# 2014 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. 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.

## Previous season

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.

## Preseason poll results

First place votes in parentheses
| Media | Media | Media | Coaches | Coaches | 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 | 2 | 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 | 7 | VMI | 10 |

## Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
| | | 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 |
| Chattanooga | C | 16 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| The Citadel | TSN | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| The Citadel | C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Furman | TSN | 18 | 17 | 12 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Furman | C | 21 | 19 | 12 | 21 | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mercer | TSN | - | - | - | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mercer | C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Samford | TSN | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Samford | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| VMI | TSN | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| VMI | C | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Western Carolina | TSN | - | - | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - |
| Western Carolina | C | - | - | - | - | - | RV | RV | - | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | - |
| Wofford | TSN | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - |
| Wofford | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | - | - | - | - | RV | - | - | - | - | - | - |

## Regular season

* Index to colors and formatting
* SoCon member won
* SoCon member lost
* SoCon teams in bold
All times Eastern time.
Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.

### Week One

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| August 28 | 7:00 PM | Chattanooga | Central Michigan | Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI | ESPN3 | L 16–20 | 15,793 |
| August 28 | 7:00 PM | Reinhardt | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 45–42 | 10,027 |
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | Samford | TCU | Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | | L 14–48 | 40,094 |
| August 30 | 12:30 PM | Wofford | Georgia Tech | Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA | ESPN3 | L 19–38 | 45,403 |
| August 30 | 6:00 PM | VMI | Bucknell | Christy Mathewson–Memorial Stadium • Lewisburg, PA | | L 38–42 | 3,124 |
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | Western Carolina | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN3 | L 31–36 | 31,642 |
| August 30 | 7:00 PM | Gardner–Webb | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | | W 13–3 | 7,533 |
| August 30 | 6:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | L 16–31 | 10,828 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Two

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 6 | 3:30 PM | VMI | Bowling Green | Doyt Perry Stadium • Bowling Green, OH | ESPN3 | L 7–48 | 18,311 |
| September 6 | 3:30 PM | Brevard College | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | W 45–21 | 8,929 |
| September 6 | 6:00 PM | Jacksonville State | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | L 23–26$^{OT}$ | 14,285 |
| September 6 | 6:00 PM | Furman | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | FUR 25–20 | 12,227 |
| September 6 | 7:30 PM | The Citadel | Florida State | Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL | RSN | L 12–37 | 81,294 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Three

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | 7:30 PM | Stillman | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | W 52–0 | 4,968 |
| September 13 | 1:30 PM | Davidson | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | | W 52–24 | 4,479 |
| September 13 | 3:30 PM | Catawba | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | W 35–17 | 10,511 |
| September 13 | 5:00 PM | Chattanooga | Austin Peay | Governors Stadium • Clarksville, TN | | W 42–6 | 6,883 |
| September 13 | 6:00 PM | Mercer | Stetson | Spec Martin Stadium • DeLand, FL | | W 49–0 | 3,660 |
| September 13 | 7:00 PM | Furman | Presbyterian | Bailey Memorial Stadium • Clinton, SC | WMYA-TV | L 7–10 | 2,321 |
| September 13 | 7:00 PM | North Greenville | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | | W 42–27 | 7,392 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Four

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 20 | 3:00 PM | VMI | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ESPN3 | SAM 63–21 | 4,618 |
| September 20 | 6:00 PM | The Citadel | Charleston Southern | Buccaneer Field • North Charleston, SC | | L 18–20 | 7,954 |
| September 20 | 6:00 PM | Furman | South Carolina State | Oliver C. Dawson Stadium • Orangeburg, SC | | L 7–17 | 9,613 |
| September 20 | 6:00 PM | Ave Maria | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 42–21 | 10,173 |
| September 20 | 6:00 PM | Wofford | Gardner–Webb | Spangler Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC | | L 36–43 | 6,450 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Five

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 27 | 1:30 PM | Mercer | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | MER 27–24 | 4,490 |
| September 27 | 3:00 PM | Western Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | WCU 35–17 | 9,789 |
| September 27 | 6:00 PM | Gardner–Webb | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | W 37–14 | 8,573 |
| September 27 | 7:00 PM | UVA–Wise | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | W 49–15 | 7,108 |
| September 27 | 7:00 PM | Samford | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | UTC 38–24 | 8,872 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Six

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 4 | 1:30 PM | The Citadel | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | WOF 17–13 | 9,259 |
| October 4 | 2:00 PM | Western Carolina | Presbyterian | Bailey Memorial Stadium • Clinton, SC | | L 14–19 | 4,007 |
| October 4 | 3:00 PM | Mercer | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | SAM 21–18 | 8,713 |
| October 4 | 4:00 PM | VMI | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | UTC 55–7 | 8,848 |
| October 4 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | L 31–37$^{2OT}$ | 7,347 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Seven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 11 | 2:00 PM | Charlotte | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | W 63–56$^{2OT}$ | 10,467 |
| October 11 | 3:30 PM | VMI | Navy | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | CBSSN | L 14–51 | 33,812 |
| October 11 | 3:30 PM | Wofford | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | ESPN3 | WCU 26–14 | 7,343 |
| October 11 | 4:00 PM | Austin Peay | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 49–21 | 8,027 |
| October 11 | 4:00 PM | Chattanooga | Tennessee | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN | SECN | L 10–45 | 93,097 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Eight

