2014 Southern Conference football season | |
League: | NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) |
Sport: | Football |
Duration: | August 28, 2014 – November 22, 2014 |
No Of Teams: | 8 |
Tv: | SoConTV American Sports Network |
Conf1: | Conference |
Seasonslist: | List of Southern Conference football champions |
Seasonslistnames: | Southern Conference football |
Prevseason Year: | 2013 |
Prevseason Link: | 2013 Southern Conference football season |
Nextseason Year: | 2015 |
Nextseason Link: | 2015 Southern Conference football season |
The 2014 Southern Conference football season was the 93rd season of college football for the Southern Conference (SoCon) and formed a part of the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
It was the first season for two newcomers: the Mercer Bears, who previously played in the Pioneer Football League, and the VMI Keydets, who had an 80-year stint in the SoCon before joining the Big South Conference in 2003.[1] The additions of Mercer and VMI, along with East Tennessee State, who is bringing back football in 2015, replaced the departure of Georgia Southern and Appalachian State who joined the Sun Belt Conference, as well as Elon who left for the Colonial Athletic Association.
In 2013, both Appalachian State and Georgia Southern were ineligible for postseason play due to their transition to the FBS in 2014. Both schools had down years, each going 4–4 in conference play, with Georgia Southern posting a 7–4 overall mark to Appalachian State's 4–8. At the top of the conference was a three-way tie between Chattanooga, Samford, and Furman, who all posted 6–2 conference records. The three schools were declared co-champions, though only Samford and Furman were selected to participate in the FCS tournament.
Samford, who finished ranked #18 in the coaches poll, was defeated in the second round of the playoffs by Jacksonville State on the road, 55–14. Furman, ranked #22, beat South Carolina State in their opening round game in Orangeburg by a score of 30–20. They were knocked out the following week by North Dakota State, who went on to win their third straight national title.
Newcomer Mercer finished their tenure in the Pioneer League on a high note, going 10–2 and 6–2 in conference play, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. VMI was 2–10 in 2013, including a 1–4 mark in Big South play, beating Gardner–Webb.
First place votes in parentheses
Media | Coaches | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | School | Points | Place | School | Points |
1 | Chattanooga (29) | 235 | 1 | Chattanooga (6) | 48 |
2 | Furman (1) | 203 | 2 | Furman (1) | 40 |
3 | Samford | 174 | Samford (1) | 40 | |
4 | Wofford | 155 | 4 | Wofford | 30 |
5 | Western Carolina | 105 | 5 | Western Carolina | 24 |
6 | The Citadel | 103 | 6 | The Citadel | 22 |
7 | Mercer | 67 | 7 | Mercer | 10 |
8 | VMI | 38 | VMI | 10 |
Increase in ranking | |||
Decrease in ranking | |||
Not ranked previous week |
See main article: 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football rankings.
Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chattanooga | TSN | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
C | 16 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | |
The Citadel | TSN | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Furman | TSN | 18 | 17 | 12 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - |
C | 21 | 19 | 12 | 21 | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Mercer | TSN | - | - | - | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Samford | TSN | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
VMI | TSN | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
Western Carolina | TSN | - | - | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - |
C | - | - | - | - | - | RV | RV | - | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - | |
Wofford | TSN | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - |
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Index to colors and formatting | |
---|---|
SoCon member won | |
SoCon member lost | |
SoCon teams in bold |
Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 28 | 7:00 PM | Chattanooga | L 16–20 | 15,793 | [2] | ||||
August 28 | 7:00 PM | Mercer | W 45–42 | 10,027 | [3] | ||||
August 30 | 7:00 PM | Samford | L 14–48 | 40,094 | [4] | ||||
August 30 | 12:30 PM | Wofford | L 19–38 | 45,403 | [5] | ||||
August 30 | 6:00 PM | VMI | L 38–42 | 3,124 | [6] | ||||
August 30 | 7:00 PM | Western Carolina | L 31–36 | 31,642 | [7] | ||||
August 30 | 7:00 PM | Furman | W 13–3 | 7,533 | [8] | ||||
August 30 | 6:00 PM | The Citadel | L 16–31 | 10,828 | [9] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Troy Mitchell | Western Carolina | Gary Wilkins | Furman | Al Cobb | VMI | David Marvin | Wofford | |
Reference: Weekly Release[10] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 6 | 3:30 PM | VMI | L 7–48 | 18,311 | [11] | ||||
September 6 | 3:30 PM | Western Carolina | W 45–21 | 8,929 | [12] | ||||
