2016 Football, Game 6: The Citadel vs. Chattanooga

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel vs. Chattanooga, to be played at historic Johnson Hagood Stadium, with kickoff at 3:00 pm ET on October 15. The game be televised on multiple Fox regional sports networks, including Fox Sports Southeast, Fox Sports Midwest+, Fox Sports North+, and Fox Sports San Diego. Kevin Fitzgerald will provide play-by-play, while Sadath Jean-Pierre supplies the analysis. 

The game will also be streamed on ESPN3.com and Fox Sports Go.

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.

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

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Links of interest:

– Parents’ Weekend information

– Game notes for The Citadel and Chattanooga

– SoCon weekly release

– Brent Thompson 10/11 press conference, including comments from Tevin Floyd and Cam Jackson (video)

– Brent Thompson’s 10/12 radio show (video)

– Brent Thompson interviewed by Phil Korblut of SportsTalk (audio)

– Russ Huesman’s 10/11 press conference (video)

– UTC 10/11 press conference featuring players Taylor Reynolds and Alejandro Bennifield (video)

– Inside Chattanooga Football (video)

– The Citadel has four road wins, most in Division I

– With the hurricane behind them, Bulldogs ready to play Chattanooga

– Chattanooga eager to play The Citadel

– The stress from the upcoming game gives Mocs coach Russ Huesman a sore neck

– Mocs running back Derrick Craine is having a very good season (again)

– Chattanooga practicing in full pads to prepare for The Citadel

– Ultimately, it’s just another conference game

– Hey, a little news about Bulldog Hoops!

– Updated options for North Greenville tickets

– Ryan Bednar has come a long way

– Radio open for the game on The Citadel Sports Network

– FCS Coaches’ Poll

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Additional link of interest that isn’t necessarily sports-related (although there is a little football talk):

– A conversation with John Rosa

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I linked the ticket options update above, but let’s take a closer look:

Fans who have tickets for last week’s rescheduled football game against North Greenville can use them for this week’s top-10 matchup against Chattanooga.

“Because The Citadel’s Parents Weekend has been rescheduled to this weekend, we felt we needed to offer fans who purchased tickets because of Parents Weekend the opportunity to still use those as originally intended,” Athletic Director Jim Senter said. “We understand many plans were changed due to the hurricane, and we want to allow those who planned to attend our football game as part of their Parents Weekend activities to still be able to do that.”

Anyone with a ticket to the North Greenville game that was not used last Thursday night at North Greenville can exchange that ticket for admission to Saturday’s home game against Chattanooga. Exchanges are required because if a ticket has already been sold in that seat for this week’s game, the North Greenville ticket holders will be reseated to the best available location. Every effort will be made to keep seat locations as close to the original location as possible.

Fans unable to attend this week’s game 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.

I think it may be difficult for some people who had tickets to the North Greenville game to be in attendance for the Chattanooga contest. Presumably a significant amount of tickets were purchased by families as part of the Parents’ Weekend festivities. Some of them will return, but a week’s notice is going to be tough for more than a few folks, especially those who hail from outside the southeastern United States.

I’m not sure how that will affect this week’s turnout, or general ticket availability. How much reseating will be necessary?

Earlier this week, my initial reaction to the talk about this being a sellout, or a near-sellout, was just that: it was only talk.

Chattanooga isn’t going to bring a lot of people (the Mocs rarely do; it’s a long trip, after all). No one should be expecting as many Parents’ Day attendees on short notice as there would have been for the North Greenville game. I didn’t see how attendance would make a big jump.

Now, though, I get the impression that Johnson Hagood Stadium will be close to a packed house, especially with any kind of decent walk-up crowd (and the weather on Saturday will apparently be cooperating on that front). The scene should look great on TV, too.

I know The Citadel’s players are more than ready to finally play another home game. It appears the same may be true of the Bulldogs’ fan base, as well. Eight of the last nine games played by The Citadel have been on the road; I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

I will say this, though. If someone plans on exchanging a ticket from the North Greenville game for a Chattanooga ducat, getting to the stadium early should be a priority. I would imagine there may quite a line to exchange those tickets.

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When it was suggested to Cam Jackson by a member of the press that the game against Chattanooga was “different from another conference game”, Jackson politely responded that in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t.

No sir, every conference game is just as important as the next.

I don’t think Jackson anticipated having to explain basic mathematics to a reporter at the Tuesday press conference. His comment was later referred to by the same scribe as a “dreaded cliché”.

That was a remarkably poor description. Jackson’s statement wasn’t a cliché; it was the simple truth, one undoubtedly drilled into the Bulldogs by the coaching staff, but the truth nonetheless. (Incidentally, Mocs quarterback Alejandro Bennifield said almost the exact same thing at UTC’s presser.)

The Citadel’s season won’t end on Saturday. There are still five regular-season games remaining (four in SoCon play) after the Bulldogs play Chattanooga.

A win or loss won’t define the 2016 campaign. It’s just one link in a chain. It’s not to be completely discounted, of course. However, the world won’t end if the Bulldogs lose, and Johnson Hagood Stadium won’t turn into Big Rock Candy Mountain if they win.

I can even provide a relevant example to prove this.

