Shakogami!

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Sandlapper Spike

Hey, college football season is going to be here before you know it. Let’s get things started with something completely unnecessary, but kind of fun!

First, an explanation (well, maybe multiple explanations).

This post is based on the notion of Scorigami. What is Scorigami, you ask? Well, it is a concept identified and expanded upon about a decade ago by Jon Bois, one of the most original thinkers in the sports media arena. I’m not going to attempt to define his work any further than that, because it would take too long. Besides, after the better part of two decades, I’m still not sure how to fully describe it.

Anyway, back to Scorigami. From Wikipedia:

In sports, a scorigami (a portmanteau of score and origami) is a final score that has never happened before in a sport or league’s history.

Bois first made an online video about this concept in 2016; that initial YouTube creation now has over 4.4 million views and has led to many, many articles and additional videos on the subject. Even NFL Films has jumped into the Scorigami action.

A website called nflscorigami.com features a chart displaying an updated listing of NFL Scorigami. The sport of football, and particularly the NFL, is a natural for this type of (admittedly very nerdy) study because:

Due to the unique nature of how points are scored in (American) Football, where it is impossible to score 1 point on its own, as well as the rarity of the 2 point safety and 8 point touchdown and 2 point conversion, there are a lot of scores that are possible, but have never happened.

There is a popular Twitter account dedicated to tracking potential NFL scorigamis during the course of each season. Other football entities have come up with their own scorigamis, including the CFL, as well as one for college football as a whole. There have also been some variations among other sports, like the NBA. Even major league baseball isn’t immune to the joys of scorigami.

Tangent: the NFL coach most associated with Scorigami is definitely Pete Carroll, who at one point had a Scorigami in nine straight seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, winning eight of those games (including a Super Bowl). Carroll legitimately enjoyed discussion about Scorigami, as this response to a question about it demonstrates: Link

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That all leads to this post, which was inspired by a tweet from UCF’s sports media department over the weekend (after Brett “Sources” McMurphy brought it to my attention):

The first thing I thought when I saw that tweet: what a great idea! The second thing I thought when I saw that tweet: The Citadel needs to have one of its own…

As it happens, it is likely much easier to come up with a Scorigami setup for UCF than The Citadel, because UCF doesn’t have nearly as long a history on the gridiron.

The Knights (formerly the Golden Knights) have only had a football program since 1979, which isn’t surprising considering the school itself didn’t open until 1968. The Citadel has 74 more years of pigskin activity.

UCF noted that in its history, the team has been part of 368 “unique scores”, which might not be an ideal way to describe what it really means, which is that the Knights have been associated with 368 different scores. By contrast, The Citadel has been part of 474 different football scores.

That might not seem to be as large a differential as one might expect, but you have to keep in mind the scoring climate for much of the first half of the 20th century. The final score that has been repeated the most times in UCF history, for example, is 31-24, and that has happened six times in games played by the Knights.

When it comes to The Citadel’s gridiron history, however, the most common score of all time is 7-0 — and that has occurred on 22 different occasions. The last time the Bulldogs were involved in a 7-0 final, though, was way back in 1977, a victory over Wofford at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Tangent: after that contest was over, The News and Courier quoted Bulldogs linebacker/punter Kenny Caldwell: “PRAISE THE LORD! We won that one.” As far as all-time postgame quotes from Bulldogs go, that is solidly in the top 20.

When I first started putting a scorigami chart together, I had assumed the most common score was going to be 0-0. That wound up not being the case, though there have been 15 such matchups involving The Citadel. The most recent of those is a well-known matchup, the famous (infamous?) 0-0 tie versus Florida State in 1960.

A 6-0 final has happened 19 times, while 7-6 has been the end result on 15 occasions. In general, shutouts are not uncommon, and that was particularly true in the early days; there have been 17 games that ended 14-0 and 16 more that finished 13-0. Both 20-0 and 27-0 have appeared in the endgame box score 14 times. In all, 318 of The Citadel’s 1,169 games have been shutouts (including those fifteen 0-0 matchups, which were double shutouts).

One of those shutouts, incidentally, is a forfeit victory for The Citadel over Fort Moultrie in 1912, which was officially recorded as a 1-0 final. I debated even listing that; obviously, 1-0 is an impossible score for a game that is actually played. In the end, I am including it, but on the chart it is bolded and has a note explaining the situation.

Another oddity of sorts that affected the chart was The Citadel’s 99-0 victory over Porter Military Academy in 1909, which stretched the graph almost to the breaking point. It is on there, though, the highest-scoring of all the shutouts, and by a considerable margin.

The next-largest shutout score is 76-0, which has happened twice. The Citadel has been on both ends of that one, having defeated Webber International 76-0 in 2007, but losing by that same score to Georgia in 1958. 

Tangent: that 1958 game in Athens was designated “Band Day”; according to press reports, 62 local high school bands were in attendance. I have been told that near the end of the contest, at least one (and possibly several) of the bands began playing “76 Trombones” from The Music Man, which was very popular at the time. I don’t know for sure if that is true, but I’m going to believe it anyway.

Also, I should mention that Bulldogs quarterback Jerry Nettles was quoted afterwards as saying “That will never happen again”. History proved him to be prophetic, and in the three years that immediately followed that late-season defeat at UGA, The Citadel had a combined record of 23-7-1, including a league title and a bowl victory.

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Something I want to clarify is that with Scorigami, we’re only talking about different scores, not the winner/loser. For instance, The Citadel has played two games that ended 23-20, one just last year versus South Carolina State.

The Citadel lost that game, but won a road game at East Tennessee State by that same score in 1997. Thus, the chart notes that there have been two 23-20 finals. Of course, the final score also doesn’t reflect potential overtime games; that ETSU contest was one of those.

Tangent: those readers with good memories might remember that win over East Tennessee State as the game where the Bulldogs trailed late by 10 points, but got a TD with 19 seconds left in regulation, recovered the ensuing onside kick, and then converted a last-second 52-yard field goal (by Justin Skinner) to send the game to OT. The Bulldogs ultimately won on a touchdown run by Kenyatta Spruill (who had also scored the 4th-quarter TD that preceded the onside kick), resulting in the 23-20 final.

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Okay, now for the big reveal. I’ve already spoiled it with the title of this post, of course, but I’m officially calling The Citadel’s version of scorigami…

SHAKOGAMI

I thought it was appropriate to have something distinctive (and related) for The Citadel when it comes to this exercise, so Shakogami it is. (I’m rather proud of that one, so please don’t mock it and hurt my tender feelings.)

Here is the Shakogami chart, in all its glory:

Shakogami

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A few notes:

  • You will notice the black-covered squares. Those are representing scores that cannot happen. You can’t have games in which the winning team scores fewer points than the loser, for example.
  • In the modern era of college football, you also can’t have ties. This makes the chart a bit jagged on the diagonal axis, because The Citadel has had 32 ties in its history, so some of those squares are light blue and not black. That includes finals of 22-22 and 28-28.
  • The other black squares reflect impossible scores — 2-1, 4-1, 5-1, and 7-1.
  • It is technically possible for a game to end 6-1 and 8-1, and other combinations of X-1, so those squares are open. This would require a specific set of circumstances, along with a play that would be the height of absurdity — a one-point safety for the defensive team following an offensive touchdown. That has never happened in college football history, but it is possible. (Note that this is not the same as the one-point safety for the offense after a conversion gone awry, which is exceedingly rare, but actually happened in the 2013 Fiesta Bowl, as well as the 2004 Texas A&M-Texas game.) 
  • The squares in which there have been scores are in light blue, with the number of games with that score listed inside the square. The Citadel has been involved in seven games that ended 26-7, for example, so that box is colored light blue and has a ‘7’ inside it. (The most recent of those games was a victory over Furman during the 2021 “spring” season; another was the win at Air Force in 1976, a game I wrote about a little over a decade ago.)
  • The “open” squares have a ‘0’ inside them, indicating that The Citadel has never played in a game with that final score. A few of those might stay open; it is hard to imagine a 4-2 or 8-5 final these days (though you never know). 
  • There are some really enticing potential Shakogami scores out there, though. There has never been a 16-14 game, which is really surprising. Other potential Shakogami results include scores like 24-8 and 17-6. Obviously, the chances for having a Shakogami increase markedly the higher-scoring the game.

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Sometimes, fate gets in the way of a Shakogami…

In 2015, The Citadel played VMI at Homecoming. Late in the contest, the Bulldogs led 29-14. If the game had ended with that score, it would have been a Shakogami!

However, with just seconds remaining, Tevin Floyd intercepted a VMI pass and raced 75 yards to the end zone for a touchdown, making the score 35-14. Despite that, there was still a great chance for a Shakogami, because with the PAT the score would be 36-14 — and that would also have been a Shakogami!

Alas, the Bulldogs missed the extra point. The final of 35-14 had already happened three times before (and would recur again two years later, for a current total of five results by that score).

Oh well. 

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In 2024, the Bulldogs played in three games that resulted in a Shakogami, losing two of them (to Clemson and Western Carolina). However, Maurice Drayton picked up his first career Shakogami victory when The Citadel defeated Samford 28-11.

Drayton is currently 1-6 in games that result in a Shakogami, but things are looking up. Improvement in this area is highly likely.

The modern-day Bulldogs coach with the highest percentage of Shakogamis is almost certainly Mike Houston, who in just two years roaming the sidelines for The Citadel was involved in 11 Shakogamis (in only 25 total games). Houston’s record in Shakogami action was 6-5.

The most recent Shakogami road victory for The Citadel, if anyone was wondering, was the 26-22 win at VMI to close the 2022 season.

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Well, there you have it. Is this discussion pointless? Of course not — look at all of this talk about points! [rim shot]

That said, I realize this is firmly on the esoteric side of the road when it comes to the football information superhighway. However, I also think it is an enjoyable digression, and something that can be followed going forward. At least, I intend to follow it.

The season can’t get here fast enough…

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100 years of Homecoming at The Citadel

Posted on November 7, 2024 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel vs. Chattanooga, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium (not including the East stands), with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on November 9, 2024.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Jason Kempf will handle play-by-play, while Vad Lee supplies the analysis. Matison Little is the sideline reporter. 

The contest can be heard on radio on 102.1-FM in Charleston [audio link]. Brian Giffin calls the game alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

We are about to celebrate an anniversary of sorts: 100 years of Homecoming at The Citadel — or as Colonel Bond described it, “Home-Coming Day”:

The first Home-Coming Day of the Greater Citadel was held on October 25, 1924. Hundreds of the alumni — old men, middle-aged, and young men — many from distant states — came to the celebration.

…The morning was spent on the campus, with many interesting reunions and talks of old times, and at noon everyone gathered on Indian Hill under the live oaks for an al fresco barbecue lunch.

Shortly after one o’clock the crowd began to gather in groups towards Hampton Park, where the chief event of the day was to take place. This was the Furman-Citadel football game, in comparison with which all other features of Home-Coming Day (and there were several others of noteworthy interest) paled into insignificance.

On this battlefield of the gridiron, two teams of stalwart warriors were to battle for the honor and renown of their Alma Mater, and to perform exploits that would put their names in big headlines in the morning papers. This was the opportunity, too, when the alumni could wear their college colors and show their loyalty to the old school.

— Oliver J. Bond, The Story of The Citadel

The Citadel won the game, 6-0. Late in the third quarter, running back Carl Hogrefe scored the contest’s only touchdown on a 4th-down plunge over the right side of the line. Reported attendance for the game, which was played at Hampton Park in a steady rain: 4,000.

Over 300 alumni returned to the military college for Homecoming in 1924. For many of them, it was their first time visiting the school at its new campus on the Ashley.

There were just 313 cadets at The Citadel during that school year (1924-25), all living in Padgett-Thomas Barracks. By 1927-28, with a newly built Murray Barracks in place, student enrollment had risen to 722 — and home football games were being played at the “original” Johnson Hagood Stadium (which opened for business on October 15, 1927).

A few years ago, I wrote that it would be neat if The Citadel’s 2024 Homecoming were to take place around the same date/weekend as the first Homecoming game in 1924, and that Furman would again be the opponent. Alas, none of that happened, although the 28-11 upset victory over Samford on October 26 was a nice consolation prize.

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This Saturday will be The Citadel’s 97th Homecoming game. The Bulldogs are 49-45-2 in Homecoming contests.

At one point, The Citadel was 6-20-2 on Homecoming. As mentioned above, the Bulldogs defeated Furman in the initial contest, but after that game, wins were few and far between for many years. The Citadel finally attained a winning overall record in Homecoming again following a 48-21 victory over VMI in 2006.

A 10-game winning streak from 1969-1978 helped in that regard; that is the Bulldogs’ longest winning streak for Homecoming games. The second-longest, an eight-game run from 2012-2019, has given The Citadel a bit of a cushion when it comes to having a winning record in the celebration game.

