JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 21, 2022) – After back-to-back road games, the ETSU football team finally returns home when the Buccaneers gear up for a Homecoming matchup with No. 15 Samford on Saturday afternoon in Greene Stadium.   

HOMECOMING SATURDAY

Date: Saturday, Oct. 22

Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Greene Stadium

Teams: ETSU (3-4, 1-4) vs. #15 Samford (5-1, 3-0)

Weather: 72°; Sunny, Winds NW @ 4mph

Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (StatBroadcast)

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: Jay “Voice of the Bucs” Sandos, Matt Wilhjelm (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline), Don Helman (stats)

Twitter: @ETSUFootball

Game Sponsor: First Bank and Trust 

THINGS TO KNOW  

No. 1 – Kickoff: Saturday’s game will kickoff at 3:32 p.m. inside Greene Stadium. Stadium gates will open at 1:30 p.m. 

No. 2 – Ticket Information: Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday’s game against Samford, as well as season tickets for basketball, online. For more information, click here. Students can pick up their tickets all week at the Carrier Center located on the second floor of the Culp Center or at the gate on gameday. 

No. 3 – Cheers! – Starting this month, fans can purchase beer inside William B. Greene, Jr. stadium. To accommodate this, the bookstore will be relocating to the main entrance on the east side of the stadium. For more information related to beer sales at the stadium, click here 

No. 4 – Homecoming: All former ETSU Athletics alumni coming back to campus on Saturday are encouraged to stop by Lot 21 on Saturday for a special tailgate and to pick up a commemorative Homecoming pin. 

ETSU will look to win its second straight Homecoming game on Saturday. Since returning football to campus in 2015, the Bucs are 4-2 on Homecoming with wins over Cumberland (2016), Robert Morris (2017), Gardner-Webb (2018) and, most recently, then-No. 18 VMI (2021).

No. 5 – Band Performance: Due to time constraints and Homecoming court, the ETSU Marching Bucs will not perform at halftime, but has instead elected to perform its full show after the game. Fans are requested to stay off the field after the game as players and team personnel clear the field. Fans are encouraged to stick around to watch the band performance after the game. 

Click here for full listing of events on Saturday.

HOMECOMING SATURDAY

ETSU will look to win its second straight Homecoming game on Saturday. Since returning football to campus in 2015, the Bucs are 4-2 on Homecoming with wins over Cumberland (2016), Robert Morris (2017), Gardner-Webb (2018) and, most recently, then-No. 18 VMI (2021).

ETSU VS. RANKED TEAMS

Since rejoining the SoCon in 2016, ETSU has played 19 ranked teams with the Bucs picking up six wins against those foes, including winning four of the last seven against ranked opponents … The Bucs are 0-2 this season (lost to No. 10 Chattanooga and No. 11 Mercer), while they went 4-2 against ranked teams from the spring of 2021 into the fall of 2021 … ETSU’s first win over a ranked foe came in 2016 when the Bucs knocked off No. 18 Samford 15-14 on a 28-yard game-winning field goal by JJ Jerman … ETSU played two ranked teams in 2016, five in 2017, three in 2018, one in 2019, two in the spring of 2021 and four in the fall of 2021 … ETSU has knocked off at least one ranked team in four of the first six seasons since joining the SoCon, while the Blue and Gold are 5-7 against ranked foes since 2018. 

CLOSE CALLS IN CONFERENCE

ETSU has played in 51 SoCon games since rejoining the league in 2016 with the Bucs record being 23-28 in those contests … Thirty-four of those games have been decided by one possession (8 points or less) with 13 being decided by three points or less … ETSU is being outscored 1,357 to 1,216 in those previous 51 games, breaking down to 26.6 points to 23.8 points per contest (differential of 283 points) … Furthermore, since 2018, ETSU is 19-16 in league play with 27 of those 34 games being decided by one possession (8 points or less) and 10 by three points or less … The Bucs are outscoring their opponents 920-890 (30-point difference) during this stretch, breaking down to 26.3 points to 25.4 points … In addition, four of those last 34 SoCon games have gone to overtime … To go even further, when looking at ETSU’s spring 2021 and fall 2021 games, the Bucs went 11-3 overall with 13 of those 14 games being decided by one possession (8 points or less) … The Bucs won the SoCon title in the 2018 and 2021.

HUZZIE NAMED TO BUCK BUCHANAN AWARD WATCH LIST

The FCS national leader in passes defended has been added to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list … On Thursday, ETSU redshirt sophomore defensive back Alijah Huzzie was one of 21 players added to the Buck Buchanan Award watch list, which is given to the national defensive player of the year in college football’s Division I subdivision … Huzzie has been giving quarterbacks nightmares all season as he has totaled four interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 15 passes defended, along with adding 45 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Of his tackles, 35 have been solo hits … Huzzie has recorded interceptions in four of the Bucs’ seven games, including a stretch of three straight games from Sept. 24-Oct. 8. The Franklin, Ga. native began the season with a 38-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 44-7 win over Mars Hill, while he also picked off passes at Robert Morris, against Chattanooga and at VMI … To go with his interceptions, Huzzie has had multiple pass breakups in three games, including a season-high five against Furman … Overall, Huzzie leads all FCS players in passes defended per game (2.0), while being tied for second in total interceptions (4), ranking 10th in interceptions per game (0.6) and 30th in solo tackles per game (5.1).

