# 2012 Southern Conference football season

The 2012 Southern Conference football season, part of the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season competition of college football, began on Thursday, August 30, 2012 with Western Carolina hosting Mars Hill. The regular season concluded on November 17, while Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, and Wofford qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
Appalachian State was eliminated in the first round at the hands of Illinois State. Wofford was subsequently eliminated the following week, losing to North Dakota State 14–7, and Georgia Southern, after defeating Central Arkansas and Old Dominion in the previous two weeks, fell to the Bison as well on December 14 in the tournament semifinals, 23–20.

## Preseason Poll Results

First place votes in parentheses
| Place | Media | Coaches |
| 1 | Georgia Southern (25) | Georgia Southern (7) |
| 2 | Wofford (4) | Appalachian State (2) |
| 3 | Appalachian State (1) | Wofford |
| 4 | Chattanooga | Chattanooga |
| 5 | Furman | Furman |
| 6 | Samford | Samford |
| 7 | Elon | Elon |
| 8 | The Citadel | The Citadel |
| 9 | Western Carolina | Western Carolina |

### Preseason All-Conference Teams

Offensive Player of the Year: Eric Breitenstein, Sr., RB Defensive Player of the Year: Brent Russell, Sr., DL
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| First Team Offense ||||
| QB | Jamal Jackson | Junior | Appalachian State |
| RB | Jerodis Williams | Senior | Furman |
| RB | Eric Breitenstein | Sr. | Wofford |
| WR | Aaron Mellette | Sr. | Elon |
| WR | Kelsey Pope | Jr. | Samford |
| TE | Colin Anderson | Sr. | Furman |
| OL | Mike Sellers | Jr. | The Citadel |
| OL | Dakota Dozier | Jr. | Furman |
| OL | Dorian Byrd | Jr. | Georgia Southern |
| OL | Ryan Dudchock | Sr. | Samford |
| OL | Jake Miles | Sr. | Wofford |
| First Team Defense ||||
| DL | Chris Billingslea | Sr. | The Citadel |
| DL | Josh Lynn | Sr. | Furman |
| DL | Brent Russell | Sr. | Georgia Southern |
| DL | Josh Williams | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| LB | Jeremy Kimbrough | Sr. | Appalachian State |
| LB | Wes Dothard | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| LB | Alvin Scioneaux | Jr. | Wofford |
| DB | Demetrius McCray | Sr. | Appalachian State |
| DB | Greg Worthy | Jr. | Furman |
| DB | Deion Stanley | So. | Georgia Southern |
| DB | D. J. Key | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| First Team Special Teams ||||
| K | Cameron Yaw | Sr. | Samford |
| P | Cass Couey | Sr. | The Citadel |
| RS | Fabian Truss | Jr. | Samford |

## 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 | Final |
| Appalachian State | TSN | 6 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 9 |
| Appalachian State | C | 5 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 8 |
| Chattanooga | TSN | RV | RV | RV | RV | – | | | | | | | | |
| Chattanooga | C | RV | – | – | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| The Citadel | TSN | RV | RV | 21 | 10 | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| The Citadel | C | - | – | 23 | 14 | 15 | | | | | | | | |
| Elon | TSN | RV | – | – | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Elon | C | - | - | - | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Furman | TSN | RV | RV | – | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Furman | C | - | - | – | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Georgia Southern | TSN | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| Georgia Southern | C | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Samford | TSN | RV | RV | – | RV | RV | | | | | | | | |
| Samford | C | - | - | RV | RV | 25 | | | | | | | | |
| Western Carolina | TSN | - | - | - | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Western Carolina | C | - | - | - | – | – | | | | | | | | |
| Wofford | TSN | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | | | | | | | | |
| Wofford | C | 13 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 5 | | | | | | | | |

## 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 30 | 8:00 p.m. | Mars Hill | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | W 42–14 | 7,094 |
| September 1 | 12:00 p.m. | #6 Appalachian State | East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC | FSN | L 13–35 | 49,023 |
| September 1 | 12:30 p.m. | Elon | North Carolina | Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC | ACC Network | L 0–62 | 50,500 |
| September 1 | 4:30 p.m. | Furman | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | CSS | SU 24–21 | 6,712 |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Charleston Southern | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | W 49–14 | 14,264 |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Jacksonville | #3 Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | | W58–0 | 20,132 |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | Wofford | Gardner–Webb | Ernest W. Spangler Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC | | W 34–7 | 3,140 |
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN3 | L 13–34 | 41,285 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Eric Breitenstein | Wofford | Chris Billingslea | The Citadel | Sam Martin | Appalachian State | Troy Mitchell | Western Carolina |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Two

