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.

—

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.

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

Putting together the ideal football schedule at The Citadel

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Sandlapper Spike

I wanted to write about this topic after some recent discourse about it, primarily in two places:

– AD Mike Capaccio’s discussion of the schedule on Lowcountry media personality Quintin Washington’s YouTube channel

– Jeff Hartsell’s column in The Post and Courier

Here are some of the relevant passages from each media piece.

Capaccio (direct quotes):

“We need to work with our schedule to be more realistic….we don’t need to be playing two ranked teams, or three ranked teams, and then an ACC team, and then go into our conference, because our conference is a monster…so, not that we [want] an easy schedule, but we need a little break…

…We want to play close to home…three to five hours [away] at the maximum…We don’t need to be taking a trip to Towson…Our philosophy is changing, and we want to play close [to home].”

Hartsell:

By the end of the 2020 season, The Citadel will have played 44 straight games against D-I teams…

…”Do you need a Division II team in there? Every couple of years, I think you do,” said [The Citadel’s head football coach, Brent] Thompson, whose 10-2 SoCon championship team in 2016 won a 38-14 game over D-II North Greenville. “But I don’t think you need one every year. I know just about everybody in our league will have one this season.

“But my emphasis is on more in-region games. Elon is a fine game, Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern, S.C. State. Those games are a lot easier on your travel and your budget, and they mean more to the kids. I would much rather play a non-conference game in-state, or at least in-region.”

For Thompson, a guarantee game last season might have made the difference between a 5-6 season and a 6-5 season. And as any coach will tell you, that’s a big difference.

Coaches from Dabo Swinney to Nick Saban know that an occasional cupcake tastes good. The Citadel ought to try one.

—

Let me start off by saying that I am not overly fond of the epithet “cupcake” being thrown around when mentioning a squad from a lower classification or division. Playoff-caliber D-2 teams like Newberry and North Greenville certainly weren’t “cupcakes” when they played the Bulldogs. The term also doesn’t apply to The Citadel when it faces an FBS opponent.

Calling a team a “cupcake” is basically a way of saying it doesn’t belong on the same field with the favored opponent. I find this tiresome, as it is primarily a media creation designed to diminish programs that aren’t on national TV every week.

—

Now, as to The Citadel’s football schedule…

Right now, the Bulldogs play 11 regular-season games every season except in years where the calendar allows for a 12th contest. After this year, the next time FCS teams will have a chance to play a 12th game will be 2024.

I don’t believe there will be a rule change altering the current status quo in that regard, so let’s assume that The Citadel will annually play 11 regular-season games for the foreseeable future.

The Bulldogs will play eight Southern Conference games every year, four at home and four on the road. That leaves three non-conference contests to schedule.

—

One of those non-conference matchups has to be a “money” game against an FBS opponent. Here are the already scheduled FBS teams through 2025:

  • 2020: Clemson
  • 2021: Coastal Carolina
  • 2022: Appalachian State
  • 2023: Georgia Southern
  • 2024: Clemson
  • 2025: Mississippi

Of the two remaining out-of-league games, at least one of them almost has to be a home game; otherwise, the Bulldogs would only play four contests in a given season at Johnson Hagood Stadium. That isn’t going to work.

So far, these non-FBS games have been scheduled through the next few seasons:

  • 2020: Elon, Charleston Southern [schedule complete; six home games]
  • 2021: Charleston Southern
  • 2022: at Campbell
  • 2023: Campbell

Mike Capaccio also mentioned during the interview referenced above that Presbyterian is on a future schedule. Perhaps the Blue Hose are on more than one.

—

What, exactly, should be the goals of The Citadel’s non-conference football schedule? Some of them (in no particular order) might be:

  • Help the team prepare for the SoCon slate
  • Raise money for the program (and the department of athletics in general)
  • Promote the school to a wider audience
  • Give the team a better chance of making the FCS playoffs
  • Improve the win-loss record
  • Ensure there are enough home games to satisfy the season-ticket holders
  • Energize the fans by playing quality, high-profile opponents
  • Save money on travel
  • Excite the players on the team by playing quality, high-profile opponents
  • Provide an added impetus for recruiting

—

Random musings:

– I am okay with giving the team a better chance to make the FCS playoffs via scheduling, but only to a point.

That is because the FCS postseason, as currently constructed, is hopelessly flawed. It is structurally biased against southeastern schools (honestly, that is undeniable). Thus, it is not a true “national” tournament.

I see no reason to devalue the regular season just to participate in the playoffs. Until the tournament is fully seeded and not beholden to asinine geographical bracketing, my thoughts on that will not change.

– I’ve already mentioned that The Citadel needs to play at least five home games per season. I don’t think anyone would seriously disagree.

– While I’ve said it before, let me reiterate that limiting the distance the team travels for non-conference games is not always a good idea, at least from a larger perspective. I enjoyed the trip to Princeton in 2009, and I firmly believe the Bulldogs should occasionally make trips like that to promote the school, provide a new experience for the players, and reward our loyal fans from other parts of the country.

– I don’t want to play opponents for the sole purpose of padding the win total. That isn’t what The Citadel is all about. If it were, the school wouldn’t have joined the Southern Conference in the first place, much less stay in the league all these years.

The Citadel is about embracing challenges. That includes varsity sports.

—

Finally, my suggestions for non-conference games.

I am inclined to eschew D-2 and NAIA schools, because I think it is probably beneficial to the conference as a whole for its member schools to play as many D-1 teams as possible, and The Citadel should take the initiative in that respect.

I could see arguments in the other direction — and I’m not automatically opposed to teams like Newberry, North Greenville, or Benedict. I don’t believe Webber International needs to be on the schedule again, however.

– Presbyterian strikes me as almost an ideal non-conference opponent. The Citadel would not have play in Clinton (barring a hurricane, of course). The two schools have a long history on the gridiron, too.

– Charleston Southern is a reasonable choice, though I don’t think it is necessary (or particularly desirable) to play the Buccaneers on an annual basis.

Obviously, any games between CSU and The Citadel would be contested at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Playing at Buccaneer Field is a non-starter for a host of reasons, including A) the state of the facility, B) the fact that 80% (or more) of the fans at the game would be rooting for The Citadel, so forcing them to travel to another stadium would be pointless, and C) the loss of a home game would seriously affect The Citadel’s ability to schedule the rest of its non-conference slate in a given season.

That last point is one that several members of the local media have never seemed able to grasp — or are simply unwilling to accept, even knowing it is true.

A rotation of Charleston Southern and Presbyterian might not be a bad idea.

– Other teams that I think would be good opponents in the “home games only” slot: Jacksonville, Stetson, Davidson, and perhaps Gardner-Webb.

– Schools that would be appropriate “home and home” regional opponents would include South Carolina State, Elon, William & Mary, Richmond, Campbell, and possibly North Carolina A&T.

– I would advocate for an occasional home-and-home versus an out-of-region team, like an Ivy or Patriot League squad, or even one of the MVFC teams.

Yes, I know, it costs too much. I’m sure we could raise some money for a two-game series through a special campaign, though. I noticed that there are currently 38 people listed in The Citadel Development Foundation’s staff directory; perhaps one or two of them could help out.

—

All of the above is just my opinion. I could be wrong about just about everything!

Or maybe I could be right about a few things. Your mileage may vary.

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

A glance at the 2018 SoCon non-conference football slate

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Sandlapper Spike

Some other links related to The Citadel’s upcoming gridiron campaign:

– Preseason rankings and ratings

– Attendance at Johnson Hagood Stadium: the annual review

– Which teams will the Bulldogs’ opponents play before (and after) facing The Citadel?

—

Also of interest from around the internet:

– How will new NCAA rules on redshirting and transfers affect The Citadel?

– New turf (and stands) to come at Johnson Hagood Stadium

– Dates that FCS leagues will release their respective preseason polls (and often, preseason all-conference teams as well)

– Cadets (not cats) and bulldogs living together

—

This year, the SoCon as a whole will have its usual share of games against teams from the FBS ranks, along with quite a few matchups with FCS outfits in other conferences. As was the case last season, there are four games against non-D1 schools, all from Division II.

Playing non-D1 teams out of conference does not help individual schools (or the league, for that matter) when it comes to making the FCS playoffs. It means the SoCon team in question will have one fewer opportunity to post a win against a D-1 team.

Of course, you could make the same argument when it comes to playing teams from the FBS, particularly the P5 conferences. Those matchups also tend to reduce the number of chances a team has to win a game versus a D-1 opponent — unless, that is, the underdog actually beats the team from the FBS.

—

Every SoCon team will play three non-league games as part of an 11-game regular-season schedule. Each squad has at least one matchup versus an FBS opponent. VMI has two such contests, which seems less than ideal for the Keydets.

However, neither of the FBS teams playing VMI are from P5 leagues. Two other SoCon teams, Mercer and Wofford, also avoid the five major conferences this season. The other six schools each go on the road to play either an ACC or SEC team.

Which SoCon outfit has the toughest non-conference schedule? That’s not as easy to answer this season as it was last year (when Mercer played Auburn and Alabama). After taking the opposition, location, and schedule placement into consideration, I tend to give the nod to Furman. You could also make a case for The Citadel.

—

Around the league…

– Chattanooga:

Last year, UTC’s first three games were against non-conference foes. Chattanooga lost all of them, and never really recovered. This season, the Mocs play two of their three non-league contests in the first three weeks of the campaign.

Chattanooga opens at home (on a Thursday night) versus OVC cellar-dweller Tennessee Tech. That is a matchup UTC needs to win.

After a game at The Citadel, Chattanooga goes on the road again to face UT Martin. The Skyhawks beat UTC 21-7 last season at Finley Stadium and are projected to be a middle-of-the-pack squad in the OVC this year, so that could be a tough game for the Mocs. It may also prove to be a pivotal contest in Chattanooga’s season, particularly with a matchup against Samford on tap for the following week.

Chattanooga finishes its regular season slate by travelling to bucolic Columbia, SC, to play the South Carolina Gamecocks (and pick up a check for $450,000.00). This is the fourth consecutive season South Carolina has played a SoCon school the week before playing Clemson; it has won two of the prior three contests in the “SoCon-SEC challenge”, having outlasted Wofford and Western Carolina the past two years.

– East Tennessee State:

ETSU opens with a home game versus Mars Hill, a D-2 school that went 3-7 last season. Mars Hill played one FCS team in 2017, North Carolina A&T, and lost 56-0.

The following week, the opponent is a little tougher, as ETSU travels to Knoxville to play Tennessee, the first FBS team the Buccaneers will have played since re-starting football. It will also be the first time ETSU has ever faced the Vols on the gridiron.

Midway through the year, East Tennessee State hosts Gardner-Webb for its Homecoming game. The Runnin’ Bulldogs were 1-10 last year. This is a contest ETSU could (and probably should) win.

Both in terms of opponent quality and placement, ETSU’s administration did a solid job in putting together its 2018 slate for a still-young program. The only negative is having a bye week just before the final game of the season, but that was probably dictated by the league, and finding a home non-conference game on that date was likely close to impossible.

– Furman:

The Paladins get their non-conference slate out of the way early, starting the season with three consecutive out-of-league opponents. Furman opens at Clemson, as difficult a first game as any team has in the country.

Furman then faces Elon for the third time in less than a year. The two teams split their two meetings in 2017, with the Paladins winning at Elon in a playoff matchup.

This season, Elon is expected to be an upper-echelon CAA team again, with 18 returning starters. Lindy’s has the Phoenix ranked #21 in FCS in its preseason poll, while Street & Smith’s and Athlon rank Elon 9th and 10th, respectively.

FU hosts Colgate to round out the OOC schedule. Last year, the Paladins made the trip to upstate New York and came away with a 45-14 victory. That game jump-started a seven-game winning streak for Furman.

