Oct. 8, 2002

Charleston, SC - Looking back, The Citadel's opening five-game stretch was every bit as difficult as football coach Ellis Johnson envisioned when he said the Bulldogs could be pretty good - and go 0-5.

The surprise isn't that the Bulldogs went 1-4 against two Division I-A teams (LSU and Wyoming), two nationally ranked I-AA clubs (Delaware and App State) and Western Carolina - the surprise is how close The Citadel came to winning two or three more of those games.

Bad bounces, crucial fumbles, a controversial call here, an offsides penalty there - those kind of mistakes and a little bad luck cost the Bulldogs second-half leads against Western Carolina and App State - and a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in Saturday's 34-30 loss at Wyoming.

"Coming into this season, I had no idea that we'd be able to compete the way we have," said Johnson, whose team lost by nine points to App State and by three to Western Carolina. "I think we are way, way behind talent-wise and in age and experience, but we keep playing so hard, we put ourselves in these positions to have a chance to win."

Those close calls, while frustrating, have the Bulldogs eager to begin the stretch run of their Southern Conference season - six straight league games, starting Saturday with East Tennessee State.

"We've got to win," said quarterback Jeff Klein. "Our goal is to win out, and we can. But we can't if we have fourth quarters like we did (against Wyoming). We have to correct those kinds of mistakes, and keep playing hard and getting better."

THE GOOD

The Citadel offense put up 30 points and 536 yards against Wyoming, and the point total could easily have been 40 or more. Klein was 24-of-47 for 335 yards, tying his own mark for the No. 4 passing day in school history. The Dogs converted on 17 third downs in 23 chances, thanks in large part to Klein's remarkable third-down numbers - 14-of-17 for 188 yards. Sophomore tailback Nehemiah Broughton had his third straight 100-yard game, rushing for a career-best 175 yards and two touchdowns.

THE BAD

The Dogs surrendered more than 500 yards for the second straight game, and more than 34 points for the third straight.

Still, The Citadel was in position to win before some critical late-game mistakes - a fumble, an offsides penalty on fourth-and-1, and a dropped pass on fourth-and-6.

INJURY UPDATE

No serious injuries reported. Senior tailback Nate Mahoney (dislocated elbow) did not play for the second straight week, but he could return this week.

COMING UP

ast Tennessee State fell to 2-1 in the SoCon with a 29-10 loss to App State. ETSU beat The Citadel 23-21 last season.