Bucs are when they open the season on Aug. 31 against former Southern Conference member and current Group of Five powerhouse Appalachian State. Just a couple of weeks later, they’ll host perennial FCS power North Dakota State at William B. Greene Stadium.
This matchup will be the second all-time meeting between the Bison and Bucs. The only other clash took place in the FargoDome in December 2021, during the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs. The Bison dominated that game with a 27-3 victory over the Bucs.
The Bison enter the 2024 season as one of the favorites to claim the FCS national title once again. Like the Bucs, they will be led by a new head coach this season. Following Matt Entz's departure to become the linebackers coach at Southern California, Tim Polasek takes over as the 32nd head coach in NDSU history. Polasek is no stranger to the Bison, having served on the NDSU staff under former head coach Craig Bohl from 2006-2012, where he coached running backs, tight ends, and fullbacks. He returned in 2014 under Chris Klieman as the offensive coordinator for three years before moving on to the FBS level to serve as an assistant on Bohl's staff at Wyoming from 2017-2023.
As eight-time national champions and a perennial Missouri Valley Conference powerhouse, the Bison are expected to contend for another national title in 2024. Talent and experience return on both sides of the football for NDSU.
Cam Miller returns under center to lead the Bison offense. He was recently ranked as the No. 2 quarterback returning in the nation, according to HERO Sports. Miller is entering his fifth season with the Bison, having passed for 6,470 yards, 48 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions during his NDSU career. He was an All-MVFC Second Team selection last fall after completing 208-of-289 passes for 2,688 yards, 19 touchdowns, and only four interceptions.
NDSU’s defense is unsurprisingly one of the top units in the FCS, and 2024 should be no different. Leading the way up front will be a pair of all-conference defensive linemen, Dylan Hendricks and Eli Mostaert, who will anchor a strong defensive front seven.
The Bucs, on the other hand, will field a lineup largely built through the transfer portal in Tre Lamb's first season as head coach. Lamb is tasked with rebuilding a program that has gone 6-16 since its 11-2 season with a SoCon title, which ended with a loss to NDSU in Fargo. The Bison went on to win the national title in 2021, defeating Montana State 38-10 in the championship game.
While the second meeting between the two programs is expected to be much closer, I anticipate NDSU will once again emerge victorious.
Final Score Prediction: NDSU 28, ETSU 20
Outside of Furman, perhaps no other team has more question marks in the SoCon heading into a season than the Samford Bulldogs. The question marks obviously start at the quarterback position, where head coach Chris Hatcher has a tough and important decision to make under center. He’ll be deciding between Utah transfer Mac Howard, along with a pair of returning signal-callers that have worked while they have waited, in veterans Quincy Crittendon and Nik Scalzo.
Personally, until proven otherwise, the offensive system that the ‘Hatch Attack’ employs almost seems fail-proof no matter who the quarterback has been. That includes the likes of Devlin Hodges, Liam Welch, and most recently, Michael Hiers. All have been successful under Hatcher, and the offensive system has been malleable enough to cater to each of those aforementioned signal-callers’ strengths as a quarterback.
While that remains the biggest question mark of several for Samford entering the season, one that I think I can answer without much disagreement is that the Bulldogs should be much better on the defensive side of the ball. Samford has a new defensive staff in place for the 2024 season, with the hiring of Adam Braithwaite to replace Chris Boone in the defensive coordinator’s role. Among the new staff members added by Braithwaite is former Western Carolina defensive coordinator Chazmon Scales, who will coach the cornerbacks for Samford.
The centerpiece of what should be a much-improved defensive unit for the Bulldogs will be graduate senior Noah Martin. Martin will team with Thomas Neville to form a strong linebacking unit heading into 2024. Martin started all 11 games for Samford last season, and he ended up leading the unit with 109 tackles, 13.5 tackles-for-loss, and 3.5 sacks. Martin has started 24 straight games at linebacker for the Bulldogs over the past two seasons, and along with Chattanooga nose tackle Marlon Taylor, ranks as likely the league’s best candidate to contend for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Award, which is given to the best defensive player in FCS by FCS STATS Perform.