The first time Johnson Hagood Stadium hosted a matchup of Top 10 teams came in 1992. On October 17 of that year, The Citadel played Marshall before a record crowd. Both teams were undefeated in SoCon action entering the contest.

Marshall won the game, so naturally the Southern Conference title that year was won by…uh…uh…uh…

The Citadel.

Sometimes people forget that. They shouldn’t.

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As is traditional, nomenclature must be established when discussing Chattanooga. I’ve written before (more than once, to be sure) about the school’s identity/branding issues.

Chattanooga has a webpage on its varsity athletics website devoted to the one question that has bedeviled the school for many years: What is a Moc?

 The term “Moc” is short for “Mockingbird.” Mockingbirds are fiercely territorial creatures which protect their homes with courage, determination and skill…

…Named after legendary football coach A.C. “Scrappy” Moore, Scrappy, the Chattanooga mascot, is a fixture for the Mocs.  A re-design in 2008 puts Scrappy in the image of the State Bird of Tennessee, a Mockingbird.  The mockingbird is known as a fierce protector of its nest and environment. It is sometimes seen swooping down on a dog, cat or predator that may be venturing too close to the bird’s protected territory.   Once described by “Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon as “a sledge-hammer wielding mockingbird with a heart of Blue & Gold,” Scrappy symbolizes that competitive passion.

Faced with politically sensitive issues and in need of a stronger core identity to help establish a strong brand as Chattanooga’s Team, the athletics department embarked on a comprehensive identity program in 1996. A new direction for the athletics identity was determined, moving away from the politically incorrect Native American Indian imagery.

The “Power C” and the “Cowcatcher logo” are also phrases that apply to branding at Chattanooga. It’s a subject that has even come to the attention of The New York Times.

In this post, I’ll refer to “Chattanooga”, “UTC”, and “Mocs” when discussing its football program.

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The most memorable game played between Chattanooga and The Citadel at Johnson Hagood Stadium was probably the 1988 contest, won by the Bulldogs 23-17. As the clock wound down, UTC had a first-and-goal from the three-yard line, with a chance to win the game with a TD and subsequent PAT. However, a big defensive stand by the Bulldogs (featuring key plays by Rob Brodsky, Matt Larkin, and Terrance Young) preserved the victory.

The Citadel had won two consecutive games before that matchup with UTC; it would eventually win seven straight games that season and make the I-AA playoffs for the first time.

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How far has Chattanooga come under Russ Huesman? I wrote this in 2008:

You know it’s been a bad season [for Chattanooga] when the beat writer for the local paper notes that “punter Jeff Lloyd, who lost his starting job for three games, may be the Mocs’ most productive player.”

Later in the column he writes that Lloyd has been effective “when he has been able to get a punt off.”

UTC’s struggles have presented an opportunity for assorted anti-football advocates to step forward and call for the program’s elimination. The loudest of these voices is a computer science professor at UTC named Joe Dumas.  From the link:

“This is a perfect time for UTC to get out of the football business for good and concentrate on academics while maintaining successful athletic programs like basketball, golf, tennis, etc.”

Eight years later, Chattanooga has won outright or shared the last three SoCon titles. This season, the Mocs are 6-0 and ranked third in the nation in the FCS Coaches’ poll.

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UTC began its 2016 campaign by annihilating Division II Shorter University, 66-0. The following week, the Mocs beat Presbyterian 34-0.

Two games, a combined score of 100-0. Nice start.

Chattanooga has since played four Southern Conference games, winning all four. Only the first of those, a 21-14 win at Furman, was close (though even in that game, UTC led 21-0 before the Paladins made a belated fourth-quarter charge).

A very good Samford team was pushed aside 44-21, with UTC storming out to another 21-0 lead and never looking back. East Tennessee State was then mauled, 37-7 (one of two road games the Mocs have played so far this season).

Last week, Chattanooga led Mercer 38-3 at halftime and 52-10 in the third quarter before settling for a 52-31 victory. That would be the same Mercer team The Citadel beat by one point in the season opener.

UTC has yet to trail in a game this season, outscoring its opponents 148-10 in the first half.

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Many of Chattanooga’s relevant statistics are eye-popping.

UTC Opp
Points Per Game 41.8 12.2
Pts Off Turnovers 59 7
Rushing yardage 1384 430
Rushing Attempts 270 185
Yds/rush 5.1 2.3
TDs Rushing 18 6
Passing yardage 1287 936
Comp-Att-Int 93-139-4 97-170-5
Average Per Pass 9.3 5.5
TDs Passing 15 4
Total Off. Plays 409 355
Average yds/play 6.5 3.8
Average yds/game 445.2 227.7
Fumbles/lost 8/2 12/6
Penalties-yards 37-358 33-331
Average/game 59.7 55.2
TOP/game 34:09:00 25:51:00
3rd-down conv. 27/74 18/82
3rd-down conv. rate 36% 22%
Sacks by-yards 16-122 5-43
Red Zone TD rate (21-28) 75% (8-10) 80%

Among other things:

  • The Mocs lead the nation in scoring defense, total defense, yards allowed per play, and defensive 3rd-down conversion rate
  • UTC is third in the nation in rushing defense, and fourth in the country in yards allowed per rush
  • The Mocs are sixth nationally in yards allowed per pass attempt
  • Chattanooga has only been sacked five times, while throwing 139 passes. Meanwhile, its opponents have been sacked 16 times while throwing 170 passes.
  • UTC has a pass completion rate of 67% and is seventh nationally in offensive pass efficiency
  • Chattanooga is also seventh nationally in scoring offense
  • UTC is tenth nationally in time of possession per game (Wofford leads the nation in that category; The Citadel is second)

