2017 Football, Game 4: The Citadel vs. Samford

Posted on September 28, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

If you look in the trophy case on the right side [at the entrance to Mark Clark Hall], you will see the game ball that I gave to the corps of cadets because of the overtime at their end of the field. It was so loud that the Samford offense couldn’t communicate, forced them to jump offsides…that helped contribute to the missed field goal. Every time I walk into Mark Clark Hall I look at that ball and think about that game.

–Brent Thompson, on last year’s contest between The Citadel and Samford

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The Citadel at Samford, to be played at Seibert Stadium in Homewood, Alabama, with kickoff at 3:00 pm ET on September 30, 2017.

The game will be streamed on ESPN3. Curt Bloom will handle play-by-play, while Chad Pilcher supplies the analysis. Hattie Breece will report from the sidelines.

The contest 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. 

Mike Legg (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze. 

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The Citadel Sports Network — 2017 Affiliates

Charleston: WQNT 1450 AM/92.1 FM/102.1 FM (Flagship)
Columbia: WQXL 1470 AM/100.7 FM
Greenville: WLFJ 92.9 FM/660 AM
Sumter: WDXY 1240 AM/105.9 FM

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Links of interest:

– The Citadel is ready for action after its bye week

– Assessing the SoCon after four weeks

– Another look at the league through September 28

– The Citadel keeps on winning

– Ja’Lon Williams likes pizza (as he should)

– Game notes from The Citadel and Samford

– SoCon weekly release

– FCS Coaches’ poll (The Citadel is ranked #11, down one spot from last week; Samford is ranked #23)

– STATS FCS poll (The Citadel is ranked #8, up two spots from last week; Samford is ranked #25)

– Brent Thompson speaks to the Orangeburg Touchdown Club

– Brent Thompson’s 9/26 press conference, including comments from Dominique Allen and Ja’Lon Williams (video)

– Brent Thompson’s 9/27 radio show (video)

– The Bulldog Breakdown [9/21] (video)

– Chris Hatcher briefly discusses both Samford’s loss to and the upcoming game versus The Citadel (video)

– Chris Hatcher speaks after SU’s 9/25 practice (video)

– Highlights from Samford’s game versus Western Carolina (video)

– Southern Pigskin “SoCon Podcast” (audio)

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I’m just back from a trip overseas, so this will be one of the more abbreviated (and perhaps eccentric) previews I’ve written in a while. Sorry about that. I’m not sorry about travelling, though.

Last Saturday, I watched from a good seat at Stadio Olimpico as Roma defeated Udinese 3-1. The atmosphere was incredible; it seemed like half the fans in the Curva Sud section had a giant team flag (note: I wasn’t nearly crazy enough to sit in that part of the arena).

Singing, chanting, yelling, stomping, dancing, flag-waving…you name it, the Roma fans did it.

The last time I was at a sporting event in which the crowd intensity even remotely compared to what I witnessed in Rome — well, that was when Samford played The Citadel last season.

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As always, I have to establish ground rules when writing about The Citadel and Samford, as both teams are nicknamed “Bulldogs”.

In this post, “Bulldogs” refers to The Citadel. The reason for that is simple: I graduated from The Citadel, and this is my blog.

I’ll call Samford “SU”, the “Birmingham Bulldogs”, or the “Baptist Tigers”.

For those unfamiliar with the Baptist Tigers, a quick little history lesson:

The Howard College [later to be renamed Samford] team was known originally as the “Baptist Tigers.” However, rival Auburn also had “Tigers” as a nickname. Howard’s teams went by “Baptist Bears” until Dec. 14, 1916, when the student body voted two-to-one for the “Crimson Bulldog” over the “Baptist Bears.” Students decided that a bulldog could eat more Birmingham-Southern Panther meat than a bear could.

I am still trying to figure out why the students thought bears wouldn’t eat as much meat as bulldogs, but maybe the bulldogs of a century ago were particularly carnivorous.

—

Last year’s game was a bit of a curiosity from a stats perspective. The day after the game, I wrote that it was surprising the contest had gone to overtime, considering how The Citadel had dominated several offensive categories (including time of possession).

When I took a closer look at the statistical profile this summer, however, I realized that the opposite was true. Samford probably should have won the game.

SU had the edge in four out of the Five Factors:

  • Field position (an edge of eight yards of starting field position, 32 to 24)
  • Efficiency (50.0% to 47.8%, meaning a higher percentage of Samford’s offensive plays were successful)
  • Explosiveness (1.108 to 1.101, meaning Samford’s successful plays tended to be more explosive)
  • Finishing Drives (5.4 to 4.0, as Samford averaged more points per possession inside the 40-yard line)

Neither team committed a turnover, so the fifth factor was a draw.

Of course, two of the four factors were close. In those two categories (Efficiency and Explosiveness), The Citadel had a “hidden edge” in the sense that it simply ran many more plays than SU.

That edge in plays meant that despite SU having a higher “explosive play” average, the Cadets had more offensive plays of 20+ yards (six to three). The yards per play numbers were close (6.3 to 5.8, favoring The Citadel).

All of that said, the bottom line is The Citadel was down 10 points with less than six minutes to play. It didn’t look good for the home team, especially while running an offense that allegedly isn’t designed to come back from double-digit deficits.

Tell that to Cam Jackson and company, though.

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At his press conference earlier this week, Brent Thompson mentioned two things he remembered about the game against Samford last year. One was Cam Jackson’s fourth-quarter run.

The other was Thompson’s decision to go for it on fourth-and-one from his own 43, which backfired when the Bulldogs did not pick up the first down, leading to a short-field TD (and ten-point lead) for SU. Thompson said at the presser that if he had to do it over again, he probably would have punted.

While it may have been a mistake, I usually don’t mind that type of aggressive move. I would much prefer that than, say, deciding to punt inside the opponents’ 40-yard line on fourth-and-one.

Keeping the ball is particularly important when playing a team like Samford. That was borne out in the 2015 contest at Seibert Stadium. The Citadel won the game handily (44-25), but still allowed SU touchdown drives of 98 and 99 yards. Both of those drives came after punts, and the two possessions combined took only 4:17 off the clock.

