Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Football will host the Furman Paladins for the 57th annual Parents Day game on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The game will kickoff at 2 p.m. and can be viewed and listened to on Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com or on ESPN Radio 910 The Team with the Voice of the Bulldogs Darren Goldwater and color analyst Walt Nadzak.
The Series
The Citadel (2-4 overall; 0-3 SoCon) will face Furman (4-2 overall; 3-1 SoCon) for the 89th time in the programs' history on Saturday, marking the longest active rivalry in the Southern Conference. The Paladins, the most played Bulldog opponent, leads the series, 55-30-3, which dates back to Nov. 11, 1913 when The Citadel defeated Furman, 75-0, in Charleston. The win was the largest margin of victory for the Bulldogs until they defeated Webber International, 76-0, in 2007.
The Citadel has faced Furman 42 times in Charleston. Furman leads the series, 22-18-2. The Bulldogs have won 10 of the last 20 games against the Paladins played in Charleston, dating back to 1969. Prior to the 2007 overtime win against the Paladins, the last home win against Furman was in 2003 when the Bulldogs defeated the Paladins, 10-9, on Oct. 18, 2003. Furman also leads the series when playing in Greenville, 31-12. The Bulldogs have not claimed a victory in the upstate since Oct. 17, 1998.
The last two games between The Citadel and Furman when playing in Charleston have gone into overtime. The overtime series between the Bulldogs and Paladins are split, 1-1. In 2005, Furman claimed a 39-31 victory in triple overtime at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Citadel then came around and recorded a 54-51 overtime victory in their next meeting in Charleston in 2007.
The Bulldogs
The Citadel is coming off another disappointing loss, this time to the Western Carolina Catamounts, who claimed their first victory of the season against the Bulldogs, 14-10, in Cullowhee. Both Bulldog quarterbacks Bart Blanchard and Miguel Starks were injured in the matchup, but are expecting to return to action this weekend against the Paladins. The game marked the third consecutive SoCon loss for the Bulldogs and the first time since 2004 that The Citadel started 0-3 in conference play.
The Paladins
Furman is coming off a 26-24 homecoming victory over the Samford Bulldogs last weekend in Greenville. Before giving one up to Elon for the Paladin Family Weekend game the week prior, Furman claimed wins against Presbyterian, at Chattanooga and at Western Carolina. Their other loss was at FBS opponent Missouri.
Parents Days Rival
The Citadel has played 56 Parents Day Games, with Saturday's matchup marking the 57th of all-time. The Bulldogs are 29-27 in Parents Day Games and have played Furman on Parents Day for eight seasons - the most of any Parents Day opponent. The first time these teams met on Parents Day was Oct. 21, 1961 when the Bulldogs claimed a 9-8 victory. Seven of the eight times these teams met on this occasion have been since 1993. Overall, the Bulldogs are 3-5 when playing the Paladins on Parents Day.
A game recap and statistics will be available online immediately following the game. For more information on Bulldog Football, go to the official website of The Citadel Athletics, www.CitadelSports.com.
