Furman Heads To The Citadel Saturday To Renew SoCon’s Oldest Rivalry
By John Hooper
The Citadel Got Its First Win In Greenville Since 1998 Last Season, Posting a 42-20 Win In The Regular-Season Finale.
WHO: Furman (1-2, 0-0 SoCon) at The Citadel (1-3, 1-1 SoCon)
WHERE: Johnson-Hagood Stadium (22,000), Charleston, S.C.
WHEN: Sept. 28, 2013, 6:00 p.m.
GREENVILLE, S.C.–Furman will return to the gridiron on Saturday to engage in one of the Southern Conference’s most heated of rivalries, when it opens league play on the road at The Citadel.
Saturday evening’s clash at Johnson-Hagood Stadium will mark the 93rd all-time clash between the two, representing the SoCon’s most-played rivalry. The Paladins hold the commanding 57-32-3 all-time mark.
Last season, The Citadel went into Paladin Stadium and posted a commanding 42-20 win in Greenville last season, marking the first time the Bulldogs had gone into Paladin Stadium and came away with the win for the first time since 1998, ending a streak of six-straight wins by the Paladins.
The Bulldogs and Paladins have engaged in some outstanding meetings over the years, with few forgetting about some of those matchups in recent memory, namely the 2005 and ’07 meetings, with both of those matchups ending in overtime.
The Paladins were 54-51 losers in that 2007 overtime affair in a game that took as many twists and turns in this rivalry as any played.
The 2005 meeting, which was the first season for current Citadel head coach Kevin Higgins on the sidelines for the Bulldogs, saw the Paladins emerge with a 37-35 triple overtime win in Charleston.
The Paladins come into Saturday afternoon’s matchup off a bye week, while the Bulldogs were on the road taking on FBS transitional foe Old Dominion in what turned out to be one of the wildest games of the season so far, with the Bulldogs dropping a one-point, 59-58, decision to the Monarchs.
In the win over the Monarchs, it was a matchup between two prolific quarterbacks, but it was Citadel senior quarterback Ben Dupree that out-shined the 2012 Walter Payton Award-winning quarterback Taylor Heinicke of Old Dominion en route to leading the Bulldogs to the near-upset road win. Dupree would garner FCS National Player of the Week honors by The Sports Network and College Football Performance Awards for his six-touchdown effort (5-rushing, 1-passing) in the loss.The five rushing scores by Dupree represented a school-record for rushing scores.
Citadel Senior Quarterback Ben Dupree Set A School Record With Five Rushing TDs against Old Dominion Last Saturday.
Dupree led a Citadel offense that rolled up 453 yards on the ground, which marked the most rushing yards for this Bulldogs’ offense since a win over Charleston Southern last season, when the Bulldogs rolled up 479 yards.
All told, Dupree finished the night accounting for 268 yards (155 rushing yards/113 passing yards) and 36 points in the loss. As a passer on Saturday night, Dupree made good on 5-of-8 passes for 113 yards and a score.
But Dupree, who also collected Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors among his numerous awards garnered from his weekend’s performance, wasn’t the only story.
Fullback Darien Robinson ran wild against the Monarchs’ defense in the wild loss, finishing the night with 227 rushing yards and a pair of scores, becoming the first Bulldogs’ player to rush for 200 or more yards Tory Cooper eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark in 2006.
Robinson and Dupree were part of what turned out to be a 566-yard night for The Citadel offense, which was its top output of the season thus far.
The Bulldogs enter Saturday night’s contest with a 1-3 overall mark this season, with the lone win being a 28-21 setback to Western Carolina, while the Bulldogs have dropped three contests to Wofford (21-10), Charleston Southern (32-29) and Old Dominion (59-58).
Introducing The Game:
Saturday afternoon’s matchup will see Furman, which comes into the weekend as the league’s top rushing defense (143.7 YPG/40th in FCS), taking on a Citadel ground attack that ranks fourth nationally and second in the SoCon (310.8 YPG) entering Saturday night’s clash. The Paladins will be looking to avoid losing two-straight in the series since losing in back-to-back seasons to the Bulldogs in 1993 and ’94.
