Bulldogs Nearly Pull Off Upset in Season Opener

Saturday, August 31

Charleston, S.C.

3 p.m.

The Citadel

0-1

Towson

1-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
TOWSON	7	10	0	11	28
The Citadel	0	14	0	7	21

Bulldogs Nearly Pull Off Upset in Season Opener

8/31/2019 8:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score Box Score (.pdf)Photos

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel rallied from a double-digit deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter before falling, 28-21, to No. 11 Towson in the 2019 season opener Saturday afternoon at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

Game Information
Score: No. 11 Towson 28, The Citadel 21
Records: Towson (1-0), The Citadel (0-1
Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium (Charleston, South Carolina)
Series: Towson leads 2-0

How it Happened

Towson jumped out the early lead after Shane Simpson hauled in a six-yard touchdown pass from Tom Flacco with just under 10 minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs put together a 16-play drive late in the quarter that reached deep in Towson territory. A penalty nullified a touchdown, then the field goal missed wide left.
The lead grew to 10-0 early in the second quarter on an Aidan O'Neill 40-yard field goal.
The Citadel found the end zone early in the second quarter as Brandon Rainey broke off a 55-yard run and capped the six-play drive with a three-yard touchdown.
Simpson found the end zone a second time a short time later as he scored form 45-yards out.
The rest of the first half belonged the Bulldogs' offense as Rainey engineered a 19-play drive that covered 88 yards and ate up 8:31 seconds off the clock.
The drive ended with Emeka Nwanze fighting his way in from one-yard out. The touchdown was the first for the redshirt freshman.
The third quarter belonged to both defenses as the two teams combined for just 98 yards and no points.
Towson extended its lead to six with a 25-yard field goal from O'Neill with 12:43 to play.
The Citadel then went on one of its patented drives as the Bulldogs used 18 plays to cover 75 yards and eat up 9:12 off the clock.
The drive ended when Rainey rolled right and found Raleigh Webb in the back of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown.
Towson responded quickly and used a big play to set up a Simpson four-yard run with just over a minute to play.

Inside the Numbers

The Bulldogs offense rushed for 329 yards on 70 rushing attempts.
It marks the second time in the last three seasons the Bulldogs have rushed for over 300 yards in the season opener.
Quarterback Brandon Rainey carried a career-high 32 times, rushing for 166 yards and a touchdown.
Rainey's previous career-high was 31 rushes against Western Carolina in 2018.
The contest marked the fourth 100-yard performance in Rainey's career. He rushed for over 100 yards twice last season and ran for 125 yards as a B-Back in 2017.
The 100-yard performance by Rainey gave The Citadel a 100-yard rusher in six-straight season openers.
Rainey also went 3-for-4 for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Clay Harris ran for 43 yards on 12 carries, while fellow B-Back Emeka Nwanze rush for 22 yards and his first career touchdown.
Punter Matt Campbell picked up right where he left off last season, averaging 49.0 yards on two punts. He had a long of 52 and both of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Chris Beverly led the defense with seven tackles and a key forced fumble at the goal line.
Phil Barrett added six tackles and a pass break-up.
Aaron Brawley recorded two tackles-for-loss and forced a fumble.
True freshman Jay Girdner had a pair of pass break-ups, including a big hit to break up a pass on third down.
The Bulldogs possessed the ball for 38:11, including 11:47 in the second quarter.
The Citadel was 13-for-17 on third-down conversions and 3-for-3 on fourth-down conversions.