The Citadel-South Carolina Game Notes
Charleston, S.C.-- The Citadel Football team heads to the (12 BCS/14 AP) University of South Carolina for their final game of the 2011 season in Columbia, S.C. on Saturday, Nov. 19. Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is set for noon at Williams-Brice Stadium.
The Citadel and South Carolina last met on October 20, 1990, at Williams-Brice Stadium, where they emerged with a 38-35 victory. The 21-year hiatus in the rivalry between the two Palmetto State schools marks the longest such stretch. The head-to-head meetings date back to 1905, the two teams met every season from 1907-1937. After a three-year break the two then met 13 times between 1940 and 1965. Most recent games took place in 1980, 1984, 1985 and 1990 seasons. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 39-73-3, including a 13-4 edge in games played at home.
THE MATCH-UP: The Citadel will head to South Carolina for the 50th all-time meeting between the two programs on Saturday. It will mark the 18th time that the two institutions have met at Williams-Brice Stadium, with the Gamecocks holding a 13-4 edge at home. The Citadel, in their second season running the triple option offense under the helm of head coach Kevin Higgins, return 42 lettermen from the 2010 squad, including 10 offensive and eight defensive starters. South Carolina returns 46 lettermen including 21 offensive and 21 defensive from a season ago.
The Citadel has split their last two games away from Johnson Hagood Stadium, including a 35-7 win over Western Carolina on Oct. 22 and a 14-12 loss at (4/4) Georgia Southern on Nov. 5. The Bulldogs suffered a 19-14 setback to Samford on Saturday, when Dustin Taliaferro found the endzone with six seconds remaining in the game. The 13th ranked Gamecocks turned back Florida, 17-12, behind 88 yards rushing from quarterback Connor Shaw.
THE SERIES: The Citadel series with South Carolina dates back to Nov. 30, 1905, the inaugural season of Citadel football, where USC emerged with a 47-0 win. The Gamecocks lead the all-time series 39-7-3. The Bulldogs won the last head-to-head meeting between the two schools, 38-35, which took place at Williams-Brice Stadium on Oct. 20, 1990. Prior to that, South Carolina had won nine straight in the series from 1951 to 1985.
In that game, quarterback Jack Douglas scored from the 1-yard line on fourth down with 22 seconds left to lift The Citadel (4-3) to its first victory over South Carolina (4-2) in 40 years.
LATE SAMFORD TOUCHDOWN TURNS BACK THE CITADEL, 19-14: A fourth quarter touchdown by Dustin Taliaferro in the waning moments of the game proved to be the difference as Samford captured the 19-14 victory over The Citadel in front of 13,591 fans at Johnson Hagood Stadium for Homecoming. The Citadel finished with 259 yards of total offense, accruing 238 on the ground. Among the individual statistical leaders for the Dogs included Robinson, who finished with 84 yards on a season-high 22 carries. Teammate VanDyke Jones finished with 48 yards on nine attempts, while Dupree, who tallied each of The Citadel's two touchdowns, added 44 yards. Defensively, Joseph Boateng (12 tackles) and Carl Robinson (10 tackles) led the way for the Bulldogs.
WATCHING THE GAME ON PAY-PER-VIEW: The Citadel will face South Carolina on a pay-per-view basis at noon, throughout the state of South Carolina. The game will be available online at ESPN3.com depending on your internet service provider, but only outside of South Carolina. Andy Demetra and Brad Muller will call the action.
The following cable and satellite companies will carry the game. Please contact your local company for pricing and to order the game.
Berkley Cable TV Moncks Corner
Charter Communications Greenville
Chester Telephone Chester
Comcast Cable Augusta, GA
Comcast Cable Charleston
Comporium Cable Rock Hill, York, Lancaster, Aiken
Horry Telephone Company Conway, Myrtle Beach
Knology North Charleston
PBT Cable Gilbert
Southern Coast Cable Georgetown
Time Warner Columbia
DirecTV: Channel 784
Dish Network: Channel 457
AT&T: Channel 101
BLOCK PARTY: The Citadel enters Saturday's game with Samford one punt block away from setting the FCS record for most blocks in a single-season. The Bulldogs are tied with Middle Tennessee State, who establsihed the record in 1988, when they finished with nine. The Cadets have nine to their credit, led by Domonic Jones' five. Jones (RS-Sophomore; Fernandina Beach, Fla.) established a new NCAA record for most blocked punts in a season with five when he blocked VMI's Cameron Murray in the second quarter on Saturday. The previous record of four blocks was shared by Ryan Crawford (Davidson); Robert Herron (Sam Houston St.); Taurean Rhetta (Jacksonville St.) and Frantz Placide (Wagner).
RENEWING THE RIVALRY AFTER 21-YEAR LAYOFF: Quarterback Jack Douglas scored from the 1-yard line on fourth down with 22 seconds left to lift The Citadel (4-3) to its first victory over South Carolina (4-2) in 40 years.
