The Sports Arsenal

The Citadel football squad will be at Marion Square this afternoon for their first practice. Football will be played as usual at The Citadel this fall, provided it does not in any way interfere with the extensive military program. A squad of 35 men is expected to come out this afternoon.

J.C. Crouch is the captain of the 1918 eleven, and Chester Alexander is the manager. Games have been scheduled with Carolina and Clemson, and the various service teams in the city will be played. The first battle of the season will probably be in two weeks when the Blue and White will meet the naval hospital team.

To all appearances the team this year should be strong. Eight of last year’s football squad men are on hand, and the material that the “rat” class affords could not be better. According to the statement of Manager Alexander, there are some wild Texas cowboys in the “rat” class that tip the scales at 175 pounds, and if they can plunge like Texas steers then The Citadel will have “some” line. Whether Coach [Harry] O’Brien will train the squad or not has not been settled yet.

— The Charleston Evening Post, September 23, 1918

The influenza has hit football hard and local service teams have suspended practice until the quarantine has lifted…both The Citadel and College [of Charleston] have not had teams on the field on account of the suspension of classes until the “flu” has left Charleston.

— The Charleston Evening Post, October 17, 1918

…The first game Carolina has on her schedule is with Clemson, and it will be played on November 2. The Citadel has also decided to continue [its] football program as soon as the flu permits the college to open, but will be handicapped a great deal on account Clemson and Carolina [have] not being disorganized by the flu.

— The Charleston Evening Post, October 23, 1918

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The Citadel at South Florida, to be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, with kickoff at 7:00 pm ET on September 12, 2020.

The game will be televised on ESPNU. Lincoln Rose will handle play-by-play, while Stanford Routt supplies the analysis. Their call will be off-site.

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

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

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The Citadel Sports Network — 2020 radio affiliates

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

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Links of interest:

– Preview from The Post and Courier

– Game notes from The Citadel and USF

– The SoCon isn’t playing football this fall

– AAC weekly release (USF is picked to finish last in the league’s preseason poll)

– Preview on The Citadel’s website

– A weird season for a weird year

– The Citadel’s scramble for a four-game fall schedule

– The Scotts complete a circle

– No fans in the stands at Raymond James Stadium this Saturday

– Brent Thompson on the ‘JB & Goldwater’ radio show (from 9/1; starts at the 1:31:30 mark)

– Brent Thompson on the ‘SportsTalk’ radio show (9/2; starts at the 50:40 mark)

– The Citadel’s football program had a “summer of soul-searching”

– There will be pods in the stands at Johnson Hagood Stadium on September 26. Yes, pods.

– Focused Bulls ramp up preparations for season opener

– Jeff Scott showed his team tape from The Citadel’s game with Alabama

– Jeff Scott media availability (9/2)

– USF radio show with Jeff Scott (9/7)

– USF press conference (9/8)

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I didn’t write a lot this summer about football, in part because I didn’t really think there would be football in the fall. Hey, call me skeptical.

However, I did delve into a couple of topics:

– Football attendance at The Citadel (and elsewhere); my annual review

– When the Bulldogs weren’t the Bulldogs

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Nomenclature explanation: per the University of South Florida’s game notes, when it comes to the name of The Citadel’s opponent this week:

First references to the school and its intercollegiate athletics program should always be the University of South Florida. Secondary
reference used should be USF, South Florida or Bulls. Please refrain from using: S. Florida, South Fla. or similar combinations.

I chose to call the school “South Florida” in the title of this post. I’ll alternate between that and “USF” going forward, which shouldn’t be too problematic for a discussion about football. If we were on the west coast and talking hoops, then “USF” could cause a bit of confusion, but as it happens I’m blogging about a football game between two schools located in the southeast, and the University of San Francisco hasn’t fielded a gridiron squad since 1982.

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Originally, USF was supposed to play non-conference games this season against Texas, Bethune-Cookman, Nevada, and Florida Atlantic. Following a flurry of COVID-related postponements and cancellations, only the matchup with FAU remains on South Florida’s slate.

The Bulls will now play only three non-league contests, with The Citadel replacing Texas on the schedule and Notre Dame taking the place of Bethune-Cookman.

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The University of South Florida has existed since 1956, but didn’t have varsity football until 1997. In its first game, USF (initially a I-AA program) walloped Kentucky Wesleyan 80-3 before a home crowd of 49,212.

The matchup sold out three hours before kickoff, as locals were ready for hometown college football.

The following week USF played its first road game in school history. That contest took place at Johnson Hagood Stadium against The Citadel, before 12,154 spectators.

The game was a defensive struggle. The Citadel only ran 53 offensive plays from scrimmage, averaging just 3.47 yards per play. USF had many more offensive plays (70) but didn’t do much with them, averaging only 3.41 yards per play. Each team committed one turnover and punted seven times.

