JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 3, 2023) – For the first time in three weeks, ETSU football returns home to Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium when the Buccaneers host VMI Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
GAMEDAY INFO 
Date: Saturday, Nov. 4
Time: 1:02 p.m.
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium
Teams: ETSU (2-6, 1-4) vs. VMI (3-5, 2-3)
Weather: 64° | Sunny | Winds SW @ 5 mph 
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Keith Brake (pbp); Mark Hutsell (analyst) 
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Matt Wilhjelm (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline) 
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (StatBroadcast)
Twitter: @ETSUFootball
Game Sponsor: BrightRidge
 
THINGS TO KNOW 
Please click here for all the "Things to Know" for Saturday's game, presented by Citizens Bank 
 
ABOUT THE BUCS 
ETSU'S STOUT SCHEDULE 
ETSU has played the eighth toughest schedule among FCS teams this season … The Bucs have played eight games this season with the opposition generating a .590-win percentage (36-25) … The teams who have played tougher schedules to this point in the season include South Dakota State (.702), South Dakota (.632), Holy Cross (.630), Harvard (.609), Alabama State (.608), UT Martin (.596) and Kennesaw State (.591) … ETSU has played three teams who are currently ranked in the Top-25 of the FCS – No. 2 Furman, No. 13 Chattanooga, and No. 17 Austin Peay … Mercer and Samford are currently receiving votes.
 
BARRAGE OF BUCCANEER BLOCKED PUNTS
ETSU has blocked five punts this season with four of them coming in the last four weeks ... Linebacker Teddy Wilson has four of the Bucs' four blocks with Trey Foster getting in on the fun vs. Wofford ... Wilson got his first blocked punt in the home opener against Carson-Newman, which led to Ray Coney falling on the ball, resulting in a touchdown ... Last week at Furman, Wilson had another blocked punt result in a score as Ton'Quez Ball recovered the loose ball and ran one in from 8-yards out for the touchdown … Wilson's four blocked punts are tied for the national lead, while ETSU's five punts are also tied with the most with New Hampshire. 
 
ARNOLD NAMED TO MIDSEASON ALL-AMERICAN WATCH LIST
Last week, ETSU junior safety Sheldon Arnold II was named to the Phil Steele/DraftScout Midseason All-American Watch List … Arnold was a third team selection … The Buccaneer has totaled 59 tackles, 7 TFLs, one sack, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble this season in seven games … Arnold, who is two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Week selection, had a pick-6 in the win over Wofford on Oct. 14.
 
STOPPING THE RUN 
Over the last four games, ETSU's defense has allowed just 94.5 rushing yards per contest (378 total yards) … In the games against Mercer and Wofford, ETSU's defense allowed just 134 rushing yards as the Bucs held Mercer to 71 yards and Wofford to 63 … In those two games, opponents averaged just 67 yards on the ground with one touchdown … Opponents tallied 378 rushing yards over the last four games, averaging 2.6 yards per carry … Last week, ETSU held Furman to 85 rushing yards on 31 carries.  
 
BUCS IN THE FCS RANKINGS 
Teddy Wilson leads the country with his four blocked punts and Sheldon Arnold II ranks sixth with his two fumble recoveries and 16th in interceptions per game (0.4) … Arnold also ranks 24th in solo tackles (5.2) and 49th in total tackles (8.4) … Nate Brackett ranks eighth nationally in punting as he's averaging 44.1 yards per punt … Brackett's 70-yard punt against Carson-Newman is tied for the 12th-longest among FCS players this season. 
 
THE COMFORT OF GREENE
The Bucs boast a .667 winning percentage when playing games in the friendly confines of William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium ... Entering its seventh season of existence, Greene Stadium has held 24 wins for the Blue & Gold, while yielding 12 losses ... The Bucs finished with a perfect 7-0 record at home in 2021, becoming one of 16 FCS programs to go undefeated at home that season ... 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 36 games played inside its home, ETSU is outscoring the opposition, 1,052-754, holding its foes to 20.9 points per contest. 
 
