JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 8, 2024) – For the first time in nearly a month, the ETSU football team will return home to Johnson City this Saturday to take on longtime rival No. 22 Western Carolina in the annual Blue Ridge Border Battle. Kickoff between the Buccaneers and Catamounts is set for Noon from Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 12:02 p.m.
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium
Teams: No. 22 Western Carolina (5-4, 4-1 SoCon) at (RV) ETSU (5-4, 3-2 SoCon)
Weather: 71° | Partly Sunny | Winds: 4 mph
Game Sponsor: BrightRidge
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Keith Brake (pbp), Mark Hutsell (analyst)
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | HD radio can listen on 101.5 WQUT HD-2
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Matt Wilhjelm (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline), Don Helman (stats)
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (StatBroadcast)
X: @ETSUFootball
THINGS TO KNOW – Please click
HERE for all the "Things to Know" for Saturday's matchup with the Catamounts, presented by Citizens Bank.
LAST TIME OUT - The Buccaneers saw their three-game road winning streak come to an end on Saturday as they fell to #12 Mercer by a score of 37-31. Saturday's loss, moves ETSU's record to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in SoCon play.
SCHOOL RECORD THROUGH THE AIR - A highlight for the Bucs on Saturday was their passing attack. The combo of
Jaylen King and
Gino English combined to pass for a single game school record 459 yards against the Bears. Saturday's performance passed the previous record of 434 in 2017 vs. Furman.
GINO GIVES THE BUCS A JOLT - Despite only playing roughly a quarter-and-a-half, English had his best game of his collegiate career on Saturday. The Winter Park, Florida native, who rushed for a touchdown earlier in the game, completed 14 of 19 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns, which were all career-highs.
BIG DAY FOR THE BUCCANEER RECEIVERS - ETSU's receiving core played one of their best games in recent memory as well. Five different Bucs caught at least one pass in the record-setting game with three players surpassing 100 yards receiving. It is the first time that ETSU has ever had three pass catchers top 100 yards in the same game. It was also the first time that two Buc receivers have topped the century mark receiving since September 30, 2017, vs. Furman when Vincent Lowe (105 (yards) and Hunter Wike (101 yards) reached that number. On Saturday,
AJ Johnson led the charge with a career-high 10 catches and 162 yards and two touchdowns.
Ephraim Floyd (six catches, 112 yards) and
Hakeem Meggett (four catches, 108 yards) also topped the century mark receiving for the Bucs against the Bears.
AMAZING DAY FOR AJ - Johnson's 10-catch performance was the most by a Buccaneer receiver since 2018 when Braxton Richburg also hauled in 10 in another matchup vs. Mercer. Furthermore, with the two touchdowns Johnson now leads ETSU with six this season. The six receiving touchdowns not only leads the SoCon but also is one shy of matching the most receiving touchdowns by a Buc since 2002 when Cecil Moore had seven.
DEFENSE CONTINUES TO PLAY WELL - Defensively, the Bucs also had one of their better outings of the season holding the Bears to 292 total yards in the contest. It is the fifth time in nine games that ETSU's defense has held an opposing to under 300 yards of total offense (UVA Wise, Elon, The Citadel, Wofford, Mercer).
MCRAINEY CLOSING IN ON A MILESTONE -
William McRainey was right in the middle of the action for ETSU's defense on Saturday with 12 tackles and 0.5 sacks. With the 12-tackle effort on Saturday, McRainey is just four shy of 400 for his collegiate career.
MORE ON THE BUCCANEER DEFENSE - Fellow linebackers
Ray Coney,
Zach West and
Nick Hunter also had stellar days defensively. Coney set a new career-high with 10 tackles, while West tallied two sacks and Hunter registered 1.5 sacks as well. Hunter has 5.5 sacks and West has 5.0 sacks this season. With three games remaining in the regular season, both Bucs are within striking distance of the most sacks by an ETSU player has had since the program returned in 2015 (Nasir Player – 7 in 2017). James Russell holds the single-season sack record for ETSU with 10 sacks in both 1994 and 1996.
SACKS STARTING TO PILE UP - With four more sacks on Saturday at Mercer, the Bucs have now totaled 26 this season through nine games (2.89 per game). ETSU's sacks per game number ranks sixth nationally behind only Mercer (3.44), Central Connecticut State (3.33), South Carolina State (3.25), Richmond (3.22) and Central Arkansas (3.11). Furthermore, ETSU's sack total of 26 is the fifth-most in the FCS and just six shy of matching the program's best single-season sack total since the program returned in 2015 (32 in 2018).
