SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Oct. 28, 2022) – The ETSU football team closes out the month of October with a road game at Wofford on Saturday afternoon inside Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. 

GAMEDAY INFO

Date: Saturday, Oct. 29

Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Greene Stadium

Teams: ETSU (3-5, 1-5) vs. Wofford (1-6, 1-3)

Weather: 62°; Cloudy, Winds NE @ 8mph

Live Stats: WoffordTerriers.com

Live Video: ESPN+

TV Crew: Jim Noble (play-by-play); Thom Henson (analyst); Van Hipp (sideline)

Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 |104.9 NASH ICON

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

Twitter: @ETSUFootball

Game Sponsor: First Horizon

CLOSE CALLS IN CONFERENCE

ETSU has played in 52 SoCon games since rejoining the league in 2016 with the Bucs record being 23-29 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 1,412 to 1,261 in those previous 52 games, breaking down to 27.2 points to 24.3 points per contest (differential of 151 points) … Furthermore, since 2018, ETSU is 19-17 in league play with 27 of those 36 games being decided by one possession (8 points or less) and 10 by three points or less … The Bucs are outscoring their opponents 965-945 (20-point difference) during this stretch, breaking down to 26.8 points to 26.3 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.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST

Despite suffering its second straight setback last week, ETSU had an offensive outburst as the Bucs totaled a season-high 513 yards (420 passing/93 rushing) … Tyler Riddell threw for a career-high 389 yards and five touchdowns … The five touchdown passes tied the Buccaneer single-game record, joining Greg Ryan (1994, vs. The Citadel) and Alan Chadwick (1962, vs. Chattanooga) as the only ETSU players to accomplish the feat … Following his 5-touchdown performance, Riddell moved his career total to 37, passing the ETSU Hall of Famer Mark Hutsell for fourth all-time … Meanwhile, Will Huzzie hauled in eight catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns and Isaiah Wilson set career highs with seven catches for 122 yards … Huzzie became the first Buccaneer to have three touchdown catches since Tim Turner did so in 2000 versus Liberty … Only two FCS players have caught four touchdowns in a single-game this season (Villanova’s Jaaron Hayek vs. Maine on Oct. 1, and Fordham’s Fotis Kokosioulis vs. Ohio on Sept. 24) … Huzzie and Wilson became the first Buccaneer duo to have over 100 receiving since Vincent Lowe (105 yards) and Hunter Wike (101 yards) accomplished the feat on Sept. 30, 2017 at Furman.

NO TIME TO REST

ETSU is playing for the ninth straight week as the Bucs’ bye comes next weekend … For the second straight week, the Bucs will be playing a team coming off a bye as Samford was off the week prior and Wofford was off last Saturday … ETSU and Furman are the only two SoCon teams to not have their bye week as they will both be off next Saturday … Over the last two games, the Bucs have allowed back-to-back 55-point games, while surrendering 1,186 yards of offense (593 yards per contest) … The Buccaneer defense has been on the field for 164 total plays the last two weeks with teams averaging 180.5 yards on the ground and 412.5 yards through the air in the last two weeks … Mercer and Samford have combined to complete 78% of their passes – going 68-for-87 with nine touchdowns (one INT) … The Bucs’ defense, who was stout on third down in the first six weeks, have allowed Mercer and Samford to combine for 14-of-29 (48%) on third down chances and a perfect 4-for-4 on fourth down … In addition, they have compiled 57 first downs during this run … The last time ETSU has allowed back-to-back 50-plus point games prior to the last two weeks was back in 2015 when it happened three straight weeks – 58-9 vs. St. Francis, 52-0 at Mercer and 63-7 at Montana State … On the flip side, ETSU’s offense has totaled 829 yards the last two weeks (414.5 per game) and averaging 39 points per game.

IRONMAN STREAK OVER

ETSU junior offensive lineman Tavon Matthews had his streak come to an end last Saturday … Matthews had started all 38 games over his career before missing last week’s game vs. Samford … Matthews went out with an injury at Mercer after getting the start in Macon … Matthews started all 12 games his freshman year in 2019, then started six games in the spring of 2021 and all 13 last year in the Bucs’ championship season … Matthews then started ETSU’s first eight games this year … Entering this season, Matthews was named Preseason All-American by HERO Sports ... Matthews, a Southern Conference preseason first team selection, started in 12 games for the Buccaneers during their 2021 campaign where ETSU finished 11-2, won the conference championship and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs ... The Woodbridge, Va. native aided in blocking for one of the most historic running performances in program history with 2,775 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Matthews blocked for ten 100+ yard rushing games, including six games over 200 yards on the ground .... During his time in the ETSU starting lineup, the Bucs’ biggest output on the ground was 461 yards and six touchdowns against Western Carolina (Nov. 13), while Matthews helped block for five rushing touchdowns against The Citadel (Oct. 9).