The Bulldogs scored first, putting together a 70-yard drive in the second quarter punctuated by a one-yard Antonio Smith touchdown run. The key play in the possession was a 16-yard pass from Stanley Myers to Jacob Barley that set up first-and-goal.

The Citadel took a 7-0 lead into the break, but USF would score on its first possession of the second half, after a 16-play, 97-yard drive. Two big pass plays were key, but even more important was a substitution infraction by The Citadel that negated a field-goal attempt and gave South Florida a first down. The Bulls scored two plays later, tying the contest on a 12-yard pass from Chad Barnhardt (who had transferred to South Florida from South Carolina) to Marcus Rivers.

With 5:04 to play in the fourth quarter, The Citadel took over on its own 24 and began what would prove to be the game-winning drive. The first play of the possession was a 20-yard pass completion from Myers to Derek Green. A roughing-the-passer call (one of eight penalties on the night against the Bulls) added 15 yards to the play and put the Bulldogs in USF territory. A few plays later, Justin Skinner booted a 35-yard field goal.

South Florida’s last drive began with just two minutes remaining, and resulted in a quick interception by The Citadel’s Chris Webb. The Bulldogs held on and won, 10-7.

At the time, most Bulls fans were not overly upset by the loss to The Citadel. However, the following week USF lost at home to Drake, 23-22 — much to the displeasure of many. As longtime Bulls radio play-by-play voice Jim Louk explained many years later:

I came home that night in time to catch the 11 o’clock news, and watched a local sports anchor finish his live report from the field by saying “The Bulls have to get better! They have to be better than this!”

Twenty years later and I can remember his inflection perfectly.

We were three games old.

The honeymoon is over, dear. Now go do the dishes.

But he was right, and I knew it even then. The coaches and the players would have said exactly the same thing. The expectations for this program were huge, even those early days. Bulls alumni and fans had waited so long for football and had been through so much that they demanded a great product no matter how young the program was. The players and coaches understood that before a lot of us did.

The Citadel and South Florida played a rematch the following year in Tampa. That game was won by the Bulls, but the Bulldogs were not motivated to play and didn’t really try very hard, as they were looking forward to the end of the season. Also, most of the players were injured, so as everyone knows it didn’t really count — especially given the biased officiating.

USF would spend four years at the I-AA level before moving up to I-A, joining Conference USA in 2003 and then the Big East in 2005. In eight years, the program went from not even existing to membership in a BCS conference.

Alas, conference realignment eventually pushed South Florida out of what is now the P5, and into the more uncertain world of the G5.

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Charlie Strong was hired by South Florida after an unsuccessful three-year stint at Texas, which had followed a very good run at Louisville. The folks at South Florida couldn’t be blamed for thinking that Strong was more likely to win like he did with the Cardinals (37-15 in four years) than in his time in Austin (16-21), particularly given that he inherited a strong program in Tampa, one that had won 27 games in the previous three seasons.

South Florida won 17 of Strong’s first 19 games in charge, which was great. The problem was that the Bulls proceeded to lose 14 of their next 18 contests.

After a 10-2 season in 2017, USF won its first seven games in 2018 — but then dropped its last six. Last year, the Bulls were just 4-8, and Strong was fired.

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Jeff Scott is the new head coach at South Florida. His is a familiar name around the Palmetto State, as the son of former South Carolina head coach Brad Scott played at Clemson, coached at Blythewood High School, was an assistant at Presbyterian, and had been on the staff at his alma mater since 2008, including time as the wide receivers coach, recruiting coordinator, and co-offensive coordinator.

According to a (premium) article in The Athletic written by Andy Staples, Scott had wanted the USF job earlier:

Scott wanted to do it sooner than this. Three years ago, when the University of South Florida’s job opened following Willie Taggart’s departure to Oregon, Scott put out feelers. But the Bulls had focused on Charlie Strong, who had just been fired at Texas but who had won big at Louisville before that. Strong had excellent Florida recruiting ties, and when he went 10-2 in 2017, it seemed USF had made the perfect choice. Then, after a 7-0 start in 2018, the program suddenly plunged into freefall. The Bulls lost their final six games of that season and then went 4-8 this past season. With rival UCF enjoying the best stretch in the program’s history and the recruiting gap getting wider, the Bulls needed someone who could breathe life into the program.

This time, instead of USF being on Scott’s list, Scott was on USF’s list.

USF’s director of athletics, Michael Kelly, called Dabo Swinney. Then Dabo called his assistant.

“Whatchu doin’, boy,” Swinney asked.

Scott was getting ready for bed. It was 11:30 p.m.

“You’re not going to believe who just called me,” Swinney said. “Michael Kelly from the University of South Florida.”

Scott, who had passed on several head coaching jobs in the past few years, waited. He wanted to be a head coach, but he wasn’t leaving his alma mater without the Swinney Seal Of Approval.

