We've reached a turning point in the countdown...from here on out at least one team from ever post season eligible conference will be a legit contender for a national championship. And with the next conference, that's saying something. The Big South has had national championship contenders in the past but it has also been a conference that has gone thru plenty of change. Since 2013...Coastal Carolina, Stony Brook, VMI, Liberty, and Presbyterian have either all left or will be leaving the conference. And on the flip side, joining the conference...Monmouth, North Alabama, Hampton, and Kennesaw St. Needless to say the conference has been constantly changing, but there still may be some changing still to come. The agreement with the Atlantic Sun conference a couple years ago opens the door for a major merger and more teams in the conference...but time will tell where the Big South goes.
Placement Reasoning
This is a conference that is regaining it footing after being dealt a couple a big blows. Yea, it was a matter of time before Liberty made the FBS plunge but Coastal Carolina was a bit surprising. Add the other schools I mentioned and this conference had the least amount of teams in the conference. Eighth isn't a much of a knock, but a case of wanting more meat. We know Kennesaw can hold its own versus top tier opponents but outside of Liberty's surprising Week 1 win, there were no other major non-conference wins. One really good team in a group of six can only bring the conference up so far.
2017 Recap
This was a weird year for the Big South. It started in the offseason with Liberty revealing one of the worst kept secrets in FCS and making the move to FBS and then beats Baylor (yes the crippled version) in Week 1. A four game losing streak in the middle of the season took the sizzle out of Flames but arose two unlikely front runners. Kennesaw St, who brought with it the nations best rushing attack and Monmouth, who a few years earlier were NEC castoffs, found a home in the Big South. And hey guess what? We got a de-facto conference title game and also thought to be for only bid for the conference. Kennesaw won and made a run to the quarterfinals while Monmouth flamed out after a rough draw.
Elsewhere, Gardner-Webb disappointed and won only once and went winless versus FCS competition. Presbyterian made the decision to no longer offer scholarships and will move to the Pioneer League...oddly enough, its 4 wins was its best season since 2014. The major disappointment was Charleston Southern who struggled to 6 wins and are a few years removed from that impressive 2015 team. And, in an ever changing conference, Campbell, Hampton (wasn't that unexpected), and North Alabama all will be joining the conference by 2019.
Playoff/National Championship Contenders
With all of the change that will be going on in the conference the next couple of years its easy to forget how important conference games will be. In a six member league, one slip up can be the difference between postseason football and looking forward to basketball season.
The Favorite
Kennesaw St.
Let's face it, this is the team to beat by a long shot. Between an option attack few have to capability to contain and a defense that was better than expected and should be even better with Jerry Rice winner Bryson Armstrong back for his sophomore performance. Oh and the entire backfield from last years nation leading rushing attack is back including fourth-year quarterback Chandler Burks, the 2017 Big South offensive player of the year...they are loaded
In only its fifth year as a program the expectations have turned from "can this team make the playoffs?" to "how deep can this team go?" They aren't quite year in, year out national championship contenders but they aren't far off. And the end of the year with new rival Jacksonville State should be fun.
The Contenders
Monmouth
The Hawks came out of nowhere to win nine games last year and get an at-large playoff bid last year and the biggest question is can they repeat the success. 16 starters (nine on offense and seven on defense) will help in trying to answer that question along with a favorable schedule that includes home dates with both Kennesaw St and Campbell.
Campbell
So how does a team playing its first year of scholarship football be a contender for a title? Well, experience and lots of it thats why. 16 returning staters (7 on offense, 9 on defense) plus all those scholarship players that had to sit last year makes for an intriguing wild card in the Camels. If Campbell can match the speed and physicality then they have all the makings of a Monmouth-like run from last year. Trips to Monmouth and Kennesaw St will be very telling to find out if they have
The Sleeper
Charleston Southern
Just a few years ago, this team was in the national quarterfinal and now is looking to keep pace with the rising quality of the rest of the conference. They do have starters on both side returning, including 8 on the offensive side of the ball. While they still run the spread option, they have to replace last years starting QB Shane Bucenell, who transferred and will need someone to step up in order to run it at peak efficiency.