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 8 | 5:00 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | | L 45–47 (3OT) | 7,156 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | #3 Georgia Southern | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | Cit 23–21 | 12,299 |
| September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | #12 Montana | #11 Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | ESPN3 | W 35–27 | 30,856 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | North Carolina Central | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | | W 34–14 | 7,528 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | West Alabama | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | W 34–6 | 7,384 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | Jacksonville State | JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, AL | | L 24–27 | 18,993 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Carolina | Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV | FCS | L 24–52 | 25,317 |
| September 8 | 7:00 p.m. | Lincoln | #10 Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | | W 82–0 | 4,309 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jamal Jackson | Appalachian State | Jaquiski Tartt | Samford | Thomas Warren | The Citadel | Reese Hannon | Furman |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Three

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Glenville State | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | W 35–0 | 9,077 |
| September 15 | 3:00 p.m. | West Virginia State | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | | W48–14 | 7,053 |
| September 15 | 3:00 p.m. | Furman | #11 (FBS) Clemson | Memorial Stadium • Clemson, SC | ESPN3 | L 7–41 | 81,500 |
| September 15 | 3:00 p.m. | Samford | Gardner–Webb | Ernest W. Spangler Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC | | W 44–23 | 3,850 |
| September 15 | 3:30 p.m. | #21 The Citadel | #8 Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | | Cit 52–28 | 24,137 |
| September 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Carolina | #9 Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | | WC 49–20 | 8,544 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Ben Dupree | The Citadel | Carson Smith | The Citadel | Michael Wiemer | Wofford | Fabian Truss | Samford |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Four

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 22 | 12:00 p.m. | Furman | Presbyterian | Bailey Memorial Stadium • Clinton, SC | CSS | W 31–21 | 5,370 |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | Samford | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | SU 25–21 | 10,112 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | #17 Appalachian State | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | ASU 34–17 | 13,726 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | #10 The Citadel | NC State | Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC | ESPN3 | L 14–52 | 55,145 |
| September 22 | 6:00 p.m. | Elon | #11 Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | | GSU 26–23 | 18,353 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Fabian Truss | Samford | Brandon Greir | Appalachian State | James Bradberry | Samford | Alex Hanes | Georgia Southern |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Five

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 29 | 1:30 p.m. | #6 Wofford | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | | WC 49–24 | 10,302 |
| September 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Western Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | | FUR 45–24 | 10,218 |
| September 29 | 3:30 p.m. | Coastal Carolina | #17 Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | | W 55–14 | 27,619 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | #11 The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | UTC 28–10 | 13,878 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | Samford | #10 Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | ESPN3 | GSU 35–16 | 20,832 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Eric Breitenstein | Wofford | Kadeem Wise | Chattanooga | Sean Price | Appalachian State | Jerodis Williams | Furman |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Six

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Result | Attendance |
| October 6 | 1:30 p.m. | Furman | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | WC 20–17 | 9,170 |
| October 6 | 3:00 p.m. | The Citadel | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SU 38–7 | 5,872 |
| October 6 | 3:30 p.m. | Elon | Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | ASU 35–23 | 29,073 |
| October 6 | 3:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Western Carolina | E. J Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | GSU 45–13 | 9,514 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jamal Jackson | Appalachian State | Jaquiski Tartt | Samford | James Dean | Georgia Southern | Ray Early | Furman |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Seven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 13 | 1:30 p.m. | Chattanooga | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, NC | ESPN3 | WC 20–17 | 9,170 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Western Carolina | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | Cit 45–31 | 12,578 |
| October 13 | 3:00 p.m. | Appalachian State | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | ASU 35–23 | 9,712 |
| October 13 | 6:00 p.m. | Wofford | Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | | GSU 17–9 | 20,983 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Dominique Swope | Georgia Southern | Rock Williams | Western Carolina | Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Sam Martin | Appalachian State |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Eight

