Preseason Previews: Game #5 - The Citadel Bulldogs

Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western's 2023 football opponents. For the fifth game of the season, the Catamounts travel to Charleston, SC to face The Citadel Bulldogs in Johnson Hagood Stadium. The last time the Cats traveled to  Charleston, they picked up a 34-21 road victory in the low country of South Carolina.  

The Bulldogs are coming off a 4-7 season that resulted in not only a head coaching change but a new offensive scheme as well.  May the "triple-option" as run by the Dogs in the past - rest in peace. This will be the first season since the Cats joined the Southern Conference that they will not face a triple option team.  

                  

             Game #5

                         The Citadel

When: Saturday, September 30, 2022

Time:  2:00 pm
Where: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston SC
Radio:  Catamount Sports Network

   -announcers:  Gary Ayers • Daniel Hooker • Producer: Jeff Bryson

TV/video: ESPN+

 Live Stats:  Citadel live stats

Game Notes:   Western Carolina   -    The Citadel 

Citadel Message Board:  Citadel Fan Message Board

Nickname:  Bulldogs

Mascot:  Spike

The Series: Western is currently 19-27-1 vs. the Bulldogs overall. The Cats and Dogs first played on the gridiron in 1972, and the Cats own an 8-14 record vs. the Citadel in games played in Charleston, SC, along with a 4-6 record in the last 10 games played. 

Last Season's Game vs. The Citadel (10-22-22) - Catamounts Fall to The Citadel on Heroes Day  - Cullowhee, NC – Freshman running back Desmond Reid ran for a team-best 129 yards, and classmate quarterback Cole Gonzales threw for two touchdowns, but Western Carolina was unable to overcome a strong first half by The Citadel in a 34-21 loss to the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Bob Waters Field/E.J. Whitmire Stadium. The Citadel improves to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the Southern Conference while WCU heads into its bye week at 3-5 and 1-4.

Last season's Record - (The Citadel): 4-7 overall, 2-3 home, 2-4 away, 3-5 SoCon

Head Coach: Maurice Drayton -  Former Bulldog player and defensive coordinator Maurice Drayton has been named the next head football coach at The Citadel. The announcement was made by Director of Athletics Mike Capaccio on Tuesday. A former standout player and defensive coordinator, Drayton returns to The Citadel after spending the previous seven seasons working in the NFL. He most recently served as the assistant special teams coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders. Drayton also served as the special teams' coordinator in Green Bay in 2021, assistant special teams coordinator for the Packers from 2018-20, and the special teams' coordinator for Indianapolis Colts in 2016-17. 

Drayton's Record at The Citadel: 0 - 0 

Overall Record: Same

Drayton's Record vs. WCU:  0 - 0

Bell's record vs. The Citadel: 1 - 1

In the SoCon preseason ranking, the Bulldogs are ranked eighth in the coache's poll and seventh in the media poll.  After back-to-back 4-7 seasons, the Bulldogs made a head coaching change as well as an offensive scheme change (RIP triple-option).

Former player and assistant coach Maurice Drayton took over the reins of the Bulldog program in December 2022. With a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator (Patrick Covington), and the demise of the T/O, we're not sure what to expect from the Bulldogs on offense.  Covington spent the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Lamar in Beaumont, Texas. The Cardinals possessed one of the more balanced offenses in FCS football as they averaged 175.7 rushing yards per game and 173.7 yards a game through the air. So I think we can expect some variation of the spread option. Covington ran a "multiple" spread offense while at Lamar, and I expect that is what he will duplicate in Charleston for the Bulldogs. 

With 5 quarterbacks on the roster and Peyton Derrick no longer on the roster, Graeson Underwood may be the guy.  Last season the 6-0, 225-pound Underwood ran for 129 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries — the most ever carries for a Citadel QB making his debut — and threw TD passes of 26 and 32 yards as the Bulldogs beat the Cats by 34-21 in Whitmire Stadium.

Former Bulldog linebacker and assistant coach Raleigh Jackson returns to The Citadel as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Jackson spent the 2022 season as the linebackers coach at Central Arkansas, where he helped the Bears capture the A-Sun Championship. Jackson has also served as the defensive coordinator at Division II, Arkansas Tech in 2017-18, and in his first season, the Wonder Boy defense led the Great American Conference in scoring defense, yards per play, takeaways, fourth-down defense, red-zone defense, defensive pass efficiency, and sacks. 

The Bulldogs lose 3 of their 4 leading tacklers from 2022, but they bring back senior LB Hasan Black who led the team in tackles last season.

The Bulldogs only lost 3 players to the transfer portal, two on the offensive side of the ball, and one defensive player.  Avery Dixon (DB); Christian Hilton (WR); & Ethan Greenwood (QB).

2022 The Citadel Statistics (11 games):

Rushing Offense: 2568 yards
Yards per game: 233.5 yards
Yards per rush: 4.3  yards
Rushing 1st downs: 133

TDs rushing: 15
Passing Offense: 1032 yards or 92.8 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 7.4 yards
Passing 1st downs: 49
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 72-138-6
TDs Passing: 10
Total Offense:  3589 yards or 326.3 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 21 - 12
3d Down Conversions: 69 0f 165 (42%)
4th Down Conversions: 18 of 37 (49%)
Field goal attempts: 9 of 12
PAT-Attempts: 23 of 24
On-side kicks: 0 of  1

Red Zone Scores: 23 of 31 (74%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 17 of 31 (55%)
Punts - Yards: 37 for 1360 yards - Avg per punt: 36.8