Teams to add/subtract
While you would think that with all the turnover that has gone on over the last few years that the Big South would stand pat. Personally I don't think so, I think that there is a lot more left to do and its partnership with non-football conference Atlantic Sun has a lot to do with that. When North Alabama becomes a member next year, its in football only. All of its other sports will be ASUN participants and other ASUNmembers have floated the idea of starting a football program knowing a conference awaits. And the blueprint to start up a football program has already been shown as Kennesaw St made the move a few years ago.
Adding Northern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, West Florida (Gulf Coast Conference)
Yep, three start up programs all from that same ASUN conference and a D-II school that was just in a national championship game. Florida Gulf Coast is the most high profile as run a few years ago in the NCAA made "Dunk City" a household name and they floated the idea previously to start a program based off that success. The momentum has died a bit but that shouldn't stop them from creating one. Like with most schools, the stadium is the biggest hurdle in the process, but options to get over that hurdle exist.
North Florida and Northern Kentucky are schools with less of a household profile but both have floated the idea of starting programs. Both have a huge advantage over FGCU in that neither would need to build a football stadium, just modify the soccer and create football facilities. But if all you need is a could doublewides and some hard working AC to create a temporary home then it can work
West Florida is the most ready, but would have to reclassify as a D-I program and would have to hope the ASUN would offer a membership into the conference. Also you would instantly one of the best places to watch a football game in FCS as the Argos use a baseball stadium modified for football and that has ocean views.
One more quick point, High Point is another potential option but being located in the middle of a number of schools it just wouldn't make a ton of sense to try and dip their toes into those murky waters. I could easily be a huge bust if things didn't get off to a good enough start and I don't see how it could happen.
Best/Worst
So little house cleaning before we start the list. Because of all the moving of programs got to make sure you know who I'm taking into account when doing all this. Liberty will not be included in anything since they are now an FBS team. Campbell, North Alabama, and Hampton are even though technically the Lions and Pirates are independents this year. And while Presbyterian will move to the Pioneer League, its not happing til 2019, so they get to feel my judgey gaze
Stadium
Best - Fifth Third Bank Stadium
What separates this from the others is that all encompassing feeling you get. With almost every stadium being next to a road (shows you don't need a ton of room to make one) and most with that one large home side and a nearly non existent road side, the home stadium of Kennesaw St stands out. It not as much the size of it (only third largest in capacity) but the intimate, walk around feel of it that just makes it look cool
Worst - Buccaneer Field
Ok, admittedly this is a bit on the harsher side because I think all of the stadium in the conference are nice. But the home field of Charleston Southern gives off the upgraded high school stadium all too much. There are plenty of venues that are way worse than this but when it comes to the Big South, Buccaneer Field comes up at the rear
Logo and Nickname
Best - Campbell Camels
This is a situation where the nickname pulls it over the top. First off, I really can't think of another team who has a nickname as unique as Camels. Now is it the scariest animal out there? Umm...no but major points for putting something out there that's really different. Now in terms of the logo...its, well ok, I guess...an angry looking cartoon camel just doesn't really shit out of me. Now in real life thats a different story but alas we get this. A very close runner up to Hampton but where it falls short is taking too much inspiration from some futuristic styling
Uniforms
Best - Kennesaw State
I was really tempted to put Gardner-Webb here cause I like how they look but overall cool has to go to the Owls. They have a grey version thats pretty damn good too but the black n gold combo is sharp and hard to top. Just compliments everything so well
Placement Reasoning
This is a conference that is regaining it footing after being dealt a couple a big blows. Yea, it was a matter of time before Liberty made the FBS plunge but Coastal Carolina was a bit surprising. Add the other schools I mentioned and this conference had the least amount of teams in the conference. Eighth isn't a much of a knock, but a case of wanting more meat. We know Kennesaw can hold its own versus top tier opponents but outside of Liberty's surprising Week 1 win, there were no other major non-conference wins. One really good team in a group of six can only bring the conference up so far.
