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While you already have gotten a taste of Thursday night's opening act for Southern Conference football in 2024 with the Redshirt Sports Game of the Week preview and prediction of VMI-William & Mary, here are the rest of Thursday night's league previews along with predicted outcomes for each.
It figures to be an opening weekend filled with potential upsets, while also featuring some lopsided results, as East Tennessee State, Furman, Western Carolina and Chattanooga all face potential FBS Playoff qualifiers right off the bat. Add to that the Furman-Ole Miss game, which sees Furman start an entirely new secondary against a frightening array of offensive talent, and that could be a recipe for a lopsided score line.
That being said, it's also a reminder to not judge the pecking order of the league and the strength of those aforementioned teams based on the results in those games.
Now, without further ado, here are Thursday night's previews and predicted outcomes.
Mercer is the first of the 2023 SoCon playoff teams to get their season underway, and in doing so, it will be the start of a new era under a new head coach, in Mike Jacobs.
Jacobs will now look to elevate a Mercer football program that was built with care under both Bobby Lamb and then Drew Cronic over the previous decade, as Jacobs will look to elevate the Bears football program to an even higher level than it reached a year ago.
The Bears come into the season with some high expectations, and rightfully so, as the Bears reached the second round of the FCS playoffs only to lose to the eventual national title winner South Dakota State, 41-0, in Brookings last December. With that said, the Bears did open up the playoffs with a 17-7 win over Gardner-Webb, taking a historic step for the program that was brought back into existence back in 2013 after a 72-year hiatus.
Not only did Mercer break through and make the playoffs last season, but when they got there, they made the most of that opportunity.
Presbyterian comes off a season that saw it develop some self-belief of its own under now third-year head coach Steve Englehart, and even posted the first-ever win by a Pioneer Football League team over a Southern Conference foe, when it came in and defeated Wofford, 23-20, in Spartanburg last September.
It was a 2-1 start to the season; however, the Blue Hose would fall on hard times from that point forward and would win only two of their final eight games, and with a 2-6 mark in the PFL in its second season under Englehart, it was good enough to see the Blue Hose finish ninth in the final league standings.
Like Mercer under Jacobs, Englehart is looking to elevate a Blue Hose football program out of the doldrums of FCS football in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and into a program that can confidently compete and eventually win titles inside the PFL.
There is talent returning on both sides of the ball, with all-conference performers like wideout Dominick Kirby (44 rec, 776 yds, 4 TDs, 17.6 YPR) and offensive lineman Patch Bennett, as both were preseason all-league selections.
Set to start under center for PC on Thursday evening will be junior Ty Englehart (33-of-50 passing, 329 yds, 4 TDs, 3 INTs/242 rush yds, 2 TDs), and he will have some pretty big shoes to fill, replacing former starter Tyler Wesley, who has moved on. Wesley was not only a threat as a passer last season, but also led the team in rushing yards, finishing the campaign with 486 rushing yards last fall.
Englehart saw his share of action for the Blue Hose in eight games, and even recorded a 29-yard reception. Like Wesley last season, Englehart is a dual-threat for this offense.
More of the experience returns on the defensive side of the football for PC heading into the 2024 season, as leading tackler Alex Harriott returns to anchor the defensive unit.
Mercer has a lot of talent on its defense heading into the 2024 season, and that shows up on the preseason all-conference teams, which were selected by the league's head coaches back in late July at SoCon Media Day in Greenville.
All three units of the defense were represented on the preseason all-league team, with defensive lineman Jordan Swain (30 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 2 QBHs, 1 PBU, 1 blkd kick) selected to the second team, while linebacker Ken Standley (97 tackles, 15.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 2 INTs, 3 PBUs, 9 QBHs, 1 FF) and defensive back Myles Redding (55 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 4 PBUs, 2 INTs) garnered first-team All-SoCon honors last month.
The Bears have been good on the defensive side of the football for the past three seasons, and that should once again be a theme for the Bears in what will be head coach Mike Jacobs' first season at the helm. Mercer is coming off a 2023 season in which it ranked 36th nationally in scoring defense (23.9 PPG) and 48th in total defense (344.2 YPG).
