JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 6, 2024) – The ETSU football team will kick off its home schedule on Saturday as it welcomes UVA Wise to Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium. Kickoff between the Bucs and Highland Cavaliers is set for 5:30 p.m.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Sept. 7
Time: 5:32 p.m.
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Bank of Tennessee Field at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium
Teams: UVA Wise (0-0) at ETSU (0-1)
Weather: 71° | Partly Cloudy | Winds 7 mph
Game Sponsor: Mr. Electric
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 Wiljelm (analyst), Jessica Larkin (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 UVA Wise, presented by Citizens Bank.
LAST TIME OUT - The Bucs opened the 2024 season last Saturday with a 38-10 loss at Appalachian State. ETSU trailed the Mountaineers by one score, 17-10, midway through the third quarter. App State, however, strung together three straight touchdown drives to finish off the victory.
DEVONTAE'S DEBUT - Running back
Devontae Houston had an impressive debut for the Blue and Gold running for 127 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown at App State. The biggest play for ETSU on Saturday came on Houston's 80-yard touchdown run before halftime. It was not only the longest of his career but also the longest by a Buc since the program brought back football in 2015. The previous longest run for ETSU since 2015 was 74 yards from Quay Holmes in 2019 vs. Mercer. Furthermore, Houston's 127 yards were just eight yards shy of his career-high (135 vs. FIU).
MCRAINEY ON THE TACKLING CHARTS - After totaling six tackles in his ETSU debut last Saturday in Boone,
William McRainey currently ranks third among all active FCS players in total tackles (343). Only Fordham's James Conway (387) and South Dakota State's Adam Bock (356) have more career tackles than McRainey.
PRIDE IN THE PUNTING - Preseason All-SoCon First Team punter
Nate Brackett picked up where he left off last season on Saturday. He punted six times for 288 yards (48 per attempt). Three of his punts traveled fifty or more yards with the longest being 58 yards. After one weekend of play, Brackett ranks eighth among FCS punters in punting average (48 yards per kick). Additionally, among active punters at the FCS level, Brackett ranks third in punting average (42.6) behind only Trey Wilhoit (Florida A&M) and Grant Burkett (Missouri State).
BACK AT HOME AT GREENE STADIUM - ETSU enters Saturday's clash with UVA Wise with a 25-13 all-time record at Greene Stadium and all three of the team's wins came on its home field. The Bucs have never lost a home opener since moving into their new home field in 2017 (7-0). One of those victories to open a home slate came against UVA Wise in 2021 where the Bucs came out on top by a score of 45-14.
ABOUT UVA WISE - UVA Wise is coming off a 2-9 season in 2023. The Highland Cavaliers' two wins last season came against Union (48-0) and Erskine (34-23). The Cavaliers will be led by a new head coach this season in Gary Bass. Bass comes to Wise after spending the last seven seasons leading the program at Quincy University in Illinois. In his seven years as a head coach, Bass has a career record of 26-42. UVA Wise was picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the annual Preseason South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Coaches' Poll.
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit
ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