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, NC | | GSU 38–17 | 11,191 |
| October 20 | 3:00 p.m. | Western Carolina | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | ESPN3 | Elon 42–31 | 10,154 |
| October 20 | 3:30 p.m. | Wofford | Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | | WC 20–17 | 27,115 |
| October 20 | 6:00 p.m. | Samford | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | UTC 20–13 | 7,103 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Thomas Wilson | Elon | Tarek Odom | Wofford | Troy Mitchell | Western Carolina | Tony Washington | Appalachian State |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Nine

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 27 | 1:30 p.m. | The Citadel | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | WC 24–21 | 9,658 |
| October 27 | 3:00 p.m. | Furman | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | | FUR 31–17 | 6,158 |
| October 27 | 3:30 p.m. | Appalachian State | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | ASU 38–27 | 13,279 |
| October 27 | 6:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | GSU 39–31 | 8,908 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Steven Miller | Appalachian State | Marcus McMorris | Furman | Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Kasey Redfern | Wofford |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Ten

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | Appalachian State | Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | ESPN3 | ASU 31–28 | 22,155 |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | Elon | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | | Cit 38–24 | 14,853 |
| November 3 | 3:00 p.m. | Wofford | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | | SU 24–17 (OT) | 8,147 |
| November 3 | 3:30 p.m. | Chattanooga | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | | UTC 45–24 | 7,099 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Sean Price | Appalachian State | Troy Sanders | Appalachian State | Sean Price | Appalachian State | Cameron Yaw | Samford |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Eleven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 10 | 1:30 p.m. | The Citadel | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | | W 27–24 | 7,863 |
| November 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Samford | Elon | Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC | | SU 26–15 | 6,231 |
| November 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Chattanooga | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | WC 16–13 | 8,112 |
| November 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Howard | Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | | W 69–26 | 18,069 |
| November 10 | 3:30 p.m. | Furman | Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC | | ASU 33–28 | 28,946 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jerick McKinnon | Georgia Southern | Derek Douglas | Citadel | Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Sam Martin | Appalachian State |
| Reference: ||||||||

### Week Twelve

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 17 | 1:30 p.m. | The Citadel | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | Cit 42–20 | 8,127 |
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | Elon | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | | UTC 24–17 | 8,791 |
| November 17 | 1:30 p.m. | Georgia Southern | Georgia | Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA | ESPN3 | L 45–14 | 92,746 |
| November 17 | 7:30 p.m. | Samford | Kentucky | Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY | ESPN3 | L 34–3 | 46,749 |
| November 17 | 12:21 p.m. | Western Carolina | Alabama | Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL | ESPN3, SEC TV | L 49–0 | 101,126 |
| November 17 | 1:00 p.m. | Wofford | South Carolina | Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC | ESPN3 | L 24–7 | 79,982 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Freshman | Freshman | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Reference: ||||||||

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Appalachian State | Kidd Brewer Stadium | 30,856 | 24,137 | 27,619 | 29,073 | 27,115 | 28,946 | — | — | — | 185,404 | 26,358 | 128.22% |
| Chattanooga | Finley Stadium | 20,668 | 9,077 | 13,726 | 7,103 | — | — | — | — | — | 29,906 | 9,969 | 48.23% |
| The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium | 21,000 | 14,264 | 12,299 | 13,878 | 12,578 | — | — | — | — | 53,019 | 13,255 | 63.12% |
| Elon | Rhodes Stadium | 13,000 | 7,528 | 7,053 | 10,302 | 10,154 | — | — | — | — | 35,037 | 8,759 | 67.38% |
| Furman | Paladin Stadium | 16,000 | 7,156 | 10,218 | 8,351 | 11,191 | — | — | — | — | 36,916 | 9,229 | 57.68% |
| Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium | 18,000 | 20,132 | 18,353 | 20,832 | 20,983 | — | — | — | — | 80,300 | 20,075 | 111.53% |
| Samford | Seibert Stadium | 6,700 | 6,712 | 7,384 | 5,872 | 9,712 | — | — | — | — | 29,680 | 7,420 | 110.75% |
| Western Carolina | E.J. Whitmire Stadium | 13,742 | 7,094 | 10,112 | 9,514 | — | — | — | — | — | 26,721 | 8,907 | 64.82% |
| Wofford | Gibbs Stadium | 13,000 | 4,309 | 8,544 | 9,170 | — | — | — | — | — | 22,023 | 7,341 | 56.47% |