The matchup last season saw the Bulldogs catch fire midway through the second quarter. Trailing 17-14 late on in the second quarter, the Bulldogs would score 28 of the game’s next 31 points to win over the Paladins in a rout. While the Paladins and Bulldogs met in the season-ending contest for the first time since the 1993 campaign in 2012, the Paladins and Bulldogs will begin league play against each other this fall, with the game representing the Southern Conference opener for Furman.
Previewing The Furman Offense:
Furman Sophomore QB Reese Hannon Is In His Second Season As The Paladins’ Starter Under Center.
Furman comes into its Southern Conference opener against The Citadel, having looked great at times offensively so far this season, while at others looking young and somewhat tentative.
Coming into Saturday evening’s clash with the Bulldogs at Johnson-Hagood Stadium, the Paladins bring an offense which ranks 109th nationally in total offense (275.3 YPG), 74th in scoring offense (23.3 PPG), 68th in rushing offense (153.7), and 110th in passing offense (121.7 YPG).
Leading the Paladins into action on Saturday evening will be starting sophomore quarterback Reese Hannon (27-for-50 passing, 242 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT). Hannon will be starting just his third game of the season, having missed thee season-opener to the 2013 season against Gardner-Webb with a strained oblique.
To this point in his Paladin career, Hannon has connected on 187-of-310 throws for 2,138 yards, with 9 TDs and 9 INTs. In the 42-20 loss to the Bulldogs last season, Hannon was able to connect on 6-of-10 passes for 37 yards and an INT before leaving the game with an injury.
In the 21-20 win over Presbyterian the last time out, Hannon had a bit of a lackluster performance, passing for just 51 yards on 10-of-19 passing. He also rushed for 21 yards and a TD in the Paladins’ lone win of the campaign.
Hannon’s best game in 2013 came in his first game to see the field this fall, as he connected on 17-of-31 passes for 191 yards, with a TD and an INT in a 35-28 loss to No. 22 Coastal Carolina.
Hannon led a Furman offense that posted its best outing in the second week of the season, as the Purple and White posted a 61-yard advantage (431-370) in total offense, while seeing his Paladin offense forge a 28-19 advantage in first downs in the game.
The Paladins will utilize multiple looks offensively on Saturday night when they visit Johnson-Hagood Stadium, featuring some I-formation, spread and double tight end sets. The Paladins have also utilized the ‘Wildcat’ offense to some effectiveness, with Terry Robinson (7 rush att, 41 yds, 1 TD, 5.9 YPC) having stepped under center in each of the Paladins’ first three games of the season.
Furman’s bread and butter this season, however, has been the ground game, with junior Hank McCloud (51 rush att, 260 yds, 3 TDs, 5.1 YPC) and freshman Marcus Anderson (23 rush att, 117 yds, 5.1 YPC) leading that multifaceted ground game. Both McCloud and Anderson give the Paladins a nice one-two punch in the ground attack, with McCloud having reached the century mark in back-to-back games for the first time in his career coming into Saturday afternoon’s clash.
Furman Junior RB Hank McCloud Has Eclipsed The Century Mark In Rushing In Each Of The Past Two Outings.
The last time out against PC, McCloud rushed for 102 yards and a pair of TDs on 22 rush attempts in the narrow one-point win. To this point in his career, McCloud has rushed for 1,022 yards and 10 TDs.
McCloud was pretty effective against the Bulldogs last season, finishing with 92 yards and a TD on 12 attempts, averaging an impressive 7.7 yards-per-rush.
Anderson is a bruising, physical runner that saw his best performance of his young career come in the second game of the campaign, when he posted 72 yards on 13 rush attempts in a 35-28 setback against Coastal Carolina.