KELTNER MAKES HISTORY MERCER

Tyler Keltner joined an elite group of Buccaneer kickers in last Saturday’s game at Mercer as he became the fourth player in program history to make four field goals in a game, joining JJ Jerman (2018, vs. The Citadel), Pat Crust (1992, vs. Western Carolina) and Herbie Campbell (1984, vs. Chattanooga) … Keltner was 4-for-5 in field goals, while going 3-for-3 in PATs, finishing with 15 points … Keltner, the Bucs’ all-time leading scorer for a placekicker, moved past running back Brandon Walker for second all-time with 273 points … Keltner trails all-time leader Quay Holmes by 33 points, while the Tallahassee, Fla. native now has 52 career made field goals, which is one shy of tying JJ Jerman’s record of 53, set from 2015-18 … Keltner ranks third among active career FCS leaders in made field goals, fifth in points and ninth in extra-points.

THE COMFORT OF GREENE

The Bucs boast a .710 winning percentage when playing games in the friendly confines of William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium ... Entering its sixth season of existence, Greene Stadium has held 22 wins for the Blue & Gold, while yielding just nine losses ... The Bucs finished with a perfect 7-0 record at home last season, becoming one of 16 FCS programs to go undefeated at home last year ... ETSU finished 4-2 inside Greene Stadium in its first season in 2017, following that season up with a 5-1 home mark in 2018. ETSU finished 3-3 at home in 2019 with wins over Shorter, Austin Peay and Mercer ... The Bucs competed in three games inside Greene Stadium during the 2021 spring season ... During that three-game span, ETSU finished with a 2-1 record ... In the 31 games played inside its home, ETSU is outscoring the opposition, 901-644, holding its foes to 20.8 points per contest.

ABOUT SAMFORD

• Samford, coming off its bye week, is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play
• The Bulldogs are ranked No. 15 in both the AFCA Coaches Top 25 and Stats Perform Top 25 Polls
• Samford’s lone loss on the season was a 33-0 setback to then-No. 2 Georgia … Samford has wins over then-No. 8 Kennesaw State (27-17), Tennessee Tech (33-28), Western Carolina (35-12), Furman (34-27) and Wofford (28-14)
• As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 26.2 points per game, while allowing 21.8 … Samford is posting 369.7 yards per game (251 passing/118.7 rushing) and the defense is allowing 399.7 yards per contest (254.7 passing/145.0 rushing)
• Samford is being outscored 44-24 in the first quarter; however, the Bulldogs are outscoring their opponents 96 to 57 between the second and third quarters
• The Bulldogs have turned the ball over seven times this season (five fumbles/two interceptions), while their defense has forced eight takeaways (four interceptions/four fumbles)
• Samford is losing the time of possession battle 36:22 to 23:38 on the year … The Bulldogs are converting on 43% on third down (39/90) and are 2-of-4 on fourth down … Opponents are converting on 37% on third down (37/100) and 50% on fourth down (8/16)
• Quarterback Michael Hiers is completing 71.3% of his passes (144-202) for 1,459 yards and 16 touchdowns (2 INTs) … Hiers ranks fifth nationally in completion percentage, seventh in passing touchdowns and 13th in passing efficiency (156.1).
• As a team, Samford ranks fifth among all FCS teams in completion percentage (.710)
• Hiers’ top two targets are Chandler Smith and Kendall Watson as they have combined for 69 receptions for 760 yards and nine touchdowns … Smith has 36 catches for 397 yards and six touchdowns and Watson has 33 catches for 363 yards and three touchdowns … Smith is 13th nationally in receiving touchdowns
• Samford’s top two running backs are Jay Stanton and Jaylan Thomas … Stanton has 79 carries for 362 yards and two touchdowns, while Thomas has 314 yards on 45 carries and four touchdowns
• The Bulldogs are just 2-of-5 on field goal chances, while opponents are 11-for-13
• Samford has given up 16 sacks and 36 tackles for loss, while the Bulldogs have posted 11 sacks and 32 TFLs
• Noah Martin leads the club with 38 tackles and has three tackles for loss
• Nathan East leads the defense with two sacks, along with adding 33 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception and five quarterback hurries

SERIES HISTORY

ETSU has won the last two meetings but Samford leads the all-time series, 6-3 … The Bucs defeated the Bulldogs in the spring of 2021 (24-17, Feb. 20 in Johnson City), while also winning a wild overtime thriller last season in Birmingham, 55-48 … ETSU led 17-13 at halftime before the teams combined for 73 second-half points, including overtime as the Bucs rallied for their first-ever win over Samford in Birmingham … Last year saw four lead changes in the fourth quarter and a game-tying field goal by Tyler Keltner at the end of regulation … In overtime, Quay Holmes rushed for a 13-yard touchdown, while the Buccaneer defense stopped the Bulldogs on their possession to secure the victory … The teams combined for 1,259 yards of total offense with ETSU posting 531 yards … Tyler Riddell passing for 291 yard and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing/one rushing), while ETSU rushed for 240 yards – 168 coming from Holmes … Samford totaled 728 yards of offense with Liam Welch passing for a SoCon-record 582 yards and a conference-mark of 665 yards of total offense … The game saw 185 combined plays – 111 by Samford and 74 by ETSU … The 103 combined points were the most in an ETSU game since Nov. 3, 1990 (110 vs. Wofford), while the 55 points were the most scored by the Bucs since the return of football in 2015 … Saturday marks the sixth game played in Johnson City with Samford holding a slight 3-2 lead … ETSU’s other win at home against Bulldogs came in 2016 when JJ Jerman connected on a game-winning 28-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the Bucs to a 15-14 win over No. 18 Samford.

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 Matt Wihljelm, 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).

TICKETS

Fans can purchase tickets for Saturday’s game online. For more information, click here. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the ETSU Ticket Office at 423-439-3878. Students can pick up their tickets at the gate on gameday.

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