When it comes to the offensive side of the football, the Bears have several more question marks on the offensive side of the football, including who will be starter under center coming into the season opener against PC on Thursday night.
DJ Smith--a transfer from Jones County Junior College--has shown promise, and he beat out Whitt Neubauer, Lonnie Ratliff IV and Hess Horne--all viable candidates to garner the starting job--for the starting responsibilities at quarterback heading into the season opener against the Blue Hose.
Smith's confidence as a starter should reside in the fact that the Bears have quietly one of the more talented backfields in the SoCon this season. It's almost a certainty that any pressure Smith might feel will at least be somewhat alleviated by Lenoir-Rhyne transfer running back Dwayne McGee, who should step in and instantly be one of the top rushing threats in the SoCon this fall.
The Division II All-American running back rushed for over 4,000 yards during his time at LR and will give the Bears offense an immediate boost. Micah Bell (68 rush att, 205 yds, 1 TD, 3.0 YPC) and Tyrell Coard (49 rush att, 253 yds, 2 TDs, 5.0 YPC) give the Bears three solid options in the backfield heading into 2024, as the ground attack should be much improved and a combination of complimentary skillsets this fall, as opposed to 2023.
The obvious elephant in the room when talking about the Mercer offense this fall is how do you replace a pair of record-setting wideouts like Ty James and Devron Harper?
Well, I am quite certain that there aren't two wideouts on the Mercer, or on any roster in the SoCon quite frankly, with the overall talent and both tangibles and intangibles those two brought to the mix, however, there is talent left over at receiver for the Bears to look to this fall.
Among those to keep an eye on in Thursday night's contest is Parker Wroble (19 rec, 95 yds/90 rush yds on 24 carries). Wroble is a three-year veteran, and he will be a leader in the wide receiver room this season.
He has hauled in 50 passes for 437 yards and one touchdown in his career catching the football for the Bears. Kelin Parsons could provide another viable option in the passing attack. Parsons is another Lenoir-Rhyne transfer and was an effective wideout in his four seasons spent at LR, hauling in 129 passes for 1,780 yards and 16 TDs, averaging an impressive 13.8 yards-per-catch.
Among the four players returning with starting experience on the offensive side of the ball with starting experience from a year ago are tight ends, in Sawyer Burt (3 rec, 37 yds, 12.3 YPR) and Samuel Albee (6 rec, 40 yds, 6.7 YPR).
During Burt's redshirt freshman campaign last fall, he logged action in all 13 games, which included making 10 starts. As a true freshman last season, Albee logged action in all 13 contests, which included seven starts.
The offensive line appears to be in decent shape heading into the 2024 season in terms of returning experience, and that's an area the Bears will hope to see make some overall improvements this season, and in particular, running the ball between the tackles.
The two starters returning along the offensive front are veterans Riley Adcock and Israel Mukwiza. Adcock, who will start at center and is in his fifth year with the program, including entering his third as a starter.
Adcock is a preseason second-team all-league selection. Transfers Xavier Jennings (Lenoir Rhyne) and Ian Hover (Texas State) should also figure into the immediate plans along the offensive front at tackle and guard, respectively.
Redshirt Sports Prediction: Mercer 45, Presbyterian 7
Wofford will hit the gridiron for the first time in 2024 coming off a season which looked completely different at its end than it did from much of the campaign.
After an 0-9 start, which included a loss to Pioneer Football League member Presbyterian, things had reached a low point for a program that has been trying to regain traction ever since winning three-straight SoCon titles from 2017-19, and it was a stretch of success for the Terrier football program that included four-straight FCS playoff appearances from 2016-19.
During that run of success, the Terriers compiled a record of 37-15, including a mark of 26-6 against Southern Conference competition. Since the start of the COVID-19 compromised 2020 season, which was played in the spring of 2021, however, the Terriers have posted just seven total wins, compiling a record of 7-31 overall, which includes a 6-25 mark against SoCon foes.
Wofford's lone win over a non-conference foe since the start of the 2021 season was a 24-22 win at Elon to open the campaign. The Terriers have lost eight-straight to non-conference foes since that two-point win at Elon three years ago.