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Key statistics for The Citadel through three games (victories over Newberry, Presbyterian, and East Tennessee State):

The Citadel Opponents
Points per game 36.7 15.3
Rushing yardage 1140 212
Average per rush 5.4 3.2
Average per game 380 70.7
TDs rushing 10 3
Passing yardage 288 499
Comp-Att-Int 14-28-2 45-82-5
Average per pass 10.3 6.1
TDs passing 5 3
Total offense 1428 711
Total plays 240 149
Yards per play 5.9 4.8
Kick returns-yards 3-67 11-221
Punt returns-yards 5-44 1-1
Fumbles/lost 6-1 2-1
Avg penalties/penalty yards per game 3.3/37 2.0/18.3
Net punt average 40.38 36.31
Time of possession/game 37:35 22:25
3rd down conversions 30/49 8/30
3rd down conversion rate 61% 27%
Sacks by-yards 6-38 0-0
Field goals-attempts 2-3 1-1
Red Zone touchdown rate (11-14) 79% (3-5) 60%
  • The Citadel currently leads FCS in rushing yards per game and offensive third down conversion rate
  • On defense, the Bulldogs are 12th nationally in third down conversion rate
  • The Citadel is second in the country in time of possession, behind only North Dakota State
  • The Bulldogs are 17th nationally in scoring offense, and 14th in scoring defense
  • The 40.38 net punting yards averaged by The Citadel is currently 13th-best in FCS
  • The Citadel is fourth nationally in fewest penalties per game, but only third in the SoCon (VMI is 2nd in FCS; Furman is 3rd)

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Samford is 2-2, with wins over Kennesaw State and West Alabama, and losses to Georgia and Western Carolina. Stats through four games for SU:

Samford Opponents
Points per game 31.2 36.0
Rushing yardage 305 925
Average per rush 2.8 4.7
Average per game 76.2 231.2
TDs rushing 1 11
Passing yardage 1314 1203
Comp-Att-Int 111-173-2 76-124-4
Average per pass 7.6 9.7
TDs passing 13 8
Total offense 1619 2128
Total plays 283 320
Yards per play 5.7 6.7
Kick returns-yards 16-393 12-272
Punt returns-yards 11-77 10-110
Fumbles-lost 8-2 5-3
Avg penalties/penalty yards per game 4.4/39 6.0/58
Net punt average 36.6 36.5
Time of possession/game 26:55 33:05
3rd down conversions 26/62 28/66
3rd down conversion rate 42% 42%
Sacks by-yards 9-43 6-41
Field goals-attempts 2-3 2-4
Red Zone touchdown rate (9-15) 60% (11-14) 79%
  • Samford is 6th nationally in passing yardage per game
  • SU is also 19th in FCS in kickoff return yardage (per attempt)
  • As far as third down conversion rates are concerned, Samford is 34th in the country on offense, and 85th on defense
  • Samford is 13th-best nationally in fewest penalties per game
  • SU is 33rd in scoring offense, and 98th (out of 122 teams) in scoring defense

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Chris Hatcher said the following during his press conference earlier this week:

Offensively, we’ve got to do a better job of controlling that football a little bit more consistently for the entire game, and that will be the key to our success this week.

Here is a quick look at the last four years of The Citadel-Samford series from a time of possession/rushing point of view (it should be noted Hatcher has only been the head coach at SU for two of those seasons):

  • 2013: The Citadel controlled the ball for 35:42 and outrushed Samford 338-65
  • 2014: The Citadel controlled the ball for 37:42 and outrushed Samford 359-132
  • 2015: The Citadel controlled the ball for 35:15 and outrushed Samford 424-82
  • 2016: The Citadel controlled the ball for 38:17 and outrushed Samford 463-93

The Citadel won three of those games (losing the 2014 contest by a 20-17 score).

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Under the direction of longtime defensive coordinator Bill D’Ottavio, Samford has generally employed a “Bear” front against The Citadel’s triple option attack. From 2010 to 2012, the Bulldogs had a difficult time moving the football against SU, with terrible third-down conversion rates (15% for that combined three-year period).

However, in recent years The Citadel has improved in that category against Samford:

  • 2013: 8 for 17, 47.1%
  • 2014: 7 for 19, 36.8%
  • 2015: 6 for 14, 42.9%
  • 2016: 11 for 21, 52.3%

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The victory by Samford over Kennesaw State will probably turn out to be a good one for SU. The Owls have won two straight since SU’s 28-23 win on the opening Thursday of Week 1.

I watched part of the game, which was interrupted by a tornado warning (and subsequent lightning delays). It seemed to me that Chris Hatcher was trying to establish a rushing attack, so much so that SU actually had more runs than passing attempts (33 to 26, counting sacks as passing attempts).

Even taking sacks out of the equation, though, Samford finished with only 81 rushing yards on those 33 attempts (2.45 yards per carry).

I don’t know if the fact KSU is a triple option team had an impact on SU’s offensive play-calling. I do know that in the next three games, Samford went back to its pass-happy ways.

  • Against West Alabama, Samford had 48 pass plays (sacks included) and 30 rushing plays
  • Against Georgia, Samford had 38 pass plays (sacks included) and 20 rushing plays
  • Against Western Carolina, Samford had 67 (!) pass plays and 21 rushing plays

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In that WCU game, Samford quarterback Devlin Hodges (6’1″, 205 lbs.) threw for a school-record 516 yards and four TDs. The native of Kimberly, Alabama was the SoCon offensive player of the year last season.

Hodges, a redshirt junior, began his career as a starter after Samford’s 2015 loss to The Citadel, and hasn’t looked back. In last year’s game between the two teams, he was 35 for 46 passing, for 280 yards and two TDs.

While not inclined to run, Hodges is far from a statue. He had a 57-yard TD run right up the middle against the Bulldogs last year on a called QB draw, and showed an ability to move (and escape) in the pocket.

So far this season, Hodges is averaging 7.6 yards per pass attempt, with 13 TDs against just two interceptions.

Kelvin McKnight (5’9″, 188 lbs.) already had 37 receptions this season. The junior from Bradenton, Florida is averaging 13.4 yards per catch. A preseason first-team all-league selection, McKnight had nine receptions against The Citadel last season, for 118 yards.

