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UNC Football: Early opponent preview The Citadel

By Brandon Griffin

Nov 21, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Brandon Wilds (22) runs the ball during against the Citadel Bulldogs at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Brandon Wilds (22) runs the ball during against the Citadel Bulldogs at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /
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Leading up to the first game of the season, KIH will be doing opponent previews in reverse order

Previous Previews:

NC State |

This Week: The Citadel

The Citadel Bulldogs are the 11th game for the Heels this year. They play in the Southern Conference and will be UNC’s second FCS team this year. Only one win against an FCS team counts toward bowl eligibility, so a win here doesn’t help a lot, but a loss would do a lot more damage, not only to the season but the recruiting trail as well. So what do we need to know about the Citadel Bulldogs?

Head Coach: Brent Thompson. Career Record 0-0 (first season). The Citadel is his first Head Coaching job. He was named head coach when former head coach, Mike Houston, left the Citadel for James Madison.

Best Graduate: Running back Stump Mitchell. Mitchell had 11,988 all-purpose yards and 42 touchdowns in nine seasons with the St Louis and Phoenix Cardinals. He is also 14-42-1 in five plus seasons as a head coach at Mercer and Southern.

Second Best Graduate: Wide receiver Andre Roberts. Roberts has 229 receptions for 2,711 yards and 13 touchdowns in six NFL seasons. He also has 1783 return yards and a touchdown. Roberts currently is a member of the Detroit Lions, his third NFL franchise.

Last Season: Went 9-4. Finished first in the Southern Conference with a 6-1 record. Season highlights include winning five in a row and beating South Carolina (their only FBS opponent) in Columbia. Yes that is the same Gamecock team that opened the season by beating UNC in Charlotte. Made it to the second round of the FCS playoffs before losing to Charleston Southern 14-6.

This Season: UNC is the only FBS opponent on the 11 game schedule. However, just like South Carolina last season, the Heels are also their last game of the regular season. Five of their opponents finished last season with a winning record.

As long as the new coach keeps the same magic going, the Citadel could have a monster season. A 9-2 record heading into the post season appears attainable particularly with a lot of their tough games being at home.

Best Current Player: Defensive back Dee Delaney. Last season Delaney ranked sixth on the team in tackles with 46. He also had five interceptions, eight pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one blocked kick, and two defensive touchdowns.

The Heels also need to keep an eye out for quarterback Dominique Allen who rushed for 1031 yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

Oct 29, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field. The Tar Heels won 26-19. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Mitch Trubisky (10) warms up before playing the Pittsburgh Panthers at Heinz Field. The Tar Heels won 26-19. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Matchup: Saturday, November 19th at Chapel Hill TBD

Prediction: This is second-straight season that the Heels will be playing two FCS teams in a season.

Last year it hurt them in the Playoff Committee’s eyes.

Unfortunately the Heels will have to face the same criticism this season because there was not time to schedule an FBS opponent. The committee also doesn’t seem to care about the quality of FCS opponents either as NC A&T was one of the best last season.

Luckily Carolina plays a tougher schedule this time so the second FCS team won’t hurt as bad as long as they have a similar record. Though it is easy to overlook a FCS team (see first half of the Delaware game), this isn’t the first game of the season and the Heels should be able to take it easy after a tough game the week before at rival Duke.

Final score: UNC 63, the Citadel 14. Mitch Trubisky plays only a half after throwing for 6 touchdowns in the first 30 minutes. The rising star QB watches the second half from the bench as all the starters get a much needed rest before their game against NC State to end the season.

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