Sept. 26, 2005

Charleston, SC - First year head coach Kevin Higgins met with the media Monday afternoon in the Altman Center of Johnson Hagood Stadium to discuss The Citadel's 45-13 loss to Appalachian State. Higgins also fielded questions about the Bulldogs' road trip to Cullowhee, North Carolina this weekend as they face Western Carolina.

Coach Higgins began the press conference by letting everyone know that his team started the game just like they had schemed it up in the two weeks of practice leading up to their first Southern Conference game. The Bulldogs had an off week to prepare for Jerry Moore's Mountaineers.

"The game started just as we liked it," Higgins stated. "I felt like we did a good job on defense and once we got the ball on the first possession, Duran did a good job of executing the plays we called."

He then moved into talking about the inability to run the ball against the Mountaineers' front seven and how quarterback Duran Lawson needs continued improvement from week to week for the Bulldogs to have a chance.

"We need to work on our running game quite a bit this week in practice," explained Higgins, whose team rushed for 69 yards on 42 carries against the Mountaineers. "The inability to run the ball keeps our defense on the field way too much. I thought Duran did some things better, but he needs to make strides each week for us to get better."

Higgins ended the afternoon with talk about the Bulldogs upcoming game against Kent Briggs' No. 19 Western Carolina Catamounts. The Catamounts are coming off a postponement with Nicholas State due to the effects of Hurricane Rita in the Gulf Coast.

"They have a very good defense that is very fast and their two defensive ends are really good," Higgins said. "They have very good players at all the skills position and it will be a challenge for us on the road in Cullowhee." The Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1 SoCon) face their second SoCon opponent as they travel to take on the Catamounts (2-1, 0-0 SoCon) this Saturday, October 1 with kick off slated for 6:00 pm.