2017 Football Preseason Preview: The Citadel

Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western's 2017 football opponents.

For the tenth game of the season, the Cats travel to Charleston to meet the Bulldogs of The Citadel.

Western faces the Bulldogs for the forty-second time since 1972.







The Citadel

When: Saturday, November 4 at 2:00 pm

Where: Johnson Hagood Stadium (natural grass), Charleston, SC

Radio: Catamount Sports Network

TV / video: ESPN3

The Series: Western trails The Citadel 16-24-1 overall in the series, losing the last two games to the Bulldogs. Coach Speir is 1-4 against the Citadel.

Last Season's Game vs. The Citadel (Oct. 1, 2016) - Western Carolina Falls 37-14 to The Citadel - Cullowhee, NC - The Bulldog's Reggie Williams ran for 133 yards on 17 carries, Rod Johnson had three rushing touchdowns, and The Citadel cruised to a 37-14 win over Western Carolina on Saturday. Johnson finished with 69 yards on just six carries. Cam Jackson added 85 yards on the ground and also threw a 75-yard touchdown pass on a trick-play to running back Tyler Renew. Renew also had 77 yards on the ground for the Bulldogs (4-0, 3-0 Southern Conference), who ran 84 times for 513 yards as a team.

Last season's Record (The Citadel): 10-2 overall, 4-1 home, 6-1 away, 8-0 SoCon

Head Coach: Brent Thompson -  Brent Thompson was named The Citadel's 25th head football coach on January 19, 2016, and in his first year led the Bulldogs to unprecedented heights while authoring one of the best seasons in Southern Conference history. Thompson’s first season in charge featured a program-record 10-game winning streak, a single-season school-record six road victories, only the seventh 8-0 conference record in 84 years of SoCon football, a second consecutive conference championship, a No. 6 national seed in the FCS Playoffs and the first home playoff game in 24 years. He was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year for the 10-2 campaign that resulted in the first time in program history with back-to-back playoff appearances.


Offensive Formation: Triple Option

Defensive Formation: Multiple

Starters returning/lost:  9 / 15

Offensive starters - Returning/Lost: 3 / 8

Defensive starters - Returning/Lost: 6 / 5

Specialist - Returning/Lost: 0 / 2

The Bulldogs are ranked 12 in the FCS Coaches Preseason Top 25 poll, and placed six players on the preseason All-SoCon teams, led by the preseason Defensive Player of the Year Kailik Williams.  He was joined by senior A-Back Cam Jackson and junior offensive lineman Tyler Davis on the first team. Senior linebacker Myles Pierce, senior defensive lineman Jonathan King and junior defensive lineman Ken Allen were voted to the second team.

The Bulldogs lost 15 starters off last years conference championship team, returning only 3 of those starters on offense. The good news for the Bulldogs is that one of the 3 offensive starters returning is quarterback Dominique Allen. He knows how to run the triple option offense, and he rushed for 659 yards and seven touchdowns, last season.  The Citadel needs a receiver who can be a threat to stretch the defense or they may have some problems without a credible passing threat.

With a passing threat, the Bulldogs may end up having one of the best rushing offenses in the country if Allen and Cam Jackson are ready to take over and live up to expectations. Jackson rushed for 692 yards last season, but the Bulldogs will need a few more rushers like Rod Johnson and Evan McField to pick up the slack.

2016 The Citadel Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 4178 yards
Yards per game: 348
Yards per rush: 5.4 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 211
TDs rushing: 32
Passing Offense: 820 yards or 68 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 6.5 yards
Passing 1st downs: 29
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 53-126-5
TDs Passing: 5
Total Offense: 4998 yards or 417 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 21 - 10
3d Down Conversions: 94 of 197 (48%)
4th Down Conversions: 15 of 27 (56%)
Field goal attempts: 12 - 20
PAT-Attempts: 36 of 38 (95%)
On-side kicks: 0-0
Red Zone Scores: 36 of 48 (75%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 25 of 48 (52%)
Punts - Yards: 48 - 1889 - Avg per punt: 41




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