“This,” Swinney said, “is one of them jobs you want.”

Jeff Scott certainly knows his way around Florida; he was born there, his father’s family is from there, and he successfully recruited a number of Tigers from the state. It seems like a natural fit for a highly regarded assistant ready to make a name for himself as a head coach.

Now he just has to win. And, given the success of rival UCF in recent years, he needs to win big.

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USF’s coaching staff is generally on the youthful side. Scott is 39 years old, and the Bulls’ assistant coaches average 36 years of age (the youngest staff in the AAC).

Among the assistants is offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., who is only 27. Weis already has two seasons under his belt as an OC, working for Lane Kiffin at Florida Atlantic.

There are some other familiar names among USF’s assistants. Pat White, the renowned quarterback from West Virginia, coaches running backs. Bamberg-Ehrhardt’s own Da’Quan Bowers (who like White also played in the NFL) is in charge of the defensive line.

Judging from some of their pictures on USF’s website, both White and Bowers have a very strong hat game.

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Here are some 2019 stats of consequence for The Citadel (all games).

• The Citadel finished 6th in FCS in net punting
• The Bulldogs’ defense faced just 61.83 plays per game from scrimmage, 8th-fewest in FCS
• In a related statistic, The Citadel led FCS in time of possession last season (though the NCAA’s official book has the Bulldogs only third overall, due to a transcription error)
• The Bulldogs were 18th nationally in offensive third-down conversion rate
• The Citadel’s 34 fourth-down conversion attempts tied for 11th-most in FCS; the 21 successful conversions tied for 6th-most nationally
• The Bulldogs were 50th among FCS teams in scoring offense, and 66th in scoring defense

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USF’s stats (all games) in 2019:

• South Florida’s 45 sacks allowed were 7th-most in FBS
• USF’s defensive Red Zone TD rate of 51.1% was excellent, ranking 23rd nationally
• The Bulls averaged 71.2 yards in penalties per game, 5th-most in FBS
• Not listed above, but USF averaged 8.3 tackles for loss per game, 5th-best nationally
• USF was the only team in FBS to lose 8 or more games with a +5 or better turnover margin
• South Florida was 115th among 130 FBS teams in scoring offense, and 75th in scoring defense

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Here are advanced stats maven Bill Connelly‘s thoughts (as of April 22) on USF’s 2019 season and its prospects for 2020. Last year, South Florida finished 103rd overall in SP+, including 110th on offense, 62nd on defense, and 129th (next-to-last) for special teams.

His observation on South Florida’s lack of experience last year is interesting.

The Bulls’ returning production for 2020 ranks 36th overall in FBS in Connelly’s system (of course, that ranking includes teams not playing this fall).

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USF’s new defensive coordinator is veteran coach Glenn Spencer. When asked about facing a triple option offense, Spencer had this to say:

It’s just different, I guess advantages and disadvantages, right? The disadvantage is, you have to kind of change because it’s such a dramatic change that you have to get into some scout looks earlier, some service-team looks earlier, which kind of takes away from some other practice. But you’ve got to dedicate yourself to it. The advantages I think outweigh that; it forces you to work on it now. If we want to do what we want to do in this conference, we have to do well against a similar opponent (Navy) in conference. So it forces you to work on some base thoughts, some base schemes, playing off low blocks, playing off different football fundamentals that are different preparing for them than anybody else.

Spencer has been a defensive coordinator at the Division I level since 2011, mostly at Oklahoma State (he was at Charlotte in 2018 and Florida Atlantic last year). I checked the schedules for those teams to determine how often he had faced a triple option offense.

As far as I can tell (and I could be wrong), he did not face any. None of the games were against the service academies, or Georgia Tech (or New Mexico for that matter, which ran a version of the triple option during Bob Davie’s tenure in Albuquerque).

In 2016, Oklahoma State did play Southeastern Louisiana, which was described in some quarters as having a triple option offense (the Cowboys won easily, 61-7). However, the Lions’ offensive coordinator at the time was a Willie Fritz protégé, and Southeastern Louisiana’s offense passed 39% of the time during that season, clearly not what The Citadel does (last year, the Bulldogs threw or attempted to throw the football on only 16.9% of their offensive plays).

While Spencer has not faced the triple option in recent years, many of USF’s players have. The Bulls played Navy in 2016 and 2019, and Paul Johnson’s Georgia Tech outfit in 2018. South Florida won two of those three games, but had some difficulty defensively in all three matchups:

• 2016: South Florida jumped out to a huge lead and outlasted Navy 52-45, despite allowing 7.6 yards per play
• 2018: USF overcame a 10-point 4th-quarter deficit to beat Georgia Tech 49-38, but the defense gave up 8.0 yards per play
• 2019: Navy whipped the Bulls 35-3 in Annapolis, averaging 7.3 yards per play in the process

Those last two teams struggled against the run in general, so giving up 419 rushing yards (7.4 yards per rush) to Georgia Tech in 2018 and 434 rushing yards to Navy last season (also allowing 7.4 yards per rush) wasn’t a huge surprise.

