The Citadel at Furman, to be played at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina, with kickoff at 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, October 24. The game will not be televised.
The contest will be streamed on ESPN3.com, with Chuck Hussion providing play-by-play and Sam Wyche supplying the analysis. Bob Mihalic will be the sideline reporter.
The game can be heard on radio via the various affiliates of The Citadel Sports Network. WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, will be the flagship station. WQNT will have a two-hour pregame show.
Mike Legg (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze. Jay Harper will report from the sidelines; he will host the first hour of the pregame show as well.
It is also possible to listen to the action with a smartphone, using a TuneIn Radio application.
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Links of interest:
– Preview of The Citadel-Furman from The Post and Courier
– Preview of The Citadel-Furman from The Greenville News
– Game notes from The Citadel and Furman
– Mike Houston on the SoCon teleconference
– Bruce Fowler on the SoCon teleconference
– Mike Houston’s 10/20 press conference (with comments from Dominique Allen and Joe Crochet)
– The Mike Houston Show (radio)
– Dee Delaney was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Samford
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For the second week in a row, The Citadel’s football team performed well and was rewarded with a win. This time it came on the road, against Samford.
The game went almost exactly how The Citadel would have wanted. The Bulldogs controlled the ball (35:15 time of possession) and averaged 6.2 yards per play on offense (including 5.9 yards per rush).
Dominique Allen ran the triple option with aplomb, rushing for 166 yards. Isiaha Smith scored three touchdowns. The offense committed no turnovers.
Conversely, the defense forced four turnovers, one of which was returned for a backbreaking touchdown just before the end of the first half, and limited Samford to 2.6 yards per carry.
SU did throw for 414 yards, but 113 of those came in the game’s final nine minutes, with The Citadel ahead by three touchdowns. Only two of Samford’s last ten completions resulted in a gain of more than nine yards (and neither was a “huge” play, as they were gains of 12 and 16 yards, respectively).
The Bulldogs were only called for two penalties (one enforced, for five yards). Will Vanvick had a punt downed on the 1-yard line, and later had another go out of bounds on the Samford 2-yard line.
It wasn’t a perfect game by any means, though. Both Samford possessions that came after those outstanding punts by Vanvick resulted in touchdown drives, the second of which featured an 83-yard TD pass by SU.
After that play, Samford recovered an onside kick, and appeared to have some momentum. It took exactly one play for The Citadel’s defense to pop SU’s balloon, however, with Dee Delaney forcing a fumble that was recovered by Joe Crochet.
That play finished off a (mostly) great day at the office for Delaney, who was the league’s defensive player of the week. It was also Crochet’s second fumble recovery of the year; somewhat surprisingly, he is the only player in the Southern Conference to have more than one recovered fumble this season.
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Okay, time to talk about Furman…
Bruce Fowler is in his fifth season as the Paladins’ head football coach. He has a record of 23-31 (16-17 in the SoCon), with an FCS playoff appearance two seasons ago.
Fowler is a 1981 graduate of Furman. He is a member of the Dick Sheridan coaching tree, like every other Furman head coach since Sheridan left Greenville after the 1985 season.
Furman was 3-8 last year, which was a tough way to follow up a league co-championship. The Paladins suffered through a string of injuries in 2014 that would have tested the patience of Job, but whether or not the school administration would be similarly patient if Furman struggles again this season is open to debate.
It is worth noting that there is a new director of athletics at the school, Mike Buddie (who was in the mix for the job at The Citadel before the military college hired Jim Senter).
I don’t know anything about the inner workings of Furman, but I was reminded of the school’s modern-day expectations when I read that former head coach Jimmy Satterfield had been inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame; he was honored two weeks ago. Satterfield was 66-29-3 in eight years at the helm, with a national title to his credit.
Satterfield’s record in his last two seasons at Furman was a combined 11-10-1. He was fired.
Bobby Lamb is the head coach at Mercer, the opponent for The Citadel next week. He was Fowler’s predecessor at Furman, where he also played. Lamb’s record at Furman was 67-40 (one league title).
Lamb’s record in his last two seasons at Furman was a combined 11-11. He was fired.
I could be wrong, but this might be an important year for Bruce Fowler. We shall see.
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The next few sections include statistical team/conference comparisons for all games, unless otherwise indicated.
As I mentioned last week, that isn’t ideal for comparative purposes, but Furman and The Citadel have combined to play only five league games. Since 2015 total statistics at this point are almost certainly more germane to this season than the 2014 numbers, I’m going to use this year’s stats.