ETSU CAREER LEADERS

Will Huzzie sits third all-time on the career receptions list with 143 … Huzzie needs 19 catches to move past Cecil Moore (1999-02) for second all-time … Huzzie is fourth all-time in receiving yards with 1,910 and needs 31 yards to pass Lamar Cooper (1996-99) for third … Tyler Keltner needs four extra-points to become the all-time leader as Jerry Chapman currently holds that spot with 126 … Keltner also needs one more made field goal to become the all-time leader as he’s tied with JJ Jerman for the record with 53 makes … Tyler Riddell needs four passing touchdowns to pass Larry Graham (1967-70) for third.

ANOTHER RECORD FOR KELTNER

A week after tying the ETSU single-game record with four field goals at Mercer, ETSU junior placekicker Tyler Keltner tied the all-time field goal record with 53 after being successful on a 45-yard attempt on the Bucs’ opening drive last Saturday … The 53 made field goals are tied with all-time great JJ Jerman as both kickers are 53-for-70 for their career … Keltner is zeroing in on another record as he’s four extra-point shy of breaking Jerry Chapman’s (1995-97) mark of 126 … Keltner is 123-for-123 and has 282 career points, which ranks second all-time (first among all-time ETSU kickers) … Keltner needs 25 more points to break the all-time scoring record, held by Quay Holmes with 306 … Keltner ranks third among active career FCS leaders in made field goals, fifth in points and eighth in extra-points.

ABOUT WOFFORD

• Wofford, coming off its bye week, sits at 1-6 overall and 1-3 in SoCon play 
• The Terriers lost their first six games to start the season before defeating The Citadel, 31-16, on Oct. 15 in Spartanburg 
• Wofford is led by Interim head coach/offensive coordinator Shawn Watson as he took over on Thursday, Oct. 13 following the departure of Josh Conklin – who was in his fifth season as head coach 
• The Terriers were shutout in their first two games of the season, being outscored 57-0 in losses to Chattanooga and Elon, while Wofford went the first 11 quarters of the season without scoring a point before the drought ended with a fourth-quarter touchdown at Virginia Tech on Sept. 17 
• Wofford has played the top three teams in the SoCon as they fell to Chattanooga, Mercer and Samford – who all have a combined record of 12-1 in league play this season 
• The Terriers are being outscored 112 to 33 in the first half this season and 194 to 81 overall … Wofford is averaging just 11.6 points per game 
• Overall, Wofford is averaging 248.6 yards per game (76.9 rushing/171.7 passing), while turning the ball over eight times (six INTs/two fumbles) … Opponents are averaging 27.7 points per game to with 414.7 yards per contest (228.1 passing/186.6 rushing) … Wofford’s defense has forced eight takeaways (one INT/seven fumbles) 
• Wofford is converting on 32% of its third down chances (32-100), while opponents are hitting at a 48.5% clip (49-101) … The Terriers are 6-of-9 on fourth down, while opponents are 4-of-9 in fourth down chances 
• Landon Parker is Wofford’s top receiving threat as he leads the team in receptions (21), yards (415) and is one of five players with a touchdown reception 
• Jimmy Weirick has played all seven games at quarterback – completing 57% of his passes (103-180) for 1,197 yards and five touchdowns (five INTs) 
• Nathan Walker leads the team with 77 rushing attempts, but has only generated 240 rushing yards – 3.1 per carry … Kyle Parsons has a team-best 259 total rushing yards on 61 carries (37 yards per game) … Parsons also has 13 kickoff returns for 308 yards (23.7 per return), including a long of 72 yards 
• Wofford is only 2-of-4 in field goals this season with Atkins Roberts and Bridger Jones combining for the two makes … Roberts is 1-of-3 on the season with a long of 37 and Jones is 1-of-1 with a long of 41 … Jones is 7-for-7 in PATs and Roberts is 2-for-3 … Opponents are 7-of-10 in field goals this season 
• Defensively, David Powers leads the team with 45 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks … Micheal Mason tops the Terriers with 4.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs … Matthew Clayton has the lone interception, while six different Terriers have registered a fumble recovery 

SERIES HISTORY

Wofford holds a slight 15-14 lead in the all-time series; however, ETSU snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Terriers with a 27-21 victory last season in Greene Stadium … The win was the first victory over Wofford in 8,365 days – Nov. 7, 1998 … Wofford leads the all-time series in games played in Spartanburg, 7-6, while ETSU is searching for its first win at Wofford since Nov. 8, 1997 when the Bucs won 45-24 … The Bucs have dropped their last five games to the Terriers in Spartanburg … Saturday marks ETSU’s first game in Spartanburg since Oct. 20, 2018 – a span of 1,471 days … ETSU’s largest win in the series came in 1986 when the Bucs won, 55-3, while Wofford has scored the most points in the series, putting up 64 in 1990. 

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 ESPN+ with the team of Jim Noble (play-by-play), Thom Henson (analyst) and Van Hipp (sideline). 

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