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 18 | 12:00 PM | Furman | South Carolina | Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC | SECN | L 10–41 | 78,101 |
| October 18 | 12:00 PM | Chattanooga | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | UTC 34–14 | 8,037 |
| October 18 | 1:30 PM | Gardner–Webb | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | | L 41–47$^{2OT}$ | 6,624 |
| October 18 | 3:00 PM | Wofford | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | WOF 24–20 | 4,157 |
| October 18 | 4:00 PM | Western Carolina | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | WCU 35–21 | 9,277 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Nine

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 25 | 12:00 PM | Mercer | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | ASN | UTC 38–31 | 10,763 |
| October 25 | 1:30 PM | VMI | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | | WOF 38–3 | 8,010 |
| October 25 | 1:30 PM | Samford | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | SAM 45–0 | 8,047 |
| October 25 | 2:00 PM | The Citadel | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | WCU 29–15 | 13,323 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Ten

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 1 | 1:30 PM | Furman | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | VMI 31–15 | 3,624 |
| November 1 | 2:00 PM | Chattanooga | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | UTC 51–0 | 8,705 |
| November 1 | 3:00 PM | Concordia | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | SAM 55–0 | 4,871 |
| November 1 | 4:00 PM | The Citadel | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | CIT 28–26 | 10,271 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Eleven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 8 | 1:00 PM | Wofford | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | ESPN3 | UTC 31–30 | 9,692 |
| November 8 | 2:00 PM | Furman | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | CIT 42–35$^{OT}$ | 11,488 |
| November 8 | 3:30 PM | Western Carolina | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ASN | SAM 34–20 | 4,689 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Twelve

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 15 | 12:00 PM | Wofford | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | FUR 31–14 | 6,282 |
| November 15 | 1:00 PM | Samford | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | SAM 20–17 | 7,638 |
| November 15 | 2:00 PM | VMI | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | WCU 42–27 | 8,339 |
| November 15 | 2:30 PM | Chattanooga | Tennessee Tech | Tucker Stadium • Cookeville, TN | | W 38–17 | 4,009 |
| November 15 | 4:00 PM | Warner | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 56–0 | 10,000 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

### Week Thirteen

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 22 | 1:30 PM | Mercer | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | | WOF 34–6 | 7,051 |
| November 22 | 1:30 PM | The Citadel | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | CIT 45–25 | 7,097 |
| November 22 | 3:30 PM | Chattanooga | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | | UTC 45–19 | 4,377 |
| November 22 | 4:00 PM | Western Carolina | Alabama | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | SECN | L 17–48 | 101,325 |
| November 22 | 7:00 PM | Samford | Auburn | Jordan–Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL | ESPNU | L 7–31 | 87,451 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | 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 ||||||||

## Records against other conferences
### FCS conferences

| 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 |

### FBS conferences

| Conference | Record |
| American | 0–1 |
| ACC | 0–1 |
| Big 12 | 0–1 |
| Independents | 0–1 |
| MAC | 0–2 |
| SEC | 0–2 |
| Total | 0–8 |

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Chattanooga | Finley Stadium | 20,668 | 14,285 | 8,872 | 8,848 | 10,763 | 9,692 | | | 52,460 | 10,492 | 51% |
| The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium | 21,000 | 10,828 | 8,573 | 10,467 | 8,037 | 11,488 | 7,638 | | 57,031 | 9,505 | 45% |
| Furman | Paladin Stadium | 16,000 | 7,533 | 9,789 | 7,347 | 8,047 | 6,282 | 4,377 | | 43,375 | 7,229 | 45% |
| Mercer | Moye Complex | 10,200 | 10,027 | 12,227 | 10,173 | 8,027 | 9,277 | 10,271 | 10,000 | 70,002 | 10,000 | 98% |
| Samford | Seibert Stadium | 6,700 | 4,968 | 4,618 | 8,713 | 4,157 | 4,871 | 4,689 | | 32,016 | 5,336 | 80% |
| VMI | Alumni Memorial Field | 10,000 | 4,479 | 4,490 | 6,624 | 3,624 | 7,097 | | | 26,314 | 5,263 | 53% |
| Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium | 13,742 | 8,929 | 10,511 | 7,343 | 13,323 | 8,705 | 8,339 | | 57,150 | 9,525 | 69% |
| Wofford | Gibbs Stadium | 13,000 | 7,392 | 7,108 | 9,259 | 8,010 | 7,051 | | | 38,820 | 7,764 | 60% |