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Now, to be fair, The Citadel has some nice statistics of its own:

  • The Bulldogs are 12th nationally in offensive third-down conversion rate
  • The Citadel is tied for 6th in scoring defense, 12th in total defense, and 12th in turnover margin
  • The Bulldogs lead the nation in rushing offense, and are 6th in the country in yards per rush
  • The Citadel has not allowed a sack all season, the only FCS team that can make that claim
  • The Bulldogs are one of two FCS teams not to allow a successful fourth down conversion so far this season (Sacred Heart is the other). Admittedly, The Citadel’s opponents have only gone for it on 4th down on three occasions.

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“We won’t be able to trick ’em.”

– Russ Huesman, describing his offense versus The Citadel’s defense at his press conference on Tuesday.

Of course, this is the same coach who called a trick play for a TD on the first play from scrimmage in last year’s game…

When Russ Huesman’s son, Jacob, finally exhausted his eligibility, there was some question as to whether or not UTC would regress offensively in 2016 with a new starting quarterback. The answer: nope.

That’s partly because the Mocs brought back most of their other offensive starters, but mainly because Alejandro Bennifield (6’2″, 220 lbs.) has seamlessly stepped in as UTC’s signal-caller.

Bennifield (who was involved in the aforementioned trick play) is completing 66.7% of his passes, averaging 9.3 yards per attempt, with fifteen TD tosses against only four interceptions. The junior from Lovejoy, Georgia, is fourth nationally in offensive pass efficiency.

Derrick Craine (5’10”, 205 lbs.) is a senior running back who was a first-team All-SoCon pick last season after rushing for 1,251 yards. His first career 100-yard performance as a Moc came the last time UTC played at Johnson Hagood Stadium, as he had 135 yards in the 2014 matchup.

UTC has at least four receivers who can make big plays. Xavier Borishade (5’10”, 180 lbs.) already has six touchdown receptions this season. The senior was the recipient of the TD toss from Bennifield on the first play of last year’s game against the Bulldogs.

Another wideout, C.J. Board (6’2″, 180 lbs.), is second on the team in receptions. Board has caught three TD passes in 2016. Last year versus The Citadel, Board had 116 receiving yards on five catches.

It should be noted that while the tight end position is not always a prominent feature of Chattanooga’s passing offense, two different Moc TEs caught touchdown passes last week against Mercer.

Chattanooga’s starting offensive line averages 6’4″, 298 lbs.

The line is led by left guard Corey Levin (6’5″, 305 lbs.), who has won the Jacobs Blocking Award the last two years in the Southern Conference. Jacob Revis (6’3″, 295 lbs.) is the Mocs’ starting center, and a preseason all-conference pick.

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[Chattanooga is] expected to practice in full pads [Tuesday] and Thursday as they prepare for the Bulldogs’ rough, rugged triple-option attack.

“Most of the time we just go in shells,” coach Russ Huesman said. “You don’t see it much, but when you play option teams, you get low blocks — legal but low blocks — and we’ve got to practice against them at a great speed or we’ll be on the ground the whole game.

I thought this was an interesting approach to preparing for the triple option.

An even better approach for defending the triple option is to recruit players like Keionta Davis (6’4″, 270 lbs.), a defensive end/blunt instrument who was the preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the SoCon. Davis is a Chattanooga native who led the league in sacks last season with 13 1/2 (including two against The Citadel). He already has five sacks in 2016 (and also blocked a field goal attempt against Furman).

Middle linebacker Nakevion Leslie (5’11”, 225 lbs.) was a first-team All-SoCon choice last year. He currently leads the Mocs in tackles. Leslie had 15 stops versus the Bulldogs in last year’s contest.

Fellow linebacker Dale Warren (6’0″, 225 lbs.) is second on the team in tackles. The junior leads the Mocs in tackles for loss, with eight.

UTC has a talented, experienced secondary. Junior free safety Lucas Webb (6’1″, 205 lbs.) has been a first-team all-league pick the last two seasons. Webb, like Davis and perhaps two other Moc defenders, is a legitimate NFL prospect.

Cedric Nettles (6’0″, 205 lbs.) has also been a first-team All-SoCon choice the last two years. The senior had six tackles against The Citadel last season.

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Henrique Ribeiro (6’0″, 220 lbs.) is the only Southern Conference placekicker to have been profiled in USA Today this week. The native of Brazil was first-team all-conference last year. So far this season, Ribeirois 5 for 6 on field goal tries, with a long of 52 yards (interestingly, his only miss was blocked).

Ribeiro was Chattanooga’s starting punter last season as well, and has punted 16 times for the Mocs this season, but is listed as the backup at that position this week. Redshirt freshman Colin Brewer (6’3″, 205 lbs.), who has punted ten times this year, is the projected starter.

Brewer is also the holder for UTC. Emory Norred (6’0″, 225 lbs.) is a junior in his third year as the long snapper.

