The Big South is having one if its best nonconference performances in conference history.
Note: last week’s ranking in parenthesis.
1. (2) Coastal Carolina 3-0
Wow. Not only did Coastal go on the road to beat a top 25 Eastern Kentucky team, they did so in convincing fashion. The Chanticleers won 51-32 behind 631 total offensive yards. Quarterback Alex Ross was 19/28 for 292 yards and three touchdowns passing. Running back Lorenzo Taliaferro had 174 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. At one point during the game, from late 2nd quarter to early 4th quarter, Coastal scored 37 consecutive points to go from trailing 24-14 to leading 51-24.
Next: vs Hampton
2. (1) Liberty 2-1
The Flames defeated another lackluster opponent, this time Morgan State, 38-10. Liberty finally gets a FCS test this week in former head coach Danny Rocco and Richmond.
Next: @ Richmond
3. (4) Gardner Webb 2-1
The Runnin’ Bulldogs got a huge win over Richmond 12-10. The Spiders missed a 43 yard field goal on the final play of the game that would have given them the win. The kick wasn’t even close. Gardner-Webb took the lead on a 30 yard field goal with just 25 seconds left.
Next: @ Wofford
4. (3) Charleston Southern 3-0
Charleston Southern moves to 3-0 after defeating former Liberty special teams coordinator Mike Minter who is now the head coach at Campbell. The final was 30-10.
Next: @ Norfolk State
5. (5) Presbyterian 1-2
Presbyterian attempted a 23 yard field goal in the waning seconds against Furman that would have given the Blue Hose a win over the SoCon team, but the kick was blocked. The Paladins hung on for the 21-20 win.
Next: bye
6. (6) VMI 1-2
The Keydets are clearly the cellar of the conference as they lost to Division II North Greenville 37-24. Can VMI get another win this year?
Next: @ Virginia
Liked this snippet from Craig Haley (FCS Sports Network):
“Big South: OK, not so fast on the thought that the Big South is down following Stony Brook’s departure. Gardner-Webb owns wins over Furman and Richmond and it’s not even among the conference’s two unbeaten teams: Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern under new coach Jamey Caldwell. Throw in Liberty – maybe the best team in the conference? – and the four teams with first- and second- year head coaches are a combined 10-2.”
Great conference showing by all the Big South members! Well, almost all of them. At least the weak link is going to be someone else’s weak link instead. Keep on building towards being the best conference we can be. Maybe with some sustained success, the Big South could be in for a nice push with a depleted CAA and SoCon. But hopefully Liberty won’t be FCS much longer and they can give the Big South a strong push on its way out the door.