ETSU to host Wofford in SoCon home opener

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 1, 2021) – The Buccaneer football team is looking to rewrite history against the Wofford Terriers on Saturday at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn. The Terriers have eluded the Bucs since 1998, but the Bucs are aiming to put an end to the drought and improve to 5-0 for just the third time in program history.

SATURDAY SHOWDOWN
Date: Saturday, Oct. 2 @ 3:30 p.m.
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Greene Stadium
Teams: ETSU (4-0, 1-0) vs. Wofford (1-2, 0-1)
Weather: High: 80; Low: 60; Sunny
Game Notes: ETSU | Wofford
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Audio: WXSM Radio
Radio Personnel: Jay Sandos & Robert Harper
Twitter: @ETSUFootball
Game Sponsor: Food City

Four and OH MY!
The Bucs improved to 4-0 on the season but not without the drama of an overtime thriller in Birmingham. ETSU claimed a 55-48 win over Samford in the SoCon opener, improving to 1-0 in the league and a perfect 4-0 to start the season. The Blue & Gold improved to 4-0 for just the sixth time in program history. With a win on Saturday, ETSU would jump to 5-0 for just the third time in program history; joining the 1969 and 1936 teams in reaching the perfect 5-0 mark. The Bucs needed an overtime period to claim the victory, battling tooth-and-nail before sneaking out the win in Alabama. ETSU delivered 55 points in the process, something that hadn’t been done since scoring 68 points in a win over Chattanooga in 2003.

Make Way for the Mayor
Coming in to college, Tyler Riddell was dubbed “The Mayor of Tampa” by his friends and peers in the Tampa region. The Florida product has stepped in to his own to begin the fall season, leading the Bucs to the 4-0 start. Riddell has completed 56 of 91 passes for 767 yards and seven touchdowns. The redshirt-freshman quarterback has only tossed one interception this season. The Florida product is coming off a career-best game against Samford, leading the charge as the Bucs came from behind in the fourth quarter to open league play with a strong win. Riddell finished the game with a 21-of35 mark for a career-high 291 yards and three touchdowns. The young Buccaneer also rushed for one touchdown. Riddell’s biggest throw was a 65-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Wilson, the longest throw of his collegiate career.

Holmes Cookin’
Quay Holmes continues to edge closer to the all-time career rushing mark, now sitting at 3,247 career yards. Holmes is only the second Buccaneer with over 3,000 yards rushing in his career. Holmes added a season-best 168 yards rushing in the win over Samford, his 14th career 100-yard performance. Through the first four games, Holmes leads all of FCS football in rushing yards (536), while ranking second in rushing touchdowns (6) and third in rushing yards per game (134.0). Holmes is also sitting in fourth all-time in ETSU career scoring with 222 points, needing 16 points to pass Jerry Chapman (237) for third all time.

Pocket Protection
The offense has seen its success thanks in large part to the big boys up front. The offensive line averages 6’4” in height and 303 pounds in weight. The Buccaneer front has only allowed two sacks in four games, ranking fifth in the country in sacks allowed per game (0.5). Behind the offensive line, the Bucs rank 11th in scoring offense (40.2), 11th in rushing offense (245.5 ypg) and 14th in total offense (455.5 ypg).

Taking on the Terriers
Wofford arrives to Johnson City with a 1-2 overall record, including 0-1 in Southern Conference play after Saturday’s 31-23 loss at VMI. The Terriers are allowing 28.0 points per game, while scoring just 19.0 through the first three games. The historically triple-option offense has seemed to throw the ball more this season than in years past, having completed 36 of 65 passes for 438 yards (averaging 146.0 passing yards per game). The Terriers are averaging 198.0 yards on the ground per outing, accounting for 344.0 yards per game, compared to 388.0 yards per game to opponents. Wofford is led by Irvin Mulligan in the ground game with 289 carries and three scores, averaging 96.3 yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry. Don’t sleep on quarterback Jimmy Weirick who has rushed for two touchdowns and 74 yards, while passing for 242 yards on the season. Joe Beckett, John Beckley and Michael Mason are the ones to watch on the defensive side of the ball, totaling 61 combined tackles between the three of them.

Series History
ETSU is 13-15 all-time when taking on Wofford, including 7-8 all-time when hosting the Terriers in Johnson City. The Bucs have struggled with Wofford in recent years, dropping nine consecutive games to Wofford. ETSU’s last win over Wofford was a 45-24 victory in 1998 as the Terriers continue to elude the Bucs as the final Southern Conference team that ETSU has not taken down since the return of football in 2015.

Coverage
The Buccaneer Sports Network (BSN) will provide ETSU fans with complete pregame, in-game and postgame coverage on the Bucs’ flagship station WXSM-AM 640 and affiliate station 104.9 FM NASH ICON.

The BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute-long Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Randy Sanders Pregame Show serviced by Tommie’s Plumbing which will lead up to 30 minutes prior to kickoff. The Appalachian Orthopaedic Countdown to Kickoff will then lead into the final moments before kickoff.     

The broadcast team of Jay Sandos, color analyst Matt Wihljelm and sideline Robert Harper, along with studio hosts Mike Gallagher and Don Helman will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities.

At halftime, the crew will have the Zaxby’s Halftime Show, while fans can tune into the Mullican Flooring Post Game Show for a full wrap up, with game statistics, players and coach interviews, and other post-game information.  

Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on ESPN+ with the team of Mike Gallagher (play-by-play) and Mark Hutsell (analyst) on the call.

For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football page.