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BEST CONFERENCE: Southern
Appalachian State’s national championship capped a return to prominence for the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers won the league’s first crown since 2000, and captured the league title with a 7-1 mark. But the conference had a strong top six teams to carry the banner of best league. Furman made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Appalachian State, and the Paladins finished with a 6-2 league mark. Georgia Southern gave the league three teams in the playoffs, which was more than any other conference. Wofford was down a bit but still solid, and Western Carolina and Chattanooga both showed major improvement. Southern Conference teams had a 6-2 playoff mark, and went 18-2 against non-conference I-AA competition in the regular season with wins against Hofstra, Coastal Carolina and Jacksonville State. With Kevin Higgins coaching The Citadel and Pete Lembo now at Elon, the league could field even more strong teams in the near future.
Runner-Up: Gateway
Northern Iowa made a run to its first national championship game, and Southern Illinois finally got over its first-round monkey with a win at Eastern Illinois. Unfortunately for the league, the Panthers and Salukis were the only teams to make the postseason. Youngstown State probably should have been in, and Illinois State had a worthy postseason resume as well with a 3-0 mark against playoff teams. Western Kentucky fell apart down the stretch, but was ranked at No. 1 in the country in late October.
BEST PLAYER (POSTSEASON): Jason Hunter, DE, Appalachian State
Hunter will be forever remembered for his 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown that lifted Appalachian State past Northern Iowa. But that score was just the highlight of a dominating postseason for the senior defensive end. Hunter began the postseason with seven tackles and a sack in a 34-23 win against Lafayette and had 11 tackles, four stops for a loss and sack in Appalachian State’s 38-24 quarterfinal win over Southern Illinois. But Hunter saved his best for the last two games of the season. He had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and a timely sack and forced fumble in a 29-23 victory over Furman to put the Mountaineers in the title game. Furman drove to the Appalachian State 36 yard line with 40 seconds remaining, but Hunter tracked down Ingle Martin and forced a fumble that sealed the win. In the championship game, Hunter wreaked havoc all night. He had 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks, and made his presence felt in the Panther backfield all night. And, of course, he came through with the fourth-quarter fumble recovery that made history for the Mountaineers.
RUNNER-UP: Eric Sanders, QB, Northern Iowa
Sanders outgunned three of I-AA’s top quarterbacks (Erik Meyer, Ricky Santos and Barrick Nealy) to get the Panthers to the national championship game and solidify his spot as one of the best signal-callers in I-AA. Sanders threw for 330 yards and four scores against Eastern Washington, was efficient in a win against New Hampshire, and had a spectacular effort with a 24-for-31, 417-yard, four-touchdown performance to lift Northern Iowa to a 40-37 overtime win at Texas State. A midseason injury cost Sanders a spot on the Payton Watch list this year, but he enters the 2006 campaign as one of the top contenders for the award.
BEST I-A TRANSFER: David Horne, Northern Iowa
Eric Sanders got most of the headlines for the offense, but Horne, a Nebraska transfer, was instrumental as Terrance Freeney dealt with injuries throughout the season. Horne had to take over the reigns as the No. 1 running back for the Panthers and finished with 1,141 yards and 17 touchdowns. He had three 100-yard efforts in the postseason, including a 102-yard day against Appalachian State.
Appalachian State’s national championship capped a return to prominence for the Southern Conference. The Mountaineers won the league’s first crown since 2000, and captured the league title with a 7-1 mark. But the conference had a strong top six teams to carry the banner of best league. Furman made it to the semifinals before bowing out to Appalachian State, and the Paladins finished with a 6-2 league mark. Georgia Southern gave the league three teams in the playoffs, which was more than any other conference. Wofford was down a bit but still solid, and Western Carolina and Chattanooga both showed major improvement. Southern Conference teams had a 6-2 playoff mark, and went 18-2 against non-conference I-AA competition in the regular season with wins against Hofstra, Coastal Carolina and Jacksonville State. With Kevin Higgins coaching The Citadel and Pete Lembo now at Elon, the league could field even more strong teams in the near future.
Runner-Up: Gateway
Northern Iowa made a run to its first national championship game, and Southern Illinois finally got over its first-round monkey with a win at Eastern Illinois. Unfortunately for the league, the Panthers and Salukis were the only teams to make the postseason. Youngstown State probably should have been in, and Illinois State had a worthy postseason resume as well with a 3-0 mark against playoff teams. Western Kentucky fell apart down the stretch, but was ranked at No. 1 in the country in late October.
BEST PLAYER (POSTSEASON): Jason Hunter, DE, Appalachian State
Hunter will be forever remembered for his 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown that lifted Appalachian State past Northern Iowa. But that score was just the highlight of a dominating postseason for the senior defensive end. Hunter began the postseason with seven tackles and a sack in a 34-23 win against Lafayette and had 11 tackles, four stops for a loss and sack in Appalachian State’s 38-24 quarterfinal win over Southern Illinois. But Hunter saved his best for the last two games of the season. He had 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss and a timely sack and forced fumble in a 29-23 victory over Furman to put the Mountaineers in the title game. Furman drove to the Appalachian State 36 yard line with 40 seconds remaining, but Hunter tracked down Ingle Martin and forced a fumble that sealed the win. In the championship game, Hunter wreaked havoc all night. He had 10 tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks, and made his presence felt in the Panther backfield all night. And, of course, he came through with the fourth-quarter fumble recovery that made history for the Mountaineers.
RUNNER-UP: Eric Sanders, QB, Northern Iowa
Sanders outgunned three of I-AA’s top quarterbacks (Erik Meyer, Ricky Santos and Barrick Nealy) to get the Panthers to the national championship game and solidify his spot as one of the best signal-callers in I-AA. Sanders threw for 330 yards and four scores against Eastern Washington, was efficient in a win against New Hampshire, and had a spectacular effort with a 24-for-31, 417-yard, four-touchdown performance to lift Northern Iowa to a 40-37 overtime win at Texas State. A midseason injury cost Sanders a spot on the Payton Watch list this year, but he enters the 2006 campaign as one of the top contenders for the award.
BEST I-A TRANSFER: David Horne, Northern Iowa
Eric Sanders got most of the headlines for the offense, but Horne, a Nebraska transfer, was instrumental as Terrance Freeney dealt with injuries throughout the season. Horne had to take over the reigns as the No. 1 running back for the Panthers and finished with 1,141 yards and 17 touchdowns. He had three 100-yard efforts in the postseason, including a 102-yard day against Appalachian State.
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