Furman is 3-3 on the season, with wins over VMI (24-21), South Carolina State (17-3), and UCF (16-15). The Paladins have lost to Chattanooga (31-3), Virginia Tech (42-3), and Coastal Carolina (38-35). The games against the Chanticleers, Keydets, and Orangeburg’s Bulldogs were contested in Greenville.
The Citadel is 4-2, with victories over Davidson (69-0), Western Carolina (28-10), Wofford (39-12), and Samford (44-25). The Bulldogs have lost to Charleston Southern (33-20) and Georgia Southern (48-13). The matchups against the Eagles and Birmingham’s Bulldogs were road games for The Citadel.
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In six games, Furman’s offense has thrown the ball 190 times, and has had fourteen other would-be pass plays result in sacks. Not counting those sacks, the Paladins have rushed 199 times, so the run/pass mix for FU is very close to 50-50.
Passing yardage accounts for 57.4% of Furman’s total offense (I took out the sack yardage when computing that statistic). The Paladins average 5.12 yards per pass attempt (again, with sack yardage taken into account).
Among SoCon teams, Furman is last in both scoring offense (16.3 ppg) and total offense, and is also last in the league in yards per play (4.5). The Citadel is third in scoring defense (21.1 ppg) and total defense and is allowing 5.4 yards per play.
Furman is fifth in passing offense, averaging 193.2 yards per game. The Paladins are last among SoCon teams in offensive pass efficiency, with three touchdown tosses and six interceptions.
The Citadel was leading the conference in pass defense and pass defense efficiency prior to the Samford game, but now ranks third in the league in the first of those categories. However, the Bulldogs still lead all SoCon squads in defensive pass efficiency (12th nationally), allowing 6.2 yards per attempt (the league low).
The Citadel has intercepted eleven passes while allowing just one touchdown throw (which came last week against Samford). That is the top ratio in FCS; only Jacksonville and Southern Utah have intercepted more passes (13) than the Bulldogs.
Furman quarterbacks have been sacked fourteen times, tied for the second-most among conference squads. As noted above, the sack yardage against the Paladins has been significant; for example, VMI has been sacked seven more times than Furman, but the Paladins have lost more yardage from sacks (110) than the Keydets (108).
The Citadel’s defense has recorded twelve sacks, third-best in the league. Mitchell Jeter has 5.5 of those sacks for the Bulldogs.
Furman has completed 55.3% of its passes, second-lowest among SoCon teams. The Paladins are averaging 31.7 pass attempts per contest, fourth-most in the conference.
Not counting sack yardage, Furman is averaging 3.9 yards per carry. The sack statistic really makes a difference in this case, because the Paladins’ average per rush is technically 3.1 yards per attempt. FU has eight rushing touchdowns, fewest in the league.
The Citadel is sixth in rushing defense, and is allowing 4.8 yards per rush (tied for the league worst in that category). Samford was not able to consistently run the ball against the Cadets last Saturday, but I don’t expect that to dissuade the Paladins from trying to control the game on the ground.
Furman is only converting 34.8% of its third-down attempts, the lowest percentage in the SoCon. The Citadel is third in the league in defensive third down conversion rate (38.4%), though the Bulldogs did allow Samford to convert 9 of 17 third-down attempts last week.
The Paladins have a red zone TD rate of 66.7%, fourth-best among SoCon squads; seven of the eight TDs Furman has scored in the red zone were via the rush. The Citadel’s red zone defensive TD rate (52.9%) ranks third in the conference.
When going for it on fourth down this season, Furman is 4 for 7. Opponents of The Citadel have tried fourteen fourth-down attempts, converting nine times (Samford was 1 for 2 last week).
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Furman is fourth in the league in both scoring and total defense, allowing 25.0 points and 373.3 yards per game. FU is allowing 5.4 yards per play.
The Paladins are third in the SoCon in rushing defense, allowing 4.3 yards per rush attempt. Furman opponents have scored eleven rushing touchdowns in six games.
The Citadel is tied for first in scoring offense (35.5 ppg), third in total offense (averaging 6.3 yards per play) and leads the league in rushing offense (a category in which the Bulldogs currently rank second nationally, trailing only Cal Poly). The Bulldogs are averaging 5.8 yards per rush attempt, best in the conference.
The Bulldogs are last in the SoCon in passing yardage per game. However, The Citadel continues to average a league-best 10.7 yards per pass attempt, and is third in offensive pass efficiency among conference squads.
Furman is fifth in pass defense among SoCon outfits, but third in defensive pass efficiency, with seven interceptions against five TD passes allowed. The Paladins’ D has only six sacks so far this season, tied for the league low.
At 52.6%, The Citadel leads the conference (and is seventh nationally) in offensive third down conversion rate. Furman is second in the SoCon in defensive third down conversion rate, with an excellent 36.0% rate.
