2021 Spring Football, Game 1: The Citadel vs. Mercer

Posted on February 25, 2021 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at Mercer, to be played to be played at Five Star Stadium in Macon, Georgia, with kickoff at 3:30 pm ET on February 27, 2021. 

The game will be televised by Nexstar Broadcasting and streamed on ESPN+. David Jackson will handle play-by-play, while Jay Sonnhalter supplies the analysis. Kristin Banks will be the sideline reporter.

The contest can be heard on radio via The Citadel Sports Network. WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, will be the flagship station. 

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

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Nexstar affiliates:

  • WMYT (Charlotte)
  • WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville)
  • WMUB (Macon)
  • WWCW (Lynchburg/Roanoke)
  • WCBD-d2 (Charleston)

Note: I am tentatively including WCBD as one of the affiliates for the contest, even though it is not part of the affiliate list provided by the SoCon’s weekly release. The station itself issued a release indicating that the game would be aired on one of its digital subchannels (2.2). However, the game is currently not on WCBD’s programming schedule.

If I receive final confirmation one way or the other, I’ll adjust this section accordingly.

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Links of interest:

– Enthusiasm is up for spring football at The Citadel

– Jaylan Adams is the Bulldogs’ new starting quarterback

– Mercer prepares for home opener

– Game notes from The Citadel and Mercer

– SoCon weekly release

– Preview on The Citadel’s website

– Preview on Mercer’s website

– The Citadel’s home attendance policies for spring football

– The Citadel releases its fall 2021 schedule

– Willie Eubanks III is the preseason SoCon Defensive Player of the Year

– Raleigh Webb is back for another season

– “Live Stats” online platform

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Spring football fever…catch it!

If you haven’t quite got the fever yet, though, I can’t say that I blame you.

To be honest, I’m not overly excited about this bizarre FCS gridiron campaign. There are several reasons for my hesitancy.

The first and biggest reason is simply that we are still battling a pandemic. I won’t say that we’re in the middle of the pandemic; I would like to think we’ve passed the midway point and that there is light at the end of the tunnel. However, this has been a marathon and not a sprint, and the race won’t be over until long after the spring football season has concluded.

I don’t think the current situation is all that dissimilar from where we were last August, when it was decided to cancel the 2020 FCS season (with a few out-of-conference games as exceptions). It is okay to play now, but it wasn’t then? Perhaps so, but the practical difference is marginal.

I also have concerns about the players’ welfare on a variety of fronts, including the fact that some of them might play 20 games (or more) this calendar year. The 2021 fall season is going to be significantly impacted by the 2021 spring campaign, when it really didn’t have to be.

There is also a question about logistics for the schools, especially at the FCS level, where staffing is not voluminous even during the best of times. Resource allocation could be problematic.

Having said all of that, I’m still along for the ride. I have a great deal of respect for the players and coaches who are committed to this spring season, who want to play and coach, and who are representing their respective schools to the best of their abilities.

If they are going to give it their best shot, then the least I can do as a fan is support them. That seems like the right thing to do.

Please understand, though, if from time to time I seem a bit skeptical of the proceedings.

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Speaking of skepticism, that was the reaction of more than a few people (including me) when the SoCon released its spring football schedule. Naturally, this being the SoCon, the league actually had to release the schedule twice.

First, the league hastily decided The Citadel should forfeit a contest for daring to play four games in the fall. That ruling ignored historical precedent and was destined to boomerang against the conference in multiple ways if it had actually been implemented. Only eight days after the league’s decision, however, the military college was granted a waiver by the NCAA, and the initial SoCon slate was quickly adjusted.

It just wasn’t adjusted enough.

All nine league schools will play eight times, a true round-robin. Oh, and each team has only one bye week, so the entire conference schedule has to be completed in nine weeks. Seriously. Did anyone in the league office watch the fall season at all?

The season had not even begun before problems began to surface, with Chattanooga postponing (canceling?) its opener against VMI because of COVID issues. The Mocs are hoping to complete enough practices to be ready for their game versus Wofford this Saturday; Chattanooga’s first practice of the spring came on February 6.

Several other FCS conferences are playing four- and six-game league schedules, which is a far better idea than trying to cram eight games into nine weeks.

Here is what I would have suggested. I am not saying it is perfect (far from it), but this would have been, in my opinion, a more realistic scheduling plan:

Each team would have played four games, spread out over seven weeks, with the eighth week reserved for a league title game and the ninth week as backup in case it was needed; if not, the conference champion would have two weeks to prepare for the FCS playoffs.

There would be two divisions.

  • Pete Long Division — The Citadel, Furman, Wofford, Western Carolina, VMI
  • Tom Frooman Division — Samford, Mercer, Chattanooga, ETSU

In the Long Division, the arithmetic would be easy. There would be a simple round-robin between the five teams.

