Charleston, S.C. The Citadel Football team is looking to break Wofford's eight-game winning streak against the Bulldogs when they welcome the No. 8 ranked Terriers to Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 6. The Citadel, who entered the Top 25 this week after an impressive win at Chattanooga on Sept. 29, will kick-off against Wofford at 2:03 p.m. in a live televised broadcast on SportSouth. Fans can also listen to the game online at www.CitadelSports.com through Bulldog Insider and on ESPN/WTMZ 910 with Robby Robinson, the voice of the Bulldogs.
Saturday's match-up will mark the 60th meeting between The Citadel and Wofford with the Bulldogs leading the series 40-18-1 dating back to 1916. The last time these teams met was in 2006 in Spartanburg when the Terriers defeated the Bulldogs, 28-20. The two teams enter Saturday's game each with only one loss, both to Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) schools.
The Citadel (3-1; 1-0 SoCon) opened conference action last week with an impressive 41-16 win at Chattanooga on Sept. 29, resulting in their first Top 25 ranking since 2003 and the first time they opened the season 3-1 since they won the conference championship in 1992. Looking to remain undefeated in the conference, the Bulldogs hope to pull off an upset over Wofford for the first time since 1998.
“We have our hands full, but our guys are excited to get on the field and play at home,” said Bulldog Head Coach Kevin Higgins. “Hopefully we will have a packed house and win our second Southern Conference game.”
Wofford's season (4-1; 2-0 SoCon) is highlighted by a 42-31 victory over national defending champions No. 1 Appalachian State on Sept. 22, followed by a 45-20 win over No. 20 Furman last week in Greenville.
The Bulldogs, who are celebrating 100 Years of Citadel Football this season, are also celebrating Hall of Fame weekend and will introduce the 2007 class of inductees at halftime of Saturday's game. Also, the first 2,000 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium will receive a commemorative “100 Year of Citadel Football” magnet featuring players and coaches of various eras of Bulldog Football.
Statistics and a game report, as well as additional information on Bulldog Football and The Citadel Athletics, will be available following Saturday's game against Wofford on www.CitadelSports.com. The Bulldogs will remain home next week to take on Furman on Oct. 13 at 2 p.m.
MORE NOTES:
DEJA VU... LET'S HOPE NOT
Those Bulldogs who were around for the 2003 season may be experiencing a little deja vu this
weekend as the No. 25 ranked Bulldogs take on the No. 8 Terriers. That's because the last time The Citadel was ranked was in 2003 when they cracked the polls at No. 25 during the same week they were to take on No. 5 ranked Wofford. A total of 20,683 fans packed into Johnson Hagood Stadium on Nov. 1, marking, at that time, the seventh highest attended game at the stadium. However, Wofford dominated the gridiron allowing only one Bulldog touchdown that came at 5:59 in the fourth quarter, while rushing for 381 of their 417 total yards. The Terriers won 42-16.
POLL ACTION
While the Bulldogs only placed 26th in the Sports Network FCS Poll, three other polls around the nation thought enough of The Citadel's first four weeks of the season to break them into the Top 25. After receiving several votes for the past couple of weeks, increasing significantly after their impressive performance at Wisconsin, the Bulldogs broke into the Top 25 in the FCS Coaches Poll, Football Gazette's Top 40 and the AnyGivenSaturday.Com polls after their 41-16 victory at Chattanooga on Saturday, Sept. 29. In the FCS Poll, the Bulldogs ranked 25th with 54 points. The Citadel and Delaware State (21) were the only two schools previously not ranked that entered the poll this week, both holding 3-1 overall records. The Bulldogs entered the Don Hansen's Football Gazette's Top 40 Poll at No. 24, while improving from 24 to 21 on the AnyGivenSaturdayPoll.
LAST SEASON AGAINST THE TERRIERS
Despite two drives late in the fourth quarter, The Citadel was unable to make the big play as the
Bulldogs' late rally feel short in Spartanburg on Oct. 7. The Bulldogs recorded a 28-20 loss, despite dominating the Terriers in the stats, including time of possession, 24 to 7 first downs and 213 to 82 passing yards. Andre Roberts and Tory Cooper recorded the only touchdowns in the game, both passes from Lawson. Vandiver found success from field goal range twice, while the Bulldogs recorded two touchdowns in both the first and third quarters only.