Ernie Cain (4 rush att, 10 yds, 2.5 YPC), who at times has made some big plays in the running game, has served mostly as the primary blocking presence in the Furman backfield this season, and he will be the starter at fullback for the Paladins.
When Hannon is given time to throw the football, he has some big-play threats to look to at wide receiver, and the Paladins will be given added reinforcements this Saturday when Jordan Snellings returns to the two-deep after finally having overcoming an injury suffered during fall camp.
Snellings, a native of Atlanta, GA, was a SoCon All-Freshman selection last season after hauling in 19 passes for 210 yards and three TDs (11.1 YPR). He has good size at 6-2, 191 pounds, and will back up Ryan Culbreath (10 rec, 104 yds, 1 TD, 10.4 YPR) at split end in Saturday’s Southern Conference opener.
Culbreath has yet to have a real break out game for the Paladins as of yet this season, however, he was at his most productive in Furman’s 35-28 loss at Coastal Carolina, with four catches for 48 yards and a score.
The 6-4, 220-pound senior from Conyers, GA, is also an excellent blocker on the edge for the Paladins’ ground game. As good as a receiving threat as Culbreath has been, he might even be a more accomplished blocker on the edge for the Paladins. To this point in his career, he has 64 catches for 800 yards and six TDs (12.5 YPR). Culbreath had three catches for 21 yards in the Paladins’ loss to The Citadel last season.
The top big-play threat in the Paladins’ arsenal so far this season has been Gary Robinson (8 rec, 128 yds, 2 TDs, 16.0 YPR), who has accounted for two of the three TD receptions the Paladins have registered through the first three weeks of the season. Robinson’s biggest play of the season came in the season opener, as he hauled in a 70-yard strike from Paladin quarterback Dillon Woodruff, which also accounted for his first-career scoring catch as a Paladin. Robinson will start at the flanker position on Saturday night, and will be backed up by the extremely explosive playmaker Andrej Suttles (5 rec, 27 yds).
Despite the graduation of All-American tight end Colin Anderson, the Paladins have gotten some big plays out of the position this season, and in particular, freshman David Dingess (6 rec, 70 yds), who has hauled in some clutch catches this season. Though he doesn’t start, Dingess has quickly become the go-to-receiver at tight end, with his 6-5 frame.
Dingess had his coming-out-party in the seven-point loss to Coastal Carolina in the Paladins’ second game of the campaign, hauling in three passes for 50 yards, including a pair of clutch catches on third-and-long. Dingess led the Paladins in receiving in their lone win of the season against PC, hauling in three passes for 20 yards. Cameron Mason, who is more a blocking tight end, will get the start for the Paladins on Saturday against the Bulldogs.
The strength of the Furman offense, however, this season has been its offensive line, which returned all five starters from a year ago. Left tackle Dakota Dozier is among the best in the country and is one of the top pro prospects at any position heading into the 2014 NFL Draft. Dozier has started 33 of the 34 games he has seen action in during his career as a Paladin offensive tackle.
While Dozier will start at left tackle on Saturday night, Grayson Weber will get his second-straight start at the right tackle position, while Charles Emert will continue to start at center for Eric Thoni, who is slated to return from his suspension this Saturday. Rounding out the starters for the Paladins on the offensive line heading into Saturday night will be both Joe Turner (RG) and Tank Phillips (LG).
Previewing The Citadel Defense:
Citadel Linebacker Carl Robinson Once Again Ranks In The Top Five On The SoCon’s Tackles Ledger.
The Bulldogs are a team that put a relatively young defense in terms of class on the field on Saturday night against the Paladins, but its one that that has some good experience despite being somewhat young.
Coming into Saturday evening’s clash with the Paladins, the Bulldogs rank 62nd nationally in total defense (391.5 YPG), 85th in scoring defense (33.3 PPG), 48th in passing defense (195.3 YPG) and 82nd in rushing defense (196.3 YPG). The Bulldogs will utilize a basic 4-3 defensive scheme.