In 2018 and 2019, USF ranked 122nd (247.5 yards per game) and 114th (208.6), respectively, in run defense, allowing 17 individual 100-yard rushing efforts during that 25-game span.

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One more tidbit: it is very much worth mentioning that Spencer’s FAU defensive unit led all of FBS last season in forced turnovers, with 33. The Owls had 22 interceptions and 11 fumble recoveries.

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South Florida has talent on defense, with a solid linebacking corps and a fine secondary. The Bulls may need some guys to step up on the defensive line, but they have players capable of doing just that.

Note: I’m highlighting USF players in these next few sections based mainly on guesswork, and my guessing could be wayyyyy off. After all, this is the first game of the season…under a new coaching staff…for a program that was 4-8 last year…and that, like all teams this season, will have to deal with COVID-19. 

For all I know, none of the players I mention on defense, offense, or special teams will even suit up on Saturday. Just keep that in mind. I’m not exactly a super-scout as it is.

Don’t be surprised if a familiar face starts on USF’s d-line against the Bulldogs. Thad Mangum (6’2″, 285 lbs.) is a graduate transfer from Wofford, one of many grads with remaining eligibility to have fled Spartanburg after last season. He has reportedly recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him for almost all of 2019. Glenn Spencer mentioned Mangum as having practiced well for the Bulls.

Blake Green (6’1″, 280 lbs.) began his collegiate career at Northwest Missouri State. The senior from Bradenton became more of a factor last year as the season progressed, starting the final five games of the campaign.

Rashawn Yates (6’3″, 271 lbs.) may play both defensive tackle and defensive end for the Bulls. A junior from Port St. Lucie, Yates started six games in 2019.

True freshman Le’Vontae Camiel (6’1″, 225 lbs.), a defensive end from Lake City, Florida, may be an impact player right away for the Bulls. Don’t be surprised to see him early and often.

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There are a number of quality performers among the linebackers. Dwayne Boyles (6’3″, 227 lbs.), a native of Miami, led the Bulls last year in tackles (75) and tackles for loss (12.5). Fellow junior Antonio Grier (6’1, 222 lbs.) started the last three games of 2019 at middle linebacker; the resident of Atlanta finished the year with four sacks.

Other names to watch in this unit include Demaurez Bellamy (5’10”, 220 lbs.), a sophomore from DeLand, and junior Andrew Mims (6’1″, 220 lbs.). A potential All-Name All-American is redshirt freshman Camp Gobler (6’3″, 217 lbs.).

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KJ Sails (5’11”, 180 lbs.) was a second-team all-AAC selection after last season, his first for his hometown Bulls; Sails had previously appeared in 19 games for North Carolina (with 14 starts). The senior cornerback intercepted three passes and recovered two fumbles last year for USF. Sails also served as South Florida’s main punt returner.

USF’s other starting corner will be Mike Hampton (6’1″, 190 lbs.), a fifth-year graduate student from Tampa who was an honorable mention all-AAC pick in 2018. Hampton (who is not related to the former major league pitcher with the same name) had 50 tackles last season.

Other defensive backs who will probably factor into the Bulls’ plans this year include junior free safety Nick Roberts (5’11”, 190 lbs.), a Jacksonville product who started 11 games last season; sophomore Daquan Evans (5’11”, 185 lbs.), an Orlando native who saw action in all 12 contests for the Bulls in 2019; and Mekhi LaPointe (6’2″, 200 lbs.), a junior from Seffner, Florida who had 14 tackles in nine games last year.

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As expected, the sophisticated pro-style attack of former offensive coordinator Kerwin Bell has been supplanted by wunderkind Charlie Weis Jr.’s brisk, modernized system…Weis’ FAU offense ranked 14th nationally in scoring (36.4 ppg) and averaged 5.96 yards per play in 2019.

“…I’ll say this (offense) is a mixture between a Clemson-Alabama, Lane Kiffin-type of offense, and Coach Bell was more of a pro-style type of deal,” quarterback Jordan McCloud said.

“This is like, go fast, we’re trying to score every play, tempo, lot of plays throughout the game.”

McCloud (6’0″, 193 lbs.), a redshirt sophomore from Tampa, was South Florida’s starting quarterback last season. This year, however, he’s part of a three-way competition to be the primary signal-caller, and Jeff Scott is in no hurry to name QB1:

Even as USF’s preseason winds down, its three-player quarterback derby is just getting wound up.

Coach Jeff Scott has said more than once his goal is to know his starting quarterback when the Bulls board the plane for their Oct. 3 game at Cincinnati, which kicks off their American Athletic Conference schedule.