In the Frooman Division, each team would play a round-robin (three games each), then a fourth contest would be a second “rivalry” matchup. For example, Chattanooga would play Mercer, Samford, and two games against ETSU. Mercer would play Chattanooga, ETSU, and two games versus Samford.

That way, every team would play four games. The division winners would meet in the league title game (I’ll let you, the reader, decide what tiebreakers would be used if necessary); the conference title game winner would get the SoCon auto-bid and an all-but-guaranteed matchup against a Big South team.

Teams that didn’t win a division could play a fifth game if they wanted, or even a sixth, matching up with other squads in those eighth and ninth weeks.

Again, I’m not saying this setup is ideal. It isn’t. I just think it makes more sense than what the league is trying to do.

Now, the SoCon might get away with it (and I certainly hope it does), but the odds are not exactly in the conference’s favor. Anyone who believes otherwise just needs to take a gander at how the league’s hoops schedule is faring right now.

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I posted links to game notes for The Citadel and Mercer above, along with the SoCon’s weekly release. For anyone interested, here are links to this week’s game notes for the other league schools (except for ETSU’s, as the Bucs are off this Saturday):

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One thing someone reading the game notes will notice is that the records from the fall officially carry over to the spring. Therefore, The Citadel and Mercer technically both enter Saturday’s action with 0-4 records; so does Western Carolina. Chattanooga is 0-1 after playing one fall contest.

However, I’m not listing the games that way. The title of this post references Game 1 of the 2021 spring season for the Bulldogs. That is because I do not consider the contests from fall 2020 to be connected to spring 2021 action any more than the 2018 and 2019 seasons are connected to each other. The notion that spring 2021 is a continuation of fall 2020 is specious at best.

There have been personnel changes since the fall season for all teams (including The Citadel and Mercer). There are players who opted out in the fall but are playing this spring; there are players who participated in the fall but are taking a break for the spring. There have been mid-season transfers in and out of programs.

The fall included only non-conference games (even when teams from the same league were playing each other); the spring will mostly feature conference matchups. The fall scheduling was decidedly haphazard, while the spring schedules weren’t formulated until most of the autumn contests had already been played. (Heck, the Patriot League did not release its spring slate until February 5.)

Despite all of that, the FCS playoff selection committee will allegedly consider fall games (and results) when making at-large selections for the FCS playoffs in April. This strikes me as ludicrous. Then again, we’re talking about the perpetually flawed FCS playoffs, so perhaps it is not too surprising.

It doesn’t really matter. I suspect the only team potentially affected would be Jacksonville State, which defeated an FBS team (FIU) in the fall, and which also picked up wins over North Alabama and Mercer. If the Gamecocks don’t win the OVC but otherwise have a solid spring campaign, they would presumably have a strong case for an at-large bid.

Chattanooga would have also had an argument, if it had not lost its lone fall contest, a 13-10 setback at Western Kentucky in which officiating ineptitude cost the Mocs a game-winning kickoff return TD. Ultimately, I think the league title is probably the only avenue for a SoCon team to make the FCS playoffs this spring.

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This is normally the point where I start posting charts of statistics for the Bulldogs’ opponent from the previous year, listing several key players on its two-deep, etc. For this particular season, however, I believe doing so would be a largely pointless exercise.

I could tell you that in 2019, Mercer had the 7th-worst turnover margin in FCS (throwing 17 interceptions didn’t help), or that the Bears were the 8th-worst team in the subdivision in defensive third down conversion percentage, or that Mercer was in the bottom 10 of average time of possession.

I could tell you all that and more, but none of it is exceptionally relevant, partly because 2019 might as well have been a century ago as far as college football is concerned, but mostly because Mercer has a new head coach.

His name is Drew Cronic. Mercer hired him after a five-year stretch in which he spent two years as the head coach at Reinhardt (combined record: 22-3), one year as Furman’s offensive coordinator (the Paladins made the FCS playoffs that season), and two years running the show at Lenoir-Rhyne (combined record: 25-3).

Cronic had also spent nine years earlier in his career at Furman as a position coach and recruiting coordinator.

That kind of résumé will get a lot of people’s attention — and it isn’t like schools haven’t had success with former Lenoir-Rhyne head coaches before. The folks at MU decided to move on from Bobby Lamb (speaking of former Furman coaches), and brought in Cronic.

On offense, Cronic employs a variation of the Wing-T. I say “a variation” because it is clearly a different animal from the Wing-T that your standard high school has used on offense for the last few decades. I think Tubby Raymond would have been impressed, though.

Cronic’s assistant coaches include a couple of names familiar to fans of the Bulldogs. Bob Bodine is the co-offensive coordinator for the Bears; he is a former OC at The Citadel (2010-2013).

