Salisbury, N.C.----The 17th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs are on the road for the third time in four weeks this season, traveling to Catawba to take on the Indians Saturday night at 7 p.m. Winners of nine straight regular season contests, the Bulldogs enter Saturday's game at 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC, while Catawba is 1-2 overall and 0-0 in league play.

ABOUT THE GAME

Saturday, Sept. 28 | 7 p.m.
#17 Wingate (3-0; 1-0 SAC) at Catawba (1-2; 0-0 SAC)
Salisbury, N.C. (Shuford Stadium) | LISTEN | WATCH | LIVE STATS

SERIES HISTORY

- Catawba leads the all-time series 17-14 with an 8-7 advantage in Salisbury
- The 'Dogs have dominated the series lately, winning seven of the last eight overall
- WU has won the last five games at Catawba
- Catawba's last home win over Wingate was in the 2007 season
- The Bulldogs won 35-24 at home last season
- Wingate prevailed 27-24 the last time the teams played in Salisbury in 2017
- The 2017 game was decided by a 27-yard field goal as time expired
- The 'Dogs won five straight from 2011-2015
- Wingate shutout the Indians in the 2015 meeting in Catawba, prevailing 17-0
- Each team has had a five-game win streak in the series (Catawba's was 1999-2003)
- WU has won seven of the last eight, but four wins were by 10 points or less

COACHES

- WU head coach Joe Reich is in his 19th season at Wingate (122-79)
- One of three SAC coaches to ever win 100 games
- 2017 SAC Coach of the Year (Third time in his career)
- Curtis Walker is in his seventh season as the Catawba head coach (40-30)
- The 2015 SAC Coach of the Year, Turner is 1-5 all-time against the Bulldogs

MOST RECENT GAME

- Wingate downed Carson-Newman 30-28 in the SAC opener Saturday night
- The 'Dogs shutout CN in the second half, holding the Eagles to just 45 total yards after halftime
- WU forced four CN turnovers and held the Eagles to their lowest rushing total since 2013
- Dom McNeill ran for a career-high 176 yards on 19 carries, scoring a touchdown
- Kalen Clark added 74 rushing yards and a TD
- Shaw Crocker threw for 81 yards and a score; R.J. Mobley hauled in his second career TD catch
- McLean Robertson connected on two more field goals of more than 40 yards
- The back-to-back SAC Special Teams POTW hit the game-winner from 43 yards out
- Elijah Gilmore led the 'Dogs with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks
- Jesiah Carlton added 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two QB hurries
- Robbie Wallace also had 10 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery
- Cal Hanford added nine tackles, two sacks and two hurries
- Gabe Price had five tackles and a fumble recovery
- Davion Washington notched his first interception of the year
- Catawba is coming off a 28-14 loss at UNC Pembroke
- UNCP outgained Catawba 335-329 on the night
- The Indians had the only two turnovers of the game
- The Braves piled up 208 rushing yards on the night
- Kendall Davis threw for 220 yards and a TD for Catawba
- Davis also ran for 66 yards
- Chylon Thomas had five catches for 65 yards and a score

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS

- Wingate has started a season 3-0 for fourth time in the last five years
- WU has made back-to-back NCAA play-off trips for the first time in program history
- The 'Dogs won nine games in back-to-back years for the first time ever
- The Bulldogs are 29-9 since 2016; most wins of any SAC team
- The 'Dogs have won nine straight regular season games
- WU outscoring opponents 346-166 in the streak
- WU has won 10 of its last 11 contests overall
- The Bulldogs are 2-0 on the road this year
- Wingate has won five straight regular season road games
- WU has won six of its last seven road contests overall
- The 'Dogs have 22 straight wins when scoring at least 30 points
- WU has scored at least 30 points 10 times since beginning of '18
- The Bulldogs are a league-best 17-5 in SAC play since 2016
- Wingate has six touchdowns of at least 30 yards this year
- The Bulldogs were picked second in the preseason SAC poll
- WU will play four of its first five games on the road in 2019
- The 'Dogs will play three straight home games in October
- Wingate had seven home games in the 2018 season