While the Raiders are the early favorite to win the Patriot League in 2018, it would be a surprise if Furman were to lose to Colgate, especially on what could be a hot mid-September day in Greenville (with a 1:00 pm ET kickoff). That being said, last year the Raiders did win their season opener on the road, against a then-ranked Cal Poly.

– Mercer:

Mercer opens with a game at Memphis, one of the better programs in the Group of 5. The Tigers won 10 games last season, and both Athlon and Street & Smith’s picked Memphis to win the AAC West this year.

One potential advantage for Mercer: the Tigers’ game the following week is at Navy. It would not be a surprise if the primary focus of the Memphis coaching staff leading up to the season was on the Midshipmen’s triple option attack, and not so much on the Bears.

MU plays Jacksonville in the second week of the season, the second year in a row Mercer has played the Dolphins. Last year, the Bears beat JU 48-7.

The Bears’ final non-conference matchup is an interesting one, an October 13 game at Yale. The Elis won the Ivy League in 2017 and are favored to win the title again this year. Yale has a big game at Penn on the Friday after playing MU, which might be yet another potential scheduling boost for Mercer.

The real question, though, is this: just how good are Ivy League teams? Last year, the Ivy League was 17-6 versus FCS opponents, but more than two-thirds of those games came against Patriot League and Pioneer League teams. The Ivies rarely venture out of the northeast, with Yale’s non-conference schedule last year (at Lehigh, at Fordham, Holy Cross) fairly typical.

– Samford:

The Birmingham Bulldogs begin their 2018 campaign on a Thursday night. They will presumably enjoy a victory over Shorter University, a D-2 school that has gone 0-11 each of the last two seasons.

Shorter lost its one game versus a D-1 opponent last year, to Gardner-Webb, by a 42-14 score. That was G-W’s only win of the season. In 2016, Chattanooga beat Shorter 66-0.

After that, though, Samford’s non-league slate is very tough. SU’s game the following week is at Florida State. Samford gets a little bit of a break in that FSU opens with a Monday night game against Virginia Tech.

On September 29, Kennesaw State hosts Samford. The two teams played twice last season, with SU winning the opener at home and then losing in the playoffs at KSU.

Kennesaw State is the consensus pick to win the Big South again this season, and is rated very highly by several national outlets (including a preseason FCS ranking of #3 by Hero Sports). The Owls may be the most difficult FCS non-league opponent faced by any SoCon team in 2018.

I think Samford’s non-conference schedule is problematic for a playoff contender. If SU loses at Kennesaw State, it is likely Chris Hatcher’s crew will finish with no D-1 wins outside of league play. It might not be easy for Samford to get a postseason berth if it doesn’t garner the SoCon’s automatic bid.

– The Citadel:

The Citadel opens its season with two conference games, unlike 2017, when the Bulldogs began play on the gridiron with Newberry and Presbyterian. In 2016, though, The Citadel also started its campaign with two league contests. That was a very good year for the program, so fans of the Bulldogs will be hoping a similar beginning will lead to similar results.

After games against Wofford (on the road) and Chattanooga (at home), The Citadel will host Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers should be a top-3 team in the Big South this season, albeit not on the same level with prohibitive conference favorite Kennesaw State.

On September 29, the Bulldogs will journey north to Johnny Unitas Stadium to play Towson, the first football game between the two schools. Towson struggled last season after its starting quarterback and running back both suffered injuries in the season opener, finishing 5-6.

This year, opinions on the Tigers appear to be mixed. Towson returns 20 starters (including the aforementioned running back, Shane Simpson).

There are three candidates to start at QB, including incoming transfer Tommy Flacco, younger brother of Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. There is no early word on whether or not the younger Flacco is elite.

The Citadel’s final non-conference game of the season is a November 17 matchup against Alabama. As has been well documented, Alabama has never beaten The Citadel in football.

– VMI:

The Keydets travel to Toledo to begin the 2018 season. Last year, the Rockets won 11 games and the MAC crown. This season, Toledo should be one of the three best teams in its league, though VMI may benefit from the fact the Rockets have to replace last year’s starting quarterback and running back. VMI could use a little beneficence.

While a fair number of teams play two or three non-conference games in September, the Keydets actually play two of their three OOC games in November.

On November 3, VMI plays Tusculum, a D-2 team. Tusculum was 5-5 last season, 3-4 in the South Atlantic Conference.

The Pioneers haven’t played a D-1 squad since losing 62-21 to Georgia Southern in 2011. The game versus Tusculum will probably be the only 2018 matchup in which VMI is favored. It should be noted, however, that last season Catawba, like Tusculum a member of the South Atlantic Conference, beat the Keydets 27-20.

VMI’s final regular-season game will be at Old Dominion, now in its fifth season as an FBS school. The Monarchs finished 5-7 last season but return 18 starters from that team, including sophomore quarterback Steven Williams. The left-hander started the final seven games of 2017 despite not turning 18 years old until November.

– Western Carolina:

WCU opens with a home game versus D-2 Newberry, which finished 5-6 last season, just one year removed from making the Division II playoffs. Last year, the Wolves also played their first game of the season versus a SoCon opponent, losing 31-14 to The Citadel.

After the Newberry game, Western Carolina has a poorly-timed bye week, and then goes on the road to play Gardner-Webb (which faces three SoCon teams in 2018, with two of those contests in Boiling Springs). Western Carolina also played at G-W in 2017, winning 42-27, the third consecutive victory for the Catamounts over the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

WCU then plays all eight of its SoCon opponents over an eight-week stretch. After the last of those matchups (a home contest versus Wofford), the Catamounts conclude regular season play with a game at North Carolina. It will be only the second time WCU has ever faced the Tar Heels (but the second straight year they will have met).

Western Carolina has playoff aspirations, and thus is another team that might have been better served by scheduling a second FCS opponent out of conference instead of playing a D-2 team. The main difference between WCU and Samford in this respect is that the Catamounts’ non-league FCS game is (at least on paper) an easier matchup than Samford’s.

A better idea for WCU’s schedule would have been to replace Newberry with, say, Davidson (one of the Catamounts’ opponents last season). Davidson’s football team is almost certainly not as good as Newberry’s, but the Wildcats are a Division I school. Every D-1 win helps, even those against non-scholarship programs.

– Wofford:

The Terriers start their 2018 season with two league battles, playing The Citadel and VMI, both at home. Last season, Wofford also opened with two conference games, playing Furman in Spartanburg and then travelling to Mercer.

After the two contests against the military colleges, Wofford travels to Wyoming. At first glance, it seems to be one of the more unlikely FBS vs. FCS matchups of the season. The two schools can’t have much in common, other than both having names beginning with the letter “W”.

However, Wyoming does have a brief history of playing SoCon schools, dating back to the 1951 Gator Bowl, when the Cowboys played Washington and Lee. Other Wyoming-SoCon matchups include games against Furman (2001), The Citadel (2002), and Appalachian State (2004).

Wyoming could go bowling (or maybe that’s “Bohling”) for a third straight season, despite losing star quarterback Josh Allen. However, Wofford does have an 11% win probability in this matchup, according to projected S&P+, which isn’t bad for an FCS team playing at an FBS squad, and a couple of time zones away from home to boot.

Wofford has another non-conference road game the week after making the trip to Laramie. This matchup is much closer to home, however, as the Terriers play at Gardner-Webb.

G-W played Wofford last year, too, and the Terriers had to hang on to win 27-24 in Gibbs Stadium. The Runnin’ Bulldogs missed a long field goal try late in the game that would have tied the contest.

Incidentally, Gardner-Webb (which at this rate is closing in on honorary SoCon member status) played none other than Wyoming in 2017, losing 27-0.

Wofford’s final non-league game of the year is also the final regular season game on its slate. The Terriers host Presbyterian on November 17, the 85th meeting on the gridiron between the two schools.

PC was 4-7 last season. In November, Presbyterian announced that its football program would move to non-scholarship status by 2020. Some of the Blue Hose’s players left the team following that announcement, including running back Torrance Marable, arguably PC’s best player (he wound up transferring to Coastal Carolina).

—

A brief overview of the FCS as a whole…

This season, 21 FCS schools have scheduled two games against FBS opposition. Only one, Southern Utah, will face two P5 teams (the Thunderbirds play Oregon State and Arizona).

In all, FCS teams will play FBS schools 111 times, with 48 of those being P5 opponents.

The Big Sky and MVFC probably have the most aggressive slate of non-conference matchups. Eight of the Big Sky’s FBS games are versus P5 teams. The MVFC also has eight P5 games being played by its ten member schools.

The Big Sky has 14 FBS games in all, a number matched by the SWAC and MEAC. In addition, the Big Sky (with 13 schools this season) will be featured in several prominent non-league FCS vs. FCS matchups, including Northern Iowa-Montana and South Dakota-Weber State, not to mention Eastern Washington-Northern Arizona (which is a non-conference game despite both being Big Sky schools).

The Southland has 13 FBS games (six* versus P5 schools), the CAA has 12 (six P5 matchups), and the OVC and SoCon each have 10 (five against P5 teams for the OVC, six for the SoCon).

*counting BYU as a Power 5 opponent, which is open to debate
—

No team from the Ivy League or the Pioneer League will play an FBS squad in 2018.

Also not facing an FBS opponent: traditional FCS powers North Dakota State and Jacksonville State. NDSU will instead enjoy seven regular-season home games this season (including a Homecoming game against Delaware). It isn’t easy these days for the Bison to hook up with an FBS team.

JSU has quality non-conference FCS bookends to its schedule, facing North Carolina A&T in its opener (which is also the FCS Kickoff) and concluding the regular season with a game versus Kennesaw State at SunTrust Park.

—

There are just a couple of months left before the season kicks off. Be patient, everyone…

Filed under: Football | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Game review, 2017: Presbyterian

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

Before getting to the review of Saturday’s game, I have to note the passing of Mitchell Jeter, a former defensive lineman for the Bulldogs.

Jeter was the SoCon’s defensive player of the year in 2015, a year in which The Citadel won the Southern Conference title for only the third time in school history. He was arguably the best player on that team.

At this time, there is not much information about the automobile accident that claimed the lives of Jeter and three others (including a child) Saturday night.

Brent Thompson called Jeter’s death a “tragic and immeasurable loss”, and that basically sums it up. Obviously, everyone’s thoughts are with his family and his friends, which include many current players on the football team.

—

There is no real way to properly segue from that news to a football game, so I’m just going to follow with the standard game review. My apologies for any perceived abruptness on that front.

—

Links of interest:

– Game story, The Post and Courier

– “Notes” package, The Post and Courier

– AP game story

– School release

– Video from WLTX-TV

– Game highlights (video)

– Boxscore

– Replay of the Big South Network’s streaming of the game

—

Before the season, the general consensus among most knowledgeable observers was that Newberry, despite being a D-2 program, would probably be a sterner test for the Bulldogs than Presbyterian. In this case, the consensus was quite correct.

Even the sudden change of venue could not stop The Citadel from asserting its clear superiority on the gridiron over the outmatched Blue Hose. An early thunderbolt of a run by PC’s Torrance Marable, the most impressive player on Presbyterian’s roster, only served to delay the inevitable result.

Ten different cadets had rushing attempts on Saturday, and two others caught passes, as the coaching staff took advantage of the opportunity to develop some more depth. While 46 different Bulldogs played against Newberry, 58 saw action versus Presbyterian.