I’ve put together a spreadsheet which details much of that history. Here it is:

Homecoming results at The Citadel

General trivia about Homecoming:

  • This will be the 78th Homecoming game played in November. There have been 14 October contests (though only two since 1967), and 4 December games (with the last of those occurring in 1949). The first of two 2021 Homecoming contests, a makeup of the COVID-canceled 2020 game, was held in September. (There is some disagreement as to whether or not that September 2021 game was in fact an “official” Homecoming event. The school’s website says it was, so I include it as such, admittedly with serious misgivings.)
  • The Bulldogs have faced 19 different Homecoming opponents over the years.
  • Saturday will mark the ninth time The Citadel has played Chattanooga in the game (with a record of 3-5 versus the Mocs). Only Furman (26 meetings) and VMI (19) have been the Bulldogs’ Homecoming opponent more often than Chattanooga.
  • Two of those eight Homecoming games against the Mocs have come on November 9, the same date as this year’s matchup, with The Citadel winning in 1996 (16-13) and Chattanooga prevailing in 2002 (34-31). In the ’96 contest, Reggie Moore blocked a late field goal attempt to preserve the win for the Bulldogs.
  • Western Carolina is the only current SoCon school never to have been a Homecoming opponent for The Citadel. Only two other schools with 25 or more matchups against the Bulldogs have not been an opponent for Homecoming: William & Mary and Newberry.
  • The Citadel is 22-14-2 in Homecoming games decided by 7 or fewer points, and has won 16 of the last 21 such contests. That includes a 3-0 record for the Bulldogs in overtime Homecoming games.
  • Bobby Ross was 5-0 at Homecoming, while Eddie Teague and Charlie Taaffe each won the game six times (both were 6-3 overall). Brent Thompson was 5-2.

Individual records on Homecoming include:

  • Mark Slawson holds the Homecoming game records for yardage (201, also the all-time school record), and TD receptions (4, tied for the school record), setting both marks in 1979.
  • Tim Russell’s 6 touchdowns and 362 yards passing in that 1979 game are both Homecoming records (and the TD mark is the school record, too).
  • Jeff Klein completed the most Bulldog passes in a Homecoming game (24 in 2002).
  • Slawson’s 4 TDs in the 1979 game set the record for most touchdowns scored in a Homecoming contest. That mark was matched by Lorenzo Ward in 2018, with all of Ward’s TDs coming on the ground.
  • Andre Roberts (2007 and 2008) and Gene Hightower (1967) share the record for receptions in a Homecoming game, with 9.
  • Tyler Renew’s 45 carries and 285 yards in the 2016 contest are both Homecoming records.
  • Eric Goins’ five field goals against VMI in 2015 established both the Homecoming and school records for most made field goals in a game. (As you might know, Goins is actually playing college football this season, nine years removed from setting that record; he is currently the kickoff specialist for Notre Dame after spending seven years in the Army.)
  • Jeff Varnadoe (1970) and Rusty Holt (1972) share the record for most interceptions in a Homecoming game, with 3 (both efforts came against Davidson). The school record for interceptions in a game is also 3.

Longest Homecoming plays by a Bulldog:

  • Run: 92 yards (TD), Nehemiah Broughton, 2004
  • Pass: 78 yards (TD), Marty Crosby to Sam Scadlock, 1978; Tim Russell to Mark Slawson, 1979
  • Kickoff return: 87 yards, Keith Gamble, 2010
  • Punt return: 80 yards (TD), Mark Slawson, 1980
  • Interception return: 75 yards (TD), Tevin Floyd, 2015
  • Field goal: 48 yards, Cody Clark, 2016
  • Punt: 85 yards, Albert Salvato, 1941

Incidentally, you’re not going to find that punt by Salvato in The Citadel’s official record book, but it happened — and to the best of my knowledge it is also the longest punt in school history.

Let me throw out one more Homecoming factoid, a favorite of mine:

  • Pat Green’s 25-yard field goal just before halftime of The Citadel’s 17-0 victory over VMI in 1964 was the first made field goal by a Bulldog at a Homecoming contest. Seriously, it was. The Citadel did not successfully convert a field goal attempt in its first 36 Homecoming games.

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Now I think it is time to focus on the game this Saturday…

Maurice Drayton press conference

‘Beyond The Barracks’ Coach’s Show

Preview article in The Post and Courier

The Citadel game notes

Rusty Wright press conference

Preview article in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Chattanooga game notes

Chattanooga is 5-4. That comes after starting 0-3, with two losses to FBS teams (one of which was Tennessee) and a home setback to Mercer. The Bears are currently one of two SoCon teams with just one loss in conference play.

The other league squad with one loss is Western Carolina, the team that beat UTC last week for the Mocs’ other conference defeat. In between those losses, Chattanooga won five straight games, including four in SoCon action (at East Tennessee State, at Furman, Wofford, VMI). 

UTC has two games remaining after playing The Citadel, a home contest with Samford and a non-conference road matchup with Austin Peay.

Chattanooga was the preseason favorite to win the SoCon, but with losses to the two teams ahead of the Mocs in the standings, it seems unlikely that UTC has much of a chance at the league’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. Thus, any realistic chance of postseason play for Chattanooga hinges on the Mocs winning their last three games and garnering an at-large bid.

That could happen, but Chattanooga might need a little bit of help elsewhere in addition to winning out, even if some current projections have the Mocs in the field as of this week (albeit barely).

UTC fans (and coaches) still recall a season-ending 27-21 home loss to The Citadel in the fall of 2021 that knocked Chattanooga out of that year’s playoff picture:

…that 2021 loss to The Citadel — which had some UTC players saying that some of their teammates essentially quit after a painful 10-6 road loss to Mercer the week before — has hurt some of the perception of the program when it comes to closing out the regular season.

Rusty Wright, now in his sixth season as head coach of the Mocs, revisited that game Tuesday.

“I don’t think those guys cared,” Wright said. “It was like pulling teeth on that sideline in the first half. I hadn’t seen it all year, and now all of a sudden it showed up and I didn’t even know who those guys were.

“But I haven’t felt it since then.”

From Chattanooga’s perspective, it would also be nice if the selection committee realizes that a couple of other conferences have rather fraudulent league standings. That would include the bloated CAA, where almost none of the top teams play each other, spending most of the season beating up on the lesser squads in the conference. 

We shall see. Of course, The Citadel would like to end Chattanooga’s postseason hopes this Saturday.

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Chattanooga is well regarded in the computer systems. Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings have UTC as the 17th-best FCS squad, while the Massey Ratings rank the Mocs 19th in the sub-division. Both systems really like Chattanooga’s defense (10th overall in SP+, and 7th in Massey).

The Citadel in SP+: 83rd in FCS. Massey ranks the Bulldogs 69th. SP+ does not care for the military college’s offense (110th overall); its defensive ranking is considerably higher (33rd). Massey’s numbers for the two sides of the ball for the Bulldogs are 90th (offense) and 46th (defense).

SP+ has a projected score for Saturday of Chattanooga 29.8, The Citadel 15.2, while Massey pegs the final at 28-14, Mocs.

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Let’s take a look at some statistical comparisons, using a spreadsheet with relevant statistics for all FCS teams through last weekend’s games:

FCS statistics through November 2, 2024

As noted earlier, Chattanooga has faced two FBS squads (and an all-D1 schedule). Both the Bulldogs and the Mocs have played nine games.

The Citadel’s offense vs. Chattanooga’s defense

  • TC averages 23.0 points per game; Chattanooga allows 22.9 (17.1 ppg if you take out the Tennessee game, which the Vols won 69-3)
  • TC averages 4.84 yards per play; Chattanooga allows 5.53 
  • TC rushes on 61.7% of its offensive plays; Chattanooga faces a rush attempt 51.5% of the time
  • TC averages 4.13 yards per rush (sack-adjusted); Chattanooga allows 4.57
  • TC averages 5.99 yards per pass attempt (sack-adjusted); Chattanooga allows 6.56
  • TC gives up a sack on 7.2% of its drop-backs; Chattanooga defensive sack rate of 4.8%
  • TC converts 37.12% of its 3rd-down attempts; Chattanooga allows 37.01%
  • TC has converted 10 of 18 4th-down attempts (55.56%); Chattanooga has allowed 7 of 12 (58.33%)
  • TC averages 4.33 estimated points per Red Zone trip; Chattanooga allows 5.19
  • TC averages 1.22 turnovers per game; Chattanooga has forced 2.22 turnovers per contest

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Chattanooga’s offense vs. The Citadel’s defense 

  • Chattanooga averages 25.8 points per game; TC allows 19.8
  • Chattanooga averages 5.66 yards per play; TC allows 5.37
  • Chattanooga rushes on 55.6% of its offensive plays; TC faces a rush attempt 51.8% of the time
  • Chattanooga averages 3.84 yards per rush (sack-adjusted); TC allows 4.61
  • Chattanooga averages 7.94 yards per pass attempt (sack-adjusted); TC allows 6.19
  • Chattanooga gives up a sack on 4.2% of its drop-backs; TC defensive sack rate of 8.5%
  • Chattanooga converts 40.32% of its 3rd-down attempts; TC allows 32.74%
  • Chattanooga has converted on 4 of 7 4th-down attempts (57.14%); TC has allowed 9 of 19 (47.37%)
  • Chattanooga averages 4.78 estimated points per Red Zone trip; TC allows 4.64
  • Chattanooga averages 1.33 turnovers per game; TC has forced 1.33 turnovers per contest (yes, it’s a tie!)

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Other stats of note

  • TC: 4.6 penalties per game (38.9 yards); Chattanooga: 6.0 penalties per game (51.6 yards)
  • TC: 42.05 net punting average; Chattanooga: 37.39 net punting average
  • TC: 0.11 turnover margin per game; Chattanooga: 0.89 turnover margin per game
  • TC: 30:33 time of possession average; Chattanooga: 31:29 TOP average

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– The Mocs average 15.16 yards per pass completion, which leads the nation and is an indicator of the big-play nature of Chattanooga’s offense. The Citadel is 20th in FCS in this category (13.35 yards).

Chattanooga has had 33 pass plays this season of 20 or more yards. Eight different receivers have accounted for those catches, with three in particular carrying most of the load: Sam Phillips (11 receptions of 20+ yards, including an 84-yarder against Georgia State and a 78-yard grab versus Portland State); Javin Whatley (9, with a 71-yarder against Furman); and Chris Domercant (7, including a 65-yard catch versus Mercer).

All three of those receivers are juniors, and all three had at least two 20+ yard catches last week against Western Carolina (Domercant had three). All told, Chattanooga had nine such plays versus the Catamounts, and did so despite its backup quarterback playing the entire game.

Incidentally, Pro Football Focus (PFF) rated Chattanooga as having the top receiving outfit in FCS through Week 9 (so not including the WCU game). 

– While Chattanooga rushes on 55.6% of its offensive plays, only 37.7% of the Mocs’ total yards are via the ground attack.

As a comparison, The Citadel rushes on 61.7% of its offensive plays, with 52.6% of its total yardage coming on the ground.

– Chattanooga’s opportunistic defense is 6th nationally in turnovers forced per game, second in the SoCon (behind Mercer, which leads all of FCS in that category). The Mocs have 15 interceptions, tied for 2nd-most in the sub-division. (The Citadel’s defense is 68th in forced turnovers per contest.)

UTC has three defensive touchdowns this season, including a 75-yard scoop-and-score last week against Western Carolina.

Chattanooga’s average turnover margin (0.89) is 13th in FCS (The Citadel’s is 60th). The national leader in that category is North Dakota State, with a rather astounding per-game turnover margin of 1.60. NDSU has only committed two turnovers all season (in ten games).

– One defensive issue for the Mocs has been its work in the red zone, where UTC allows TDs at a 63.3% clip, with an estimated points per RZ possession of 5.19 (87th nationally). The Bulldogs’ D is 42nd in FCS (4.64, with a RZ TD rate of 60.7%). 

– The Citadel is 7th in FCS in net punting (42.05), while Chattanooga is 55th (37.39).

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A few paragraphs ago, I mentioned that Chattanooga had played last week against Western Carolina with its backup quarterback. Starting QB Chase Artopoeus missed that game with an undisclosed injury. 

The backup, redshirt sophomore Luke Schomburg, is also expected to start against The Citadel, with that announcement made by Rusty Wright at his weekly presser.

Schomburg’s line against WCU doesn’t look great on the surface (14-31 passing, with 3 interceptions), but in all honesty it wasn’t a bad performance at all. He averaged over 10 yards per attempt and completed passes to seven different receivers, with a couple of touchdowns. A late pick proved costly in the 38-34 defeat in Cullowhee.

He has previous experience as a starter, getting the call for Chattanooga’s final three games last season after Artopoeus suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Schomburg’s starts in 2023: at Alabama, at Austin Peay in the FCS playoffs, at Furman in the FCS playoffs. That’s a tough draw.

In the victory over Austin Peay, Schomburg was 21-36 for 259 yards and a TD (with one pick), leading the Mocs to their first-ever road FCS playoff victory.

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When is comes to referencing Chattanooga’s athletic teams, nomenclature matters. (It matters at The Citadel too, of course.) From the school’s game notes comes this reminder:

The official school name is the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The NCAA short form for it is simply Chattanooga. There are no hyphenated uses such as Tennessee-Chattanooga or UT-Chattanooga or even gasp, UT Chattanooga without the hyphen. Nope, just Chattanooga. Nickname is Mocs. It is not short for anything.

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This will be a tough test for The Citadel. The Mocs have a lot of talent, with big-play threats on both sides of the ball. Time of possession could be critical for the Bulldogs, as limiting the total number of possessions in this game would be a good idea for the home side.

If The Citadel plays as well defensively as it did against Samford two weeks ago, it will have a shot at a third consecutive victory. However, the offense must be more consistent, and put together two good halves, not just one. It is also imperative to avoid turnovers against a ball-hawking Chattanooga defense.