That timetable affords Scott and his staff three non-league games in which to evaluate Jordan McCloud, Cade Fortin and Noah Johnson. Scott’s history indicates the staff will utilize all three contests.

Cade Fortin (6’3″, 222 lbs.) played for one season at UNC before transferring. The native of Suwanee, Georgia was rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN in high school.

The other QB contender, Noah Johnson (6’0″, 198 lbs.) is a graduate transfer from Alcorn State. Johnson was the 2018 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year for the Braves, a year in which he passed for over 2,000 yards and rushed for over 1,000.

In 2019, Johnson hurt his shoulder and only played in three games. Nevertheless, he had 23 career starts for Alcorn State, one of the better programs in the SWAC. As a dual-threat option, the Tampa resident is arguably the most intriguing of USF’s three quarterback candidates. He is also wearing jersey number “0”, which could add to his mystique.

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USF has several running backs that it can feature. Almost all of them are of the “small but explosive” variety.

Kelley Joiner (5’9″, 179 lbs.) is a sophomore from Clermont, Florida who started the Bulls’ final two games last season. He had 122 yards rushing versus a good Memphis team. Joiner averaged 5.1 yards per carry for the year, and also showed an ability to catch the ball (including a 49-yard reception against Cincinnati).

Darrian Felix (5’11”, 184 lbs.) transferred to USF from Oregon. The Ft. Myers resident played in seven games for the Ducks in 2019.

Another back who could run for the Bulls is Johnny Ford (5’5″, 172 lbs.). Ford redshirted last season after starting three games at slot receiver.

As a freshman in 2018, however, [Howard Cosell voice] the diminutive one [/Cosell] rushed for 787 yards, averaging 6.8 yards per carry (and had nine total TDs).

Although a walk-on (albeit one who had FBS offers from other schools), freshman Yasias Young (5’9″, 178 lbs.), a speedster from Ft. Myers, could also see time in the backfield. He has apparently had a good camp for the Bulls.

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USF has a lot of options at the wide receiver position, including two freshmen from South Carolina. Omarion Dollison (5’9″, 180 lbs.) went to Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, while Sincere Brown (6’5″, 175 lbs.) attended First Baptist in Charleston.

Randall St. Felix (6’2″, 206 lbs.) finished second on the team in receptions last year, with 22. The junior from Miami had four 100-yard receiving games in 2018.

Other pass-catchers in the mix include junior slot receiver Bryce Miller (5’10”, 180 lbs.), who started seven games in 2019; Xavier Weaver (6’1″, 170 lbs.), a sophomore from Orlando who appeared in all 12 games for the Bulls last season; Latrell Williams (5’11”, 181 lbs.), a junior transfer from Tennessee.; and Terrence Horne (5’7″, 178 lbs.), who caught two TD passes last year (and who returned two kickoffs for touchdowns against Georgia Tech in 2018).

Tight end Mitchell Brinkman (6’4″, 250 lbs.) is a graduate transfer from Northern Illinois. Brinkman had 34 receptions and 3 TDs last year for NIU.

Another tight end for the Bulls, Jacob Mathis (6’4″, 244 lbs.), caught 13 passes for two touchdowns in 2019. Mathis is a senior from Tampa.

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The projected starters on USF’s offensive line average 6’4″, 318 lbs.

I am not completely sure the projected starters will actually all start, though. While South Florida returns several experienced linemen, the unit struggled mightily in 2018, and a new coaching staff could make major changes.

Given there are 19 offensive linemen on the roster, the Bulls could employ many different combinations along the o-line.

USF had two players start all twelve games on the offensive line last season. Brad Cecil (6’4″, 300 lbs.) has started 19 consecutive games at center. Demetris Harris (6’3″, 324 lbs.), has 23 career starts at left guard. Both of them are juniors from Jacksonville.

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South Florida’s special teams were not special last season, despite having a very good punter. That is because USF was deficient in punt and kickoff coverage, and not strong (Strong?) in returning kicks and punts, either. The placekicking was also subpar (7 for 14 on field goals, with a long of 37 yards).

As mentioned earlier, SP+ ranked the Bulls’ special teams units next-to-last in FBS. That had been a theme during the Charlie Strong regime. USF’s special teams ranked 92nd in SP+ in 2018, and 73rd in 2017.

What is really puzzling is that arguably South Florida’s team strength, at least last season, was its depth in the offensive and defensive backfield, and at linebacker — in other words, the units most likely to provide players for special teams. There should have been plenty of potential kick return and coverage stalwarts on the roster.

This year should mostly be a reset for the special teams, with the exception of punter Trent Schneider (6’0″, 192 lbs.).

Schneider is 30 years old, a former construction worker from Down Under and one of the 923 Australians currently punting in Division I. He is on this year’s Ray Guy Watch List and already holds multiple USF punting records.