Much like the season opener for Hatcher’s Bulldogs on the road at new FCS member West Georgia, the game against Alabama State offers a tricky test. Among the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), the Alabama State Hornets figure to be one of the better ones. The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) member was projected to win the SWAC East at the league’s mid-July media day, which was held in Birmingham.
The Hornets have a healthy battle at quarterback beginning to emerge, with Texas Southern transfer Anthony Body in a heated fall camp battle against Eastern Illinois graduate transfer Jonah O’Brien. It was an offense that struggled last season, averaging a very modest 300 YPG and 20.6 PPG last fall. It was fortunate, then, that the Hornets had one of the best defenses in the entire FCS last fall, ranking third nationally in total defense (302.1 YPG), while posting the nation’s second-toughest defense to score against, allowing just 14.4 PPG.
It will mark just the third all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Hornets claiming a 31-28 win in the last clash between the two back in 1991 in Montgomery. That ‘91 season turned out to be a breakout season for the Bulldogs under the direction of head coach Terry Bowden, as Samford went 12-2 and advanced all the way to the Division I-AA semifinals. Other than that loss to the Hornets, the only other team to triumph over Samford was then-FCS powerhouse, Youngstown State, which posted a 10-0 win over the Bulldogs at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown. The first meeting between the two, which came a year earlier in Birmingham, saw the two teams play to a 14-14 tie.
While Alabama State will prove tough opposition in any venue, I like the Bulldogs to defend home SoCon turf and reputation in this one.
Final Score Prediction: Samford 35, Alabama State 24
The Paladins and Tribe were once a great rivalry in both the Southern Conference and later, as non-conference rivals in times gone by. William & Mary, which was a Southern Conference member from 1936-76, haven't met on the college football gridiron in 24 years, as the Paladins captured a 34-10 win over the Tribe in Greenville. Many of the greatest meetings between the two on the college football gridiron have come in the time since the Tribe called the Southern Conference home.
In 1994, the Tribe came to Furman and, led by talented dual-threat quarterback and wide receiver Mike Tomlin, were able to prevent a late two-point conversion and hold on for a 28-26 win in Paladin Stadium. The 2024 meeting between the two programs will mark the 16th all-time clash between the two programs, with the Paladins holding a narrow 8-7 series edge. Both the Paladins and Tribe will likely begin the season ranked, and both were ranked as a part of the preseason HERO Sports poll, with the Paladins checking in at No. 14, while the Tribe are ranked No. 17 in that same poll.
In their last trip to Williamsburg, VA, in 1999, the Paladins handed the Tribe a 52-6 setback on a day when the Furman offense racked up over 500 yards on the ground, handing William & Mary one of its worst losses in the history of Walter Zabel Stadium. The Tribe were picked to finish fourth in the 16-team CAA according to the league’s head coaches. While the Tribe struggled offensively, it isn’t because they were without capable weapons.
The Tribe had maybe the best running back in the Coastal Athletic Association entering the 2023 season, in Bronson Yoder, but unfortunately, the preseason All-American went down with a season-ending knee injury in just the fourth game of the season against Maine. He’s back again this season and is among the top candidates for the Walter Payton Award, according to STATS Perform FCS. Yoder had garnered All-America honors following a season that saw him rush for 1,255 yards and 13 scores. He returns for his senior season and will again be the focal point of what figures to be a solid ground attack.
As a result of Yoder's season-ending injury, others stepped up for the Tribe’s ground attack last season, allowing them to gain experience and make a name for themselves in the offense. It’s an opportunity that perhaps Malachi Imoh didn’t anticipate last fall, but he made the most of it, garnering Honorable Mention All-CAA honors. The rising senior has seen action in 31 career games for the Tribe, and over the past two campaigns, has rushed for a combined 1,577 yards and 12 TDs. Should Yoder return to form, the experience and productivity that Imoh already possesses set up the Tribe to have one of the top rushing tandems in both the CAA and FCS in 2024. Martin Lucas offers yet another ground threat, showcasing the overall depth the Tribe have in the ground game.