McKnight is also Samford’s primary punt returner, and he can be dangerous in that role as well. He averaged 8.7 yards per punt return last season. At his press conference, Brent Thompson noted that McKnight is not afraid to pick up a bouncing ball while on the run.

Another wideout, sophomore Chris Shelling (5’8″, 170 lbs.), had 12 receptions for 245 receiving yards last week. Shelling only had seven receptions all of last season (five of those were against Furman).

Average size of Samford’s projected starting offensive line: 6’5″, 291 lbs. The largest of that group is the center, 6’5″, 325 lb. Nate Lee, a sophomore from Valdosta, Georgia.

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Samford had three defensive players named to the preseason first-team all-conference squad — Ahmad Gooden, Shaheed Salmon, and Omari Williams. They happen to be three of SU’s top four tacklers to this point in the 2016 campaign.

Ahmad Gooden (6’1″, 240 lbs.) is a defensive end who had 15 tackles in last season’s game versus The Citadel. This year, the redshirt junior from Talladega has 3.5 sacks after only four games.

Weakside linebacker Shaheed Salmon (6’2″, 232 lbs.) currently leads the Baptist Tigers in tackles, with 41. Salmon, a senior from Tampa, did not play against The Citadel last season due to injury. It is the only contest he has missed in his entire career.

Last year, Deion Pierre (6’3″, 230 lbs.) tied his career high for tackles versus The Citadel, making 11 stops. The senior is second on the team in tackles after four games this season.

Omari Williams (6’1″, 200 lbs.), a local product from Birmingham, was named first-team all-SoCon by the coaches and the media after last season, a year in which the cornerback led the league in passes defended with 19 (including four interceptions). Williams returned an interception for a touchdown against West Alabama.

Darius Harvey (5’11”, 185 lbs.) is the other starting cornerback for Samford. Harvey also had a pick-6 versus West Alabama, a game in which the junior from Tallahassee added a 93-yard kickoff return TD.

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Samford’s punter, Austin Barnard (6’4″, 210 lbs.) was a second-team preseason all-league choice. The senior also handles kickoffs for SU.

The placekicker for Samford is redshirt freshman Jordan Weaver (6’2″, 195 lbs.), who is 2 for 3 on field goal attempts in 2016, with a long of 32 yards. His miss, a 37-yard effort against Georgia, was blocked.

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Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Homewood, Alabama, per the National Weather Service: sunny, with an expected high of 81 degrees.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, The Citadel is a 1-point favorite over Samford. The over/under is 60.5. That line has moved about 2 points, as SU opened as the favorite.

– Other lines involving SoCon teams: Furman is a 13.5-point favorite over East Tennessee State; Mercer is a 25.5-point favorite over VMI; and Chattanooga is an 8.5-point favorite over Western Carolina.

There is no line for the Presbyterian-Wofford game. If there were, I’m guessing it would be around 30 points or so (in favor of the Terriers).

Around the Palmetto State, Clemson is an 8-point favorite at Louisville; South Carolina is an 8-point underdog at Texas A&M; South Carolina State is a 14-point home underdog against North Carolina A&T; Coastal Carolina is a 4.5-point underdog at ULM; and Charleston Southern is a 42-point favorite versus Mississippi Valley State.

– Massey Ratings: The Citadel is ranked 30th in FCS, actually improving four spots by not playing. The previous two weeks saw the Bulldogs fall a combined 16 spots despite two victories.

Samford is ranked 38th in FCS, dropping seven positions from last week. Overall (all college teams ranked), The Citadel is 155th, while Samford is 166th.

Massey projects a final score of Samford 31, The Citadel 29. The Cadets are given a 48% chance of winning.

Other FCS rankings in Massey of note: Wofford is 18th (up one spot), Chattanooga is 32nd (up five places), Charleston Southern is 40th, Furman is 43rd (up 18 spots), Wester Carolina is 47th (also gaining 18 spots), Mercer is 59th (down 10 places), South Carolina State is 84th, Prebyterian is 99th, and VMI is 106th (down six places).

The FCS top five in Massey’s rankings, in order: North Dakota State, James Madison, Western Illinois (jumping into the top five after dismantling Coastal Carolina), South Dakota State, and Jacksonville State.

– Since 1916, The Citadel has a 6-5 record for games played on September 30. The most notable of those victories was probably the 1989 game against South Carolina State, which was played at Williams-Brice Stadium in the wake of Hurricane Hugo.

The Citadel won that game 31-20. Charleston’s Bulldogs have actually defeated Orangeburg’s Bulldogs twice on September 30, having also done so in 2000, by a 45-16 score.

The last time The Citadel played on September 30, in 2006, the Bulldogs defeated Chattanooga 24-21. However, The Citadel has not won a road game on 9/30 since a 42-14 victory at Maine in 1967.

– Changes to The Citadel’s two-deep for the Samford game: Grant Drakeford is now listed as a potential starter at A-back, and there are also three new additions to the defensive depth chart — A.J. Stokes, Israel Battle, and Willie Eubanks III.

– Samford has won eight straight home games.

– Among Samford’s notable graduates are actor Tony Hale (who has won two Emmy awards for his work in the HBO comedy Veep), actress Gail Patrick (best known as the trailblazing producer of the Perry Mason TV show), and longtime college football coach Bobby Bowden.

– The roster for Samford (per its game notes) includes 41 players from the State of Georgia, more than from Alabama (37). Other states represented on its roster: Florida (18 players), Tennessee (11), Mississippi (4), North Carolina (3), and one each from Maryland, Arkansas, Texas, and California.

There are no players from South Carolina on the Samford squad, not even from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, a legendary hotbed of gridiron supremacy.

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s website) is as follows: South Carolina (47 players), Georgia (29), Florida (6), North Carolina (5), Alabama (4), Texas (4), Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee (2), New York (2), and one each from Louisiana, Michigan, Virginia, and West Virginia.