There has been a three-way battle for placekicker. I would have bet that Jared Sackett (6’1″, 180 lbs.) got the nod. The two-time Lou Groza award semifinalist is 33 for 41 in his career on FG attempts (with a long of 51 yards). Sackett began his college days at UTEP, switched to Arkansas last season (but sat out as a transfer), and is now at USF.

However, I would have lost that bet, as the job was apparently won by Spencer Shrader (6’2″, 183 lbs.), a sophomore who was 4 for 9 last year on field goal attempts for South Florida (with a long of 34 yards).

Ian Deneen (5’10”, 226 lbs.) has been the Bulls’ long snapper for the past two seasons. As anyone watching Austin Peay’s travails on opening night of the college football season can attest, though, each team better have at least three or four guys who can do the job (especially given the potential for COVID-related problems).

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Odds and ends:

– Related to the three newspaper blurbs at the top of this post…

Total number of football games for The Citadel, by year, from 1915 through 1920:

• 1915: 8
• 1916: 8
• 1917: 6
• 1918: 3
• 1919: 9
• 1920: 8

Assuming that there are no changes and that all the games are played, this season will feature the fewest football games played by The Citadel in any fall slate since 1918 (excepting the war years of 1943-45, when the school did not field a team). Indeed, every season since 1957 has included at least 10 contests.

The only other year in which fewer than five games were played occurred in 1906, which of course is one of the two seasons in which The Citadel’s football team has won the national championship (as determined by the TSA Matrix Ratings System, one of the more respected of all national title selectors). A photo of that magnificent squad, which did not allow a single point during the entire gridiron campaign, can be seen here: Link

– According to that first article reprinted above about the 1918 season, the team captain was J.C. [John] Crouch. However, The Citadel’s record book and all other available sources list Alvin Heinsohn as the captain. Heinsohn was an outstanding lineman who was named all-state three times during his career; he is in the school’s athletic Hall of Fame.

Crouch is listed in the record book as having captained the 1919 squad, though. Heinsohn then captained the team again in 1920.

– The weather forecast for Saturday in Tampa, per the National Weather Service: showers and thunderstorms likely (70% chance of precipitation during the day, 60% at night), with a high of 92 degrees.

Let’s hope there aren’t any lightning delays.

– Per one source that deals in such matters, South Florida is a 20-point favorite over The Citadel, with an over/under of 55 1/2.

– Other lines of note this week: Clemson is a 32 1/2 point favorite at Wake Forest; Army is a 19-point favorite over ULM; West Virginia is a 39 1/2 point favorite over Eastern Kentucky; Georgia Southern is a 34 1/2 point favorite over Campbell; Pittsburgh is a 27 1/2 point favorite over Austin Peay; Oklahoma is a 40 1/2 point favorite over Missouri State; Texas Tech is a 37 1/2 point favorite over Houston Baptist; Florida State is a 12 1/2 point favorite over Georgia Tech; Appalachian State is a 17-point favorite over Charlotte; North Carolina is a 22-point favorite over Syracuse; and Kansas is a 6-point favorite over Coastal Carolina.

– Massey Ratings

Massey projects the Cadets to have a 13% chance of winning, with a predicted final score of South Florida 36, The Citadel 17. USF only has two games this season in which it is currently favored by Massey; the other is its contest versus East Carolina (helmed by former Bulldogs coach Mike Houston).

Of the 127 schools in FCS, fifteen will play at least one game in the fall. Massey’s rankings (in FCS) for each of them, as of September 7:

North Dakota State (1st), Central Arkansas (23rd), Missouri State (34th), Austin Peay (45th), The Citadel (46th), Chattanooga (52nd), Jacksonville State (53rd), Abilene Christian (56th), Mercer (65th), Eastern Kentucky, (66th), Stephen F. Austin (70th), Western Carolina (76th), Houston Baptist (81st), North Alabama (89th), Campbell (104th).

– Among FCS teams, Central Arkansas plays the most games in the fall, with nine contests, including 3 FBS games, a road game at North Dakota State, and home-and-home matchups with both Eastern Kentucky and Missouri State.

Eastern Kentucky and Abilene Christian both have eight games. Each will face three FBS opponents.

Stephen F. Austin will play six times, including a matchup with Abilene Christian at the new Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, home of baseball’s Texas Rangers.

Campbell plays four games, all against FBS squads. The Camels will have road games at Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, and Wake Forest.

Seven other FCS schools are playing 3 FBS teams. Earlier I mentioned Central Arkansas, Abilene Christian, and Eastern Kentucky. The Citadel, Houston Baptist, North Alabama, and Stephen F. Austin will join them in the 3-FBS club.

Western Carolina is scheduled to play two games, but won’t begin its season until November 14 at Liberty. Chattanooga joins North Dakota State as the only two FCS schools scheduled to play one single game this fall (the Mocs are at Western Kentucky on October 24).

