When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade.

If the SAC's Week 1 performance was any indication whether or not any lemonade was made, pull up a seat. You are going to be here a while brushing up on the different ways lemonade can be served. There are two distinct types, cloudy and clear. Hopefully as time goes on this season, we can get a more clear picture of how the SAC will fair this season in Division II. Right now, however, it is as cloudy as a Seattle skyline.

The Wingate Bulldogs were the only league member that recorded a victory prior to Labor Day, knocking off a pesky Johnson C. Smith bunch by a 38-28 margin. The scoreboard did not show the true disparity between the two teams. The Golden Bulls only managed 8 first downs and notched negative 20 yards rushing due to sacks and numerous stops behind the line. Wingate, on the other hand, torched Johnson C. Smith for 27 first downs and a game-clinching 50-yard 4th quarter touchdown scamper by Lawrence Pittman.

The SAC's other seven members collected losses, some by means of heartbreaking fashion and a couple by lopsided decisions.

Carson-Newman kicked off the Division II season on Thursday afternoon against Humboldt State. Despite a lengthy weather stoppage and a delay of game penalty on their opening play, the Eagles raced for an 85 yard touchdown on the first snap from scrimmage. Unfortunately, the Eagle defense gave up crucial scores during their 52-45 loss. A heroic 672 yard effort was given on offense, something the Division II world has witnessed from Carson-Newman for decades, only to come up short on defense in the final quarter.

Florida Tech avenged last year's razor-thin loss with a hard-fought 42-28 victory over Newberry on Saturday night. Raleigh Yeldell threw for nearly 450 yards, but airmailed 4 interceptions. The Wolves were outscored 21 to 7 in the second half, and saw All-SAC rusher Romelo Doctor held to a 2.4 average on ten carries.

If we are ranking Saturday's losses from a standpoint of quality and first-impressions, Catawba had the best loss in their game against #2 West Georgia. The Indian defense limited Louisville transfer Will Gardner to only 14 of 36 passing on the day, while their top rusher only topped a little more than 60 yards in the 23-3 Wolves' victory. Catawba's offense was non-existent the entire day and only managed three points on a relatively short field. Mike Sheehan threw three picks, including one on the Indian's opening drive.

The worst loss can be shared by Brevard, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill, and Tusculum collectively. East Stroudsburg did not get their engines cranked up until the third quarter offensively in their 49-14 win over Brevard. Harlon Hill Trophy candidate Robert Healy racked up a trio of touchdowns on the ground en route to a 139 yard day. East Stroudsburg only had to punt once on Saturday.

Lenoir-Rhyne was dropped like a bad habit by Virginia State 34-9 over the weekend. The Trojans doubled up the Bears in first downs and total offense. Newcomer Jarrod Kellar was sacked four times in his starting debut for Lenoir-Rhyne, completing only 11 passes for 158 yards and a score. Virginia State linebacker George Feggins is one of college football's leading tacklers so far in 2016 with 15 tackles, while defensive tackle Bryant Frazier racked up 2.5 sacks.

Samford worked over not only Mars Hill, but the scoreboard operator, all night long in Alabama on Saturday night. A 77-7 score is certainly a tough pill for Lion coach Tim Clifton to swallow, but never count out Mars Hill once conference play heats up in a couple of weeks. David Salmon and Austin Brown each struggled in the throwing rotation at quarterback, while Jamel Harbison was limited to 1.6 yards per carry on 17 totes and a lost fumble. Look for Clifton to stick with one quarterback going forward in my opinion, most likely Brown due to his scrambling wizardry.

Two overtime periods were necessary in Tusculum College's first game under the Jerry Odom era against Virginia-Wise. However, an interception by UVA-Wise's Ed Kargbo during Tusculum's second play of double overtime led to a 24 yard game-winning field goal in the 13-10 win over the Pioneers. Preseason First Team All-SAC running back Isaac Robinson recorded a conference-high 26 carries for a pedestrian 63 yards. I expect the Pioneers to improve dramatically heading further into the 2016 season, but let's remember that Tusculum is going to need several years of solid recruiting before they start competing for a SAC championship. Linebacker L'Keith Brown punched the clock for a pair of sacks and three forced fumbles.