– Not football-related, but worth mentioning: Jeff Hartsell of The Post and Courier had a good feature this week on Bulldog hoopster Leandro Allende, a native of Puerto Rico. Allende is understandably concerned about the devastation of the island caused by Hurricane Maria:

For Allende, the plight of his fellow Puerto Ricans hit home when he saw an acquaintance on the news.

“I have a friend who does not live in a very nice place,” he said. “I saw him on a kayak going through the flooded streets. That broke my heart when I saw that.”

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I suspect the game on Saturday will be high-scoring. Samford will try to take advantage of The Citadel’s secondary, while on the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs will attack an SU defense that gave up 290 yards rushing (5.1 yards per carry) last week against Western Carolina.

The key defensively for The Citadel will be to pressure Samford QB Devlin Hodges; as last year’s game proved, that will not be an easy task. The offense has to maintain its edge in time of possession to take the heat off the defense, and the Bulldogs also have to make their drives count and score touchdowns. Avoiding turnovers is paramount.

Last season, Tyler Renew wrecked Samford’s D from the B-back position. I wonder if the move to play Brandon Berry against ETSU was designed (at least in part) to get him ready for Samford, with the coaching staff perhaps thinking that more of a “bruiser” would be needed at the position this week. That may be something to watch.

We’ll be watching anyway, of course. The first three games are in the books, and the bye week has been completed. It’s time for the business end of the 2017 season to begin.

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Game Review, 2017: East Tennessee State

Posted on September 17, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

Links of interest:

– Game story, The Post and Courier

– Game story, Johnson City Press

– “Notes” section, Johnson City Press

– AP game story

– Game story, Tri-Cities Sports

– Game story, Bristol Herald Courier

– Video from WCSC-TV

– Video from WJHL-TV

– School release

– Photo gallery from the school

– Game highlights (video)

– Boxscore

– Replay of the ESPN3 streaming of the game

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I don’t think it was surprising that East Tennessee State was much more competitive against The Citadel on Saturday than the Bucs were in the 2016 matchup. In its third year since restarting its football program, ETSU is improving, has better (and more) players, and also now has the benefit of playing in a new stadium.

That said, the Bulldogs should not have been trailing 14-7 at halftime, not after running 18 more plays from scrimmage and outgaining the Buccaneers 221-81, with a 13-5 advantage in first downs. However, The Citadel did a lot of things to hand East Tennessee State a lead, including a botched punt, a blocked field goal attempt, two bad penalties, and an interception.

The Bulldogs also appeared to be victimized by the clock operator at the end of the half, who let two precious seconds elapse after a completion, preventing a potential field goal.

The second half numbers were somewhat similar to those in the first half, with The Citadel outgaining ETSU 214-127, picking up 13 more first downs (the Bucs had eight in the second half), and continuing to possess the ball for a significantly longer period of time. In the second stanza, however, those superior numbers resulted in points, with the Bulldogs scoring on four consecutive possessions.

Let’s take a look at some more statistics:

The Citadel ETSU
Starting field position TC 32 ET 32
Efficiency 45.00% (36/80) 36.20% (21/58)
Explosiveness 1.116 1.121
Finishing drives 4.4/poss 4.8/poss
Turnover margin -1 1
Yards per play on 1st down 6.00 4.38
Avg. yards to gain on 3rd down 6.3 8.1
Passing down success rate 50.0% (10/20) 35.0% (7/20)
Time of possession 37:00 23:00
Off. plays from scrimmage 83 54
Yards per play 5.6 3.9
Yards per play (rush) 4.99 3.11
Yards per play (pass attempt) 9.5 4.2
Off. 3rd down conversion rate 52.9% (9-17) 16.7% (2-12)
Off. plays of 20+ yards 5 4
Penalties 5 for 60 yards 2 for 10 yards

It is perhaps a bit easier to see how this game wound up being close when these stats are taken into consideration, as opposed to the raw yardage numbers.

First, let me make a few technical explanations:

  • I didn’t count The Citadel’s last possession in the “finishing drives” category, because the Bulldogs were attempting to run out the clock, rather than score
  • The last play of the game, a 23-yard loss where Dominique Allen was just trying to stay on his feet for seven seconds, is not counted in the yards per play or yards per rush categories on the chart
  • I also adjusted ETSU’s rushing and passing stats to reflect that 30 “rushing yards” lost by the Bucs came on four Bulldog sacks; that is why if you look at the box score, you’ll notice a difference between those numbers and the ones on the chart
  • The offensive plays from scrimmage and the plays counted in the “efficiency” category are a bit skewed due to several penalties, particularly a couple of third-down infractions; also, as mentioned earlier I discounted the final Bulldog drive
  • The botched punt in the first quarter is considered a turnover (fumble lost) rather than a turnover on downs

– ETSU had a tiny advantage in “explosiveness”, but remember that is an average. The Citadel had many more successful plays from scrimmage (36-21). If you added up the total amount of explosive “points” in that category, the Bulldogs came close to doubling up the Buccaneers.

– Those penalties in the first half really hurt the Bulldogs, while ETSU was solid on that front. Both of the Buccaneers’ infractions came in punting situations.

– As I noted in my game preview, East Tennessee State did a good job in last season’s matchup of putting its offense in a position to succeed on third down.

That didn’t happen on Saturday, though, as ETSU’s offense faced third-and-long throughout the game. Eight of the Bucs’ twelve third down conversion attempts were 3rd-and-9 or longer.

– In “passing downs”, The Citadel ran a successful play 10 out of 20 times, an excellent percentage. Nine of those plays were running plays (naturally). The exception was the 28-yard TD pass from Dominique Allen to Raleigh Webb.

—

Carl Torbush (taken from multiple game accounts) on The Citadel’s offense:

They do a good job of mixing things up. They ran a belly dive which they hadn’t shown yet and they ran some traps up the gut which is a little bit different than what they normally do.
 
They’re one of those teams just like Georgia Tech is. I mean, they’ll get you here and if you take care of that then they’ll try something else till they find something that works. And they found a few things that worked. Their unbalanced line got us into a little bit of trouble, got us out of position several times on the pitch and we got us out of wack feathering the quarterback a couple of times.
—
Bucs QB Austin Herink (who I thought played well):
I have to get rid of the ball quicker, a lot of that’s on me and I’ll address that. The Citadel has a terrific defense with a great secondary and tough pass rush.
 
