Unbelievable. We have already reached the end of the regular season for Big South football.

Here are the final power rankings of the 2016 season:
Note last week’s rankings in (parentheses)

  1. (1) Charleston Southern 7-3, 4-1 *Nationally ranked #10
    This week: Kennesaw State 7 Charleston Southern 28

    Here’s to your back-to-back Big South champions. In his 4 years with Charleston Southern, Coach Jamey Chadwell has taken his team to the FCS playoffs twice, including this year. The Bucs hosted fellow option team Kennesaw State and had no issues with them. The Blue Swarm defense held the Owls to some of their lowest numbers of the season, including just 172 total rushing yards, and forced 4 turnovers. RB Darius Hammond rushed for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bucs look to have taken over Coastal Carolina’s place atop the Big South. Will anyone be able to dethrone them?

    Next up: FCS Playoffs

  2. (2) Liberty 6-5, 4-1
    This week: Liberty 7 Coastal Carolina 42

    Injuries and dismissals piled up on the offensive and defensive line, and it was too much to overcome for Liberty on Thursday night. The stats speak to this as the Flames gave up 318 rushing yards, while rushing for -23 themselves. Yes, that is NEGATIVE 23 yards on the ground. Thanks to the line struggles, they experienced back-to-back blowouts at the mercy of Charleston Southern and Coastal. The Flames end the season the same as last year: 6-5. Now Liberty looks to hire a new athletic director and build on young talent for 2017.

    Next up: End of Season

  3. (3) Kennesaw State 8-3, 3-2
    This week: Kennesaw State 7 Charleston Southern 28

    Kennesaw State came up one game short of grabbing a share of the Big South and winning their first ever conference title. Victory wouldn’t come easy against the likes of Charleston Southern, and nearly impossible when turning the ball over 4 times. While their 8-3 record is impressive for a 2nd year program, a good chunk of Kennesaw’s wins have come at the expense of DII squads. Going forward, some of Kennesaw’s priorities will be getting some size on their offensive and defensive lines, along with beefing up their schedule. Bright days are ahead for this team.

    Next up: End of Season

  4. (4) Gardner-Webb 5-6, 3-2
    This week: OVERTIME – Monmouth 33 Gardner-Webb 34

    Thanks to a great performance by QB Tyrell Maxwell, Gardner-Webb closed the season out with a win. Maxwell rushed accounted for 267 total yards and a touchdown. The game was decided by a gutsy call in overtime to go for two. The Runnin’ Bulldogs have had just one winning season since 2010, so this solidifies 5 losing seasons in 6 years. Two areas of weakness Gardner-Webb dealt with all season were run-stopping and receiving. I imagine these will be heavily focused on in the off season.

    Next up: End of Season

  5. (5) Presbyterian 2-9, 1-4
    This week: Presbyterian 7 South Alabama 31

    Presbyterian closed out the season against Sunbelt opponent Southern Alabama. The Jaguars rushed their way to victory, racking up 251 yards and 3 touchdowns. QB Ben Cheek accounted for the majority of the yards on the ground for Presby with 128. Their lone touchdown came at the hands of the defense. After back to back 2-9 seasons, Harold Nicholls has resigned as the head coach of Presbyterian. Now their focus is on finding someone to lead the Blue Hose.

    Next up: End of Season

  6. (6) Monmouth 4-7, 0-5
    This week: OVERTIME – Monmouth 33 Gardner-Webb 34

    QB Kenji Bahar threw for 241 yards and a touchdown in the overtime loss to Gardner-Webb Saturday. RB Lavon Chaney rushed for 150 yard and 2 touchdowns, including the overtime score. They were forced to match the Runnin’ Bulldog’s 2-point conversion, but came up short. No doubt the Hawks are ready for this season to come to a close. After spending the majority of their time on the road, they are due some time at home.

    Next up: End of Season