Army is the FBS school playing the most FCS opponents, with three (Abilene Christian, The Citadel, and Mercer). The Black Knights’ game versus Abilene Christian on October 3 will be the first time the Wildcats have traveled to the east coast for a football game since 1995. There won’t be nearly as long a wait for ACU’s next trip east, as the Wildcats are playing at Virginia on November 21.

Back in 1995, Abilene Christian was a D-2 school, and as it happens, ACU will play two D-2 schools this fall — Angelo State and West Texas A&M (the latter is facing Stephen F. Austin this season, too).

So, to summarize, Abilene Christian is playing three FBS teams, two D-2 squads, one FCS road contest (at Mercer), one NAIA school (Arizona Christian), and a matchup at the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark against a conference opponent.

Tangent: despite its D-2 status, West Texas A&M is another program that appears willing to play just about anybody, as the Buffaloes are also playing an NAIA school (Oklahoma Panhandle State), plus a home-and-home versus another D-2 squad (Angelo State), and a school that I had never heard of before (North American University, which doesn’t appear to be affiliated with the NCAA, NAIA, or anything else). West Texas A&M isn’t done yet, either, as it is still seeking more opponents for its fall slate.

There is no doubt that West Texas A&M alums Mercury Morris, Duane Thomas, Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase, Tully Blanchard, Terry Funk, and Tito Santana are all very proud of this schedule. The late great Dusty Rhodes surely would be, too, as (like all of the others mentioned) he played college football for the Buffs.

– Massey’s FBS rankings (as of September 7) for some of the teams actually playing this fall: LSU (1st), Alabama (3rd), Clemson (4th), Georgia (5th), Auburn (6th), Oklahoma (8th), Florida (10th), Notre Dame (12th), Texas (14th), Texas A&M (16th), Mississippi State (19th), Kentucky (25th), South Carolina (30th), Tennessee (33rd), UCF (34th), Navy (38th), Memphis (40th), North Carolina (44th), Cincinnati (47th), Virginia (48th), Wake Forest (49th), Air Force (52nd), Virginia Tech (53rd), Miami [FL] (54th), Florida State (56th), Boston College (61st), Army (67th), Florida Atlantic (68th), Georgia Tech (70th), North Carolina State (73rd), Appalachian State (76th), BYU (78th), Tulsa (81st), Houston (82nd), Marshall (84th), Temple (85th), South Florida (89th), Georgia Southern (96th), East Carolina (106th), FIU (111th), UAB (113rd), Coastal Carolina (119th), UTEP (128th).

There are 130 FBS teams.

– On USF’s radio show, Jeff Scott mentioned that he attended his first college football game at age 2, and that it was at Johnson Hagood Stadium (his father was a graduate assistant at The Citadel at the time). I think he may have been a little younger than that, as the year would have been 1981, when he would have been less than one year old. I’m guessing Jeff Scott’s first game as a spectator (admittedly, a very young one) was the Bulldogs’ 12-3 victory over Western Carolina on September 19 of that year.

– South Florida’s notable alumni include actress/model Lauren Hutton, Hall of Fame baseball manager Tony La Russa, and alleged comedian Gallagher.

– USF’s roster of 112 players (as of September 4) includes 94 players from Florida. Other states represented:  Georgia (5 players), South Carolina (3), Virginia (3), Texas (2), and one each from Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, and Tennessee. As noted earlier, punter Trent Schneider is from Australia.

No member of South Florida’s team is an alumnus of South Carolina’s most fabled pigskin powerhouse, Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. The absence of players who have worn the famed maroon and orange will undoubtedly come back to haunt Jeff Scott, who certainly should know better. It really makes you question his long-term prospects in Tampa if he is unable to successfully recruit from the most heralded gridiron factory in the nation.

– The Citadel’s geographic roster breakdown (per the school’s website) is as follows: South Carolina (59 players), Georgia (19), Florida (10), North Carolina (7), Virginia (4), Texas (3), Alabama (2), Oklahoma (2), Tennessee (2), Pennsylvania (2), and one each from Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska, and New York.

Defensive lineman Hayden Williamson played his high school football in Okinawa, Japan.

– In the Bulldogs’ 1997 victory over South Florida, cornerback Chris Webb (who had the game-clinching interception) was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. Defensive tackle Mario Richardson, who had two tackles for loss during the contest, was selected as the league’s Freshman of the Week.

– Here are the guarantees The Citadel will be receiving from FBS schools over the next few years:

• 2020: South Florida — $275,000
• 2020: Clemson — $450,000
• 2020: Army — $225,000
• 2021: Coastal Carolina — $315,000
• 2023: Georgia Southern — $320,000
• 2024: Clemson — $300,000
• 2025: Mississippi — $500,000

The guarantee amounts listed above for this season’s games are from a Jeff Hartsell article in The Post and Courier: Link

– Matt Campbell, The Citadel’s outstanding punter, was named to the FCS Punter of the Year watchlist put out by the Augusta Sports Council. It should be pointed out that while 22 players are on this watchlist, only three of them are on teams actually competing this fall. The other two are North Alabama’s Joe Gurley and North Dakota State’s Garret Wegner (and NDSU is just playing one game).