Mercer’s defensive coordinator is Joel Taylor, who spent five years at the military college before joining Cronic at Lenoir-Rhyne. Taylor will run a 4-2-5 defense, one that includes a “Bandit” position.

Incidentally, the Bears’ offensive depth chart includes spots for five linemen, a quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, running back, and two “Jokers”.

Given that the Mercer two-deep has both Jokers and Bandits, I thought there was a chance for a cheesy pop culture reference, so I spent several minutes trying to shoehorn a Steve Miller song lyric into this space, and then tried out several jokes based on one of the Batman movies. None of the asides were remotely worthy of even this little blog, so I deleted all of them.

You’re welcome.

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Mercer played three fall contests in 2020, Cronic’s first games in charge of the program.

October 10: On a rainy day at Jacksonville State, the Bears lost 34-28 despite an ideal start, as Deondre Johnson returned the game’s opening kickoff 100 yards for a TD. (He will be playing for MU this Saturday, both as a kick returner and at the “Joker” position.) The Gamecocks scored 24 points in the second quarter to take a 27-14 lead into the break, but Mercer was down just 6 late in the fourth quarter and in JSU territory when a Bears fumble was returned 64 yards for a touchdown.

October 17: MU traveled to West Point to face Army. On the game’s opening possession, the Bears put together a 15-play, 56-yard drive that resulted in a field goal. After that, though, the home team dominated, as the Black Knights won 49-3. Not counting a one-play drive at the end of the first half, Army had nine possessions and scored touchdowns on seven of them.

October 31: Mercer hosted Abilene Christian and led 17-10 in the fourth quarter before the Wildcats tied the game. ACU then kicked a field goal on the last play of the contest to win, 20-17. Bears safety Lance Wise (who remains on the roster this spring) had 20 tackles. Mercer QB Harrison Frost was 11 for 15 passing for 126 yards and a TD (Frost was the Bears’ backup quarterback last week).

Mercer lost two fumbles against Abilene Christian, which for the Bears was part of an unfortunate trend. In its three fall games, MU fumbled nine times, losing four of them. Mercer also threw four interceptions in those three contests.

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Against Wofford in the Bears’ spring opener, there were no interceptions — but MU fumbled three times and lost all of them.

Mercer’s offense scored 14 points against the Terriers on 11 drives. MU went 3-and-out five times.

The Bears averaged 5.2 yards per rush and 3.8 yards per pass attempt (all of these statistics are sack-adjusted). All but one of Mercer’s 25 passes were thrown by freshman Carter Peevy, who completed 11 of 24 attempts for 131 yards; the Bears’ leading receiver (four receptions) was another freshman, Ethan Dirrim.

MU rushed the football on 58.8% of its offensive plays versus Wofford. My general impression is that Mercer would prefer running the football more often than that; in its matchup with Abilene Christian, for example, the Bears rushed on 74.6% of their plays.

Defensively, Mercer gave up 31 points on 10 drives (not counting one-play end-of-half possessions). The Bears forced three Wofford 3-and-outs. The leading tackler for Mercer was linebacker Alvin Ward Jr., a graduate transfer from Georgia Southern.

MU’s defense allowed 9.1 yards per pass attempt against the Terriers, clearly not something the Bears want to see repeated. Four of Wofford’s 12 completions (in 19 attempts) went for 18 yards or longer.

Wofford averaged 4.8 yards per rush against Mercer. Eight of the Terriers’ 42 runs went for 10 yards or more (with a long of 21).

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Quick statistical notes on The Citadel’s offense from 2019 (conference games only, and sack-adjusted):

  • The Citadel rushed on 79.6% of its plays from scrimmage in 2019. As a comparison, the Bulldogs ran the ball 83.7% of the time in 2018, after rushing 77.9% of the time in 2017 and on 85.6% of all offensive plays in 2016.
  • The Bulldogs averaged 74.3 plays from scrimmage per game in 2019. In 2018 that number was 69.0 per contest; in 2017, it was 70.1; and in 2016, 72.1.
  • The Citadel averaged 5.39 yards per play in 2019. In 2018, the Bulldogs averaged 5.36 yards per play; in 2017, that number was 5.38 yards per play; and in 2016, the squad averaged 5.58 yards per play.
  • The average yards per pass attempt in 2019 was 7.7, in line with the numbers from 2018 (7.8), 2017 (7.0), and 2016 (7.4).
  • The Citadel averaged 4.80 yards per rush, which is the lowest figure for the Bulldogs in this category since I began regularly tracking these statistics in 2013.

