CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Buccaneers are back on the road for the annual Lowcountry rivalry at Johnson Hagood Stadium as Charleston Southern travels to No. 25 The Citadel for a Saturday night game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.

Charleston Southern vs. The Citadel
Date/Time: Saturday, September 21 at 6 p.m. ET

Tickets: General Admission
Location: Charleston, S.C. | Weather | Radar
Stadium: Johnson Hagood Stadium (11,500 Capacity)
TV: ESPN+
Live Stats: CitadelSports.com
History: 12th Meeting (Citadel leads the series 6-2)
More Information: Follow us on Twitter @CSUSports and @CSUGameDay for up-to-date information on Game Day

Charleston Southern (0-3, 0-0 Big South): Head Coach Autry Denson | Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Game Notes
The Citadel (1-2, 0-0 SoCon): Head Coach Brent Thompson | Roster | Schedule | Statistics | Game Notes

GAME DAY INFORMATION PAGE

Game Preview

Another Week Back on the Road
Charleston Southern is back on the road this weekend as CSU continues an opening stretch that features five of their first seven games away from Buccaneer Field. The Bucs traveled to Furman and South Carolina to open the season, before making their home debut against North Carolina A&T on September 14. The Bucs are back on the road again with their Saturday game at The Citadel, before returning home for Homecoming on October 5 against Savannah State. The Bucs follow up the home game against the Tigers with two more road games as CSU travels to Kennesaw State (Oct. 12) and North Alabama (Oct. 19) before settling into a home-and-away schedule the rest of the season.

Familiar Face
After lining up against three first time opponents to start 2019, the Buccaneers are finally squaring off against a familiar face. CSU went 0-3 over the difficult opening stretch that featured games against nationally-ranked Furman and North Carolina A&T, as well as a SEC matchup at South Carolina. The Bucs and The Citadel have squared off 12 times throughout each program's histories, including once in the FCS Playoffs Second Round in 2015. The Citadel has the 6-2 all-time edge over the Buccaneers, including last season's 43-14 win on November 29.

Bucs Against the SoCon
Charleston Southern is 9-35 all-time against the Southern Conference throughout program history and has lined up against seven of the nine current programs in the SoCon. The Bucs are scheduled to take on both Furman and The Citadel this season as they continue their tradition of lining up against the conference. CSU has primarily lined up against three teams in the conference with VMI (7-6), Wofford (0-14), and The Citadel (2-6) frequent opponents on the field.

Sustaining the Whole Game
Charleston Southern's offense came out and showcased the Air Raid with an Attitude that Head Coach Autry Denson has been talking about this season. The Bucs dissected the North Carolina A&T defense to the tune of 186 yards and two touchdowns over the first 30 minutes in building a lead over the nationally-ranked opponent. However, the second half was a different story as the Bucs were unable to keep the momentum moving as CSU was limited to 94 yards and two interceptions. CSU has been able to move the ball in spurts this season and each week gets closer to breaking loose. The Bucs will look to make it happen this week against a Bulldog defense allowing 414.3 yards per game on the season, including 224.0 passing yards.

Downtown Kam Brown
Kameron Brown was back to his usual self this past Saturday as the redshirt senior wide receiver hauled in a career-high nine passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to the Aggies. After making his 2019 debut in the second half at Furman, and then being shut down the previous weekend at South Carolina, Brown was targeted early and often against North Carolina A&T. Brown posted three catches for 78 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter to spark the Bucs to the early lead. He added a late two-yard touchdown reception from backup quarterback Ross Malmgren to cap his evening. It was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and second career two-touchdown day. He is currently among the national leaders in touchdown catches (32nd) and receiving yards (103rd) through the first three games of the season.

Finding the Running Game
CSU's trademark over the last few seasons has been the Bucs' rushing attack. This season, with the emphasis geared toward the short passing game, the Bucs have struggled to gain traction on the ground. After finishing under 100-yards rushing in just two of the 11 games in the 2018 season, the Bucs have gone back-to-back games without cracking the team 100-yard rushing mark. Ronnie Harris leads the Bucs with 141 rushing yards on the season and has been the team leader in two of the three games this season with 53 against South Carolina, while adding 26 against North Carolina A&T. Terrence Wilson has posted 72 rushing yards on the season, while Jack Chambers is third with 45 yards on the year.

Keeping Possession
Part of Charleston Southern's struggles this season have been from costly turnovers, as well as from their inability to control the clock on the offensive side. The Bucs currently rank 71st in FCS in first downs, while sitting 53rd in the country in time of possession at 30:00 per game. The Bucs won the time of possession battle against South Carolina, but fell in the possession battle against both Furman and North Carolina A&T. The Bucs have also lost the turnover battle in all three games this season and sit -3 for the season in the category. CSU is facing a defense that has struggled to force turnovers this season as The Citadel has only forced one this year. The Bulldogs do boast an impressive 37:15 time of possession edge this year and have allowed just 60 first downs from opponents this year.

Chambers Among Big South Leaders
Redshirt sophomore captain Jack Chambers continues to sit among the Big South leaders in a number of different statistical categories. The Lilburn, Ga. native is fifth in the conference in total offense with 180.3 yards per game in pacing the Bucs' offense in the category. He is seventh in the conference in rush attempts (27) and third in passing yards per game (165.3). He threw for 188 yards and recorded two total touchdowns in the loss this past weekend against North Carolina A&T, while adding 192 passing yards and a rushing score against Furman. He's posted a 62.0% completion percentage on the season over the first three games.