A glance at the statistics for the game shows just how dominant The Citadel was on Saturday:

The Citadel Presbyterian
Starting field position TC 28 PC 24
Efficiency 63.6% (28/44) 8.33% (1/12)
Explosiveness 1.100 7.410
Finishing drives 6.8/poss 0.0/poss
Turnover margin +2 -2
Yards per play on 1st down 6.92 8.22
Avg. yards to gain on 3rd down 3.0 6.5
Passing down success rate 33.3% (4/12) 33.3% (3/9)
Time of possession 40:21 19:39
Off. plays from scrimmage 81 40
Yards per play 6.7 5.7
Yards per play (rush) 5.6 6.4
Yards per play (pass attempt) 26.0 5.1
Off. 3rd down conversion rate 81.3% (13-16) 50.0% (4-8)
Off. plays of 20+ yards 4 2
Penalties 3 for 39 yards 2 for 25 yards

 

  • Not counted in the efficiency and explosiveness categories: the entire second half. At 35-7, the third and fourth quarters were considered “garbage time” for statistical purposes (in those categories, at least)
  • Not counted in the field position category: Presbyterian’s last drive of the first half, and The Citadel’s final drive of the game
  • The Citadel advanced inside the 40-yard-line six times, and scored a touchdown on each of those possessions; Presbyterian did so twice, but did not score a point on either possession
  • Presbyterian threw one interception on first down; on passing downs, the Blue Hose offense threw one interception and also was sacked once
  • Successful plays from scrimmage by quarter (first half only): 1st – The Citadel 15, Presbyterian 1; 2nd – The Citadel 13, Presbyterian 0

Presbyterian’s average in the “explosiveness” category is reflective of the fact that the Blue Hose only had one successful first-half play, but it happened to be a 76-yard TD run. That one play also skewers PC’s yards per play on first down (as it came on first down) and yards per rush.

If you take out Marable’s run (which you can’t, but whatever), and also remove the one sack from the rushing statistics, Presbyterian averaged 2.9 yards per rush. Doing the same thing for first downs would leave the Blue Hose averaging 4.24 yards per play on first down.

The Citadel’s 1.1 explosiveness average is actually better than what the Bulldogs did against Newberry last week.

—

Odds and ends:

– I was concerned about traffic being a problem between Columbia and Clinton, but I-26 was relatively clear both coming and going.

– While it is obviously not ideal that The Citadel had to move a home football game (and for a second consecutive season), the shift to Clinton was a boon to Bulldog fans in the midlands and the upstate, who arrived early and in good numbers.

I was a little surprised that only 2,586 people made it to the game. A solid majority of them were wearing light blue and white, however.

– There are benefits to a noon kickoff for a game that takes only 2:26 to play, including getting at home in time to watch the late-afternoon and evening college football action. I enjoyed that.

– PC’s setup is nice, about all that you would want for a small-school college football stadium/tailgating experience. For the sake of Blue Hose fans, I hope the football program can be revitalized.

– Gastronomic experts in the stands heartily approved of the chili dogs. I also noticed that a significant amount of pizza was consumed.

– Among those in attendance at the game, per Jeff Hartsell: Dee Delaney, Tyler Renew, Keith Carter, and Mariel Cooper.

– A few of the Bulldog fans who were tailgating also got some publicity. Shrimp and grits, indeed.

—

Next week’s opponent: East Tennessee State, now 1-1 on the season after losing to James Madison 52-10 on Saturday. The Bulldogs will travel to Johnson City, Tennessee, for a 1pm kickoff. It will be the second contest (and first SoCon game) played at ETSU’s new football stadium.

—

For this week’s pictures, I included shots of Presbyterian’s soccer stadium and baseball field. Both of those facilities are near the football stadium.

Most of the action shots are annotated.

I’ll lead off the photo parade with a picture of Scotty the Scotsman, a rather amiable sort.

 

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

2017 Football, Game 2: The Citadel vs. Presbyterian

Posted on September 7, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

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

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

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

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

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

– The News and Courier, October 28, 1915

—

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

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

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

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

—

The Citadel Sports Network — 2017 Affiliates

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

—

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

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

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

—

Links of interest:

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

– Back to Lookup Lodge

– Grant Drakeford is profiled after an excellent performance against Newberry

– Solid debut for some new Bulldog starters

– Game notes from The Citadel and Presbyterian

– SoCon weekly release

– Big South Conference weekly release

– Presbyterian “quick facts”

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

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

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

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

– Presbyterian preview in The Post and Courier

– Presbyterian preview from the Big South (video)

—

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

A few other notes on that 1915 contest:

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

1937.

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

 

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

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

I guess there is nowhere to go but up.

—

Presbyterian returned seven starters from last year’s offense.

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

Here are their responses.

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

—

Odds and ends:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

—

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

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

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

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

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

During the 2017 season, which teams will the Bulldogs’ opponents play before (and after) facing The Citadel?

Posted on July 12, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

Other links related to The Citadel’s upcoming gridiron campaign:

– A quick glance at the 2017 SoCon non-conference football slate

– Inside the Numbers: The Citadel’s run/pass tendencies, 4th-down decision-making, and various per-play statistics, along with the highly anticipated coin-toss data

– A look at “advanced statistics” from the Bulldogs’ 2016 league campaign

– Preseason rankings and ratings

– The Citadel’s fans aren’t afraid to travel

—

For the fifth consecutive season, it’s time to take a look at this all-important topic. In this post, I’ll list which teams The Citadel’s opponents face before and after playing the Bulldogs, along with other items of interest (in terms of schedule “flow”).

I’ll also throw in a few odds and ends just for fun.

We start with the opener.

September 2: The Citadel opens at home against Newberry. The last time the Bulldogs played the Wolves (in 1997), they weren’t actually the Wolves — they were the Indians.

The only previous time these two programs met on September 2 was in 1995. The Bulldogs escaped that day with a 21-20 victory.

Newberry finished last season with a 35-33 loss at home to Tuskegee in the 2016 D-2 playoffs. That came after 10 consecutive wins for the Wolves, which finished with a 10-2 record.

After playing The Citadel, Newberry goes on the road again the following week, facing fellow D-2 squad Virginia Union.

September 9: Presbyterian comes to Charleston to play The Citadel. When the Blue Hose last squared off against the Bulldogs, in 2010, The Citadel prevailed 26-14.

The only other game in the series played on September 9 came in 1978, a 28-17 victory for the Bulldogs. It was Art Baker’s first game as head coach of The Citadel; 17,840 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium watched PC take a 17-14 lead into the fourth quarter before the Bulldogs scored two unanswered touchdowns to make Baker a winner in his debut.

Presbyterian opens this season on Thursday night at Wake Forest, thus getting two extra days of preparation for the game against the Bulldogs. After the Blue Hose’s matchup with The Citadel, PC plays its first home game of the season, versus Campbell.

September 16: The Citadel’s first road contest of the 2017 season comes at East Tennessee State. It will be the second game played at ETSU’s new football stadium. The Buccaneers’ first game at their new home will be against Limestone in the season opener.

After playing the Saints, East Tennessee State goes on the road to play defending national champion James Madison. Following the Buccaneers’ game versus The Citadel, ETSU stays in Johnson City to play Mercer.

September 23: The Citadel is off this week. It’s a good time to take a vacation. At least, I think it’s a good time to take a vacation…

September 30: The Bulldogs go on the road to tangle with another bunch of Bulldogs, the group from Samford. In the series between the two schools, this will be the first game played in September.

SU itself must make travel plans in the two weeks prior to its game against The Citadel, as Samford faces Georgia in Athens and then Western Carolina in Cullowhee.

Samford then packs its bags for the longest trip in conference action, Birmingham to Lexington, Virginia (and a 1:30 pm ET kickoff). Two weeks, two games against military colleges.

October 7: It will be Parents’ Day at The Citadel, and the Bulldogs are hosting Mercer. Samford and Mercer will trade opponents, as the Bears play VMI in Macon the week before travelling to Charleston.

Incidentally, Mercer had the same scheduling setup with the two military schools in 2015. That year, the Bears lost 28-21 at home to VMI, and then fell 21-19 to The Citadel in Charleston.

October 14: The Bulldogs play Wofford at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Terriers open the season with two SoCon games (against Furman and Mercer), and then have a bye week before non-conference matchups against Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian.

Wofford hosts Western Carolina the week before playing The Citadel. The following week, the Terriers face Samford in Spartanburg, which is also Wofford’s Homecoming game.

October 21: The Citadel travels to Chattanooga for a matchup with the Mocs. It will be Military Appreciation Day at Finley Stadium.

The game against the Bulldogs is the second of a very difficult five-game stretch for UTC. After a home game against Furman, Chattanooga is at Mercer the week before playing The Citadel; the following two weeks are road games against Samford and Wofford.

Chattanooga gets a late-season bye week after playing the Terriers, which may come too late for UTC (though it conceivably could be well-timed, if the Mocs get through that four-game gauntlet unscathed).

October 28: This year, Homecoming comes in October for The Citadel, in a game against VMI. It is the earliest in the season the two teams have battled for the coveted Silver Shako since 1991, when the Bulldogs beat the Keydets 17-14 in the Oyster Bowl in Norfolk, Virginia. That contest was played on October 26.

VMI does not have a bye week in 2017. The Keydets play 11 consecutive games and end their season on November 11, at home versus Wofford. The week before that (and the week after playing The Citadel), the Keydets play East Tennessee State in Johnson City.

Prior to its game against the Bulldogs, VMI hosts Western Carolina.

November 4: Speaking of the Catamounts, WCU is The Citadel’s final regular-season home game opponent of the season. Western Carolina will play back-to-back games against Palmetto State schools, hosting Furman in Cullowhee the week before its game versus the Bulldogs.

Western Carolina is back in the mountains on November 11, playing Mercer.

November 11: The Citadel travels to Greenville to play Furman. The two programs have played on this date once before, in 1972, a matchup also hosted by the Paladins. The Citadel won that game 19-13, behind two touchdown runs by Harry Lynch and 102 yards rushing from Bob Carson (which included a 58-yard TD run). It was the final game at Sirrine Stadium for longtime Furman head coach Bob King.

The Paladins have a bye week before playing The Citadel this season, the only team on the Bulldogs’ schedule to have that benefit (not counting Presbyterian’s two-day head start after playing Wake Forest). Furman’s last regular-season game is at Samford.

November 18: The Bulldogs’ eleventh game of the campaign is against Clemson, the third straight year The Citadel will end the regular season against a Power-5 conference opponent. It will be Military Appreciation Day in Clemson (as was the case when the two programs met in 2013).

The Tigers face Florida State in Death Valley the week before hosting The Citadel. Clemson then travels to Columbia for its traditional season finale versus South Carolina.

—

A quick note on “option preview” situations in 2017:

  • Furman, Mercer, and Western Carolina all play Wofford before facing The Citadel, while the other league teams play the Terriers before taking on the Bulldogs.
  • Samford opens its season on Thursday night against another triple option team, Kennesaw State.
  • Clemson plays Georgia Tech on October 28 (and has a bye week before that game to prepare for Paul Johnson’s offense).

—

Just a few more weeks to go…

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Inside the numbers: The Citadel’s 2016 run/pass tendencies, 4th-down decision-making, and more (including coin toss data!)

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Sandlapper Spike

In the past, I have written about tendencies in playcalling by the then-coach of the Bulldogs, Mike Houston (and his offensive coordinator, Brent Thompson, who took over as The Citadel’s head coach last season). I compared statistics over a rolling three-year period. Last year, for example, included numbers from Kevin Higgins’ last season in charge and the two years Houston helmed the program.

Now I’m going to take a look at what Thompson did in his first year running the show, and contrast those statistics with those from the 2015 and 2016 seasons for the Bulldogs (with a few exceptions where I don’t have readily available data for the previous campaigns).

