Sporting News SoCon 2016 predicted order of finish

[catamount man]

1) Chattanooga
2) Wofford
3) Samford
4) The Citadel
5) Mercer
6) Western Carolina
7) Furman
8) VMI
9) ETSU

1 and 9 are accurate. 2-7 is anyone's guess. An injury, a turnover there. I personally don't think WCU will finish that low but what do I know? GO CATS!

[SU DOG]

1) Chattanooga
2) Wofford
3) Samford
4) The Citadel
5) Mercer
6) Western Carolina
7) Furman
8) VMI
9) ETSU

1 and 9 are accurate. 2-7 is anyone's guess. An injury, a turnover there. I personally don't think WCU will finish that low but what do I know? GO CATS!

A few surprises here to me. I completely agree with 1 and 9. Wofford #2? Maybe so, I don't really know what the Terriers have coming back. Samford above The Citadel? That really surprises me, even though I think we have the talent to be a contender, with a good QB and a group of the fastest receivers in all of FCS. Even the Mocs are not a guaranteed winner this season, but you would have to rate them #1 preseason. Wide open and up for grabs, IMO, is the SoCon. Catamount man you are right on with the comment of a turnover at a bad time or an injury.

[Milktruck74]

I look at the Mocs schedule and think we could be the number 1 seed in the playoffs this year at 10-1 (with the only loss coming at Alabama the last week)...or we could just as easily be 4-7/5-6 and watching the first round on ESPN3....The soCon is pretty Even this year.

[catamount man]

I look at the Mocs schedule and think we could be the number 1 seed in the playoffs this year at 10-1 (with the only loss coming at Alabama the last week)...or we could just as easily be 4-7/5-6 and watching the first round on ESPN3....The soCon is pretty Even this year.

Yes it is. Deepest the conference has been in a while. GO CATS!!!

[The Cats]

I think Wofford is a little high. IMO, Western could place anywhere 1-6, depending on the play of the new quarterback, but I don't think it will be as low as #6.

[catamount man]

I think Wofford is a little high. IMO, Western could place anywhere 1-6, depending on the play of the new quarterback, but I don't think it will be as low as #6. Defense worries me more than the offense. May have to win some shootouts this season. Hope you heard the baseball game today? WOW! GO CATS!

[PaladinFan]

Just to note, Furman was picked second to last preseason in 2013 and won a share of the conference title. They were picked second the next year and finished with 3 wins. I don't put a lot of stock in preseason rankings.

Every team has question marks. I am fairly certain that ETSU is going to finish last. Other than that, I can make a pretty compelling argument for anyone.

[SU DOG]

Defense worries me more than the offense. May have to win some shootouts this season. Hope you heard the baseball game today? WOW! GO CATS!

If the WCU Football team shows the same grit, guts, and heart as that baseball team did this past week, then the Catamounts will probably win the SoCon.

[catamount man]

Just to note, Furman was picked second to last preseason in 2013 and won a share of the conference title. They were picked second the next year and finished with 3 wins. I don't put a lot of stock in preseason rankings.

Every team has question marks. I am fairly certain that ETSU is going to finish last. Other than that, I can make a pretty compelling argument for anyone.

You are so correct. Lindy's 2016 magazine has WCU second in the conference so it's anyone's guess. I would take another 7-4 season but I do hope we can get either ECU or South Carolina. We need a FBS victory BAD! GO CATS!

- - - Updated - - -


If the WCU Football team shows the same grit, guts, and heart as that baseball team did this past week, then the Catamounts will probably win the SoCon.

Oh a cat can hope! LOL!

[The Cats]

Lindy's
1. Chattanooga
2. Western Carolina
3. Mercer
4. The Citadel
5. Samford
6. Wofford
7. Furman
8. VMI
9. ETSU


I like this one better, I think it's more realistic top to bottom than the Sporting News guess.

[catamount man]

Lindy's
1. Chattanooga
2. Western Carolina
3. Mercer
4. The Citadel
5. Samford
6. Wofford
7. Furman
8. VMI
9. ETSU


I like this one better, I think it's more realistic top to bottom than the Sporting News guess.

Hope so. I still worry about the D. But from where this program has been, I will take it. On another good note THE CATS, I read online that Briggs had his highest number of kids turnout for Cherokee HS spring football. Awesome! Hope Coach Briggs and the Braves can take some SMC thunder away from Murphy, Swain County, etc. Kent deserves it! GO CATS!

