Well surprise, surprise, but it looks like the Southern Conference came to play this season.
    The biggest shocker so far? That distinction goes to The Citadel — the bad-news Bulldogs from last season who turned it over nine (I still can't believe it) times and couldn't get past the 50 in a 20-0 loss to Georgia Southern in 2010.
    Chattanooga was rolling, doing just fine against The Citadel last Saturday with a 24-0 halftime lead, but while the Mocs were busy in the second half thinking about next week's game at No. 1 Georgia Southern, the Bulldogs were minding their business at hand and mounting a comeback.
    Sure, the ball bounced their way a few times, but the Bulldogs came all the way back and pulled off a 28-27 shocker.
    The shell-shocked Mocs have now lost two-straight — a 14-12 loss to Appalachian State in which they didn't allow an offensive touchdown and a 24-point comeback to the team that was supposed to be the worst in the league.
    The Citadel still has two conference losses, an overtime thriller against Elon and a 16-6 loss at the hands of Furman, but if the rest of the SoCon isn't careful, the Bulldogs could find themselves playing meaningful games in November.
    Speaking of Furman, the Paladins, unlike the Bulldogs which have done it with defense, have one of the league's top offenses. Obviously, the top slot goes to GSU and its 46.5 points per game and nearly 500 yards, but Furman really isn't far behind.
    The Paladins are putting up 37 points per contest, and if you ask the fan base — a group which has demanded change in every non-Ingle-Martin-related season since Bobby Lamb took over — new head coach Bruce Fowler is scoring points "the Furman way," setting up the pass with the run and being aggressive.
    The best two-loss team in the conference is a three-way tossup right now between Samford, The Citadel and Chattanooga. You could argue that The Citadel is the best in the bunch.
    How, you ask?
    Well, Samford has done exactly what was expected so far. It blew out two bad, non-conference teams and lost to the two best teams in the SoCon - GSU and Wofford.
    Chattanooga, on the other hand, has fallen short of expectations. Quite frankly, even though coach Russ Huesman is a defensive guy, the Mocs haven't gotten the offense they'll need if they expect to back up the preseason hype and compete for a league title.
    And then there's The Citadel, which has wildly over achieved at all levels.
    There have been fewer mistakes in the second year running the option, and the defense has held four talented offenses to a 17.5 points-per-game average, including 16 points in a loss to Furman.
    Wofford and GSU seem to be the only teams clicking on all cylenders and Appalachian State looks very human and downright average on offense, and all of that spells a very tough conference.
    If you forget about Western Carolina, which just can't ever seem to figure things out, there isn't a team in the SoCon that can't go out and win the rest of their league games.
    Unless the Eagles or the Terriers run the SoCon table — a good possibility but certainly not a guarantee — things will be very interesting come November in Southern Conference football.

    Matt Yogus can be reached at (912) 489-9408.