CHARLESTON, S.C – The No. 22 Citadel Bulldogs host rival and No. 5 Wofford on Saturday night at Johnson Hagood Stadium in one of the weekend's key matchups across the FCS and in the Southern Conference season. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
GAMEDAY LINKS
Date/Time: Oct. 14, 2017 / 6 p.m.
Location/Stadium: Johnson Hagood Stadium / Charleston, S.C.
Live Video: ESPN3 WATCH LIVE
The Citadel Sports Network (Mike Legg & Lee Glaze): LISTEN LIVE
Live Stats:
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The teams meet for the 71
st time in a rivalry that dates back to 1916. The teams met twice in 2016 with The Citadel snatching an overtime win in Spartanburg during the regular season and Wofford winning the December meeting in the FCS Playoffs at JHS.
Each of the last four meetings between these two programs have had major SoCon and FCS Playoff implications. This season is no different. The Citadel (3-2, 1-2 SoCon) is looking to stop a two-game slide and can help itself –and everyone else - in the SoCon race by knocking off the Terriers. Wofford is trying to move to 4-0 in league play and remain perfect halfway through the conference season.
Citadel head coach
Brent Thompson isn't getting caught up in rivalry week or a Top 5 opponent. His team's focus is on moving the season forward in the season by executing the game plan, finishing drives in the red zone, and converting on third down.
"It isn't about who our opponent is this week,' Thompson said. "We get another opportunity to play and to try to get a win. Wofford is a Top 5 opponent, but we will be up for the challenge. The key for us it to go out, execute what we do, and finish drives."
The Bulldogs are just 4-of-9 in the red zone the last two games with a couple of key turnovers in close in last week's game against Mercer. Possession will be few and at premium as two option offenses square off.
Game experience will continue to benefit one of the FCS' youngest unit with five freshmen starting on offense. Freshman running back
Brandon Berry had 65 yards on 15 carries last week, both career highs, to go with his first career touchdown. Fellow B-Back
Brandon Rainey, also a freshman, has 238 yards rushing this season and two touchdowns.
Defensively, The Citadel leads the SoCon in Total Defense and is the only unit allowing less than 300 yards per game. Linebacker
Myles Pierce is second in the SoCon with 1.8 tackles for loss per game and is among the league leaders with 37 tackles. Safety
Kailik Williams, who's "pitch six" snag of a Wofford pitch for a touchdown was the key play of the '16 season, has a pair of interceptions this season and 34 tackles.
Wofford is averaging 296.4 yards per game on the ground and is fifth nationally in the category, just behind The Citadel. Running back
Andre Stodard leads the Terriers ground attack at 79.4 yards per game, while backfield mate
Blake Morgan averages 7.9 yards per carry.
Wofford has been one of the nation's best in tight games this season. The Terriers have won three games by a total of five points and a fourth in overtime. Wofford is coming off a wild 35-28 win over Western Carolina last Saturday in overtime.
The Terriers and Bulldogs will play for the recently introduced Big Dog Trophy, which marks the rivalry between the two schools.
TICKETS: West Red Zone seats are available through The Citadel Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 843-953-DOGS or in person at the ticket window on McAlister Fieldhouse. General admission tickets and student tickets are also available.
CLIMBING THE RUSHING LADDER: Senior running back
Cam Jackson is ninth on The Citadel career rushing list with 2,200 career yards. He needs 150 yards to pass Maurice Murphy for eighth. Senior quarterback Dom Allen is 15th on the list currently, but needs only 14 yards today to pass Tony Cooper.
-CitadelSports-
