– Brent Thompson’s weekly press conference
– Chattanooga’s weekly press conference (featuring head coach Rusty Wright and two players)
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Broadcast information
The Citadel at Chattanooga, to be played at Finley Stadium – Davenport Field in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with kickoff at 1:30 pm ET on November 20, 2021.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Play-by-play will be handled by Chris Goforth, while Scott McMahen supplies the analysis. Dave Keylon is the sideline reporter.
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.
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Here is my weekly compilation spreadsheet of FCS stats:
FCS statistics through games of November 13, 2021
I did not have time this week to further summarize the stats (top 5/bottom 5, matchup comparisons, etc.). Apologies for anyone interested, but I’ve been rather busy this week, which is why there wasn’t an earlier post.
Statistically speaking, Chattanooga generally fares well across the board, particularly in defensive categories. The Mocs are 11th in points allowed per game in FCS, and fourth in estimated points per Red Zone possession. Chattanooga is also second nationally in interceptions per opponents’ passes, behind only St. Thomas; Chattanooga has picked off a pass every 17.87 opponent attempts this season.
UTC is 4th in FCS in time of possession (averaging 33:29 TOP per game). This is in keeping with the Mocs’ general pace on offense (Chattanooga is also 4th in seconds per offensive play).
On the whole, I would describe Chattanooga as being rather conservative on offense. The “go rate” for the Mocs is 4th-lowest in FCS; only Eastern Kentucky and Montana State have fewer fourth down attempts.
Chattanooga is 15th in run percentage (60.2% of its offensive plays are rushes).
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Roster review:
– Of the 112 players on The Citadel’s online roster, 61 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Georgia (18 players), Florida (11), North Carolina (9), Virginia (4), 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.
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– There are 94 players on Chattanooga’s roster. Of those, 32 are from Georgia, while another 30 are from Tennessee. The remaining players are from the following states: Alabama (13), Florida (4), South Carolina (4), North Carolina (2), Ohio (2), and one each from Arizona, Indiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
Long snapper Bryce Coulson is from Brisbane, Australia, while wide receiver Jahmar Quandt is a native of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
– The Mocs’ squad includes players who transferred from the following four-year institutions and junior colleges: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Bethel, Cincinnati (2), East Mississippi CC, Eastern Illinois, Georgia Military, Hutchinson CC, Jacksonville State, Lafayette, Louisville (2), Mercer, Middle Tennessee State, Minot State, Mississippi State, Naropa, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Old Dominion, Purdue, Rhode Island, South Carolina (2), Tennessee Tech (2), and Western Kentucky (4).
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As has been the case over the latter part of the season, FCS spreads and totals are not readily available. There are some lines out there, and I’ll list those involving SoCon teams here:
- Wofford is a 38½-point underdog at North Carolina
- VMI is a 10½-point favorite over Western Carolina
- Samford is a 2½-point favorite over Furman
- East Tennessee State is a 4½-point favorite over Mercer
- Chattanooga is a 23½-point favorite over The Citadel
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Finally, here are this week’s numbers from my projection system, which as I’ve mentioned before is very much a work in progress. I’m not quite sure how much progress I’ve really made, to be honest.
At any rate, here is what the system has to say about this week’s FCS games (including four of the games listed above; I don’t run numbers for FCS contests against teams from outside the subdivision).
| Road team | Home team | Road tm score | Home tm score |
| Nicholls State | SE Louisiana | 29.9 | 36.6 |
| Butler | Marist | 16.8 | 34.8 |
| Dartmouth | Brown | 41.2 | 19.6 |
| Harvard | Yale | 24.7 | 20.6 |
| Lafayette | Lehigh | 20.7 | 17.7 |
| Georgetown | Morgan State | 24.6 | 22.5 |
| Campbell | Robert Morris | 29.9 | 24.8 |
| Duquesne | Wagner | 34.6 | 15.5 |
| St. Francis PA | Central Conn. State | 24.9 | 21.0 |
| Western Carolina | VMI | 30.6 | 41.6 |
| Sacred Heart | Long Island | 29 | 13.1 |
| Fordham | Colgate | 32.9 | 23.9 |
| San Diego | Stetson | 35.3 | 22.1 |
| Columbia | Cornell | 26.1 | 22.4 |
| Bryant | Merrimack | 27.1 | 23.9 |
| Murray State | Eastern Illinois | 27.5 | 19.7 |
| Holy Cross | Bucknell | 39.9 | 8.9 |
| Indiana State | Illinois State | 17.7 | 26.4 |
| Princeton | Penn | 27.7 | 16.7 |
| Youngstown State | Southern Illinois | 22.7 | 40.8 |
| Maine | New Hampshire | 27.0 | 21.6 |
| Villanova | Delaware | 30.6 | 14.2 |
| Albany | Stony Brook | 19.6 | 23.5 |
| Furman | Samford | 34.2 | 36.0 |
| Northwestern State | McNeese State | 15.9 | 35.2 |
| Gardner-Webb | North Carolina A&T | 22.2 | 30.6 |
| Monmouth | Kennesaw State | 25.3 | 26.2 |
| North Alabama | Hampton | 30.2 | 29.1 |
| Drake | Davidson | 17.0 | 30.3 |
| Mercer | ETSU | 23.0 | 27.7 |
| The Citadel | Chattanooga | 13.8 | 36.1 |
| UT Martin | SE Missouri State | 32.3 | 23.1 |
| Sam Houston State | Abilene Christian | 40.5 | 17.3 |
| Presbyterian | St. Thomas | 27.3 | 46.8 |
| Morehead State | Valparaiso | 27.6 | 30.9 |
| South Carolina State | Norfolk State | 28.1 | 27.6 |
| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | Alabama A&M | 27.0 | 40.0 |
| Montana State | Montana | 21.0 | 22.5 |
| Jacksonville State | Eastern Kentucky | 23.3 | 26.7 |
| Rhode Island | Elon | 23.6 | 25.4 |
| Alcorn State | Jackson State | 17.3 | 28.9 |
| Delaware State | NC Central | 22.0 | 24.4 |
| Western Illinois | Northern Iowa | 18.6 | 35.8 |
| Towson | James Madison | 13.2 | 37 |
| Texas Southern | Alabama State | 29.3 | 33.3 |
| Tennessee Tech | Austin Peay | 15.9 | 36.5 |
| Incarnate Word | Houston Baptist | 46.7 | 20.2 |
| Northern Colorado | Weber State | 10.4 | 33.8 |
| Idaho | Idaho State | 29.7 | 25.9 |
| North Dakota | South Dakota State | 18.9 | 29.8 |
| South Dakota | North Dakota State | 17.4 | 27.3 |
| Florida A&M | Bethune-Cookman | 32.2 | 18.7 |
| Richmond | William and Mary | 22.3 | 21.5 |
| Eastern Washington | Portland State | 41.8 | 26.9 |
| Stephen F. Austin | Lamar | 36.3 | 13.2 |
| Central Arkansas | Tarleton State | 34.6 | 25.8 |
| Northern Arizona | Cal Poly | 32.0 | 24.3 |
| Sacramento State | UC Davis | 26.0 | 24.8 |
| Missouri State | Dixie State | 41.5 | 16.7 |
Note: the game between Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman is actually a neutral-site contest taking place in Orlando.
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In terms of posts, this will probably be it from me for a couple of weeks or so. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: Brent Thompson, Chattanooga, FCS, Rusty Wright, SoCon, The Citadel | Leave a comment »
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