There should be a very good crowd for Homecoming; a sellout is anticipated. The weather should be excellent, with a forecast of 76 degrees and mostly sunny skies. I’m looking forward to a fun atmosphere and a classic November afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

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Reviewing Samford-The Citadel: a very pleasant day in Charleston

Posted on October 27, 2024 by Sandlapper Spike

Advanced stats from an enjoyable afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium:

Samford The Citadel
Starting Field Position Average 22.33 37.15
Offensive Success Rate 48.5% 42.9%
Big plays (20+ yards) 0 4
Finishing drives inside 40 (average points) 2.2 4.0
Turnovers 3 0
Expected turnovers 1.66 0.72
Possessions 12 13
Points per possession 0.92 2.15
Offensive Plays 68 63
Offensive rush play % 44.12% 68.25%
Yards/rush (sack-adjusted) 3.73 4.07
Yards/pass attempt (sack-adjusted) 5.39 6.35
Yards/play 4.78 4.79
3rd down conversions 33.3% (4/12) 41.2% (7/17)
4th down conversions 0 of 2 1 of 1
Red Zone TD% 50.0% 80.0%
Net punting 31.25 50.00
Time of possession 28:03 31:57
TOP/offensive play 24.39 seconds 29.95 seconds
Penalties 5 for 34 yards 5 for 47 yards
1st down passing 16/22, 134 yards, 2 INT 3/5, 44 yards
3rd and long passing 5/6, 2 sacks, 40 net yards 3/6, 54 yards
4th down passing 0/0 0/0
1st down yards/play 5.82 6.00
3rd down average yards to go 7.92 4.76
Defensive 3-and-outs+ 4 (of 13) 5 (of 12)

Housekeeping regarding the above:

  • The Citadel’s final possession of the second half and Samford’s final possession of the first half (both one-play kneel-downs) are not included in any of the categories, except for time of possession and TOP/offensive play.
  • It should be noted that absent Samford’s final drive of the game, when The Citadel appeared to be playing a very loose variation of “prevent defense”, SU would have averaged an offensive success rate of 42.6%, a yards/play rate of 4.10, and a first down yards/play rate of 5.0 (just to list three category examples).

—

Random observations:

– The quickest way to explain The Citadel’s overall dominance on Saturday is probably field position. Samford started just one drive beyond its own 30-yard line, and had five drives start at its own 20 or further back (two inside the 10-yard line). Conversely, The Citadel had five drives start in SU territory.

The Citadel’s four touchdown drives all started on Samford’s side of the field. The average starting field position for the Cadets on those TD marches was the SU 33 (technically the 32.5 yard line).

Samford punted four times during the game. Two of those punts came with the line of scrimmage at SU’s 3-yard line and 1-yard line. The Citadel’s defense did a great job of maintaining a field position edge in those situations (both of those possessions were three-and-outs).

The Citadel also intercepted two passes (on the first Samford offensive play of each half), both of which resulted in great field position for the home team.

– The other factor in the tilting of the field, of course, was The Citadel’s punt unit. James Platte had an incredible day booting the ball, with a net punting average of 50.0 on five punts. Samford’s average field position following those punts was its own 14.8 yard line.

For the afternoon, The Citadel’s advantage in net punting was 18.75 yards, an enormous edge.

I cannot remember a more memorable punting exhibition by a Bulldog at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Platte’s booming kicks drew audible ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ from the admiring crowd, as the punts were aesthetically pleasing as well as effective — tight spirals launched into the Charleston sky.

– It was not an easy day for two of the three placekickers who saw action. Samford was 1 for 2 on field goal tries, missing a 21-yarder early in the 4th quarter that would have brought SU within one score.

Meanwhile, The Citadel missed all three of its field goal attempts. I suspect that Maurice Drayton would take responsibility for the misfire on the first try, though, a 52-yarder that came after the coach intentionally took a delay-of-game penalty in an effort to draw Samford offside. It wasn’t a great idea, and looked worse when the kick fell short by about two yards.

– I mentioned three placekickers, though. Who was the third placekicker, you ask?

Well, he was a bagpiper named Richard…

The regimental band performed at halftime, putting on a nice show. One of the bagpipers was then chosen to be the contestant for the fan placekicking contest that usually takes place at the end of the third quarter.

Richard stepped up to the challenge. Was he wearing a kilt and a pouch as he kicked? Of course. He also wore the white boot that is part of The Citadel’s traditional bagpiper uniform on his left foot, and what appeared to be a cleat on his right (which he used to kick).

A breeze was beginning to swirl inside the stadium, which might explain why his first kick ricocheted off the left post. However, he had two tries from the initial distance to convert the field goal, and his second effort sailed through the uprights.

That led to the big moment, a 30-yard one-time attempt to win free pizza for a year. The pressure was on, but Richard’s kick was a no-doubter, hammered straight and true, flying above the crossbar with room to spare.

– While Drayton might have erred on the sequence leading to The Citadel’s first field goal attempt, the coach correctly challenged a spot late in the first half, a critical move that resulted in the Bulldogs picking up a key first down and maintaining possession. It was important at that time to deny Samford a chance to score again before the half ended.

The missed spot was by almost two full yards. Everyone in the stands saw that The Citadel had picked up the first down (a 10-yard pass from Johnathan Bennett to Dervon Pesnell, a nice play on both ends). The officials on the field had other ideas, however.

I was a little worried the replay review booth would not overrule the spot, as The Citadel has not had much luck with reviews this season, but justice prevailed.

It wasn’t the only spotting error of the game, just the most obvious. This has been an ongoing problem for SoCon officials over the years.

– Going for the jugular alert: with 3:58 to play, The Citadel took possession at Samford’s 44-yard line after the defense held on a fourth down attempt (Cale Williams with a rather emphatic stop). With a 21-3 lead, I expected to see a lot of runs up the middle to drain clock (or force Samford to use its remaining timeouts).

Naturally, the first play from scrimmage was a 27-yard pass play from Bennett to Pesnell (a great catch by Pesnell along the sideline).

That play call seemed to come out of left field, and I’m not sure it was the right thing to do in terms of the game state, but you know what? Sometimes you have to break tendencies, even when you’re in a position of strength. More power to the offensive staff. (And the bottom line is that it worked.)

From there, the Bulldogs ran the ball on six consecutive plays, with Bennett eventually scoring.

– I occasionally got concerned with the constant defensive rotations. Sometimes, multiple Bulldogs would race onto and off the field on plays for which Samford did not substitute. On those plays, I was worried The Citadel would not be ready at the snap — but that never happened.

“Samford has a high-powered offense, and we talked a lot about that,” said Citadel defensive lineman Chris Iverson, who finished with five tackles, including one for loss and a sack. “Samford’s tempo has been a problem for a lot of people, so we put a lot of emphasis on lining up quickly and communicating.”

The constant changing of personnel was obviously effective. On the afternoon, 23 different players for The Citadel registered at least one tackle (including placekicker Ben Barnes). Cale Williams led with 8 stops, while Je’Mazin Roberts had 7 and a forced fumble. DaVonyae Pettis had two of the Bulldogs’ eight tackles for loss (including a sack).

– Against Mercer last week, Samford’s offense had plays of 38, 77, 41, 35, 24, and 23 yards.

On Saturday, Samford’s longest offensive play from scrimmage was 19 yards.

– For a guy with a decent record against The Citadel, Chris Hatcher has certainly had a few games to forget in Charleston. This was one of them.

– Announced attendance: 8,977. I was a little concerned when I arrived on Saturday, as the parking lots were not exactly full. However, a decent-sized crowd eventually made its way inside the stadium.

There were very few Samford fans at the game. That is a long trip from Birmingham, though.

– It is one thing for a crowd to rush the field after a win. It is perhaps a bit unusual, however, for a team to rush the crowd (in this case, the student section) after a win, which the Bulldogs did following the Alma Mater.

I liked that a lot. Let’s see more of it, please.

– After the game, seniors and freshmen were awarded overnights. Juniors and sophomores had to be back on campus by 0100 hours.

It was a decidedly unusual combination of overnights/no overnights. The PA announcer informed the crowd that the freshmen had been granted overnights with “the authorization of the chairman of the Board of Visitors, Greg Delancey.”

(He meant Greg Delleney.)

– The Citadel is now 9-6-1 all-time for games played on October 26, including a 7-2-1 record at home on that date.

Saturday’s win was the biggest for The Citadel on October 26 since a 25-0 shutout of Oglethorpe in 1940, a game played at the “original” Johnson Hagood Stadium.

That was also a contest featuring strong defense and special teams play, as the Bulldogs held the Stormy Petrels to just 38 yards of total offense (and 0-for-6 passing). The Citadel’s Hank Foster returned a punt for a touchdown that day, while Ben Suitt blocked an Oglethorpe punt, setting up his own TD four plays later (the second of two TDs for Suitt).

The other touchdown for the Bulldogs was scored by Joe Bolduc. The Citadel missed on three of its four PAT attempts; perhaps placekicking is not meant to be on October 26, unless you are wearing a kilt.

—

The Bulldogs now get a much-needed bye week before finishing the season with three games. The first of those will be The Citadel’s last game of the season at Johnson Hagood Stadium, a Homecoming affair against Chattanooga. The final two contests will be road trips to the Upstate to face Wofford and Clemson.

I’m looking forward to Homecoming, which is always a fun time on campus. Chattanooga will be a tough opponent, but The Citadel should enter that matchup with a good deal of newfound confidence, particularly on defense.

It is good to see on-field progress being made. It is even better when that progress is reflected in victories.

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Bulldogs vs. Bulldogs, with some FCS stats thrown in

Posted on October 25, 2024 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel vs. Samford, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium (not including the East stands), with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on October 26, 2024.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Dave Weinstein will handle play-by-play, while Vad Lee supplies the analysis. Matison Little is the sideline reporter. 

The contest can be heard on radio on 102.1-FM in Charleston [audio link]. Brian Giffin calls the game alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

—

The Citadel game notes

Samford game notes

SoCon weekly release

—

I really don’t have a lot to say about this matchup (but hey, I’m still posting about it). Samford just blitzed previously undefeated Mercer 55-35, and has beaten The Citadel five consecutive times on the gridiron, including 37-7 last year and 38-3 the last time the two teams met in Charleston.

At his weekly press conference, Maurice Drayton was asked how his squad matched up with SU. His response: “The truth of the matter is we don’t match up well.”

You can’t say he isn’t honest.

—

Let’s take a look at some statistical comparisons. Keep in mind that Samford has played two fewer games than The Citadel, and one of those was against an SEC opponent (Florida).

The Citadel’s offense vs. Samford’s defense

  • TC averages 22.4 points per game; SU allows 26.5
  • TC averages 4.86 yards per play; SU allows 5.53 
  • TC rushes on 60.8% of its offensive plays; SU faces a rush attempt 51.8% of the time
  • TC averages 4.15 yards per rush (sack-adjusted); SU allows 3.88
  • TC averages 5.96 yards per pass attempt (sack-adjusted); SU allows 7.31
  • TC gives up a sack on 6.9% of its drop-backs; SU sack rate of 8.1%
  • TC converts 36.52% of its 3rd-down attempts; SU allows 35.48%
  • TC has converted 9 of 17 4th-down attempts (52.94%); SU has allowed 7 of 11 (63.64%)
  • TC averages 4.11 estimated points per Red Zone trip; SU allows 4.86
  • TC averages 1.38 turnovers per game; SU has forced 1.83 turnovers per contest

—

Samford’s offense vs. The Citadel’s defense 

  • SU averages 26.3 points per game; TC allows 21.6
  • SU averages 4.99 yards per play; TC allows 5.47
  • SU rushes on 46.2% of its offensive plays; TC faces a rush attempt 52.9% of the time
  • SU averages 3.45 yards per rush (sack-adjusted); TC allows 4.69
  • SU averages 6.32 yards per pass attempt (sack-adjusted); TC allows 6.34
  • SU gives up a sack on 7.7% of its drop-backs; TC defensive sack rate of 8.7%
  • SU converts 29.76% of its 3rd-down attempts; TC allows 32.67%
  • SU has converted on 6 of 7 4th-down attempts (85.71%); TC has allowed 9 of 17 (52.94%)
  • SU averages 4.58 estimated points per Red Zone trip; TC allows 4.99
  • SU averages 1.17 turnovers per game; TC has forced 1.13 turnovers per contest

—

(Yes, The Citadel’s offense has converted 9 of 17 4th-down tries and its defense has allowed conversions on 9 of 17 4th-down attempts. I double-checked that one.)

—

Other stats of note

  • TC: 4.5 penalties per game (37.9 yards); SU: 3.3 penalties per game (29.9 yards)
  • TC: 40.88 net punting average; SU: 34.46 net punting average
  • TC: -0.25 turnover margin per game; SU: 0.67 turnover margin per game
  • TC: 30:22 time of possession average; SU: 29:42 TOP average
  • TC: total season estimated point differential for RZ trips of -15; SU has a total season EPD of 8

(Total Estimated Point Differential and its even wackier cousin, Attempts-Estimated Point Comparison, are “experimental” statistics that I’ve just created in an effort to compare point totals on red zone possessions. Feel free to completely disregard them.)

—

Under Chris Hatcher, Samford has been an occasionally puzzling outfit, capable of big wins and strange losses, sometimes looking both fantastic and terrible in the same game. 

That has worked in The Citadel’s favor at times. Two of the more memorable wins at JHS in recent years at were comeback victories over Samford.

In 2016 the Cadets came back from 10 down with less than 5 minutes to play to prevail in overtime, clinching the SoCon title in the process, while two years later The Citadel pulled off the biggest comeback victory in the history of Johnson Hagood Stadium, roaring back from 21 points down to win 42-27. I still remember the money falling out of the sky.

