The Sports Arsenal

– Wednesday’s notes and observations

—

Links of interest for Thursday:

– The Brent Thompson Show (recorded September 8, 2021)

– The Citadel is “back open for business” at Johnson Hagood Stadium

– The Citadel’s game notes (in case you missed the release earlier this week)

– Weekly release from the SoCon

– Charleston Southern’s game notes

– Weekly release from the Big South

—

Broadcast information

Charleston Southern at The Citadel, to be played on Sansom Field at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on September 11, 2021.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and televised on four TV stations — ECBD in Charleston, WMYT in Charlotte, WWCW in Lynchburg/Roanoke, and WYCW in Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville.

Pete Yanity will handle play-by-play, while Jared Singleton supplies the analysis.

The contest can be heard on radio via The Citadel Sports Network. WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, will be the flagship station. Other stations carrying the game include WQXL in Columbia (100.7 FM/1470 AM) and WDXY in Sumter (105.9 FM/1240 AM).

Luke Mauro (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) calls the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

• “Live Stats” for the game

—

This was reported last week, but I wanted to mention here that The Citadel has added another FBS opponent to a future schedule. The Bulldogs will play at Charlotte on September 5, 2026. 

The Citadel will receive $305,000 for the game, along with 400 complimentary tickets. In addition, the 49ers will provide 600 tickets for The Citadel to sell.

Other future FBS opponents for the Bulldogs include Appalachian State (in the 2022 season), Georgia Southern (2023), Clemson (2024), and Mississippi (2025).

The current administration has established a preference for playing close-to-home FBS opponents, and has been more focused on G5 schools. I understand the reasoning, and sometimes there isn’t much of a difference in the guarantees, but I believe playing P5 teams is generally a better idea, particularly in terms of publicity and cachet. The exception to this would be a matchup against a service academy.

—

Of the 117 players on The Citadel’s online roster, 66 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Georgia (17 players), Florida (11), North Carolina (9), Virginia (5), Alabama (2), Texas (2), and one each from New York, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Tennessee.

Tight end Hayden Williamson played his high school football in Okinawa, Japan.

—

Charleston Southern has 116 players on its online roster. There are 34 natives of South Carolina on the squad. Other states represented include Georgia (30 players), Florida (25), North Carolina (17), Kentucky (3), Texas (2), and one each from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia.

Defensive lineman Devonte Turner played high school football in Florida, but is originally from Windsor, Ontario.

—

Actually, there are 117 players listed on Charleston Southern’s roster. Lorvens Florestal, a freshman from Delray Beach, Florida, was tragically killed two weeks ago in an off-campus shooting. He was an innocent bystander — simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lorvens Florestal was 19 years old.

—

Most of CSU’s players were recruited to North Charleston out of high school. There are 12 players on the Buccaneers’ roster who began playing collegiately at another four-year institution or a junior college. 

—

Charleston Southern did not play in the fall of 2020, but did compete in four spring games. The Bucs were 2-2, losing road games to Kennesaw State and Monmouth, but winning at home versus Robert Morris and Gardner-Webb.

Spring stats of note for CSU, offense:

• Points per game: 20.75
• Yards per play: 4.88 
• Run/pass ratio: 44.9% rush attempts, 55.1% pass plays
• Adjusted yards per rush: 3.83
• Adjusted yards per pass attempt: 5.73
• Pass completion percentage: 62.7%
• Sack percentage per pass play: 9.55% (142 attempts, 15 sacks allowed)
• 3rd down conversion rate: 43.8% (28 for 64)
• 4th down conversion rate: 33.3% (2 for 6)
• Estimated points per red zone possession: 4.93

Spring stats of note for CSU: defense:

• Points allowed per game: 20.00
• Yards per play allowed: 5.05
• Run/pass ratio for opponents: 61.2% rush attempts, 38.7% pass plays
• Adjusted yards per rush allowed: 3.43
• Adjusted yards per pass attempt allowed: 7.60
• Pass completion percentage allowed: 55.7%
• Sack percentage per pass play: 5.83% (97 attempts against, 6 sacks)
• 3rd down conversion rate against: 37.1% (23 for 62)
• 4th down conversion rate against: 50.0% (8 of 16)
• Estimated points per red zone possession allowed: 3.75

Other spring stats of note for CSU:

• Average time of possession per contest: 27 minutes, 37 seconds
• Net punting: 37.48 yards
• Penalties per game: 6.0
• Penalty yardage per contest: 55.25
• Turnover margin per game: -0.25 (4 gained, 5 lost in 4 games)

—

It is difficult to come to any sweeping statistical conclusions about Charleston Southern’s football team, given the small four-game sample size. CSU’s offense had success through the air, though the Buccaneers did allow more than their fair share of sacks. The offensive third down conversion rate was good.

When Charleston Southern had a big play on offense, it almost always came via the pass. In the four games, CSU only had one run of more than 20+ yards.

However, fans of the Bulldogs might remember current CSU starting quarterback Jack Chambers rushing for 33 and 38 yards on consecutive plays during the Buccaneers’ game versus The Citadel in 2019. Chambers entered that contest late in the third quarter and had an immediate impact.

Defensively, Charleston Southern’s spring campaign featured outstanding play in the red zone. Opponents scored only seven times in twelve trips inside the 20-yard line (six TDs and a field goal). CSU got burned by long pass plays a few times (including a 51-yard touchdown toss by Kennesaw State and a 70-yard TD by Monmouth), but was good against the run; in three of the four games, Charleston Southern did not allow a run of 20+ yards. 

Against Kennesaw State, which runs the triple option, CSU did not give up a run of longer than 10 yards, with an adjusted yards per rush allowed of only 3.38.

KSU won that game 24-19; two of the Owls’ scores came on pass plays (Kennesaw was 4 for 5 throwing the ball, with one sack). Also of possible interest: KSU quarterback Jonathan Murphy accounted for half of the Owls’ rushing yardage (and almost 40% of the carries).

—

The Citadel has an all-time record of 1-5 on September 11. The lone victory came against Presbyterian in 1982. As described in this week’s game notes:

…Randy Gold’s 42-yard interception return in the third quarter proved to be the difference as
The Citadel opened the season with a 21-16 victory over Presbyterian. The victory was the 14th-straight
victory inside Johnson Hagood Stadium. Quarterback Gerald Toney scored on runs of 43 yards and 10
yards in the first quarter, and linebacker Keith McCauley paced the defense with 11 tackles, two forced
fumbles and a blocked punt.

On a rainy night in Charleston, the two teams combined for nine turnovers and the above-mentioned blocked punt. During one drive, PC was stopped on downs inside the Bulldogs’ 1-yard line. The Citadel only had 237 yards of total offense — not much, but just enough.

—

Getting closer to the long-awaited home opener…

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: Big South, Brent Thompson, Charleston Southern, Gerald Toney, Keith McCauley, SoCon, The Citadel |