# 2015 Southern Conference football season

The 2015 Southern Conference football season was the 94th season of college football for the Southern Conference (SoCon) and formed a part of the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season.

## Preseason poll results

First place votes in parentheses
| Media | Media | Media | Coaches | Coaches | Coaches |
| Place | School | Points | Place | School | Points |
| 1 | Chattanooga (29) | 239 | 1 | Chattanooga (7) | 49 |
| 2 | Western Carolina (1) | 190 | 2 | Samford (1) | 40 |
| 3 | Samford | 176 | 3 | Western Carolina | 68 |
| 4 | Wofford | 148 | 4 | Wofford | 30 |
| 5 | Furman | 120 | 5 | Furman | 22 |
| 6 | Mercer | 93 | 6 | Mercer | 20 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 82 | 7 | The Citadel | 18 |
| 8 | VMI | 32 | 8 | VMI | 7 |

### Preseason All-Conference Teams

Offensive Player of the Year: Jacob Huesman, Sr., QB (Chattanooga) Defensive Player of the Year: Michael Pierce, Sr., DL (Samford)
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| First Team Offense ||||
| QB | Jacob Huesman | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| RB | Alex Lakes | So. | Mercer |
| RB | Denzel Williams | Jr. | Samford |
| WR | Karel Hamilton | Jr. | Samford |
| WR | Spearman Robinson | Jr. | Western Carolina |
| TE | Duncan Fletcher | Jr. | Furman |
| OL | Sam Frye | Sr. | The Citadel |
| OL | Joe Turner | Sr. | Furman |
| OL | Gunnar Bromelow | Sr. | Samford |
| OL | Corey Levin | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| OL | Anton Wahrby | Jr. | Wofford |
| First Team Defense ||||
| DL | Mitchell Jeter | Sr. | The Citadel |
| DL | Michael Pierce | Sr. | Samford |
| DL | Josh Freeman | Sr. | Chattanooga |
| DL | Keionta Davis | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| LB | Cory Magwood | Sr. | Furman |
| LB | Justin Cooper | Sr. | Samford |
| LB | Nakevion Leslie | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| DB | James Bradberry | Sr. | Samford |
| DB | Dee Virgin | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| DB | Lucas Webb | So. | Chattanooga |
| DB | Trey Morgan | Jr. | Western Carolina |
| First Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Henrique Ribeiro | Jr. | Chattanooga |
| P | Brian Sanders | Sr. | Wofford |
| RS | Chandler Curtis | So. | Mercer |
| Reference: ||||

## 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 |
| Chattanooga | Stats | 7 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Chattanooga | C | 8 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| The Citadel | Stats | – | – | RV | – | – | – | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 21 | 25 | 18 |
| The Citadel | C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | RV | RV | 22 | 20 | 24 | 18 |
| Furman | Stats | RV | RV | – | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | – | – | – | – |
| Furman | C | RV | RV | – | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | – | RV | – | – | – |
| Mercer | Stats | RV | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Mercer | C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Samford | Stats | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Samford | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| VMI | Stats | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| VMI | C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Western Carolina | Stats | RV | RV | – | – | – | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Western Carolina | C | RV | RV | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | RV | RV | RV |
| Wofford | Stats | – | – | RV | – | – | RV | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wofford | C | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |

## 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 |
| September 3 | 7:00 PM | Central Arkansas | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 45–16 | 6,259 |
| September 3 | 7:00 PM | VMI | Ball State | Scheumann Stadium • Muncie, IN | ESPN3 | L 36–48 | 10,473 |
| September 5 | 12:30 PM | Wofford | Clemson | Memorial Clemson • Clemson, SC | RSN | L 10–49 | 81,345 |
| September 5 | 5:00 PM | Mercer | Austin Peay | Governors Stadium • Clarskville, TN | GovTV | W 28–7 | 5,814 |
| September 5 | 6:00 PM | Jacksonville State | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | SDN | L 20–23 | 15,842 |
| September 5 | 6:00 PM | Davidson | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | W 69–0 | 8,665 |
| September 5 | 7:00 PM | Coastal Carolina | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | L 35–38 | 6,563 |
| September 5 | 7:00 PM | Mars Hill | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | SDN | W 42–14 | 12,348 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Michael Eubank | Samford | Tevin Floyd | The Citadel | Henrique Ribeiro | Chattanooga |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Two

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | 1:00 PM | Mars Hill | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | SDN | W 44–34 | 9,491 |
| September 12 | 1:30 PM | Morehead State | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | W 43–40 | 5,016 |
| September 12 | 2:00 PM | Florida A&M | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 58–21 | 4,714 |
| September 12 | 3:30 PM | Furman | Virginia Tech | Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA | ESPN3 | L 3–42 | 60,118 |
| September 12 | 6:00 PM | Western Carolina | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | CIT 28–10 | 8,048 |
| September 12 | 6:00 PM | Stetson | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 57–14 | 11,267 |
| September 12 | 7:00 PM | Tennessee Tech | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | SDN | W 34–14 | 6,834 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| John Russ | Mercer | Justin Cooper | Samford | Dillon Christopher | VMI |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Three