The Citadel, who had not beaten the Gamecocks in Columbia since 1919, made it 35-31 with 3:11 to go on Howard Barnard's 37-yard field goal that just cleared the crossbar.
Torrence Forney recovered the ensuing onside kick for the Bulldogs at the Gamecocks 41. Douglas hooked up with Terrance Young on a 24-yard pass to the 16. Douglas fumbled on the next play, but the Bulldogs recovered at the 10. Two runs by Everette Sands gave The Citadel a second-and-goal at the one.
South Carolina held until Douglas slipped untouched off left tackle for the touchdown. (Story courtesy the Associated Press)
THE BULLDOGS AGAINST THE HEISMAN TROPHY WINNER: In Saturday's contest with South Carolina, The Citadel will go against current Gamecock Head Coach and former Heisman Trophy winner Steve Spurrier. Spurrier, who won the award in 1967, marks the second straight former winner the Bulldogs have faced, after squaring off against Samford Head Coach Pat Sullivan, 1971 winner from Auburn University, last weekend. In the history of The Citadel, the Cadets have gone head-to-head with only one player, George Rogers (South Carolina), in the season that they captured the award, 1980. In that game, Rogers lead the 15th-ranked Gamecocks to a 45-24 victory over The Citadel.
CRAZY EIGHT: Since making his first collegiate appearance on Oct. 1 against No. 15/17 Chattanooga, freshman quarterback Aaron Miller has carried the ball 84 times for 315 yards and five touchdowns. He has also completed 9-of-23 passes for 110 yards. The Citadel, 3-4 in that time, has earned victories over Chattanooga, Western Carolina and Virginia Military Institute. Miller, a native of Clover, S.C., emerged in the first possession of the second quarter against Chattanooga and rushed for 15 yards in his first play from scrimmage. He finished the game with 62 yards on 17 carries, as he led the game-winning drive in a 28-27 victory at Chattanooga. Two weeks later, Miller again sparked a Citadel comeback, scoring three touchdowns on 11 carries in a 49-42 thriller against Appalachian State. The following week the true freshman added 30 yards and one touchdown in a 35-7 route of Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. In front of the raucous crowd at Johnson Hagood Stadium, when the Cadets hosted VMI, Miller made his longest play from scrimmage, 26 yards, as he carried the ball six times for 37 yards. In his most recent outing against (4/4) Georgia Southern, Miller established career highs in carries (19) and yards (80), while scoring one touchdown. In a reserve role against Samford on Nov. 12, Miller carried the ball six times for 44 yards, including a 39-yard fourth quarter run that moved the ball from The Citadel 34-yard line to the Samford 27.
Bulldog Bites
● Senior LB Rod Harland recorded the highest single-game total tackles in the SoCon with 23 vs. Wofford.
● Rod Harland is fifth in the SoCon in average tackles per game (9.4) and total tackles (94).
● Cass Couey ranks seventh in the FCS in punting with an average of 42.8 yards per punt.
● The Citadel leads the SoCon and FCS in the fewest penalties and fewest penalty yards per game.
● The Bulldogs' only passing touchdown of the season came by RB Rickey Anderson vs. Elon.
● The Citadel ranks fifth in the FCS this season in punt return average at 15.3 yards per return.
● The Bulldogs' rushing offense ranks third in the FCS this season at 291.2 yards per contest.
● The Citadel has 217 all-time victories against in-state competition, including 50 vs. Presbyterian College.
● The Bulldogs have nine blocked punts on the season, three of which were returned for a touchdown.
● The win at No. 15/17 Chattanooga on Oct. 1 marked the first time The Citadel defeated a ranked FCS opponent since defeating then No. 19 Elon, 42-31, at Johnson Hagood Stadium in 2007.
● Senior fullback Byron Addison scored his first career touchdown on Oct. 8 against No. 4/5 Wofford.
● The come-from-behind victory at No. 15/17 UTC was the largest of its kind since 1973.
● The Citadel played in overtime (at Elon on Sept. 24) for the first time since Oct. 3, 2009 vs. No. 10 ASU.
● DL Quintin Turner recorded his first two career fumble recoveries at. No. 4 Georgia Southern on Nov. 5.
Game Broadcast: Bulldog fans can also listen to Saturday's live action on ESPN 910 with the "Voice of the Bulldogs" Danny Reed and color analyst Walt Nadzak or enjoy a free live audio stream of the event on Bulldog Insider. Video stream along with live stats can also be found on the official website of The Citadel Athletics, www.Citadelsports.com.
Additional Information: For rosters, depth charts and game notes for both The Citadel Bulldogs and Georgia Southern, go to www.CitadelSports.com, click on Football and then Game Day Central on the right under Team Information. For more information on tickets, call the ticket office at (843) 953-DOGS (3647). For more information on Bulldog Football, follow the Dogs on Facebook and Twitter at facebook.com/citadelsports and twitter.com/citadelfootball.
