As we are now at Liberty’s bye week and virtually the midpoint of the season, and as Big South play gets cranked up this weekend, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the conference as a whole and each team individually.
QB Alex Ross
We’ve talked about it a few times on here, but the Big South had its most impressive out of conference performance in the conference’s history. The 6 Big South teams are 20-13 overall this season. That includes a record of 14-8 against FCS opponents. Take out VMI and Presbyterian and that record improves to 14-3. Coastal and Charleston Southern are 9-0 against FCS competition themselves. Big South Conference teams have wins over Appalachian State, Eastern Kentucky, Furman (twice), Elon, Richmond, and Wofford. The Big South is 6-2 against the storied Southern Conference.
Coastal Carolina
The Chanticleers are 5-0 this season with all 5 wins coming against FCS competition. Coastal is currently ranked 6th in the Coaches Poll and 8th in the Sports Network poll, their highest ranking in school history. Coastal’s offense has been explosive as the Chants rank 5th in the country in scoring at 43.2 points per game, and 7th in the country with over 500 yards of total offense per game. The Chanticleers have a high-powered running game which ranks 4th in the nation with over 282 yards rushing per game. Quarterback Alex Ross leads the conference with 268 yards of total offense per game. The sophomore is 91/136 passing for 1,120 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He is also 2nd on the team in rushing with 220 yards and 4 touchdowns on 44 carries. Lorenzo Taliaferro leads the Chants in rushing with 691 yards (9th in the country) and 10 touchdowns (4th in t he country).
Charleston Southern
Under 1st year head coach Jamey Chadwell, the Buccaneers are off to their best start since 2006. Charleston Southern is 6-0 with 4 road victories over the Citadel, Campbell, Norfolk State, and Appalachian State, and they cracked the Coaches top 25 this week at #25. The Buccaneers haven’t blown anyone out, including the 2 Division II teams they have faced, leading many to think they have an inflated record. Junior running back Christian Reyes has led the Bucs wiith 684 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns. Quarterback Malcolm Dixon has thrown for 585 yards and rushed for 337 more to go along with his 8 total touchdowns. One thing to keep an eye on is Dixon as he was injured in the Appalachian State game and did not play last week against North Greenville.
CSU head coach Jamey Chadwell
Gardner-Webb
The Runnin’ Bulldogs are also led by a first year head coach in Carroll McCray. McCray has guided Gardner-Webb to an impressive 4-2 start on the season with wins over top 25 opponents Richmond and Wofford. The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 2 losses are head scratchers though as they were throttled by FBS Marshall 55-0 and lost to 1st year program Charlotte 53-51. Prior to their loss to Charlotte, Gardner-Webb had cracked the top 25 polls. The Runnin’ Bulldogs have a balanced attack with quarterback Lucas Beatty and running back Juanne Blount leading the way. Beatty has thrown for over 1,300 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Blount has rushed for 621 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Liberty
The Flames are right where most would have expected them at 3-3 with losses to Kent State, Richmond, and Old Dominion and wins over Monmouth, Morgan State, and Kentucky Wesleyan. Liberty has lost their 3 games by an average of 6.6 points per game. Liberty has been led by their stellar defense which is only allowing 16.7 points per game which is good for 7th in the country. The Flames’ red zone defense has been superb as it ranks 3rd in the country by allowing its opponents to score on just 60 percent of its possessions inside the red zone.
Presbyterian
For the Blue Hose things haven’t gone as well as the rest of the conference. Presbyterian is 1-4 with their only win coming over Division II Brevard. The only close loss the Blue Hose have came against Furman where they lost 21-20. Presbyterian is allowing over 35 points per game. Running back Demarcus Rouse has 333 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on 63 carries.
VMI
It’s much of the same for the Keydets who are 1-4 on the season. VMI had to rely on a goal line stand at the end of the game to pick up their only win over Division II Glenville State. The Keydets have been shut out twice (against Richmond and Virginia) and has lost in overtime (to Robert Morris). VMI may have a tough time getting another win this season.
