Game #10: The Citadel

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.

When: Saturday, November 4 at 2:00 pm
Where: Johnson Hagood Stadium (natural grass), Charleston, SC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
- Talent: Gary Ayers (pxp), Daniel Hooker (color), Jeff Bryson, Greg McLamb (sideline)
TV / video: ESPN3
Fan Message Board:  The Citadel Message Board
Game Notes:  Western Carolina   -   Citadel    -   SoCon Weekly Update

Head Coach: Brent Thompson (Norwich, ‘98)
Record at The Citadel: 10-2 (1 yr)
Career Record: Same
Basic Offense: Triple Option
Basic Defense: Multiple
Lettermen Returning / Lost: 37 / 21
Starters Returning / Lost (O/D/S):  9 (3/6/0) / 15 (8/5/2)
Series History: WCU trails 16-24-1 (L-2); Last Mtg 2016 - Western trails The Citadel 16-24-1 overall in the series, losing the last two games to the Bulldogs. The Cats are 6-13 in games played in Charleston and 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

Ganes played by the Bulldogs this season prior to the WCU game: (8) - Record 5-3 overall, 3-3 conference, 2-2 home, 3-1 away
- Newberry (home) Dogs beat Div II Newberry, 31-14
- PC (away) Dogs travel to PC, pick up a 48-7 victory
- ETSU (away)  Dog travel to Johnson City, nip the Bucs, 31-25
- Samford (away) Citadel dogs thrashed by Birmingham dogs, 14-35
- Mercer (home) Bears beat the dogs in Charleston, 14-24
- Wofford (home)  Terriers sneak by the Bulldogs, 16-20
- Chattanooga (away) Mocs fall to the Bulldogs 20-14 in Chattanooga
- VMI (home) Keydets drop  rivalry game, 21-3 to the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs were 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.

However the season has not lived up to expectations, as the dogs dropped out of national rankings after losses to Samford, Mercer and Wofford.  The Bulldogs have rebounded somewhat with wins over the two last place teams in the SoCon, Chattanooga and VMI.  But the Bulldgs are expecting to extend that 2 game win streak to 3, with a rushing offense that continues to lead the conference, putting up 322 yards per game on the ground. The Cats are currently in 6th place in rushing defense in the conference.

2017 The Citadel Statistics through 8 games:
Rushing Offense: 2573 yards
Yards per game: 322
Yards per rush: 5.3 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 133
TDs rushing: 20
Passing Offense: 705 yards or 88 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 6.8 yards
Passing 1st downs: 26
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 41-104-3
TDs Passing: 6
Total Offense: 3278 yards or 410 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 16 -5
3d Down Conversions: 57 of 126
4th Down Conversions: 6 of 16
Field goal attempts: 4 - 12
PAT-Attempts: 25 of 26 (98%)
On-side kicks: 1-1
Red Zone Scores: 21 of 34 (62%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 19 of 34 (56%)
Punts - Yards: 36 - 13 - 96
Avg per punt: 39




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