September 6 | 6:00 PM | Chattanooga | L 23–26OT | 14,285 | [13] | ||||
September 6 | 6:00 PM | Furman | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | FUR 25–20 | 12,227 | [14] | ||
September 6 | 7:30 PM | The Citadel | L 12–37 | 81,294 | [15] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Darius Ramsey | Western Carolina | Gary Wilkins | Furman | John Croft Hollingsworth | Furman | Lucas Webb | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[16] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 11 | 7:30 PM | Samford | W 52–0 | 4,968 | [17] | ||||
September 13 | 1:30 PM | VMI | W 52–24 | 4,479 | [18] | ||||
September 13 | 3:30 PM | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | W 35–17 | 10,511 | [19] | |||
September 13 | 5:00 PM | Chattanooga | W 42–6 | 6,883 | [20] | ||||
September 13 | 6:00 PM | Mercer | W 49–0 | 3,660 | [21] | ||||
September 13 | 7:00 PM | Furman | L 7–10 | 2,321 | [22] | ||||
September 13 | 7:00 PM | Wofford | W 42–27 | 7,392 | [23] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Aaron Sanders | VMI | Daniel Riddle | Western Carolina | Alex Lakes | Mercer | Tommy Hudson | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[24] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 20 | 3:00 PM | VMI | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SAM 63–21 | 4,618 | [25] | ||
September 20 | 6:00 PM | The Citadel | L 18–20 | 7,954 | [26] | ||||
September 20 | 6:00 PM | Furman | L 7–17 | 9,613 | [27] | ||||
September 20 | 6:00 PM | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | W 42–21 | 10,173 | [28] | |||
September 20 | 6:00 PM | Wofford | Gardner–Webb | L 36–43 | 6,450 | [29] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Denzel Williams | Samford | Josh Kimberlin | Samford | Krondis Larry | Samford | Chandler Curtis | Mercer | |
Reference: Weekly Release[30] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 27 | 1:30 PM | Mercer | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | MER 27–24 | 4,490 | [31] | ||
September 27 | 3:00 PM | Western Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | WCU 35–17 | 9,789 | [32] | ||
September 27 | 6:00 PM | Gardner–Webb | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | W 37–14 | 8,573 | [33] | ||
September 27 | 7:00 PM | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | W 49–15 | 7,108 | [34] | |||
September 27 | 7:00 PM | Samford | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | UTC 38–24 | 8,872 | [35] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Spearman Robinson | Western Carolina | Davis Tull | Chattanooga | Chandler Curtis | Mercer | Tommy Hudson | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[36] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 4 | 1:30 PM | The Citadel | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | WOF 17–13 | 9,259 | [37] | ||
October 4 | 2:00 PM | Western Carolina | Presbyterian | Bailey Memorial Stadium • Clinton, SC | L 14–19 | 4,007 | [38] | ||
October 4 | 3:00 PM | Mercer | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SAM 21–18 | 8,713 | [39] | ||
October 4 | 4:00 PM | VMI | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | UTC 55–7 | 8,848 | [40] | ||
October 4 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | L 31–372OT | 7,347 | [41] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Mitchell Jeter | The Citadel | P. J. Blazejowski | Furman | Chandler Curtis | Mercer | |
Reference: Weekly Release[42] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 11 | 2:00 PM | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | W 63–562OT | 10,467 | [43] | |||
October 11 | 3:30 PM | VMI | L 14–51 | 33,812 | [44] | ||||
October 11 | 3:30 PM | Wofford | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | WCU 26–14 | 7,343 | [45] | ||
October 11 | 4:00 PM | Austin Peay | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | W 49–21 | 8,027 | [46] | ||
October 11 | 4:00 PM | Chattanooga | L 10–45 | 93,097 | [47] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Aaron Miller | The Citadel | Christon Gill | Western Carolina | Cam Jackson | The Citadel | Detrez Newsome | Western Carolina | |
Reference: Weekly Release[48] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 18 | 12:00 PM | Furman | L 10–41 | 78,101 | [49] | ||||
October 18 | 12:00 PM | Chattanooga | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | UTC 34–14 | 8,037 | [50] | ||
October 18 | 1:30 PM | Gardner–Webb | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | L 41–472OT | 6,624 | [51] | ||
October 18 | 3:00 PM | Wofford | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | WOF 24–20 | 4,157 | [52] | ||
October 18 | 4:00 PM | Western Carolina | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | WCU 35–21 | 9,277 | [53] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Spearman Robinson | Western Carolina | Jaleel Lorquet | Western Carolina | Al Cobb | VMI | Henrique Ribiero | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[54] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 25 | 12:00 PM | Mercer | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | UTC 38–31 | 10,763 | [55] | ||