C.J. Board is Chattanooga’s main punt returner, and he is averaging a stellar 8.9 yards per return. Backup running back Richardre Bagley (5’9″, 180 lbs.) is the primary kick returner for the Mocs.

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Odds and ends:

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Charleston, per the National Weather Service: mostly sunny with a high of 74 degrees. The low on Saturday night is projected to be 62 degrees. That works for me.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, Chattanooga is a 6-point favorite over The Citadel, with an over/under of 49.5. That’s the same over/under that was listed for the Bulldogs’ game last week versus North Greenville.

– Other lines involving SoCon teams: Samford is an 18 1/2-point favorite over VMI; Mercer is a 4 1/2-point favorite against Western Carolina; and Furman (despite being winless) is a 16 1/2-point favorite at East Tennessee State. The Citadel’s next opponent, Wofford, is off this week.

Gardner-Webb is a 16 1/2-point underdog against Coastal Carolina this week in Boiling Springs. North Carolina is a 7-point underdog at Miami.

– Massey Ratings: The Citadel is ranked 9th in FCS. Chattanooga is ranked 4th.

Massey projects the Bulldogs to have an 39% chance of winning, with a predicted final score of UTC 28, The Citadel 24.

Other FCS rankings in Massey of note: Samford (12th), Wofford (20th), Mercer (40th), Gardner-Webb (55th), VMI (58th), Furman (62nd), Western Carolina (63rd), East Tennessee State (90th).

Both Samford and Wofford jumped six spots this week. VMI improved by nine positions.

– Next year’s FCS Kickoff Classic will feature Chattanooga, as the Mocs will play Jacksonville State one week before the regular season begins for most of Division I.

This year, that game was between Charleston Southern and North Dakota State. One difference next season is that the contest will be played at a neutral site — Montgomery, Alabama.

– Chattanooga’s roster is largely made up of Tennessee natives, with 49 Mocs hailing from the Volunteer State. Other states represented on UTC’s roster: Georgia (29), Alabama (13), Florida (1), New York (1), and California (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.

– There were no changes to The Citadel’s two-deep this week. The depth charts for the North Greenville and Chattanooga games are identical.

– On offense, eight Bulldogs have started each of the first five games. Nine players have started every game on defense for The Citadel.

Among active players, Tevin Floyd has the most career starts for The Citadel, with 31 (all consecutive). Offensive linemen Isaiah Pinson and Kyle Weaver have each made 30 straight starts.

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After reviewing UTC’s season, it is apparent that The Citadel has a very difficult task on Saturday. The Mocs have no obvious weaknesses, and have mostly shredded their opponents (including whippings of quality teams like Samford and Mercer).

The one slight blip in Chattanooga’s march came at Furman, a contest worthy of further examination. It’s not as much that the game was nominally close (21-14), because the Paladins’ second touchdown didn’t come until 1:01 remained in the fourth quarter.

No, the real story was UTC only scoring 21 points (including just one score in the first half). How did Furman manage that?

The Paladins had a three-minute edge in time of possession. Furman also won the turnover battle 1-0.

Another key stat: Chattanooga was only 2 for 9 on third down conversion attempts, which led to the Mocs only running 53 plays from scrimmage (FU had 65).

Furman’s offense didn’t do much, but its defense kept the Paladins in the game, holding UTC to 288 yards of total offense.

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Turnovers and big plays are always critical in deciding football games, and Saturday’s contest at Johnson Hagood Stadium will be no different.

However, based on that Furman game, I might suggest another category worth watching: third down conversions.

The simplest way to slow down UTC’s offense is to keep it off the field. That means the Bulldogs’ offense has to maintain long, time-consuming drives (and convert on third down), while The Citadel’s defense needs stops (especially on third down conversion attempts).

Oh, one other thing: the Bulldogs need to avoid giving up a TD on the first play from scrimmage. That has happened in both of the last two matchups against the Mocs.

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Can the Bulldogs pull off the upset? I don’t know, but I’m ready to find out, and in person.

I think that will be true for a lot of people this Saturday.

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2013 Football, Game 10: The Citadel vs. Elon

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at Elon, to be played in Elon, North Carolina, at Rhodes Stadium, with kickoff at 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, November 9. The game can be heard on radio via the thirteen affiliates of The Citadel Sports Network. Danny Reed (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) will call the action alongside analyst Josh Baker, with Lee Glaze roaming the sidelines.

WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, will be the flagship station for the network; the station will have a two-hour pregame show prior to each football game. It is also possible to listen to the game via a smartphone, using a TuneIn Radio application.

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Links of interest:

The Citadel game notes

Elon game notes

SoCon weekly release

Kevin Higgins on the SoCon media teleconference

Jason Swepson on the SoCon media teleconference

The Kevin Higgins Show

“Sunday Lifts” — The Citadel Strength and Conditioning

Vinny Miller had a good game against Samford

Elon video highlights against Chattanooga

Elon video highlights against Appalachian State

No major changes for Elon during its bye week

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Elon football wasn’t supposed to struggle like this. Under Pete Lembo, the Phoenix enjoyed a solid five-year run, contending for the Southern Conference title several times. While Elon never could quite finish first, the school did make an appearance in the FCS playoffs in 2009.