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Quick statistical notes on The Citadel’s defense from 2019 (conference games only, and sack-adjusted):

  • The Bulldogs’ defense faced a rushing play 52.8% of the time in 2019. During the 2018 campaign, opponents rushed on 43.5% of their plays from scrimmage. In 2017, that number was 54.7%.
  • The Citadel’s opponents averaged 63.0 plays from scrimmage in 2019. That compares to 62.3 plays per game in 2018; 58.8 plays/game in 2017; and 57.6 plays per contest in 2016.
  • In 2019, the Bulldogs’ defense allowed 5.69 yards per play. During the 2018 season, it allowed 6.18 yards per play; in 2017, 5.69 yards/play; and in 2016, 4.94 yards per play.
  • Opponents averaged 4.91 yards per rush. In 2018, that number was 5.69; it was 4.87 in 2017 and 4.61 back in 2016.
  • The Citadel’s D allowed 6.6 yards per pass attempt, with the figures from past years looking like this: 6.5 in 2018; 7.5 in 2017; and 5.3 in 2016.

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The Citadel’s listed depth chart for the game against Mercer, by class:

  • Freshmen: 9
  • Redshirt freshmen: 8
  • Sophomores: 2
  • Redshirt sophomores: 12
  • Juniors: 11
  • Redshirt juniors: 5
  • Seniors: 2
  • Redshirt seniors: 0
  • Graduate students: 2

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Mercer’s listed depth chart for the game versus The Citadel, by class:

  • Freshmen: 10
  • Redshirt Freshmen: 7
  • Sophomores: 8
  • Redshirt sophomores: 5
  • Juniors: 4
  • Redshirt juniors: 7
  • Seniors: 0
  • Redshirt seniors: 2
  • Graduate students: 3

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Career points scored by Bulldogs listed on the updated spring roster:

McCarthy is on the baseball team and is not expected to compete on the gridiron this spring.

No current Bulldog has scored a defensive touchdown. The only one to have tallied a special teams TD is Webb, on a 77-yard kickoff return against Charleston Southern in 2018.

Trivia time: The Citadel has yet to score a defensive two-point conversion since the rule was implemented at the college level in 1988.

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Odds and ends:

From The Citadel’s game notes comes this interesting tidbit:

Defensive back Javonte Middleton will become the first Bulldog to wear #0 this spring. The number was introduced in the fall by the NCAA and will be worn by the Military Captain each year for the Bulldogs.

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Macon, per the National Weather Service: partly sunny with a 20% chance of rain, and a high of 72°. As the week has progressed, the projected high temperature has continued to rise.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, The Citadel (as of February 24) is a 6-point favorite at Mercer. The over/under is 51½.

– Other SoCon lines this week (as of February 24): Wofford is a 2½-point favorite at Chattanooga (over/under of 46); Samford is a 15½-point favorite over Western Carolina (over/under of 58½); and Furman is a 24½-point favorite at VMI (over/under of 62½).

A few more games of note in FCS: James Madison is a 35½-point favorite over Robert Morris; South Dakota State is a 7½-point favorite at North Dakota; Elon is a 17½-point favorite at Gardner-Webb; Howard is a 3½-point favorite at Delaware State; McNeese State is an 11-point favorite over Incarnate Word; and Jackson State is a 10½-point favorite over Mississippi Valley State.

– Mercer’s notable alumni include TV personality Nancy Grace, missionary/spy John Birch, and music promoter Phil Walden.

– The Citadel is 11-5-1 against Mercer in the all-time series.

– Mercer’s roster includes 64 players from Georgia. Other states represented: Florida (8), North Carolina (7), Tennessee (3), South Carolina (2), and one each from Alabama, California, Hawai’i, Ohio, and Texas.

There are two Palmetto State products on MU’s squad. Offensive lineman Ni Mansell is a freshman from Anderson who played at Westside High School; he is on the two-deep as the backup right guard.

Of course, The Citadel is more than familiar with linebacker Jordan Williams, a graduate transfer from none other than the military college itself. Williams (listed as a ‘KAT’ on Mercer’s depth chart) went to Spring Valley High School in Columbia.

Alas, no Bear can claim to be an alumnus of South Carolina’s most celebrated institution for gridiron greatness, Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. For long-term success in Macon, the new coaching staff must successfully recruit at least a few of those remarkable individuals who wear the famed maroon and orange. Otherwise, Mercer’s program will remain lost in the desert, forever unquenched.

– There are ten players on Mercer’s roster who have transferred into the program from four-year colleges since Drew Cronic became the head coach. Those schools include The Citadel (as mentioned above), along with Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Southern, Lenoir-Rhyne, Liberty, Navy, Virginia Tech, and Wofford. Four of those players (right guard John Harris, tight end Drake Starks, wide receiver Ty James, and running back Nakendrick Clark) are projected as starters on offense, as is right tackle Santo DeFranco, a junior college transfer from Hartnell College in California.

Clark and Starks are two of the three Bears who joined the program at the semester break.

