Wofford has a chance this week to muddle the Southern Conference football picture.
Coming off a bye, the Terriers - the first team out in the latest Football Championship Subdivision coaches' poll - will host fifth-ranked The Citadel for their homecoming. The Bulldogs are coming off a 22-14 win over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which fell from fifth to 11th in the media poll and from third to eighth in the coaches' poll.
Southern ConferenceThe Terriers are 4-2 for the season, with a 2-1 record in the SoCon and a quality nonconference win over Ohio Valley Conference member Tennessee Tech. Their league loss was a two-point defeat at 20th-ranked Samford on Oct. 1, so a win at home would put the Terriers in the Top 25 and give the SoCon four ranked teams, which would match the Big Sky and Missouri Valley conferences for the second most in the country.
The Colonial Athletic Association currently has five teams ranked.
For The Citadel, a win in its biggest remaining SoCon road test would almost solidify the conference championship, whereas a loss would put a logjam at the top with the Bulldogs, Wofford, UTC and Samford with one loss each - if UTC and Samford win home games as favorites against VMI and Western Carolina.
The SoCon has never put four teams in the playoffs in a single season and hasn't had three since 2012 when Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Wofford were selected. The field was expanded from 16 teams to 20 teams in 2010, and again to 24 prior to the 2013 season.
"The biggest thing is we've had several extra days to work on Citadel, and we need those days," Wofford coach Mike Ayers said at Monday's media luncheon. "They are a tremendous team, a team with a great deal of excitement and intensity with their play. That team will not beat themselves: They're strong in all three phases of the game, they're really great at competing, and the coaching staff has done a tremendous job with those guys preparing them."
Ayers went on to say that The Citadel was one of "the best one or two teams in the country."
"They do a great job with their offense," he said. "You don't hear much about their defense, but their defense is outstanding.
"It's a big week, a big game."
Hodges three-peats
Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges was selected as the SoCon offensive player of the week for the third consecutive time after a career-high 435 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-21 win over VMI.
UTC linebacker Nakevion Leslie was the defensive player of the week after a career-high 19 tackles against The Citadel, while Bulldogs kicker Cody Clark was the special teams honoree after making two key field goals and both extra points in the 22-14 win over UTC.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.