AMONG THE RANKS
After The Citadel's impressive 41-16 performance at Chattanooga on Sept. 29, the Bulldogs have found themselves among the nation's top 10 in several categories. Their highest ranking is in scoring offense where they fall in the No. 3 spot. Totaling 24 touchdowns on the season (10 against Webber International), the Bulldogs racked up 183 points, averaging 45.75 points a game. The Citadel is also No. 9 in total defense and total offense... In Southern Conference rankings, the Bulldogs lead the conference in scoring offense, scoring defense, pass defense, rush defense and total defense. The Bulldogs are second in total offense behind Georgia Southern, while holding the No. 2 spot in pass efficiency and turnover margin. They rank third in the conference in rushing offense, punting and punt return.
Senior quarterback Duran Lawson is second in the conference in passing average (229.8/g), while holding the No. 8 spot in rushing averaging 62.0 yards a game. Lawson is also ranked third in total offense with an average of 291.8 yards a game. Also among the conference ranking is fifth-year senior running back Tory Cooper. Cooper holds the No. 3 spot in the conference in rushing, averaging 93.2 yards a game, while also holding the fourth spot in all-purpose yards. Receivers Andre Roberts and Ta'Mar Jernigan also hold the sixth and eighth spots, respectively, in receptions a game, while Roberts is sixth in reception yards a game.
BULLDOGS MAKE A STATEMENT IN SOUTHERN CONFERENCE-OPENER
The Citadel Football team showed that they mean business after opening Southern Conference action with a 41-16 win at Chattanooga on Sept. 29. With the conference championship wide open after Woff ord defeated the defending national champions No. 1 ranked Appalachian State on Sept. 22, the Bulldogs are making a run of their own for the conference title starting off 1-0 in the SoCon. The Bulldogs allowed only two Chattanooga touchdowns on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Finley Stadium, while the other two points were a result of a Moc safety. The Citadel scored five touchdowns and two fourth quarter field goals to secure the victory. The Bulldogs totaled 28 first downs to Chattanooga's 14, while racking in more than five times in total rushing yards. Holding the Mocs to only 45 rushing yards, The Citadel totaled 247 for the night, 108 by senior quarterback Duran Lawson. The Citadel totaled 468 yards in off ense to Chattanooga's 266, also dominating the Mocs in time of possession, third down conversions and red zone scores.
LAWSON ON THE RUN
Senior quarterback Duran Lawson had a career rushing performance on Saturday, Sept. 29 at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium. Changing up the game plan a bit ended with Lawson on the ground carrying the ball on 19 occasions, totaling 108 net yards, a career-high and the first time he broke 100 in his career. His previous best rushing performance was against Elon during his freshman season (2004) when he totaled 85 yards. He also rushed for 71 yards against Elon his junior season (2006). Lawson also completed 20-of-26 passes with one interception for 221 yards in the air. His longest pass was a 60-yarder to Taylor Cornett.
COOPER TIES SCHOOL RECORD
Redshirt senior running back Tory Cooper earned Bulldog Offensive Player of the Week honors after his record-performance against Chattanooga on Saturday at Finley Stadium. The 5-7, 181-pounder from South Florence High School rushed for a total of 86 of the Bulldogs' 247 yards in 27 carries, while also making one catch for 5 yards. Four of Cooper's carries where for touchdowns, tying the all-time school record of touchdowns in a single game. The record was tied on five previous occasions with the last time a Bulldog recorded four touchdowns in a game in 1994 when senior half back Terrence Rivers rushed for four touchdowns against Furman on Oct. 15 in Greenville, S.C. Cooper has recorded 100-plus rushing performances in four of his last six games and is currently third and second in the Southern Conference in rushing and all- purpose yards, respectively. Cooper also had one kick-off return for 30 yards, racking in over 110 yards of total offense for The Citadel in their 41-16 victory against the Mocs.