…With their offense, you aren’t on the field much because they control the time of possession. To get on the field and get into rhythm is difficult. When we do that we are a really dynamic offense. I think we did that in the third and fourth quarter.
—
Brent Thompson on the late-game pass from Allen to Josh LeBlanc (a 3rd-and-3 play):
My guys in the booth convinced me that play-action was the right call. And it was, because they are expecting run there. Dom made a great throw, and it was really a turning point in the game.

—

Thompson on breaking in a new B-back:

We’ve been sitting on Brandon [Berry] for a couple of weeks, and just decided to burn his redshirt if it was going to help us a win a game. He’s a big, bruising back and we’ll continue to work to get him going.

—

The Citadel is now 3-0 after three games for a second consecutive season. The last time the program started 3-0 in consecutive years?

It has never happened before.

The Bulldogs were undefeated after three games in two previous two-year stretches: 1908-1909 and 1956-1957. However, all four of those seasons featured a tie in the first three games of the season — in other words, The Citadel started each of those years 2-0-1.

This is only the tenth time The Citadel has started 3-0. The other years it has happened:

  • 1906 (when the Bulldogs were undefeated and shared the national title, according to the TSA Matrix Ratings System)
  • 1921
  • 1928 (started the year 4-0; the fifth game ended in a tie)
  • 1942 (started the year 4-0)
  • 1969
  • 1989 (started the year 4-0; the fifth game ended in a tie)
  • 1992 (started the year 6-0)
  • 2012
  • 2016 (started the year 10-0)

(I really need to write about that 1906 squad some time. Of course, The Citadel also won the 1871 national title, which I’ve written about before.)

—

Odds and ends:

– Brandon Berry was one of 46 players to see action against East Tennessee State. I believe he was the only Bulldog to make his debut in Johnson City.

– Dominique Allen’s TD pass to Raleigh Webb was a beautiful throw, possibly Allen’s best as a Bulldogs quarterback. His next pass, though, the 44-yarder to Josh LeBlanc, may have been even better.

– Myles Pierce, despite fighting what looked like cramps, was all over the field on defense. He was credited with five tackles (two for loss), a sack, a pass breakup, and three QB hurries. He should get some consideration for Defensive Player of the Week in the SoCon.

– Ja’Lon Williams made the big stop on fourth down to extinguish ETSU’s final drive, continuing his strong play so far this season.

– The ESPN3 stream was at least two minutes behind the radio feed, which was aggravating (at least to me).

– ETSU’s new playing surface appeared to cause some problems for Bulldog runners, who slipped making cuts on multiple occasions.

The pellets in the field also managed to turn The Citadel’s white uniforms to a dull gray shade over the course of the afternoon.

– Attendance for the game: 7,544. It took three hours and two minutes to play, thirty-six minutes longer than the matchup last week against Presbyterian.

– Speaking of PC, the Blue Hose defeated Campbell 28-16 on Saturday. Newberry also won its first game of the season, beating Virginia University of Lynchburg 55-7.

– It was a tough day for the SoCon. Three of the schools faced FBS opponents, so it was not surprising to see Samford and Furman struggle. Mercer, however, held its own against Auburn, thanks in part to five AU turnovers.

However, Chattanooga and VMI are both now 0-3 after losing on Saturday (to UT Martin and Robert Morris, respectively). The Mocs will get starting quarterback Alejandro Bennifield back after this week’s game, which just happens to be at VMI.

As for the Keydets, getting shut out by Robert Morris may have been almost as bad as losing at home to Catawba the previous week.

Western Carolina, on the other hand, appears to more closely resemble the 2015 Catamounts (which went 7-4) than last year’s 2-9 disaster. WCU matched its 2016 win total with a nice win at Gardner-Webb.

– Next Saturday, Wofford (which had a bye this week) hosts Gardner-Webb. As noted, Chattanooga travels to Lexington, Virginia, to play VMI. East Tennessee State stays in Johnson City and faces Mercer, while Western Carolina hosts Samford.

Furman is at Colgate. The Paladins may be the hardest team to read in the league to this point in the season, narrowly losing at Wofford, then losing at home to Elon, then predictably losing at North Carolina State.

Elon possibly made that loss a touch more palatable for the FU faithful by beating Charleston Southern 19-17 on Saturday.

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As for The Citadel, the Bulldogs how have a bye before playing at Samford on September 30. I think it’s a good break from The Citadel’s perspective after a couple of trying weeks.

I’ll be taking a bit of a break too. Because of that, my preview of that Samford game probably won’t be posted until Friday afternoon — and it may be shorter than usual. That is probably a good thing, though.

However, an even better thing is being 3-0.

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2017 Football, Game 2: The Citadel vs. Presbyterian

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

Columbia, October 27 — Special: The Citadel struck a tartar in the light but aggressive Presbyterian College eleven when they met on the gridiron at the State Fairgrounds to-day, and could only manage to carry off the victory by a score of 14 to 0.

The entire Citadel team seemed to be experiencing an off day. The backfield was slow in getting into action and the heavy Blue line failed time and time again to break through the stubborn defense of their lighter opponents.

The cadets made their initial touch-down in the first quarter. After a forward pass had failed, [Johnny] Weeks punted out of bounds and the ball was put into play at Presbyterian’s 20-yard line. [Presbyterian quarterback] Galloway took one yard around left end. On the next play [Henry] Switzer pulled down a Presbyterian forward pass and sprinted twenty-five yards for a touch-down. Weeks kicked goal…

…Citadel scored her final touch-down in the third quarter…Galloway punted to Weeks, who gained forty yards. Weeks made 10 around left end. [Chesnee Cogswell] took 6 through centre, Bolton smashed the line for three more, and Weeks and Switzer got 5 yards over tackle in two bucks.

On the next play, Bolton was thrown for a loss of two yards, but Weeks carried the ball across for a touch-down and then kicked goal.

– The News and Courier, October 28, 1915

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The Citadel vs. Presbyterian, to be played in Bailey Memorial Stadium at Claude Crocker Field in Clinton, South Carolina, with kickoff at noon ET on September 9, 2017.