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s game notes) is as follows: South Carolina (48 players), Georgia (15), Florida (9), North Carolina (7), Texas (3), Pennsylvania (2), Virginia (2), and one each from Alabama, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

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

– The Citadel’s football team has an all-time record of 0-0 for games played on February 27. That is tied for the fewest wins, and fewest losses, for any date in program history.

– This week during the 1990 baseball season at The Citadel:

The Bulldogs entered the week 2-1, having beaten North Carolina State 12-1 in their most recent matchup. On February 21, The Citadel defeated Augusta College 9-4, the first collegiate victory for starting pitcher Steve Basch, a freshman from Lansing, Michigan.

The Citadel then won three straight games against Davidson. A doubleheader sweep was highlighted by Jason Rychlick’s game-winning two-run single in the nightcap. In the final game of the series, the Cadets whipped the Wildcats 15-4, with Anthony Jenkins, Billy Baker, and Dan McDonnell all homering. McDonnell’s round-tripper would prove to be the only one he would hit all season.

Chal Port’s Bulldogs completed a perfect week on the diamond with two triumphs over Gannon. In the first matchup, Chris Coker’s four RBI highlighted a 12-hit attack in a 9-2 victory. The second game was a 10-6 win; Brad Stowell pitched six solid innings to garner the decision. Six different players had multiple-hit games in the contest, which (we must report, to be fair) also featured a triple play turned by the Golden Knights.

The Citadel was 6-0 during the week ending February 27, with a winning streak of seven games. The overall record stood at 8-1.

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I don’t really know what to expect on Saturday. The Citadel will have a new starting quarterback and a lot of younger players sprinkled throughout the two-deep (particularly at A-Back and in the defensive line rotation). It goes without saying that the performance of Jaylan Adams at QB will be a major key.

Mercer will have the advantage of having played one game, which in this unicorn of a season could be a big deal, although I’m not entirely sure it is. I’m not entirely sure about anything when it comes to spring football.

The games between the two programs since Mercer joined the SoCon have always been close. The largest margin of victory in the series during that timeframe is 11 points, which came in the last meeting — The Citadel’s 35-24 win in 2019.

I won’t be in Macon, but I’ll be watching on ESPN+ while simultaneously listening to the radio call. The “live stats” online platform will be at the ready.

I would say it is that time of year, except it really isn’t — and yet, here we are anyway. What a world.

Go Dogs!

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2019 Football, Game 7: The Citadel vs. Western Carolina

Posted on October 9, 2019 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel vs. Western Carolina, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium, with kickoff at 2:00 pm ET on October 12, 2019.

The game will be streamed on ESPN3. Kevin Fitzgerald will handle play-by-play, while former Bulldogs quarterback Dominique Allen supplies the analysis. Emily Crevani is the sideline reporter. 

It is also part of this week’s “ESPN College Extra” package, available on some cable/satellite systems. On DirecTV, the game will be broadcast on Channel 792.

The contest can be heard on radio via the various affiliates of The Citadel Sports Network. WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, will be the flagship station. 

Luke Mauro (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) calls the action alongside analyst Ted Byrne.

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The Citadel Sports Network — 2019 radio affiliates

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

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Links of interest:

– Preview from The Post and Courier

– “Jeff’s Take” from The Post and Courier

– Game notes from The Citadel and Western Carolina

– SoCon weekly release

– “Gameday Central” on The Citadel’s website

– Game preview on Western Carolina’s website

– Brent Thompson’s weekly radio show (10/9)

– Brent Thompson’s weekly press conference (10/7)

– The Dogs:  Episode 7

– Noah Dawkins signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

– The story behind the memorial

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Brief thoughts on the game against VMI…

The Bulldogs’ performance was dispiriting; there was very little that was positive about it, result aside. The fact that it happened in front of one of the larger crowds in recent years to see a game at Johnson Hagood Stadium just seemed to make it worse.

The early TD drive may have been fool’s gold, because it suggested that The Citadel could successfully move the ball by throwing it on a regular basis. That proved not to be the case.

The offense completely got away from what it does well, and what it has to do. The Citadel is not going to beat anyone, including VMI, if it does not control the ball, loses the turnover battle, and has more pass plays than rushes (if you take sacks into account).

The defense wasn’t much better. VMI averaged six yards per play, and did not commit a turnover. Reece Udinski completed 71.4% of his passes.

Incidentally, I don’t really want to hear about how tall the Keydets’ receivers are, either. Short or tall, they were open more often than not (that was especially true on VMI’s final pass play).

It was all very frustrating.

Maybe some of the Bulldogs did not understand the nature of the rivalry between the two military colleges. However, I’m going to guess that over the next twelve months, they are going to find out just how important it really is.

