September 4th, 2024 2:00pm
Opening weekend gave us some fireworks in the SAC, but unfortunately three of the four games were blowouts. Delta State led 10-7 at half before the Statesmen exploded in the 2nd half, winning by 31 at Mars Hill. Coach Ingram’s Carson-Newman debut ended with the Eagles running all over Reinhardt in old school Carson-Newman style, 50-7. The Eagles had their first 350+ yard rushing day since November 2021. Emory & Henry took advantage of five Glenville State turnovers to blow out the Pioneers in a shortened game, giving Coach Hunter win #1. The lone competitive game was Wingate’s win over UNC Pembroke, which ended with a defensive stand by Coach Jordan’s crew to secure the road victory. The rest of the conference opens their seasons this week, highlighted by my game of the week: Tusculum at West Alabama.
Players of the Week
Offense: Cam Peoples, Emory & Henry- 3 receptions for 83 yards and 2 TD’s. 2 carries for 14 yards.
Defense: Jaquan Edwards, Wingate- 4 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 0.5 sacks, game sealing interception.
Special Teams: Fortune Woods, Carson-Newman- blocked punt recovery for a touchdown
SAC Power Rankings (Did not change due to everyone not playing yet)
Last Week: 4-0
Season: 4-0
Thursday’s Games
West Virginia State Yellow Jackets at Barton Bulldogs
Location: Wilson, NC / 6 PM
Line: Barton -14.5
Series: First Ever Meeting
West Virginia State of the MEC is getting some SAC action this week against Barton, and next against Carson-Newman. The Yellow Jackets started 2023 off 4-1, before dropping the last five games of the season. And while they are looking to replace quarterback Donovan Riddick, they do have the luxury of having outstanding running back Joel Felder back for another season. Felder has rushed for nearly 2000 yards in the past two seasons and 21 scores. A threat out of the backfield as well, with 41 catches and 387 yards to go along with five touchdowns, Felder is a handful for everyone.
Barton has a lot of talent on the offense to replace, but if anyone could plug and play and find a solution quickly it’s Chip Hester. Though a very tall task, replacing the likes of Jaquan Lynch, Jordan Terrell and Kameron Johnson, is going to present a massive challenge. It’s not easy to replace superstar players individually over a few seasons, much less all at once. And we didn’t even mention Shane Perry on defense. Luckily, there’s a real bulldog remaining in Matt Smith. A lot of folks in the SAC missed just how good that guy is.
I like Barton in this one, though I wouldn’t be stunned by a WVSU upset. I like Felder a LOT and think he can cause some problems. If Barton is able to figure somethings out on the fly in this one, I think they may be okay. But I’m thinking it’s closer than the spread. My biggest concern for WVSU is their defense. I don’t care if you score 30.1 points per game. If you give up just as much or more.
Limestone Saints at West Liberty Hilltoppers (0-1)
Location: West Liberty, WV / 7 PM
Line: Limestone -26.5
Series: First Ever Meeting
Jerricho Cotchery and the Limestone Saints are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances and are looking to go for the three peats. A lot of star power has left Gaffney, but there are still some extremely valuable pieces there starting with SAC Offensive Player of the Year Dustin Noller. This game should give the Saints a tune-up to get some things possibly sorted out, but there are some challenges if they want to make it three straight trips to the NCAA’s.
West Liberty has seen some struggles as of late. They haven’t had a winning season since 2014, and unfortunately are already 0-1 in 2024. Last week, the Hilltoppers fell behind 21-0 to Walsh of the GMAC before playing even the rest of the game. The 42-21 loss came even as they won the total yardage battle but had 3 turnovers. Trevor Lagarde and Alex Dunlevy combined for 207 yards and 2 scores passing, with Ben Turner leading the way overall.
I expect Limestone to roll in this one, somewhere between 21-28 points. Even with the losses of Tre Stewart, Jelani Baker and Drew Dixon on offense, I think they will have some firepower. My biggest question is how the defense responds to Chandler Matthews no longer being there and if they can continue to develop as a group.
Saturday’s Games
St. Andrews Knights (0-1) at Anderson Trojans
Location: Anderson, SC / 1 PM
Line: Anderson -15.5
Series: First Ever Meeting
St. Andrews is coming in off a loss to former SAC affiliate member Erskine, 52-0, in their season opener. Things may get even rougher for the Knights this week. The Knights are 13-55 since the 2017 season and have won just 1 game since 2022.
This is the first game in program history for the Anderson Trojans and Coach Bobby Lamb. There is a ton of excitement, though I am not sure how much we will actually know about the team after this game. So this preview and tid bit will be short and sweet.
Trojans win their program opener, and I’m calling for a blowout. If the Knights lost by 52 to Erskine, IF Anderson is close to that level we are looking at a 42-45 point win at minimum.
Even if you are not a fan, alum, or have any connection, I’d say take the road trip and go. As I’ve said before, getting to be at the very first game in program history is something you can’t experience twice.
Bowie State Bulldogs at #13 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears
Location: Hickory, NC / 1 PM
Line: Lenoir-Rhyne -28.5
Series: Bowie State leads 1-0. (Bowie State won only matchup in 2021 NCAA Playoffs, 31-10)
Over the past five years, Bowie State has been one of the better programs not just in the CIAA, but in the super region. Multiple trips to the playoffs, a regional final appearance, the Bulldogs have been stellar, led by an outstanding defense. However, Kyle Jackson’s bunch is coming off back-to-back 6-4 seasons and are looking to get back to the standard in Bowie, MD. The Bulldogs early season schedule is very tough though.