Most often, offensive inconsistencies coincide with inconsistencies at the quarterback position. If you observed that of the Tribe last season, you would not have been necessarily wrong. With a fresh offensive scheme designed to accentuate quarterback Darius Wilson’s dual-threat capabilities under new offensive coordinator Mario Acitelli, expect more prolific results for the Tribe’s offense this season. Wilson, a veteran of 32 starts over the past three seasons, is poised to have his biggest season yet running the Tribe’s offense.
Even more reason for optimism for Tribe fans about the 2024 offense stems from the fact that William & Mary returns some of its top weapons in the passing game, including one of the top young tight ends in the CAA. JT Mayo and Hollis Mathis return as the top wideouts, while DreSean Kendrick is back after transitioning from quarterback to wideout last season and is one of the best overall athletes on either side of the football. VMI transfer Isaiah Lemmond is a young, speedy wideout that was one of the top rookie wideouts in the SoCon in 2023.
The Tribe finished the 2023 season ranking 10th nationally in total defense (303.8 YPG) and 12th nationally in scoring defense (18.5 PPG). The only issue entering the 2024 campaign, however, is only four starters return from that elite unit, which has been among the best in the FCS each of the past two seasons. The biggest departures are within the front seven, as the Tribe must replace their top defensive lineman (Nate Lynn) and linebacker (John Pius) from a year ago. Lynn was a dominant performer along the defensive front, finishing the season with 58 tackles, 11.0 TFL and eight sacks. Pius, an outside linebacker and Buck Buchanan Award finalist, led the Tribe with 16.0 TFL and 9.5 sacks last season.
The good news is that the Tribe have seemingly addressed the loss of Lynn along the defensive front by adding Jonathan Hammond from Davidson. Hammond, a three-time All-Pioneer Football League selection, will be a key potential impact performer in the pass rush for the Tribe. During his career at Davidson, Hammond produced 37 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including 22 sacks. Expected to serve along the defensive front with Hammond this fall will be Gerald Williams or Mike Malone, who will compete to start at the other defensive end position, while Davin Dzidzienyo is the lone returning starter along the defensive front.
Dzidzienyo started six of 11 games for the Tribe in 2023, and like Furman, despite some major losses within the front seven, the Tribe have had tremendous depth in this area over the past couple of seasons, which will be a major benefit this fall as they aim to be among the top units in the CAA again. Christian Hamm, who has extensive experience in the edge rusher/OLB spot over the past couple of seasons, will now have his opportunity to shine. Hamm registered his first career sack against Albany last season.
The other starter at outside linebacker will likely be Quinn Osbourne, who saw action in seven games last season, which included six starts. He has seen action in a total of 33 games in his career with the Tribe, and his maturity and leadership will be vital for the 2024 defense, as he looks to take the mantle of the unit passed down from Pius. Inside linebacker could see the most heated positional battles during preseason camp, with both positions open heading into the season. Sophomore Cade Mattive showed some promise in his limited action as a reserve last season and can play either inside or outside linebacker. Alex Washington is in line to challenge for a starting spot at inside linebacker.
Headlining the Tribe secondary will be cornerback Jalen Jones, who has started 22 straight games coming into the 2024 campaign. Honorable Mention All-CAA honoree Marcus Barnes is back for a sixth season. Like Osbourne, Barnes will be one of the main lynchpins and veteran leaders of this unit in 2024, as he has posted an impressive 145 tackles, 13 pass breakups, and five picks in his career at safety for William & Mary.
Final Prediction: Furman 21, William & Mary 17
Another important non-conference game the league will have is when East Tennessee State travels to Elon. When ETSU decided to cancel its football program at the conclusion of the 2003 season, Elon was the team that would replace the Bucs as a league member. This game will mark just the fourth all-time meeting between the Bucs and Phoenix, with the first meeting between the two occurring in 1997 when the then Fighting Christians were in the process of making the transition up to the NCAA Division I FCS level.