Week 2 SAC Football Schedule
Last Week's Prediction Record (5-3)
Overall Prediction Record (5-3)


Shorter at Mars Hill
Saturday, September 10th. 1:00 PM
Mars Hill, NC

Mars Hill: 34 Shorter: 13
The Scoop: Shorter University is coming off a fresh 66-0 loss to Chattanooga, while Mars Hill is licking their wounds from a 77-7 loss to Samford. I expect a decent amount of points from the Lions, and a considerable bounty of punts by Shorter. The Hawks completed one pass last Saturday and boomed ten punts in their loss. Surprisingly, Keshaun Taylor and Gilbert Johnson did not produce one catch in their 2016 opener for Mars Hill. Look for that stat to change mightily this weekend.


Carson-Newman at St. Augustine's
Saturday, September 10th. 1:00 PM
Raleigh, NC

Carson-Newman: 56 St. Augustine's: 24
The Scoop: This will be a lopsided affair without question. NC A&T wiped out St. Augustine's last Saturday infront of 11,000 fans and sacked Falcon quarterback DJ Johnson on five occasions and intercepted him twice. St. Augustine's did not allow a 100-yard rusher, but did surrender four rushing scores on the afternoon. I expect four Eagle rushers to reach the century mark and pay-dirt this weekend.


Shaw at Wingate
Saturday, September 10th. 1:30 PM
Wingate, NC

Wingate: 24 Shaw: 14
The Scoop: Bad things normally happen when your quarterback is sacked on eight different occasions and four fumbles are lost. This described Shaw's recent encounter with Limestone in a 35-6 loss. Wingate flexed its offensive muscles against Johnson C. Smith last Saturday, and it should be another win against a CIAA opponent for Coach Reich. This prognosticator might have to keep an eye on potential SAC member Limestone going forward to see if they can bite a few SAC teams in 2016.


Tusculum at Virginia State
Saturday, September 10th. 2:00 PM
Ettrick, VA

Virginia State: 27 Tusculum: 17
The Scoop: After seeing Tusculum's offensive struggles and four Luke Lancaster interceptions, I do see some progress being made in terms of points. But not enough in one week's time period. VSU already has the recipe for beating SAC opponents, by playing good ball control offense and staying home on defense against the pass. The Trojans will be 2-0 against our conference by Saturday's end.


Brevard at Emory & Henry
Saturday, September 10th. 3:00 PM
Emory, VA

Emory & Henry: 41 Brevard: 10
The Scoop: Emory & Henry is a taste of Brevard's future Division III competition in 2017 and down the road. The Wasps are historically a solid football program and were upset last week in their opener against Ferrum College 39-38. Emory & Henry jumped out of the gate to a 21-0 second quarter lead, only to watch it collapse in the fourth quarter after Ferrum exploded for 24 fourth quarter points. I expect their quarterback Kevin Saxton, a former Appalachian State transfer more than two years ago, to have a huge day against Brevard. Ball-control is the only chance the Tornadoes have on Saturday, and Tyler Gregory must protect the pigskin in the option game.


Virginia Union at Newberry
Saturday, September 10th. 4:00 PM
Newberry, SC

Newberry: 44 Virginia-Union: 6
The Scoop: Raleigh Yeldell was exquisite with 447 yards through the air, but he must tame the interception tally in order for Newberry to gain another berth in the NCAA playoffs in November. LIU-Post spoiled Virginia Union's plans last weekend for a win in a low 14-12 scoring affair. The Wolves will be dialed in to shut down Central Florida transfer running back Will Stanback after he eclipsed 104 yards in his first game since being dismissed from the FBS program.


Winston-Salem State at Catawba
Saturday, September 10th. 6:00 PM
Salisbury, NC

Catawba: 17 Winston-Salem State: 10
The Scoop: The Indians at times imposed their will on defense against West Georgia, but often times West Georgia overwhelmed Catawba's offense by intercepting Mike Sheehan three times. The running game must ignite the offense in order to open up a possible air game this weekend, but this Ram defensive front is stout and proud. UNC-Pembroke mounted an impressive comeback against this group. WSSU was up 17-0 in the second quarter only to watch the lead evaporate, and lost in the final minute 20-17.


North Greenville at Lenoir-Rhyne
Saturday, September 10th. 7:00 PM
Hickory, NC

North Greenville: 31 Lenoir-Rhyne: 17
The Scoop: The Crusaders have great leaders on both sides of the ball. Running back Ashton Heard is back for his senior season after totaling over 1,100 rushing yards last season. He went over 180 yards in a 24-23 boxing match victory against West Alabama. On defense, linebacker Sam Houston broke the university's career tackles record (previously 245 tackles), and has plenty of time to cement himself as one of best to ever wear a Crusader uniform. The Bears did not have a healthy offensive start last week and their schedule only gets more challenging. Look for Kellar to have around 40 attempts in this contest.