2017 Recap
This was a weird year for the Big South. It started in the offseason with Liberty revealing one of the worst kept secrets in FCS and making the move to FBS and then beats Baylor (yes the crippled version) in Week 1. A four game losing streak in the middle of the season took the sizzle out of Flames but arose two unlikely front runners. Kennesaw St, who brought with it the nations best rushing attack and Monmouth, who a few years earlier were NEC castoffs, found a home in the Big South. And hey guess what? We got a de-facto conference title game and also thought to be for only bid for the conference. Kennesaw won and made a run to the quarterfinals while Monmouth flamed out after a rough draw.
Elsewhere, Gardner-Webb disappointed and won only once and went winless versus FCS competition. Presbyterian made the decision to no longer offer scholarships and will move to the Pioneer League...oddly enough, its 4 wins was its best season since 2014. The major disappointment was Charleston Southern who struggled to 6 wins and are a few years removed from that impressive 2015 team. And, in an ever changing conference, Campbell, Hampton (wasn't that unexpected), and North Alabama all will be joining the conference by 2019.
Playoff/National Championship Contenders
With all of the change that will be going on in the conference the next couple of years its easy to forget how important conference games will be. In a six member league, one slip up can be the difference between postseason football and looking forward to basketball season.
The Favorite
Kennesaw St.
Let's face it, this is the team to beat by a long shot. Between an option attack few have to capability to contain and a defense that was better than expected and should be even better with Jerry Rice winner Bryson Armstrong back for his sophomore performance. Oh and the entire backfield from last years nation leading rushing attack is back including fourth-year quarterback Chandler Burks, the 2017 Big South offensive player of the year...they are loaded
In only its fifth year as a program the expectations have turned from "can this team make the playoffs?" to "how deep can this team go?" They aren't quite year in, year out national championship contenders but they aren't far off. And the end of the year with new rival Jacksonville State should be fun.
The Contenders
Monmouth
The Hawks came out of nowhere to win nine games last year and get an at-large playoff bid last year and the biggest question is can they repeat the success. 16 starters (nine on offense and seven on defense) will help in trying to answer that question along with a favorable schedule that includes home dates with both Kennesaw St and Campbell.
Campbell
So how does a team playing its first year of scholarship football be a contender for a title? Well, experience and lots of it thats why. 16 returning staters (7 on offense, 9 on defense) plus all those scholarship players that had to sit last year makes for an intriguing wild card in the Camels. If Campbell can match the speed and physicality then they have all the makings of a Monmouth-like run from last year. Trips to Monmouth and Kennesaw St will be very telling to find out if they have
The Sleeper
Charleston Southern
Just a few years ago, this team was in the national quarterfinal and now is looking to keep pace with the rising quality of the rest of the conference. They do have starters on both side returning, including 8 on the offensive side of the ball. While they still run the spread option, they have to replace last years starting QB Shane Bucenell, who transferred and will need someone to step up in order to run it at peak efficiency.
Teams to add/subtract
While you would think that with all the turnover that has gone on over the last few years that the Big South would stand pat. Personally I don't think so, I think that there is a lot more left to do and its partnership with non-football conference Atlantic Sun has a lot to do with that. When North Alabama becomes a member next year, its in football only. All of its other sports will be ASUN participants and other ASUNmembers have floated the idea of starting a football program knowing a conference awaits. And the blueprint to start up a football program has already been shown as Kennesaw St made the move a few years ago.
