A Look at Today’s Opponent: ETSU

QUICK LOOK AT TODAY’S OPPONENT: ETSU

u The ETSU Buccaneers come to Cullowhee as one of the top teams in the Southern Conference, amidst a three-way tie for first-place in the conference standings with a 5-1 league mark . . . the Bucs are an impressive 8-1 on the season that includes a NCAA FBS win over SEC-foe, Vanderbilt, to open the season and are coming off a 27-20 victory over No . 18 VMI at home last Saturday; u ETSU looks to keep pace with in-state foe Chattanooga and Mercer, who it finishes the regular season by hosting next Saturday in Johnson City . . . Either UTC or Mercer will emerge Saturday with a second loss as the two square off in Macon, Ga ., at 3 p .m . . . . ETSU's lone defeat of the season to date came at Chattanooga (Oct . 16), halting the Bucs' six-game seasonal win streak; u ETSU remains the highest-ranked Southern Conference team in both the Stats Perform FCS poll – ranked No . 11 . . . and in the NCAA FCS Coaches poll, ranked 12th nationally; u ETSU boasts the SoCon's third-best scoring offense on the year at 32 .9 points per game while adding the league's second-best scoring defense in limiting teams to just 18 .6 points per game . . . the Bucs defense could see one of its top tests of the season, though, as the resurgent Catamount offense is averaging 34 .5 points per game in league play, second only to Samford (36 .0 ppg) in conference games . . . WCU has scored 41-or-more points during its current three-game win streak; u ETSU ranks fifth in the SoCon in total offense at 432 .2 yards per game – 212 .5 yards per game rushing (5th) and 219 .7 yards per game passing (4th) . . . the Buccaneer defense ranks third in the

SoCon in total defense at 382 .7 yards per game, surrendering 220 .8 yards per game (7th) through the air while limiting foes to just 161 .8 rushing yards per game – second in the SoCon; u A key match-up on Saturday will be WCU's passing attack against ETSU's pass defense . . . the Catamounts LEAD the SoCon in passing average at 314 .7 yards per game – 10th in the NCAA FCS – with a SoCon-best 15 passing touchdowns . . . the Bucs have allowed just over 220 yards per game, but have only surrendered SIX passing scores against all season; u Another key will be the turnover battle – ETSU ranks second in the SoCon with a +5 turnover margin – 11 takeaways with just six turnovers lost . . . WCU is a –5 in the turnover margin with 12 turnovers gained against 17 giveaways; u ETSU boasts TWO of the top 10 rushers in the SoCon this season – QUAY HOLMES leads the league in rushing at 119 .8 yards per game with eight scores while JACOB SAYLORS averages 76 .5 rushing yards per game with four TDs; u ETSU was picked to finish in fourth place in the SoCon preseason coaches poll, receiving one firstplace vote from the leagues head coaches . . . the Bucs were among a three-way tie for third in the media's preseason tabulations, collecting three first-place votes – the most among the trio tied for the third-place spot in the preseason vote; u NINE different Buccaneers landed on the preseason All-Southern Conference first or second team in the preseason led by SIX first-team selections: RB QUAY HOLMES, OL TRE'MOND SHORTS, TE NATE ADKINS, LB JARED FOLKS, DB TYREE ROBINSON, and PK TYLER KELTNER . . . ETSU had four selections on the second-team including Holmes as a return specialist, OL TAVON MATTHEWS, LB DONOVAN MANUEL, and DB ALIJAH HUZZIE; u DID YOU KNOW: A familiar face in the Western Carolina–ETSU series is Buccaneer Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations, DAVID FOX – who is 2014 graduate of WCU where he earned a B .S . in Sport Management . . . While at WCU, Fox worked as a student assistant in the Catamount Athletics Media Relations office . . . Fox is married to a former WCU Track & Field standout, Anne Greer; u Western Carolina has two administrators with ties to ETSU – Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs CHAD GERRETY spent time on the athletics staff at ETSU as a graduate assistant, earning his Masters degree in 1995 . . . Director of Ticket Operations BEN PAGE is a graduate of ETSU with a bachelor's in Sport and Leisure Management;

ABOUT ETSU

SCOUTING THE BUCCANEERS QUICK FACTS:

Location: ...................Johnson City, Tenn. Founded: ............................... 1911 Enrollment: ........................... 14,400 Colors: ...................... Navy Blue & Gold Conference: ........................ Southern Facility (Capacity): ....... Greene Stadium (6,212) President: .................... Dr. Brian Noland Athletics Director: ................. Scott Carter Head Coach: ...... Randy Sanders (Tennessee, 1989) Record at ETSU: .................. 23-16 (4th yr) Overall Record: ........................ Same Basic Offense: ........................Spread Basic Defense: .......................... 3–4

2021 SCHEDULE:

Sept. 4 at Vanderbilt Sept. 11 UVA Wise Sept. 18 Delaware State Sept. 25 at Samford *

Oct. 2 Wofford *

Oct. 9 The Citadel *

Oct. 16 at Chattanooga *

Oct. 23 at Furman *

Nov. 6 No. 18 VMI *

Nov. 13 at Western Carolina * Nov. 20 Mercer * W, 23-3 W, 45-14 W, 38-6 W, 55-48 (OT) W, 27-21 W, 48-21 L, 21-16 W, 17-13 W, 27-20 2 pm 2 pm

HEAD COACH RANDY SANDERS