Charleston, S.C. The Citadel Football team will travel to Madison, Wisc. this weekend to take on the No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers in non-conference football action at Camp Randall Stadium. Kick-off is scheduled for 12 noon (11 am. CT) and can be seen on the Big Ten Network and listened to on online at CitadelSports.com through Bulldog Insider with Robby Robinson, the voice of the Bulldogs.
The Badgers (2-0), who are coming off wins against Washington State and UNLV, currently hold the longest winning streak in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 11 consecutive wins. The Bulldogs, also off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 1997, are coming off a modern-day point record performance against Webber International. The Citadel defeated the Warriors, 76-0, the most points scored on any team since 1909. The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven games, with their only loss to Appalachian State, and have won six consecutive home games.
“It's very nice to be 2-0 and having established a home winning streak of six games,” said Head Coach Kevin Higgins. “Our players are focused and looking forward to playing Wisconsin and the expectation of playing in front of 100,000 fans. We will put a game plan together and are excited about how our players will be able execute the plan. They are No. 7 and a typical Big 10 team; very big, physical and well coached with a lot of returnees on defense.”
The Bulldogs will have a week off after returning from Wisconsin and will then head into Southern Conference play when taking on the Mocs of Chattanooga on Sept. 29 in Tennessee. For more information on Bulldog Football or The Citadel Athletics, go to www.CitadelSports.com.
More Notes:
FRESHMEN HELP BULLDOGS SET MODERN DAY SCORING RECORD
- Freshman running back Cody Wilson and freshman defensive lineman Lincoln Kling put the 2007 team in the record book on Saturday against Webber International scoring the record-setting touchdowns against the Warriors. Wilson recorded his first career touchdown on a 9-yard run at 14:53 in the fourth quarter to put the Bulldogs up 69-0, the most points scored by any Bulldog team in modern history. The previous record was 64 points against Charleston Southern in 2003 when The Citadel defeated the Bucs 64-10. Shortly later, Kling blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown at 13:11 in the fourth quarter for his first career touchdown and the first time since Maurice Drayton blocked a punt and Marcus Johnson returned it for 33 yards for a touchdown in the Bulldogs' 1997 game against Western Carolina. Kling's touchdown put the Bulldogs up 76-0, marking the largest Citadel margin since defeating Porter Military Academy in 1909, 99-0.
THE CITADEL VS. THE BCS
- The Bulldogs enter the second-year of their five-year plan to play a school from each BCS conference when they travel to take on the Badgers in Madison, Wis. The game, which will take place at 11 a.m. Central Time, will be The Citadel's only Bowl Subdivision match-up of the season and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. The Citadel has been playing BCS teams for some time now, with their most noteworthy wins against South Carolina in 1990 and Arkansas in 1992. Since then, the Bulldogs have played at Florida (1998), Georgia Tech (2001), LSU and Wyoming (2002), Maryland (2003), Duke and Auburn (2004), Florida State and Ole Miss (2005) and Texas A&M and Pitt (2006).
Bulldogs BCS Schedule
2006 Texas A&M; Pittsburgh
2007 WISCONSIN
2008 Clemson; Florida
2009 UNC Chapel Hill; South Carolina
2010 Arizona
THE CITADEL VS. THE DIVISION FORMERLY KNOWN AS I-A
-The Citadel football program has sort of made a thing of including at least one Division I-A program on their schedule from year-to-year. Actually, by 2010, the Bulldogs will have played at least one member from the ACC, BIG EAST, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 10 and Southeastern Conferences, starting last season. Saturday's match-up against Wisconsin will be the 42nd match-up between the Bulldogs and the Football Bowl Subdivision since the split in 1978. However, the Bulldogs have not seen much success against these football powerhouses. Including the 2006 season-opener loss to Texas A&M on Sept. 2 and the Sept. 23 loss at Pitt, The Citadel has lost 17 consecutive games against FBS opponents. Their last win came in 1992 against Army in a 15-14 win in West Point, N.Y. During that same season, the Bulldogs defeated Arkansas, 10-2, in the season-opener in Fayetteville, Ark. The Citadel, that season led by Hall of Famers Jack Douglas and Lester Smith, went on to win the SoCon Championship. The Bulldogs have played 40 games against Division I-A opponents and are 7-33. The wins were against: Vanderbilt (1979), Navy (1988, 1989), South Carolina (1990), Army (1991, 1992), and Arkansas (1992).
HIGGINS EARNS SOCON COACH OF THE WEEK AFTER RECORDBREAKING PERFORMANCE
-Head Football Coach Kevin Higgins was named the SoCon Coach of the Week by the Southern Pigskin.com staff after the Bulldogs' performance against NAIA's Webber International on Saturday, Sept. 8. Higgins led The Citadel as they set a modern-day school-record with 76 points. The defense also recorded their first shutout since 2005. The Bulldogs are 2-0 for the first time since 1997 and have won six consecutive home competitions. After taking on Wisconsin on Saturday, the Bulldogs will have a week off before heading to Chattanooga for their first SoCon match-up of the season. They will return home on Saturday, Oct. 6 looking to extend their home winning streak to seven against the Wofford Terriers live on SportsSouth.
