A Look at Today’s Opponent: The Citadel

u The Citadel comes to Cullowhee amidst a four-game losing skid since upsetting then No . 8/9 ETSU in its Southern Conference opener back on Sept . 10 in Charleston . . . Among the four-game slide for the Bulldogs are a pair of shutout losses – at Mercer (17-0) and at FBS-foe Appalachian State (49-0) – it was the first time since 2010 that The Citadel suffered consecutive shutout losses (L, 20-0 at

Georgia Southern, 10/23/10 and 35-0 to Wofford on 10/30/10) . . . the Bulldogs are 1-5 overall and like

WCU, are 1-3 in league play; u The Bulldogs scored a walk-off win in its lone tally of the season as kicker COLBY KINTNER drilled a 39-yard field goal as time expired to upend the nationally-ranked ETSU Buccaneers . . . it was the first walk-off win for the Bulldogs since a 37-yard Jacob Godek field goal at FBS-foe Georgia Tech back in 2019; u Saturday's match-up against Western Carolina in Cullowhee represents the second of back-toback road games for the Bulldogs before The Citadel returns home for three-straight ahead of the annual "Military Classic of the South" at VMI on Nov . 19; u The Citadel was picked to finish eighth in the SoCon preseason coaches poll and was last in the media tabulations in the 2022 preseason; u The 2022 Bulldog roster features 11 graduate transfers – the most for The Citadel under head coach BRENT THOMPSON; u Entering the week, The Citadel finds itself at the bottom of the Southern Conference in scoring offense, having mustered just 96 total points over its first six games – averaging a league-low 9 .3 points per game, tied for 119th out of 123 NCAA FCS teams . . . Offensively, the 'Dogs are averaging just 265 .7 yards per game (8th in the SoCon) including 173 .7 (5th) rushing yards and 92 .0 (9th) yards per game through the air; u Traditionally a ball-control offense, the Bulldogs have managed jut 86 first downs on the season – a stat that ranks 118th out of 123 NCAA FCS football teams – BUT – The Citadel ranks FOURTH in the NCAA in time of possession, averaging north of 35 minutes per game; u Junior LB HASAN BLACK ranks FIFTH in the SoCon in tackles this season, averaging 8 .0 stops per game with a team-best 3 .0 sacks and an average of 1 .33 tackles for loss per game; u Senior defensive back DESTIN MACK (pictured below) was a preseason first-team All-Southern

Conference selection after finishing last year with a SoCon-high tying five interceptions . . . Mack has two picks this season to date . . . Junior OL TEREIS DRAYTON (pictured below), junior DL CARSON

HATCHETT, and LB MARQUISE BLOUNT were each second-team honorees in the preseason; u ABOUT HEAD COACH BRENT THOMPSON: Is in his seventh season at The Citadel, taking over in 2016 after two seasons as the offensive coordinator in Charleston . . . Under Thompson, the

Bulldogs have ranked in the Top 10 in rushing offense in each of his previous six seasons including fourth nationally in 2021 at 268 .3 yards per game; u Thompson put together the best season of any first-year head coach in program history in 2016, following up a 2015 SoCon Championship with a 10-2 record and 8-0 mark in league play . . . The record marked the most wins for a first-year coach at The Citadel and earned Thompson SoCon Coach of the Year honors; u Thompson served as the offensive coordinator at Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N .C ., from 20102013 before following head coach Mike Houston (2014-15) to Charleston ahead of the 2014 season . . . At L-R, Thompson was part of operating the triple-option offensive attack that led NCAA Division II in rushing in 2013, averaging 370 .9 yards per game – and set the NCAA record for all divisions in rushing yards in a season with 5,563 in advancing to the D-II National Championship Game .

ABOUT THE CITADEL

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS QUICK FACTS:

Location: ..................... Charleston, S.C. Founded: ...............................1842 Enrollment: ............................ 3,767 Colors: ................... Infantry Blue & White Conference: ................. Southern (SoCon) Facility (Capacity): ...... Johnson Hagood (11,427) President: .........Gen. Glenn M. Walters (USMC) Athletics Director: ...............Mike Capaccio Senior Woman Administrator: ..... Kevicia Brown Head Coach: ........Brent Thompson (Norwich, '98) Record at CIT: ....................33-42 (7th yr) Overall Record: ........................ Same Basic Offense: ................... Triple Option Basic Defense: ....................... Multiple

2022 SCHEDULE / RESULTS:

Sept. 1 at Campbell Sept. 10 #8/9 ETSU *

L, 29-10 W, 20-17 Sept. 17 at #20 Mercer * L, 17-0 Oct. 1 at Appalachian State L, 49-0 Oct. 8 FURMAN * L, 21-10 Oct. 15 at Wofford * L, 31-16 Oct. 22 at Western Carolina * 2 pm Oct. 29 SAMFORD * 2 pm Nov. 5 CHATTANOOGA * 2 pm Nov. 12 VIRGINIA–LYNCHBURG 2 PM Nov. 19 at VMI * Noon

HEAD COACH BRENT THOMPSON