Grid Gab

Let's talk football for a moment, shall we?

Some things you may not know about the Big South Conference:

-VMI leads the nation in rushing offense (384.0 ypg).

-Liberty's nine-game winning streak is the longest in the nation.

-Coastal Carolina has become the first team in Conference history to hold three straight opponents under ten points.

-Gardner-Webb has become the first team in Big South history to hold four straight opponents under 100 rushing yards.

Back to VMI for a second...Head Coach Sparky Woods admitted during the Big South's weekly teleconference that the rushing yard mark may be a bit inflated from performances against lower-level teams, but nonetheless, you have to be impressed by Tim Maypray (pictured) of the Keydets, who is now the first player in Conference history with a 50-yard rush in four consecutive games.

As for Liberty...the Flames are ranked 20 and 21 in the two major FCS polls, and Choice Hotels Big South Offensive Player of the Week Rashad Jennings (pictured) also earned National Offensive Player of the Week honors from The Sports Network. Collecting honors seemed to fit the Flames this week, with their dramatic win over Youngstown State: Liberty also had the New Balance Defensive Player of the Week for the Big South (Nick Hursky) and the Freshman of the Week (Matt Bevins).

In case you're keeping track, the other weekly Conference award went to Gardner-Webb's Ryan Gates for Special Teams Player of the Week.

For more information on all these facts and figures, go to BigSouthSports.com and open up either the Weekly Football Report or the Players of the Week rundown. You can also listen to the Football Teleconference there.

CONFERENCE PLAY BEGINS THIS WEEK!

Liberty goes to Coastal Carolina (see it on MASN or SportSouth) and Gardner-Webb visits Charleston Southern. Meanwhile, VMI has its hands full with highly-ranked Richmond and Presbyterian hosts North Greenville...Stony Brook has an open date, followed by a gauntlet of Conference games (Coach Chuck Priore has referred to it as their "second season"). All the games this week are being streamed live on The EDGE, so check them out!

That's all for today--more later this week...