The Citadel has an offensive red zone TD rate of 74.1%, third-best in the league. All twenty of the Bulldogs’ touchdowns from red zone possessions have come via the rush.
Furman’s red zone defensive TD rate is 60.9%, which ranks fourth among conference teams.
The Bulldogs are 3 for 8 on fourth down this year after going 1-1 last week. The Paladins’ defense has faced thirteen fourth-down conversion attempts, and has prevented a first down on eight of those occasions.
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The Citadel is +4 in turnover margin (gained sixteen, lost twelve), tied for the top spot in the league in that category. Furman is -1 in that category (gained nine, lost ten).
On field goal attempts, the Bulldogs are 4 for 6, while the Paladins have made five of six tries. Neither team has missed a PAT so far this season.
The Citadel leads the conference in net punting yardage (38.7). Furman ranks fourth (34.8). As for kickoff coverage, the Bulldogs are second in the league, while the Paladins are sixth.
Furman is last in the SoCon in kickoff return average (18.2 yards). The Citadel is fourth (22.6).
As far as time of possession is concerned, the Bulldogs rank fifth in that statistic (30:50) among league teams. FU is one spot ahead of them in fourth (31:44).
The Paladins are averaging 67.2 plays from scrimmage per game, with a 2.12 plays-per-minute rate. The Bulldogs are averaging slightly more plays per game (67.7) at a slightly faster pace (2.19 plays-per-minute).
Furman has been called for more penalties this year than any other SoCon team (6.7 per game). However, The Citadel’s opponents have been flagged for only 4.8 penalties per contest, third-fewest in the conference.
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Now that I’ve posted all those numbers and made the respective comparisons, it’s fair to ask how relevant they are.
It’s a question that doesn’t have a good answer. It’s quite possible they aren’t particularly meaningful at all — at least, where the Paladins are concerned.
Is Furman the team that beat an FBS squad and dropped a hard-fought game to FCS #1 Coastal Carolina by just 3 points? Or are the Paladins the team that struggled at home with VMI and lost badly to Chattanooga?
The raw statistics would indicate the latter scenario is closer to the truth, but there is a reason they’re called “raw” statistics. I think a closer examination of the numbers might suggest that Furman is actually a good team, potentially a very good team.
For example, if you disregard the Paladins’ game against Virginia Tech, Furman is only allowing 3.7 yards per rush. That would be the best mark in the SoCon.
Furman went toe-to-toe with Coastal Carolina, outgaining the Chanticleers through the air and matching CCU on the ground. How did Furman lose? Well, the Paladins gave up a 100-yard kickoff return in that game, and were also foiled by two turnovers.
Before running into a buzzsaw at Chattanooga, Furman had won three straight games, including a 16-15 victory over UCF. I know that the Knights are one of the worst FBS teams in the country, but hey — it’s still a road win over an FBS team. The Paladins held UCF to 3.7 yards per play; the Knights finished with only 98 yards passing (and were intercepted three times by Furman).
I’m inclined to think Furman is better than its statistics show. The only thing that makes me question that judgment is the VMI game, where the Paladins’ defense was solid, but the offense struggled. Frankly, I am a bit puzzled by Furman’s offensive numbers in that contest.
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Furman quarterback Reese Hannon (6’1″, 209 lbs.) is a three-year captain who has started 27 games for the Paladins. Hannon was injured in the Paladins’ opening game last season and missed the rest of the 2014 campaign.
Hannon is third among active SoCon players in passing yardage (incidentally, there are three Paladins in the conference’s top 10 in that category). This season, the Greer native (who Mike Houston compared to Andrew Luck in playing style) is completing 55.7% of his pass attempts, averaging 5.99 per attempt, with three touchdowns against six interceptions.
While his 2014 season opener resulted in a season-ending injury, Hannon’s first game in 2015 was considerably more positive, despite Furman eventually losing to Coastal Carolina. Hannon threw for a school-record 365 yards (on 41 attempts), including two TD passes. He also added 35 rushing yards, finishing with 400 yards of total offense — which was also a single-game school record.
Furman tends to run a lot of two-back offensive sets. Mike Houston commented during his radio show that the Paladins “run downhill”, with a lot of play-action.
Triston Luke (5’9″, 187 lbs.) is a freshman from Tennessee who took the last train from Clarksville to the Furman campus. He leads the Paladins in rushing attempts and yards. He scored two touchdowns against South Carolina State.
The starting fullback, Ernie Cain, is a 6’0″, 220 lb. redshirt senior who leads the team in rushing touchdowns with five. He is averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
Furman’s projected offensive line starters average 6’3″, 280 lbs. They have combined to make 111 career starts.