That 2018 game remains the Charleston Bulldogs’ last win in the series.

This season, Samford has continued to perplex, opening the year by losing to Division I debutant West Georgia. After an expected loss to Florida the following week, SU outlasted Alabama State 12-7 in its home opener. 

Samford’s game at Furman was postponed due to Hurricane Helene, which resulted in a three-week break between games. That might have been just what SU needed, because the last three games have been solid efforts — a 27-3 win over VMI, a tough 31-28 loss at East Tennessee State, and the aforementioned defeat of Mercer last Saturday, a contest Samford led 42-7 at halftime.

Did Samford give up 3 straight TDs to the Bears to make it a two-score game early in the fourth quarter? Yes, it did. Did Samford then score two defensive touchdowns to wrap things up? Yes, it did.

SU had 17 (!) offensive possessions in the game. Average length of drive by time: 1:41, with only one possession taking longer than 2:20. That is classic Chris Hatcher offensive football.

—

Per one source that deals in such matters, Samford is an 8½-point favorite at The Citadel on Saturday. The over/under is 51½. The moneyline is The Citadel +250, Samford -300.

According to Bill Connelly’s SP+ system, Samford is projected to win the game by a score of 30.0-17.8. The Massey Ratings have SU winning 31-20, with The Citadel given a 21% chance of pulling the upset.

Other SoCon games shake out like this, as the ratings systems see it (Furman is off this week):

  • Western Carolina-Mercer: MU 30-24 (Massey); MU 33.7-18.2 (SP+)
  • VMI-Chattanooga: UTC 35-7 (Massey); UTC 37.8-5.8 (SP+)
  • East Tennessee State-Wofford: ETSU 26-21 (Massey); ETSU 27.0-18.2 (SP+)

—

The comparative stats posted above for the matchup on Saturday mostly came via a spreadsheet I put together for all of FCS. If you’re interested in a lot of numbers, this is the link to the spreadsheet:

FCS stats through October 20, 2024

Here is how The Citadel is ranked among all 129 FCS teams entering Saturday’s play in various statistical categories:

Offense

  • Yards per play — 103rd [VMI ranks last in this category]
  • Yards per rush (sack-adjusted) — 106th [South Dakota State leads; ETSU is 11th]
  • Yards per pass attempt (sack-adjusted) — 83rd [VMI ranks last in this category]
  • Points per game — 86th [Monmouth leads; VMI ranks last in this category as well]
  • 3rd-down conversion rate — 71st [five SoCon teams in bottom 20]
  • Estimated points per Red Zone trip — 109th [Butler leads; no SoCon team in top 30]

Defense

  • Yards allowed per play — 54th [Dayton leads, Mercer is 3rd; Youngstown State is last, a far cry from its glory days]
  • Yards allowed per rush (sack-adjusted) — 45th [Mercer leads this category by almost two-thirds of a yard; ETSU is 7th and Samford is 9th]
  • Yards allowed per pass attempt (sack-adjusted) — 73rd [the top 4 in this category are all Pioneer League teams]
  • Points allowed per game — 21st [Mercer is still 5th despite last week’s debacle at Samford]
  • 3rd-down conversion rate allowed — 21st [Mercer leads]
  • Estimated points allowed per Red Zone trip — 65th [Incarnate Word leads; Mercer is 3rd, Wofford 9th, WCU 11th, and Furman 17th]

Miscellaneous

  • Net punting — 14th [Mercer tops in the SoCon at 7th; Charleston Southern is 6th]
  • Turnover margin per game — 83rd [Nicholls State leads; Mercer and Chattanooga are both in the top 10]
  • Fewest penalties per game — 13th [Samford is 5th; Harvard leads this category]
  • Time of possession — 46th [Samford is 72nd, which is higher than normal for SU]

—

It should be a sunny day on Saturday, with a projected high in Charleston of 83 degrees. It is also a bye week for both Clemson and South Carolina. Heck, Coastal Carolina is off this week, too. Maybe that will juice attendance a little bit at Johnson Hagood Stadium. 

The contest will be a tough challenge for The Citadel. Samford is coming off what is arguably the most impressive performance by a SoCon team this season, and this is an opportunity for the Birmingham Bulldogs to cap an excellent month of football. A league title for SU remains a possibility.

That said, I think The Citadel has a chance in this game. We shall see. 

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A quick review of The Citadel’s home opener

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Sandlapper Spike

The advanced stats from South Carolina State-The Citadel:

  South Carolina State The Citadel
Starting Field Position Average 24.38 29.33
Success Rate 54.4% 29.2%
Big plays (20+ yards) 3 4
Finishing drives inside 40 (average points) 4.6 5.0
Turnovers 0 1
Expected turnovers 0.00 0.44
Possessions 8 9
Points per possession 2.88 2.22
Offensive Plays 68 48
Offensive rush play % 61.76% 50.00%
Yards/rush (sack-adjusted) 5.14 4.79
Yards/pass attempt (sack-adjusted) 6.58 6.67
Yards/play 5.94 5.72
3rd down conversions 58.3% (7-12) 25.0% (3-12)
4th down conversions 0 of 0 2 of 3
Red Zone TD% 60.0% 66.7%
Net punting 37.67 43.33
Time of possession 36:13 26:47
TOP/offensive play 30.61 seconds 29.73 seconds
Penalties 9 for 55 yards 6 for 50 yards
1st down passing 4/8 (55 yards) 4/6 (88 yards)
3rd and long passing 3/4, one sack (33 net yards) 7/9, one sack (56 net yards)
4th down passing 0/0 1/2 (9 yards)
1st down yards/play 6.81 6.94
3rd down average yards to go 5.75 8.12
Defensive 3-and-outs+ 3 (of 9) 1 (of 8)

—

Housekeeping regarding the above stats:

  • These statistics do not include South Carolina State’s last two drives of each half (three plays in all). The second-half omission is obvious (one play, a kneel-down). I also elected not to include the two plays SCSU ran following the interception late in the first half, because only 12 seconds remained and South Carolina State was in what you could call “desperation mode” in terms of trying to score points (and thus the two-play sequence was not part of the regular course of action). As far as that statistical decision is concerned, your mileage may vary.
  • That means one of South Carolina State’s ‘big plays’ (those of 20 yards or more) is not included in the totals, either (a 21-yard pass reception to end the first half).
  • There was an error in the statistical play-by-play for the game which affected several categories. The problem arose during SCSU’s first drive of the second half. I think I’ve corrected everything in terms of the stats breakdown. (Among other things, this explains a discrepancy involving South Carolina State’s third-down and fourth-down conversion numbers.)
  • Stats-can-be-deceiving dept.: you might notice The Citadel averaged a quite respectable 6.94 yards on first down. Keep in mind that two long pass plays in the second half greatly affected that statistic. In the first half, on the other hand, The Citadel averaged 1.71 yards per play on first down.

—

Random observations about the game and the atmosphere surrounding it:

– I was a little surprised at the attendance. I thought there would be more fans on hand (from both sides, to be honest). While the listed attendance of 10,579 was notable, I wasn’t completely sure that reflected the actual number of people at the game.

I have my doubts that noon kickoffs are the way to go at The Citadel in the long term, but I suppose this year is a bit of a trial run.

– The Marching 101 is a great band, and I enjoyed its halftime performance. I have to wonder, though, at the band’s repeated playing at the start of (and during) plays. I was half-expecting the referee to give a warning, but that never happened.

The really unfortunate thing that occurred was the Marching 101 playing throughout the special tribute to Willie Jeffries in the break between the first and second quarters. I suspect officials from both schools were not particularly happy about that.

– I will add that I thought the folks running the sound system also veered very close to the edge when it came to musical cues and the start of on-field action.

– It was nice to see Jan Taaffe honored as well as Jeffries. I think Maurice Drayton’s commitment to acknowledging the past history of The Citadel’s football program (and that of the Palmetto State in general) is refreshing.

– I also liked that this year, the Hall of Fame honorees were presented to the crowd at halftime so that they faced the West stands, instead of facing the scoreboard (which, if memory serves, had been the case in previous years). Now everyone just needs to make sure all the honorees are in alphabetical order when the announcements start being made.

– Dumb question alert: where was the U.S. flag?

[Edit: I have now been informed (thanks!) that the flagpole has an internal issue with the pulley system that is preventing the flag from being locked in the ‘up’ position or lowered. Repairs are expected soon. For Saturday’s game, the color guard was used to present colors.]

– I would have preferred white pants to go with The Citadel’s light blue jerseys. The light blue pants didn’t look bad, though.

– Perhaps this has been the case before and I just didn’t notice, but the ‘red hat guy’ for the game was a member of the Corps of Cadets. He industriously trotted out with the media timeout countdown clock for every stoppage of play.

– I think all of the free t-shirts were size extra-large. They were free, though.

– I’m glad the rain mostly held off, though it led to occasionally steamy conditions with the cloud cover and temperature.

– Johnathan Bennett only threw one first-down pass in the first half (the interception at the end of it). In the second half, he was 4 for 5 passing on first down for 88 yards, including two big plays. The offensive playcalling arguably needs to be more varied at the start of games.

– The Citadel kicked off from midfield after its last touchdown, following a 15-yard penalty on South Carolina State. I was hoping that Maurice Drayton might try an onside kick in that situation, because the team really doesn’t lose too much in the way of field position even if unsuccessful — and if does recover the kick, it gets a free possession in great field position.

– The fourth-down run for 33 yards on what I’ll call the “bunch” formation was a great call, and very well executed. It was set up by a similar formation on a fourth down play earlier in the game, one that resulted in SCSU jumping offsides.

– The Citadel had false start penalties at the start of both of its first two drives. That should not happen.

– South Carolina State was a well-coached team. Deondra Duehart is a quality running back, and I thought Eric Phoenix did a nice job running the show. He was also a better runner than his prior stats had indicated. SCSU’s line play on offense and defense was generally solid.

I’m guessing that improving its offensive red zone production will be a point of emphasis for SCSU once conference play rolls around.

– For the second week in a row, the Bulldogs had the edge in special teams play. This time, it wasn’t quite enough to pull out a victory.

There is something to be said about having a chance to win a game despite losing the turnover battle (1-0) and having the opponent run a higher percentage of successful plays from scrimmage by almost a 2-1 margin. Going forward, though, The Citadel has to get better on both sides of the ball. The offense has to be more dynamic throughout the game, and the defense needs to be considerably more disruptive.

—

This recent spate of blogging by yours truly will now come to a crashing halt. I won’t be around much (or at all) until the end of September/beginning of October.

Next week’s game is against a North Greenville squad that lost its home opener last Thursday night by the exact same score as The Citadel (23-20). NGU’s loss came in overtime to the defending NAIA champions, so the Trailblazers are likely a good-to-very good D2 squad. The Bulldogs better be ready for that one.

The Citadel then opens conference play at Mercer, a playoff team last season which is currently 2-0, winning those two games by a combined score of 94-12. The following week will be a Parents’ Day affair against East Tennessee State, a completely revamped squad that won on Saturday by a score of 61-0.

In other words, more challenges are ahead.

Go Dogs!

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2024 Football: The Citadel’s home opener

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Sandlapper Spike

South Carolina State at The Citadel, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium (minus the yet-to-be-rebuilt East stands) in Charleston, South Carolina, with kickoff at 12:00 pm ET on September 7, 2024.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Dave Weinstein will handle play-by-play duties, with former James Madison quarterback Vad Lee providing the analysis. The sideline reporter will be Ainsley Clifford.

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.

Brian Giffin calls the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

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Just a few links:

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I’m just tossing out a few things here. As I mentioned when I posted after the Bulldogs’ win on Saturday, I’m semi-retired from blogging, and if you’re going to do something, you need to do it right, and not just go halfway.

That’s why I am ambivalent about posting. I simply don’t have the time to do it justice.

Anyway, let’s get started with this preview, which will primarily be focused on The Citadel’s opponent this Saturday — South Carolina State.

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Here is the advanced stats box for South Carolina State’s 22-18 loss at Florida A&M on Saturday:

South Carolina State Florida A&M
Starting Field Position Average 23.5 29.3
Offensive Success Rate 44.3% 46.5%
Big plays (20+ yards) 3 4
Finishing drives inside 40 (average points) 5.0 4.4
Turnovers 0 2
Expected turnovers 1.1 2.1
Possessions 10 10
Points per possession 1.8 2.2
Offensive plays 61 69
Offensive rush play % 54.10% 43.48%
Yards/rush (sack-adjusted) 5.24 4.63
Yards/pass attempt (sack-adjusted) 4.04 7.18
Yards/play 4.69 6.07
3rd down conversions 30.0% (3-10) 64.3% (9-14)
4th down conversions 0 for 0 1 for 1
Red Zone TD% 66.7% 50.0%
Net punting 40.5 41.33
Time of possession 27:21 31:31
TOP/offensive play 26.90 seconds 26.32 seconds
Penalties 10 for 65 yards 6 for 65 yards
1st down passing 3/7 (9 yards) 10/18 (113 yards)
3rd and long passing 1/3, one sack (-3 net yards) 6/8, one sack (91 net yards)
4th down passing 0/0 0/0
1st down yards/play 4.43 5.90
3rd down average yards to go 6.5 7.5
Defensive 3-and-outs+ 2 (of 10) 5 (of 10)

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A few housekeeping notes on the above:

  • The statistics do not include the final three offensive plays by Florida A&M, which were kneel-downs.
  • The end of the first half featured a hurry-up drive by South Carolina State which resulted in a field goal. SCSU made it to the red zone just before the half ended, but didn’t have time to run a full set of plays inside the 20 (kicking on 3rd down), and thus that drive is not included in the ‘Red Zone TD%’ or ‘Finishing drives inside 40’ categories.
  • Both teams benefited from a defensive penalty on a 3rd-and-long play, leading to an automatic first down. Those plays aren’t reflected in the ‘3rd down conversions’ or ‘3rd and long passing’ categories.