October 25 | 1:30 PM | VMI | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | WOF 38–3 | 8,010 | [56] | ||
October 25 | 1:30 PM | Samford | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | SAM 45–0 | 8,047 | [57] | ||
October 25 | 2:00 PM | The Citadel | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | WCU 29–15 | 13,323 | [58] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Trey Morgan | Western Carolina | Detrez Newsome | Western Carolina | Deion Pierre | Samford | |
Reference: Weekly Release[59] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 1 | 1:30 PM | Furman | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | VMI 31–15 | 3,624 | [60] | ||
November 1 | 2:00 PM | Chattanooga | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | UTC 51–0 | 8,705 | [61] | ||
November 1 | 3:00 PM | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SAM 55–0 | 4,871 | [62] | |||
November 1 | 4:00 PM | The Citadel | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | CIT 28–26 | 10,271 | [63] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Keon Williams | Chattanooga | DeVonta Delaney | The Citadel | Al Cobb | VMI | Henrique Ribeiro | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[64] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 8 | 1:00 PM | Wofford | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | UTC 31–30 | 9,692 | [65] | ||
November 8 | 2:00 PM | Furman | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | CIT 42–35OT | 11,488 | [66] | ||
November 8 | 3:30 PM | Western Carolina | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SAM 34–20 | 4,689 | [67] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Aaron Miller | The Citadel | Justin Cooper | Samford | P. J. Blazejowski | Furman | Nick Pollard | Chattanooga | |
Reference: Weekly Release[68] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 15 | 12:00 PM | Wofford | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | FUR 31–14 | 6,282 | [69] | ||
November 15 | 1:00 PM | Samford | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | SAM 20–17 | 7,638 | [70] | ||
November 15 | 2:00 PM | VMI | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | WCU 42–27 | 8,339 | [71] | ||
November 15 | 2:30 PM | Chattanooga | W 38–17 | 4,009 | [72] | ||||
November 15 | 4:00 PM | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | W 56–0 | 10,000 | [73] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Troy Mitchell | Western Carolina | Justin Cooper | Samford | P. J. Blazejowski | Furman | Greg Peranich | Samford | |
Reference: Weekly Release[74] |
Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 22 | 1:30 PM | Mercer | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | WOF 34–6 | 7,051 | [75] | ||
November 22 | 1:30 PM | The Citadel | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | CIT 45–25 | 7,097 | [76] | ||
November 22 | 3:30 PM | Chattanooga | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | UTC 45–19 | 4,377 | [77] | ||
November 22 | 4:00 PM | Western Carolina | L 17–48 | 101,325 | [78] | ||||
November 22 | 7:00 PM | Samford | L 7–31 | 87,451 | [79] |
Players of the week:
Offensive | Defensive | Freshman | Special teams | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | |
Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Malik Diggs | The Citadel | Al Cobb | VMI | Greg Peranich | Samford | |
Reference: Weekly Release[80] |
Conference | Record | |
---|---|---|
Big Sky | 0–0 | |
Big South | 2–7 | |
CAA | 0–0 | |
Ivy League | 0–0 | |
Independents | 1–0 | |
MEAC | 0–1 | |
MVFC | 0–0 | |
NEC | 0–0 | |
OVC | 3–1 | |
Patriot | 0–1 | |
Pioneer | 2–0 | |
Southland | 0–0 | |
SWAC | 0–0 | |
Total | 8–10 |
Conference | Record | |
---|---|---|
American | 0–1 | |
ACC | 0–1 | |
Big 12 | 0–1 | |
Independents | 0–1 | |
MAC | 0–2 | |
SEC | 0–2 | |
Total | 0–8 |
Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chattanooga | Finley Stadium | 20,668 | 14,285 | 8,872 | 8,848 | 10,763 | 9,692 | 52,460 | 10,492 | ||||
The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium | 21,000 | 10,828 | 8,573 | 10,467 | 8,037 | 11,488 | 7,638 | 57,031 | 9,505 | |||
Furman | Paladin Stadium | 16,000 | 7,533 | 9,789 | 7,347 | 8,047 | 6,282 | 4,377 | 43,375 | 7,229 | |||
Mercer | Moye Complex | 10,200 | 10,027 | 12,227 | 10,173 | 8,027 | 9,277 | 10,271 | 10,000 | 70,002 | 10,000 | ||
Samford | Seibert Stadium | 6,700 | 4,968 | 4,618 | 8,713 | 4,157 | 4,871 | 4,689 | 32,016 | 5,336 | |||
VMI | Alumni Memorial Field | 10,000 | 4,479 | 4,490 | 6,624 | 3,624 | 7,097 | 26,314 | 5,263 | ||||
Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium | 13,742 | 8,929 | 10,511 | 7,343 | 13,323 | 8,705 | 8,339 | 57,150 | 9,525 | |||
Wofford | Gibbs Stadium | 13,000 | 7,392 | 7,108 | 9,259 | 8,010 | 7,051 | 38,820 | 7,764 | ||||