However, after all the Wofford football program has endured, it appears that second-year head coach Shawn Watson might finally have the program trending in the right direction, especially with how the Terriers concluded the 2023 season with wins in consecutive weeks against two Palmetto State rivals, knocking off The Citadel (W, 11-3) on the road, as well as posting one of its biggest home wins in the history of Gibbs Stadium to close the campaign, with a 19-13 upset win over second-ranked Furman.
The Terriers figure to get a stern test out of the gates, however, as the Terriers head just about a 35-minute trek north to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face off against two-time defending Big South-Ohio Valley champion Gardner-Webb to open the 2024 campaign.
The Bulldogs were 7-5 a year ago, which included a 5-1 mark against league foes, which was good enough to ensure a share of the league title spoils along with UT-Martin last season. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, despite claiming the league's automatic bid to the FCS postseason, that stay would short-lived, as the Bulldogs were defeated, 17-7, on the road against Wofford's SoCon rival Mercer in the opening round of the playoffs.
As you might expect for a program that was reaching new heights at the NCAA Division I FCS level like Gardner-Webb has been able to achieve over the past three seasons, folks are going to start to take a look at why, and in particular, with plenty of coaching jobs coming open in November and December, it was pretty much understood that the fan base around the emerging program should enjoy then head coach Tre Lamb while they had him.
So when East Tennessee State's job came open at the end of November, it was only a natural progression to look Lamb's way, as the former FCS quarterback had made a name for himself long before being head coach, as he was a record-setting quarterback at Tennessee Tech.
What many of the Gardner-Webb fanbase probably didn't foresee, however, was that almost one-third of the roster that had helped the Bulldogs achieve those unprecedented heights over the past couple of seasons would join him in Johnson City.
Enter first-year head coach Cris Reisert, who has been asked to pick up the pieces after the fallout from the departures of a successful head coach and players, and the question probably on the minds of most is how Reisert will go about sustaining the success of a program with almost an entirely new cast of characters.
In fact, if you thought Furman's seven returning starters was a low total, the Bulldogs have less than half that returning to the fold, returning just three starters from those back-to-back title runs of the past two seasons. Notable help, however, is on the way.
With that said and so much turnover having transpired, it's no surprise that when the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference convened for media day back in the middle of July that the Bulldogs, then, were selected to finish fifth in the nine-team league. Reisert has proven he can win at the Division II level, posting a 40-11 overall record, including a 32-4 mark in league games during his time at Tiffin University, which is located in Ohio.
Set to step in and take over at quarterback is one of two grad students, in East Tennessee State transfer Tyler Riddell, or Ren Hefley, who came to Boiling Springs from Middle Tennessee State. Riddell knows the Terrier program pretty well, as in ETSU's 2021 SoCon title season, Riddell completed 21-of-30 for 268 yards, with a touchdown and an INT.
In 2022, Riddell's Bucs were on the wrong side of a 48-41 loss to the Terriers in Spartanburg, and he finished that outing with some solid totals, despite the Bucs setback, as he connected on 15-of-29 throws for 225 yards, with a TD and an INT. Hefley saw action in just one game in his career in Murfreesboro, which came against Alabama as a redshirt junior in 2023.
Hefley started his career at Presbyterian, where he was once the quarterback of the Presbyterian Blue Hose back in 2021, un-seating former Furman starter and 2023 SoCon Player of the Year, Tyler Huff, as the starter following a knee injury to the former Paladin signal-caller. In starting all 11 games during the 2021 season for the Blue Hose, Hefley led the Pioneer Football League in passing, with 3,933 yards on 351 completions, with 39 of those resulting in TDs. He also led the PFL in total touchdowns during the 2021 campaign, accounting for 41 of them.
Whomever is the starter, they will have some incoming talent to throw to at receiver, led by Murray State transfer Taylor Shields.
Shields was an All-OVC wideout in 2022 after he posted 815 receiving yards to go with 11 scoring receptions. Another interesting option in the passing attack could be tight end Camden Overton, who transferred in from Chattanooga, and will give the Bulldogs a reliable pair of hands in the GW aerial attack. Old Dominion and Western Kentucky transfers Jordan Bly and Ze'Vian Capers will also factor into the passing game as a couple of capable wideouts for the Bulldogs.