—

As far as the quality of South Carolina State’s opponent last week is concerned, Florida A&M was ranked in the preseason FCS coaches’ poll (25th) and is considered one of the contenders to win the SWAC (2nd in the East division in that league’s preseason poll). Of course, last season FAMU was 12-1 and won both the SWAC and the Celebration Bowl.

Random comment: I’m still not used to Florida A&M being a member of the SWAC and not the MEAC. 

I should also note that the game was the Rattlers’ second of the 2024 campaign, while it was the debut for S.C. State and its new coach, Chennis Berry.

South Carolina State held an 18-7 lead early in the 4th quarter, but the Rattlers then scored two touchdowns down the stretch to pull off the comeback.

S.C. State will rue only getting 3 points out of a 1st-and-goal from the 1-yard line situation in the first quarter, and later having a PAT blocked (which led to an unsuccessful 2-point try after another TD). Florida A&M also converted multiple 3rd-and-long plays down the stretch, which had to be frustrating for the garnet-and-blue faithful.

The Bulldogs from Orangeburg were also bedeviled by several untimely penalties, including multiple procedural infractions. That is not overly unusual for a team playing its first game for a new coach.

According to the online participation report, only 40 players took the field for S.C. State. That apparent lack of depth could have been a factor in SCSU’s inability to stop Florida A&M in the 4th quarter. (As always, participation reports should not necessarily be taken at face value.)

It was a little odd that the more rush-focused team (South Carolina State) came out on the short end of the time of possession battle by more than four minutes. Part of the late-game push by FAMU included holding the ball for 9:38 of the final period.

—

Per the Massey Ratings, Florida A&M is ranked 52nd in FCS; The Citadel is 72nd; South Carolina State is 92nd; and Charleston Southern is 106th.

The Citadel jumped 29 spots after its win last week, but SC State is still favored in the matchup, according to Massey, with a projected score of 26-24. In fact, Massey still rates The Citadel an underdog in all of its remaining 2024 contests save one (next week’s game against North Greenville).

Bill Connelly’s SP+ ratings have Florida A&M ranked 53rd in FCS, with South Carolina State 78th, Charleston Southern 81st, and The Citadel 111th (only a 3-spot rise from last week). His projected score for the game at Johnson Hagood Stadium is S.C. State 26.3, The Citadel 20.6.

(Incidentally, the SP+ projected score for the Charleston Southern-Furman game is Paladins 33.4, Buccaneers 9.1.)

—

South Carolina State’s starting quarterback (Eric Phoenix) is left-handed, and its placekicker (Kyle Gallegos) is left-footed. There cannot be many teams around that have a left-handed QB *and* a left-footed kicker.

Alas, punter Dyson Roberts is right-footed. You can’t have it all.

—

No one on South Carolina State’s roster is a graduate of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. That might be unprecedented. It is certainly unwise. In my unbiased opinion, failing to have a representative of the famed maroon and orange is a recipe for disaster.

—

Buddy Pough’s final team at South Carolina State included just seven transfers from junior colleges and/or four-year institutions. Chennis Berry’s current roster at SCSU has 37 such players, including 14 who played for him at Benedict.

Only 19 players who saw action against The Citadel last season (a 31-10 victory for South Carolina State) participated in SCSU’s matchup with Florida A&M. However, eleven of them started against FAMU, including four members of the offensive line and the three players (Justin Smith-Brown, Tyler Smith, and Keshawn Toney) who accounted for all four touchdowns against The Citadel.

Linebackers Zan Dunham and Aaron Smith are also returning starters; Dunham led SCSU in tackles in last year’s matchup, while Smith had two tackles for loss. Defensive back Jamare Bejamin, who intercepted a pass during the game, is back as well.

Berry has supplemented that group with several interesting players, including 6’4″, 340 lb. guard Roger Smith, wide receiver Caden High (3 receptions against Florida A&M, a 39-yarder among them), running back Deondra Duehart (74 yards on 10 rushes versus FAMU), defensive linemen Josh Barker and Jayden Broughton (who had a sack and fumble recovery against the Rattlers), linebacker Dedrick Starkes, and defensive back Diego Addison (six tackles in Tallahassee).

All of those players are transfers from Benedict; Smith and Broughton were first-team all-conference selections in the SIAC last year, while Duehart and Starkes were second-team picks. They were key cogs in a Tigers squad that went undefeated in the regular season for the second year in a row.

Without them (and Berry), Benedict lost 23-7 last week to Virginia State in its season opener.

As mentioned earlier, S.C. State’s starting quarterback is Eric Phoenix, a 6’3″, 210 lb. native of Savannah who is not going to be arm-tackled by anybody. Phoenix played for Chennis Berry at Benedict for three years, including the 2022 campaign, but spent last season at Murray State. This year, he is back with Berry, but at a new school.

In Phoenix’s career at Benedict, he appeared in 28 games at QB, completing 63.5% of his passes (8.1 yards/attempt), with 32 touchdowns against 18 interceptions. He did not run a lot, though he did compile eight rushing TDs for the Tigers. Phoenix was voted second-team All-SIAC after both the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

Against Florida A&M on Saturday, he was 12 for 25 passing for 132 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice and had six other rushing attempts.

—

Chennis Berry was the SIAC coach of the year in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, the SIAC coach of the year was Gabe Giardina (then of Albany State), who was on the opposing sideline last week as Charleston Southern’s head coach.

—

The weather forecast for Saturday in Charleston: not great. Showers and thunderstorms are likely before, during, and after the game. The chance of precipitation is 60%.

I guess that is the tradeoff for the lack of furnace-like conditions for a noon kickoff. (The projected high on Saturday is only 79 degrees.)

—

Saturday’s game is being called a “whiteout”. Fans are encouraged to wear white apparel (presumably including rain ponchos). The team, however, will not wear white jerseys, because the visiting team has the right to nix that, and S.C. State elected to exercise its veto.

I would expect the The Citadel to wear its light blue jerseys, and for SCSU to showcase its white tops.

—

Per the game notes, there are apparently no changes to The Citadel’s depth chart from Game 1 to Game 2.

—

The home opener will double as Hall of Fame Weekend at The Citadel. The banquet is on Friday night, and the honorees are a particularly impressive group. I would anticipate a lot of people will be in town this weekend for the festivities, and that will include a larger-than-normal cohort of football alums.

It is also a big weekend for South Carolina State’s alumni chapter in Charleston, which has organized a tailgate on Saturday that will undoubtedly be humming with activity.

In other words, the scene should be a busy one. It should be fun (and wet). Get there early.

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The Citadel Football 2023: the coveted Silver Shako is on the line

Posted on October 12, 2023 by Sandlapper Spike

VMI at The Citadel, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, with kickoff at 1:00 pm ET on October 14, 2023.

The game will be televised via Nexstar and streamed on ESPN+. Pete Yanity will handle play-by-play, while Jared Singleton supplies the analysis.

According to the SoCon’s website:

Nexstar affiliates with the opportunity to air games are: ECBD (Charleston), WMYT (Charlotte), WWCW (Lynchburg/Roanoke) and WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville). Although not a Nexstar station, WMUB (Macon), Mercer University Broadcasting, will also air select contests.

As mentioned the last time The Citadel appeared on Nexstar, that doesn’t necessarily mean all of those stations will be televising Saturday’s matchup.

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).

Brian Giffin will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

—

Links of interest:

– SoCon weekly release

– VMI game notes

– The Citadel game notes

– Maurice Drayton’s Monday press conference

– Season statistics for The Citadel (six games)

– Box score for The Citadel-Furman

– No “moral victories” for the Bulldogs

– VMI head coach Danny Rocco chases a new prize: the Silver Shako

– Danny Rocco has been getting an education about VMI-The Citadel

– Box score for Davidson-VMI (a 12-7 victory for the Keydets)

– Box score for VMI-Bucknell (VMI lost, 21-13)

– Box score for VMI-North Carolina State (NCSU won, 45-7)

– Box score for Wofford-VMI (a 17-14 win for the Keydets)

– Box score for VMI-Mercer (VMI lost, 38-3)

– Season statistics for VMI (five games)

—

Roster review:

– Of the 110 players on The Citadel’s online roster, 58 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Florida (14 players), Georgia (11), North Carolina (11), Virginia (5), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), New York (2), Texas (2), and one each from Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

The Bulldogs have 9 redshirt freshmen and 31 “true” freshmen.

– VMI has 113 players on its online roster. Of those, 77 are from Virginia. Other states represented: North Carolina (6 players), Georgia (5), Tennessee (5), West Virginia (5), Pennsylvania (4), Maryland (2), South Carolina (2), and one each from Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York.

Defensive lineman Terrell Jackson is from Washington, DC.

– VMI lists eight players on its roster as seniors and 21 others as redshirt juniors. On the other side of the experience coin, 14 of the Keydets are redshirt freshmen and 45 are “true” freshmen.

– There are two Palmetto State products on the Keydets’ squad: placekicker Caden Beck, a redshirt sophomore from Greenville who went to Powdersville; and offensive lineman Jacob Ashley, a sophomore from Mt. Pleasant who attended Oceanside Collegiate.

There are no graduates of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School on VMI’s team. While it is early in his tenure, new head coach Danny Rocco undoubtedly already realizes the importance of recruiting those who have worn the famed maroon and orange, and will correct his roster deficiency as soon as possible.

There is certainly a contrast between VMI and Furman in terms of in-state recruiting. While the Paladins have only seven players from South Carolina, 69% of the Keydets hail from Virginia.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Charleston, per the National Weather Service, includes a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning and early afternoon. The projected high is 82°, with a low that night of 61°.

– As a weekly reminder, it is highly unlikely that a line for this game will be posted anywhere before Saturday morning.

– Massey Ratings: VMI is ranked 85th in FCS, unchanged from last week. The Citadel is 110th (up three places). Massey projects VMI to win the game by a predicted score of 21-20. The Citadel is given a 48% chance of winning.

— Meanwhile, SP+ ranks VMI 110th (123rd on offense, 67th on defense) and The Citadel 121st (125th on offense, 105th on D).

A selected list of SP+ FCS rankings entering Week 7:

  • South Dakota State (1st)
  • North Dakota State (2nd)
  • Montana State (3rd)
  • Austin Peay (14th) [SP+ really loves the schools in the UAC for some reason]
  • William and Mary (15th)
  • Furman (18th)
  • Jackson State (29th)
  • Chattanooga (31st)
  • Campbell (36th)
  • Eastern Kentucky (38th)
  • Mercer (41st)
  • Samford (48th)
  • Western Carolina (49th) [SP+ is still not a believer in the Catamounts, despite considerable evidence to the contrary]
  • Kennesaw State (58th)
  • Davidson (63rd)
  • South Carolina State (73rd) [quite a jump this week; not sure why]
  • East Tennessee State (89th)
  • Charleston Southern (90th)
  • Wofford (101st)
  • Bucknell (106th)
  • Morehead State (118th)
  • Presbyterian (128th and last) [in spite of two victories]

—

In other FCS ratings systems, The Citadel ranks 127th in the Congrove Computer Rankings (unchanged from last week), 126th in the Laz Index (up one spot), and 115th in the DCI (an increase of five places).

—

– Games involving SoCon teams this week [projected score per SP+ in brackets]:

  • Saturday at 1:00 pm ET: Furman at Samford [Furman 30.3, Samford 24.1]
  • Saturday at 1:00 pm ET: VMI at The Citadel [VMI 21.9, The Citadel 19.6]
  • Saturday at 3:30 pm ET: Wofford at East Tennessee State [ETSU 26.6, Wofford 20.4]
  • Saturday at 4:00 pm ET: Chattanooga at Mercer [UTC 25.7, Mercer 25.6]

Western Carolina is off this week.

– Among VMI’s notable alumni: civil rights activist (and Anglican martyr) Jonathan Daniels, rugby star Dan Lyle, and movie producer Frank McCarthy.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 3-10 for games played on October 14, and has lost the last 8 times it has played on that date. The Bulldogs are 2-3 at home, and 2-9 in league play (including a 22-11 loss to VMI in 1967, a contest played in Roanoke, Virginia).

The military college has not prevailed on the gridiron on October 14 since a 10-8 victory at William and Mary during the 1961 SoCon championship season.

The last home victory on that date came in 1950, when The Citadel defeated Davidson 19-12. The only other win on October 14 for the Bulldogs was a 34-7 triumph over Presbyterian in 1916 at Hampton Park.

—

Last season, VMI passed on 56.5% of its plays from scrimmage (these statistics, as usual, are adjusted to reflect sacks). Passing yardage accounted for 54.3% of VMI’s total yards.

Through five games this year, VMI is passing on only 46.6% of its plays from scrimmage, as under Danny Rocco the Keydets have moved to a more balanced offense. However, passing yardage still accounts for a majority of the squad’s total yardage (56.6%).

VMI had a yards per pass attempt rate of 5.07 yards in 2022. So far this season, that has increased to 5.26.

