CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel defense recorded a school-record 10 sacks en route to a dominating 37-14 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The win improved the Bulldogs to 1-3 on the season and was the first in the Coach
Mike Houston era, while Gardner-Webb dropped to 2-3 on the year.
After falling behind 14-13 early in the third quarter, The Citadel stepped up and scored 24 unanswered points including a pair of touchdown runs by
Aaron Miller to earn the victory over its Big South foe.
The Bulldog defense stymied Gardner-Webb throughout the game as the Runnin' Bulldogs finished with -2 rushing yards, including 70 lost yards on quarterback takedowns. The 10 sacks broke the school record of eight set three times, most recently against VMI in 2005.
Mitchell Jeter led the way with 2.5 sacks, upping his career total to eight, while
Tevin Floyd,
Mark Thomas and
Justin Oxendine each had two. Thomas leads all active Bulldogs with 11.5 sacks in his career, while Oxendine sits close behind with nine.
A sack fumble by
Carson Smith in the third quarter, which was recovered by
Joe Crochet, led to a three-yard rushing score by Miller that put the Bulldogs ahead 27-14.
The turnover was the first forced by The Citadel this season.
Miller rushed for a career-high three touchdowns, amassing 91 yards on the ground, while
Jake Stenson continued to eat up yardage, averaging 12.8 yards per carry. The fifth-year senior finished with 77 yards on just six carries, including a three-yard plunge in the third quarter which put The Citadel up for good at 19-14.
Miller now has 14 career rushing scores, the fifth most by a Citadel quarterback since 1978.
The Bulldogs opened the contest in rare fashion, passing the ball twice for big gains of 19 and 47 yards.
Cam Jackson hauled in the first pass from Miller, followed by an impressive catch and run by
Rudder Brown to set up The Citadel with a 1
st and goal at the Gardner-Webb two-yard line.
Brown finished the game with two catches for 67 yards, while quarterback-turned-slot back Jackson added 27 yards on two catches and another 57 on the ground.
Two plays later, Miller plunged up the middle to give the Bulldogs a quick 7-0 lead.
The Citadel defense went right to work on the ensuing drive, recording two straight sacks of GWU quarterback Lucas Beatty to force a punt.
Two second-quarter drives led to successful
Eric Goins field goals of 28 and 32 yards to improve the Bulldogs' lead to 13-0. Goins is 5-of-5 on field goals in his first season as the placekicker.
GWU answered with a score of its own before the half as Beatty marched the Runnin' Bulldogs down the field and capped the 10-play drive with a four-yard score to cut The Citadel lead to 13-7 at the break.
GWU opened the second half with another quick score, taking the ball 75 yards on nine plays before Beatty found Kenny Cook in the back of the end zone from one-yard out to give the Runnin' Bulldogs the one-point advantage.
Beatty finished the game 29-of-35 passing with 280 yards and one score, while Cook caught nine passes for 103 yards.
The Citadel offense finished the contest with an impressive 7.0 yards-per-play average (73-509), rushing the ball 58 times for 323 yards and completing eight passes for 186, a career-high total for Miller. The Bulldogs dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 33:13, including 10:08 of the final period.
The Bulldogs continued their perfect red zone scoring streak and have now put up points on each of their 13 trips to the red zone in 2014.
The Citadel opens its Southern Conference slate next Saturday against Wofford in Spartanburg in a game that will be broadcast ESPN3 game. The Bulldogs are looking to gain their first win over the Terriers since 1998.
