The Seawolves have reveled in their Big South Co-Championship they earned last November with their dramatic victory in the closing seconds against the Flames.  It has been a boon in recruiting for SBU and given their players a great deal of confidence heading into the 2010 season.

Courtesy: Stony Brook Athletics

Chuck Priore is the toast of Long Island after capturing a share of the Big South Championship last fall in just his 4th season at SBU.   It certainly doesn’t hurt his standing that he now leads the only FCS program on the island after Hofstra dropped football earlier this year.  Stony Brook’s proximity to Hofstra helped the Seawolves scoop up a number of the Pride’s stronger refugees.  In fact, the Stony Brook roster for 2010 boasts a total of 25 transfers.  In addition to five guys from Hofstra and another from the other program that died at Northeastern, there are also a pair from Maine.  Four FBS transfers are joined by 10 JUCOs and 3 more from Division II schools.  It would appear Priore spends almost as much time trying to convince kids to transfer as he does chasing high school talent.  There is no denying the Hofstra kids in particular have raised the overall level of talent of the Seawolves from last year.

Courtesy: Daily Hampshire Gazette

Offensively the Seawolves are stacked with weapons.  Junior quarterback Michael Coulter leads a well-balanced attack that gave the Flames fits in the season finale last year.  The one-time Syracuse Orangeman-turned-JUCO passer threw for 2060 yards in 11 games for 15 TDs & 10 INTs.

Courtesy: Stony Brook Athletics

Edwin Gowins is a horse and when he’s healthy he can carry the Seawolves offense.  The junior has been 1st Team All-Big South in both his freshman & sophomore years.  He was even named National Freshman of the Year in 2008 by College Sporting News.  Despite a gimpy foot and sharing carries with the now graduated Conte Cuttino, he rushed for 890 yards in 10 games with 9 TDs while piling up 6.1 yards per carry.  While Gowins is essentially a non-factor in the passing game, a pair of Hofstra transfers provide the Seawolves with some diversity.  Miguel Maysonet & Brock Jackolski should both be involved in the run game.

Courtesy: Stony Brook Athletics

The Seawolves got big time production in ’09 out of a true freshman named Jordan Gush.  The Texan caught 26 passes for 413 yards and a team-high 6 TDs.  On the other side, senior Donald Porter provides another playmaker.  He caught 25 passes for a team-gh 476 yards (19 yards per catch) and 5 TDs.  You may remember Porter as the guy in the Wildcat who threw the 2-point conversion pass late against the Flames.

Courtesy: Stony Brook Athletics

The good news from a Liberty perspective when looking at the Seawolves defense is the fact Tyler Santucci is gone.  The Big South Defensive Player of the Year leaves a big hole to fill for SBU.  But safety Arin West is a terrific talent who will take on the leadership role.  He posted 80 tackles from the secondary last fall and collected 6 turnovers (3 INTs & 3 Fumble Recoveries).

There is no question that the Seawolves have the respect of everyone in the Big South after becoming the first league team to beat LU in 3 years.  They should once again challenge the Flames for the league title and I would be shocked if this season-ending game didn’t determine to some degree who the Big South awards its first ever auto bid to the playoffs.

The last time the Flames & Chants met on the field it was ugly.  Really ugly.  LU putting a 58-point shellacking on CCU in front of a boisterous crowd at Williams Stadium.  The game sent a strong message to Conway that the Flames were not only the top dog in the conference but the Chants had fallen way off the pace.

Courtesy: CCU Athletics

As you might suspect, this hasn’t sat well with the colorful yet intense coach of the Chants, David Bennett.  His reaction this spring bordered on the bizarre.  Instead of trying to get a tighter grip on his players and staff, instead he backed away to a certain degree having each of his assistant coaches take on the role of head coach for a practice.  Seriously.  But tough times often lead men to innovation.  The jury is still out whether it was a wise decision or not.  Last season, the Chants won all five of their home games.  Big cheers in Conway!  Unfortunately they dropped all six games on the road.  In 2010, they have the same split between home & road games but two of their trips stand out as very tough matchups:  9/7 @ West Virginia & 10/2 @ Richmond.  Obviously FlameFans can attest to how difficult it is to play a season opener at Morgantown.  And the trip to 2008 National Champion Richmond will be played in their brand new Robins Stadium on UR’s campus.  So there will certainly be a buzz around the Spiders.