VMI is averaging 3.51 yards per rush, a slight increase from last year’s 3.46.

In all, VMI is averaging 4.33 yards per play this season, not far removed from last year’s 4.37. The Keydets have seen a dip in actually putting points on the board, though (just 10.4 per game this season, as opposed to last year’s 16.1 per contest).

Rocco on VMI’s offense:

We’re not dynamic enough to just line up and run base plays and literally just knock people off the ball and create space. So we’re doing some things here moving forward that create conflict — run-pass options, things like that…

…We lack the ability to sustain a ground game and control the ball. The last two weeks, we installed some personnel groupings with bigger bodies in the game. We don’t have a lot of tight ends in the program…So we inserted a couple of different packages with an extra offensive lineman.

—

Big play alert:

VMI’s media relations team considers a “big play” a gain of 25 yards or more, which is a reasonable definition. Last year, the Keydets’ offense had 22 such plays from scrimmage, averaging exactly 2 per game.

In its first five games this year, VMI has 10 big plays, so it is averaging…exactly 2 per game.

—

Defensively, the Keydets are allowing 5.60 yards per play so far in 2023, a bit of an improvement from last year (5.89). The real change for the better, and the one that matters most, is points allowed per game. VMI’s defense is giving up exactly 25 points per contest this season, down from last year’s 36.3 points allowed per game.

The Keydets have allowed the second-fewest yards per game among SoCon teams, including a league-leading mark in passing yards allowed per contest. That is skewed by some of the opposing offenses VMI has lined up against (having faced by far the fewest pass attempts in the conference).

The bottom line, though, is its defense has held up more often than not and as a result the Keydets have already doubled their win total from last season.

In its four contests against FCS competition, VMI’s D has only really struggled once, in its most recent game at Mercer. In that matchup, the Keydets allowed the Bears to rush for 308 yards on only 47 attempts. There is a decent chance that stopping the run was a point of emphasis for VMI’s coaches during its bye week.

—

It is worth noting that VMI blocked a field goal and a punt last season against The Citadel, returning the latter for a touchdown. Special teams will be a major focus this week for both teams.

—

This will be the 79th meeting between the two schools in football. The results of the last four years have been split, with The Citadel having won the last two.

In the previous 78 matchups, The Citadel holds a 44-32-2 edge, though the overall point totals are fairly close. The Bulldogs average 20.76 points per game in the series, while the Keydets average 17.86 points per contest.

The Citadel has a 26-11 advantage when the game has been played in Charleston. Results at other sites for the game break down like this:

  • Lexington: VMI has a 17-14-2 edge; The Citadel didn’t win in Lexington until 1961 (but what a victory that was!)
  • Norfolk: The Citadel has won 3 of 4 games
  • Charlotte: the two schools split a pair of meetings in 2002-2003, with the first of those very high on the list of the worst field and weather conditions for any football game I’ve ever attended
  • Roanoke: mentioned earlier in this preview; VMI won the only matchup played there in 1967
  • Lynchburg: the first contest in the series was held there in 1920, with VMI winning

—

VMI is reportedly bringing its band and a healthy number of freshmen to the game, which should add to the festivities. Hopefully the next time the Keydets are in town, in 2025, the East stands will be complete and its entire corps can make the trip down from Virginia.

Both teams really could use a victory on Saturday, particularly The Citadel. While playing in Charleston should help the Bulldogs, VMI has proven it knows how to win this season, and so in that respect the edge lies with the Keydets.

However, The Citadel showed improvement last week. The offense moved the ball at times, and the defense had its best tackling effort of the season. That progress wasn’t enough to win — the red zone proved to be troublesome for the Bulldogs’ offense, for one thing — but there were encouraging signs.

—

Regardless of the state of the two programs, this is always an intense game, as it should be. After all, the coveted Silver Shako, the greatest trophy in all of sports, is at stake.

It must remain in Charleston, where it belongs.

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

The Citadel Football 2023: the season moves into October

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at Furman, to be played at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina, with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on October 7, 2023.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Brock Bowling will handle play-by-play, while Cole Neely supplies the analysis. The sideline reporter is Anna Witte.

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).

Brian Giffin will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

—

Links of interest:

– SoCon weekly release

– Furman game notes

– The Citadel game notes

– Maurice Drayton’s Monday press conference

– Season statistics for The Citadel (five games)

– Box score for Western Carolina-The Citadel

– Furman Football Weekly with Clay Hendrix

– Furman builds program the “old-fashioned way”

– Box score for Tennessee Tech-Furman (Furman won, 45-10)

– Box score for Furman-South Carolina (Furman lost, 47-21)

– Box score for Furman-Kennesaw State (a road win for the Paladins, 31-28)

– Box score for Mercer-Furman (Furman won, 38-14)

– Season statistics for Furman (four games)

– The New York Knicks are practicing at McAlister Field House; Julius Randle can’t wait to eat at Halls Chophouse

– Speaking of hoops, The Citadel released its 2023-2024 schedule

—

Roster review:

– Of the 110 players on The Citadel’s online roster, 58 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Florida (14 players), Georgia (11), North Carolina (11), Virginia (5), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), New York (2), Texas (2), and one each from Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

– Furman has 129 players on its online roster. Of those, 29 are from Georgia. Other states represented: Tennessee (19 players), North Carolina (18), Florida (17), Virginia (10), Texas (9), South Carolina (7), Ohio (4), Alabama (3), California (2), Kentucky (2), and one each from Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

Offensive lineman Gerrik Vollmer is originally from Hamburg, Germany, where he played club football. He also played high school football in West Virginia and Connecticut before beginning his college career at Virginia (with a subsequent season at Old Dominion).

– The seven Palmetto State players on the Paladins’ squad attended six different high schools (one was home schooled). The six South Carolina high schools represented on Furman’s roster are Brookland-Cayce, Byrnes, Dutch Fork, Gaffney, St. Joseph’s, and Trinity Collegiate.

There has been occasional discussion in certain quarters about the makeup of Furman’s roster. I’m not going to get into that here, but it is striking to see an in-state school with more players on its squad from Texas than from South Carolina.

– Ten members of the Paladins’ roster originally began their respective college careers at other four-year institutions. Among those schools from which players have matriculated to Furman: Colorado State, East Tennessee State, James Madison, Lehigh, Michigan State, Northern Colorado, and Presbyterian.

Eight of those ten transfers are graduate students.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Greenville, per the National Weather Service, mostly sunny, with a projected high of 73°. The low temperature that evening is 46°.

– As I’ve mentioned in other posts, for this season FCS lines and odds posted prior to Saturday have been hard to come by.

– Massey Ratings: Furman is ranked 13th in FCS, a drop of one spot from last week (when the Paladins were idle). The Citadel is 113th (a 4-place decline).

Massey projects Furman to win the game by a predicted score of 41-10. The Citadel is given a 2% chance of winning.

—

Meanwhile, SP+ ranks Furman 11th (19th on offense, 21st on defense) and The Citadel 126th (127th on offense, 113th on D).

A selected list of SP+ FCS rankings entering Week 6 (I have to say there were some weird moves this week):

  • South Dakota State (1st)
  • Montana State (2nd)
  • North Dakota State (3rd) [lost in Fargo to South Dakota (on Homecoming!) but only dropped one spot]
  • William and Mary (8th)
  • Austin Peay (12th) [a 25-spot jump after beating Lindenwood (?!)]
  • Chattanooga (27th) [fell 11 spots after a win at Wofford]
  • Campbell (34th)
  • Jackson State (36th)
  • Eastern Kentucky (37th) [up 15 places after beating North Alabama]
  • Western Carolina (45th) [a four-spot decline despite a 35-point road victory]
  • Mercer (47th)
  • Samford (54th)
  • Kennesaw State (56th)
  • Davidson (64th)
  • East Tennessee State (79th)
  • Charleston Southern (85th)
  • South Carolina State (94th)
  • Wofford (98th)
  • Bucknell (109th)
  • VMI (112th) [fell 20 places after losing to Mercer, which seems harsh]
  • Morehead State (124th)
  • Presbyterian (127th)
  • Wagner (128th and last)

—

In other FCS ratings systems, The Citadel ranks 127th in the Congrove Computer Rankings (a drop of 5 spots), 127th in the Laz Index (a decline of 2 places), and 120th in the DCI (unchanged from last week).

—

– Games involving SoCon teams this week [projected score per SP+ in brackets]:

  • Saturday at 1:30 pm ET: Samford at Wofford [Samford 30.8, Wofford 19.0]
  • Saturday at 2:00 pm ET: The Citadel at Furman [Furman 45.7, The Citadel 3.4]
  • Saturday at 3:30 pm ET: Mercer at East Tennessee State [Mercer 32.4, ETSU 24.9]
  • Saturday at 6:00 pm ET: Western Carolina at Chattanooga [UTC 30.4, WCU 23.4]

VMI is off this week, the second consecutive week in which The Citadel’s next opponent has a bye before playing the Bulldogs.

– Among Furman’s notable alumni: Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, physicist Charles Townes, and journalist Eleanor Beardsley.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 9-6-1 for games played on October 7. The Bulldogs are 3-3-1 on the road on that date, and are 4-5 in league play.

Somewhat surprisingly, despite the fact that Furman and The Citadel have met 55 previous times in the month of October, Saturday will mark the first time the game has been played on October 7.

—

Maurice Drayton, when asked about putting more defensive pressure on the quarterback (specifically, blitzing):

Sometimes in football you have to pick your poison…if you look at what [defensive coordinator Raleigh] Jackson’s defenses have done in the past, he is a ‘pressure’ guy — but this is what we need to understand, too. Some of the things we are running into here in Year 1 — you ever heard of the saying “skill versus will”? Well, we have will, but we’re going to have to do things that our skill allows us to do.

…We’re determined to find a way to get after the quarterback…the bottom line is to get a ‘W’ in the win column, so we are looking at all angles of what we do, all the way down to the practice structure, to where we stand during timeouts, to how we [hydrate], to weight training, to our mess hall…we’re looking at the totality of everything to get this thing right. The only way that I know to keep working is to keep swinging that axe, and that tree is going to fall at some point. 

The latter part of that is more about the program in general, of course, but what Drayton is essentially saying is that The Citadel lacks the personnel to employ a more aggressive defense.

The result is a bend-but-don’t-break style of D, and I think most fans understand that concept. The problem is the Bulldogs haven’t really been able to produce a high rate of turnovers or at least hold opponents to field goal attempts when reaching the red zone.

Opposing quarterbacks have had plenty of time to find open receivers, no matter how good the coverage, which has resulted in The Citadel allowing a completion percentage of 76.3%, which is the worst in FCS. The Bulldogs are allowing 9.65 yards per attempt, which is 123rd nationally (out of 128 teams).

(Note: these numbers are per the NCAA’s statistical site. There is a very slight variance between that package and the stats profile found on The Citadel’s own site.)

That lack of pressure can be seen in the defense’s sack rate. The Citadel has registered three sacks through five games, for a sack rate of 124th in FCS (one sack per every 52 opposing pass attempts). The Bulldogs also do not fare well when considering sacks per TD pass allowed or sacks per passing yardage allowed (ranking 126th nationally in both of those categories).

While not directly related to QB pressure, the Bulldogs’ tackling woes have also been a major problem, as anyone who watched the game against WCU can attest. All too often, The Citadel had a defender in position to make a play — sometimes a consequential stop — but the ballcarrier escaped the would-be tackler and picked up significant yardage.

Curiously, the lack of pressure on opposing QBs might be a league-wide trend, because most of the other SoCon programs are not really putting up gaudy sack rates either. The exception is Chattanooga, which ranks in the top 20 in FCS in most of those categories.

For the record, Furman’s defense ranks 87th nationally in sacks per pass attempt, 97th in yardage allowed per sack, and 103rd in TDs allowed per sack. To be fair, the Paladins’ statistical issues on pass defense can be attributed in no small part to Spencer Rattler and South Carolina (463 yards and 5 TDs against one sack).

The other consideration is that Furman’s defense has nine takeaways in its first four games (including five interceptions), part of an overall turnover margin of +6 for the Paladins.

—

Last week, FBSchedules.com reported that a contract agreement between The Citadel and Clemson to play during the 2028 season had been completed.

That contract was signed on May 17 of this year and is the most recently finalized non-conference game contract involving The Citadel. Two weeks before, the school had agreed to a two-game series with North Dakota State for contests in 2025 and 2027, the first of which will take place in Charleston.

The Citadel will receive $500,000 for the game at Clemson and will be allotted 2,500 complimentary tickets, with most of those presumably to be sold by the military college. Cheerleaders, mascots, and the band receive free admission (although tickets for the band, if it makes an appearance, will count against the allotted ticket total).

I know some folks are interested in some of the ancillary details, so I’ll add that in terms of credentials, The Citadel will receive 60 team bench area passes, 16 all-access passes, 8 coaches’ booth passes, and 6 team/coach video passes.

As for the North Dakota State matchups, each school will be provided 200 complimentary tickets for their respective visits. There are no ticketing provisions for bands, cheerleaders, or mascots. Also, each school will pay the other $50,000 after hosting, which I thought was a bit odd.

North Dakota State also received permission for the game in Charleston to be broadcast to its home media market (ABC North Dakota). It would still be available for streaming on ESPN+.

For the Clemson game and for both NDSU contests, game officials will be assigned by the home team (or as stated in the Clemson contract, “the assigning agency of the host institution”).