It wasn’t all seashells and balloons for Lembo, possibly the only SoCon coach to have had one of his own players attempt to fight him on the sidelines during a game. However, Lembo parlayed his fine work at Elon into a gig at Ball State, where he has continued to win games (fashioning a 24-11 record in Muncie through Wednesday’s action).

His successor, Jason Swepson, hasn’t been so lucky. Swepson is now 10-21 in his career as the Elon head man.

Maybe, though, it’s less about Swepson and more about the program. In the five seasons prior to Lembo’s arrival, Elon’s cumulative record on the gridiron was 14-42.

It could be that with the way the football program is currently constituted, Elon cannot win consistently at the D-1 level. That isn’t what its upwardly mobile administration wants to hear, of course.

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“This is going to be a sixty-minute football game….probably go into overtime.” — Elon head coach Jason Swepson, referring to his squad’s upcoming game against The Citadel.

Playing a sixty-minute game has been a problem for the Phoenix, at least in terms of offense. In six of Elon’s eight games against D-1 opposition, it has failed to score a touchdown in the second half.

Elon was shut out by Georgia Tech, 70-0, a game which featured a running clock. The Phoenix managed a third-quarter TD versus North Carolina A&T but lost, 23-10.

After scoring two touchdowns in the fourth quarter against Appalachian State, no Phoenix player since then has entered the end zone in the second half. That’s a four-game stretch which includes an OT loss to Western Carolina, breaking a 33-game Catamount losing streak versus Division I opponents.

The WCU setback dropped Elon to 2-7 on the season. After being off last week, the Phoenix is finishing the 2013 season with home matchups versus The Citadel and Georgia Southern before travelling to Birmingham to face Samford.

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Of the 122 schools listed in the FCS statistical database, Elon is 89th in scoring offense — and also 89th in scoring defense.

The run/pass ratio for the Phoenix from last year to this season is essentially unchanged. In 2012, 53% of Elon’s plays from scrimmage were passes; this year, 52%.

Elon’s yards per rush has increased from 2.58 (in 2012) to 3.90 (this season), a step forward. However, its yards per pass has declined from 7.99 to 6.22. Thus, its yards per play has been reduced from 5.4 to 5.1.

The Phoenix’s offense has not been particularly good in the red zone, averaging 4.65 points per trip. In the SoCon, only Furman and The Citadel have fared worse inside the 20. (The Bulldogs are last in the league in red zone points efficiency, at just 4.55 points per trip.)

Elon is next-to-last in the league in offensive third down conversion rate, at just 33.6%.

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The Phoenix ranks next-to-last in the SoCon in total defense, ahead of only Western Carolina. It is dead last in the league in pass defense (though its defensive pass efficiency ranking is more respectable).

Elon is seventh in the league in rushing defense. In general, the Phoenix D has struggled to get off the field. While its defensive third down conversion rate is middle-of-the-pack, Elon has allowed more first downs than every league team save WCU.

Elon has been okay when it comes to turnover margin (+1 for the season).

Also, for whatever reason, opponents are more likely to commit penalties when playing Elon than most other teams. This reminds me a little bit of last year’s VMI team.

That worries me because the game in Lexington was the one time last season The Citadel committed an unusual number of infractions. The lack of discipline almost cost the Bulldogs the contest.

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Elon quarterback Mike Quinn is a junior in his first year as the starter. He has completed 64% of his passes, with 14 TDs and only 5 interceptions. Quinn is currently on a streak of 207 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, which is a single-season SoCon record.

He is averaging 6.2 yards per attempt, though, which actually isn’t much higher than what The Citadel’s passers have averaged (5.9).

The Phoenix has three running backs who each have between 300 and 400 yards rushing. Tracy Coppedge has the best yards per carry average of the trio, but he also has lost four fumbles.

Rasaun Rorie has been Elon’s leading receiver. He has 51 catches, with four of those going for touchdowns. Kierre Brown, a preseason second-team All-SoCon pick, has 38 receptions out of the slot. Tight end Doug Warrick has three TD catches.

Elon’s offensive line averages about 6’4″, 282 lbs. None of the five starters weighs 300+ lbs. Center Clay Johnson was a preseason second-team all-conference selection.

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The Phoenix will be seeing a triple option team for the third time this season, having already faced Georgia Tech and Wofford. During the SoCon teleconference, Jason Swepson said Elon would use two different defensive fronts against The Citadel.

He also mentioned that Elon is “banged up on defense.” On Saturday, the Phoenix will be without the services of defensive end Jordan Jones and defensive back Akeem Langham.

Jones, suffering from a high ankle sprain, has 34 career starts, including the first eight games of 2013. Langham has started five games this season, four at cornerback and one at strong safety. His football career may be in jeopardy after sustaining two concussions in a four-week span (and at least his third while in college).

Middle linebacker Jonathan Spain is probably Elon’s best defensive player. A preseason first-team All-SoCon selection, Spain is the second-leading tackler for the Phoenix.

Fellow linebacker Alexander Dawson leads the team in stops, with 61. Free safety Chandler Wrightenberry has been credited with 47 tackles.

John Silas hasn’t started a game yet for Elon, but the backup linebacker has 48 tackles. Also of note: Elon has had three different players start at nosetackle this season.

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Elon’s placekicker is freshman John Gallagher. He is 7-16 on field goal attempts this season, with a long of 48.