NATE THE GREAT - Punter
Nate Brackett had six punts averaging 45.8 yards a kick on Saturday vs. Mercer. The Rockwood, Tennessee native also had a career-high four punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Brackett is averaging 43.6 yards a punt this season, which nearly matches the single-season program record held by George Cimadevilla (44.7) in 1985. Additionally, Brackett ranks seventh among active FCS punters in career punting average (42.6).
TOP 20 IN THE NATION IN BOTH OFFENSE AND DEFENSE - As the 2024 regular season enters the stretch run, the Bucs are in rare company in terms of offensive and defensive production. ETSU currently 17th in total offense (423.3 yards per game) and 20th in total defense (313.3 yards per game). ETSU is one of just four FCS programs to rank among the top 20 in both total offense and total defense joining #1 North Dakota State, #2 Montana State and #5 South Dakota State.
RUN AND STOPPING THE RUN - Despite being held to its lowest rushing total of the season last Saturday at Mercer, ETSU is still the SoCon's top rushing offense averaging 195.7 yards a game. Defensively, the Bucs are equally as good stopping the run allowing just 103.7 yards rushing (2.9 per carry) in 2024. If the Buc defense can keep this run defense intact for the remainder of the season, it could rival the best season in school history. ETSU's best run defense came in 1984 when it allowed 104.4 rushing yards a game (2.7 yards per carry).
TERRIFIC THIRD DOWN DEFENSE - On top of its work in defending the run, the Buc defense has also been one of the nation's top units on third downs. Opponents are converting just 27.9% on third down against the Blue & Gold defense. That mark is fifth in the FCS behind just Mercer (22.4%), Dayton (25.7%), Stephen F. Austin (26.9%) and Nicholls (27.4%).
30 POINT CLUB - ETSU scored 31 points on the road at Mercer on Saturday, which was its fifth time scoring 30 points or more in a game this season. Overall, the Bucs are averaging 30.0 points per game in 2024. If the Bucs can improve or keep this pace for the rest of the season, it'll be just the third time that a Buccaneer team has averaged 30 or more points per game joining the fall 2021 (32.7 PPG) and 1997 (30.9 PPG) teams.
BIG OFFENSIVE NUMBERS BY THE BUCS - On top of putting up points, the Buccaneer offense has been one of the best in program history in moving the ball. Currently, ETSU is averaging 6.2 yards per play and 423.3 yards per game. The yards per play by the current Bucs would match the best ever mark by an ETSU team matching the 1997 team. That 1997 team is also the only squad to outgain the 2024 team in yards per game (432.3).
ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA - Western Carolina will come to Johnson City this weekend fresh off a 34-28 win over #18 Chattanooga on Saturday. With the win, WCU improved to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in SoCon play this season. Highlighting WCU's win was the play of quarterback Taron Dickens. Dickens, who was starting in place of All-SoCon signal caller Cole Gonzales, threw for 431 yards and five touchdowns to help power the win for the Catamounts. Should Gonzales be ready to go against the Bucs this weekend, Western Carolina will get the FCS leader in passing yards per game (317.9) and total offense per game (344.4). As a team, the Catamounts lead the SoCon in multiple offensive categories, including first downs (228), third down conversions (42.3%), passing offense (341.1) and total offense (477.4). WCU's 228 first downs rank behind only #1 North Dakota State's 239 this season. Additionally, the Catamounts boast the top passing offense in the FCS and ranks fourth in the nation in total offense ranking behind only Montana State (510.4), Abilene Christian (488.1) and Monmouth (486.0).
SERIES REWIND VS. WESTERN CAROLINA - Saturday will be the 54th all-time meeting between ETSU and Western Carolina with the first occurring in 1932. WCU holds the slight edge with a 27-25-1 all-time record against the Bucs, including a 58-7 win in Cullowhee last November. The 58 points scored by Western Carolina were the most points scored by either team in the series history. ETSU has played Western Carolina more times than any other opponent (53) with Appalachian State being second (48). Since the Buccaneers reintroduced football in 2015, the two teams have split the eight matchups. Saturday's game will also be the seventh meeting in the Blue Ridge Border Battle.
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ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