There are two other provisions, one in each contract, that are worth noting.

– In the Clemson contract: “Moreover, if either party’s governing conference reduces the number of nonconference games or if due to conference realignment nonconference games are eliminated or reduced, then either party, upon written notice, may cancel the Game without penalty or the payment of liquidated damages.”

That clause was not in the 2017 game contract between the two schools that set up the 2020 and 2024 contests.

– In the NDSU contract: “This agreement may be voided by either party, without penalty or damages, if either is reclassified to a different NCAA membership division after the contract has been executed.”

—

I wrote about future non-conference schedules for the Bulldogs late last year. With the Clemson game and the two NDSU matchups now included as well, here is an updated list of such games for The Citadel:

2024: at Charleston Southern (8/31), South Carolina State (9/7), North Greenville (9/14), at Clemson (11/23)

2025: North Dakota State (8/30), at Mississippi (9/6), at Gardner-Webb (9/13)

2026: at Charlotte (9/5), Charleston Southern (9/19)

2027: at Navy (9/4), at North Dakota State (9/18)

2028: Gardner-Webb (9/2), at Clemson (9/16)

2029: at Army (10/6)

2033: at Army (11/19)

As a reminder, the 2024 and 2025 seasons are both years in which an FCS team can play 12 regular-season contests, so The Citadel could potentially play four non-conference games in those seasons. It will definitely do so in 2024, as the school has already finalized a full slate.

As for the 2025 season, a non-conference home game is still needed (unless The Citadel were to play seven road games that year, which would not be a good idea).

—

Speaking of non-conference schedules, Furman recently added some games. The Paladins currently have on tap for the future the following matchups:

2024: at Mississippi (8/31), Charleston Southern (9/7), Stetson (9/14), at William and Mary (9/21)

2025: Presbyterian (8/30), William and Mary (9/6), at North Carolina A&T (9/13), at Clemson (11/22)

2026: Tennessee (9/15), South Carolina State, at Richmond

2027: Richmond, at South Carolina State

The dates for Furman’s games against Richmond and SCSU have not yet been announced, to the best of my knowledge.

—

I would anticipate a good crowd will be on hand at Paladin Stadium this Saturday, what with an in-state matchup, and Furman having a good season thus far (and one that was expected). It is also Family Weekend, which is Furman’s version of Parents’ Weekend.

As I mentioned last week, and will continue to mention in other previews, the goal for The Citadel is improvement. I thought last week the Bulldogs did show some positive development, just not nearly enough to produce a win or even a particularly close game.

I do wonder what would have happened if not for the horrific officiating call that took away the Bulldogs’ kickoff return TD — momentum does matter — but the bottom line is that it would be incredibly myopic to ignore how the rest of the game went.

If the team continues to get better, and does so on both sides of the ball, then eventually that will lead to an opportunity to put a ‘W’ in the win column, as Maurice Drayton might say. In all honesty, that possibility is not likely this Saturday.

On the other hand, that’s why they play the games.

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The Citadel Football: Parents’ Weekend 2023

Posted on September 28, 2023 by Sandlapper Spike

Western Carolina at The Citadel, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on September 30, 2023.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Dave Weinstein will handle play-by-play, while Jason Kempf supplies the analysis. The sideline reporter is Taylor Wall.

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).

Brian Giffin will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

—

Before starting with the nuts and bolts of this preview, I need to briefly note the obvious, which is that the last couple of days have been very difficult ones for many people associated with The Citadel, and the football program in particular.

The sudden passing of Stanley Myers on Wednesday has cast a pall over this weekend’s events on campus. I have little to add to what has already been said, and will continue to be said, about Myers’ exemplary life. I’ll just include a few quotes about him here.

Deon Jackson:

[Stanley Myers] is everything you think about when you think about a Citadel graduate. He represents the best of all of us. We lost one of our great leaders.

Jack Douglas:

The best way I can define Stan is a quintessential Citadel man. He fought for our country, became one of the top defense lawyers in the country and a judge advocate general. He just ticked off accomplishment after accomplishment after accomplishment. And he exuded Citadel excellence.

Jason Barley:

It’s a sad day for Citadel football. QB1 was the best. He represented the best of what cadet student-athletes at The Citadel are all about. He was the epitome of a Citadel alum on and off the field and in life. Everyone looked up to Stanley.

Stanley Myers was 47 years old. Condolences to his family.

—

Links of interest:

– SoCon weekly release

– Western Carolina game notes and depth chart

– The Citadel game notes [when available]

– Maurice Drayton’s Monday press conference

– Season statistics for The Citadel (four games)

– Box score for The Citadel-South Carolina State

– Catamount Football Weekly with Kerwin Bell

– Box score for Western Carolina-Arkansas (WCU lost, 56-13)

– Box score for Samford-Western Carolina (the Catamounts won, 30-7)

– Box score for Western Carolina-Eastern Kentucky (a road win for WCU, 27-24)

– Box score for Charleston Southern-Western Carolina (WCU won, 77-21)

– Season statistics for Western Carolina (four games)

—

Roster review:

– Of the 110 players on The Citadel’s online roster, 58 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Florida (14 players), Georgia (11), North Carolina (11), Virginia (5), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), New York (2), Texas (2), and one each from Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

– Western Carolina has 123 players on its online roster. Of those, 44 are from North Carolina and 43 are from Florida. Other states represented: Georgia (13 players), South Carolina (13), Alabama (3), Tennessee (3), Texas (2), and one each from Nebraska and Virginia.

– WCU has 30 redshirt freshmen and 29 “true” freshmen. Of those two groups, 27 are from Florida, including 17 from the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area.

– There are 13 Palmetto State products on the Catamounts’ roster, representing 11 different South Carolina high schools: Lakewood (2 players), Northwestern (2 players), A.C. Flora, Byrnes, Clover, Fairfield Central, Fox Creek, Hartsville, Hillcrest, Seneca, and Thomas Heyward Academy.

As sharp-eyed readers will immediately notice, there are no graduates of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School on WCU’s squad. The failure to recruit any stalwarts of the famed maroon and orange is a sad blot on Kerwin Bell’s record. Ronnie Carr, who made history in Cullowhee, cannot be pleased.

– Seven of the Catamounts are junior college transfers, while 24 members of the roster originally began their respective college careers at other four-year institutions. Among those FBS schools from which players have matriculated to WCU: Akron, Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Florida, Toledo, UAB, and Virginia Tech.

According to Western Carolina’s game notes, 12 of those transfers are new to the program this season.

Redshirt junior defensive lineman C.J. Fann, Jr. started his intercollegiate career at Florida State before transferring to Akron. He is now in his first season at Western Carolina.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Charleston, per the National Weather Service, includes a 20% chance of showers after kickoff. The projected high is 81°, with a low that night of 65°.

– As I’ve previous mentioned, it is highly unlikely that a line for this game will be posted anywhere before Saturday morning.

– Massey Ratings: Western Carolina is ranked 26th in FCS, up one spot from last week. The Citadel is 109th (a 13-place drop).

Massey projects Western Carolina to win the game by a predicted score of 35-19. The Citadel is given a 17% chance of winning.

—

Meanwhile, SP+ ranks Western Carolina 41st (32nd on offense, 57th on defense) and The Citadel 119th (125th on offense, 88th on D).

A selected list of SP+ FCS rankings entering Week 5:

  • South Dakota State (1st)
  • North Dakota State (2nd)
  • Montana State (3rd)
  • William and Mary (6th)
  • Furman (8th)
  • Chattanooga (16th)
  • Jackson State (28th)
  • Campbell (33rd)
  • Austin Peay (37th)
  • Mercer (42nd)
  • Samford (46th)
  • Kennesaw State (51st)
  • Eastern Kentucky (52nd)
  • Davidson (53rd)
  • East Tennessee State (81st)
  • Wofford (87th)
  • VMI (92nd)
  • Charleston Southern (95th)
  • Bucknell (107th)
  • Morehead State (123rd)
  • Presbyterian (126th)
  • Drake (128th and last)

—

In other FCS ratings systems, The Citadel ranks 122nd in the Congrove Computer Rankings (a drop of 5 spots), 125th in the Laz Index (a decline of 4 places), and 120th in the DCI (down 9 spots).

—

– Games involving SoCon teams this week [projected score per SP+ in brackets]:

  • Saturday at 1:00 pm ET: East Tennessee State at Samford [Samford 35.0, ETSU 20.9]
  • Saturday at 2:00 pm ET: Western Carolina at The Citadel [WCU 36.1, The Citadel 14.4]
  • Saturday at 4:00 pm ET: VMI at Mercer [Mercer 31.7, VMI 12.6]
  • Saturday at 6:00 pm ET: Chattanooga at Wofford [UTC 34.2, Wofford 13.2]

Furman is off this week.

– Among Western Carolina’s notable alumni: actor Sean Bridgers, composer Sarah Hutchings, and former major league infielder Wayne Tolleson.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 6-6 for games played on September 30. The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home on that date, and 2-2 in league play.

—

Maurice Drayton, asked about how The Citadel can improve on third down:

You have to win first down. You have to win second down, so that your third downs are manageable…in order to stay on the field (after) third down, we have to win on first and second down.

I decided to take a quick statistical look at The Citadel’s results on both first down and third down this season.

On first down, the Bulldogs are averaging 4.74 yards per play. While an individual first-down gain of 4 or 5 yards is generally excellent, an average in that range is definitely not. For comparison, the 2016 team averaged 6.21 yards per play on first down.

The average would be considerably worse without the Bulldogs’ 75-yard touchdown pass against Campbell; without that, the mean would be 3.83 yards per play.

Now, that play does count — big plays are part of succeeding on first down, after all — but the bottom line is that far too often, the Bulldogs are not gaining enough yardage on first down to make eventual third down plays more manageable. In fact, exactly one-third of The Citadel’s first-down plays have resulted in a gain of less than two yards.

On third downs, the average distance the Bulldogs have needed to pick up a first down is 7.53 yards (the 2016 squad’s comparable number was 5.68, an enormous difference). For 31.9% of its third down plays this season, The Citadel has needed to gain at least 10 yards, which is obviously not conducive to sustaining long drives.

Perhaps even more frustrating is that the Bulldogs have not been adept at picking up first downs even in their limited short-yardage opportunities; on 3rd-and-1 and 3rd-and-2, The Citadel has only successfully converted on four of nine attempts.

—

Since 1953, The Citadel has a record of 37-32 on Parents’ Day. The college actually started hosting a celebration weekend for parents in 1934, but records are a bit scanty for the games played prior to 1953 (and they aren’t absolutely perfect post-1953, either).

One of my goals is to compile a complete record for Parents’ Day contests, much as I did for Homecoming games. I hope to do that sometime next year.

The Citadel is 3-0 when Western Carolina is the opponent on Parents’ Day.

Incidentally, the Catamounts have never been the visiting team on Homecoming at The Citadel, despite the two schools meeting on the gridiron 47 times. No other Bulldog opponent has played the military college as often without being a Homecoming guest at least once.

—

There is always hope for the Bulldogs, but this Saturday that commodity might not be as readily available. On the other hand, Western Carolina arrives in Charleston with a great deal of well-deserved confidence.

Its emphatic victory over Samford established WCU as a serious contender in the SoCon. Following that up with a solid road victory over Eastern Kentucky and last week’s demolition of Charleston Southern only enhanced the team’s overall profile, which is why the Catamounts are now ranked in both major FCS polls.

Starting quarterback Cole Gonzales was named the league’s offensive player of the week after throwing five touchdown passes against Charleston Southern. Nine different Catamounts scored touchdowns in that contest.

Also, I wouldn’t expect WCU to be looking past The Citadel, even with a high-stakes game at Chattanooga next week. Kerwin Bell will make sure of that.

During his coach’s show, the WCU boss expressed frustration over losing last year’s meeting between the two schools:

They ruined our Saturday, man, one of the worst games I’ve ever been in as a head coach, to see us get beat by them at home…

…We weren’t ready…we didn’t get them off the field…they had six plays that I remember that were 3rd and long, and that ain’t their cup of tea, we should have been off the field — they got all six. A lot of it was busted assignments, it’s not being well coached. That is our fault. That one still hurts me, probably of all the losses I’ve ever had as a head coach, because you shouldn’t lose to that.

The Citadel didn’t really convert six 3rd-and-long plays in that game, but what Bell is probably remembering is the first half, when the Bulldogs successfully converted third down plays of 7, 8, and 6 yards via the pass, and were 8 for 10 overall on 3rd down conversion attempts in the half (including a 32-yard TD toss to go up 24-0). For the game, The Citadel controlled the ball for 42 minutes and 49 seconds.

That type of statistical dominance for the Bulldogs is not likely this Saturday. Western Carolina is a better football team this season, and The Citadel is still finding its way on both sides of the ball.

The goal remains continued improvement. That will be the goal on every Saturday for the rest of this year. A victory would be a most welcome result of that improvement, no matter which Saturday.

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The Citadel plays a football game in Orangeburg for the first time since 1959

Posted on September 21, 2023 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at South Carolina State, to be played at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in Orangeburg, South Carolina, with kickoff at 6:00 pm ET on September 23, 2023.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Play-by-play will be handled by Tyler Cupp, while Demetrius Davis 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).

Brian Giffin will call the action alongside analyst Lee Glaze.

  • “Live Stats” for the game [link when available]

I usually don’t list the the opposing team’s radio personnel, but I’ll make an exception here, because the duo in the booth for SCSU are both institutions.