Gallagher also kicks off for the Phoenix; 19 of his 41 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks. The Phoenix leads the SoCon in kickoff coverage.

David Petroni was the SoCon special teams player of the week in Elon’s loss to Appalachian State, and may have had an even better game in the Phoenix’s win over Furman.

In that contest, FU’s average starting field position was its own 19-yard line, and Petroni’s performance was a big part of the reason why the Paladins faced a “long field” much of the afternoon. For the season, he has placed 28 punts inside the 20-yard line (out of 53 kicks).

Kierre Brown is Elon’s primary kick returner, while cornerback David Wood has been the first choice for returning punts.

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Odds and ends:

– Prior to last year’s victory over Elon, The Citadel had lost three straight Homecoming games. After beating Samford on Saturday, the program is on a two-game Homecoming winning streak, which is definitely preferable.

– That win over the Phoenix broke a four-game slide in the series, which The Citadel currently leads 7-5. After Saturday’s game, it may be a long time before the schools meet again on the gridiron, with Elon moving to the CAA after this school year.

– Speaking of the CAA, Elon released its 2014 league schedule this week. It appears the school was given a break in terms of travel for next season. However, 2015 is likely to be a different story, with the Phoenix probably making trips to New Hampshire, Maine, Stony Brook, and (in non-conference play) Boston College.

Logan Airport could be Elon football’s home-away-from-home in 2015.

– Elon is averaging 8,430 fans per home game. Against Chattanooga in the most recent contest at Rhodes Stadium, the attendance was 6,547.

Last year, Elon only drew 6,158 for a game versus Furman, leading to Jason Swepson’s immortal comment that “it felt like a coffin out there.” It will be interesting to see if the atmosphere on Saturday is equally as funereal.

– I’ve written about Elon’s move to the CAA before, as part of a discussion about the overall restructuring of the Southern Conference. Maybe this move will work out for the school, but things could get difficult in a hurry for Elon.

That would be especially true if the CAA goes through even more membership changes. I wouldn’t be surprised if at least three schools currently competing in football in the CAA leave the conference in the next two years.

– Darien Robinson caught eight passes last week, most of them of the shovel-pass variety. As per The Citadel’s game notes, that’s the most receptions for a Bulldog since Kevin Higgins switched to the triple option in 2010.

Robinson entered the game with 17 career receptions.

– One of Robinson’s catches on Saturday came from a pass thrown by Jake Stenson. With that completed pass, Stenson now has a passer efficiency rating of 234.40.

– Ryan Bednar, injured in the game against Samford, is listed on the two-deep and is expected to play.

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Saturday will be the final conference game of the year for The Citadel, and while the season has not lived up to expectations, the Bulldogs will have a chance to even their SoCon record at 4-4. Finishing .500 in the league wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

It is also a chance to win a game at a place where The Citadel has struggled in recent years, having not won at Rhodes Stadium since 2006. In 2011, the Bulldogs lost in overtime, but the 2009 game was a debacle. (Among other things, Elon had 29 first downs to The Citadel’s 5.)

Elon has had two weeks to prepare for the triple option, but has also had two weeks to think about its loss to Western Carolina. That might not be ideal.

I really enjoyed what I saw from the Bulldogs against Samford — not just the win, but the resolve. Now the team needs to continue that push on the road.

That’s not always easy, but I like The Citadel’s chances on Saturday.

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2013 Football, Week 4: The Citadel vs. Old Dominion

Posted on September 19, 2013 by Sandlapper Spike

The Citadel at Old Dominion, to be played in Norfolk, Virginia, on the grounds of Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium, with kickoff at 6:00 pm ET on Saturday, September 21. The game can be heard on radio via the thirteen affiliates of The Citadel Sports Network. Danny Reed (the “Voice of the Bulldogs”) will call the action alongside analyst Josh Baker, with Lee Glaze roaming the sidelines. The contest will also be televised in the Hampton Roads (VA) metropolitan area by Cox Communications, with play-by-play from Doug Ripley and analysis by John Bunting.

WQNT-1450 AM [audio link], originating in Charleston, is the flagship station for The Citadel Sports Network; audio of the game is also available at Bulldog Insider.

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Links of interest:

The Citadel game notes

Old Dominion game notes

SoCon weekly release

SoCon media teleconference: The Citadel head coach Kevin Higgins

The Kevin Higgins Show

Video of ODU head coach Bobby Wilder’s Monday press conference (with a transcript)

ODU improves, now prepares for The Citadel

Kevin Higgins says that ODU is ahead of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern in its FBS transition

Catching up with…Brandon McCladdie

Strength and Conditioning video, featuring the football travel squad

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A few thoughts on the game against Western Carolina:

– Each team had eight possessions in the game (not counting The Citadel’s touchdown off of a fumbled punt as a possession). With so few drives, it becomes even more important to cash in on opportunities.

You can argue about the play call that led to the Bulldogs’ only turnover of the game. I understand the notion that the play was open for a TD before the untimely deflection.

I think the decision to pass was probably a mistake, though, not as much because of the result but for the fact that 14 of The Citadel’s previous 16 plays (all rushes) had resulted in a gain of at least  five yards. There was no reason at that point in the game to believe the Catamounts were going to hold the Bulldogs to less than eight yards over the next three plays (assuming The Citadel would have gone for it on 4th down if necessary).