My focus in this post will be on the following:

  • down-and-distance run/pass tendencies (for The Citadel and its opponents)
  • yards per play numbers (offense and defense, rushing and passing)
  • certain defensive passing stats (including sacks, hurries, and passes defensed)
  • success in the “red zone” (defined as scoring or preventing touchdowns)
  • plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more (“big” plays)
  • fourth-down decision-making (for The Citadel and its opponents)
  • situational punting (i.e. punting from inside the opponents’ 40-yard line)
  • the coin toss (of course)

—

I have another post that focuses on assorted “advanced stats”, including success rate, explosiveness, field position, finishing drives, and turnovers — the “five factors” of college football. In that post, I’m also listing some stats related to success on first down and third down, some of which are particularly illuminating with regards to The Citadel.

I decided to split those numbers into a separate post for reasons of clarity, and because I didn’t want this post to rival War and Peace for length. It might be best to read what is to come in sections; I can’t imagine getting through all this in one sitting. I certainly didn’t write it all at once.

—

Most of the statistics that follow are based on conference play, and only conference play. It’s easier and fairer to compare numbers in that way. The bottom line for The Citadel is that its on-field success or failure will be judged on how it does in the Southern Conference, not against Newberry, Presbyterian, or Clemson (this year’s non-league slate).

The conference schedules over the last three years looked like this:

  • The Citadel played seven games in 2014 versus SoCon opposition. The teams in the league that year: Wofford, Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Mercer, Furman, Samford, and VMI.
  • The Bulldogs played seven games in 2015 against SoCon teams. The conference schools competing on the gridiron that year were the same as in 2014: Western Carolina, Wofford, Samford, Furman, Mercer, VMI, and Chattanooga.
  • The Citadel played eight games in 2016 versus Southern Conference opponents. The league schools last year: Mercer, Furman, Western Carolina, Chattanooga, Wofford, East Tennessee State, Samford, and VMI (the additional opponent being ETSU).

—

As I did last year, I’ve put most of the conference-only numbers on a spreadsheet. It may be headache-inducing (there are nine different sub-sheets), but the stats are all there. Individual game statistics in each category are included.

I am reasonably confident in the overall accuracy of the statistics, though I am far from infallible. It would have been much easier if the SoCon had league-only online football statistics, but it doesn’t. C’est la vie.

If someone wants to look at the 2015 stats as well, here is last year’s spreadsheet: Link

—

Some definitions:

– 2nd-and-short: 3 yards or less for a first down
– 2nd-and-medium: 4 to 6 yards for a first down
– 2nd-and-long: 7+ yards for a first down
– 3rd-and-short: 2 yards or less for a first down
– 3rd-and-medium: 3 to 4 yards for a first down
– 3rd-and-long: 5+ yards for a first down

The first number that will follow each down-and-distance category will be the percentage of time The Citadel ran the ball in that situation in 2016. Next to that, in parenthesis, is the run percentage for The Citadel in 2015, and that will be followed by the Bulldogs’ run percentage for that situation in 2014 (which will be in brackets).

For example, when it came to running the ball on first down, the numbers looked like this:

– 1st-and-10 (or goal to go): 86.0% (89.1%) [88.9%]

Thus, The Citadel ran the ball on first down 86.0% of the time last year, while the Bulldogs ran the ball in that situation 89.1% of the time in 2015. The Citadel ran the ball 88.9% of the time on first down during its 2014 campaign.

Overall, the Bulldogs ran the ball 85.6% of the time in 2016, after rushing 86.5% of the time on its 2015 plays from scrimmage, and on 84.3% of all offensive plays in 2014.

Here are the rest of the down-and-distance categories (in terms of rush percentage):

– 2nd-and-short: 94.1% (89.2%) [84.0%]
– 2nd-and-medium: 96.1% (89.8%) [90.2%]
– 2nd-and-long: 83.8% (89.2%) [82.2%]
– 3rd-and-short: 100% (93.1%) [95.5%]
– 3rd-and-medium: 88.5% (82.4%) [90.3%]
– 3rd-and-long: 68.1% (66.0%) [57.4%]

It should be noted that there were a few called pass plays that turned into runs. However, if the result of a play was a sack, that counted as a passing down even if a pass wasn’t thrown. Of course, The Citadel’s offense only suffered one sack all season in league play (at VMI, for six yards).

  • Yes, The Citadel ran the ball on all 28 third-and-short situations in SoCon action last year. In 2015, the Bulldogs ran 27 out of 29 times on third-and-short.
  • The Citadel threw the ball a bit more often on first down against East Tennessee State and VMI. The Bulldogs passed slightly more than normal on second-and-long versus Wofford.
  • Against Chattanooga, The Citadel faced a third-and-long on eleven occasions, but only passed once in that situation (it fell incomplete).
  • After attempting only four passes on second-in-short in conference action in both 2014 and 2015, the Bulldogs only aired it out twice in that situation last season. Both were incomplete. That means over the last three years, The Citadel is 4-10 passing on second-and-short, for 108 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

—

I’m going to alternate between offensive and defensive statistics in this post. I hope that doesn’t prove too confusing. In this section, therefore, I’m listing what The Citadel’s conference opponents did in down-and-distance situations (but just for the 2016 season). This is information I had not previously compiled, but I thought might prove interesting to a few folks out there.

Overall, league opponents rushed on 49.7% of their plays against The Citadel last year. On first down, conference foes rushed 56.2% of the time. Here are the rest of the down-and-distance categories (in terms of rush percentage):

– 2nd-and-short: 75.9%
– 2nd-and-medium: 47.9%
– 2nd-and-long: 44.8%
– 3rd-and-short: 66.7%
– 3rd-and-medium: 36.4%
– 3rd-and-long: 27.3%

There was quite a bit of variance in these numbers.

Samford, for example, passed on 75% of its plays. The only down-and-distance category in which SU ran more than it passed against The Citadel was on 3rd-and-short. Conversely, Wofford threw the ball just seven times in 65 offensive plays from scrimmage.

All four of The Citadel’s home opponents passed the ball (or attempted to pass) more than they ran it. On the other hand, three of the Bulldogs’ road opponents rushed more than passed (Western Carolina was the exception).

—

  • The Citadel’s offense in 2014 in SoCon action: 75.4 plays per game, 11.0 possessions per game
  • The Citadel’s offense in 2015 in SoCon action: 70.7 plays per game, 11.9 possessions per game
  • The Citadel’s offense in 2016 in SoCon action: 72.1 plays per game, 11.4 possessions per game

*Overtime possessions are not included in any of the conference-only statistics, for the sake of consistency (and avoiding statistical sample size issues).

**I don’t count a drive as an actual possession when it consists solely of a defensive TD via a return, or when it is a defensive turnover that ends the half or game. I also don’t count a drive as a possession when the offensive team does not attempt to move the ball forward (such as a kneel-down situation). That’s how I interpret the statistic, regardless of how it may be listed in a game summary.

Last season, The Citadel had a time of possession edge in SoCon play of over seven minutes (33:41 – 26:19), an increase of almost three minutes from 2015 (32:13 – 27:47), and a two-minute edge over 2014 (32:40 – 27:20).

The Citadel held the ball longer than its opponents on average in three of the four quarters (the second quarter was the exception). The Bulldogs won the TOP battle in the fourth quarter in every game except one (at Wofford).

Nationally (counting all games), the Bulldogs finished second in total time of possession per contest, just behind San Diego (which won the Pioneer League and made the round of 16 in the FCS playoffs).

—

  • The Citadel’s defense in 2015 SoCon play: 65.7 plays per game, 12.0 possessions per game
  • The Citadel’s defense in 2016 Socon play: 57.6 plays per game, 11.4 possessions per game

Against Western Carolina, the Bulldogs’ D was only on the field for 44 plays from scrimmage. The Citadel controlled the ball in a similar fashion versus Chattanooga, only facing 47 offensive plays by the Mocs.

Wofford’s 65 offensive plays from scrimmage (in regulation) were the most run against the Bulldogs’ defense last season, just one more than the 64 by Samford’s offense — perhaps a bit curious, given the diametrically opposite styles of those two teams.

—

Note: while NCAA statistical records count sack yardage against rushing totals, the NFL considers sack yardage as passing yardage lost. I take the NFL’s position on this, so all conference statistics included in this post count sack yardage against passing stats.

  • The Citadel’s offense in 2014 in SoCon games: 5.56 yards per play, including 5.35 yards per rush and 6.8 yards per pass attempt
  • The Citadel’s offense in 2015 in SoCon games: 6.09 yards per play, including 5.57 yards per rush and 9.7 yards per pass attempt
  • The Citadel’s offense in 2016 in SoCon games: 5.58 yards per play, including 5.28 yards per rush and 7.4 yards per pass attempt

The numbers were not as good as the season before, though they do match up well with the 2014 season. While the rushing yards per play may have been down, that wasn’t really the issue.

– 2015 passing for The Citadel in seven conference games: 63 pass attempts for 609 yards (three interceptions)

– 2016 passing for The Citadel in eight conference games: 83 pass attempts for 615 yards (two interceptions)

Twenty more pass attempts, just six more yards receiving. That has to improve in 2017.

—

In this post, I’m also going to take a look at The Citadel’s per-play stats from a national perspective (all of FCS, and including all games, not just conference play). I’ll throw in some statistics from a few FBS teams as well (concentrating on teams of local interest and schools that run the triple option).

The Bulldogs’ offense was just 52nd nationally in yards per play, with a 5.53 average (all games). Sam Houston State’s 7.17 yards per play topped FCS. Samford and Chattanooga were 1-2 in the SoCon.

Western Kentucky led FBS in yards per play, with a 7.65 average. Other FBS teams of interest: Oklahoma (2nd), New Mexico (8th), Navy (11th), Clemson (34th), Air Force (tied for 47th), Army (59th), South Carolina (109th), Rutgers (128th and last).

However, The Citadel’s overall rate of 5.37 yards per rush was 10th-best in FCS (and led the SoCon).

The top two FCS teams in yards per rush were both Big South squads — Charleston Southern (6.02 yards per rush) and Kennesaw State (5.91 yards per rush). Others worth mentioning: Cal Poly (3rd), North Dakota State (4th), James Madison (5th), Gardner-Webb (17th), Chattanooga (21st), Wofford (24th), Western Carolina (38th), Mercer (52nd), Towson (53rd), Lehigh (59th), Furman (60th), Elon (69th), South Carolina State (74th), Samford (87th), ETSU (103rd), VMI (112th out of 122 teams).

New Mexico’s offense led FBS in yards per rush, at 6.61. Navy was 6th, Alabama 8th, Army 12th, Georgia Tech 16th, Air Force 41st, Clemson 73rd, South Carolina 107th, and Texas State 128th and last. That statistical category, and thus the subsequent rankings, counts yardage lost from sacks in its totals, however (this is true for both the FBS and FCS offensive and defensive national statistics/rankings).

—

  • The Citadel’s defense in 2014 in SoCon action: 7.02 yards per play, including 5.69 yards per rush and 9.1 yards per pass attempt
  • The Citadel’s defense in 2015 in SoCon action: 5.07 yards per play, including 3.69 yards per rush and 6.7 yards per pass attempt
  • The Citadel’s defense in 2016 in SoCon action: 4.94 yards per play, including 4.61 yards per rush and 5.3 yards per pass attempt

While yards per rush for opponents was up almost a full yard over 2015, the pass defense more than made up for it. The highlight may have been the game at Western Carolina; once sacks are taken into consideration, the Bulldogs allowed less than one yard per pass attempt in Cullowhee (30 pass attempts/sacks, 26 net yards passing).

—

Nationally in FCS, The Citadel was 49th in defensive yards per play (5.34). Stony Brook (4.18) was tops nationally. Also in the top 10: Jacksonville State (2nd), Charleston Southern (6th), Wofford (7th), and Chattanooga (9th). Western Carolina finished in the bottom 10.

To the shock of nobody, Alabama led all of D-1 in defensive yards per play (3.99). The rest of the FBS top 5 in that category included Michigan, Ohio State, Washington, and Clemson. Others of note: Army (25th, a major reason for its winning season), South Carolina (59th), Air Force (72nd), New Mexico (105th), Navy (109th), and Rice (128th and last).

