Football - The Citadel

This week, the Citadel Bulldogs leave the lowcountry of South Carolina, and travel to the magnificent "Valley of the Lilies" to meet the Catamounts in one of the most scenic locations in college football, E.J. Whitmire Stadium. 

The Bulldogs hold a 21-15-1 all time record with the Cats and are currently in the midst of a 3 game winning streak over Western Carolina. Western's last victory in the series was in 2010 at Charleston where the Cats picked up a 24-13 win over the Dogs. Due to a scheduling change in the SoCon with the addition of Mercer and VMI, the Bulldogs play in Cullowhee for the second consecutive season. In games played in Cullowhee, the Cats trail the Dogs, 9-10.

The Bulldogs are a dangerous team. While the Citadel is 0-2 in the conference with losses to Wofford and Chattanooga, they do run the dreaded triple option offense. The triple option traditionally has given the Catamounts a great deal of difficulty to defend. Combine that fact with the situation that the Bulldogs are coming off a somewhat humiliating loss to Chattanooga in Charleston, by a final score of 34-14. This leads us to believe the Bulldogs will have the incentive to come to Cullowhee with something to prove, not only to the Catamounts, but the entire conference as well.  What better way than to knock off one of the two teams sitting in first place?

The Citadel currently sits in second place in the SoCon in total offense, averaging 388.3 yards per game, and are in first place in rushing offense, picking up 307.1 of those yards on the ground. \ Quarterback Aaron Miller leads the Bulldogs in their rushing attack and averages 91.3 yards per game, good enough for second place in the SoCon. Tyler Renew is second in rushing on the roster with a 55 yard average per game.

When: October 25th, 2014 at 2:00 pm (EST)

Where: Bob Waters Field at E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC

Their coach: Mike Houston - Houston led Lenoir-Rhyne to the NCAA Division II national championship game last season, and was named the 24th head football coach of The Citadel on January 9th 2014. In his last three seasons as the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne, Houston led the Bears to three consecutive South Atlantic Conference championships, including a school-record 13 wins to earn his third-straight SAC Coach of the Year honor. Houston also was named the Don Hansen Super Region II Coach of the Year in 2013.

Last year’s record: 5-7 overall, 4-4 Southern Conference

Last Season's Game vs. The Citadel: September 14, 2014 - Within seven points, late in the fourth quarter, the WCU defense stiffened to force a Bulldog three- and-out, giving the ball back to the offense with a chance to pull even. However, an intentional grounding penalty put WCU in a difficult fourth-and-long situation. On fourth down, Mitchell scrambled from the pocket after his initial progression, keeping the play alive with his feet. His offering deflected off his intended receiver, Benson, and was intercepted by The Citadel's Julian Baxter inside the final three minutes. The visitors were able to run out the clock to preserve the victory.

Offensive Formation: Triple Option - With the departure of GSU, the Cats will now only face two in conference teams that runs the triple option, Wofford & The Citadel.

2014 Statistics:
Scoring:  24.7 points per game
Rushing Offense: 307.1 yards per game
TDs rushing:  17
Passing Offense: 81.1 yards per game
TDs passing:  5
Total Offense:  388.3 per game
Fumbles-Lost:  19 - 5
Penalties-Yards:  40 - 377  (48 yards per game)
On-side kicks:  0 - 1
3rd Down Conversions:  48 of 102  (47.6%)
4th Down Conversions:     6 of 17  (35.3%)
Field Goals - Attempts:   7 of 8
Red-Zone Scores:  27 of 29
Red-Zone Touchdowns:  21 of 29