Tuesday, July 17, 2018

2018 Football Preseason Preview: The Citadel










Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western Carolina's 2018 football opponents.

For the ninth game of the season, the Cats return to the friendly confines of E.J. Whitmire Stadium to host the Bulldogs of The Citadel.

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







The Citadel


When: Saturday, November 3 at 3:30 pm

Where: E.J. Whitmire Stadium, Cullowhee, NC

Radio: Catamount Sports Network

TV / video: ESPN3 or ESPN+

The Series: Western trails The Citadel 17-24-1 overall in the series,  after winning on the road in Charleston last season, breaking a two game skid to the Bulldogs. Coach Speir is 2-4 against the Citadel.

Games that will be played by the Bulldogs this season prior to the WCU contest: (8 games) The Bulldogs kick off the season with a opening conference game at Wofford, followed up by another conference game against the Mocs in Charleston.  Week three has the Dogs going out of conference against Charleston Southern, followed by SoCon foe Mercer in Macon.  In week five, the Bulldogs are OOC again, this time at Towson, followed by a home game veres ETSU, then back on the road to Lexington, VA to meet the Keydets of VMI.  The Paladins then visit Charleston before traveling to Cullowhee.

Last Season's Game vs. The Citadel (Nov. 14, 2017) - Catamount Football Scores Road Win at The Citadel, 31-19 - Senior running back Detrez Newsome broke Saturday's third tie with an 81-yard touchdown romp to cap a one-play scoring drive that gave No. 24 Western Carolina a lead it would never relinquish as the Catamounts scored a 31-19 Southern Conference road victory over The Citadel Bulldogs in Southern Conference action at Johnson Hagood Stadium. Redshirt sophomore QB Tyrie Adams threw for three touchdowns - two to redshirt senior WR Terryon Robinson - and Newsome rushed for 197 yards as the Catamounts picked up their seventh victory of the season - fifth in league play.



Head Coach: Brent Thompson -  Third year Brent Thompson was named The Citadel's 25th head football coach on January 19, 2016. In his first year he 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.


Last season's Record (The Citadel): 5-6 overall, 2-3 home, 3-3 away, 3-5 SoCon

Offensive Formation: Triple Option
Defensive Formation: Multiple
Starters returning/lost:  15 /  7
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost: 9 / 2
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost: 6 / 5
Specialist - Returning/Lost: 5 / 5
Losses on 2-Deep Roster:   9

Significant Losses:   
Offense: QB Dominique Allen; A-BACK Cam Jackson
Defense: DT Jonathan King; LB Myles Pierce; CB Tyus Carter;   FS Kailik Williams; CB  Ben Roberts

Returning:  All-SoCon center - Tyler Davis;  All SoCon safety Aaron Spann;  All SoCon defensive end Ja'Lon Williams; All SoCon left guard Jon Barrett Lewis;  All Son right guard Jonathan Lewis; and All SoCon B-Back Brandon Rainey

The young Bulldog offense only had two losses of personnel from 2017, but they are big losses. Gone are quarterback Dominique Allen, and A-back Cam Jackson, and these are major holes in the offense to fill for the Bulldogs. However, the well is certainly not dry, look for Jordan black to take the QB reins, and running back Grant Drakeford returns.  Also returning for The Citadel, with preseason honors are standouts Tyler Davis (center) and Aron Spann, III (safety), both named Preseason All-Americans by HERO Sports. The Bulldogs hope to once again lead the conference in grounding out the yardage and eating up the clock to dominate time of possession.


2017 The Citadel Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 3241 yards
Yards per game: 295
Yards per rush: 5.0 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 169
TDs rushing: 22
Passing Offense: 1042 yards or 95 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 7.5 yards
Passing 1st downs: 31
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 52-139-8
TDs Passing: 9
Total Offense: 4288 yards or 389 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 20 - 7
3d Down Conversions: 73 of 173 (42%)
4th Down Conversions: 10 of 26 (38%)
Field goal attempts: 6 - 14
PAT-Attempts: 29 of 30 (97%)
On-side kicks: 2-2
Red Zone Scores: 25 of 41 (61%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 21 of 41 (51%)
Punts - Yards: 52 - 1993 - Avg per punt: 38


Game prediction: Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 65% probability of winning (31-26) over the Bears.

According to Massey, Western Carolina should be 6-3 after this game.  I'm going to disagree, the Cats are 8-1 after this game.


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