The first clash between the two saw ETSU take a 35-16 win over the Fighting Christians. Five years later, the Bucs won a 31-15 decision against the newly nicknamed Elon Phoenix. In their lone meeting as league members, with ETSU on its way out and Elon in its first year as a league member, the Phoenix were 14-0 winners over ETSU at Rhodes Stadium.
There is also the obvious tie-in between ETSU and Elon: head coach Paul Hamilton. ETSU’s coach in 2003 was Hamilton, and when Elon hired a new head coach to succeed Al Seagraves a year later, it was Hamilton who took the reins of the program. However, things didn’t go as well in Burlington as they had in Johnson City, particularly from 1997-2000.
This time, the Bucs will have a third head coach in four seasons, with Tre Lamb looking to clean up quite the mess in Johnson City. Twenty-three Gardner-Webb Bulldogs have joined Lamb in his move from Boiling Springs, N.C., to Johnson City, Tenn. Lamb and his new Bucs and old ‘Dogs will at least have an idea of what they are up against here, which is a pretty good Elon team. Gardner-Webb and Elon played a great contest, which eventually saw the Phoenix come away with a seven-point, 34-27, win on the road.
The Elon offense will be led by redshirt senior quarterback Matthew Downing, who started nine games after transferring in from Louisiana Tech prior to the 2023 season. Downing is a veteran with 36 career starts between his time at Elon and Tech. This one will be close, but I see the Elon Phoenix squeaking out a win here.
Final Score Prediction: Elon 34, ETSU 31
Preseason Southern Conference favorite Chattanooga will play a pair of key games against FCS non-conference competition, with the first of those coming against Portland State out of the Big Sky on Sept. 28. It will mark the first-ever meeting on the college football gridiron between the Mocs and Vikings. While UTC was a 2023 FCS playoff participant following an 8-5 campaign, which included a playoff win last fall, the Mocs return one of the top quarterbacks in all of FCS football, with talented signal-caller Chase Artopoues returning to the fold for the 2024 season.
Portland State comes into the 2024 season off a 2023 campaign that saw the Vikings finish 5-6 overall, including a 4-4 mark in Big Sky action. This record was good enough for a tie for sixth in the final Big Sky standings, with the 4-4 league mark matching that of Weber State and FCS playoff participant Sacramento State. Though many casual college football fans probably don't realize it, Portland State has a proud football tradition, which includes former coaches like Don Read, Jerry Glanville, Mouse Davis, and June Jones. The program also revolutionized the 'run-and-shoot' offense.
The Vikings are currently being led by head coach Bruce Barnum, who heads into his 10th season at the helm of the PSU program for 2024. The Vikings have 15 starters back from the team that went .500 in the Big Sky last season, so Chattanooga can't afford to overlook this improving team out of the Big Sky. The leader of what figures to be a pretty prolific PSU offense this fall is senior Dante Chachere, who has compiled 4,767 yards of total offense and has 52 touchdown responsibilities over the past couple of seasons.
Key to the offensive success for the Vikings last season was a ground game that averaged 224.0 yards per game, which ranked second in the Big Sky in rushing offense. The problems last season for the Vikings stemmed mostly from the defensive side of the ball, which struggled to establish a pass rush, finishing with just 10 sacks. The Vikings will be led on the defensive side of the football by linebacker Michael Montgomery, who garnered Freshman All-America honors last fall according to Stats Perform.
Final Score Prediction: Chattanooga 42, Portland State 21
One of the more interesting games of the non-conference schedule will be when a pair of teams, sporting the colors Orange and Black, and with the mascots “Tigers” and “Bears,” meet in mid-October. This matchup will offer the opportunity for the SoCon to add another prestigious win against a reputable team from a reputable league to its non-conference resume. The Bears will definitely have their hands full when facing off against the Tigers, who are picked to finish second in the Ivy League this fall.
