Welcome to week four of the SoConversation, featuring The Citadel beat writer Jeff Hartsell of the Charleston Post and Courier, Elon beat writer Adam Smith of the Burlington Times-News and UTC beat writer John Frierson of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Before we take a look at what happened elsewhere in the SoCon, let’s take a moment to discuss what happened with the teams we cover. It was a fairly as-expected week three for the Mocs, but you sure can’t say that about Elon or The Citadel, can you?
JEFF: I’m still not sure what I witnessed in Boone really happened, but it says 52-28 right here in my weekly SoCon football notes. The Citadel played great, App State was terrible, and a 31-0 Bulldogs lead in the second quarter was the result. Citadel coach Kevin Higgins said it was a perfect storm of sorts, with Citadel confidence sky high after its upset of then-No. 3 Georgia Southern. App State was coming off a big win over Montana and was primed for a letdown against a team it had not lost to at home since 1992.
But that’s no excuse for the poorly prepared – emotionally and technically – App State team I saw at The Rock. Maybe the Mountaineers will rebound from a 1-2 start and make the playoffs again, as they’ve done a couple of times in recent years. But not with performances like that.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have already beaten the top two teams in the preseason SoCon coaches’ poll, and might have a real shot at N.C. State this weekend. What’s next for these surprising Bulldogs? A SoCon title? A playoff berth? It’s like 1992 all over again, except “Baby Got Back” is not on the radio all the time.