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Okay, let’s talk about this Saturday’s game. The opponent is Western Carolina. The Catamounts are currently 1-4, 0-2 in the SoCon.

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Key statistics for Western Carolina (through five games):

WCU Opponents
Points per game 20.8 38.2
Yards per rush (sacks taken out) 5.18 6.12
Rush attempts (sacks taken out) 194 210
Comp-Att-Int 95-147-4 (64.6%)
62-115-3 (53.9%)
Average per catch 8.8 14.5
Yards per pass attempt (sacks included) 4.66 6.95
Total plays 355 333
Yards per play 4.94 6.43
Fumbles-Lost 6-3 1-1
Penalties-yards 35-259 25-226
Penalty yards per game 51.8 45.2
Punts-yards 32-1260 22-916
Net punting average 33.0 37.5
Time of possession/game 31:24 28:36
Offensive plays per second 26.54 sec 25.77 sec
3rd down conversions 32/82 (39.0%) 25/62 (40.3%)
4th down conversions 7/11 (63.6%) 4/8 (50.0%)
Sacks by-yards 8-44 14-85
Red Zone scoring (13-17) 76.5% (18-19) 94.7%
Red Zone TD rate (11-17) 64.7% (13-19) 68.4%
Turnover margin -3 +3

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WCU’s game results:

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– The season didn’t start off well for Western Carolina. Mercer ran the opening kickoff back to the WCU 18-yard line and scored three plays later. After a three-and-out by the Catamounts, the Bears returned the ensuing punt back 38 yards and Mercer scored on the next play.

Mercer led that game 42-14 at halftime.

– Against North Carolina State, the Catamounts only managed 106 yards of total offense (including just one yard in the second half). Four WCU players, including star quarterback Tyrie Adams, were suspended for the contest and didn’t play.

– Adams didn’t see the field against North Greenville, either, and Western Carolina was fortunate to escape with a victory. The Crusaders were only 3 for 17 passing, but one of those three completions was a 72-yard TD that gave NGU the lead late in the third quarter. WCU scored the game-winning touchdown with 5:04 to play.

That broke a 10-game losing streak which dated back to last season. Western Carolina is currently on a nine-game losing skid in SoCon play.

– The Catamounts trailed Chattanooga 7-6 after the first quarter of that matchup. At halftime, the score was 37-21 Mocs. The first half featured scoring plays of 28, 24, 69, 73, and 36 yards — four of those by Chattanooga.

Then WCU rallied to get within 44-36 after three quarters, but UTC scored 16 points in the final period.

– Gardner-Webb converted a 33-yard field goal on the game’s final play to beat Western Carolina. G-W actually committed one more turnover than WCU, but the Runnin’ Bulldogs outgained the Catamounts en route to the upset victory.

The one thing you can say for Western Carolina is that it has some very loyal supporters. In three home games, the Catamounts are averaging 9,874 fans. There were 11,865 spectators in attendance for the game against Gardner-Webb.

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Team rankings comparison in select statistical categories:

– Time of possession: The Citadel remains first in FCS (36:54 per game). Western Carolina is 29th nationally.

– Turnover margin: The Bulldogs are tied for 88th, while the Catamounts are tied for 91st. Both are at -3 for the season, but Western Carolina has played one fewer game.

– Offensive 3rd down conversion rate: The Citadel is 32nd (at 42.3%), while WCU is 60th (39.0%).

– Defensive 3rd down conversion rate: Western Carolina is 72nd; The Citadel is 76th (40.8%).

– 4th down attempts: The Citadel is tied for 5th nationally, with 17 fourth down attempts (the Bulldogs’ 11 successful conversions is tied for 4th). WCU has 11 fourth down tries, which is tied for 40th-most in FCS. The Catamounts have made seven of those.

– Yards per rush (does not account for sacks): The Citadel is 86th in FCS (3.50), obviously not good enough for the Bulldogs. Western Carolina is tied for 45th (4.42).

– Net punting: The Bulldogs are 8th (41.28), while WCU is 98th (33.03).

—

Tyrie Adams (6’2″, 185 lbs.) was the preseason SoCon Offensive Player of the Year. The redshirt senior quarterback from St. Petersburg has started two games this season (Mercer and Gardner-Webb) and entered in relief against Chattanooga.

For the season, Adams is completing 66.7% of his passes, averaging 6.8 yards per attempt (not including sacks), with four touchdown tosses against three interceptions.

Last year against The Citadel, Adams was 12 for 21 passing for 148 yards and a pick. He also added 74 yards rushing. In the 2017 matchup at Johnson Hagood Stadium, Adams threw three TD passes.

