CHARLESTON, S.C. (Sept. 28, 2024) – Following travel issues getting to Charleston, the ETSU football team will still begin its Southern Conference schedule on Saturday with a clash against The Citadel. Kickoff between the Buccaneers and Bulldogs has been moved from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 28
Time: 5:02 p.m.
Location: Charleston, S.C. | Johnson Hagood Stadium
Teams: ETSU (2-2) at The Citadel (2-2, 0-1 SoCon)
Weather: 79° | Mostly Cloudy | Winds: SSW 9 mph
Live Video: ESPN+
TV Crew: Dave Weinstien (pbp), Vad Lee (analyst)
, Matison Little (sideline)
Live Audio: WXSM-AM 640 | HD radio can listen on 101.5 WQUT HD-2
Radio Crew: Jay "Voice of the Bucs" Sandos (pbp), Mark Hutsell (analyst), Robert Harper (sideline)
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com (StatBroadcast)
X: @ETSUFootball
THINGS TO KNOW – Please click
HERE for all the "Things to Know" for Saturday's clash with The Citadel, presented by Citizens Bank.
LAST TIME OUT - ETSU closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 34-14 victory on the road at Elon on Saturday. Saturday's win improves ETSU's record in 2024 to 2-2.
THIRD STRAIGHT TD TO START A GAME - ETSU scored a touchdown on its first drive on Saturday. It is the third straight game that the Bucs have found the endzone on their opening possession.
BIG DAY FOR THE BUCCANEER SIGNAL CALLER - Jaylen King's run of 57 yards in the first quarter was the longest of his collegiate career. The sophomore quarterback also ran in his first touchdown as a member of the Blue & Gold on Saturday and added another rushing score later in the contest. ETSU's signal caller also threw for a career-high 233 yards through the air in the victory.
MORE ON KING - King has been one of ETSU's most important offensive players this season as he has accounted for 42 points (five passing TDs, two rushing TDs). Only Mercer's DJ Smith (66 points) has scored more points for their team in the SoCon this year.
BUCS SPREADING THE BALL AROUND - Balance in ETSU's passing game showed up again vs. Elon. King completed a pass to seven different Buccaneer pass catchers. It is the third time in four games that ETSU has completed one pass to seven or more receivers.
BIG DAY FOR BUCCANEER RECEIVERS - Ephraim Floyd had his best game as a Buc to date totaling a career-high 73 yards on four catches. Floyd also ran the ball twice for 17 yards. Another Buccaneer wideout with a career-high was
Hakeem Meggett with two receptions for 85 yards. Meggett's 50-yard reception in the third quarter was the longest for a Buccaneer receiver since November 12, 2022 vs. Western Carolina.
STARTING FAST IN THE FIRST & THIRD QUARTERS - The Bucs were good offensively in the first and third quarters in Saturday's victory at Elon. ETSU averaged 10.3 yards per play in the first and 10.7 yards per play in the third. Furthermore, the Bucs have now scored in their first possession of the first and second half in seven of eight halves this season with six of those being touchdowns.
ETSU'S EXCELLENCE IN THE REDZONE - Red zone success continued for the Bucs on Saturday going 6-for-7. ETSU has now scored on 18 of its 19 trips to the redzone this season. The Bucs are tied for the fourth-most redzone trips in FCS football this fall & are tied for second with those 18 redzone scores with Montana. The Bucs only trail North Dakota State with their 21 scores in the redzone.
WINNING AWAY FROM JOHNSON CITY - Saturday's win was not only ETSU's first road win of the season, but it is also the team's first win away from Johnson City in 715 days (last at VMI on October 8, 2022). Furthermore, the 34 points scored by ETSU is the most for the team on the road since October 29, 2022 at Wofford (41 points).
BRYSON WITH ANOTHER BIG RUSHING DAY - Bryson Irby nearly tallied his second 100-yard rushing performance in as many games on Saturday finishing with 96 yards on 16 carries. ETSU's senior running back currently leads all SoCon rushers in yards (354), yards per carry (7.08) and rushing touchdowns (4).
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL - ETSU continues to do a great job protecting the football this season. After a fumble at Elon, the Bucs have turned the ball over just twice in four games. The Bucs' two turnovers are tied for the third-lowest in FCS and tied for the lowest in the SoCon with Wofford.
ETSU'S OFFENSE IS MUCH IMPROVED - The Buccaneer offense is tied for 12th-best scoring average in FCS football so far in 2024 (35.0 PPG). In perspective, ETSU averaged just 18.18 points per game last season and the school record for scoring average in a season was set by the 2021 team (32.7 PPG).
RUN, BUCS, RUN - ETSU's dominance running the ball continued against the Phoenix. ETSU has topped 180 yards rushing in all four games this season and surpassed 200 yards in the last three. Entering SoCon play, the Bucs are averaging 240.8 yards on the ground, which ranks sixth in the FCS.
OFFENSE AND DEFENSE SHOWING OUT FOR ETSU - As the Bucs enter SoCon play, the Blue & Gold have the league's top offense (447.8 yards of total offense). ETSU also ranks second in total defense (341.3 yards allowed per game).
EWAN JOHNSON NAMED SOCON SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK - ETSU redshirt sophomore kicker
Ewan Johnson was named the Southern Conference's Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday afternoon by the conference office. It is the first weekly honor in Johnson's career, and he is the first Buc to be named SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week since former Buc Tyler Keltner earned the same accolade on October 10, 2022. Johnson went a perfect 6-for-6 on his kicks (4-for-4 extra points, 2-for-2 field goals) in last week's win at Elon. Johnson enters ETSU's first SoCon game tied for the league lead in field goal percentage (83.3).
ABOUT THE CITADEL - The Citadel opened SoCon play on Saturday and lost on the road at No. 14 Mercer, 38-21. With Saturday's setback, the Bulldogs are now 2-2 this season. Citadel's two wins this season came against Charleston Southern (22-21) and North Greenville (54-0). 9-7. So far in 2024, The Citadel has been a team that does not beat themselves as they rank second in the conference in fewest penalties committed (17). Citadel's special teams have also been stellar this fall. The Bulldogs lead the entire FCS in net punting (45.0). Their kicker Ben Barnes is tied with ETSU's
Ewan Johnson in the highest field goal percentage (5-for-6 – 83.3%) among SoCon kickers this season. Much like ETSU a season ago, The Citadel has had a knack of blocking kicks in 2024. So far, the Bulldogs have blocked three, which is tied for the most in the FCS with Alabama State and Bryant. Bradlee Jones has two of the three blocks for Citadel.
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ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
