Southern Conference team capsules

(In order of SoCon coaches' poll)

1. Appalachian State

2007: 13-2, 5-2 (Won third straight FCS national championship)

COACH: Jerry Moore (194-118-2 overall, 167-70 in 19 years at App State)

RETURNING STARTERS: 14 (5 offense, 7 defense, 2 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: QB Armanti Edwards, RB Devon Moore, OL Brad Coley, OL Mario Acittelli, WR CoCo Hillary, DL Anthony Williams, DL Tony Robertson, LB Pierre Banks, DB Leonard Love.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: RB Kevin Richardson ran for 1,348 yards last year, but somehow Edwards (144.4 yards per game) and Moore (4.8 yards per carry) should make up for it. Also missing are the top three receivers from 2007, and DLs Gary Tharrington and Tim Washington, both lost to academics. PK Julian Rauch scored more points (127) than even Edwards (126).

OUTLOOK: With Edwards running the spread offense, the outlook is always sweet for App State, the consensus No. 1 team in FCS. But the Mountaineers' chances of pulling off another epic upset (they open with LSU) and winning a fourth straight national title likely rest with the defense, which has a brand new secondary.

2. Elon

2007: 7-4, 4-3 (tied for third in SoCon)

COACH: Pete Lembo (56-24 overall, 12-10 in third year at Elon)

RETURNING STARTERS: 21 (8 offense, 10 defense, 3 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: QB Scott Riddle, WR Terrell Hudgins, OL Chris Werden, WR Bo Williamson, LB Corey Weaver, DB Karlos Sullivan.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: WR Michael Mayers was Hudgins' running mate, as Mayers had 90 of the pair's 207 catches. RB T.J. Clegg was the Phoenix's top runner, but that's not saying too much — he only had 279 yards.

OUTLOOK: Elon is the hot new team in the SoCon, ranking second in the coaches' preseason poll and 15th in The Sports Network's rankings. This just three years after Elon went 3-8 in 2005, the year before Lembo's arrival. The duo of Riddle and Hudgins should keep the passing yards and point totals high for Elon, with a playoff bid contingent on improving a defense that allowed 30.4 points and 407.1 yards per game.

3. Wofford

2007: 9-4, 5-2 (shared SoCon title with App State)

COACH: Mike Ayers (143-114-2 overall, 132-93-1 in 20 years at Wofford)

RETURNING STARTERS: 12 (6 offense, 4 defense, 2 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: OL Derek Wooten, OL Ben Quick, RB Dane Romero, LB Seth Goldwire, DL Layton Baker, PK Patrick Mugan.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: The top three rushers are gone in RBs Kevious Johnson and Michael Hobbs and QB Josh Collier, and the loss of punter Chris Tommie to a knee injury is big. The seven starters lost on defense included All-SoCon DL James Gonsoulin and DBs Brian Kemp and Dan Tavani.

OUTLOOK: It does not seem to matter too much who Wofford loses from season to season, but the losses this year were heavy. QB Ben Widmyer has plenty of experience, and Ayers' system remains in place. But it's hard to see Wofford's defense repeating its performance (first in scoring defense, second in total defense) from last year.

4. Georgia Southern

2007: 7-4, 4-3 (tied for third)

COACH: Chris Hatcher (83-16 overall, 7-4 in one season at GSU)

RETURNING STARTERS: 13 (3 offense, 9 defense, 1 specialist)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: DL Larry Beard, DB Chris Covington, PK Jesse Hartley.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Perhaps no FCS team in the country has a bigger set of cleats to fill than GSU, which must replace QB Jayson Foster, the Walter Payton Award winner and author of 1,844 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns running and passing last year. Also gone are top RBs Lamar Lewis and Mike Hamilton and All-SoCon linemen Russell Orr and Marcelo Estrada.

OUTLOOK: Hatcher made his name as a passing-game guru at Valdosta State, but last season was astute enough to put Foster back at QB after his one-year exile to WR under former coach Brian VanGorder. Now, Hatcher has a chance to remake the offense in his own image, and much will rest on the performance of QBs Lee Chapple, a redshirt freshman, and Antonio Henton, a transfer from Ohio State.

5. Furman

2007: 6-5, 4-3 (tied for third)

COACH: Bobby Lamb (49-24 in six years at Furman and overall)

RETURNING STARTERS: 11 (5 offense, 5 defense, 1 specialist)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: OL Joel Bell, OL Thomas Slaughter, TE Larry Hedden, RB Mike Brown, DB Thomas Twitty, DB William Middleton.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: The Paladins lost their top two rushers in FB Jerome Felton and QB Renaldo Gray, and top receiver Patrick Sprague. On defense, three of the top four tacklers are gone, as well as kicker Scott Beckler.