WALK-ON FIRST TO EARN SOCON HONORS
Freshman walk-on Johnathan Synovec became the first Bulldog to earn Southern Conference Player of the Week honors for his special teams performance against Webber International on Saturday, Sept. 8. Synovec, the 205-pound defensive lineman from Columbia, S.C., blocked two punts against the Warriors on Saturday, one resulting in a Bulldog field goal.
SHUT-OUT...BY A LONG SHOT
Saturday's win over Webber International was the first time the Bulldogs shut out an opponent since 2005 when they left Elon scoreless in the 21-0 match-up at Johnson Hagood Stadium on Nov. 12. The shut-out also became the largest margin of any Bulldog victory in modern time and the second largest since The Citadel defeated Porter Military Academy 99-0 in 1909.
BULLDOGS SCORE FOUR IN FIRST
In the first quarter of Saturday's game, The Citadel scored four touchdowns for 28 points against Webber International. The first touchdown of the game was a 24-yard pass from senior quarterback Duran Lawson to sophomore wide receiver Andre Roberts with just 1:12 off the game clock. The second and third touchdowns were just 61 seconds apart; the second a 6-yard run by senior running back Tory Cooper at 10:49, followed by a 6-yard run by QB Lawson at 9:48. The last time the Bulldogs scored 28 or more points in a quarter was in 2003 when The Citadel scored 30 points in the fourth quarter against Charleston Southern in the 64-10 victory at to kick-off the season at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
3-OF-3
Sophomore wide receiver Andre Roberts may not have gotten the record for the most receptions in a game, but the ones he got he made count. While only making three catches in Saturday's match-up against Webber International, all three Roberts's first half receptions were touchdowns. Roberts totaled three catches for 86 yards. His longest reception was a 47-yarder from Lawson at 11:09 in the second quarter to extend the Bulldog lead to 35-0. Roberts put the first points on the board just 1:12 into the game with a 24-yard pass from Lawson at 13:48 in the first. Roberts's other reception came at 8:10 in the first, a 15-yard pass from Lawson. Roberts's three first half touchdowns are the most by the preseason SoCon second team selection in a game. He totaled five TDs in the 2006 season.
MAKING THE STOP
Freshman defensive back Demetrius Jackson earned his first sack of his collegiate career against Webber International. Jackson's sack played an instrumental role in the 76-0 blowout by marking a huge stop for the Bulldogs in what was the Warriors' first time in the game within the 10-yard line early in the third quarter. Warrior quarterback Andrew Carr completed a pass to Jamal Carr for 14-yards when J. Carr ran out-of-bounds at the 4-yard line at about the 10-minute mark in the third quarter. For the first time in scoring range, Jackson put a stop to Carr's pass attempt when he tackled him for a sack and 9-yard loss. After a 5-yard gain, followed by a five-yard penalty, the Warriors' field goal attempt was no good, leaving
WIU scoreless at 45-0 with 9:31 left in the third quarter.
COOPER: FOUR-IN-A-ROW
Redshirt senior Tory Cooper is still making moves in the running back position after posting his fourth consecutive 100-plus yard performance against Webber International on Saturday, Sept. 8. Cooper totaled 110 rushing yards and recorded 54 yards receiving, marking the second this season and fourth consecutive 100-plus rushing performance after racking up yards against VMI (150) and Elon (109) to
finish the 2006 season and Charleston Southern to start 2007. His 116-yard performance against the Bucs on Sept. 1 marked the first time since 2003 when Nehemiah Broughton rushed for 147 yards against Elon (10/4), 158 yards against Furman (10/18), and 128 against Georgia Southern (10/25) that a Bulldog rushed for 100-plus yards in three consecutive games.
BITTER-SWEET; BULLDOGS SAY GOODBYE TO FLORIDA STATE AND OLEMISS IN THE CITADEL'S “LAST TIME”
While redshirt sophomore defensive back Carver Wright and sophomore defensive back Ryan Jones will never forget their highlights against Webber International last Saturday, record-book enthusiasts will have no choice. As exciting as it was to see Wright recover a fumble for his first collegiate touchdown and Jones receive his first collegiate interception and touchdown, it's unfortunate that 2005 highlights from Florida State and Ole Miss will forever be out of The Citadel football notes. That's because Wright's fumble recovery for a score was a first for the Dogs since 2005 when Vince Hill returned a fumble for 70-yards and a TD at Florida State in Tallahassee to put the Bulldogs up 10-3 in the second quarter. Jones knocked Ole Miss highlights of The Citadel's “Last Time” list when his interception for a touchdown became a first since 2005 against Ole Miss when Avery Dingle broke up a Rebel pass and returned it for 44-yards and a touchdown. Maybe media relations should change the “Last Time” list to I-A vs. Non I-A schools...correction: Football Bowl Subdivision vs. Non- Football Bowl Subdivision schools.
