CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern posted their first shut out of the season as they gave up just 66 yards of total offense to Savannah State in a 28-0 beating in front of the Homecoming crowd of 2,829 at CSU Stadium.

The 66 yards given up by the defense is the second-fewest in school history and the fewest since the Bucs gave up 64 yards to Edward Waters last season, the last time that CSU shut out their opponent. The Buccaneer defense picked off three passed allowing just 26 yards through the air. Savannah State was held to just 1.1 yard per play, while the Buccaneers averaged 6.2 yards per attempt.

Jada Ross led the charge defensively for CSU with 13 stops, and was only out-done by Savannah State's Antwan Allen, who plays with just one eye after a childhood accident took the sight from his other. Josh Warrior and Dennis Justiniani each had eight tackles, and were in the backfield all afternoon. Warrior had three tackles-for-loss for 22 yards, and one interception, while Justiniani had 1.5 tackles-for-loss including a sack for a three-yard loss. Each finished the game with eight tackles.

Starting quarterback Eli Byrd played just two series before being taken out of the game in favor of backup Sidney Bryant. Bryant took advantage of the opportunity, as he completed 13 of 25 pass attempts for one touchdown and one interception. Bryant passed for 171 yards, with five passes and 76 yards going to Dee Brown.

The Bucs pounded the ball on the ground all day, tallying 272 yards on the ground. Adding 182 yards through the air, the Bucs accounted for 454 total yards, their second-highest total of the season after totalling 537 yards last week against North Greenville. The 272 yards is the most since CSU ran for 397 yards in 2005 against West Virginia Wesleyan. Freshman DeMarcus Moon recorded his first 100-yard game as he went for 103 yards on 16 carries.

Nick Ellis was a perfect six-for-six on the day with four field goals. Ellis is the first kicker in school history to hit four field goals in a game.

The defense set the tone early on for the Bucs. After the CSU offense started starting the game by going 70 yards, led by a 55-yard scamper by Byrd, the Bucs fumbled the ball on the one yardline. The defense thrived on the opportunity and after almost earning the safety on the first play, the Bucs and Okeba Rollinson capitalized on the second, catching Antwan Edwards in the endzone to put CSU up 2-0.

The Bucs got the ball back after the free kick, and it took just five plays to go 55 yards an make it a 9-0 lead. Neither team could get much going after that until the Bucs kicked a field goal on the second play of the second quarter. Facing third and long, Bryant was sacked, forcing a 37-yard field goal by Ellis.

After forcing a three-and-out, Savannah State punter Jeremy Johnson let the snap go through his hands for a 12-yard loss, giving the Bucs the ball on the 20 yardline. The offense failed to move the ball, but Ellis was true again, this time hitting it from 29-yards out to give CSU the 15-0 lead.

Ellis would put three more on the scoreboard, just before halftime as a personal foul on SSU after a good Gerald Stevenson return gave CSU the ball on the 11 yardline with five seconds left in the half, setting up a 28-yard field goal.

After a scoreless third, the Bucs scored on the first play of the fourth quarter in the form of a 41-yard pass from Bryant to Brown. Ellis would add three more with just under six minutes to play as he hit a game-long 43-yard field goal to give the final score of 28-0.