Play-by-play voice Ernest Robinson has been a continuous part of SCSU’s radio team since 1978. The host of ‘The Buddy Pough Show’ also was a presence on ESPN Radio Columbia for many years with the ‘Sports Hotline’ program.

Bill Hamilton is the radio analyst. He graduated from South Carolina State in 1973 and has been with the school ever since, including a four-decade run as the school’s SID. The press box at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium is named in his honor.

—

Links of interest:

– SoCon weekly release

– South Carolina State game notes [when available]

– The Citadel game notes

– Maurice Drayton’s Monday press conference

– The bonds between Buddy Pough and Maurice Drayton run deep

– Box score for The Citadel-Chattanooga

– Buddy Pough’s press conference [when available]

– MEAC video conference for its coaches, including Buddy Pough

– The Buddy Pough Show

– Box score for South Carolina State-Jackson State (SCSU lost 37-7 in a game played in Atlanta)

– Box score for South Carolina State-Charlotte (SCSU lost, 24-3)

– Box score for South Carolina State-Georgia Tech (SCSU lost, 48-13)

– Season statistics for South Carolina State (three games)

– Pough uses bye week to “refine playbook”

—

Roster review:

– Of the 110 players on The Citadel’s online roster as of September 14, 58 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Florida (14 players), Georgia (11), North Carolina (11), Virginia (5), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), New York (2), Texas (2), and one each from Maryland, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

– South Carolina State has 106 players on its online roster. Of those, 85 are from South Carolina. Other states represented: Florida (6 players), Georgia (6), North Carolina (5), and one each from Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania.

– Of the 85 (!) Palmetto State products on SCSU’s roster, two are graduates of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, perhaps fewer than would be expected. Of course, Buddy Pough himself played at O-W under the late Dick Sheridan, so he is well aware of the famed maroon and orange and its inherent greatness.

– Only seven of the Orangeburg Bulldogs are transfers from other post-secondary institutions. Three of them came from fellow FCS schools (Alcorn State, Bryant, and Delaware State); none are from P5/G5 universities.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Orangeburg, per the National Weather Service, includes a 20% chance of showers. The projected high is 81°, with a low that night of 60°.

That sounds rather nice to me.

– If I get a line on the game before noon on Saturday, I’ll post it here. Given how lines and odds have been posted for FCS schools this season, however, that is unlikely.

– Massey Ratings: South Carolina State is ranked 101st in FCS, unchanged from last week. The Citadel is 96th (a 2-place drop).

Massey projects South Carolina State to win the game by a predicted score of 24-21. The Citadel is given a 44% chance of winning.

—

Meanwhile, SP+ ranks South Carolina State 116th (105th on offense, 101st on defense) and The Citadel 123rd (124th on offense, 103rd on D).

A selected list of SP+ FCS rankings entering Week 4:

  • South Dakota State (1st)
  • North Dakota State (2nd)
  • Montana State (3rd)
  • William and Mary (7th)
  • Furman (18th)
  • Chattanooga (22nd)
  • Campbell (23rd)
  • Jackson State (29th)
  • Mercer (30th)
  • Austin Peay (33rd)
  • Samford (41st)
  • Kennesaw State (44th)
  • Western Carolina (48th)
  • Davidson (52nd)
  • Eastern Kentucky (53rd)
  • Charleston Southern (80th)
  • East Tennessee State (81st)
  • Wofford (92nd)
  • VMI (97th)
  • Bucknell (101st)
  • Morehead State (121st)
  • Presbyterian (126th)
  • Marist (128th and last)

—

In other FCS preseason polls/rankings, The Citadel ranks 117th in the Congrove Computer Rankings (a drop of 10 spots), 121st in the Laz Index (a decline of 23 places), and 111th in the DCI (down 11 spots).

—

– Games involving SoCon teams this week [projected score per SP+ in brackets]:

  • Saturday at 1:00 pm ET: Mercer at Furman [Furman 29.3, Mercer 22.0]
  • Saturday at 1:30 pm ET: Wofford at VMI [VMI 19.8, Wofford 18.9]
  • Saturday at 2:30 pm ET: Charleston Southern at Western Carolina [WCU 28.6, ChSo 15.9]
  • Saturday at 3:00 pm ET: Chattanooga at Samford [UTC 28.8, Samford 22.9]
  • Saturday at 6:00 pm ET: The Citadel at South Carolina State [SCSU 26.7, The Citadel 20.4]

East Tennessee State is off this week.

– Among South Carolina State’s notable alumni: songwriter/arranger/producer Horace Ott, longtime congressman Jim Clyburn, and biophysicist Kandice Tanner.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 3-7 for games played on September 23. The Bulldogs are 1-5 away from home.

—

The most notable game played by The Citadel on September 23 came in 1989. In the remnants of Hurricane Hugo, the Bulldogs defeated Navy in Annapolis, 14-10.

The following week, The Citadel played South Carolina State in a game that was subsequently dubbed the “Hurricane Bowl” or the “Hugo Bowl” (your choice). The contest was moved from Charleston to Columbia, and played at Williams-Brice Stadium.

I wrote about that matchup a few years ago, the first meeting on the gridiron between South Carolina State and The Citadel. Allow me to copy and paste this next section.

—

There would have been a certain kind of hype attached to the game, which explains why a reporter for The Nation was one of the 21,853 people in attendance. However, any sociopolitical context had already been effectively blown away by the winds that had done so much damage to the state the week before.

The Citadel had won its previous game at Navy, 14-10, but that victory had come at a cost. The starting quarterback for the Bulldogs, Brendon Potts, was lost for the season with a knee injury. His replacement was a redshirt freshman named Jack Douglas.

Douglas made his first career start for The Citadel against South Carolina State. He scored two touchdowns while passing for another (a 68-yard toss to Phillip Florence, one of two passes Douglas completed that afternoon).

Shannon Walker had a big game for the Bulldogs, returning a kickoff 64 yards to set up a field goal, and later intercepting a pass that, after a penalty, gave The Citadel possession at South Carolina State’s 6-yard line (Douglas scored his first TD two plays later).

Adrian Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter on a 26-yard run. The Citadel had trailed South Carolina State at halftime, but held the Orangeburg Bulldogs scoreless in the second half.

The military college won the game, 31-20, and finished with 260 rushing yards — 137 of which were credited to one Tom Frooman (on 15 carries). The native of Cincinnati rushed for 118 yards in the second half, with a key 41-yard run that came on the play immediately preceding Johnson’s TD.

Frooman added 64 yards on an 80-yard drive that cemented the victory (Douglas capping that possession with a 3-yard touchdown in the game’s final minute of play).

—

In a way, it is hard to believe that was 34 years ago. In another way, it isn’t hard to believe at all.

The Citadel and SC State have faced each other three more times since then, in consecutive years from 1999 through 2001. The Bulldogs from Charleston came out on top on all three occasions, though the 1999 contest could have gone either way, with The Citadel very fortunate to prevail.

Buddy Pough on this Saturday’s game:

“I hope (this game) could develop into some sort of rivalry,” Pough said. “There are all kinds of kinships and relationships with their coaching staff, and this always has a chance to be one of those special, friendly rivalries.”

Pough said there is a large contingent of Citadel supporters around the Orangeburg area, and he knows they will be cheering for their team Saturday.

“We have all kinds of Citadel folks in town that are calling me about parking spots and tailgating spots,” Pough joked. “We have some big supporters in this town, and I told them it was OK to come … but they were going to have to pay. Hopefully, while they’re here, they will leave a few bucks.”

I completely agree with the coach. These two schools should play each other in football more often. They don’t necessarily have to meet every season (scheduling issues for both would more than likely preclude that from happening anyway), but a semi-regular series seems like a natural.

I think it would be more than appropriate for a player at The Citadel to make the trip to Orangeburg at least once during his career, and vice versa, so perhaps two games every four years (home and home) would be good.

After all, regular trips to Orangeburg for a football game are actually an old tradition at The Citadel…

—

While this is the first time The Citadel has played South Carolina State in Orangeburg, the school has a long (albeit dormant) history of playing in The Garden City.

The Citadel has played 38 times in Orangeburg in its history. All of those games were played in conjunction with the Orangeburg County Fair, usually in late October or early November.

Most, if not all, of the games were attended by the corps of cadets, which as a group took the train to Orangeburg. That was back when there were railroad tracks on campus.

In 1916, The Citadel made its debut on the gridiron in Orangeburg by defeating Clemson, 3-0. The last game the Bulldogs played there (before this Saturday) was a 40-8 victory over Wofford in 1959.

From 1916 through 1959, The Citadel played in Orangeburg every season except for 1938 and 1939 (more on that later), the war years of 1943-45 (when the school did not field a team), and in 1953.

Many of those games were against South Carolina — 20 of them, in fact, with generally excellent attendance that occasionally exceeded 10,000 fans (a very good number before World War II). The Citadel also played at the county fair against Wofford (8 times), Clemson (5), Furman (3), and once each versus Presbyterian and Erskine.

While The Citadel opened its account in Orangeburg with a win over Clemson, and closed it with a victory over Wofford, most of the games at the fair didn’t end that way. The Citadel’s record in Orangeburg is 7-27-4.

Only one of those games against the Gamecocks resulted in a victory (1926, which along with 1916 is one of two years in which The Citadel defeated both South Carolina and Clemson during the season). There were two ties among those twenty matchups.

Then there was the 1937 game, in which the final score (21-6 in favor of the Gamecocks) was but a footnote.

South Carolina halfback Jack Lyons was returning a punt and in the open field when he “was tackled by a spectator who was watching the game from the sideline. It was a man dressed in a brown business suit. He slashed in on the ball carrier with a perfect tackle.”

The individual in question, William R. Milligan, became known as ‘The Man in the Brown Suit’, which might have been a play on an Agatha Christie novel of that title which had been published a few years earlier. (I’m just guessing on that; incidentally, it’s not a terrible book but not one of her best, either).

Anyway, his effort on behalf of the Bulldogs led to an on-field fracas featuring spectators from both sides (including the corps of cadets), the football players, and assorted other individuals that only ended when:

“the Bulldog and Gamecock bands began playing ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’

Everybody stopped fighting and stood at attention, with the uniformed cadets of The Citadel leading the way.

The band music returned peace to the stadium and the game resumed with the Bulldogs scoring a touchdown before it was over.”

While peace was eventually restored, it is possible that the folks in Orangeburg decided that the two teams could take a break from meeting at the county fair for a few years.

In 1938, South Carolina played Villanova in Orangeburg instead of The Citadel. In 1939, the Gamecocks again returned to the county fair, this time playing West Virginia.

The Citadel played Wofford in 1940 in Orangeburg. Then, in 1941, the Gamecocks and Bulldogs returned to face each other again at the fair.

Oh, I have to quote the coda to the story of the 1937 game, written a few years ago in The Times and Democrat:

William R. Milligan, “the man in brown,” was hauled away by the Orangeburg Police Department.

He stood around with local policemen and listened to the play-by-play account of the remainder of the game on Columbia’s WIS radio. At the end of the game, he was released to return to Charleston…

…In later years, during fair week, Milligan, a poultry enthusiast, would be a mainstay at the county fair’s poultry barn.

Eventually, South Carolina quit playing in Orangeburg. The Citadel continued to do so, however, against other competition, maintaining the tradition through most of the 1950s.

The exception was 1953, when instead of playing in Orangeburg, the Bulldogs traveled to Roanoke, Virginia, and played Virginia Tech at Victory Stadium (where the Hokies used to play two or three games every season).

That year, the good citizens in Orangeburg settled for a matchup between Newberry and Guilford (though South Carolina and The Citadel’s freshman teams played a game there as well that weekend).

The Citadel’s final game at the Orangeburg County Fair came in 1959 and featured some hard feelings.

The contest drew 8,000 spectators, not a bad turnout, but perhaps not enough for The Citadel to continue to play games in Orangeburg. The Bulldogs won easily, breaking a Wofford winning streak in the series of four games.

Wofford and The Citadel would not meet again until 1967, in part because of a post-game disagreement between the two coaches, Eddie Teague of The Citadel and Wofford’s Conley Snidow. The Terriers’ boss accused Teague of running up the score, a charge heatedly denied by the Bulldogs’ coach.

Snidow complained about a late touchdown scored by The Citadel (though the TD came after Wofford had fumbled the ball away on its own five-yard-line), and he also belittled the Bulldogs’ victory, saying it came against one of his lesser squads.

There might have been some previous bad blood between the two men, as The Citadel had already announced it was suspending the series. My general impression is that Teague, who by this time was piloting a very good team which he had patiently developed over several years, had much better things to do than worry about whatever Wofford’s coach was whining about at any given moment.

The Citadel would only play Wofford once between 1959 and 1975.

College football at the Orangeburg County Fair wasn’t quite done once The Citadel left the scene; Wofford and Newberry played each other there in 1960 and 1961. After that, though, the gridiron action was limited to high school teams.

—

For anyone interested, I’ve compiled The Citadel’s games at the Orangeburg County Fair into a spreadsheet that can be accessed here: Link

The media guide doesn’t always list the games as having been played in Orangeburg (the matchup versus Erskine, for example). I’ve confirmed all the county fair contests via newspaper reports.

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I’ll be in Orangeburg on Saturday. It might be a little late in the day to also make a trip to get some quality BBQ (and hash!), but we’ll see. That’s why coolers were invented.

I am hopeful for a competitive contest. I suspect both fan bases feel that way, actually.

Nothing further to add. Let’s play some football.

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