The game will be streamed on the Big South Network. Presbyterian’s radio team of Ryan Clary and John Orck will provide the audio for the stream.

The contest 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. 

Mike Legg (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze. 

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The Citadel Sports Network — 2017 Affiliates

Charleston: WQNT 1450 AM/92.1 FM/102.1 FM (Flagship)
Columbia: WQXL 1470 AM/100.7 FM
Greenville: WLFJ 92.9 FM/660 AM
Sumter: WDXY 1240 AM/105.9 FM

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More TV/streaming information: the contest will be not streamed on ESPN3, though it will be available on the Big South Network (as noted above).

Scott Eisberg of WCIV-TV in Charleston tweeted that the game would be televised on WCIV’s “MeTV”, which is one of that station’s digital subchannels. As of Saturday morning, the game does not appear in any online TV listings, though it is quite possible (if not likely) that those listings could not be updated in time.

I’m going to guess that the game will be televised on MeTV in Charleston (WCIV’s digital subchannel 3) and that the production is via the Big South Network feed.

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Links of interest:

– Game moved from Charleston to Clinton and rescheduled for noon on Saturday (school release)

– Back to Lookup Lodge

– Grant Drakeford is profiled after an excellent performance against Newberry

– Solid debut for some new Bulldog starters

– Game notes from The Citadel and Presbyterian

– SoCon weekly release

– Big South Conference weekly release

– Presbyterian “quick facts”

– FCS Coaches’ poll (The Citadel is ranked #13)

– STATS FCS poll (The Citadel is ranked #14)

– Brent Thompson’s 9/5 press conference, with comments from Grant Drakeford and Aron Spann (video)

– Brent Thompson’s 9/6 radio show (video)

– Presbyterian preview in The Post and Courier

– Presbyterian preview from the Big South (video)

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Another year, another game moved out of Johnson Hagood Stadium. In 2016, The Citadel played a “home” game at North Greenville.

This time, due to the impending threat of Hurricane Irma, the Bulldogs will travel to Clinton, South Carolina, and face Presbyterian at Bailey Memorial Stadium. PC’s home facility seats 6,500 and is fairly new, having made its debut during the 2002 season.

In front of the stadium is a 15-foot bronze statue called “Cyrus”. He seems to be rather moody.

In the next section, I’ll reference an unrelated “Cyrus”; they are two of the three times that name has appeared in the entire history of The Sports Arsenal.

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The game referenced in the blurb at the beginning of the post was the first meeting on the gridiron between Presbyterian and The Citadel. It was played during the State Fair in Columbia, at the central fairgrounds.

The Bulldogs were not at their best, possibly due to the hot weather, but managed to prevail anyway. Presbyterian’s offense never advanced the football past The Citadel’s 40-yard-line.

A few other notes on that 1915 contest:

  • The game was played on Wednesday, October 28 (not the 23rd, as listed in The Citadel’s record book)
  • The first and third quarters were 15 minutes long, while the second and fourth quarters were 12 minutes long
  • Each team used 14 players during the game
  • The Citadel’s players were back at the barracks by 8:00 am the following morning, having taken a 3:00 am train back to Charleston

Other attractions at the fairgrounds on that Wednesday: horseracing, a “Lady high diver”, a bicyclist named “Dare Devil Doherty”, and “Cyrus and Mandy and their hay rack”.

Presbyterian was one of three Palmetto State colleges The Citadel defeated in 1915. In addition to wins over Newberry and South Carolina, the team also beat Porter Military Academy and the Charleston 6th Naval District squad en route to laying a claim to the state championship

Incidentally, for anyone who thinks the current trend of coaches not allowing fans/media to observe practice is something new, this tidbit was mentioned in the newspaper during a preview article on the game:

Secret practice has been the rule at Hampton Park this season. No one but those on the squad and those directly interested in the team have been allowed within the grounds during practice hours. Would-be visitors were politely informed that the cadets could not be seen.

This rule will be waived a little after this week. Coach Rogers announced yesterday that vistors would be welcomed at the park on Wednesday afternoons to the scrimmages. On other days the grounds will not be open to anyone.

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How long has it been since The Citadel played a football game at Clinton?

1937.

That year, the Bulldogs defeated the Blue Hose (called the “Hosemen” in The News and Courier) 19-0, with the game taking place at Johnson Field. Two of the three touchdowns scored that day by The Citadel came off of blocked punts.

Both of those punt blocks came courtesy of the team captain, Francis King. The native of Georgetown was hailed by the newspaper for playing “superlative ball”.

King scored one of the two punt-block TDs himself; Tom Huguenin fell on the ball in the end zone for the second. The Bulldogs’ third touchdown was scored on a run by Clough “Mutt” Gee.

Gee went to The Citadel for three years, and then transferred to the United States Military Academy. He was killed in action during World War II when his airplane crashed in Lisieux, France. Gee is buried in the Normandy American Cemetery.

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A few other notes on game locations in the series between The Citadel and Presbyterian:

– The last time The Citadel played PC somewhere other than Johnson Hagood Stadium was on October 12, 1963, when the contest was held in Savannah; the matchup was called the “Georgia Peach Shrine Game”, and was a benefit for the Greenville Shriners Hospital.

The Bulldogs won 24-0 behind 121 yards rushing from Jim Parker (on only 7 carries). Parker, Bruce Whitney, and Vince Petno all scored touchdowns for the Bulldogs, with Petno’s TD coming on a 5-yard pass from Wade St. John. Attendance: 7,000.

– The 1950 game between the two schools was played at the Orangeburg County Fair.

The Citadel won 7-0, scoring the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter. Deep in its own territory, Presbyterian tried a “quick kick” on third down. It was not successful, as Bulldogs safety Bobby Carter corralled the pigskin at the PC 25-yard line and returned it 20 yards.

Rudy Willcox raced around the right side of the line for 5 yards and a TD on the next play, with Don Davis adding the PAT. Jerry DeLuca was the defensive star that afternoon for the Bulldogs.

As was the case for the 1963 game, estimated attendance was 7,000.