Then there was the sequence at the end of the first half. The Citadel probably missed a chance at either a TD or an easier field goal attempt by not calling a timeout once inside the Catamounts’ 40-yard line. I can understand the reasoning (why give the other team momentum when you’re up 21-0), but the field position definitely was in the Bulldogs’ favor. The Citadel had all three timeouts available, but elected not to use any of them until only four seconds remained in the half.

– A bunch of the “true” freshmen came to play. Devan Robbins. Tyler Renew. Tevin Floyd. Also mixing it up are guys like Jorian Jordan, Nick Jeffreys, Ryan Bednar, Rudder Brown, and DeAndre Schoultz.

All of them can and will help the Bulldogs all season long. That’s an especially good thing at The Citadel, which has historically struggled with depth. So far, so good for this year’s crop of freshmen.

– Not committing any penalties in a league road game is very impressive.

– Carl Robinson had nine more tackles in the WCU game. He is now tied for the SoCon lead in tackles for the season, with 39. James Riley led the Bulldogs in tackles against the Catamounts, with eleven.

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Old Dominion was founded in 1930. It was originally an extension of the College of William & Mary, set up in Norfolk as a two-year school. The following year, Virginia Tech began offering classes at what came to be known as “The Division” (a nickname/setup that is vaguely reminiscent of “The Arsenal”).

The school would eventually become a four-year institution (first awarding bachelor’s degrees in 1956), was spun into an independent entity in 1962, and attained university status in 1969.

Incidentally, Old Dominion College was chosen as the new name of the independent school in 1962 over (among others) College of the Atlantic and Thomas Jefferson College.

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The school played football from 1930 to 1941, competing as the “Braves” (the Monarchs nickname came about in 1961). As a two-year college, the Norfolk Division compiled a record of 62-19-4 in twelve seasons. One of the nineteen losses came against Miami (FL); the Hurricanes apparently thought they were scheduled to play William & Mary, and wound up competing against the Braves instead (the final was 6-2).

The football program was dropped when a rule was passed that precluded freshmen from playing. However, Foreman Field (built in 1936) remained, and served as the host of the Oyster Bowl for many years. Foreman Field was the site where The Citadel’s Gene Brown rushed for 286 yards in a 1988 game against VMI (on only 13 carries); it also was the setting for a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young concert in 1974.

The Citadel played four times in the Oyster Bowl at Foreman Field, all matchups with VMI, winning three of those contests.

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By the time the 21st century rolled around, it occurred to a few people that it might be neat for ODU to have a football team again, particularly since it was now a four-year school with almost 20,000 undergraduate students, and located in an area noted for having a lot of talented football players. In other words, it was a natural.

Bobby Wilder, then an assistant at Maine, was hired to revive the program, and in 2009 the Monarchs returned to the gridiron. Wilder has orchestrated a very successful startup.

ODU is 39-12 during his tenure, including an 11-2 record last year. The success of the team on the field, as well as the support off of it (home games at 20,068-seat Foreman Field are regularly sold out), certainly helped the school gain admission to Conference USA, where it will begin play next year as a full-fledged member of that league.

The school’s decision process for moving to FBS took about 6 1/2 weeks, which is borderline insane. Actually, forget borderline — it’s just insane. A good read on that time period can be found here: Link

There are many things to digest from that article. I’ll just mention two of them:

– Halfway through that 6 1/2 week period, ODU called fifteen of its biggest donors to gauge their interest in FBS football. The result of those calls: $3 million raised in less than two weeks.

– During that time, Old Dominion representatives talked to CUSA honchos, of course, and also had discussions with league officials from the MAC, Atlantic 10, ACC, and Big East — but never spoke to anyone from the Sun Belt.

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From The Post and Courier:

ODU’s quick rise is due to three main factors: Quarterback Taylor Heinicke, a 6-1, 205-pound junior from Atlanta; a rabid fan base that has sold out all 30 of its home games to date at 20,068-seat Ballard Stadium, and bought more than 14,000 season tickets for this season; and the fertile recruiting area around its home base in Norfolk, Va.

“It’s amazing to see what they’ve done,” [Kevin] Higgins said. “You look at teams like Georgia State that have struggled making that adjustment. People don’t realize how fervent a football area Virginia Beach is. They put a team there, and now everyone is coming out to see them.

“They picked the right guy in Bobby Wilder, a guy from a solid program in Maine. And he hit right away on this guy Taylor Heinicke.”

Did he ever, coach. Did he ever.

Heinicke won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in FCS last season, passing for 5,076 yards and 44 touchdowns last season.

Heinicke threw 7 TD passes against Campbell, but that wasn’t even his best game. Nor was his 6-TD performance in the playoffs against Coastal Carolina.

No, Heinicke’s most absurd day came against New Hampshire, a come-from-behind 64-61 victory in which he threw for 730 (!) yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 61 yards in that game (he’s versatile enough to have rushed for 11 TDs last season).

He’s really, really good, and The Citadel’s D has its work cut out. Last week against Howard, Heinicke threw for 406 yards in a little over two quarters of action. That 406-yard effort didn’t even crack his personal best top 5.

Against East Carolina (a 52-38 loss), Heinicke was 38-51 for 338 yards, completing passes to seven different receivers. He struggled the following week versus Maryland, with only 166 passing yards and three interceptions.