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 19 | 2:30 PM | Chattanooga | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ASN | UTC 31–21 | 9,088 |
| September 19 | 5:00 PM | Wofford | Idaho | Kibbie Dome • Moscow, ID | ESPN3 | L 38–41 | 11,633 |
| September 19 | 6:00 PM | The Citadel | Georgia Southern | Paulson Stadium • Statesboro, GA | ESPN3 | L 13–48 | 24,872 |
| September 19 | 6:00 PM | Furman | UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium • Orlando, FL | ESPN3 | W 16–15 | 36,484 |
| September 19 | 6:00 PM | VMI | Richmond | Robins Stadium • Richmond, VA | | L 10–42 | 8,700 |
| September 19 | 7:00 PM | Mercer | Tennessee Tech | Tucker Stadium • Cookeville, TN | WCTE | L 22–29 | 9,028 |
| September 19 | 7:00 PM | Western Carolina | Tennessee | Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN | ESPNU | L 10–55 | 102,136 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Trey Robinson | Furman | John Croft Hollingsworth | Furman |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Four

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | 3:00 PM | VMI | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | FUR 24–21 | 7,915 |
| September 26 | 6:00 PM | Charleston Southern | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | L 20–33 | 11,918 |
| September 26 | 6:00 PM | Samford | Louisville | Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | ESPN3 | L 3–45 | 50,121 |
| September 26 | 7:00 PM | Chattanooga | Presbyterian | Bailey Memorial Stadium • Clinton, SC | BSN | W 21–0 | 3,582 |
| September 26 | 7:00 PM | Gardner–Webb | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | SDN | W 16–0 | 6,932 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Kelonta Davis | Chattanooga | Brian Ross | Furman |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Five

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 3 | 1:30 PM | Bucknell | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | L 22–28$^{OT}$ | 3,713 |
| October 3 | 3:30 PM | Presbyterian | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | WMYA | W 33–21 | 9,191 |
| October 3 | 6:00 PM | Wofford | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | WOF 33–34$^{OT}$ | 10,489 |
| October 3 | 7:00 PM | South Carolina State | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | W 17–3 | 1,022 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Detrez Newsome | Western Carolina | Drake Michaelson | Wofford | Logan Howard | Western Carolina |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Six

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 10 | 1:00 PM | Furman | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | ESPN3 | UTC 31–3 | 7,630 |
| October 10 | 1:30 PM | Samford | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | SAM 49–13 | 4,875 |
| October 10 | 2:00 PM | Wofford | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | CIT 39–12 | 10,428 |
| October 10 | 3:30 PM | Mercer | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | SDN | WCU 21–24 | 8,479 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Michael Eubank | Samford | Tevin Floyd | The Citadel | Henrique Ribeiro | Chattanooga |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Seven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 17 | 1:30 PM | Chattanooga | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | UTC 33–27 | 6,104 |
| October 17 | 2:00 PM | Western Carolina | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | WCU 24–17 | 7,344 |
| October 17 | 3:00 PM | The Citadel | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ESPN3 | CIT 44–25 | 4,927 |
| October 17 | 4:00 PM | East Tennessee State | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | W 52–0 | 10,200 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Karel Hamilton | Samford | Dee Delaney | The Citadel | Henrique Ribeiro | Chattanooga |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Eight

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 24 | 1:30 PM | Chattanooga | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | SDN | UTC 20–17 | 8,713 |
| October 24 | 1:30 PM | The Citadel | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | CIT 38–17 | 12,124 |
| October 24 | 3:00 PM | VMI | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | VMI 28–21 | 10,200 |
| October 24 | 3:30 PM | Samford | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | SDN | WCU 56–36 | 12,014 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Aaron Sanders | VMI | Daniel Riddle | Western Carolina | Henrique Ribeiro | Chattanooga |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Nine

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| October 31 | 1:30 PM | Wofford | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | WOF 41–20 | 4,437 |
| October 31 | 2:00 PM | Western Carolina | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | ESPN3 | UTC 41–13 | 11,495 |
| October 31 | 2:00 PM | Mercer | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | CIT 21–19 | 10,006 |
| October 31 | 3:00 PM | Furman | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | SDN | FUR 20–17 | 4,013 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Cory Magwood | Furman | Jon Croft Hollingsworth | Furman |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Ten

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 7 | 2:00 PM | VMI | The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | CIT 35–14 | 14,925 |
| November 7 | 2:00 PM | Clark Atlanta | Samford | Seibert Stadium • Homewood, AL | ESPN3 | W 43–0 | 4,264 |
| November 7 | 3:30 PM | Furman | Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium • Cullowhee, NC | SDN | WCU 48–10 | 8,561 |
| November 7 | 4:00 PM | Chattanooga | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | MER 17–14 | 9,527 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Troy Mitchell | Western Carolina | Quinlan Washington | The Citadel | Anthony Pistelli | Samford |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Eleven