– In 1948, The Citadel played PC at College Park, as the “new” Johnson Hagood Stadium was not quite ready to open. The Blue Hose won that game 7-0, as The Citadel did not run an offensive play from scrimmage in PC territory during the entire contest.

– Presbyterian and The Citadel played at the Sumter County Fair in 1940 and 1941, splitting the two matchups. In the 1941 game, won by the Bulldogs 21-13, PC’s entire student body traveled to the game, only to see the Bulldogs rally from a 13-7 halftime deficit to win the game 21-13.

Team captain Mike Newell scored two touchdowns for The Citadel, with Andy Victor adding a third and also successfully converting all three PAT attempts.

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In 1955, The Citadel played Presbyterian at Johnson Hagood Stadium. It was Homecoming, and that week was chronicled by Life magazine as part of a profile of Mark Clark.

The photos taken by the magazine (specifically, photographer Robert W. Kelley) are now part of an archive created by Google. I’ve linked to them before, and I’m going to link to them again, because A) The Citadel is playing PC again, and B) they are endlessly fascinating.

Many of these pictures are football-related, but I’ve also linked to some “general” shots (pun intended). The first few linked photos are in color, but the vast majority of pictures in the archive are black-and-white. This is just a small sampling of what is available for viewing; try this link to get started if you want to see more of them.

If you haven’t seen color photos of The Citadel’s 1955 uniforms before, you’re in for a surprise.

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Why are Presbyterian College’s varsity athletic teams nicknamed the “Blue Hose”?

…probably the true story lies in a letter dated June 15, 1935, written by then athletic director Walter Johnson to an inquiring English professor in Virginia…[quoting from Walter Johnson’s letter] ‘It was about the second or third year, 1915, if I remember right, Stockings. I think it happened this way: I changed uniform colors to blue, wearing blue stockings and jerseys, and some sports writer started calling in his articles the Presbyterian College teams the Blue Stockings.’ …In later years “Stocking” became abbreviated to “the Hose,” particularly in newspaper headlines, and was more or less officially adopted by the student body in the late 50’s.

…“Johnson always insisted on the fact that his players wore long blue socks similar to stockings (after all, there were White Sox and Red Sox in baseball). Coach Johnson’s explanation may simply be coincidental to the fact that the phrase “Blue Stocking Presbyterian” goes back informally quite a few years in the denomination’s history.”

This particular Walter Johnson was not the great pitcher of the same name, but a former football player at Michigan who was a coach and administrator for many years at Presbyterian. He was the head football coach at the school from 1915 to 1918, and then from 1920 to 1940.

Johnson finished his football coaching career with 102 victories, more than any other PC coach except Cally Gault (who won 127 games between 1963 and 1984). Both Johnson and Gault are enshrined in the NAIA Hall of Fame.

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In 2005, Presbyterian won the Division II South Atlantic Conference title, finishing with a 10-2 overall record. It was the first conference title for PC since winning the SAC in 1979.

The following year, the Blue Hose went a solid 7-4. However, as Presbyterian began the transition from D-2 to D-1, wins became a lot tougher to come by. The first all-D1 slate for the Blue Hose, in 2009, resulted in an 0-11 record.

Under former head coach Harold Nichols, Presbyterian won just 11 games over the next four seasons, but then pulled off a surprising 6-5 campaign in 2014 (despite playing three FBS teams).

The Blue Hose had a truly outstanding defense that year. PC beat Furman 10-7, Charleston Southern 7-3, Western Carolina 19-14 (with two defensive touchdowns), Monmouth 18-12, and Gardner-Webb 14-7 (Presbyterian’s first score coming on a blocked field goal). The sixth victory was an early-season walkover against Bluefield of the NAIA.

Unfortunately for Presbyterian, the next two years ended in identical 2-9 records, and Nichols elected to resign. His replacement is the man who was the head coach of that 2005 team and the defensive coordinator for that 2014 squad.

Tommy Spangler is a Georgia alum who compiled a 42-24 record as PC’s head coach from 2001 to 2006. He left to become the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech, but returned to Clinton as the Blue Hose defensive coordinator in 2013.

His mission is to guide Presbyterian to consistent respectability in FCS. It won’t be an easy task, but Spangler’s prior success at the school has to be encouraging to PC supporters.

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Spangler’s first game back at the helm of the Blue Hose was last week’s 51-7 loss at Wake Forest. It was not pretty for PC. On the other hand, it wasn’t really supposed to be.

Presbyterian did have the edge in time of possession by almost five minutes, in part because only nine of the Blue Hose’s 54 offensive plays from scrimmage were pass attempts. Two were completed; one was intercepted.

On the other side of the ball, Wake Forest rushed for 248 yards and passed for 239, averaging 6.8 yards per play.

The bright spot for PC was freshman running back Torrance Marable, who gained 162 yards rushing on 16 carries, including one scamper for 58 yards.

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Statistics of note for Presbyterian’s 2016 season (11 games):

PC Opp
Points/game 8.9 30.9
Rushing yardage 1105 2670
Yards/rush 2.9 5.9
Rush TDs 4 28
Passing yardage 1551 2077
Comp-Att-Int 168-302-11 126-277-7
Average/pass att 5.1 9.1
Passing TDs 6 15
Total offense 2656 4747
Total plays 682 678
Yards/play 3.9 7.0
Fumbles/lost 18/7 13/7
Penalties-pen yds 66-551 71-686
Pen yards/game 50.1 62.4
Net punt average 39.1 39.7
Time of poss/game 30:43 29:17
3rd-down conv 42/159 42/121
3rd-down conv % 26.4% 34.7%
Sacks by-yards 13-86 23-125
Red Zone TD% 7-25 (28%) 23-35 (66%)

 

Um, ouch. There is not a lot to say about those numbers. PC obviously had trouble putting up points in 2016, being shut out twice (by Chattanooga and Liberty) and scoring 10 points or less in six other contests.

The Blue Hose finished last in all of FCS in scoring offense, and also finished in the bottom 10 of the following categories: offensive first downs, offensive 3rd down conversion rate, passing offense, total offense, yards per rush, yards per pass attempt, yards per pass completion, red zone offense, rushing defense, tackles for loss (last nationally), and punt returns (also last in FCS).

