The University of Charleston football team's march through the front end of its schedule has been nowhere near easy.
Of the Golden Eagles' first four opponents, one was nationally ranked, three now sit at .500 or better and none were under .500 when they played them. And the degree of difficulty jumps again tonight, when they host another nationally ranked team with national-broadcast cameras trained on them.
UC (3-1, 3-1 Mountain East Conference) faces No. 21 Concord (3-1, 3-1) at 7 p.m. at UC Stadium in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN's online streaming site, ESPN3. The winner of the contest will help clear the jumble underneath undefeated and 14th-ranked Shepherd in the race for second place in the MEC. Charleston, Concord and Glenville State currently all share that spot.
"This is a good conference," UC coach Pat Kirkland said. "When you look at rankings, preseason rankings, it would seem a little top-heavy with the schedule at the beginning of the year. But our guys don't know any different. I think one thing that gives us a chance is the way we prepare each week."
The Golden Eagles likely are preparing for a close game. Each of their last three against the Mountain Lions, an NCAA Division II national semifinalist last season, were decided by six points or fewer. Concord won last year's game 24-20 with a touchdown pass with 1:51 to go in the game.
Last season's finish had experts around the country thinking big things for Concord in 2015. The Mountain Lions entered the season ranked ninth in the country. An opening-week upset loss to West Liberty sent them tumbling down the AFCA Top 25 poll, but they're remained among that 25 every week.
The Hilltoppers scored that upset by holding what was the league's top offense last season in both points and yards to uncharacteristically low numbers. Concord scored 28 points and gained just 346 yards in Week 1 after averaging 42.4 points and 476.9 yards last year. Kirkland believes the Mountain Lions have righted that ship since, even though their top offensive player has struggled.
Running back Calvinaugh Jones, the 2014 MEC offensive player of the year after a 1,736-yard, 12-touchdown campaign, is averaging just 55 rushing yards per game this season. The top rusher for Concord is Jamal Petty, averaging 73.3 yards.
"You look at that last game against West Virginia Wesleyan and they really started to click," Kirkland said. "They hung 49 points in the first half against Wesleyan, so they're hitting their stride now. When they are healthy, they're probably one of the best offenses in the conference and in the country."
The Golden Eagles can be included among the MEC's best offenses, too, fourth in points at 36.5 per game and second in yards at 466.5 per game. They also lead the conference with 243.5 rushing yards per game, and showed that ground dominance last Saturday in their win over West Virginia State. Led by a three-touchdown day from running back Tevion Cappe, UC rushed for 224 yards to dominate time of possession over the Yellow Jackets and turn a one-point, second-quarter lead into a three-touchdown win.
Running back Marvin Elam rested a banged-up shoulder and sat out the State game, but Kirkland said after that contest that he could have played if the coaching staff wasn't as confident in its running back depth as it is.
The UC defense has faced its challenges this season, but linebacker Rhakeem Stallings feels the unit is coming around. It sits seventh in the 11-team MEC in points and yards allowed, but held a State team that was averaging more than 44 points per game to just 13, shutting out the Yellow Jackets in the second half.
"That chemistry wasn't there at first," Stalling said. "But throughout practice, throughout the daily grind, the constant film sessions, the position meetings, everything's starting to click together and it's showing.
"Last week was the start of it," he added. "Now we just have to keep it going."