Starting running back Connell Young (6’0″, 210 lbs.), a senior from Greensboro, had 217 rushing yards against Chattanooga. His backup, redshirt junior Donnavan Spencer (5’10”, 190 lbs.) had 122 rushing yards last season against the Bulldogs, including a 75-yard TD.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Daquan Patten (5’6″, 185 lbs.) leads WCU in receptions, with 22. He is also the Catamounts’ primary punt and kick returner. The native of Columbia (Blythewood High School) is the son of former WCU and NFL wideout David Patten (who earned three Super Bowl rings while with the New England Patriots).

Nate Mullen (5’9″, 185 lbs.) is currently second on the team in catches, with 15. Mullen, a redshirt senior who began his college career at Charlotte, caught 55 passes last season.

Tight end Owen Cosenke (6’3″, 235 lbs.) was an all-SoCon performer in 2018 after catching eight touchdown passes. This season, the junior from Aldie, Virginia has 11 receptions, two for TDs.

The projected starters on the Catamounts’ offensive line average 6’4″, 300 lbs. Junior left guard Grady Thomas (6’5″, 305 lbs.), who went to Spartanburg High School, has started 16 games for WCU.

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Jarquavius Wortham (6’1″, 225 lbs.) is a senior who lines up at defensive end, though he played linebacker last season for the Catamounts. The transfer from Georgia Military leads WCU in sacks, with 2 1/2.

Junior linebacker Trevor Childers (6’1″, 215 lbs.) leads Western Carolina in tackles, with 46. His 5 1/2 tackles for loss is also tops for WCU.

Michael Murphy (6’2″, 200 lbs.) is listed as a linebacker on the depth chart, but the redshirt junior (another Spartanburg High School product) played in the Catamounts’ secondary last year. He returned a fumble 48 yards for a TD against The Citadel (one of two defensive touchdowns Murphy scored in 2018). This year, he has 29 tackles (fourth-most on the team), an interception, and a forced fumble.

Redshirt senior JerMichael White (6’1″, 190 lbs.) is second on the roster in stops (with 45). The native of Johnson City, Tennessee was injured most of last season.

John Brannon III (6’2″, 195 lbs.), a senior from Charlotte, has 25 tackles from his cornerback spot. He also has a fumble recovery and two interceptions, including a pick-six against Mercer.

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Western Carolina has used two punters and three placekickers this season (and for what it is worth, WCU also has an “or” situation on its two-deep at long snapper).

Redshirt sophomore Caleb Ferguson (5’11”, 185 lbs.) had a 69-yard TD run off a fake punt against Chattanooga (in which he outran the Mocs’ return man). It was definitely one of the highlights of the season for WCU. Not surprisingly, Ferguson is listed as a running back on the roster.

Fort Mill’s Brandon Dickerson (5’11”, 195 lbs.) has actually had the most punts for Western Carolina this season. Dickerson attended Indian Land High School.

One of the three placekickers employed this year by the Catamounts is no longer on the roster. That leaves either Richard McCollum (5’9″, 170 lbs.) or Julian Pletz (5’10”, 190 lbs.) to do the job.

Pletz is listed as the starter this week; he is 5-5 on PATs this season, but has never made a field goal in his short career at WCU (0 for 1).

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Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Charleston, per the National Weather Service: sunny, with a high of 82 degrees. The low temperature on Saturday night is projected to be 68 degrees.

– Per one source that deals in such matters (as of Wednesday evening), The Citadel is a 17-point favorite over WCU, with an over/under of 64 1/2.

– Other lines involving SoCon teams: Samford is a 7-point favorite at VMI. That’s it, that’s the list. Five SoCon teams are off this week.

– Also of note: Elon is a 3 1/2 point underdog versus Delaware; Charleston Southern is a 24-point underdog at Kennesaw State; and Towson is an 11-point favorite against Albany.

Georgia Tech is a 17 1/2 point underdog at Duke.

In games between FCS schools, the biggest spread is 29, with Princeton the big favorite over Lafayette.

– Massey Ratings: The Citadel is ranked 64th in FCS, falling 25 spots from last week, the largest drop in FCS. The Catamounts are 108th.

Massey projects the Bulldogs to have a 85% chance of winning, with a predicted final score of The Citadel 38, Western Carolina 24.

The top five teams in Massey’s FCS rankings this week: North Dakota State, Montana, South Dakota State, James Madison, and Dartmouth.

Other rankings this week of varied interest: Villanova is 8th, Sacramento State 11th, Towson 14th, Furman 17th, Kennesaw State 20th, North Carolina A&T 27th, Southeast Missouri State 32nd, Elon 40th, Wofford 43rd, Samford 45th, Columbia 51st, Chattanooga 54th, Georgetown 58th, Florida A&M 63rd, South Carolina State 66th, Drake 72nd, East Tennessee State 79th, Campbell 80th, VMI 82nd, Richmond 83rd, Mercer 91st, Charleston Southern 93rd, Davidson 94th, Gardner-Webb 96th, North Alabama 102nd, Howard 106th, Robert Morris 111th, Jacksonville 119th, and Presbyterian 126th (last).