I guess there is nowhere to go but up.

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Presbyterian returned seven starters from last year’s offense.

Ben Cheek (6’0″, 190 lbs.), a redshirt junior from Franklin, Georgia, started eight games for the Blue Hose last season at quarterback. Cheek completed 54.9% of his passes, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt, with two touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Against Wake Forest, Cheek carried the ball 22 times (though 3 of those were sacks credited in the rushing statistics).

As mentioned above, freshman Torrance Marable (5’10”, 185 lbs.) had a good game versus the Demon Deacons. Marable originally signed with Arkansas State out of high school. The native of Decatur, Georgia enrolled at PC in January of this year.

Although he did not return a kickoff last week, Marable is listed on PC’s two-deep as one of the starting kick returners for the game against The Citadel.

Wide receiver DaShawn Davis (5’9″, 155 lbs.) was a second-team All-Big South selection last season. The junior from Inman caught 42 passes last season, averaging 10.8 yards per reception. Davis also handled the majority of punt and kick return duties for the Blue Hose in 2016.

Presbyterian’s projected starters on the offensive line average 6’2″, 282 lbs. Right guard Thomas Hughes (6’3″, 275 lbs.), a senior from Cordova who went to Edisto High School, has 17 career starts, most on the team.

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PC’s defense normally lines up in a 4-3, but that obviously could change against the triple option.

Linebacker Grant Beidel (6’1″, 230 lbs.) led Presbyterian in tackles last season, with 75. The former walkon from Roswell, Georgia also intercepted two passes and had two sacks.

Fellow linebacker Nick Moss (6’0″, 225 lbs.) mans the middle for the Blue Hose. The sophomore finished second in tackles last season.

Starting DT Michael Branch (6’3″, 285 lbs.) is the largest defensive player on the two-deep. The native of Pleasant Garden, North Carolina is a sophomore.

Junior cornerback Rock Ya-Sin (6’1″, 190 lbs.) has more career starts than any other defensive player, with 14. His 61-yard fumble return for a TD against South Alabama was PC’s only defensive score last season.

Brett Norton (6’0″, 185 lbs.), a junior from Walhalla, serves as both the placekicker and punter for Presbyterian. He was 7 for 13 last season on field goal attempts, with a long of 36 yards. Three of his tries were blocked.

Norton had an impressive season punting the football, with 23 punts being downed inside the 20-yard line, and only one touchback.

Worth noting: Norton made a 57-yard field goal in high school, a game-winner. He is not the kickoff specialist for PC, however. That would be Tim Hartshorn (6’1″, 170 lbs.), a redshirt junior from Cumming, Georgia.

Brandt Cameron (6’3″, 195 lbs.), a native of Suwanee, Georgia, is in his third season as the Blue Hose long snapper.

—

In last week’s game program, five current Bulldogs were asked the following question: “What if your favorite day of the week?”

Here are their responses.

In related news, all of them are college football players.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Clinton, per the National Weather Service: sunny, with a high of 79 degrees.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, The Citadel is a 24-point favorite over Presbyterian. The over/under is 38.5.

– Other lines involving SoCon teams: Furman is a 17-point favorite over Elon; Wofford is a 7-point favorite at Mercer; VMI is a 24-point favorite over Catawba; Samford is a 23-point favorite over West Alabama; East Tennessee State is a 40-point underdog at James Madison; Western Carolina is a 35-point favorite over Davidson; and Chattanooga is a 42-point underdog at LSU.

Around the Palmetto State, South Carolina is a 2.5-point underdog at Missouri, while Clemson is a 5-point favorite over Auburn. Coastal Carolina is off this week.

– Massey Ratings: The Citadel is ranked 18th in FCS, a drop of two spots from last week. Presbyterian is ranked 96th. Overall (all college teams ranked), The Citadel is 130th, while Presbyterian is 292nd.

Massey projects a final score of The Citadel 31, Presbyterian 7. The Bulldogs are given a 96% chance of victory.

Other FCS rankings in Massey of note: Wofford is 10th, Chattanooga is 14th, Charleston Southern is 15th, Samford is 21st, Furman is 31st, Mercer is 35th, Western Carolina is 66th, VMI is 70th, South Carolina State is 81st, and East Tennessee State is 87th.

The FCS top five in Massey’s rankings, in order: James Madison, North Dakota State, Jacksonville State, Youngstown State, and South Dakota State.

– Among Presbyterian’s notable graduates are three well-known football coaches: Art Baker, John McKissick, and Bob Waters. PC’s other alums include Medal of Honor recipient George L. Mabry, Jr. (who played football for the Blue Hose), author/journalist and Peabody award winner Douglas Kiker, and influential political strategist Harry Dent, Sr.

– Former Bulldog tight end Taylor Cornett is the tight ends coach at Presbyterian. Cornett is in his second year at PC, and his first as a full-time assistant coach.

– The game notes roster for Presbyterian includes 42 players from South Carolina. Other states represented on its roster: Georgia (32 players), Florida (10), North Carolina (9), Alabama (4), and one each from Maryland and Minnesota.

– There are Blue Hose players from 37 different South Carolina high schools, including three from Strom Thurmond High School, and two each from Silver Bluff, Greer, Richland Northeast, Seneca, and Lewisville. However, no players from historic power Orangeburg-Wilkinson are on the Presbyterian roster, which is clearly a major recruiting misstep for the program.

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s website) is as follows: South Carolina (47 players), Georgia (29), Florida (6), North Carolina (5), Alabama (4), Texas (4), Pennsylvania (3), Tennessee (2), New York (2), and one each from Louisiana, Michigan, Virginia, and West Virginia.

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The Citadel is favored to win this game, and rightly so. However, the change of venue (and time) will add a degree of difficulty for the Bulldogs, particularly in their game preparations.

The good news is that the coaching staff and players went through almost the same situation last year with the game against North Greenville. They will know how to maintain focus.

I’m mainly rooting for three things this week: a decent number of Bulldog supporters to make their way to Clinton; a victory for The Citadel; and that Hurricane Irma suddenly veers to the northeast and stays away from shore.

I’m reasonably confident that two of those three things will happen…

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