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 14 | 1:30 PM | Mercer | Furman | Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC | ESPN3 | MER 27–20 | 6,351 |
| November 14 | 1:30 PM | Samford | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ESPN3 | SAM 37–27 | 5,077 |
| November 14 | 2:00 PM | The Citadel | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | SDN | UTC 31–23 | 11,594 |
| November 14 | 7:00 PM | Western Carolina | Texas A&M | Kyle Field • College Station, TX | ESPNU | L 17–41 | 101,583 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Jacob Huesman | Chattanooga | Zach Jackson | Mercer | Anthony Pistelli | Samford |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Twelve

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance |
| November 21 | 12:00 PM | The Citadel | South Carolina | Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC | SECN Alt. | W 23–22 | 77,241 |
| November 21 | 1:30 PM | Western Carolina | VMI | Alumni Memorial Field • Lexington, VA | ESPN3 | WCU 24–20 | 4,523 |
| November 21 | 3:00 PM | Chattanooga | Florida State | Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL | ACCRSN | L 13–52 | 66,412 |
| November 21 | 3:00 PM | Samford | Mercer | Moye Complex • Macon, GA | ESPN3 | SAM 47–21 | 10,200 |
| November 21 | 3:30 PM | Furman | Wofford | Gibbs Stadium • Spartanburg, SC | ASN | WOF 38–28 | 7,143 |
Players of the week:
| Offensive | Offensive | Defensive | Defensive | Special teams | Special teams |
| Player | Team | Player | Team | Player | Team |
| Tyler Renew | The Citadel | Daniel Riddle | Western Carolina | Anthony Pistelli | Samford |
| Reference: Weekly Release ||||||

### Week Thirteen

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference |
| November 28 | 1:00 PM | Fordham | Chattanooga | Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN | ESPN3 | W 50–20 | 4,888 | |
| November 28 | 2:00 PM | The Citadel | Coastal Carolina | Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC | ESPN3 | W 41–38 | 6,751 | |

### Week Fourteen

| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | Broadcast | Result | Attendance | Reference |
| December 5 | 1:00 PM | The Citadel | Charleston Southern | Buccaneer Field • North Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | | | |
| December 5 | 2:00 PM | Chattanooga | Jacksonville State | Burgess-Snow Field at JSU Stadium • Jacksonville, AL | ESPN3 | | | |

## Records against other conferences
### FCS conferences

| Conference | Record |
| Big Sky | 0–0 |
| Big South | 3–3 |
| CAA | 0–1 |
| Ivy League | 0–0 |
| Independents | 1–0 |
| MEAC | 2–0 |
| MVFC | 0–0 |
| NEC | 0–0 |
| OVC | 2–2 |
| Patriot | 2–0 |
| Pioneer | 3–0 |
| Southland | 1–0 |
| SWAC | 0–0 |
| Total | 14–6 |

### FBS conferences

| Conference | Record |
| American | 1–0 |
| ACC | 0–4 |
| Big 12 | 0–0 |
| Independents | 0–0 |
| MAC | 0–1 |
| SEC | 1–2 |
| Sun Belt | 0–2 |
| Total | 2–9 |

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
| Chattanooga | Finley Stadium | 20,668 | 15,812 | 9,491 | 7,630 | 11,495 | 11,594 | 4,888 | 60,910 | 10,152 | 49% |
| The Citadel | Johnson Hagood Stadium | 21,000 | 8,665 | 8,048 | 11,918 | 10,428 | 10,006 | 14,925 | 63,990 | 10,665 | 51% |
| Furman | Paladin Stadium | 16,000 | 6,563 | 7,915 | 1,022 | 12,124 | 6,351 | | 33,975 | 6,795 | 42% |
| Mercer | Moye Complex | 10,200 | 11,267 | 10,489 | 10,200 | 10,200 | 9,527 | 10,200 | 61,883 | 10,314 | 101% |
| Samford | Seibert Stadium | 6,700 | 6,259 | 4,714 | 9,088 | 4,927 | 4,013 | 4,264 | 33,265 | 5,544 | 83% |
| VMI | Alumni Memorial Field | 10,000 | 5,016 | 3,713 | 4,875 | 6,104 | 4,437 | 4,523 | 28,668 | 4,778 | 48% |
| Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire Stadium | 13,742 | 12,348 | 9,191 | 8,479 | 12,014 | 8,561 | | 50,593 | 10,119 | 74% |
| Wofford | Gibbs Stadium | 13,000 | 6,834 | 6,932 | 7,344 | 8,713 | 5,077 | 7,143 | 42,043 | 7,007 | 54% |