By MONTE DUTTON

A look at The Citadel’s stat sheet requires little analysis. There’s not a lot there.

Furman’s ancestral Southern Conference rival is 0-5. The average score is 44-7. The Bulldogs’ FBS trip was to Georgia Southern. They have since fallen to Campbell, Chattanooga, South Carolina State and Western Carolina.

It’s bound to get better. It hasn’t yet for the Bulldogs and their first-year head coach, Maurice Drayton.

The Citadel is averaging 122.6 yards rushing and 103.4 passing. Furman’s norms are 163.8 and 208.8, respectively. The Bulldogs’ five opponents have averaged 530.2 yards against them.

The principal quarterbacks, Graeson Underwood and Dustin Fletcher, have combined to complete 49/86 for 505 yards. Neither has rushed effectively. Furman’s Tyler Huff is 73/108 for 708 yards and is the Paladins’ leading rusher with 48 carries for 218 yards and four touchdowns.

But this is The Citadel. This is a rival. This is the 102nd meeting. Furman has more victories (67) over The Citadel than any other school.

The road to a SoCon title runs through Homewood, Ala. (Samford) and Cullowhee, N.C. (Western Carolina) the following two Saturdays, but the Paladins and roughly 99 percent of all other football teams are steeped in the gospel of one game at a time, and it’s not without good, sound reasoning.

Furman’s victories the past two years (24-14 in 2021, 21-10 in ‘22) weren’t overwhelming. The Bulldogs won by more – 27-10 in ‘19, 26-7 in spring ‘21 – the previous two years.

The Bulldogs are feisty even when they aren’t particularly good.

Clay Hendrix knows this. He has a remarkable perspective. Hendrix has been involved in 30 of the 102 meetings between the Dins and Dogs. He also coached for 10 years at the Air Force Academy. He possesses insights of both worlds. He is in his seventh season as head coach of the team for which he once played, and his record is 4-2 versus The Citadel. Hendrix will not underestimate the Bulldogs, regardless of how easy it is to do so.

“I have great respect for the institution, and for how hard their kids play,” he said.

Furman is 3-1, 1-0 in the SoCon, and ranked fourth in the FCS coaches’ poll and fifth in the media rankings. A loss to The Citadel would be shocking and humiliating, with long-term consequences. It’s unthinkable, which undoubtedly makes the prospect appealing to the embattled Bulldogs.

“I thought we had a chance to have a good football team, and I still think that,” Hendrix said. “Great teams get better every week, and I feel like we have. We haven’t been perfect by any means, but it all starts with preparation. We’ve got a great staff that does a great job of preparing our guys week in, week out.

“It’ll certainly get more challenging as we go, but I like the progression. Now can we keep improving?”

Under Drayton, The Citadel has amended its offense from a true option to a shotgun attack with a bit more emphasis on passing. The Bulldogs have still rushed about twice as often as they have passed. The leading rusher, Cooper Wallace, has 202 yards and a 4.2 average carry but hasn’t scored. He has scored twice, however, on receptions, of which he has a total of nine.

Huff has almost twice as many passing and rushing yards as the principal Citadel quarterbacks combined. Joshua Harris, Kyndel Dean and Colton Hinton all have more receptions than anyone at The Citadel, and the Bulldogs have played one more game.

Hendrix often says “we just gotta go play,” and that often means one player stepping in for another, as Jack Rhodes did for Hugh Ryan at free safety in the 38-14 victory over Mercer.

“We have always helped each other prepare each week,” Rhodes, a senior from Alpharetta, Ga., said. “It’s good to have guy that’s ahead of you that you’re comfortable with, and it’s always been my preparation week to week to helm [Ryan] to help him get ready while also being ready to step in for him.”

Then there’s Wayne Anderson Jr., a grad from Prosper, Texas, who has mostly switched this year from running back to wide receiver.

“I like being a ‘do-it-all’ type of guy,” he said. “Running’s in my nature, but I just like being on the field, no matter where that is, offense, defense or special teams. I have to do what the success of the team requires. I’m not a big stats guy. I want to be out there, and get the ball, sure, but what I have to do is produce, wherever, and help the team.”

This game isn’t wrapped in pretty paper. Tearing it off The Citadel, though, always makes a fine present.

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