It will begin up front for the Bulldogs, which brings a defensive front that is among the best in the SoCon into Saturday’s matchup, led by All-America candidate Derek Douglas (17 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack) along that defensive front.
Douglas’ 13-career sacks coming into Saturday evening’s contest has him tied for sixth in school history in career quarterback hits. Douglas, who has played both defensive end and defensive tackle in his career, will start inside at defensive tackle on Saturday evening.
Lining up alongside Douglas for the Bulldogs on Saturday night against the Paladins will be Cam Mobley (8 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1.0 sack), who will play the nose tackle spot for the Bulldogs on Saturday night. Mobley and Douglas go 270 lbs apiece on the defensive interior.
Set to start at the two defensive end positions will be both Justin Oxendine (20 tackles, 3.5 TFL) and Bay Amrhein (8 tackles). Amrhein and Oxendine are both experienced, returning starters along the defensive front and were able to apply plenty of pressure on reigning Walter Payton Award winner Taylor Heinicke, and were able to hit him. However, Heinicke appeared at times to be somewhat a houdini in the Old Dominion backfield when avoiding the Bulldogs’ pass-rush.
The Bulldogs have a solid trio of linebackers coming into Saturday evening’s contest, led by Carl Robinson (45 tackles, 3 PBUs, 1 FF), who comes into Saturday night’s contest as the Bulldogs’ leading tackler. Robinson has been instrumental in the success of the Bulldogs’ on the defensive side of the football. Robinson will reside in the middle of that Bulldogs’ defense, and ranks fourth in the Southern Conference in total tackles coming into Saturday afternoon.
Robinson is the catalyst of The Citadel’s defense, and he is one of the best middle linebackers in the Southern Conference. He will team with Rah Muhammad (8 tackles) and James Riley (29 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 0.5 sack) in the starting lineup for the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon. Both Muhammad and Riley are athletic and fast on the edge of this Bulldogs’ defense, and it will be important for the Bulldogs to have that athleticism on the edge on the perimeter, who ran the ball successfully on the edge against Presbyterian, when they face the Paladins on Saturday night. Riley led the Bulldogs with 12 stops in the win over Furman last season.
The third level of the defense has been solid through the first four weeks of the season, with a couple of senior starters at the respective cornerback positions, in Brandon McCladdie (27 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 INT, 1 TD) and Sadath Jean-Pierre (20 tackles). Both McCladdie and Jean-Pierre give the Bulldogs two of the best coverage cornerbacks in the Southern Conference.
McCladdie has seven-career interceptions coming into Saturday evening’s contest against the Paladins, and in the 21-10 loss to Wofford in the Bulldogs’ Southern Conference opener, returned a Michael Weimer pass 92 yards for the Bulldogs’ only score of the game.
McCladdie’s seven-career picks ranks him tied for 17th in the history of the program. He and Jean-Pierre have carried the torch nicely over the past few years, helping the Bulldogs maintain the tradition at the position, which saw the tandem follow in the footsteps of one of the program’s all-time greats, in Cortez Allen.
The Bulldogs will have a pair of juniors starting at the respective safety positions on Saturday night, with Julian Baxter (21 tackles, 1 INT) set to start at the strong safety position, while Akeem Garnett (20 tackles) will man the free safety position.
Previewing Furman’s Defense:
Furman Sophomore Nickle Back Jairus Hollman Was The SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week A Couple Of Weeks Ago In The 21-20 Win Over PC. He Blocked The Potential Game-Winning FG Attempt By The Blue Hose Brett Wilson.
The Paladins are young on the defensive side of the football, but have played well in the opening three games of the 2013 season. The Paladins will utilize a 4-2-5 defensive formation when they take the field against The Citadel.
Coming into Saturday afternoon’s showdown, the Paladins lead the SoCon and rank 43rd nationally in rush defense (143.7 YPG), while also ranking 45th nationally in total defense (362.3 YPG), 63rd in scoring defense (27.7 PPG) and 106th in pass defense (218.7 YPG).
