Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western Carolina's 2019 football opponents.
For the tenth game of the season, the Cats host the Bucs of East Tennessee State University in the 2019 edition of The Blue Ridge Border Battle.
Three seasons ago, Western and the Bucs revived the series that started back in 1932, but abruptly ended in 2003 when the Bucs eliminated football.
Game #10 - ETSU Bucs
Where: E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV / video: Nexstar / ESPN+/3
The Series: This series stretches back to 1932, with the Cats holding a slim 24-23-1 lead. Since the return of football at ETSU, the Bucs hold a 2-1 lead going into the 2019 contest. Adding to the newfound rivalry between the two mountain teams, the Bucs pulled off a 2 point, 3 overtime win, 43-45 in the initial Blue Ridge Border Battle trophy contest held in Johnson City in 2018.
Games that will be played by the Bucs this season before the WCU contest: (8 games) ETSU kicks off their season at home against DII, Mars Hill, then travel to Knoxville to play the Volunteers a week later. In week three of the season, the Bucs remain on the road as they travel to Lexington, VA to meet the Keydets, then return home to host the Paladins. The Mocs then visit Johnson City for the second of three straight home games, as Big South foe Gardner-Webb visits the Bucs for game six. After 3 home games, ETSU goes on the road for two games before Western's visit, as the Bulldogs of the Citadel host the Bucs followed by Wofford the next week in games 7 & 8.
The last game played vs. ETSU: October 27, 2018 - Johnson City, Tenn. – Catamounts Drop Heartbreaker at ETSU, 43-45 in 3 OT. Redshirt junior QB Tyrie Adams became Western Carolina’s all-time touchdown pass leader on Saturday, tossing four TD passes in accounting for five total scores as the Catamounts’ upset bid against No. 25 ETSU came up two-points short, falling 45-43 in triple overtime on a rainy afternoon at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. Needing a two-point conversion following Owen Cosenke’s second receiving score of the game, Adams was pressured off the right side on the ensuing required two-point attempt. ETSU’s Austin Gatewood chased Adams out of the pocket to the right where his contested pass attempt to Daquan Patten short-hopped at the goal line, setting off a wild celebration for the Bucs who took possession of the trophy in the inaugural “Blue Ridge Border Battle.” Adams accounted for 397 yards of total offense including a game-high 168 yards rushing and 229 yards on 20-of-29 passing on Saturday in the loss. He currently has 53 career touchdown passes, by-passing former mentor Troy Mitchell (2012-15) who held the previous school benchmark with 50. Cosenke caught six passes for 66 yards and matched a career-high with two touchdown receptions while Donnavan Spencer rushed a touchdown and 76 yards in the loss. All told, WCU’s offense rattled off 502 total yards, its fourth, 500+ yard output of the season, despite only having one first quarter possession as ETSU consumed 13 minutes of the 15-minute frame. ETSU (7-2, 5-1 SoCon) overcame a 15-point fourth quarter deficit as the Catamounts pulled ahead, 30-15, on a highlight reel, one-handed 29-yard catch by Daquan Patten from Adams with the extra point making it 30-15 with 14:20 remaining in the game. However, the Buccaneers scored 15 points over the final five minutes, forcing overtime inside the game’s final 10 seconds by scoring at the end of a 15-play drive. Herink plunged in from five-yards out to make it a one-score game at the five-minute mark before connecting with Nate Adkins from a yard out on the final play of the 15-play march before again using his legs to tack on the game-tying two-point conversion.
Head Coach: Randy Sanders - Sanders was named ETSU football head coach on Dec. 17, 2017, becoming the 18th head coach in program history. Sanders, a Morristown, Tenn. native, has spent the last 29 years coaching on the Football Bowl Subdivision level, which includes stints as offensive coordinator at Tennessee, Kentucky and most recently Florida State. Sanders was the offensive coordinator when Tennessee won the 1998 BCS National Title and the quarterbacks coach at Florida State when the Seminoles claimed the 2013 National Championship. Sanders played a part in either coaching or recruiting a pair of No. 1 overall picks in the NFL Draft – Peyton Manning (1998) and Jameis Winston (2015). In his 29 years of coaching, Sanders has coached in 26 bowl games and his teams hold a combined record of 258-105-2.
Last Season's Record (ETSU): 201 record - 8-4 overall, 5-1 home, 3-3 away, 6-2 SoCon. The Bucs has conference wins over VMI, Furman, Chattanooga, the Citadel, Western Carolina, and Mercer.
Offensive Formation: Spread Option
-2018 Offense: 26.0 ppg. (75th in FCS)
Defensive Formation: 3-4
2018 Defense: 26.4 ppg. (49th in FCS)
Lettermen Returning/Lost: 27/24
Starters Returning/Lost: 14/15
Offensive Starters Returning/Lost: 4 / 7
Defensive Starters Returning/Lost: 8 / 3
Special Teams Starters Returning/Lost: 2 / 5
The 2018 defending co-champion Bucs were selected to finish third in both the SoCon coaches and media polls for the first time since rejoining the conference in 2016. ETSU placed seven players on the preseason All-SoCon teams, led by Nasir Player (Columbia, S.C.) who was tabbed as the SoCon Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in addition to being named to the first team. Joining Player on the first team is redshirt-sophomore running back Quay Holmes, redshirt-senior defensive lineman Jason Maduafokwa and junior defensive back Tyree Robinson. Tre’mond Shorts, Ben Blackmon, and Jeremy Lewis were each named to the second team.
The big question mark for the Bucs is who's going to play quarterback? With the loss of QB Austin Herink who had started for ETSU since 2015, the job is wide open, but two transfers are in the mix to fill that position. Former Miami Hurricanes Cade Weldon, & former Coastal Carolina QB Chance Thrasher will be on ETSU's roster this fall, but both transferred after spring practice, so it's difficult to tell who the top candidate is at this time.
Most of the line and key playmakers are back on the defensive side of the ball,and the secondary is clearly one of the best in in the SoCon. All four starters from last year's playoff game with Jacksonville State were underclassmen and there is depth beyond even that with players like rising senior Artevius Smith.
2018 ETSU Statistics
Rushing Offense: 1846 yards
Yards per game: 153.8
Yards per rush: 4.5 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 87
TDs rushing: 23
Passing Offense: 2482 yards or 206.8 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 6.5 yards
Passing 1st downs: 117
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 211-379-14
TDs Passing: 9
Total Offense: 4328 yards or 260.7 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 13-8
3d Down Conversions: 11 of 166 (32%)
4th Down Conversions: 10 of 16 (36%)
Field goal attempts: 19 - 23
PAT-Attempts: 33 of 33
On-side kicks: 1-1
Red Zone Scores: 44 of 49 (90%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 29 of 49 (59%)
Punts - Yards: 61 - 2377 - Avg per punt: 39
Game prediction: Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have only a 41% probability of winning (31-34) over the Bucs. I'll disagree with that prediction and the Cats pick up a win at home. According to Massey, Western Carolina should be 3-7 after this game. I'm going to disagree, and project the Cats will be at 8-2 after this game.
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