CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel Bulldogs begin the homestretch of the 2017 SoCon season on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Chattanooga for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Finley Stadium.
The Citadel (3-3, 1-3 SoCon) enters the second half of the SoCon season trying to shake off a three-game slide, the first since 2014.
GAMEDAY LINKS
Date/Time: Oct. 21, 2017 / 2 p.m.
Location/Stadium: Finley Stadium / Chattanooga, Tenn.
Live Video: ESPN3 - WATCH LIVE -
GAME NOTES
The Citadel Sports Network (Mike Legg & Lee Glaze): LISTEN LIVE
Live Stats:
FOLLOW LIVE
The Bulldogs pushed No. 5 Wofford to the limit last Saturday night in a 20-16 loss at Johnson Hagood Stadium. The Terriers late touchdown and a Bulldog fumble at the Wofford 1 were the key turning points in the SoCon showdown. The Bulldog defense held Wofford to its lowest rushing total since a 2005 game at West Virginia.
Getting back on track will take an offense making plays and finishing drives and leaving missed opportunities in the past, but learning from them, says head coach
Brent Thompson.
"We have to move on (from the Wofford game)," Thompson said this week. "We face a good Chattanooga team. This is the same team that has played for conference titles. Their record doesn't indicate it, but they're still very talented and experienced. They can still score and they can still stop you. We have to get back to what we do best. Be very fundamental, move the football, and eat the clock.
The Bulldogs are No. 5 nationally in rushing offense at 293.5 yards per game, but have not had more than 300 yards rushing since their win in the SoCon opener at ETSU. The Bulldogs are 9-1 under Thompson when rushing for over 300 yards. Senior
Cam Jackson leads The Citadel with 301 yard rushing and a 6.8 yards per carry average this season.
Defensively, The Citadel leads the SoCon in rushing defense and tackles for loss per game. The Bulldogs are allowing just over 108 yards per game on the ground and are at 7.5 tackles for loss per game. The Citadel has 10 TFLs in three of their last four games, including in each of their last two. The Bulldogs'
Ja'Lon Williams and
Myles Pierce are third and fourth in the SoCon, respectively, in tackles for loss per game.
Chattanooga (1-6, 1-3) is trying to bounce from a rough first half the season. The Mocs, under first-year head coach Tom Arth, lost their opener to a Top-5 team in Jacksonville State and followed with a loss at LSU, and have not recovered. Their lone win came at VMI, who the Bulldogs face next week, 63-7. Chattanooga has been hit hard by injuries this season, having lost its top two quarterbacks for an extended period of time. True freshman Cole Copeland has started the last two games, setting freshman records with 317 passing yards and 30 completions on 42 attempts against Furman. He is 52-81 (64.2%) for 523 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions in two games.
-CitadelSports-