The Citadel was 53rd in FCS in the national defensive yards/rush category (at 4.15, actually better than its league stats). Central Arkansas (2.29) led the nation, with Colgate, Princeton, Jacksonville State, and Stony Brook rounding out the top 5. Wofford was 9th, Chattanooga 21st, South Carolina State 25th, Charleston Southern 27th, Mercer 38th, Towson 49th, James Madison 51st, Samford 55th, Furman 81st, VMI 84th, ETSU 87th, Liberty 107th, Elon 108th, Western Carolina 115th, and Presbyterian 117th (out of 122 teams).

I think knowing how league (and non-league) opponents rate in this category is instructive, not just in terms of comparing defenses, but in comparing them to how they might succeed (or fail) against The Citadel’s run-heavy offense. Of course, these were last year’s statistics; programs obviously change from year to year.

Alabama only allowed opponents an average of 2.01 yards per rush, far and away the best in FBS (Houston was 2nd, at 2.91). Air Force was 15th, Clemson 24th, Army 34th, Navy 77th, Georgia Tech 86th, New Mexico 88th, and South Carolina 92nd.

California was 128th and last, at 6.15 yards allowed per rush. In related news, Cal now has a new head coach who was formerly a defensive coordinator.

Counting all games, The Citadel allowed 6.9 yards per pass attempt, 52nd nationally in FCS. Before you think “well, take the UNC game away and the average would go way down”, keep in mind that the team that averaged the most yards per pass attempt versus The Citadel last season was…North Greenville (9.9 yards per attempt). That is what happens when your opponent throws two TD passes of 90+ yards.

San Diego ranked first in this particular category (5.31). The teams in the SoCon were ranked as follows: Chattanooga (14th), Wofford (16th), Samford (77th), VMI (85th), East Tennessee State (91st), Mercer (115th), Western Carolina (116th), Furman (117th).

Presbyterian, which travels to Johnson Hagood Stadium in 2017, was 121st overall, only ahead of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Ohio State, Michigan, and Clemson ranked 1-2-3 in yards per pass attempt (defense) in FBS. South Carolina tied for 30th, while Navy was in the bottom 10. Rice was last, just as it was in yards per play.

—

  • The Citadel’s offensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2014: 66.7%
  • The Citadel’s offensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2015: 56.3%
  • The Citadel’s offensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2016: 64.5%

The 2016 campaign proved to be slightly better for the Bulldogs’ offense in this area than in the previous season, though it should be noted the 2015 squad had one more opportunity in the red zone during conference play (32 to 31) despite playing one fewer league game.

The national FCS leader in this category was Idaho State, at 84.6%. When all games are taken into account, The Citadel ranked only 97th (out of 122 FCS teams). The Bulldogs did not fare nearly as well in offensive red zone TD rate outside of league play, only converting 5 of 14 red zone chances into touchdowns in those contests. Thus, the season rate was just 52.1% (though that total includes two “kneel downs” in the red zone that I did not count in the Bulldogs’ league stats).

I think The Citadel should have a goal of converting at least 75% of its red zone opportunities into touchdowns, something that was done by only ten FCS teams last season.

National champion James Madison finished 14th overall in the category, with a 73.1% red zone TD rate. You will probably not be surprised to learn that the Dukes led all of FCS in red zone opportunities. Part of the reason for that is because JMU played 15 games; on the other hand, the Dukes’ 93 trips to the red zone were 22 more than any other team. James Madison had 44 rushing TDs from the red zone, which may be even more impressive.

The top 3 SoCon teams in red zone TD rate were Furman, Samford, and Chattanooga (with the Paladins pacing the league at 72.1%, 17th nationally).

Incidentally, three of the top ten teams in red zone TD% in FBS last year were triple-option teams — Navy, Army, and New Mexico (the Midshipmen led FBS with a 79.7% TD conversion rate).

—

  • The Citadel’s defensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2014: 60.0%
  • The Citadel’s defensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2015: 52.2%
  • The Citadel’s defensive Red Zone touchdown rate in SoCon action, 2016: 66.7%

This is one of the very few defensive stats that wasn’t outstanding. However, it is also true the Bulldogs faced fewer trips inside the 20 by their opponents in 2016 than in 2015 (35 to 30) while playing one more conference game (mirroring The Citadel’s offense to a certain extent).

The Citadel’s defense had slightly better numbers when all games are considered; for the complete season, the Bulldogs’ D had a red zone TD rate of 58.3%, tied for 42nd nationally. Another group of Bulldogs, the bunch from Samford, also tied for 42nd overall. That was the best mark among SoCon teams (again, including league and non-league contests in the totals).

As mentioned above, Furman’s offense did a good job converting red zone chances into touchdowns last year. Unfortunately for the Paladins, the same was not true on defense. Furman’s D allowed opponents to score touchdowns in the red zone on 27 of 34 opportunities in 2016, the worse mark (by percentage) in the country.

Grambling State led FCS in the category, with an impressive defensive red zone TD rate of 34.4%. LSU’s defense was the standard-bearer for FBS, with an amazing rate of just 24.3%.

—

  • The Citadel’s offensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon play, 2014: 46.3%
  • The Citadel’s offensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon play, 2015: 50.0%
  • The Citadel’s offensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon play, 2016: 50.4%

In all games last season (not just conference action), the Bulldogs had an offensive 3rd-down conversion rate of 47.7%, which led the SoCon and was ninth nationally. Cal Poly, another triple option playoff team, was the overall leader in that category at 53.6%.

Other FCS teams of interest: James Madison (4th overall), North Dakota State (12th), Mercer (17th), Wofford (31st), Gardner-Webb (34th), Charleston Southern (39th), East Tennessee State (44th), Furman (45th), Chattanooga (47th), Western Carolina (50th), Towson (54th), Liberty (77th), Samford (78th), VMI (94th), South Carolina State (109th), Presbyterian (118th).

Navy led FBS in offensive 3rd-down conversion rate, at 54.5%. P.J. Fleck’s Western Michigan squad was second overall. Air Force was 6th, Clemson 8th, Army 10th, New Mexico 19th, Georgia Tech 51st (and won nine games despite that), South Carolina 109th, and Tulane 128th and last.

—

  • The Citadel’s defensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon action, 2014: 41.5%
  • The Citadel’s defensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon action, 2015: 33.7%
  • The Citadel’s defensive 3rd-down conversion rate in SoCon action, 2016: 33.3%

The Bulldogs had even better stats in this category when non-league contests are included. The all-games rate of 30.1% ranked 9th nationally in FCS, and led the Southern Conference.

That isn’t a typo, by the way. The Citadel finished 9th overall in both offensive and defensive 3rd-down conversion rate. That helps you tilt the playing field, which helps you win games.

Jacksonville State led FCS in defensive 3rd-down conversion rate. Montana, Grambling State, Campbell, and Columbia were the other teams in the top 5. South Carolina State was 20th, Chattanooga 25th, James Madison 26th, Presbyterian 30th, Liberty 37th, VMI 45th, ETSU 51st, Charleston Southern 61st, Furman 81st, Mercer 85th, Gardner-Webb 88th, Wofford 95th, Samford 100th, Elon 105th, Towson 119th, and Western Carolina 122nd (last).

Michigan led FBS in defensive 3rd-down conversion rate, at 21.0%. Clemson ranked 4th, Alabama 8th, Army 46th, South Carolina 95th, Air Force 102nd, Georgia Tech 126th, and Navy 128th.

The Midshipmen managed to lead FBS in offensive 3rd-down conversion rate (54.5%, as mentioned above) while finishing last in defensive 3rd-down conversion rate (53.5%). There were a lot of successful drives in Navy games last season.

—

  • The Citadel’s defense in 2014 in SoCon action: 8 sacks, 14 passes defensed in 176 pass attempts (8.0% PD)
  • The Citadel’s defense in 2015 in SoCon action: 20 sacks, 33 passes defensed in 212 pass attempts (15.6% PD)
  • The Citadel’s defense in 2016 in SoCon action: 21 sacks, 29 passes defensed in 211 pass attempts (13.7% PD)

Passes defensed is a statistic that combines pass breakups with interceptions.

Also of interest: the Bulldogs have increased their “hurries” totals in league play from eleven (2014) to seventeen (2015) to twenty-one last season. That helps create a little more havoc.

The Citadel averaged 2.63 sacks per game in conference play. Taking all games into account, the Bulldogs averaged 2.33 sacks per contest, which tied for 36th nationally. Grambling State averaged 3.42 sacks per game to lead FCS.

Chattanooga ranked 12th overall (2.92 sacks per game). Other sack rankings among SoCon teams: Samford (47th), Wofford (48th), Mercer (49th), VMI (tied for 102nd), ETSU (also tied for 102nd), Furman (115th), Western Carolina (122nd and last).

Florida State led FBS teams in sacks per game (3.92). Apparently the ACC Atlantic was a sackfest, because three other teams in that division (Boston College, Clemson, and Wake Forest) finished in the top 11. South Carolina tied for 97th, while East Carolina finished 128th and last in the category.

—

Big plays! Big plays! Big plays! Big plays!

Just for clarification, I am defining “big plays” as offensive plays from scrimmage resulting in gains of 20+ yards, regardless of whether or not they are rushing or passing plays.

  • The Citadel’s offensive plays from scrimmage resulting in gains of 20 or more yards, 2015: 30 (19 rushing, 11 passing)
  • The Citadel’s offensive plays from scrimmage resulting in gains of 20 or more yards, 2016: 26 (15 rushing, 11 passing)

In 2015, 20 of the 30 big plays by the Bulldogs’ offense in conference play either resulted in touchdowns or led to touchdowns on the same drive. Last season, that was the case for 19 of the 26 long gainers.

That is an average of 3.25 big plays per game in league matchups. For all games, the Bulldogs averaged 3.58 big plays per game (seven such plays against North Greenville helped the average).

Just as a comparison to the offenses of a few other SoCon outfits:

– Wofford averaged 3.36 big plays from scrimmage per game (counting all 14 of its contests)

– Chattanooga averaged 4.62 big plays from scrimmage per game (counting all 13 of its contests)

– Furman averaged 4.27 big plays from scrimmage per game (counting all 11 of its contests)

– Mercer averaged 3.45 big plays from scrimmage per game (counting all 11 of its contests)

– Samford averaged 5.00 big plays from scrimmage per game (counting all 12 of its contests)

—

  • Plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more allowed by The Citadel’s defense, 2014: 47 (21 rushing, 26 passing)
  • Plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more allowed by The Citadel’s defense, 2015: 23 (9 rushing, 14 passing)
  • Plays from scrimmage of 20 yards or more allowed by The Citadel’s defense, 2016: 28 (9 rushing, 19 passing)

In 2015, 14 of the 23 big plays allowed by the Bulldogs either resulted in TDs or led to them on the same drive. Last year, 18 of 28 long gainers given up led directly or indirectly to touchdowns.

I want to reiterate that the last two sections are about offensive plays from scrimmage in league action. Obviously, the defense can produce a “big play” of its own (like Jonathan King’s 54-yard sack/strip/fumble return for a TD against VMI), and the same is true for the special teams units (such as DeAndre Schoultz’s critical 81-yard punt return for a touchdown versus Gardner-Webb).

—

  • The Citadel’s offense on 4th down in league play in 2014: 12 for 20 (60.0%)
  • The Citadel’s offense on 4th down in league play in 2015: 3 for 8 (37.5%)
  • The Citadel’s offense on 4th down in league play in 2016: 8 for 16 (50.0%)

—

  • The Citadel’s defense on 4th down in league play in 2015: 8 for 13 converted against (61.5%)
  • The Citadel’s defense on 4th down in league play in 2016: 5 for 9 converted against (55.6%)

The 4th-down conversion rate for all SoCon teams (counting both conference and non-conference games) in 2016 was 54.5%, so the Bulldogs were basically league average on both sides of the ball. Ideally, The Citadel would be better than average on both offense and defense on 4th-down attempts.