The top running back option is Saint Francis transfer Qua'sean Holmes, who flashed with the Red Flashes in the past two seasons, totaling 500 yards on the ground over the past couple of seasons. Temple transfer Edward Saydee and former Mars Hill Lions RB Joraye Morrison will help platoon the backfield.
The biggest question mark for the GW offense, and probably an even bigger question than who they have starting under center Thursday night is the offensive line. Expected to lead the unit and a player that will likely compete for all-league plaudits at the end of the season is sophomore CJ Dawson. App State transfer Jaden Lindsay could also be a factor in along a re-tooled offensive front for the Bulldogs this fall.
The strength of the GW defense this season could be the defensive front, and that's where one of the three starters returning for the 2024 season returns, in Ayden Bell. Bell posted 18 tackles, three tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks last fall. Robert Holtz joins his head coach in matriculating from Tiffin, and he was a star at defensive end for the Dragons last fall, contributing 12 tackles-for-loss, which included eight sacks.
Linebacker, like the offensive line on the other side of the football, remains a big question mark heading into the season, however, a couple of FBS "Group of Five" transfers, in Western Michigan newcomer Quinton Cannon and former Marshall linebacker Jackson Marshall could be immediate impact players in the teeth of this GW defense in 2024.
The defensive backfield should be solid, and it was given a huge enhancement when veteran and postseason all-conference candidate Raequan Ousley (25 tackles, 8 PBUs, 1 INT, 1 blkd kick) decided to return from the transfer portal.
While GW has its share of question marks, Wofford has its fair share for entering the season. On offense, the questions asked offer simple solutions.
Collectively, the unit has to be better as a whole. That's the easiest answer, and it all stemmed from injuries and inefficiencies under center. Amari Odom, who helped the Terriers to that huge upset of Furman last season, returns as the starter under center. His challenge will be to continue to help an offense trend in a positive direction, which ranked among the worst in the FCS last fall.
The Terriers ranked 120th in the FCS out of 122 FCS teams last season, as the Terriers churned out just 248.4 YPG, while averaging just 13.8 PPG to rank 117th in the FCS last fall.
A couple of known quality performers retuning on the offensive side of the football for the Terriers this fall include running back Ryan Ingram, who was the league's leading rusher last season. He ended up rushing for 837 yards and six scores, leading the team with 156 carries last fall. Ingram finished the season by ranking third in the league in rushing average (83.7 YPG).
There is some talent back at wide receiver as well, with Kyle Watkins (9 rec, 65 yds, 7.2 YPR), Dylan Djete (12 rec, 132 yds, 1 TD, 11.0 YPR) and Isaiah Scott leading the way at wideout heading into the 2024 season.
Scott's outstanding speed will offer a different big-play ability to the Wofford offense that it lacked in the passing game last season. The 5-10, 180-lb freshman from Miami won the job with that speed during preseason camp.
There are several veterans returning along the offensive front, with the most notable of those being veterans senior center Anthony Garcia and senior right guard Briggs Kearse.
The defensive side of the ball was Wofford's primary strength last season, and that should really be no different this fall, with the Terriers returning talent at all three levels on the defensive side of the ball heading into the 2024 season, highlighted along the defensive front by preseason all-conference selection Brandon Maina (45 tackles, 4.5 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 9 QBHs, 1 PBU) along the defensive front, while preseason first-team All-SoCon linebacker David Powers (102 tackles, 5.0 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 1 INT, 1 PBU, 3 QBHs) strengthens the spine of that Terrier defensive unit, as it will once again be a strong run-stopping unit.
Redshirt Sports Prediction: Gardner-Webb 20, Wofford 14
Western Carolina is set to open up its 2024 campaign on the road against an FBS foe when Kerwin Bell's Catamounts face off against the North Carolina State Wolfpack, marking the second time in the now four seasons the Catamounts have been under the leadership of Bell that that has been the case.