Malmgren Late-Game Heroics
Freshman quarterback Ross Malmgren has made an impact in limited playing time this season completing 19 of his 24 passing attempts for 122 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He's tossed a pair of fourth quarter scores in each of the last two games with a three-yard score to Jaquan Williams against South Carolina, while adding a two-yard touchdown pass to Kameron Brown this past weekend against North Carolina A&T. The Acworth, Ga. native threw for over 7,000 yards in high school and has shown flashes as a complimentary piece to Chambers in the passing game this season.

Stopping the Run
Facing one of the premier rushing teams in FCS this season, the Buccaneers defense will need to find a way to do something CSU has struggled to accomplish this season – and that is stop the run. The Bucs have given up 1,154 rushing yards this season to currently sit 116th in FCS in rushing defense on the season. CSU is averaging allowing 384.7 rushing yards per game and is coming off a game in which the Bucs allowed Jah-Maine Martin to pick up 299 rushing yards on his way to earning National Player of the Week honors. The Citadel features a triple-option attack that currently sits sixth in the country in averaging 269.3 rushing yards per game with two players sitting in the top-100 individually in rushing yards, yards per game, and yards per carry.

Playing the Complete Game
The Buccaneers lined up for their most complete game of the 2019 season this past weekend against North Carolina A&T, but the Aggies were able to pull off the comeback in the fourth quarter behind a strong rushing performance from Martin. The Aggies picked up 291 total offensive yards in the fourth quarter comeback against the Bucs and held possession for nearly 10 minutes over the final quarter. The Bucs will be facing the top ball control team in the country this weekend as the Bulldogs lead the FCS with 37:15 in time of possession on the year. The Bucs did limit the Aggies to 2-of-15 in third down conversions in the loss.

Cline Leads Big South Freshmen
All he does is take the ball-carrier to the ground. Freshman Cody Cline leads the Big South in solo tackles (18) on the season and is the top freshman tackler this year with 23 tackles on his way to averaging 7.2 tackles per game this season. The Concord, N.C. native attacked the ball this week picking up his first tackles for loss on the season with 1.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage on the year. Since making his starting debut at Furman, Cline has consistently been among the top tacklers on the team and in the conference and will look to continue to make his mark this weekend against the Bulldogs as the Bucs will look to close the gaps in the option game on the edge.

Forcing the Turnover
One season after forcing 26 turnovers and sitting among the FCS leaders in the category, the Bucs are looking to rediscover that mojo this season. Through the first three games this year, the Bucs have forced three turnovers on the season. J.D. Sosebee and Edward King forced fumbles in back-to-back games against South Carolina and Furman, while Tavian Montgomery picked up CSU's first interception of the season against the Gamecocks. The Bulldogs have been a touch sloppy with the ball in 2019 coughing up five turnovers through the first three games, but played a perfect game this past Saturday against Georgia Tech. Last season, the Bucs recorded an interception and a fumble recovery against the Bulldogs.

Third Straight Ranked FCS Opponent
Make it three straight FCS-ranked opponents that the Bucs will face in the 2019 season, and CSU will likely make it four when they travel to Kennesaw State on October 12. The Citadel made its debut in the FCS STATS Media Poll at No. 25, while sitting among the top vote-getters in the FCS Coaches Poll. CSU opened the season against No. 15/17 Furman and No. 17/16 North Carolina A&T, before this weekend's matchup against The Citadel. The Bucs will continue one of the toughest schedules in program history with a future date against current No. 6/7 Kennesaw State to open Big South Conference play.

Welcome Back Anton Williams
Over a span of the first four series, junior defensive end Anton Williams made his presence felt on the field. In his first action of the 2019 season, the Marianna, Fla. native was involved in six tackles over the first 15 minutes of the game, including a sack and two tackles for loss. Williams provides a steady rush edge to complement Nick Salley and Shaundre Mims on the outside. The Bucs posted three tackles for loss and a sack in the opening game against Furman. After being held out of the backfield against South Carolina, the Bucs were back with a vengeance against the Aggies posting 10 tackles for loss and four sacks in their best game of the season.

Reighard Pinning Them Deep
Redshirt senior punter Kyle Reighard connected for distance over the first two weeks of the season. This past weekend against North Carolina A&T, the Salem, Va. native showed off his placement and accuracy. Reighard pinned four punts inside the 20-yard line, doubling his season total, while still adding a 51-yarder. Reighard was a preseason FCS Punter of the Year watchlist selection and has lived up to the billing with a 44.0 yard per attempt average to sit 14th in the NCAA in the category. The Citadel sits 23rd in FCS in yards per return this season with 11.5.

Usry Makes 2019 Debut
Charleston Southern placekicker Alex Usry made his 2019 debut this past weekend against North Carolina A&T and was successful in converting all three of his PAT attempts on the weekend. The redshirt sophomore became the third different placekicker to line up for the Bucs in 2019 joining Nathaniel Toole and Miller Braddock on the field. Usry brings a strong right leg from McDonough, Ga. and looks to add to the legacy left behind by former kicker Tyler Tekac.