ETSU opens SoCon play against The Citadel in Charleston

CHARLESTON, S.C. (Sept. 9, 2022) – The ETSU football team begins defense of its Southern Conference title on Saturday when the No. 8 Buccaneers travel to Charleston, S.C. to take on The Citadel inside Johnson Hagood Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. 

SATURDAY SHOWDOWN

Date: Saturday, Sept. 10

Location: Charleston, S.C. | Johnson Hagood Stadium

Teams: #8/9 ETSU (1-0, 0-0) at The Citadel (0-1, 0-0)

Weather: High: 86; Low: 75; 70% chance of rain

Live Stats: CitadelSports.com

Television: NexStar

Live Video: ESPN+

TV Crew: Pete Yanity (play-by-play); Jared Singleton (analyst)

Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 |104.9 NASH ICON

Radio Personnel: Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos (play-by-play), Mark Hutsell (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline), Don Helman (stats)

Twitter: @ETSUFootball

Game Sponsor: First Horizon 

ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU opened the George Quarles era with a 44-7 win over Mars Hill last Thursday inside Greene Stadium 
• Coach Quarles became the 10th ETSU head coach in program history to win his Buccaneer debut – joining the ranks of Randy Sanders (also against Mars Hill on Sept. 1, 2018), Paul Hamilton, Mike Cavan, John Robert Bell, Hal Littleford, Don Riley, L.T. Roberts, Gene McMurray and J.K. Luck. 
• Following last Thursday’s season opening win over Mars Hill, the Bucs moved to No. 8 in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll and No. 9 in the Stats Perform FCS Poll 
• Thursday’s attendance was 9,701, marking the 20th sellout in the history of Greene Stadium (29 games played) 
• ETSU’s defense held Mars Hill to 18 rushing yards in last Thursday’s win, including holding the Lions to negative-3 rushing yards on 12 carries in the first half … The 18 rushing yards marked the fourth-fewest yards allowed on the young season … Weber State held Western Oregon to negative-34 yards, Indiana State limited North Alabama to eight yards and San Diego held LaVerne to 14 rushing yards … ETSU’s 18 rushing yards allowed were the fewest given up by the Buccaneer defense since holding VMI to negative-28 rushing yards back on Sept. 14, 2018 in Lexington … Earlier that season, ETSU limited Mars Hill to 14 rushing yards in the 2018 season opener. 
• Alijah Huzzie is considered one of the best punt returners … Last Thursday, Huzzie had three punt returns for 68 yards, including a career-long 62-yard return in the first quarter which later set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Jacob Saylors … The 62-yard return was the longest punt return by a Buccaneer since Quan Harrison scored on a 68-yarder in the win at VMI back on Sept. 14, 2018 … Huzzie is averaging 22.7 yards per punt return this season, which rank second among FCS players … Huzzie also had a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the Mars Hill game, marking the Bucs’ first pick-6 since Titus Tucker scored on a 60-yard return in the 2018 FCS Playoff game at Jacksonville State. 
• Jacob Saylors scored the first three touchdowns on the season last Thursday night vs. Mars Hill … Saylors ripped off a 40-yard run for the first score, followed that up with a 29-yard reception by Tyler Riddell and finally found paydirt on a 1-yard rush up the middle – all coming in the first quarter … Saylors 18.0 points per game is tied for the lead among FCS players, while he is one of nine players this season to score three touchdowns in one game … Saylors’ three-touchdown performance tied a career high as he also matched the feat last season at Western Carolina. 
• Saturday marks the 32nd SoCon opener for the Bucs … ETSU is 16-15 in the previous 31 SoCon openers, while the Bucs are 4-2 in SoCon openers since rejoining the league in 2016 … This marks the third time ETSU and Citadel open up in a conference opener with the teams splitting the previous two meetings … The Bulldogs won 31-27 in 2017, while the Bucs won 28-10 in 1999 

ABOUT THE CITADEL

• The Citadel is coming off a 29-10 setback at Campbell last Thursday
• Last Thursday at Campbell, The Citadel allowed 373 yards of total offense (198 on the ground, 175 passing), while the Bulldogs only totaled 222 yards (187 rushing, 35 passing) … The Bulldogs were 3-of-5 passing with two interceptions, while the they fumbled the ball three times (lost one)
• Cooper Wallace led The Citadel with 53 rushing yards on 10 carries and Logan Billings posted seven carries for 43 yards
• Wofford transfer Peyton Derrick made his Bulldog debut going 3-for-5 passing for 35 yards and one touchdown (two INTs), while he rushed 10 times for 38 yards
• Heading into the 2022 season opener at Campbell, zero Bulldog quarterbacks had ever taken a collegiate snap in a Citadel uniform and only one player had ever taken a snap in a college game
• Citadel returns nine defensive starters from a year ago, including all four in the secondary
• B-Back Logan Billings is the top Bulldog rusher from 2021 as he rushed for 511 yards and six touchdowns on 133 carries
• Cornerback Destin Mack had a SoCon-high five interceptions and 142 return yards in 2021 … The 142 return yards ranked third among FCS players
• The Citadel rushed for 268.3 yards in 2021 and rushed for more than 250 yards in seven games, including a season-high 363 against VMI
• Defensive back Wilson Hendricks III is the top returning Bulldog tackler as he totaled 69 hits a year ago
• Citadel’s 2022 roster features 11 graduate transfers, which marks the most on a Bulldog team in the Brent Thompson era
• The Citadel was picked to finish eighth in the SoCon preseason poll, while four players earned preseason all-SoCon honors – senior defensive back Destin Mack, junior offensive lineman Tereis Drayton, Jr., junior defensive lineman Carson Hatchett, Jr. and senior linebacker Marquise Blount
• Last season, the Bulldogs ranked second in the FCS in passing yards per completion (17.8), third in time of possession (33:42), fourth in rushing offense (268.3), ninth in third down conversion percentage (44.9), 11th in net punting (40.2), 23rd in fewest penalties (54), 24th in fewest penalty yards (493) and 25th in turnovers lost (14) 

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday marks the 31st all-time meeting between the two programs with ETSU leading the series, 18-12 ... The Bucs have won the last two meetings, three of the last five and seven of the last 10 … ETSU holds a slight 8-7 advantage in games played in Charleston … The Bucs’ largest win in the series came in 1983 when ETSU blanked the Bulldogs, 45-0, while ETSU’s most points scored vs. The Citadel was 56 in 1994.  

LAST MEETING WITH THE BULLDOGS

ETSU cruised past the Bulldogs with a 48-21 victory last Oct. 9 in Johnson City as the Bucs improved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in SoCon play … The Bucs posted 558 yards of total offense (288 rushing/270 passing yards), while ETSU held the ball for over 32 minutes … Quay Holmes rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Jacob Saylors rushed 12 times for 94 yards and one score … Four different Bucs posted rushing touchdowns in the win, including Bryson Irby and Jawan Martin … ETSU’s defense held the Bulldogs to 21 points on 330 yards of total offense. 

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. 

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

The broadcast team of “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos, color analyst Mark Hutsell, sideline reporter Robert Harper and stat-man Don Helman will provide ETSU fans all the information they need to complement their game-day activities. 

At halftime, the crew will have the Mr. Electric 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 Nexstar and ESPN+ with the team of Pete Yanity (play-by-play) and Jared Singleton (analyst).

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