Share
5 to watch
Appalachian State (5-2, 4-0 Southern Conference) at Furman (4-3, 3-2), Noon: Appalachian State, ranked No. 8 in the FCS national poll, has won four straight and seven of eight in the series, but Furman is the only team in the Southern Conference with a winning record against the Mountaineers (21-15-3).
Davidson (2-5, 2-3 Pioneer Football League) at Butler (7-0, 4-0), Noon: The host Bulldogs are one of three teams in Division I FCS that has yet to lose this season. The last team to beat them? Davidson, 46-34 in last year's final regular-season game. Andrew Huc k (1,536 yards, 17 TDs passing) leads Butler, which is averaging 33.1 points and 400.4 yards of offense.
Stony Brook (4-4, 3-0 Big South) at Gardner-Webb (5-2, 2-0), 1:30 p.m.: The host Bulldogs are looking to start 3-0 in the Big South for the first time since 2003. Could be a close game, as five of Stony Brook's eight contests have been decided by seven points or fewer.
Carson-Newman (7-2, 5-0 SAC) at Wingate (6-2, 4-1), 1:30 p.m.: Key matchup between two of the SAC's best, but the series has been lopsided. Carson-Newman, No. 18 in the NCAA Division II poll, is 20-1 all-time against Wingate. The lone victory came on Oct. 7, 1995 - at home.
Johnson C. Smith (3-6, 2-4 CIAA) at Shaw (7-2, 4-2), 6 p.m.: Two-time reigning CIAA champion Shaw hosts the Golden Bulls, who replaced junior Ryan Carter at quarterback with freshman Marvin Payne Jr. last week against Chowan. Payne came in with J.C. Smith trailing 20-0 in the second quarter of its 33-20 loss and passed for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
Short kicks
Gardner-Webb's Ryan Gates set a Big South single-game record for points by a kicker (17, with eight points coming on PATs) in last week's 65-0 victory against Southern Virginia. He also needs five made field goals to break the league mark of 17.
Ten of Butler's 22 sacks this season have been by Grant Hunter. The Bulldogs also have 11 interceptions.
Southern Conference teams are ranked No. 1 nationally in total offense (Appalachian State) and rushing offense (Wofford).
Carson-Newman set three school records in a 77-7 rout of Brevard last week. The Eagles returned four fumbles for touchdowns, senior quarterback Alex Good set the career mark for total offense (6,731), and sophomore Carlos Lopez set the record for most extra points in a game (he made all 11).
Did you know?
Elon receiver Terrell Hudgins needs 188 receiving yards to break the NCAA FCS career record of 4,693 yards set from 1981-84 by Mississippi Valley State great and NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice. Hudgins currently has 4,506 yards.
Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards is sixth all-time in Division I FCS in total offense and needs only 52 yards to move into fifth and 240 yards to move into fourth. Former NFL great Steve McNair, who played at Alcorn State, is first with 16,823 yards (1991-94).
Appalachian State has won 16 consecutive Southern Conference games (tied for fifth with East Carolina's streak of 16 from 1971-74) and needs one more victory to move into a tie for fourth with Duke, which won 17 straight from 1934-37.
Presbyterian is 0-7 for the first time since 1937, and is heading for its first winless season since 1957, when it finished 0-8-1.
Catawba receiver Brandon Bunn needs three touchdown catches to tie the single-season school record of 14 set in 1968 by Ike Hill.
Brett Honeycutt