—

Bumbling rumbling stumbling fumbling…

When evaluating fumble stats, keep in mind that recovering them is usually a 50-50 proposition (which makes perfect sense, if you think about it). There isn’t really much to evaluate beyond that, other than if a team is really loose with the football.

  • The Citadel’s offensive fumbles in SoCon action, 2014: 10 (lost 6)
  • The Citadel’s offensive fumbles in SoCon action, 2015: 12 (lost 8)
  • The Citadel’s offensive fumbles in SoCon action, 2016: 12 (lost 5)

For all games, the Bulldogs fumbled 22 times, losing 10 of those.

Please note that the official statistical record does not include a fumble against Mercer, which the Bulldogs recovered. That was apparently the result of an error by Mercer’s stats crew. (Hey, it happens.)

—

  • The Citadel’s defensive forced fumbles in SoCon action, 2014: 14 (recovered 7)
  • The Citadel’s defensive forced fumbles in SoCon action, 2015: 8 (recovered 7)
  • The Citadel’s defensive forced fumbles in SoCon action, 2016: 13 (recovered 8)

The Bulldogs only forced two fumbles in non-conference play, recovering neither.

—

  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel in SoCon action, 2014: 37
  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel in SoCon action, 2015: 42
  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel in SoCon action, 2016: 45

Well, at least the average number of penalties per game went down last year. However, penalty yardage per game went up over eight yards per contest, which is somewhat worrisome.

—

  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel’s opponents in SoCon action, 2014: 22
  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel’s opponents in SoCon action, 2015: 29
  • Penalties enforced against The Citadel’s opponents in SoCon action, 2016: 33

Penalty yardage against the Bulldogs’ opponents went up about 4 1/2 yards per game from 2015 to 2016.

—

  • Punts by The Citadel while in opposing territory in 2014, SoCon action: 6 (in seven games)
  • Punts by The Citadel while in opposing territory in 2015, SoCon action: 6 (in seven games)
  • Punts by The Citadel while in opposing territory in 2016, SoCon action: 1 (in eight games)

I almost didn’t bother adding this category to my spreadsheet, thanks to Brent Thompson. The coach only ordered one punt in opposing territory last season. That came on the opening drive of the game against Western Carolina, on a 4th-and-3 from the Catamounts’ 38-yard line.

In retrospect, it was a curious move, but it more or less worked out. Will Vanvick’s punt was downed on the WCU 3-yard line, and Western Carolina proceeded to go 3-and-out.

This year, I also checked to see how many times opponents punted while in Bulldog territory. As it happens, that only happened one time as well.

Late in the first half, Mercer faced a 4th-and-18 from The Citadel’s 43-yard line. Bobby Lamb elected to punt, which was eminently sensible. The ball was downed on the Bulldogs’ 3-yard line; The Citadel picked up one first down, ran three more plays, and then the half ended.

—

Let’s talk about 4th down…

Defining some terms (courtesy of Football Outsiders):

– Deep Zone: from a team’s own goal line to its 20-yard line
– Back Zone: from a team’s own 21-yard line to its 39-yard line
– Mid Zone: from a team’s own 40-yard line to its opponent’s 40-yard line
– Front Zone: from an opponent’s 39-yard line to the opponent’s 21-yard line
– Red Zone: from an opponent’s 20-yard line to the opponent’s goal line

Just as I did last season, on the spreadsheet I’ve categorized every fourth down situation The Citadel’s offense had in conference play (see the “4th down decisions” tab).

The Citadel punted all 18 teams it faced 4th down in the Deep Zone or the Back Zone.

In the Mid Zone, the Bulldogs punted 12 times and went for the first down 3 other times, successfully converting twice (the unsuccessful attempt came against Samford).

The Citadel didn’t have the mojo working in the Front Zone, at least on 4th down. The Bulldogs went for the first down 10 times in the Mid Zone, but only picked it up 4 times. Admittedly, one of those successful conversions was a key 34-yard TD run versus Wofford.

There were four field goal attempts from that zone, only one of which was made. As noted above, The Citadel also had one punt in this area.

The Bulldogs had five 4th-down situations in the Red Zone. Four times, The Citadel elected to attempt a field goal (all were successful). The other 4th-down play in the Red Zone resulted in a 17-yard TD run for Jonathan Dorogy against VMI.

Over the last three seasons, The Citadel has had 17 4th-down situations in the Red Zone during SoCon regulation play. Dorogy’s touchdown run is the only time the Bulldogs picked up a first down.

—

This season, I also tabulated what the Bulldogs’ league opponents did on 4th down against The Citadel.

In the Deep and Back zones, conference opponents punted all 27 times they faced 4th down versus the Bulldogs.

In the Mid Zone, The Citadel’s opposition punted 12 times on 4th and went for a first down on five other occasions. All five attempts to keep the drive alive were successful (two of them were by VMI).

Opponents were 5 for 9 on field goal attempts in the Front Zone (two of the four missed were by Furman). Chattanooga went for a first down on 4th down twice, and went 1-for-2. VMI was 0-for-1 trying for a first down from this distance.

In the Red Zone, opponents were 1-2 trying to pick up a first down, and 3 for 4 on field goal tries.

—

Two seasons ago, The Citadel began what appeared to be a policy of deferring the option to the second half every time it won the coin toss. The Bulldogs won the coin toss 4 times in SoCon play in 2015, and deferred on each occasion.

Last year, The Citadel won the coin toss 6 times in 8 league games, going 3-1 both at home and on the road, a tribute to a consistent skill set. In five of the six games in which the Bulldogs won the toss, they deferred, just as they had done in 2015.

The exception was at Western Carolina, where The Citadel elected to receive after winning the toss. I’m not sure what to make of that.

There are two possibilities: one, that the box score mistakenly credited The Citadel for winning the coin toss when in fact the Catamounts actually won it (and deferred); or, for some specific reason related solely to that game, Brent Thompson decided he wanted the ball first.

I wouldn’t mind if someone asked the coach that very question some time. Of course, he may not remember.

—

As a reminder, this is the first of two statistically-oriented posts I’m making about the previous football season, with an eye to the upcoming campaign. Here is the link to the other one: Link

—

The season is getting closer. Aren’t you glad?

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

2016 Football, Game 5: The Citadel vs. North Greenville

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at North Greenville, to be played to be played at Younts Stadium in Tigerville, South Carolina, with kickoff at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, October 6. The game will not be televised.

The game will be streamed by the North Greenville Sports Network. Cole Bryson will handle play-by-play, with Brad McGuffin supplying the analysis.

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

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

It is also possible to listen to the action with a smartphone, using a TuneIn Radio application.

—

Links of interest:

– Game notes from The Citadel

– SoCon weekly release

– Brent Thompson’s 10/4 press conference, including comments from Joe Crochet and Reggie Williams

– FCS Coaches’ Poll

– A hurricane puts The Citadel on the road

– Local talent fuels North Greenville

—

I had planned on writing most of this preview on Thursday night, and had blocked off time on my schedule to do so. Alas, Hurricane Matthew had other ideas.

I just hope the team is more prepared to play the game than I was to write about it…

—

At times on Tuesday, I wasn’t sure the game would even happen. It will, though, two days early and in another location, a first-time venue for The Citadel’s football program. Repercussions will last for a while:

Ironically, North Greenville was scheduled largely so the Bulldogs would have a fifth home game at Johnson Hagood Stadium this season. With the game now moved to North Greenville’s Younts Stadium, The Citadel will have only four regular-season home games.

That loss of revenue, and the added expense of an extra road trip, means The Citadel’s budget will take a hit this year.

“We are going to incur additional expenses that were not budgeted for,” said [The Citadel’s director of athletics, Jim Senter]. “When we get to the end of the year, we hope we can absorb that. This is not like a normal (road) game for one night. Because of the emergency situation, we are going to have additional expenses related to busing, lodging and meals. There will be an additional cost for us.”

As for how tickets will be handled:

Tickets purchased for the game will be honored Thursday night at North Greenville. Fans unable to attend will have their ticket honored with an additional ticket in general admission seating at The Citadel’s home game against ETSU on Oct. 29 or can donate their ticket to the Junior Bulldog program, which benefits orphanages and foster families in the Lowcountry.

—

When was the last time The Citadel’s football team played a road game against a team that was not in Division I? I’m not entirely sure, but I believe the answer to that question is 1977, when the Bulldogs played at Delaware, which at that time was in Division II. The Citadel also traveled to face the Blue Hens in 1974.

The Citadel played three other road games in the 1970s against teams that are now D-1 but were not at that time: in 1970 against Arkansas State (then in the NCAA’s College Division); in 1971 versus Bucknell (also in the NCAA’s College Division); and in 1973 against Illinois State (a D-2 school that year).

Prior to 1970, there are several instances of The Citadel playing schools away from home that were not Division I at the time, but which are now. That was even the case in the post-war period.

Some of these matchups were neutral-site affairs, including games at the Orangeburg County Fair against Wofford (the last of which took place in 1959). The Citadel also played Presbyterian in Savannah in 1963.

The last time The Citadel played a road game against a school that was not then and is not now a current D-1 member (other than those institutions that dropped football)? Well, it’s possible that there hasn’t been such a game.

In researching this topic, I discovered that several games listed in the record book as road contests, notably a series of pre-World War II matchups with Newberry, were actually played at Hampton Park. The exception was a 1921 contest played in Florence (a game that ended in a 7-7 tie).

The record book also lists the 1948 games against Presbyterian and Newberry as having been road games, when in fact both games were played at College Park. That facility was used because the “new” Johnson Hagood Stadium was not ready to open at the beginning of the season. (Incidentally, the cost of the brand-new Johnson Hagood Stadium in 1948? $600,000.)

Thus, if North Greenville never moves up to Division I, this contest will wind up being a decided anomaly.

—

On October 14, 1891, at the fourth annual meeting of the North Greenville Baptist Association, a momentous decision was made. A committee of nine men was appointed to determine the best location for establishing a high school in the northern region of Greenville County…

…The work of the committee led to the establishment of what is now North Greenville University. Benjamin F. Neves offered ten acres of beautiful rolling land midway between Glassy Mountain to the north and Paris Mountain to the south. By 1892 the first building was completed and ready for occupancy, and North Greenville High School began with the arrival of the first students on January 16, 1893.

The State of South Carolina chartered the institution as North Greenville High School in 1904. The next year the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention assumed control of the school as part of its Mountain Mission School System, a relationship that lasted 25 years. In 1929, the North Greenville Baptist Association again accepted responsibility for the school which had been renamed “North Greenville Baptist Academy” in 1915.

North Greenville became a junior college in 1934; it was renamed North Greenville Junior College in 1950 (which was shortened to North Greenville College in 1972). High school courses were discontinued in 1959.

The school began offering baccalaureate degrees in 1992, and attained university status in 2006. North Greenville retains an affiliation with the South Carolina Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention.

—

North Greenville fielded its first football team in 1994. It had its first winning season in 1996 (7-3), though consistent gridiron success has been difficult to come by. The program went 0-10 in both 2000 and 2001, but under Mike Taylor finished 10-2 in 2006, its best season by winning percentage to date.

Jamey Chadwell was at NGU for three seasons. In his third year at NGU (2011) he led the team to an 11-3 record, the most wins in school history.

After that season, Chadwell made a somewhat curious move to Delta State for a year before taking over at Charleston Southern in 2013. He was succeeded at North Greenville by Carroll McCray, who helmed the program for one year before leaving for his alma mater, Gardner-Webb. McCray’s replacement at NGU was Jeff Farrington.