The Paladins have had to deal with some injury issues on the defensive side of the football early on this season, including losing senior defensive end Shawn Boone for the season with a knee injury, making an already defense even younger.
Leading the Paladins up front this season has been preseason All-SoCon selection and junior defensive end Gary Wilkins (11 tackles, 2.5 TFL). Wilkins led the Paladins in tackles last season at one of the outside linebacker positions, and he has helped bolster the Furman pass-rush through the first three games of the season. Against the Bulldogs last fall, Wilkins was able to register seven stops in the home loss.
Joining Wilkins as a starter at defensive end on Saturday will be junior Ira McCune (6 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 1 blkd kick), who started the season as a starter at one of the two defensive tackle positions, but has been forced back to his original position which he played early in his career as a reserve.
McCune was a bit undersized for the defensive tackle position, and now more in his natural element, it could give Furman an even better pass-rush for the remainder of the season going forward. It will be interesting to see if the athletic tandem of McCune and Wilkins will be able to tone down their aggressiveness of trying to get up field and get to the quarterback and stay at home and be discipline against the option game that Bulldogs will bring to the table.
Set to start at the respective defensive tackle positions on Saturday evening will be both Jordan Hawkins (4 tackles) and John Mackey (13 tackles, 3.0 TFL). Hawkins, a true freshman, moved into the starting lineup last time out when the Paladins hosted Presbyterian in their home opener a couple of weeks ago. Mackey has been a dependable presence through the first three games, as he is having the best game through the early portion of the slate, of any of the Paladin defensive linemen.
The second level of the Paladin defense has been one of the most exciting areas to watch this season, with three new starters in the lineup in 2013. Both Carl Rider (29 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1 FR) and Cory Magwood (35 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 FF) have looked like two of the best linebackers in the Southern Conference at times early in the season, and both are playmakers. Both Magwood and Rider fly to the football, and both have a chance to put up some pretty big stat lines playing against the run-oriented Bulldogs on Saturday night.
Maybe the biggest surprise this season for Furman has been Jairus Hollman (18 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 1 INT, 1 Blk), who has been playing the nickel position this season, and his block of a Brett Wilson potential game-winning field goal the last time out a couple of weeks ago garnered Hollman the SoCon’s Special Teams Player of the Week honor, allowing the Paladins to claim their first win of the season. Hollman is not only a big hitter, but also has the ability to drop into coverage with his athleticism, while coming up and making plays against the run.
The Paladins also have experience and athleticism at the respective safety positions, with Greg Worthy (32 tackles, 1.0 TFL, 1 FF) and Marcus McMorris (22 tackles, 1 INT) manning the strong and free safety positions. Worthy is a hard hitter and has good speed, with the ability to come up and cause disruption in the option game, much like former greats John Keith and Cam Newton. McMorris is another playmaker at safety, picking off the first pass of his career in the 2011 meeting between the two rivals in Charleston, sealing the win for the Paladins.
Rounding out the starters on the defensive side of the football will be cornerbacks Reggie Thomas (11 tackles) and Austin Williams (17 tackles, 1 FR) will start at the respective cornerback positions on Saturday night. Both are physical, and will need to be to come up and make plays on the edge against the Bulldogs’ triple-option attack. It will also be incumbent upon the tandem not to get sucked in on the edge, allowing the Bulldogs to throw over the top.
Previewing The Citadel Offense:
Citadel Senior RB Darien Robinson Is Coming Off The Best Game Of His Career, Rushing For 227 Yards And Two TDs IN The Loss At ODU.
The Citadel has had a strong season on the offensive side of the football, and the Bulldogs come into Saturday afternoon’s contest against the Paladins ranking 51st nationally in total offense (392.3 YPG), 38th in scoring offense (31.3 PPG), third in rushing offense (310.8 YPG) and 121st in passing offense (81.5 YPG).
The Bulldogs are in their fourth season utilizing the triple-option offense, and though ranking towards the bottom of the nation in passing offense this season, have tried to incorporate more passing into this offense.