[The Cats]

Hope so. I still worry about the D. But from where this program has been, I will take it. On another good note THE CATS, I read online that Briggs had his highest number of kids turnout for Cherokee HS spring football. Awesome! Hope Coach Briggs and the Braves can take some SMC thunder away from Murphy, Swain County, etc. Kent deserves it! GO CATS!

I too, hope only the best for Kent. It's too bad he never had the resources to get the job done in Cullowhee.

[kdinva]

VMI will have to establish depth along both lines, and hope the incoming skill players are good enough to be in the two deep. Their fastest WR, Mauck, is 90% gone, I heard (an area 1-A team "reached out" to him, saying he was better than the SoCon).

[SU DOG]

Surely this isn't right. Wouldn't that be a NCAA violation kdinva? With your QB, good receivers are a must have. I seriously believe Samford has the best group of WRs in the FCS(arguably I know), and I would be fighting mad and fit to be tied if any FBS team tried to lure one of them away. I certainly hope Mauck stays and plays for you guys.

[Smitty]

Lindy's
1. Chattanooga
2. Western Carolina
3. Mercer
4. The Citadel
5. Samford
6. Wofford
7. Furman
8. VMI
9. ETSU


I like this one better, I think it's more realistic top to bottom than the Sporting News guess.


Is that just because Western is 2nd? Honestly I expect to take a step back this year considering all of the positions we are replacing. I would be happy with a winning the whole thing but also would be satisfied with a 3rd place finish and expected to be first the years after. Of course until this happens it is all a Western pipe dream.

[walliver]

There are a lot of questions across the board this year.
Chatty may be number 1 by default, but Mini-Huesman will be hard to replace.
I expect Samford to be better this year.
Wofford will hopefully be healthy this year and return to form.
Furman's recent performance is confusing.
The Citadels coaching changes are quite significant.
Western is much improved, but hasn't broken through yet.
Mercer now has its first true Senior Class playing, and may be a force.
VMI I suspect to be middle of the road.
ETSU will struggle - I don't care how good the redshirts and freshmen are, they have no game experience.

[PaladinFan]

Is that just because Western is 2nd? Honestly I expect to take a step back this year considering all of the positions we are replacing. I would be happy with a winning the whole thing but also would be satisfied with a 3rd place finish and expected to be first the years after. Of course until this happens it is all a Western pipe dream.

I think every team has a number of question marks, so WCU at #2 sounds good enough to me.

You can go down the list and circle some real question marks around every program.

Any word on the coaching attrition at WCU? Looks like they've named four or five new coaches in 2016.

[PaladinFan]

There are a lot of questions across the board this year.
Chatty may be number 1 by default, but Mini-Huesman will be hard to replace.
I expect Samford to be better this year.
Wofford will hopefully be healthy this year and return to form.
Furman's recent performance is confusing.
The Citadels coaching changes are quite significant.
Western is much improved, but hasn't broken through yet.
Mercer now has its first true Senior Class playing, and may be a force.
VMI I suspect to be middle of the road.
ETSU will struggle - I don't care how good the redshirts and freshmen are, they have no game experience.

If Furman can stop tripping on its own shoe laces, we might be pretty good. Real put up or shutup year for Bruce Fowler. Unfortunately, Furman decided to go the route of the schedule of death yet again.

Mercer will be interesting to watch. Return a lot of players and have upped their schedule difficulty. May be a force, but their season, I think, will come down to October. Four games in five weeks on the road. That tough stretch follows a September where the Bears play GT and two teams that beat them last year (Citadel and TTU). They also have an early off week.

For both teams, though, it will come down to surviving a rough part of their schedule. Mercer has to play well in October. Furman has to survive September (@Michigan State, @Citadel, UTC, @Coastal).

[catamount man]

I think every team has a number of question marks, so WCU at #2 sounds good enough to me.

You can go down the list and circle some real question marks around every program.

Any word on the coaching attrition at WCU? Looks like they've named four or five new coaches in 2016.

Coach Speir has replaced the coaches that left so the staff is back at full strength. Two went to the new staff at Tennessee Tech, one to the Indianapolis Colts so can't blame him for that, one to James Madison and not sure about the other one but yes, WCU has replaced all of them. New DC has actually worked at Troy and UNC before and is a Gene Chizek apprentice. GO CATS!!!