I suspect that the Augusta Sports Council may wait until the spring to select the winner of the award.

– The Citadel has an all-time record of 3-3 for games played on September 12. The Bulldogs are 1-3 in road contests held on that date. Among the highlights:

• 1992: The Citadel defeated Wofford, 30-13. The game was the Bulldogs’ home opener, played one week after the team had shocked Arkansas, 10-3. An energized crowd of 20,710 watched as the Bulldogs’ defense forced four turnovers — three interceptions of Shawn Graves (two of which were picked off by Torrence Forney, the third by Lester Smith) and a fumble (recovered by Rob Briggs). On offense, Everette Sands rushed for 117 yards and two TDs, and Cedric Sims and Jack Douglas also found the end zone. Jeff Trinh kicked a 36-yard field goal. One of the louder ovations of the night came when it was announced over the public address system that Arkansas had beaten South Carolina 45-7.
• 1998: Before a night-time crowd of 10,271 spectators in Spartanburg (including a large gathering of fans wearing light blue and white), Jacob Barley’s nine-yard TD reception from Stanley Myers lifted The Citadel to a 20-14 victory over Wofford. Barley’s touchdown catch came with four seconds to play in the game. Myers also rushed for two scores, while Antonio Smith added 95 yards rushing on 22 carries. Britt Gardner had 14 tackles for the Bulldogs, while Deedrick Reese had 11 stops and Lance Gray 9 (including a sack). Marcus Johnson intercepted a pass for The Citadel.
• 2015: Dominique Allen rushed for two touchdowns and Evan McField added another as The Citadel whipped Western Carolina, 28-10. Jorian Jordan also scored for The Citadel when he pounced on an Allen fumble in the end zone. Defensively, Dee Delaney had two interceptions, while Mark Thomas recovered a fumble. Mitchell Jeter and Jonathan King both picked up sacks. Malik Diggs led the Bulldogs with nine tackles. On an overcast evening, only 8,048 fans were in attendance at Johnson Hagood Stadium to watch the Bulldogs move to 2-0 on the campaign.

—

An opening game always has a lot of unknowns associated with it. This week, though, there are unknowns on top of unknowns because of the pandemic.

This matchup wasn’t made until August 20. The teams have had 3 1/2 weeks to prepare.

There are no certainties about the rosters. The depth charts, often of questionable veracity in the best of circumstances, may be a complete waste of time.

Heck, even the original start time was changed on the Monday before the game — and I wouldn’t be all that surprised if 7pm Saturday rolls around and the opening kickoff has been delayed.

With all that as a backdrop, it is hard to say how The Citadel will fare against the Bulls. I do like the Bulldogs’ chances. The Citadel has a lot of experience, and those players are certainly not afraid to compete on the field with an FBS team. If anything, they relish it all the more.

I also believe an ability to adapt will be absolutely critical this season. Just by the nature of the inherent challenges faced by a military school, The Citadel may have an advantage on that front.

However, South Florida is a team that, despite its record in the last two years, has a lot of talented players. There is also obvious excitement in the program with a new coaching staff on hand. That has to help USF. It is a fresh start in many ways.

In recent years, USF has been quite solid against FCS opposition, too, including convincing wins over teams like South Carolina State (55-16 last season), Elon, Towson, Stony Brook, and Florida A&M.

You have to go back to 2014 to find a game in which the Bulls had serious trouble with an FCS squad, a 36-31 win over Western Carolina. In 2013, USF lost badly to McNeese State, possibly the nadir for the program over the last decade.

That was Willie Taggart’s first year at South Florida, and came on the heels of a 3-9 campaign the year before. This year, Jeff Scott takes over at USF, following a 4-8 season in 2019. Hmm…

However, sometimes history is just that — history. The Bulldogs and Bulls won’t be thinking about what happened seven years ago when kickoff finally arrives this Saturday.

I’m just glad that there will actually be a kickoff.

Aren’t we all?

Filed under: Football, The Citadel | Tagged: Alvin Heinsohn, Antonio Smith, Brent Thompson, Britt Gardner, Cedric Sims, Charlie Strong, Charlie Weis Jr., Chris Webb, Da'Quan Bowers, Dee Delaney, Dominique Allen, Evan McField, Everette Sands, Glenn Spencer, Jack Douglas, Jacob Barley, Jeff Scott, Jim Louk, Jordan McCloud, Lester Smith, Mark Thomas, Pat White, South Florida, Stanley Myers, Thad Mangum, The Citadel, Torrence Forney, TSA Matrix Ratings System, USF | 1 Comment »