The Catamounts, who were the No. 3 pick in the SoCon preseason coaches poll, have their eyes set on the program's first-ever Southern Conference title since joining the league in 1976, while also eyeing a return to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in 41 years ahead of this much anticipated 2024 football season.
Likewise, the Wolfpack comes into a much anticipated season under the direction of Dave Doeren with their collective sights set on an ACC crown under the direction of 12th-year head coach Dave Doeren.
High expectations entering the 2024 season have those in around the surrounding mountain valley towns of Sylva, Dillsboro and Waynesville giddy with excitement.
The last time the Catamounts have entered a campaign with as much anticipation was two decades ago, and with players like wide receivers David Patten, Kerry Hayes and Craig Aiken within their ranks, and quarterback Chad Greene within a similarly stacked offensive arsenal as the 2024 unit, who could blame them. The 1994 Catamounts entered the campaign ranked No. 17 in the nation.
Like WCU, NC State has struggled to scratch out much success among its league brethren, which has now expanded to 17 teams with the recent additions of California, Stanford, and SMU, which are all set to begin play in the ACC this fall, as the 'Pack have won just seven conference titles since joining the league as a football-playing member in 1953, and the most recent conference title came under the direction of legendary head coach Lou Holtz way back in 1979.
According to the ACC media, NC State was selected to finish fourth in the preseason poll, falling in behind league favorite Florida State, and projected No. 2 and No. 3 finishers Clemson and Miami, respectively.
The Wolfpack have already seen at least some expectations for that 45-year drought without an ACC title gain some further steam, as Georgia Tech upset league favorite and No. 10 Florida State, 24-21, this past weekend in Dublin, Ireland.
It's clear that the Wolfpack have been making the necessary incremental steps under Doeren in recent seasons, as since the start of the 2020 season, the Wolfpack's 22-11 record against ACC foes ranks second among current league members, with only Clemson's 26-7 record against league foes ranking as a better mark in that span.
With all that said, much of the excitement around the Wolfpack entering the 2024 season is has a lot to do with how new quarterback Grayson McCall () and how he is able to mesh with his new teammates on the offensive side of the ball for the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack showed just how explosive they could be on that side of the football during a five-game winning streak to close out the 2023 regular-season, outscoring its opposition a whopping 144-77.
During his time as the signal-caller for the Chanticleers, McCall passed for 10,005 yards in 42-career games as the signal-caller in Conway the past four years. His passing total coming in as the Wolfpack starter is the fourth-highest total of any quarterback in the nation entering the 2024 season.
McCall has a litany of appetizing options to both throw to and hand the ball off to, as the Wolfpack appears to have as much firepower offensively since the days of running back TA McClendon, wide receiver Jericho Cotchery, and quarterback Phillip Rivers back in the early 2000s.
In the ground game, the top options Hollywood Smothers and Jordan Waters. Waters is a big, physical back that has made the short move down Tobacco Road from Durham to Raleigh after being a key member of the Blue Devils backfield in over 50 games over four years at Duke.
During that time Waters rushed for 1,624 yards and ran for 23 touchdowns. He started 21 games for Duke over his final two seasons. Smothers is a redshirt freshman, having transferred into NC State from Oklahoma back in January. He will be the change-up, speed option for the Wolfpack coming out of the backfield.
When going to the air, few receivers in the country are faster and more explosive in a variety of different ways than K.C. Concepcion. The 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year comes off rookie season with the Wolfpack that saw him post 839 receiving yards and another 320 yards on the ground. He hauled in a total of 71 passes for the season, with 10 of those resulting in scores.
The offensive line is old, and some of that is due to a high retention rate, while also being able to find some veteran, mature talent from the transfer portal as well. All told, seven players listed on the 10 total positions listed on the two-deep entering the contest against the Catamounts are listed as graduates. All told, the 'Pack has a total of 229 career games and 93 starts within their two-deep ranks entering the game against the Catamounts. It goes without saying that they have played a great deal of football. Anchoring the veteran and talented offensive front for the Wolfpack is graduate center and team captain Zeke Correll.
