Oct. 23, 2003

Statesboro, GA - In a normal year, the Citadel would find itself in the role of spoiler when it played Georgia Southern.

However, this has been anything but a normal year in the Southern Conference. When the two teams meet Saturday at Paulson Stadium, both will be playing for their football life.

The Bulldogs (4-3, 3-1) find themselves in the unexpected position of having an opportunity to win their first SoCon title since 1992, a year before No. 19 Georgia Southern (4-3, 2-2) became a member of the league.

A Citadel win will, of course, keep the Bulldogs in the championship race, something Georgia Southern likely fell out of with last weekend's 28-21 loss at Appalachian State. To win the title with two losses is almost too far fetched to even consider.

A defeat for either team will be its fourth and it is inconceivable anyone will get an invite to the 16 team I-AA playoff field with four losses.

In order to claim the school's third SoCon title, the Bulldogs have to win out. Coach Ellis Johnson's team finds itself in a second-place tie with Appalachian State after posting a 10-9 win over Furman last weekend. The Bulldogs host Wofford next week, then go on the road to meet East Tennessee and Elon, two of the weaker teams in the conference.

Winning out could be a tall order, but the Bulldogs are starting to become believers, said Johnson. Prior to1992, the Dogs won their only other championship in 1961.

"Now these kids are starting to realize we can win," said Johnson. "We might not be the best team or the most talented team, but we can win."

Citadel's victory last weekend was its first over Furman since 1998. Its earlier win over App State snapped a nine-year drought against the Mountaineers. Beating Southern would give the Bulldogs their first ever season sweep of the mythical Big Three.

In beating the Paladins, the Citadel also got the kind of a break a team needs to win championships.

Furman scored with 3:06 to play and with the league's best kicker in Danny Marshall (17-17 on PATs) the possibility of overtime loomed. A tie game was certain. Until the ball was snapped. A bad snap forced the holder to scramble and the attempt failed.

"I thought the big factor of the game was our offensive control of the ball," Johnson said. Monday, singling out the overall play of quarterback Willie Simmons. "He had better control of himself, therefore we had better control of the football game."

Simmons, the much-talked-about transfer from Clemson, completed 9-of-18 passes for 76 yards and ran three times for 11 yards against Furman. He scored the only touchdown of the game on a three-yard run that covered nearly 50. Bottled up at the line as he rolled right off a fake handoff, Simmons reversed his field to the 20 and scrambled to score despite a hard hit at the goal line.

"That was one the most athletic moves I have witnessed in my short time here at The Citadel," said Johnson.

With Simmons holding things together, tailback Nehemiah Broughton had his best day of the season as he ran the ball 28 times for 159 yards. Plagued by injuries early in the season Broughton had his second straight 100-plus game, having gained 147 on 14 carries in a 31-7 win over Elon.

"Nemo is just getting better each week and he is finally healthy," Johnson said. "He made a huge play on third down in the first half that was pivotal for us."

For his efforts against Furman the 6-0, 240-pound junior was named Offensive Player of the Week. With his team on a three-game win streak the third-year Bulldog coach believes his team should come to Paulson with a lot of confidence.

"They've got to have confidence right now," said Johnson of his team. "It's easier to coach these players when they have a lot to play for. I don't know what emotional state they would be in if they had lost a close game to Furman."

Broughton is the fifth leading rusher in the league with 532 yards and fullback Ernie Mills is eighth in rushing with 382 yards. Southern's Jermaine Austin leads the conference with 901. Simmons is second in passing as he is 76-for-157 for 1,020 yards and six touchdowns, and he is third in total offense with 1,144 yards. Wide receiver Scooter Johnson is averaging 20 yards per catch with 22 for 441 yards and six scores.

The Citadel's offensive and defensive numbers as a team are misleading in that they gave up 565 yards in a 61-0 loss to Maryland and 476 in a 41-7 defeat at Delaware.

Against SoCon opposition the Bulldogs are averaging 358 yards total offense per game while giving up 264.

Johnson knows the Eagles are struggling, but he is not overlooking their ability.

"They're probably out of the conference championship race," said Johnson. "If you think they are not a very good football team you need to think again.

"I think we'll encounter a football team that has a lot of pride, tradition and good football players."