WINGATE OFFENSE

- The 'Dogs are third in the SAC, averaging 404 yards of offense per game
- The Bulldogs are second in the league with 35.3 points per contest
- Wingate is second in the conference with 610 rushing yards this season
- The 'Dogs rank third in the conference with 602 passing yards on the year
- WU is second in the SAC, averaging 22 first downs per game
- Wingate has scored touchdowns on seven of 11 trips to the red zone
- McNeill leads the league with 101.7 rushing yards per game; ranks second with two TDs
- Crocker is fifth in the league in passing yards and second in touchdowns
- BJ Muckelvene is tied for the league lead with three TD grabs; ranks seventh with 62.7 yards per game
- Jalen Brooks is eighth in the SAC with 54.3 receiving yards per contest
- Nijere Peoples is seventh in the conference with 160 rushing yards

WINGATE DEFENSE

- WU ranks second in the SAC, allowing 281 total yards per game
- The 'Dogs rank second in the conference, allowing 19.3 points per contest
- Wingate ranks second in the league in pass defense (162.7 ypg) and third in rush defense (118.3 ypg)
- The Bulldogs rank third in the conference with 10 sacks on the season
- Wallace leads the 'Dogs with 19 tackles and 5.0 tackles for loss
- Carlton has 17 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and two QB hurries
- Gilmore also has 17 tackles with 3.5 TFLs
- Colton Beard has collected 13 tackles with three tackles for loss
- Hanford has added 11 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two QB hurries

WINGATE SPECIAL TEAMS

- Four of Robertson's five field goals this year have been from at least 40 yards out
- He has made all 13 PATs on the season
- Ethan Evans averages 40.8 yards per punt with a long of 54
- He also has three touchbacks on 17 kick-offs
- Robertson has one touchback on four attempts this season
- RaQuan Simmons is second in the SAC with 191 kick return yards
- Muckelvene is third in the league, averaging 15.4 yards per punt return

ABOUT CATAWBA

- The Indians went 4-7 last year, with a 2-5 record in league play
- Catawba was picked to finish sixth in the preseason SAC coaches' poll
- The Indians have seven SAC titles all-time, with 10 trips to the NCAA play-offs
- This is Catawba's lone home game in a five-week stretch

CATAWBA OFFENSE

- The Indians are last in the SAC with 281 yards of offense per game
- Catawba ranks eighth in the league with 15 points per contest
- The Indians are fourth in the SAC in rush yards per game and last in pass yards per contest
- They average a league-low 13.5 first downs per contest
- Catawba has made just four trips to the red zone, scoring two touchdowns
- The Indians have three turnovers on the year (two interceptions / one lost fumble)
- Davis has completed 36-of-70 passes for 153 yards per game with three TDs
- Demonte Good averaged 63.7 rush yards per contest, with Davis adding 44.3 yards per game
- Thomas has 10 catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns on the season
- He averages 19.8 yards per catch with a long of 41 yards
 
CATAWBA DEFENSE

- The Indians are fifth in the league in total defense, allowing 369 yards per game
- Catawba is fifth in the SAC in scoring defense, giving up 25.5 points per contest
- The Indians rank fifth in the conference in rushing defense and seventh in pass defense
- Catawba has five sacks and two takeaways on the year
- Trey Murray leads the Indians with 21 tackles on the season
- Robert Chery has 17 tackles with 2 tackles for loss and a sack
- Jeremiah Ferguson has 16 tackles, four TFLs and 1.5 sacks
- Cris Page has five pass breakups and an interception

CATAWBA SPECIAL TEAMS

- Clayton Crile has made three-of-four field goals with a long of 45 yards
- Crile is also three-for-four on PATs this season
- Crile averages 38.1 yards per punt on 15 attempts with a long of 52
- Gavin Rose has eight kick returns, averaging 14.2 yards per return
- Rose is averaging 4.3 yards per punt return on three attempts

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back on the road next week, giving WU four road games in the first five weeks
- The 'Dogs are at Tusculum Saturday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.
- That is followed by a three-game home stand, beginning Oct. 12 against Limestone
- All five Wingate home games will start at 6 p.m. and air on ESPN3 this season
- Catawba hits the rod the next two weeks, traveling to Limestone and Carson-Newman
- The next home game for the Indians is Oct. 19 against Newberry at 12 p.m.