A look around the Big South Conference as conference play continues. This week features the first match-up between 2 of the 3 main challengers for the conference title.
1. Stony Brook 5-1, 1-0
Stony Brook is clearly the class of the league this year, and it’s not close. The Brook is coming off a 49-7 thrashing of Charleston Southern. They face their first road block to the Big South auto-bid this Saturday when they head to Myrtle Beach to face Coastal Carolina. We will learn a lot more about both teams in this game.
This week: @ Coastal Carolina 3:30
2. Coastal Carolina 2-3, 0-0
New head coach Joe Moglia has gotten off to a solid start at Coastal. Coastal had a bye this past week, and they have certainly spent their entire bye week focusing on Stony Brook. Coastal has given up at least 35 points in each of their last 4 games. They must hold the vaunted Stony Brook offense down if they have a shot to win Saturday.
This week: vs Stony Brook 3:30
3. Liberty 1-4, 1-0
Liberty finally gets a win. At halftime, and even early in the 2nd half, it looked as though Liberty would lose its first home conference game in 6 years. That was before the Flames went on a 32-7 run to knock off Gardner-Webb. This week Liberty heads to Clinton, SC to take on the Blue Hose. Presby has always been a thorn in Liberty’s side since they joined the conference. Bottom line, Liberty must win to stay in the Big South championship race.
This week: @ Presbyterian 2:00
4. VMI 2-3, 1-0
At this point in the season it is very difficult to decipher between teams 4-7. We will give the edge to VMI this week as they took care of business at home vs Presbyterian. The Keydets have another solid chance at a victory as they head to Charleston to take on Charleston Southern. With a win, VMI would start 2-0 in Big South play for the first time since 2005.
This week: @ Charleston Southern 1:30
5. Gardner Webb 0-5, 0-1
GWU may be 0-5, but they put a scare into Liberty which sent shock-waves across the conference. Which Runnin’ Bulldogs team is the real one? The first half or 2nd half team? If it’s the first half team, GWU could win a few conference games. If it’s the 2nd half team, GWU will be fighting for its lives to stay out of the cellar. We won’t learn anything about GWU this week as they face NAIA Mid American Nazarene. They get back to Big South play the following week as they head to Long Island to take on Stony Brook.
This week: vs Mid Am Nazarene 6:00
6. Presbyterian 2-4, 0-1
Many thought Presby would move to the top half of the conference in its first season of eligibility for the conference championship, but the Blue Hose just lost to VMI. Presbyterian has not shown well through 6 games, and looks like it will fight to keep out of the cellar. The Blue Hose will have a chance to make a statement as they face Liberty at home.
This week: vs Liberty 2:00
7. Charleston Southern 1-4, 0-1
Losing 49-7, even to Stony Brook, won’t get you out of the cellar. We’ll know a lot more about the Buccaneers next week this time as they face VMI at home. With Presbyterian coming in to Charleston the following week, CSU has a chance to win back-to-back conference games. CSU should focus on its first Division 1 win since the 2010 season though before thinking about two.
This week: vs VMI 1:30