—

Jeff Farrington is now in his fourth season as the head coach of North Greenville. He is also a 1982 graduate of The Citadel.

I was a walk-on at The Citadel, a slow, splitback veer quarterback who couldn’t throw and didn’t have a whole lot of people who wanted me to play football. But The Citadel gave me a chance, and I’m forever grateful. It was a great experience, and I got on the field as a defensive back my last two years.

I was a guy they couldn’t run off, and Art Baker and his staff, guys like Cal McCombs, had a really good influence on me. It was a special place and always has been.

Farrington has been an assistant coach at a wide variety of schools, including several in the Southern Conference. He was a graduate assistant at The Citadel for one year, spent five seasons at East Tennessee State, and was on Bobby Lamb’s staff for nine years at Furman.

Before taking the head coaching job at North Greenville in 2013, he had been the defensive coordinator at VMI. Farrington has also coached at Florida State, East Carolina, Lenoir-Rhyne, West Georgia, and Presbyterian. He assisted Lamb in starting the football program at Mercer, too.

—

Farrington’s staff has plenty of SoCon connections as well. Defensive coordinator Greg Harris is a VMI graduate. Offensive line coach Nic Cardwell is an Appalachian State alumnus, while defensive backs coach Maurice Duncan played for Furman.

Kicking coach Bob Price is an App State grad who spent 16 years as an assistant coach at Furman. Graduate assistant Jeff Ashley played for Wofford.

—

North Greenville has been an independent in football for several years (the school competes in Conference Carolinas in its other sports). However, that will change in 2018, when the school becomes an affiliate member (football-only) of the Gulf South Conference.

Members of the Gulf South in football: North Alabama, Valdosta State, West Georgia, West Alabama, Florida Tech, Delta State, West Florida, Mississippi College, and Shorter.

—

This will only be the second time North Greenville has hosted an FCS school (Charleston Southern made the trip in 2007), but NGU has a lot of experience facing D-1 competition.

One thing that is rather clear when a check of the records is made: North Greenville has been very competitive in most of those matchups.

In fact, the Crusaders have four victories over FCS foes, including a 37-24 win over VMI in 2013, Jeff Farrington’s first season in charge of the program. North Greenville has also beaten Presbyterian (in 2010), Jacksonville, and Austin Peay (with both of those victories coming in 2006).

Some of the losses are almost (if not just) as impressive. Wofford outlasted NGU 42-27 in 2014; Charleston Southern won 28-14 in 2013 and 41-31 in 2010; Presbyterian survived 22-15 in 2008. That aforementioned home game against CSU in 2007 resulted in a 46-33 win for the Buccaneers.

North Greenville isn’t going to be intimidated by playing an FCS squad. If The Citadel isn’t ready to play on Thursday night, the Bulldogs could get embarrassed.

—

NGU opened the season in front of 3,822 fans with a 24-23 home win over future conference foe West Alabama. The Crusaders were up 10-0, but found themselves behind 23-17 late in the fourth quarter. A touchdown and subsequent PAT with 1:40 remaining gave North Greenville the lead for good.

North Greenville then traveled to Lenoir-Rhyne and crushed the Bears, 45-0. Rochar Witherspoon returned the opening kickoff for a TD, and the Crusaders never let up. Starting quarterback Will Hunter completed 9 of his first 10 passes, and NGU rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns.

Newberry would hand NGU its first loss of the season, a 29-28 setback in Tigerville before 2,928 spectators. The Crusaders trailed 22-10 before mounting a comeback that saw them take the lead with less than five minutes remaining. However, Newberry proceeded to drive the length of the field and scored the winning touchdown/PAT with just 1:09 to play.

North Greenville fell to 2-2 after a 49-35 loss at UNC-Pembroke. The Crusaders trailed 28-7 at halftime after allowing 251 passing yards in the first two quarters. The Braves kept NGU at bay during the second half, leading by at least 14 points throughout the contest.

On Saturday, the Crusaders hammered Mars Hill at Younts Stadium, 56-21, delighting most of the 2,056 fans in attendance. A blocked punt that was recovered in the end zone for a TD gave NGU plenty of momentum early in the game, as North Greenville scored the game’s first 21 points. The Crusaders added a touchdown in the second quarter and three more TDs in the third, rolling up 518 yards of total offense in the process.

—

Some quick team statistics of note for North Greenville:

NGU Opponents
Points/game 37.6 24.4
Total yards rushing 1213 767
Rush attempts 200 180
Yards/rush 6.1 4.3
Rush TDs 16 9
Total yards passing 957 1200
Completion % 54.2 (144 attempts) 63.6 (187 attempts)
Yards/pass attempt 6.6 6.4
Interceptions 1 5
Pass TDs 7 8
Total offense 2170 1967
Offensive Plays 344 367
Yards/play 6.3 5.4
Fumbles/Lost 7/3 8/3
Penalties/game 9 9
Pen yds/game 81.6 71.6
TOP/game 28:59:00 31:00:00
3rd-down conversion % 40.00 38.96
Red Zone TD% 13-14 (93%) 13-17 (76%)

Things that jump out when looking at those stats:

  • Scoring touchdowns on 13 of 14 trips into the red zone is very impressive
  • NGU passes on 42% of its plays from scrimmage
  • Passing yardage accounts for 44% of the Crusaders’ total offense
  • North Greenville has only committed four turnovers in five games
  • NGU has been heavily penalized — and so has its opponents
  • The difference in rush yards per play from an offensive and defensive perspective is noteworthy

—

Starting quarterback Will Hunter (6’1″, 190 lbs.) is a redshirt sophomore from Lexington who operates the Crusaders’ zone-read offense out of the shotgun.

For the season, Hunter is completing 54.1% of his passes, averaging 6.56 yards per attempt, with six TD tosses against only one interception. Hunter’s father Tripp is a graduate of The Citadel (like Jeff Farrington, he is an ’82 grad).

NGU has three players who share most of the load in terms of rushing attempts. Ashton Heard (5’9″, 180 lbs.) is a native of Abbeville who rushed for 1,136 yards last season, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

Simeon Byrd (5’10”, 205 lbs.), who went to Spartanburg High School, has 17 career touchdowns. While Heard and Byrd are seniors, Tracy Scott (6’0″, 195 lbs.) is a redshirt freshman from Greenville who currently leads the team in rushing, and is averaging  7.5 yards per carry. Scott started in the Crusaders’ most recent game, against Mars Hill.

Twelve different players have receptions for the Crusaders. The three leading receivers are a varied lot in terms of size.

Mason Sanders (6’6″, 230 lbs.) is a junior from Boiling Springs who is tied for the team lead in receptions (19). Sanders, who leads the team with 4 TD catches, is joined in the starting lineup by Javon Smith (5’9″, 170 lbs.) and Demajiay Rooks (5’10”, 160 lbs.).

Smith is a junior from Blythewood with 19 catches so far this season, while Rooks is a sophomore from Woodruff with 12 receptions, including a team long of 51 yards. Rooks had a kickoff return for a touchdown last season for the Crusaders, so he’s more than capable of making a big play.

Starting tight end Bobby Foos (6’2″, 225 lbs.) doubles as the team’s punter. The product of Chesnee High School has a touchdown reception this year for NGU.

The starters on North Greenville’s offensive line average 6’4″, 280 lbs. Tackle Casey Stewart (6’2″, 280 lbs.) is a Pickens resident who had 35 “knockdown” blocks last season.

—

Linebacker Sam Houston (6’1″, 220 lbs.) is an Easley native who is far and away the Crusaders’ leader in tackles this season. He is also the career tackles leader for North Greenville.

In a way, it is a shame that he didn’t attend Sam Houston State. I really hope his nickname is “Bearkat”.

Daulton Pilgrim (6’0″, 190 lbs.) is a junior linebacker who went to Daniel High School. He is second on the team in tackles.

Desmond Williams (6’2″, 255 lbs.) is a redshirt freshman defensive lineman from Piedmont. Williams already has two blocked kicks this year.

Another defensive lineman, Anthony Blair (6’3″, 245 lbs.) is the team’s designated sack artist; the junior from Georgetown has 2.5 sacks this year. He had 7.5 sacks in 2014.

Nigel Gay (5’9″, 160 lbs.) is a DB from Newnan, Georgia (not South Carolina!) and has two interceptions so far this season. The senior is also averaging an impressive 8.3 yards per punt return, something to watch on Thursday night.

Earlier, I mentioned that Rochar Witherspoon (5’8″, 160 lbs.) returned a kickoff for a TD against Lenoir-Rhyne. Witherspoon (from Manning) is also a starting defensive back for the Crusaders.

Placekicker Matt Gravely (6’2″, 180 lbs.) is a freshman from Pickens who is 4 for 5 on field goal attempts this season (long of 47 yards). He is 24 for 24 on PATs.

—

Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Thursday in Tigerville, per the National Weather Service: mostly sunny with a high of 75 degrees. There is a 20% chance of rain on Thursday night, with a low of 62 degrees.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, The Citadel is a 28.5-point favorite over North Greenville, with an over/under of 49.5. However, that line was set before the game was moved to North Greenville.

– Other lines involving SoCon teams: Chattanooga is an 18.5-point favorite over Mercer; Samford is a 7.5-point favorite at Furman; VMI is a 12.5-point favorite versus East Tennessee State; and Wofford is an 8.5-point favorite at Western Carolina.

Gardner-Webb is a 5.5-point favorite over Presbyterian this week in Boiling Springs. North Carolina is a 2-point favorite at home over Virginia Tech.

– Massey Ratings: The Citadel is ranked 9th in FCS. North Greenville is 72nd among Division II squads.

Massey projects The Citadel to have an 98% chance of winning, with a predicted final score of 41-10.

Other FCS rankings in Massey of note: Chattanooga (4th), Samford (18th), Wofford (26th), Mercer (42nd), Furman (60th), Western Carolina (61st), Gardner-Webb (66th), VMI (67th), East Tennessee State (86th).

– North Greenville’s roster is overwhelming made up of South Carolina natives (as you may have guessed while reading the section on individual players), with 78 Crusaders hailing from the Palmetto State. Other states represented on NGU’s roster: Georgia (9), Florida (3), North Carolina (2), and Ohio (1).

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s website) is as follows: South Carolina (47 players), Georgia (23), Florida (9), North Carolina (7), Alabama (4), Pennsylvania (4), Texas (4), and one each from Louisiana, Maryland, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nevada, and West Virginia.

– Triple option oddity no more: through three games this season, more Bulldogs had caught passes (eight) than had rushing attempts (seven). However, the number of rushers has finally exceeded the number of pass-catchers, as Evan McField, Grant Drakeford, and Jonathan Dorogy all had rushing attempts on Saturday against Western Carolina.

– North Greenville has had one player make the NFL: Freddie Martino, a wide receiver who has been on practice squads (and occasionally on active rosters) for the Falcons, Eagles, and Buccaneers. He is currently on Tampa Bay’s active roster.

– Joseph Randolph II, a freshman from Jefferson, Georgia, is listed on The Citadel’s two-deep for this week. It is the first time he has appeared on the Bulldogs’ depth chart. Randolph is a 6’3″, 255 lb. defensive tackle.

—

I am worried about this game, for several reasons. One, North Greenville appears to be a very solid D-2 team, with a lot of quality players who can make a difference on any given night.

Then there is the element of the unknown. How will the Bulldogs react to having to play two days early? How will they perform away from home after anticipating playing a game at Johnson Hagood Stadium?

The Citadel has not played at home since September 10, against Furman. Sure, there was a bye week mixed in between road games, but that’s a long wait for a home game. Then not to have it after all — well, that makes it tougher.

I’m not too concerned about the Bulldogs looking ahead to the Chattanooga game. I’m just wondering about the focus for this game in general.

