ETSU Football plays at The Citadel on Saturday at 5 p.m

CHARLESTON, SC (September 28, 2024) Due to travel issues getting to Charleston, the ETSU football team will still begin its Southern Conference schedule on Saturday with a game against The Citadel. Kickoff between the Buccaneers and Bulldogs has been moved from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date:Saturday September 28
Time:5:02 PM
Location:Charleston, SC | Johnson Hagood Stadium
Teams:ETSU (2-2) at The Citadel (2-2, 0-1 SoCon)
Weather: 79 | Partly cloudy | Wind: 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 Click HERE for all the “things to know” for Saturday's clash with The Citadel, presented by Citizens Bank.

LAST TIMEOUT – ETSU concluded the non-conference portion of its schedule Saturday with a 34-14 road victory at Elon. Saturday's win improves ETSU's 2024 record to 2-2.

THIRD RIGHT TD TO START A GAME – ETSU scored a touchdown on its first drive Saturday. It's the third straight game in which the Bucs have found the end zone on their opening possession.

BIG DAY FOR THE BUCANEER SIGNAL CALLER – Jaylen Kings run of 57 yards in the first quarter was the longest of his collegiate career. The second-year quarterback also drove in his first touchdown as a member of the Blue & Gold on Saturday and added another rushing score later in the game. ETSU's signal caller also threw for a career-high 233 yards through the air in the win.

MORE ABOUT KING – King was one of ETSU's key offensive players this season as he had 42 points to his name (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 SPREADS THE BALL AROUND – The balance in ETSU's passing game was on display again against Elon. King completed a pass to seven different Buccaneer pass catchers. It marks the third time in four games that ETSU has completed one pass to seven or more receivers.

BIG DAY FOR BUCANEER RECIPIENTS – Ephraim Floyd had his best game as a Buc yet, tallying a career-high 73 yards on four catches. Floyd also ran the ball 17 yards twice. Another Buccaneer wideout with a career-high was that 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 Nov. 12, 2022 versus Western Carolina.

STARTING QUICKLY IN THE FIRST AND THIRD QUARTERS – The Bucs were good offensively in the first and third quarters in Saturday's win over Elon. ETSU averaged 10.3 yards per play in the first and 10.7 yards per play in the third. Additionally, the Bucs have now scored on their first possession in the first and second half in seven of eight halves this season, six of which have been touchdowns.

ETSU'S EXCELLENCE IN THE REDZONE – The 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 rank fourth in most redzone trips in FCS football this fall and are tied for second in those 18 redzone scores with Montana. The Bucs trail only 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 Oct. 8, 2022). Additionally, the 34 points scored by ETSU are the most for the team on the road since Oct. 29, 2022 in Wofford (41 points).

BRYSON WITH ANOTHER BIG HURRY DAY – Bryson Irby nearly 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).

TAKE CARE OF THE BALL – ETSU continues to do a great job protecting the football this season. After an Elon fumble, the Bucs have turned the ball over just twice in four games. The Bucs' two turnovers rank third in FCS and third in the SoCon with Wofford.

ETSU'S ROBBERY IS MUCH IMPROVED – The Buccaneer offense has the 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 with the ball continued against the Phoenix. ETSU has topped 180 yards in all four games this season and surpassed 200 yards in the last three games. Entering SoCon play, the Bucs are averaging 240.8 yards on the ground, which ranks sixth in the FCS.

ATTACK AND DEFENSE PERFORMANCE 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 APPOINTED SOCON SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – ETSU redshirt sophomore kicker Ewan Johnson was named the Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday afternoon. It is the first weekly honor of 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 award on Oct. 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 over 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, losing on the road at No. 14 Mercer, 38-21. With Saturday's setback, the Bulldogs are now 2-2 on the 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 doesn't beat itself, as they rank second in the conference with the fewest penalties (17). Citadel's special teams have also been great 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. Like ETSU a season ago, The Citadel has had a knack for kick blocking 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.

For more information about Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.