Courtesy: The Patriot-News

The CCU quarterback situation has plenty of drama.  Wake Forest transfer Zach MacDowell is back fro his senior season after throwing for 1664 yards with 9 TDs & 11 INTs in ’09.  CCU fans have been begging to see more of junior Jamie Childers since arrived as a ballyhooed signing out of Hargrave Military Academy.  Childers didn’t look impressive in limited action last season despite three starts.  This summer the Chants added troubled transfer Aramis Hillary from South Carolina.  After getting the boot from Steve Spurrier following drinking-related charges in March, he brings a ton of athletic ability to Conway with some obvious concerns attached.  The top returning rusher is senior Eric O’Neal.  He posted 377 yards and a pair of TDs in primarily a backup role in 2009.   Outside, senior receiver Brandon Whitley remains a threat after hauling 30 passes for 469 yards and 4 TDs in 2009.  It should also be noted that offensive lineman Kenneth Page transferred in from Clemson after getting the boot by Dabo Swinney and he could have an immediate impact.

Courtesy: Coastal Carolina

Defensively, junior cornerback Josh Norman is the name that jumps off the page.  In ’09, he picked off 8 passes and began attracting the attention of NFL scouts.  Junior linebacker Desmond Steward is back after leading the Chants with 60 tackles a year ago.  In fact, 9 of CCU’s top 10 tacklers are back for more in 2010.

The combination of a strong returning cast and the fact that LU-CCU matchups at Brooks Stadium have traditionally gone down to the wire leads me to expect more of the same in 2010.   There is a sense of win at all costs coming from Conway based on some of their recent transfers and the fact that the school has invested heavily in the program the past few years and expects some ROI.  I fully expect the Chants to be in the hunt for the Big South title when the two teams meet on November 13th.

In front of what will likely be (barring bad weather) the largest home crowd in LU history, it should be an electric atmosphere.  While the school formerly known as Baptist College of South Carolina would seem like a natural rival for the Flames, it never really has occurred.  CSU seems to have a strongest rivalry with nearby Coastal Carolina.  And it doesn’t help that we have beaten the Bucs 8 of the last 9 years usually by about 3 touchdowns.  The lone loss to CSU came in 2005 in the 1-9 season that got Ken Karcher fired and even then we only lost 31-30 in Charleston.  Interestingly enough, the Bucs were co-champs in the league the last time someone other than Liberty was involved in the championship.

Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel

The primary reason the Bucs have continued to show improvement despite major budget challenges and less than stellar facilities is head coach Jay Mills.  Despite having to schedule money games like the one above in the Swamp last fall, he has managed to keep the program in the middle of the Big South pack with bailing wire & chewing gum during his seven seasons at CSU.  That is a testament to Mills’ coaching ability which has led him to be a regular on lists of candidates for other FCS coaching gigs.  In fact, he led the Bucs to a 4-game winning streak to close out the season last year all against Big South opponents … including an overtime victory over league co-champ Stony Brook.  That’s something not even the Flames can brag about right now.

This season the Bucs’ money game is in Honolulu against the University of Hawaii.  As glamorous as that might sound, road trips to face the Warriors typically have a tough impact on teams the following week due to the strenuous travel in addition to the FBS caliber of play which often leads to injuries for FCS teams.  This impacts us because guess where the Bucs play the week after going to Hawaii … that’s right, Williams Stadium.

Courtesy: Zimbio

The unquestioned leader of the Bucs offense is quarterback A.J. Toscano.  The former JUCO teammate of Doncel Bolt enters his senior season bringing a gritty toughness coming off a 2009 effort where he posted 2092 yards through the air in 11 games with 12 TDs & 12 INTs.  He added 325 yards and 4 TDs on the ground to establish himself as one of the best field generals in the Big South.   Former South Carolina Mr. Football Richard Mounce has transferred in from Clemson after burning out on baseball and he could be a player to watch down the road for the Bucs.

Toscano’s top weapon is receiver/running back Gerald Stevenson.  As a junior in ’09, Stevenson led the Bucs with 55 catches for 724 yards and 3 TDs.  He also is the top returning rusher with 364 yards and 3 TDs while averaging 7.0 yards per carry.  He also handles most of the kick return opportunities.

Courtesy: Associated Press

On the other side of the ball, the leading returning tackler is senior linebacker Fred Godfrey.  With 67 tackles in 11 games, he leads a defense that lost a number of key contributors.  In the secondary, junior safety Chris Kuzdale (pictured above tackling Tim Tebow) is back after picking off a team-best 3 passes in ’09 while posting 64 tackles.

Courtesy: Life.com

Much like Liberty, CSU feels very confident in their senior kicker John Paglia.   In 2009, he connected on 16-of-22 field goals & 28-of-30 PATs.  For anyone without the last name Bevins, those are very strong numbers.

In summary, the Bucs will be a very game opponent for most everyone in the Big South.  I would expect them to be in the hunt along with Gardner-Webb, Coastal Carolina & Stony Brook as the primary challengers for the Big South crown outside of Lynchburg.  But considering the jet lag the Bucs will likely be suffering from coming off their trip to Hawaii, it will be tough for CSU to knock off the Flames in front of possibly over 20-thousand LU fans.