With only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season, three teams appear to have separated themselves from the rest of the Southern Conference in solidifying Football Championship Subdivision playoff berths.
A couple of other teams still can but have a long way to go – and not long to do it.
Eighth-ranked Wofford (8-1, 6-1), No. 21 Furman (7-3, 6-1) and No. 22 Western Carolina (7-3, 5-2) are the SoCon teams projected into the 24-team playoffs, according to the FCS STATS site.
Meanwhile, 16th-ranked Samford (6-3, 4-2) is projected as out of the playoffs despite handing the Terriers their lone loss. The Bulldogs were upset 23-21 at home by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Oct. 28 but rebounded to win 20-3 last Saturday at Mercer.
Southern Conference
“This was a big win for our team, and we needed it,” Samford coach Chris Hatcher said postgame. “We didn’t play very well last week, but we came out today, and with a lot of guys not making the trip, we had a lot of guys step up today and play very well. I’m really proud of all three phases.”
One thing against Samford is its schedule. It has only five Division I victories, the sixth being 49-41 over Division II West Alabama, so it must close out with wins over East Tennessee State (4-5, 2-4) and Furman to have a chance.
The Citadel (5-4, 3-4) probably saw its chances dashed with a 31-19 loss to Western Carolina in its home finale last week. The two-time defending SoCon champion has had issues scoring this season, having exceeded 21 points only twice in league play despite ranking fourth in total yards and topping the league in rushing at 326.7 yards per game, good for second in the country at the FCS level.
The Citadel coach Brett Thompson spoke in his Tuesday news conference of trying to earn that “winning year,” which would suggest the Bulldogs probably see themselves as out of the playoff picture, although wins over Furman and defending FBS national champion Clemson the next two weeks probably would put them there.
The Bulldogs defeated South Carolina in the last week of the 2015 season.
“Our seniors have played their butts off for four years, five years. They’ve worked to get us where we’re at,” Thompson said. “We still have a lot to play for. Three consecutive winning seasons is a lot to play for, and it would propel us into next year.
“Winning seasons are hard to come by. Even if you’re having a down season, you can have a winning one and it can still propel you into the offseason, which is what we’re looking for.”
Players of the week
Western Carolina’s Detrez Newsome and Wofford’s Devin Watson and Luke Carter are the latest SoCon players of the week.
Newsome, who has battled injury this season, had 197 yards on 24 carries with an 81-yard touchdown in the Catamounts’ win at The Citadel. Watson, a cousin of injured Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson, had 11 tackles, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass in the second overtime of the Terriers’ 24-21 win over UTC. Carter made the winning 34-yard field goal in that game and averaged 46.6 yards on five punts.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.