The cream has risen to the top of the Southern Conference.

After Elon’s 42-10 win over Chattanooga and Appalachian State’s 52-16 win over rival Georgia Southern, the Phoenix and the Mountaineers remained the two unbeaten teams in conference play.

Everyone else has at least two losses.

“It's great to get another SoCon win and do it in convincing fashion,” said Elon coach Pete Lembo about the UTC game. “I think we did a lot of good things in all three phases of the game. There were times when we were inconsistent and a little bit out of synch. It's one of those good wins where I think we can enjoy it and go back tomorrow and see some things on film that we can tweak and improve on.”

If you ask Chattanooga (4-3, 2-3 Southern Conference) coach Russ Heusman, the Phoenix (6-1, 4-0) doesn’t have much to improve on.

“Just talking about Elon, all the statistics are out there,” Heusman said. “They are number one in the country in total defense. Everybody has talked for years about Elon’s offense. They have great players in (senior wide receiver Terrell) Hudgins, (junior quarterback Scott) Riddle, some great back and receivers. They have linemen that have been playing for three or four years and played a true freshman. Everybody talks about their offense and how explosive they are, but right now defensively, they are the best in the country.”

Things look a bit different at the bottom of the conference, where youth and inexperience has decimated many of the league’s teams.

Wofford (2-5, 1-3) won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

“The bottom line is that it is a win,” said Terriers coach Mike Ayers about Saturday’s 35-26 win at Western Carolina. “You just don’t realize how hard it is when you have been on a journey like we have been. We are a young football team and making mistakes, but at the same time we are fighting hard. I thought that our kids came to play. Some of the mistakes we are making are costly. What we have to do is to continue to work. We have gotten better the past two weeks and hopefully we will continue to get better and see if we can win number two.”

For Western (1-6, 1-4), it’s all about missed opportunities.

“(It) was real disappointing. We blew an opportunity. We had many chances to win this football game,” said WCU coach Dennis Wagner about the Wofford game. “We couldn't stop the fullback all day. When we got some momentum, when we needed a big drive, we didn't get it. We wasted an opportunity today.”

Furman (4-3, 3-2) and Georgia Southern (4-4, 3-2) each had a chance to remain in contention for the SoCon title, but while the Mountaineers were busy knocking off the Eagles, Furman gave The Citadel it’s first conference win.

NOTES: Furman and Appalachian State renew their rivalry Saturday at noon in Greenville, S.C. The Paladins nave lost seven of the last eight matchups with the Mountaineers. … Georgia Southern is idle. … Wofford hosts Elon at 1:30 p.m. … Samford travels to The Citadel at 1 p.m. … Chattanooga hosts Western Carolina in a 2 p.m. kickoff.

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