Welcome oh great and wonderful college football fans from the lovely confines of Memphis where the heat index was 113 today! But in this episode we are talking about the penultimate FCS conference from a pre-season strength of schedule view.
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The 9-team Southern Conference (or SoCon) has 8 teams playing Core 4 (used to be Power 5 before the dismantling of the Pac-12) and the other playing App St (a pretty good Group of 5 team). Only two teams play non-Division I games. A solid and challenging schedule throughout led by me daughter’s school, the Mocs of Chattanooga with the 5th most challenging FCS schedule in 2024 (playing both Core 4 Tennessee and Group of 5 Georgia St).
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In the table below, (D) indicates a game against a non-D1 opponent, (4) indicates a Core 4 game, (G) indicates a Group of 5 foe, and (F) indicates a non-conference FCS bout. There are no scheduled neutral site games. I am proud to bring you the 2024 Southern Conference:
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Chattanooga Mocs (1) | 8-5 (159) | 3.81 (139) | (27-30/.474) Portland St (F), Mercer, Wofford, VMI, Samford | (45-39/.536) Tennessee (4), Georgia St (G), Austin Peay (F), E Tennessee St, Furman, W Carolina, Citadel | 72-69 (.511) |
| W Carolina Catamounts (2) | 7-4 (172) | 3.61 (144) | (20-37/.351) Campbell (F), Wofford, Citadel, Chattanooga, VMI | (56-31/.644) NC St (4), Elon (F), Montana (F), Furman, Mercer, E Tennessee St, Samford | 76-68 (.528) |
| Mercer Bears (3) | 9-4 (151) | 3.29 (154) | (29-38/.433) Presbyterian (F), Princeton (F), Citadel, W Carolina, E Tennessee St, Furman | (36-38/.486) Alabama (4), Bethune (F), Chattanooga, Wofford, Samford, VMI | 65-76 (.461) |
| Wofford Terriers (4) | 2-9 (245) | 3.20 (161) | (23-34/.404) William & Mary (F), Mercer, VMI, E Tennessee St, Citadel | (52-33/.612) South Carolina (4), Gardner Webb (F), Richmond (F), W Carolina, Chattanooga, Samford, Furman | 75-57 (.568) |
| Furman Paladins (5) | 10-3 (140) | 3.15 (163) | (30-38/.441) Charleston (F), Stetson (F), Samford, Chattanooga W Carolina, Wofford | (34-36/.486) Mississippi (4), William & Mary (F), Citadel, VMI, E Tennessee St, Mercer | 64-74 (.464) |
| Citadel Bulldogs (6) | 0-11 (236) | 3.08 (168) | (37-32/.536) N Greenville (D), South Carolina St (F), E Tennessee St, Furman, Samford, Chattanooga | (36-34/.5) Clemson (4), Charleston (F), Mercer, W Carolina, VMI, Wofford | 73-66 (.525) |
| E Tennessee St Buccaneers (7) | 3-8 (230) | 3.03 (171) | (44-30/.594) Virginia Wise (D), North Dakota St (F), Chattanooga, Samford, W Carolina, Furman | (31-40/.437) App St (G), Elon (F), Wofford, Mercer, Citadel, VMI | 75-70 (.517) |
| VMI Keydets (8) | 5-6 (195) | 2.87 (186) | (29-41/.414) Bucknell (F), Norfolk St (F), Citadel, Furman, Mercer, E Tennessee St | (36-34/.514) Georgia Tech (4), William & Mary (F), Samford, Wofford, Chattanooga, W Carolina | 65-75 (.464) |
| Samford Bulldogs (9) | 6-5 (193) | 2.46 (205) | (34-34/.500) Alabama St (F), Tennessee Tech (F), VMI, Mercer, Wofford, W Carolina | (32-38/.457) Florida (4), West Georgia (F), Furman, E Tennessee St, Citadel, Chattanooga | 66-72 (.478) |
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That’s it for today. Tune in next time for the final FCS conference. Thank you for reading and for sharing with others. Until next time, G