Lenoir-Rhyne is fresh off a national semifinal appearance and new head man Doug Socha is looking to keep things running in Hickory. The Bears lost a lot of significant pieces from the 2023 squad, but the cupboard is not bare. When you return players such as Andre Jefferson, DeAree Rogers, Jalen Ferguson, it’s a great place to start. As I said before, I think the Bears are likely to take a step back, but I firmly believe it will still be a handful to take on the Bears week in and week out.
Give me Lenoir-Rhyne in this home tilt, somewhere between 10-17 points. I think it’ll take them some time to get stuff figured out, a expected when you lose the amount of vets as they did. But I still believe they have more talent than Bowie. They aren’t by any means a bad team, but I don’t think they are nearly as good as they were several years ago.
UVA Wise Cavaliers at East Tennessee State Buccaneers (0-1)
Location: Johnson City, TN / 5:30 PM
Line: East Tennessee State -32.5
Series: East Tennessee state leads 1-0. (Won only meeting 45-14 in 2021)
The first game of the Gary Bass era could be a long one for the Cavaliers, making the trip to take on FCS East Tennessee State. UVA Wise is coming off back-to-back 2-9 campaigns and has a lot of question marks on both sides of the ball. Even though I expect the Cavaliers to have some more fight in them this year, it may be a long season.
ETSU played fairly well against Appalachian State last week in Boone. It was a two-score game heading into the 4th before the Mountaineers pulled away. Devontae Houston rushed for 127 yards and a score and will likely have a big day.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a ton to write up about this one. It’s a money game for UVA Wise and I expect most everybody that dresses for ETSU to play significant snaps in this one. Look for the Buccaneers to win by a minimum of 5 to 6 scores. Sorry Cavs fans.
Catawba Indians at Davidson Wildcats (0-1)
Location: Davidson, NC / 7 PM
Line: Davidson -6.5
Series: Catawba leads 5-2 (Catawba won last meeting 35-21 in 2015)
As I said in my conference preview column, if Coach Haines and the Indians can continue to improve in 2024 the way they did from 2022 to 2023, Catawba will contend for the Piedmont division title. They return a lot of talented players, especially on the offensive side of the ball with the trio of running backs, Preston Brown under center, and one of the best wide outs in D2 in Bo Pryor. Consistency is the key to success this season.
Davidson took a minor step back in 2023, finishing 7-4. They were 8-4 in 2022 and made the FCS playoffs. The Wildcats haven’t had a losing season since 2017 and have made three playoff appearances since then. I was pretty surprised they got beat by three scores last week against Georgetown though. After keeping it close for the first half, Georgetown scored almost immediately in the 3rd quarter. It was never a one score game after that, as the Hoyas cruised to a 22 point win.
I am going with the upset in this one. I think the Indians offense can create problems for the Davidson defense and can make enough stops on the other end to give them a chance. Give me Catawba with a walk off field goal.
#5 Valdosta State Blazers (1-0) at Newberry Wolves (0-0)
Location: Newberry, SC / 7 PM
Line: Valdosta State -13.5
Series: Valdosta State leads 3-1. (Valdosta State won last meeting, 24-17, in 2011)
Tremaine Jackson and the 5th ranked Blazers kicked off their season with a 32-point win over Albany State. Valdosta jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the 1st, and it was in cruise control after that, ending with a 42-10 final. Sammy Edwards threw for 306 and 4 TD’s to lead the way, and the Blazers totaled 462 yards of offense. Coach Jackson’s crew also ran the ball quite well, which could help the Blazers to be more balanced come playoff time.
Newberry is looking to bounce back from an ugly 2023 season, which saw them finish 4-7. Dwayne Wright and Trakell Murray are a solid running back tandem, and the Wolves will be leaning on them along with Keith Desaussure. I’m intrigued to see who will be under center for the Wolves, as all three guys who played significant snaps last year are gone. The one consistent with Coach Knight’s teams is a bully of a defense, which will have their hands full for sure this weekend.
Even with the quality Newberry usually has on defense, I don’t think there is enough to slow down Sammy Edwards and the Blazers offense. I’m still also unsure about Newberry’s overall offense and the ability to score mass amounts of points, especially in a hurry. Give me Valdosta to win by 17-20.
Tusculum Pioneers at West Alabama Tigers (1-0)
Location: Livingston, AL / 6 PM
Line: West Alabama -3.5
Series: West Alabama leads 1-0. (UWA won only meeting 47-14, in 2019)
Tusculum kicks off the Billy Taylor era with a road trip to GSC country. The Pioneers are looking to build off a 2023 conference championship appearance, but with a new coach and changes on both sides of the ball, it may be a tall task. We know with Coach Taylor, the defense will remain stout, something you have come to expect of Tusculum football teams. Though they have some faces to replace. The 3 of the top 4 leading tacklers are gone (Wesley Scott, Ryan Dolce and Jermaine Witherspoon) along with a lot of others due to graduation. The offense will go as the run game does, I believe. Extremely tough to replace guys like Burke and Robustelli. Both Jalen Hunt and Jojo Restall return, along with QB Matthew Palazzo. If they can find a way to limit turnovers…
Brett Gilliand’s club had their hands full in week zero but walked it off with a 20-yard field goal by Elijah Guyton as time expired to win 16-15 over Miles of the SIAC. It was an even bout, with the biggest advantage coming with West Alabama turning the ball over twice. Bry Webb and Kason Lincke each rushed for over 70 yards in the win. However, if the Tigers want to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018, they are going to need the offense to step up and take some pressure off the defense.
I like the Tigers of West Alabama in this one in a low scoring defensive rock fight. Though my GSC colleague Cory picking Tusculum makes me wonder if I’m wrong here! There is a big advantage usually for teams who have played already against someone who hasn’t, and I (for right now anyways) think West Alabama will do a better job taking care of the football.
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