T0 30 AND BEYOND…
ETSU is 19-4 when scoring at least 30 points since restarting the program in 2015 … ETSU had won its last 13 games when scoring at least 30 points following the lone setback at Furman on Sept. 30, 2017, before falling to No. 11 Mercer, 55-33, No. 15 Samford 55-45 and Wofford 48-41 last season ... ETSU is 2-0 this year when scoring at least 30 points.   
 
ABOUT VMI

• VMI enters this weekend's game with an overall record of 3-5 and a 2-3 mark in SoCon play … The Keydets defeated Davidson, Wofford and The Citadel … VMI's wins have been by a combined 12 points
• The Keydets are coming off a tough 24-23 setback to No. 15 Chattanooga this past Saturday in Lexington 
• VMI out-gained Chattanooga by nearly 100 yards – 440 to 356 – as the Keydets threw for 239 yards and rushed for 210 … VMI also had 10 more first downs, 26-16, and won the time of possession, 36:22 to 22:38 … The Keydets turned the ball over twice and forced one takeaway 
• VMI scored with 8:09 remaining in the contest but missed the extra-point, resulting in the loss … VMI had one last drive to take the lead as they got the ball back with 6:13 remaining, but after picking up one first down, the Keydets were forced to punt after facing 4^th-and-12 from their own 40-yard line … Chattanooga got the ball back with 3:04 left to play and ran the clock out 
• Running back Hunter Rice had a career-high 208 yards rushing with three touchdowns on 25 carries … On the season, Rice has 635 rushing yards and seven touchdowns 
• As a team, VMI is averaging 13.3 points per game and allowing 23.6, while posting 302.1 yards on offense per game (180.9 passing/121.3 rushing) and giving up 364.0 yards to the opposition (177.3 passing/186.8 rushing)
• VMI has turned the ball over 11 times (seven interceptions, four fumbles), while the defense has totaled six takeaways (two INTs, four fumbles) … The Keydets have posted just 11 sacks on the season, while giving up 26 
• Quarterback Collin Ironside has thrown for over 1,200 yards and four touchdowns, while he has been intercepted five times … Ironside is completing 63 percent of his passes (122-fo-193) … His top target is Chance Knox who leads the team with 35 receptions for 369 yards, while Aidan Twombly has accounted for three of VMI's six receiving touchdowns … Twombly has 26 catches for 328 yards 
• Defensively, Tahj Summey and Alex Oliver each have interceptions, while Evan Eller leads the team with 78 tackles and Eric Rankin paces the defense with eight tackles for loss and three sacks
• VMI has lost 12 of its last 15 road games dating back to 2021 

SERIES HISTORY 

• Saturday marks the 29th all-time meeting between ETSU and VMI with the Bucs leading the all-time series, 18-10 
• The Blue & Gold have won the last three and 12 of the last 14 meetings 
• ETSU won last year 44-21 in Lexington, 27-20 in the fall of 2021 in Johnson City and 24-20 in the spring of 2021 at VMI 
• ETSU is 10-3 all-time against the Keydets in Johnson City … VMI's last win in the series came in 2019 when the Keydets won 31-24 in overtime in Greene Stadium 
• ETSU's largest win came in 1996 when the Bucs won 38-0, while last year's 44 points scored matched the most in a single game against VMI (also done in 1997)

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. Click herefor live audio. 
 
BSN begins its pregame programing one hour and 30 minutes prior to kickoff with the 30-minute Tennessee Lottery Tailgate Show, followed by the Pregame Show presented by Lafayette Heat & Air, 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, analyst Matt Wilhjelm and sideline reporter Robert Harper 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 ESPN+ with the team of Keith Brake (play-by-play) and Mark Hutsell (analyst) on the call.
 
UP NEXT
ETSU heads to Cullowhee, N.C. for its final road game of the season as the Bucs play No. 16 Western Carolina in the Blue Ridge Border Battle … Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. 
 
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.