As far as Doeren’s defense is concerned entering the 2024 season, the Wolfpack at least one major hole to fill, with the graduation of Dick Butkus Award winner Peyton Wilson at linebacker. All he did last season was lead the team with 138 tackles and 17.5 tackles-for-loss.
In fact, Wilson is part of a veteran linebacking room that has departed, with three new starters slated to fill role for N.C. State in 2024. The secondary was one of the top units in the ACC last season, leading the league with 17 INTs.
That unit will be headlined by All-ACC cornerback Aydan White in 2024. White registered 37 tackles, two INTs and broke up 10 passes last fall. No secondary in the power four conferences (ACC, Big 10, SEC and Big 12) has picked off more passes in the past three seasons than the Wolfpack, who have intercepted 51 opponent miscues.
While NC State has Grayson McCall, the Catamounts have one of the best quarterbacks in FCS football to counter the accomplished Coastal Carolina transfer, in junior signal-caller and preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year Cole Gonzales (204-of-310 passing, 2,803 yds, 28 TDs, 8 INTs). He leads a WCU offense that was the most prolific in the FCS last season, averaging 504.1YPG, while also helping that unit finish the season by scoring a school-record 413 points.
To encapsulate how prolific the Catamount offense was last season, it’s 5,445 yards and 413 total points scored were both program records, marking the first 400-point season in school history. The 3,533 passing yards and 33 passing scores were also new program standards established in 2023.
One of the most reliable options in the passing game for Western Carolina this fall will be Calvin Jones (27 rec, 348 yds, 2 TDs, 12.9 YPR). Jones started 10 of 11 games for the Purple and Gold last season and turned his best efforts of the season in games against The Citadel and Mercer.
In the 49-14 win at The Citadel, Jones hauled in five passes for 65 yards. In the 45-38 home loss to the Bears, Jones matched that season-high against the Bulldogs with five grabs for a season-high 89 yards and a touchdown. The redshirt junior from Forest City, N.C., has totaled 89 catches for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 13.4 YPR in his Catamount career.
The other main receiving option for the Catamounts this fall is a player that took the league by storm last season as one of the SoCon’s top playmakers—sophomore wideout AJ Colombo (31 rec, 438 yds, 5 TDs, 14.1 YPR). Colombo actually joined the Catamount football program back in 2022 as a walk-on, and he’s become an instant star. His speed and elusiveness make him a versatile weapon in the passing game, as well as a return threat.
Branson Adams (89 rush att, 539 yds, 3 TDs, 6.1 YPC) saw some quality time at running back last season for WCU following a pair of mid-season injuries to Reid, which from the second one, he never seemed to fully recover from.
The Catamounts lost some significant veterans along its offensive front from 2023, with Tyler Smith and Christian Coulter being the most notable departures along with offensive line coach Jeremy Darveau, who joined former Catamount offensive coordinator Cade Bell on staff at Pitt during the off-season.
The three returning starters back along the offensive front will hope to generate the kind of success that the Catamounts were able to accomplish in what was historic fashion last fall. The holdovers from the 2023 season include center Blake Whitmore (C), left guard Xavier Graham (LG), and right guard Caleb Carter (RG) all return to the fold for the 2024 campaign.
Head coach Kerwin Bell made the move away from Chazmon Scales and brought in former Tusculum head coach Jerry Odom to lead the defensive side of the football for the Catamounts.
Odom was a college teammate of Bell's at Florida, and Odom's career includes an experienced and successful one, with stints at East Carolina and Jacksonville as a defensive coordinator prior to his eight seasons as the head coach of Tusculum.
The Catamounts finished the 2023 season ranking 69th in total defense (372.8 YPG), while ranking 60th (154.1 YPG) against the run this past season, and 72nd nationally in pass defense (218.7 YPG). The Catamounts also ranked 73rd nationally in pass defense (27.5 PPG).
This might be the wrong game for Catamount fans to see how much their defense has improved under its new defensive coordinator, as I expect this could be one of the top Wolfpack offenses in program history in terms of explosiveness, and I think they will show that tonight. It's going to be a tough weekend for the SoCon against the FBS power four, as at least four teams could face potential FBS playoff qualifiers.
Redshirt Sports Prediction: NC State 62, Western Carolina 17