– Western Carolina’s notable alumni include actor Sean Bridgers, comedian Rich Hall, and college basketball pioneer Ronnie Carr.

– WCU will play Alabama later this season. Next year, Western Carolina will play non-conference games against Liberty, Eastern Kentucky, and Gardner-Webb. Other future non-league opponents for the Catamounts include Oklahoma (in 2021), Georgia Tech (2022), Arkansas (2023), North Carolina State (2024), and Wake Forest (2025).

WCU also has home-and-home series in the future against Montana and Charleston Southern. You decide which one is stranger for Western Carolina — a two-game set in which it has to travel to Missoula, Montana, or one in which it plays at Buccaneer Field in North Charleston.

– Western Carolina’s game notes roster includes 54 players from the state of North Carolina. Other states represented:  Georgia (17 players), South Carolina (15), Florida (6), Tennessee (4), Alabama (2), Ohio (2), and one each from Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The 15 Palmetto State products on WCU’s squad represent 13 different high schools (two each from Spartanburg H.S. and Blythewood H.S.). However, in an incredible anomaly, none are from internationally renowned gridiron force Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. This bizarre oversight by Western Carolina’s coaches will prove the undoing of its football program for at least a generation (and probably much longer).

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s website) is as follows: South Carolina (53 players), Georgia (29), Florida (8), Texas (5), North Carolina (3), Pennsylvania (3), Alabama (2), New York (2), and one each from Virginia, Nebraska, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Ohio, and Kentucky.

In addition, there are two Bulldogs with listed hometowns in other countries — junior tight end Elijah Lowe (Abaco, Bahamas), and freshman linebacker Hayden Williamson (Okinawa, Japan).

– This week’s two-deep for The Citadel is almost exactly the same as the one for last week. The only change is that Raleigh Webb is now listed as one of the kickoff returners.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 5-8 for games played on October 12. (Note: the record book lists 14 games played on that date, but the Bulldogs’ 1946 matchup against Newberry was actually played on Friday, October 11.)

Among the highlights from past contests:

  • 1935: At the original Johnson Hagood Stadium, The Citadel defeated Wofford, 20-7. Arthur “White Top” Ferguson scored the first of three touchdowns for the Bulldogs. The other TDs were scored by Ed Hall and Claude McCredie (the latter on a 60-yard punt return; McCredie also made two extra points). Teal Therrell recovered two fumbles for The Citadel.
  • 1963: The Citadel shut out Presbyterian, 24-0, in the “Georgia Peach Shrine Game”, held at Beacon Memorial Park Stadium in Savannah, Georgia. It was a benefit for the Greenville Shriners Hospital. Jim Parker rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown (on only seven carries), with Bruce Whitney and Vince Petno also finding the end zone (Petno’s score came on a pass from Wade St. John). Pat Green added a 28-yard field goal and all three PATs.
  • 1985: The Citadel clubbed Davidson, 31-0, in a steady drizzle at Johnson Hagood Stadium before 8,741 fans. Kip Allen threw three TD passes, two to Lee Glaze and one to Tom Frooman. Warren McGrier rushed for 81 yards, and four different Bulldogs intercepted passes — Joel Thompson, Brian Graves, J.D. Cauthen, and Pete Long.
  • 1991: At West Point, New York, The Citadel defeated Army, 20-14, spoiling the Black Knights’ Homecoming game. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-0 lead behind touchdowns from Jack Douglas and Everette Sands, with Rob Avriett adding two field goals. Army attempted a comeback, but The Citadel’s defense forced five turnovers — an interception by Shannon Walker and four fumbles, recovered by (in order) Jim Wilson, Lance Cook, Geren Williams, and Lester Smith.
  • 2002: The Bulldogs won at home versus East Tennessee State, 26-7. Nehemiah Broughton scored twice and rushed for 99 yards, while Scooter Johnson caught five passes for 85 yards. Jeff Klein added a one-yard rushing TD, and Travis Zobel kicked two field goals (and also had a 43-yard run after a botched would-be punt). The defense sacked ETSU quarterbacks seven times; four of those sacks were authored by Cliff Washburn.

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There isn’t really much to say at this point. The Citadel needs to win this game.

Frankly, the Bulldogs should win this game. Western Carolina has had a difficult season, and the loss to Gardner-Webb could prove to be a backbreaker for the Catamounts.

That doesn’t mean this will be an easy game, though. Far from it. Nothing is easy at The Citadel, and that is before considering the way the last two games have gone for the Bulldogs.

The Citadel needs to start fast and not let up.

There is still hope for this season. That starts with a victory on Saturday.

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