Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel (2-4) will travel to Boone, N.C. to take on the No. 1 Appalachian State (5-0) Mountaineers on Saturday, Oct. 16. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. and Bulldog fans can watch and listen to the game live on Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com or listen on ESPN Radio 910 The Team with the Voice of the Bulldogs Darren Goldwater, color analyst Walt Nadzak and sideline reporter Brad Franko.
The Series
The two teams will meet for the 39th time in the programs' history in the newly renovated Kidd Brewer Stadium on Saturday. The series, which dates back to Sept. 16, 1972, has been dominated by the Mountaineers who hold a 27-11 advantage. The Bulldogs have now lost six consecutive games to ASU with the most recent Citadel victory against the Mountaineers on Sept. 27, 2003 in Charleston.
The Citadel
The Citadel, who is 0-3 in SoCon action, is still looking for their first conference victory of the 2010 season after dropping their third straight game last Saturday to Chattanooga. The Bulldogs fell to the Mocs, 28-10, in front of a Parents Day crowd of 13,044 at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
The Citadel coaching staff switched things up a little last week and plans to stick with the same starting lineup with the exception of tight end Alex Sellars. Sellars, who just returned last week against Chattanooga after sitting out two weeks with a back injury, is out again with a lower extremity injury suffered against the Mocs. Taking his place in the starting role is redshirt freshman Cullen Brown. Leading the Bulldog offense in the opening drive will be redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Martin. True freshman quarterback Matt Thompson, who earned three consecutive starts for the Bulldogs earlier in the season, will backup Martin on Saturday.
Fifth-year senior defensive end Erik Clanton has emerged as the defensive player to watch as he will look to dominate the Appalachian offense. Clanton, who is second in the conference and is seventh in the FCS in tackles for loss with 11 for a total of 50 yards, also ranks second in the SoCon and sixth in the FCS in sacks with 7.0 on the season.
Scouting the Mountaineers
Appalachian State is led by 2009 Co-Coach of the Year Jerry Moore, who is in his 29th season at the helm of the Mountaineers. With a record of 221-123-2 (.639) going into this week's game, Moore has led ASU to five consecutive conference titles. Having lost only 10 regular season games in the last five years, Appalachian State won three consecutive national championship during that time (2005, 2006, 2007). The 2010 squad is missing NCAA record-holder and All-America quarterback Armanti Edwards, who was drafted 89th overall to the Carolina Panthers in the 2010 NFL draft, but returns junior DeAndre Presley, who leads the conference in pass efficiency. The Mountaineers returned 20 starters, losing only six from last season's team.
Currently, Appalachian State is undefeated, having claimed wins at Chattanooga, against Jacksonville, NC Central, at Samford and against No. 19 Elon last weekend in Boone. The Mountaineers are averaging 40.0 points a game with an almost even passing and running game. ASU averages 248.8 passing yards per game, while rushing for an average of 264.6 yards. The Mountaineers have a total of 17 touchdowns on the season and rank first in the conference in scoring offense, total offense, pass efficiency, sacks against, third down conversions, opposing their down conversions and opponent penalties.
A game recap and statistics will be available online immediately following Saturday's game. For more information on Bulldog Football, go to the official website of The Citadel Athletics, www.CitadelSports.com.