Right guard Joe Turner (6’3″, 270 lbs.) has started 40 games for the Paladins, and was selected first-team All-SoCon by the league coaches last season. He is a fifth-year senior from Roswell, Georgia.
Eric Thoni, a 6’1″, 260 lb. center, returned to the squad (and the starting lineup) after missing last season; he was dismissed from the team during the summer of 2014. Thoni has made 27 career starts.
In general, the Paladins’ offensive line has been more stable this season than it was last year. Four of the five projected starters on Saturday have started every game for Furman this year.
Furman has multiple quality pass-catchers. Jordan Snellings (6’2″, 195 lbs.) is a fifth-year senior who has had a fine career in Greenville. Snellings had eight receptions for 102 yards and a TD in last year’s matchup at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
This season, Andrej Suttles (5’10”, 185 lbs.) leads the team in receptions, with 23. He is averaging 14.2 yards per catch, with two touchdowns.
Logan McCarter (6’1″, 182 lbs.) is a big-play threat who averaged 21.5 yards per reception last season. He has 16 catches this year, with a long of 57 yards versus VMI.
Duncan Fletcher came to Furman as a quarterback, and started two games in 2013. Fletcher is now a 6’4″, 231 lb. tight end with 43 career receptions.
He will be a tough cover for The Citadel. Longtime observers of the military college’s football program are well aware that Paladin tight ends have often enjoyed success against the Bulldogs in recent years.
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Furman has a new defensive coordinator this season. Kyle Gillenwater was on James Madison’s staff for 15 years, including five seasons as that school’s DC. He joins a staff that has a lot of familiarity with defending the triple option.
Jordan Hawkins (6’1″, 295 lbs.) is a junior defensive tackle who has already started 26 games in his career. Fellow DT Jaylan Reid is a 5’11”, 274 lb. redshirt freshman who is starting in front of veteran lineman John Mackey (who has 27 career starts).
Defensive end Brian Ross (6’5″, 235 lbs.) blocked a punt versus VMI and returned it for a touchdown, a critical play in that contest. The DE on the other side of the line, T.J. Warren (6’2″, 222 lbs.), was a linebacker before being moved to the d-line this spring.
Tackling machine Cory Magwood (6’2″, 232 lbs.) leads the Paladins in stops, with 63. He had 18 tackles last season against The Citadel, and is the active career leader in tackles in the SoCon.
Carl Rider (6’2″, 225 lbs.) redshirted last season due to injury. The middle linebacker was a first-team all-league pick in 2013. He seems to be back at full strength this season. Rider (who Mike Houston called a “lunch-pail kind of guy, blue-collar player, real tough”) had 19 tackles against South Carolina State.
Last year, the Paladins went through more safeties than Spinal Tap did drummers. In 2015, things have been better for Furman on that front.
Trey Robinson (6’1″, 212 lbs.) has started every game and has 4 interceptions and 49 tackles. Byron Johnson (6’2″, 231 lbs.) has started the last five contests at strong safety, while Richard Hayes III has started four games at free safety (having missed one game due to injury).
At cornerback, Reggie Thomas (6’0″, 186 lbs.) has the most career starts of any Furman player, with 41. He has two forced fumbles for the Paladins this season.
Redshirt junior Jamarri Milliken (5’11”, 190 lbs.) will return to the starting lineup on Saturday. He missed the first half of the Chattanooga game after being sidelined by a targeting penalty incurred against VMI.
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Jon Croft Hollingsworth is five for six on field goal attempts for Furman. His best effort was a school-record 55-yarder that gave Furman a fourth-quarter lead against UCF that the Paladins did not relinquish.
Hollingsworth is only a sophomore, but he has already made three 50+ yard field goals in his career. With that strong a leg, it should come as no surprise that Hollingsworth also handles kickoffs (8 of his 23 kickoffs have resulted in touchbacks).
He also serves as Furman’s punter; this season, he is averaging 37.7 yards per boot. Last season, Hollingsworth had a punt blocked by Samford.
Andrej Suttles is the Paladins’ regular punt returner, a duty he also held last year. Logan McCarter is the primary kickoff returner for Furman; last year he had a 63-yard kickoff return against The Citadel.
Long snapper Danny LaMontagne had been the Paladins’ regular snapper for 33 straight games before he broke his ankle at South Carolina last season. He has snapped in all five games for Furman this year.
Luke Cuneo is a redshirt freshman from Ashland, Massachusetts, who serves as the Paladins’ holder on placekicks. Cuneo is probably one of the smaller players to see playing time in Division I, as he is 5’6″, 168 lbs.