[Toby]

If Furman can stop tripping on its own shoe laces, we might be pretty good. Real put up or shutup year for Bruce Fowler. Unfortunately, Furman decided to go the route of the schedule of death yet again.

Mercer will be interesting to watch. Return a lot of players and have upped their schedule difficulty. May be a force, but their season, I think, will come down to October. Four games in five weeks on the road. That tough stretch follows a September where the Bears play GT and two teams that beat them last year (Citadel and TTU). They also have an early off week.

For both teams, though, it will come down to surviving a rough part of their schedule. Mercer has to play well in October. Furman has to survive September (@Michigan State, @Citadel, UTC, @Coastal).

Don't disagree that October is critical for the Bears. However, opening with Citadel on a Thursday night will be huge for both teams. Mercer thinks they let the 2015 Citadel game slip away and played them down to the wire. So there may be a lot riding on the 2016 game in Macon.

[Toby]

Lindy's
1. Chattanooga
2. Western Carolina
3. Mercer
4. The Citadel
5. Samford
6. Wofford
7. Furman
8. VMI
9. ETSU


I like this one better, I think it's more realistic top to bottom than the Sporting News guess.
Wow! A lot of respect for the Bears playing at full strength for the first time in like 70 years.....

[PaladinFan]

Don't disagree that October is critical for the Bears. However, opening with Citadel on a Thursday night will be huge for both teams. Mercer thinks they let the 2015 Citadel game slip away and played them down to the wire. So there may be a lot riding on the 2016 game in Macon.

I would wager that every SoCon team would argue they had a game or two they let slip away.

[kdinva]

I would wager that every SoCon team would argue they had a game or two they let slip away.

maybe four.......UTC, Furman, Bucknell, WCU.......and who knows if Cobb had played @ ElCid.....

[PaladinFan]

Wow! A lot of respect for the Bears playing at full strength for the first time in like 70 years.....

Mercer is in an interesting spot. I see them now moving beyond the shiny new upstart period and into the next phase of their program. They have a full roster, a much tougher schedule, fewer home games than road games, an FBS game on slate. Sort of falling into the rhythm of where the rest of the conference is.

While I did realize that Mercer had their first true senior class, I had not realized that it was so large. I count 29 seniors on Mercer's roster. I don't recall a senior class that big since Furman played down at Coastal Carolina in 2006. That Coastal team had a boat load of seniors, a couple NFL prospects, and wouldn't see a winning season again until 2011. No small task to fill a hole that big in your roster after all those guys graduate.

You could argue that this coming off season may be the most important of your program's history. Going to have to replace a lot of talented players and a lot of depth.

[PaladinFan]

maybe four.......UTC, Furman, Bucknell, WCU.......and who knows if Cobb had played @ ElCid.....

It probably all balances out.

Mercer should have beaten the Citadel. Furman should have beaten Mercer. VMI should have beaten Furman.

I imagine every team in the conference lost one they should have won, and probably won one they should have lost. I suppose it demonstrates parity in the conference.

[FUBeAR]

Mercer is in an interesting spot. I see them now moving beyond the shiny new upstart period and into the next phase of their program. They have a full roster, a much tougher schedule, fewer home games than road games, an FBS game on slate. Sort of falling into the rhythm of where the rest of the conference is.

While I did realize that Mercer had their first true senior class, I had not realized that it was so large. I count 29 seniors on Mercer's roster. I don't recall a senior class that big since Furman played down at Coastal Carolina in 2006. That Coastal team had a boat load of seniors, a couple NFL prospects, and wouldn't see a winning season again until 2011. No small task to fill a hole that big in your roster after all those guys graduate.

You could argue that this coming off season may be the most important of your program's history. Going to have to replace a lot of talented players and a lot of depth.

Yes...losing 29 Fine Young Men after 2016, but...see this post for a drill down into exactly what that means - http://www.mubeardown.com/post/4039 - Bottom Line - I only see Safety and OLine (possibly) as the only positions where Mercer will, potentially, take a 'hit' in 2017. The rest of the position groups' ponds are extremely well-stocked far beyond this fine 2016 Sr. Class.

NOTE TO ADMIN's: Sorry to link to another board - thought it was better for AGS than cluttering this thread with heavily detailed info only PaladinFan will care enough to read. :)