For the third time in four games, Georgia Southern has a freshman with a weekly conference award.
    Safety Deion Stanley and quarterback Ezayi Youyoute have already earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Week honors, and fullback Dominique Swope added his name to the list after rushing for 74 yards and a score and adding a 12-yard touchdown reception Saturday in a 41-14 win at Elon.
    The run after catch for the score saw two Elon defensive backs bounce off in a failed attempt to tackle Swope, but the freshman was so focused, he didn't recall the attempts to bring him down.
    "I cant even remember that," Swope laughed after Monday's practice. "I just remember catching the ball and getting to the end zone. I'll have to watch tape to see what happened."
    For the second-straight week, Swope and the No. 1-ranked Eagles (4-0, 3-0 SoCon) will face a team that's well versed against the option. No. 24 Chattanooga saw a 24-point lead melt away in a 28-27 loss to The Citadel Saturday.
    Swope feels that the fact that UTC has already seen the option can only help the Eagles.
    "That's more tape for us to learn," Swope said about the Mocs' defense.

A bigger role
    After a spinal injury to safety Derek Heyden, who is out for the season but rejoined the Eagles at a team meeting Thursday, Deion Stanley stepped into the role. Stanley started opposite Heyden in the season opener at Samford.
    He hasn't felt any added pressure, during the game, anyway.
    "To tell the truth, there's more pressure on the practice field than in the game," Stanley said. "We've got great coaches all the way. They support me, I support them, and I'm gad to be a part of the program."
    Heyden received a standing ovation from the team when he returned Thursday, and Stanley and the rest of the Eagles still have him on their minds.
    "He's great player and a great person overall," Stanley said. "A great team player."

A hopeful return
    Sophomore running back/backup quarterback Jerick McKinnon, who has rushed for four touchdowns, caught one and thrown for another this season, missed Saturday's game with a fracture in his hand suffered away from the practice field last week.
    He did not make the trip with the team.
    Monken is hopeful he will be available Saturday when GSU hosts the Mocs.

Plenty to work on
    Even after putting up 41 points in a road win over a conference opponent, the Eagles weren't altogether happy with their performance.
    "We can definitely play better," said quarterback Jaybo Shaw. "We made mistakes, we put the ball on the ground and we had a turnover."
    Monken is pleased with the approach of the top-ranked Eagles.
    "I think our guys are humble enough at this point that they don't think they're just going to line up every week and have a blowout," he said.

Getting everyone involved
    The Eagles intercepted three more passes Saturday at Elon, bringing the season total to eight.
    All American defensive tackle Brent Russell was most impressed with the second one.
    "Josh Rowe got an interception," joked Russell. "We're always messing with him saying he's got the worst hands on the team. He finally got an interception, and hopefully he'll catch a few more."
    Elon threw the ball 38 times but netted only 202 passing yards. The corners and safeties accounted for 24 of the team's 53 tackles.
    "When you turn around and you see a corner fighting his butt off tackling and making hits on the line of scrimmage, Russell said, it fires you up."

Ready for battle
    Chattanooga (2-3, 0-2) has been ranked as high as No. 15 this season, but the SoCon schedule has been rough.
    The Mocs opened with a 14-12 loss to Appalachian State in which the Mountaineers didn't score an offensive touchdown, and followed that by blowing a 24-point lead against The Citadel.
    "I'm afraid they're going to come in like a bunch of rattlesnakes, ticked off and playing hard," Monken said about Saturday's upcoming game against the Mocs. "I don't think that [UTC coach Russ Huesman] is the kind of coach that won't have his team ready to play the next game."

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

Sports Network FCS Top 25
Team        Record    Points    Prev.
1. Georgia Southern (128)    4-0    3,878    1
2. Northern Iowa (19)    3-1    3,722    2
3. Montana State (3)    4-1    3,521    4
4. North Dakota State (7)    4-0    3,418    5
5. Wofford        3-1    3,293    8
6. New Hampshire    3-1    3,060    7
7. James Madison    4-1    3,014    9
8. Appalachian State    3-2    2,648    3
9. William & Mary    3-2    2,372    11
10. Lehigh        4-1    2,322    13
11. Sam Houston State    4-0    2,136    16
12. Jacksonville State    4-1    2,135    14
13. Delaware        3-2    2,033    6
14. Richmond    3-2    1,667    10
15. McNeese State    3-1    1,632    18
16. Montana        3-2    1,446    19
17. Indiana State    4-1    1,127    24
18. South Dakota    3-2    1,096    21
19. Maine        3-1    1,041    —
20. Southern Illinois    2-2    985    12
21. Old Dominion    4-1    658    —
22. Southern Utah    3-2    540    17
23. Tennessee Tech    4-1    524    —
24. Chattanooga    2-3    469    15
25. Towson        3-1    464    23

Others receiving votes: North Dakota 334, Alabama State 262, Massachusetts 203, Jackson State 181, Norfolk State 153, Sacramento State 112, Portland State 89, Holy Cross 47, South Carolina State 39, Central Arkansas 34, Coastal Carolina 33, Youngstown State 30, Liberty 30, South Dakota State 24, Bethune-Cookman 21, Furman 21, Weber State 20, Elon 19, Duquesne 17, Harvard 15, The Citadel 13, San Diego 12, Hampton 10, Eastern Washington 10, Yale 9, Northwestern State 9, Western Illinois 8, Albany 8, Illinois State 8, Eastern Kentucky 7, Bucknell 7, Jacksonville 7, Cal Poly 6, UC Davis 6, Cornell 4, Stony Brook 4, Lamar 3, Rhode Island 2, Robert Morris 2, Penn 1, Stephen F. Austin 1, Murray State 1, Austin Peay 1, UT Martin 1.

Coaches FCS Top 25
Team        Record    Points    Prev.
1. Georgia Southern (26)    4-0    698    1
2. Northern Iowa (2)    3-1    666    2
3. Montana State    4-0    638    4
4. Wofford        4-1    638    6
5. North Dakota State    4-0    597    6
6. James Madison    4-1    549    8
7. New Hampshire    3-1    516    9
8. Appalachian State    3-2    495    2
9. William & Mary    3-2    471    10
10. Lehigh        4-1    407    14
11. Delaware        3-2    396    5
12. Jacksonville State    4-1    382    13
13. McNeese State    3-1    339    15
14. Montana        3-2    323    16
15. Sam Houston State    4-0    312    18
16. Richmond    3-2    278    10
17. Southern Illinois    2-2    211    12
18. South Dakota    3-2    205    21
19. Indiana State    4-1    204    23
20. North Dakota    3-2    124    24
21. Tennessee Tech    4-1    84    —
22. Southern Utah    3-2    83    19
23. Chattanooga    2-3    81    17
24. Coastal Carolina    3-1    64    —
25. Jackson State    4-1    49    —

Others receiving votes: Maine 42, Old Dominion 39, Massachusetts 31, Harvard 24, South Dakota State 17, Jacksonville 16, Sacramento State 16, Liberty 14, Towson 14, Duquesne 12, Stephen F. Austin 12, Norfolk State 10, Illinois State 9, Butler 6, UC Davis 6, Holy Cross 6, Cal Poly 5, South Carolina State 4, Youngstown State 4, Eastern Washington 3, Alabama State 2, Florida A&M 2, Brown 1, Bucknell 1, Elon 1.