Sept. 21, 2004

Charleston, SC - Appalachian State coach Jerry Moore pondered his team's next game -- at Northwestern State, ranked No. 19 in Division I-AA -- and shook his head last Saturday.

"We don't believe in playing any puds," Moore said after the Mountaineers' 28-14 win over The Citadel. "But I wouldn't want to trade places with The Citadel. That's a tough deal, there."

Indeed, the Bulldogs' schedule makes almost anybody's look like a bunch of puds. Six of The Citadel's first seven football games are against either Division I-A teams (Auburn, Duke) or ranked I-AA squads (No. 17 App State, No. 2 Furman, No. 3 Georgia Southern and No. 9 Wofford).

The best team The Citadel will face this season is Saturday's game at 3-0 Auburn, ranked No. 9 by The Associated Press this week and coming off a 10-9 victory over defending national champion LSU.

The game looks like a mismatch on the scale of Alabama's 52-0 win over the Southern Conference's Western Carolina last week. But Citadel coach John Zernhelt likens the challenge to weightlifting -- if the weight on the bar doesn't crush your windpipe, it makes you better. "You get can get in there and bench press a light weight like 100 pounds any way you want to," Zernhelt said Monday at his weekly news conference. "Elbows in, elbows out, with bad technique you can work a light weight.

"But if you want to bench press 400 pounds, you have to be technique-perfect. The key to being successful is to eliminate distractions and treat everybody like a heavyweight. You don't know what you are going to get every week, who's going to play hard and who is not, so you treat everybody like they were Auburn.

"That's the approach we take to every game. We treat everybody like they were Auburn or Alabama or Clemson or whoever it is."

Citadel athletic director Les Robinson got the Bulldogs on Auburn's schedule in August of 2003, after Bowling Green bailed out of a game. The Citadel will earn about $450,000 for the game, about the same as the paycheck it earned for a 35-10 loss at LSU in 2002, its last game against an SEC team. With a guarantee of about $150,000 coming from Duke on Oct. 2, The Citadel will earn about $600,000 over the next two weeks.

None of that matters to Zernhelt, who just wants to see improvement from the opener against App State, when the Bulldogs netted just 137 yards and scored one touchdown on offense.

"There were times on drives when we were our own worst enemy," Zernhelt said. "On offense, it's got to be all 11 guys working, and certainly all five or six guys up front. There were some plays where a man is close, is able to make the block and doesn't. That's the difference in something going for four yards or spitting for 25 yards down the field. I'm most concerned about us, because that is the people that we can control."

NOTES

-- Zernhelt said he would continue to play both senior quarterback Justin Hardin and freshman Duran Lawson, but that Lawson had earned more playing time with his performance at App State. Lawson hit his first three passes and was 3 of 10 for 20 yards and also had a 10-yard run.

"He was a spark, he's an athlete who can make plays," Zernhelt said. "We'll continue to work them both, and as a coach you don't really care who starts. It's whoever gets the job done and moves the team ... We'll bring him along slowly, but he's certainly going to have more opportunities to play, and we'll see where it goes from there."

-- John Zernhelt's coach's show will be televised weekly at 7:30 p.m Sundays on Comcast channel 2. His weekly radio show is from 6-7 p.m. Mondays on 910-AM. Both shows are hosted by Robby Robinson.

-- Tailback Nehemiah Broughton was The Citadel's player of the game against App State, gaining 85 yards on 18 carries. Linebacker James Greene (11 tackles, a fumble return for TD) was the defensive player of the game. Cornerback Dru Knight (six tackles, one pass break-up), tight end Ross Armstrong (three catches for 27 yards) and center Jay Thomas were difference-makers.

NEXT GAME Who: The Citadel at No. 9 Auburn

When: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.

Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.

Records: Citadel 0-1, Auburn 3-0

Radio: WTMZ 910-AM, WQTK 950-AM