Princeton comes off a 2023 campaign that saw it tie for second in the Ivy League along with Penn. Princeton has somewhat of a strange history playing against the Southern Conference, having faced The Citadel twice in the early 2000s. The teams clashed in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. There was an altercation between some of the Cadets and the Princeton band when the two met in 2008 in Charleston. The SoCon, which was especially strong during that period, saw The Citadel claim wins in both matchups. The Citadel won 37-24 in the ‘08 season and, a year later, went to Princeton, New Jersey, and handed the Tigers a 38-9 defeat on their home turf.
Mercer has faced at least one Ivy League foe in the recent past, having dropped a 35-28 contest at Yale back in the 2018 season. The Bears have a new head coach, Mike Jacobs, who inherits most of his talent on the defensive side of the football, including linebacker Ken Standley and defensive back Myles Redding. Jacobs, like his predecessor Drew Cronic, came to Mercer from the football factory that is Lenoir-Rhyne. Many from that lineage have had success in the Southern Conference, going back to Mike Houston, who first took over The Citadel program in 2014 after an ultra-successful run as the LR head coach. He immediately turned The Citadel into a winner in the Southern Conference in 2014 and 2015 before leaving to become the head coach at James Madison.
Jacobs will be looking to sustain that success as the new head coach in Macon, as the Bears are coming off their first-ever FCS playoff appearance. Personally, I think it is going to be a season in which the Bears struggle offensively; however, I think they will have enough to get the win in this one.
Final Score Prediction: Mercer 24, Princeton 21
The Bears will ease into the Mike Jacobs era with an easy win. Mercer owns a 10-5 series edge and made easy work of the Blue Hose the last time the two met, which was at Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C., as the Bobby Lamb-led Bears emerged 45-7 victors in that particular contest.
The Paladins got a battle from the Buccaneers in Ladson back in 2022 before backup quarterback Jace Wilson relieved injured starter Tyler Huff to lead the Paladins to what was a 24-19 win. Furman claimed a 46-13 win over the Bucs back in 2019 at Paladin Stadium.
In what was a 2023 season that featured far more positives than negatives, one of the few negatives for VMI was the game against Bucknell. It's certainly a game the Keydets would likely love to have back. The contest at Bucknell last season saw the Keydets drop a 21-13 decision on the road.
Bucknell took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on an 18-yard Damien Harris scoring catch, with neither team able to score again until the fourth quarter. VMI finally tied the game and got the goose egg off its side of the scoreboard when Aidan Twombly hauled in a 27-yard pass from Collin Ironside. However, the Bison quickly hit back with consecutive scores to take a two-touchdown lead.
The Keydets managed to score again when Ironside tossed his second touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yard strike to VJ Johnson with 1:31 remaining. After the two-point conversion failed, it left the Keydets trailing by eight. That would ultimately be the final score of the day, as Bucknell recovered VMI’s onside kick attempt.
Bucknell would go on to win only three more games the rest of the season, including just one league game in the Patriot League, finishing 4-7. With some notable losses to the transfer portal, including arguably their best offensive weapon in Harris, expect the Bison to struggle again this fall.
It will be the first-ever meeting between the Stetson Hatters and the Furman Paladins on the college football gridiron. The Hatters will be making the long trip up to Paladin Stadium from DeLand, FL., to face the reigning SoCon champions and are coming off a 3-8 season, which included a 1-7 mark in the Pioneer Football League last season. The Hatters were projected to finish last in the 11-team PFL by the league’s head coaches. The Hatters are 14-29 on the gridiron since posting a 7-4 record in 2019. Last season, Presbyterian defeated Wofford, 23-20, marking the PFL’s first-ever win over a SoCon team. There will be no upset here, however, as the Paladins win big.
The Bears might have the easiest non-conference slate of any team in the Southern Conference this season, and with layups against both Presbyterian and Bethune-Cookman, it should allow the Bears to gain both some confidence and some momentum under new head coach Mike Jacobs. The Wildcats have been picked to finish fifth in the six-team Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) East Division. The Wildcats finished just 3-8 last season, which included a 2-6 mark in the SWAC. It was Raymond Woodie Jr’s first season at the helm, and he made some improvements in year one. Linebacker Dearis Thomas was one of two preseason all-league selections for the Wildcats. Mercer wins this one convincingly in Daytona.