Adding Northern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida, West Florida (Gulf Coast Conference)
Yep, three start up programs all from that same ASUN conference and a D-II school that was just in a national championship game. Florida Gulf Coast is the most high profile as run a few years ago in the NCAA made "Dunk City" a household name and they floated the idea previously to start a program based off that success. The momentum has died a bit but that shouldn't stop them from creating one. Like with most schools, the stadium is the biggest hurdle in the process, but options to get over that hurdle exist.
North Florida and Northern Kentucky are schools with less of a household profile but both have floated the idea of starting programs. Both have a huge advantage over FGCU in that neither would need to build a football stadium, just modify the soccer and create football facilities. But if all you need is a could doublewides and some hard working AC to create a temporary home then it can work
West Florida is the most ready, but would have to reclassify as a D-I program and would have to hope the ASUN would offer a membership into the conference. Also you would instantly one of the best places to watch a football game in FCS as the Argos use a baseball stadium modified for football and that has ocean views.
One more quick point, High Point is another potential option but being located in the middle of a number of schools it just wouldn't make a ton of sense to try and dip their toes into those murky waters. I could easily be a huge bust if things didn't get off to a good enough start and I don't see how it could happen.
Best/Worst
So little house cleaning before we start the list. Because of all the moving of programs got to make sure you know who I'm taking into account when doing all this. Liberty will not be included in anything since they are now an FBS team. Campbell, North Alabama, and Hampton are even though technically the Lions and Pirates are independents this year. And while Presbyterian will move to the Pioneer League, its not happing til 2019, so they get to feel my judgey gaze
Stadium
Best - Fifth Third Bank Stadium
What separates this from the others is that all encompassing feeling you get. With almost every stadium being next to a road (shows you don't need a ton of room to make one) and most with that one large home side and a nearly non existent road side, the home stadium of Kennesaw St stands out. It not as much the size of it (only third largest in capacity) but the intimate, walk around feel of it that just makes it look cool
Worst - Buccaneer Field
Ok, admittedly this is a bit on the harsher side because I think all of the stadium in the conference are nice. But the home field of Charleston Southern gives off the upgraded high school stadium all too much. There are plenty of venues that are way worse than this but when it comes to the Big South, Buccaneer Field comes up at the rear
Logo and Nickname
Best - Campbell Camels
This is a situation where the nickname pulls it over the top. First off, I really can't think of another team who has a nickname as unique as Camels. Now is it the scariest animal out there? Umm...no but major points for putting something out there that's really different. Now in terms of the logo...its, well ok, I guess...an angry looking cartoon camel just doesn't really shit out of me. Now in real life thats a different story but alas we get this. A very close runner up to Hampton but where it falls short is taking too much inspiration from some futuristic styling
Worst - Presbyterian Blue Hose
Sigh...so basic, so just...yeah its just there. PC and blue n red with classic block lettering...fun times right? I will admit in finding out exactly what a Blue Hose was, I actually found and interesting backstory (click the Blue Hose to find out). But end of the day, unique nickname aside, this one is rough
Uniforms
Best - Kennesaw State
I was really tempted to put Gardner-Webb here cause I like how they look but overall cool has to go to the Owls. They have a grey version thats pretty damn good too but the black n gold combo is sharp and hard to top. Just compliments everything so well
Worst - Monmouth
Its almost too simplistic for its own good. With a bit of pop this would be a lot better but the all navy just doesn't work. Sidenote...the M on the side of the helmet reminds of "The U" and what Howard Schnellenberger said during and imagining how it much better it would look with and hawk on the side or and MU...oh well
2018 Outlook
To expect a repeat of last year for the Big South would be expecting an awful lot. Kennesaw State is really good and while Campbell and Monmouth have talent, I can't see them on the same level as the Owls...at least not yet. But this conference is improving and will get better as the chase down other conferences in terms of hierarchy. Could you see this again be a multi bid conference? Actually yes, last year showed a shift in how the committee looks at the second tier conferences. We shall see how things play out.
Up next, the conference that upsets me the most...the Ivy League. So many good teams, so many what-ifs...until next time
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