A colorful Southern Conference match-up in Greenville, S.C. headlines Saturday's slate.

Furman is hosting a "White Out" in the pivotal meeting with Appalachian State. The visiting Mountaineers, meanwhile, will be sporting gold, altnerate jerseys.

The Paladins need a win to remain in the SoCon hunt after dropping a 38-28 decision last week to The Citadel. First order of business for Furman will be cooling an ASU offense that is averaging

"We're going to work on spreading their linebackers out of the slot," said ASU leading rusher and tailback Devon Moore. Moore is notching a hair below 100 yards, leading a Mountaineer offense averaging over 230 per game. A week ago, ASU piled up 345 yards on the ground against Georgia Southern.

"We passed the ball well last week, and [the running game] kept the linebackers in the tackle box," Moore said.

The 52-16 win was Appalachian State's fifth consecutive since starting the season 0-2, and third straight scoring 44 or more points.

Moore said the ground attack's role is vital, with ASU looking to open the field for quarterback Armanti Edwards. Furman has struggled against the pass with opponents averaging over 260 yards per game.

But on the opposite end of the ball, ASU faces an offense almost as balanced as its own in Furman. The Paladins are averaging 27.7 points and nearly 400 yards of total offense per game: 237 passing from quarterback Jordan Sorrells, and 147 rushing with three players averaging 32 or more.

ASU leading tackler DJ Smith said, "They have two really great rushers [Jerry Williams and Tersoo Uhaa] and they run a lot of different calls. We have to have a commitment to stopping big plays."

Two weeks ago, big plays tested the Mountaineer defense when Wofford averaged 7.5 yards per rush en route to 388 yards.

"The coaches really hammered [stopping the rush] home after the Wofford game," Smith said.

The team's response was limiting Georgia Southern to just 78 total rushing yards and a 0.6 yards per carry average.

The 2006 and 2007 FCS national championship Mountaineers have little margin for error. ASU remains tied with Elon atop the SoCon. The Phoenix are on the road against 2-5 Wofford.

Follow the Paladins and Mountaineers via Gametracker or Streaming Online courtesy of FurmanPaladins.com

Texas Tussle

Stephen F. Austin's nation leading scoring offense rolls into San Marcos against a Texas State Bobcat team one game behind the Lumberjacks in the Southland Conference standings. SFA is putting up over 44 points per game, more than a touchdown more than its closest competitor.

Texas State hasn't slouched in its own right, averaging just below 35 PPG. Quarterbacks Brad George of Texas State and SFA's Jeremy Moses should light up the scoreboard.

Follow these two explosive offenses via Gametracker, Streaming Online Video or Streaming Online Audio via TxStateBobcats.com.

Big Sky Battle

Perennial Championship Subdivision powerhouse Montana is unbeaten and once again leading the Big Sky Conference. With an overtime win over second place Northern Arizona already to the Grizzlies' credit, UM has taken major strides toward its 14th conference championship in the last 16 seasons. One program that might have something to say is Weber State, which a season ago split the crown with the Grizzlies.

Weber State senior running Trevyn Smith has been one of the nation's most effective rushers. He racked up 103 yards and scored in a touchdown in the teams' meeting last December. UM has held opponents to 10 yards fewer total than Smith is averaging individually.