Leading the offense so far once again this season has been Ben Dupree (12-of-24 passing, 174 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT/72 rush att, 385 yds, 8 TDs, 5.3 YPC), who enters the Furman game coming off one of his best career games, accounting for six TDs (5-rushing, 1-passing) in the 59-58 loss to Old Dominion last Saturday.
Five of Dupree’s eight rushing scores came in last week’s heartbreaker at Old Dominion, which set a new school mark for rushing TDs in a game. Against the Paladins last season, Dupree connected on 2-of-4 passes for 51 yards, with a TD and an INT, while rushing for a team-leading 84 yards and a TD on just 12 attempts. In terms of his overall career numbers, Dupree ranks fifth in school history in rushing TDs (26), while ranking 11th on the school’s all-time rushing yards ledger (2,056 yds).
Aaron Miller (15-of-26 passing, 152 yds/28 rush att, 130 yds, 1 TD, 4.6 YPC) could also see some action under center on Saturday as has done each of the past three seasons, being the more proficient passer of the two quarterbacks. Miller completed 2-of-5 passes against the Paladins last season for 14 yards.
The Bulldogs have great options at the skill positions out of the backfield in the double-slot offense. The best of those weapons coming out of the offensive backfield is Darien Robinson (53 rush att, 364 yds, 2 TDs, 6.4 YPC), who is coming off a monster game the last time out against the Monarchs, as he set a new career rushing high with 227 yards on the ground to go along with a pair of rushing scores.
Robinson ranks just behind Dupree in the SoCon in rushing this season, ranking fourth in the SoCon. Robinson and Dupree are separated by just 21 rushing yards this season, with Dupree having 19 more rush attempts. Robinson ranks seventh on the school’s career rushing charts and continues to ascend up the ledger, with 2,333 career yards. With 18 rushing yards on Saturday night against the Paladins, Robinson would move past Maurice Murphy into sixth place on the all-time list.
Joining Robinson in the starting lineup in The Citadel backfield on Saturday night will be both Terrance Martin (10 rush att, 73 yds, 1 TD, 7.3 YPC/1 rec, 3 yds) and Dalton Trevino (14 rush att, 57 yds, 4.1 YPC/3 rec, 21 yds, 7.0 YPR), who will start at the respective slotback positions on Saturday. Martin and Trevino are both multi-purpose athletes in the Bulldogs’ backfield, with both giving the Bulldogs good speed on the perimeter, as well as being good options as receivers.
The starters at the respective wide receiver positions on Saturday night against the Paladins will be both Matt Thompson (5 rec, 49 yds, 9.8 YPR) and Brandon Eakins (4 rec, 45 yds, 11.2 YPR), who have both come up with some big catches in the early going for the Bulldogs in the early portion of the slate. Nick Jeffreys will also be an option when the Bulldogs decide to employ a tight end. Jake Stenson (4 rec, 36 yds, 1 TD, 9.0 YPR) has the only receiving TD of the season for the Bulldogs, which came in the 59-58 loss at Old Dominion last Saturday.
Rounding out the offense is an experienced offensive line, which returned four of five starters coming into the season, and despite losing Mike Sellers to transfer, the Bulldogs have looked like one of the top offensive lines in the SoCon so far this season. Senior offensive tackles Devin Bice (LT) and Cullen Brown (RT) look like all-conference performers, while Sam Frye (C) has come in and done an excellent job replacing an All-American at center this season in his first as a starter at the position.
Rivalry games aren’t always the easiest to predict and this is a crucial game for both the Bulldogs and Paladins. Furman is inexperienced on both sides of the football, but have continued to make strides as the young season has progressed. With the advantage of an off-week, look for Furman go into one of the toughest venues (211 wins at Johnson-Hagood Stadium-second-most in SoCon history among home venues) in the SoCon and play its best games of the season, squeaking out a win in the conference opener.
SaturdayBlitz Final Score Prediction:
Furman 31, The Citadel 28