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Odds and ends:
– The weather forecast is promising. As of this writing (Thursday night), the National Weather Service was projecting sunny skies in Greenville on Saturday, with a high of 71 degrees.
– Per one source that deals in such matters, The Citadel is an eight-point favorite over Furman. The over/under is 45.5.
Of course, Samford was an eight-point favorite over The Citadel last week. Sometimes sharpies aren’t too sharp when it comes to FCS games.
– Furman has 27 players from Georgia on its roster, the most from any state. Other states represented: North Carolina (17), Florida (14), South Carolina (14), Tennessee (12), Alabama (4), Ohio (2), Pennsylvania (2), and one each from New Jersey, Massachusetts, Kentucky, and New York.
– As mentioned above, Reese Hannon broke the single-game total offense record for a Furman player against Coastal Carolina.
The record Hannon broke had been set just last season, by his current backup, P.J. Blazejowski, who had 382 yards of total offense in Furman’s OT loss to The Citadel. Curiously, the top six single-game marks for individual total offense in Furman history all occurred in losses.
In case you were wondering, The Citadel’s single-game individual total offense record (486 yards) was set in 2007 by Duran Lawson, in a 54-51 overtime victory over…Furman.
– This Saturday will be Homecoming at Furman. Attendance for the last five Homecoming games at Paladin Stadium:
2010 — 10,394 (vs. Chattanooga)
2011 — 11,716 (vs. Wofford)
2012 — 11,191 (vs. Georgia Southern)
2013 — 9,217 (vs. Samford)
2014 — 8,047 (vs. Samford)
While Homecoming attendance at Furman may have been disappointing in the past two years, there is a good chance it will rebound this Saturday; for one thing, a sizable contingent of visiting supporters should be on hand. That group will include most of the freshmen members of The Citadel’s Corps of Cadets, making the trip to Greenville via a fleet of buses.
It has been many years since a significant part of the corps made a road trip for a football game. As an alumnus, I’m very pleased at this development. I would like for it to happen on a near-annual basis.
– Furman’s game notes for this week includes a reference to “Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito”, which I believe wins some version of SID bingo. Well done.
– On the other hand, the FU release also includes this blurb:
Furman has already avenged a pair of losses from a year ago, defeating both VMI (24-21) and South Carolina State (17-3) after dropping games to the Keydets and Bulldogs in 2014. A win over The Citadel on Saturday would improve the Paladins to 3-0 in revenge matchups.
I’ve got to ask: how are “revenge matchups” being defined? After all, Furman has lost two games this season to teams which also defeated the Paladins last year (Coastal Carolina and Chattanooga).
Is it only a revenge matchup if Furman wins?
– Furman was off last week. In the past four years, the Paladins are 2-2 coming off bye weeks, with one of the wins a 24-17 victory over The Citadel in 2013. This is the first time Furman has played a home game after a bye week since 2011, when the Paladins defeated Presbyterian 66-21.
– Former Bengals and Buccaneers head coach Sam Wyche will be the ESPN3 analyst on Saturday. It is unlikely that he will say anything about Cleveland during the broadcast. You never know, though.
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While this is a key game for the Bulldogs, it is an equally important game for Furman.
In fact, this game is a great opportunity for the Paladins. With a victory, Furman will be in a position similar to the one The Citadel is in right now — right in the middle of the conference race, and with legitimate playoff aspirations.
The Paladins have already played Chattanooga and VMI. Their remaining league schedule includes three teams The Citadel has beaten (Samford, Western Carolina, and Wofford).
If Furman were to defeat The Citadel, that school’s supporters could logically conclude that the Paladins are capable of beating those same three squads. Take care of business against that trio and Mercer, and Furman is 8-3 and preparing for postseason play. Even at 7-4, the Paladins would have a shot at a playoff berth, given their strong non-conference schedule.
I suspect this will be a very physical contest on both sides of the ball. Furman’s offense will try very hard to establish the run.
There have been times in the recent past (the 2012 game, for instance) when the Paladins got away from running the football. I don’t expect the Furman coaching staff to make the same mistake this time.
That said, I have a lot of confidence in the Bulldogs. They have played very good football over the past two weeks, and I see no reason for that to change on Saturday.
I think this will be a hard-fought game between two good teams. I’m looking forward to it; the atmosphere should be great.
Go Dogs!
Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: Bruce Fowler, Carl Rider, Cory Magwood, Dee Delaney, Dominique Allen, Duran Lawson, Furman, Joe Crochet, Joe Turner, Jordan Snellings, Mike Houston, Mitchell Jeter, Reese Hannon, SoCon, The Citadel |
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