We’ll see. Dee Delaney seems to have the right mindset, at any rate.

It would not be surprising if a significant number of Bulldog supporters make an appearance at Younts Stadium on Thursday night. I have a feeling that a lot of light blue and white will be on hand, and that’s good.

This game is sort of a mini-bonus for some of The Citadel’s fans in the Upstate. Perhaps a few cadets will make it to the game, too.

Let’s get to 5-0.

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

McAlister Musings: Well, the season is underway

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Sandlapper Spike

Previously: My preview of the season

—

Links of interest:

Chuck Driesell inks four players in the early signing period

The Citadel loses to VMI, 66-65

Bulldogs defeated by Air Force, 68-55

The Citadel wins its home opener over Toccoa Falls, 71-58

Bulldogs pull away in second half and beat Bob Jones University, 81-50

—

Four games are in the books, and the Bulldogs are 2-2. The Citadel’s two victories came at home against non-D1 competition, while its two losses were in neutral-site games versus D-1 squads.

– Against VMI, the Bulldogs controlled the pace. The result was a 60-possession contest, the fewest possessions in a game involving VMI since Duggar Baucom took over in Lexington as head coach.

The Citadel won that battle, but couldn’t win the contest. The Bulldogs led by 11 points with 4:41 remaining in the first half, but started the second half so poorly that VMI had a seven-point lead with ten minutes to play.

After a nice comeback, The Citadel played the last 2:02 like a team that didn’t know how to win, with two turnovers sandwiched around a VMI possession that featured four offensive rebounds by the Keydets. The three-pointer with 15 seconds remaining that won the game for VMI seemed inevitable.

Of 58 VMI field goal attempts, 29 (exactly half) were from beyond the arc. Conversely, The Citadel only attempted four three-point shots. That shooting philosophy was reflected in the free throw totals for the two teams (only four for the Keydets; twenty-two for the Bulldogs).

The Citadel did a lot of things right against VMI, but didn’t rebound well enough and couldn’t close the deal when the opportunity was there. Also, for the umpteenth time in the last season-plus, the Bulldogs gave up a halftime buzzer-beater (admittedly, on something of a circus shot by the Keydets’ Q.J. Peterson, but still).

– While the Bulldogs probably should have won the game against VMI, the next day’s matchup against Air Force was a different story. The Falcons were in control throughout most of the contest, leading by as many as 16 points midway through the second half.

The Citadel did keep the tempo in its (apparent) comfort zone, as the game against AFA was a 57-possession contest. The Bulldogs also won the turnover battle (18-11).

However, Air Force shot 56% from the floor, 45% from three-land, and outrebounded The Citadel 34-22. That included a less-than-stellar performance on the defensive glass by the Bulldogs, only corralling 9 rebounds from 21 missed AFA shots (the Falcons actually missed 22 total shots, but one resulted in a “dead ball” free throw rebound).

Also on the negative stat report: The Citadel was only 9-19 from the foul line against Air Force. That didn’t help.

– Individual numbers are basically meaningless after just two games (as are comparing team numbers). I did think it was interesting that through Sunday’s games, Ashton Moore ranked second in the nation in percentage of shots taken by a player for his team while that player is on the court.

Moore took 33 shots in the first two games of the season. His totals from the second two games don’t count towards that statistic (because they were versus non-D1 opponents), but for what it’s worth, he kept firing, with 37 combined shots in those two contests.

– I’m not going to get into much detail about the games against Toccoa Falls and Bob Jones University. Neither was exactly what Chuck Driesell or the fan base wanted, other than two victories.

I attended the Toccoa Falls matchup. The Citadel raced out to a 16-0 lead, and then proceeded to be outscored 58-55 over the last 34 minutes of the game.

That wasn’t what I thought I was going to see, given the recent history of the Eagles’ basketball program, which included a 141-39 loss to Western Carolina less than two years ago. Last season, Toccoa Falls lost to Georgia Southern by 54 points.

Driesell said during his postgame radio interview that Toccoa Falls was “much improved”, but he was still disappointed in his team’s play (as well he should have been). The Bulldogs were too sloppy on both ends of the floor and did not shoot particularly well, either (43%).

Toccoa Falls plays Presbyterian on November 25. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles are competitive in that game as well (last year, PC only beat Toccoa Falls by ten points).

The Citadel outscored Bob Jones University 40-16 in the second half, which was fine. It was the first half that was a bit disquieting, as the Bruins only trailed 41-34 at the break. In its previous game, BJU had lost 107-41 to USC-Upstate (the Spartans led by 32 at halftime in that contest).

The Bulldogs again did not shoot well from outside (6-19 from beyond the arc). The Citadel turned the ball over on more than 20% of its possessions, very poor when considering the competition.

Did The Citadel give up yet another buzzer-beating halftime shot to BJU? Yes, it did — this time on a layup, after a Bulldog turnover with six seconds remaining in the half. Unbelievable.

—

Next up for The Citadel is a game in Tallahassee against Florida State on Tuesday. The Seminoles lost on Sunday to Massachusetts to fall to 1-3 on the season; FSU has dropped three straight contests, having also lost to Northeastern and Providence after opening the season with a victory over Manhattan.

On Saturday, November 29, the Bulldogs are back at McAlister Field House to play Warren Wilson College, a school that Toccoa Falls defeated 66-62 last week.

The following Tuesday, The Citadel plays at College of Charleston. The Cougars are currently 2-3 and have a game at West Virginia before the matchup with the Bulldogs.

Navy comes to town on December 6 for a Saturday afternoon game that should be a lot of fun. The Midshipmen are currently 0-4, but will play four more games before making an appearance in McAlister Field House.

—

Odds and ends:

– The new video scoreboard is fantastic.

– There were about 250-300 cadets in attendance (I may be slightly underestimating the total) for the game against Toccoa Falls. They were fed at McAlister Field House (the mess hall being closed on Wednesday night).

For future games, I would like to see the cadets seated behind the scorer’s table as opposed to in the rafters.

– For first-time buyers, season tickets can be purchased for $75. Another promotion: at Saturday’s game, fans received a free t-shirt that will get them admitted to all Saturday home games for free.

I like both ideas. This strikes me as a good season in which to experiment and see what works and what doesn’t, in terms of promotion.

– The halftime entertainment for the Toccoa Falls game was a stepshow performance by students from Lower Richland High School. The crowd (particularly the cadets) thoroughly enjoyed it.

– I assume the pep band will make its debut for the Navy game. Its absence for the home opener was noticeable.

—

I took a few pictures. If you thought my football photos were bad, wait until you get a look at some of these turkeys…

Gobble Gobble!

 

 

 

 

Filed under: Basketball, The Citadel | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Football, Game 10: The Citadel vs. Elon

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Sandlapper Spike

Time/location:  2:00 pm ET, Johnson Hagood Stadium

Television:  None (maybe a good thing)

—

It’s Homecoming at The Citadel.  What can alums expect from the Bulldogs’ offense against Elon?

Well, let’s look at the trends in Southern Conference play.  The first game was against Furman.  The latest was against Wofford.  So, in order:

Furman — 359 total yards, 14 points

Western Carolina — 304 total yards, 13 points

Chattanooga — 263 total yards, 10 points

Appalachian State — 197 total yards, 10 points

Georgia Southern — 160 yards, 0 points

Wofford — 143 total yards, 0 points

Now, that’s what I call a trend…

—

The yards per play is very close to the same orderly negative statistical trend, but there was a minor uptick against GSU (masked by nine turnovers).  For the record, The Citadel’s yards per play in the SoCon, in order of games played:  4.6, 4.1, 4.0, 3.3, 3.4, 2.3

So, if things continue as they have in the league, The Citadel’s Homecoming will feature an offense that will accumulate less than 140 yards of total offense, average about 2 yards per play, and won’t score.

I don’t think it will be that bad, but it’s hard to find much to be encouraged about, at least offensively (the defense has played fairly well over the last month, certainly well enough for the Bulldogs to have won SoCon games if the offense had been competent).

Turnovers have been the headline problem, of course, but another issue is that the Bulldogs aren’t making big plays in the offense.  One reason The Citadel has scored only five touchdowns in six conference games is a lack of long-distance runs or passes.  The Bulldogs only have had eight plays of 20+ yards in those six contests; only two of those plays were longer than 30 yards — and one of those two plays was a 33-yard run by punter Cass Couey, obviously not a product of the option offense.

The Bulldogs have had nine drives of greater than 50 yards in league play.  Four of those nine came against Furman in the conference opener.  None came in the last two games.

Incidentally, of those nine 50+ yard drives, Matt Thompson was the quarterback for five of them, Sam Martin the QB for the other four.

—

I would like to think the Bulldogs will give a spirited performance for the Homecoming crowd.  That didn’t happen last season, when The Citadel lost 43-17 to Wofford in a very poor showing that greatly disappointed the alumni.

The year before, the Bulldogs narrowly averted a horrific loss at Homecoming to a terrible Chattanooga team.  The Mocs were in the process of mailing in their season under a lame-duck coach, but The Citadel needed last-minute heroics from Andre Roberts to escape with a 24-21 victory.

—

This year’s Homecoming game has been designated as a “Red Out”.  There are two reasons for this, in my opinion.

The official reason is to commemorate the return of “Big Red”.  The other (and this is just my opinion) is to take advantage of the largest crowd of the season and sell a bunch of “Big Red” merchandise.

That crowd size has to be the only reason the administration would have considered having a “Red Out” for a game in which the opponent is Elon, whose primary school color is…red.  At least, I hope that’s the only reason.  It still strikes me as not being a wise decision, and I know I’m not the only one.

The effort to promote Big Red apparently will also include red jerseys for the football team, if the rumors are true (and I’m sure they are).  There will also be a special Homecoming helmet design (see post #40 on this thread from TCISN), which is basically a remake of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ helmets.  Not bad, but not innovative or particularly interesting.

If The Citadel does indeed don red jerseys against Elon, that will mean the Bulldogs would not have worn the traditional home color combo of light blue jerseys/white pants for any home game this season.  I guess at this point our traditional colors are now alternate colors, and the alternate uniforms are the “main” uniforms.

Below I’ve listed the color combos for all nine games to date in 2010:

Chowan (home):  light blue jerseys, dark blue pants

Arizona (road):  white jerseys, white pants

Presbyterian (home):  dark blue jerseys, dark blue pants

Furman (road):  dark blue jerseys, dark blue pants

Western Carolina (home):  light blue jerseys, dark blue pants

Appalachian State (road):  white jerseys, white pants

Chattanooga (home):  dark blue jerseys, white pants

Georgia Southern (home):  dark blue jerseys, dark blue pants

Wofford (road):  white jerseys, dark blue pants

One thing I’m unfortunately fairly confident about:  if The Citadel does wear red jerseys on Saturday, the jerseys will have “CITADEL” on the front, and not “THE CITADEL”. That, of course, is true for all the other jerseys the Bulldogs have worn this year, regardless of color.  I assume it’s a cost-saving issue, as having the “THE” on the jersey would undoubtedly cost the school hundreds of thousands of dollars.

—

This is one of my more cynical and less positive posts, and so the fact it’s also one of my shorter game previews is probably just as well.  That said, I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised on Saturday.  For one thing, it’s time for a little payback as far as Elon is concerned.  The Phoenix’s last visit to Johnson Hagood Stadium (in 2008) was a victory for the visitors, one basically handed to Elon by inept Southern Conference officiating.

Quarterback Scott Riddle may not start for Elon due to injury.  You may remember the last time Riddle started something against The Citadel; he ran away before finishing it, though.

Riddle can talk to Fred Jordan about shoulder injuries…

—

I’m not expecting a brawl on Saturday.  I do want to see some fight in the Bulldogs, though.

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

Next Page »