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In terms of style and scheme, Higgins said ODU’s spread attack most resembles that of App State, among teams The Citadel has played in recent years.

“They are going to spread it out, and there will be a lot of bubble screens on the outside, trying to get matchups there,” he said. “And as good a thrower as the quarterback is, he is deceptively fast.”

Heinicke likes to spread the wealth, as the ECU game would attest, and he has a lot of options. Antonio Vaughan only caught one pass against Howard, but it was for 76 yards and a TD. Vaughan had three 100-yard receiving days last season.

Redshirt freshman Zach Pascal caught nine passes against Howard. Another wideout, Larry Pinkard, has 18 receptions in three games. Starting tailback Colby Goodwin can also catch the ball (11 receptions this year).

ODU has a lot of experience along the offensive line, with four returning starters who all weigh at least 300 lbs. Left guard David Born is 6’8″, 328 lbs. Right tackle D.J. Morrell is 6’6″, 330 lbs. Yes, they’re big.

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The Monarchs scored 49 points in the first half against Howard, and 76 for the game. Among the things that might make a Bulldog fan shudder:

– ODU scored on its first 11 possessions. Nine of those scores were touchdowns.

– Nine of those eleven scoring drives were of less than two minutes’ duration.

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Defensively, ODU has struggled. Part of that probably has to do with trying to replace six starters from last year’s team. How will that impact The Citadel as it runs the triple option?

Well, Old Dominion had major problems with Georgia Southern’s triple option attack in the FCS playoffs, allowing 1200 yards of total offense in two games against the Eagles. This year, the Monarchs have a new defensive coordinator, Rich Nagy. Also of note is that backup quarterback David Washington ran the triple option during ODU’s spring practice.

Strong safety Fellonte Misher is Old Dominion’s leading tackler, with eighteen through three games. Linebacker John Darr, a 232-lb. redshirt senior, is the second-leading tackler on the squad and had nine stops against Howard.

Starting middle linebacker Richie Staton is a true freshman, one of ten such freshmen on ODU’s two-deep.

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Putting aside the triple option issue and focusing purely on this year’s ODU defense, it’s not the numbers from the ECU or Maryland games that would really concern a Monarchs fan. Let’s face it, plenty of teams wouldn’t be able to cover Maryland wide receiver Stefan Diggs.

The Howard game, though…hmm. Lost in the shuffle of ODU’s 76-19 obliteration of the Bison:

– Howard ran 85 plays on offense, including a staggering 51 in the first half, for 331 total yards. That’s in one half.

– The Bison had four drives of 60+ yards in the first half, and another that went for 49.

What did Howard in? Turnovers, five of them (Old Dominion had none). The Bison also were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the eight in the first half after a 74-yard drive. Thanks to two first-half turnovers and that stoppage on downs, ODU only allowed 10 points in the half. Five different Monarchs accounted for those five turnovers, by the way.

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Old Dominion’s special teams include a fine placekicker, Jarod Brown, who has not missed a FG or PAT so far this season. Jake Walsh is ODU’s punter; in keeping with recent college football trends, he’s a native of Australia.

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To recap, ODU scored on its first 11 possessions, while last week The Citadel only had 8 possessions the entire game. It is in the Bulldogs’ interest to keep that possession total down for both teams. Holding on to the football, both in terms of offensive time of possession and turnover avoidance, is critical against the Monarchs.

There were 211 snaps in the Howard-Old Dominion game, according to Bobby Wilder. The Citadel needs to make sure that number is substantially lower.

Field position is something else to watch. ODU had a 76-yard kickoff return against the Bison, just one reason its average starting field position against Howard was the Monarchs’ 40-yard line. The Citadel’s special teams units must be at their best in Norfolk, or they will be punished.

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Odds and ends:

– Saturday night’s game at Foreman Field has been designated a “blackout” for the home fans (the Howard game was a “whiteout”). It’s important to be color-coordinated for sporting events these days.

I’ve never quite bought into having a blackout for a night game, to be honest. I remember South Carolina having a blackout against Florida when Rex Grossman was the Gators’ quarterback. Asked about it after the game, Grossman said that it felt like no one was in the stands.

– The Citadel is getting a $250,000 guarantee for this game. Originally, the Bulldogs were supposed to play East Carolina this season, but ODU and ECU wanted to play each other, and a deal was worked out.

– ODU is a 17.5-to-18 point favorite over The Citadel, per various Las Vegas sources.

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It could be argued that this is the least important game on The Citadel’s entire 2013 schedule (aside from that check for $250,000). That doesn’t mean it is meaningless.

A win would obviously go a long way to erasing the memory of a difficult start to the season, though it wouldn’t affect the SoCon race. It would be a nice chip if the Bulldogs made a late-season playoff push, to be sure.

What I want from this game (besides no injuries) is for the team to regain more of its confidence. The offense needs to continue to get back to where it was at the close of last season while incorporating some of the talented newcomers who have arrived on the scene.

The defense will get a stern test from ODU. It needs to be able to take some positives from the game, regardless of the final score. Playing ODU will at the very least be a good way to prepare for Appalachian State.

I’m not expecting a victory, though I’m not counting out the Bulldogs either.

I never do that.

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