OUTLOOK: It's a measure of Furman's high standards that a 6-5 season and third-place finish in the SoCon are considered something of a disaster. Furman failed to make the FCS playoffs for just the second time since 1999. But the Paladins lost two games, to The Citadel and App State, by a combined 10 points and beat Elon and GSU down the stretch. Lamb is relishing the underdog role, and hopes for a revival lie with junior QB Jordan Sorrells and a line led by 6-8, 308-pound Joel Bell, the top NFL prospect in the SoCon.

6. The Citadel

2007: 7-4, 4-3 (tied for third)

COACH: Kevin Higgins (72-42-1 overall, 16-17 in three seasons at The Citadel)

RETURNING STARTERS: 16 (6 offense, 6 defense, 4 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: DL Terrence Reese, OL Daniel DeHaven, WR Andre Roberts, DL Kevin McCaskill, P Mark Kaspar.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Enough to fill a Payless outlet. The Bulldogs lost record-setting QB Duran Lawson, top rusher Tory Cooper, three of their top four receivers and their top three tacklers, as well as kicker Mike Adams.

OUTLOOK: A lot of question marks, but a lot of potential answers, as well. QB Bart Blanchard proved himself in the final three games of 2007 and should be solid. Cody Wilson, Rickey Anderson and a trio freshman backs should be able to fill the gap left by Cooper. The receiving corps must produce a running mate for All-America receiver Andre Roberts, and coaches are betting on a 3-4 defense to cover for lost playmakers.

7. Chattanooga

2007: 2-9, 2-5 (seventh)

COACH: Rodney Allison (16-40 in five seasons at Chattanooga and overall)

RETURNING STARTERS: 11 (6 offense, 3 defense, 2 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: OL William Giles, WR Blue Cooper, DL Neil Brown, LB Joseph Thornton, DB Raeshon Ball.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Two of the top three rushers from 2007 are gone, with RB Bryan Fitzgerald felled by a knee injury. Inconsistent QB Antonio Miller must be replaced, as well as top tacklers Chris Camacho, Chris Johnson and Jeff Phillips.

OUTLOOK: Fitzgerald's injury mars an outlook that already was marginal at best, with Allison in the final year of his contract, a whole new coaching staff on board and Oklahoma and Florida State on the schedule. Jare Gault, a JUCO transfer from Boiling Springs, is the hope at QB, and RB Erroll Wynn ran for 776 yards last year. But the offensive line is thin and largely untested, and ex-Citadel assistant Dick Hopkins has his hands full with a defense that allowed 33.5 points per game last year.

8. Western Carolina

2007: 1-10, 0-7 (eighth)

COACH: Dennis Wagner (44-37-1 overall, first year at WCU)

RETURNING STARTERS: 16 (6 offense, 7 defense, 3 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: OL Kevin Wiggins, DL Jeff Bradley, LB Quintin Phillips.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: Top rusher Mike Malone, top receiver Eddie Cohen, PK Jonathan Parsons.

OUTLOOK: After a disastrous season — WCU gave up 178 points in its last three games — former Nebraska assistant Dennis Wagner was brought in to right the ship and has brought a hard-nosed attitude with him. It's a real rebuilding job, but the Catamounts do return QBs Andy Horn and Adam Hearns, transfer RB Jayson Williams from Central Florida and three starters on the offensive line, Wagner's specialty. The defense, which allowed 45.8 ppg last year, is in the hands of coordinator Matt Pawlowski.

9. Samford

2007: 4-7, 3-6 in Ohio Valley Conference

COACH: Pat Sullivan (28-49-1 overall, 4-7 in one year at Samford)

RETURNING STARTERS: 19 (7 offense, 8 defense, 4 specialists)

IMPACT PLAYERS RETURNING: TB Chris Evans, OL Mitchell Waters, WR Geoff Moore, WR Jonathan Lowery, LB Rodney Shepherd.

BIG SHOES TO FILL: QB Jefferson Adcock passed for 2,472 yards and 14 TDS last year, and his backup, Dante Williams, was lost for this season with a knee injury in practice.

OUTLOOK: The first year in the SoCon will be a tough one for these Bulldogs, based in Birmingham. Samford's wins last year were over West Alabama, Presbyterian, Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech. But coach Pat Sullivan, the Heisman winner in 1971 at Auburn, does have some experience and transfer QB Matt Malouf from Memphis to work with. RB Chris Evans ran for 1,033 yards last season, and the 6-6, 308-pound Waters leads a huge offensive line.