Sept. 8, 2005

Charleston, SC - Coach Kevin Higgins, currently the only undefeated coach in Citadel football history, puts that label on the line Saturday night when his Bulldogs tackle nationally-ranked Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.

Florida State, which owns two national championships, defeated rival Miami, 10-7, in a nationally-televised game Monday night.

The Bulldogs, 1-0 after the 28-14 win over cross-county rival Charleston Southern, were successful in Higgins' debut. Higgins, who was named The Citadel's 23rd head coach on March 24, spent the last four years as an assistant for the NFL's Detroit Lions and the seven years prior to that as Lehigh's head coach.

The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Craig Coshun will handle the play-by-play duties while Charles Arbuckle is the analyst.

The last time The Citadel met Florida State was on Sept. 15, 1962, in Tallahassee, FL. While the 49-0 score indicates a blowout, the Seminoles were probably upset about the 1960 game in Charleston when the Cadets battled the Seminoles to a 0-0 tie. A quick review of that game saw The Citadel coached by Eddie Teague, and star players included co-captains E Charlie Brendle and G Gene "Buzzy" Dice, QB Sid Mitchell and FB Nick DiLorento. Of note, FSU's coach was Bill Peterson, the facility in Tallahassee seated only 25,000 (82,300 today) and their enrollment was listed as 9,559 (38,886 today).

The Seminoles hold a 0-4-1 record in the series.

The last time The Citadel defeated a I-A team came in 1992 when the Bulldogs upset Arkansas, 10-3, in the Razorbacks inaugural game in the Southeastern Conference. Later in '92, The Citadel defeated Army, 15-14.

As expected, The Citadel is garnering a huge amount of publicity for the game as coach Higgins has been on several national sports radio shows. In addition, defensive coordinator Dick Hopkins (FSU '74), who also coached for the Seminoles from 1979-81, has been involved with several interviews, including a telephone conference call with the FSU Quarterbacks Club on Tuesday evening. This marks the second straight year that the Bulldogs have faced two I-A teams. Last year, The Citadel lost at Auburn (33-3) and at Duke (28-10) on consecutive weekends.