Jefferson City, Tenn.----The 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs hit the road for the first time this season, opening league play at Carson-Newman Saturday at 1 p.m. (VIDEO | LIVE STATS). Wingate enters conference play at 2-0 overall, while the Eagles are 0-1 on the season, coming off a bye last week after falling to West Georgia in the season opener. The 'Dogs have outscored opponents 70-28 this season.

ABOUT THE GAME

Saturday, Sept. 18 | 1 p.m.
Wingate (2-0; 0-0 SAC) at Carson-Newman (0-1; 0-0 SAC)
Jefferson City, Tenn. (Burke-Tarr Stadium) | Video | Live Stats
 
SERIES HISTORY

- This will be the 33rd meeting between Wingate and Carson-Newman
- The Eagles lead the all-time series 25-7
- The 'Dogs are 3-13 all-time in Jefferson City, with a 4-12 home record against the Eagles
- CN won the first seven in the series and 21 of the first 22, with WU's lone win coming in 1995
- The Bulldogs have won six of the last 10 in the series
- Wingate has won three of the last five games at Carson-Newman
- The 'Dogs prevailed 30-28 in the last meeting between the two teams in 2019
- WU held the Eagles under 100 rushing yards in the game, first time in any game for CN since 2013
- The Bulldogs blanked Carson-Newman in the second half of the contest
- CN won 31-14 in 2018, the last time the teams met in Tennessee
- After the Eagles' 14-game win streak from 1996-2009, the Bulldogs won three straight (2010, 2011, 2012)
 
COACHES
 
- WU head coach Joe Reich is in his 21st season at Wingate (133-83)
- One of three SAC coaches to ever win 100 games
- 2017 SAC Coach of the Year (Third time in his career)
- Has led Wingate to four NCAA D2 play-off bids, including each of last three seasons
- Mike Clowney is in his second season as the C-N head coach and first full season (1-1)
- The Eagles played just one game in the 2021 spring season
- Clowney spent 15 years as a CN assistant before taking over in January of 2020

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
 
- Wingate is seeking its fourth straight season with at least nine wins
- WU has made three straight 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 in 2017 & 2018
- Wingate won a school-record 10 games in 2019
- The Bulldogs are 40-13 overall since the start of the 2016 season
- Wingate is 72-35 at Irwin Belk Stadium since 2001
- The Bulldogs are to 13-2 under the lights at Irwin Belk
- Wingate has 31 straight wins when scoring at least 30 points
- Last week was the 19th time scoring at least 30 points since the start of the 2018 season
- The Bulldogs have won 22 of their last 25 regular season home games
- Wingate has the most overall wins and SAC victories since the start of the 2016 season
- After spending all of 2019 in the AFCA top 25, WU has been in all three 2021 polls
- Wingate is up to #16 after opening at #24 in the preseason poll
 
WINGATE OFFENSE
 
- The Bulldogs are averaging 35 points per game, good for fourth in the SAC
- Wingate has scored 51 first-half points through two games, allowing just seven points
- The 'Dogs are outscoring opponents 28-0 in the first quarter this year
- WU had 393 total yards in the season opener and 406 yards last week
- The 399.5 yards per game has the Bulldogs third in the SAC
- The Bulldogs average 242 pass yards and 157.5 rush yards per contest
- Wingate has scored on 10 of 11 red zone trips with eight touchdowns
- The 'Dogs are 11-for-21 on third down and one-for-one on fourth down
- The Bulldogs have held the ball for nearly 34 minutes per game
- Wingate scored 403 points in 2019, the third-most in program history
- The 'Dogs averaged 33.6 points per game in 2019, the second-most in school history
- Shaw Crocker is fourth in the SAC with 237.5 pass yards per game and second with five TDs
- The All-SAC QB is 41-for-56, leading the SAC and ranking third in the nation in completion percentage (73.2 percent)
- Crocker threw his 50th career touchdown pass in Saturday's victory
- Nijere Peoples is third in the conference with 111.5 yards per game on the ground
- The reigning SAC Player of the Week went over 2,000 career yards last week
- Wingate's receiving group has five different players with a TD grab and nine with multiple receptions through two games
- Tight end Ryder Martin leads WU with nine catches and 130 yards, adding a touchdown
- Trevor Grant had 86 yards and a touchdown in his first game of the season last week
- RJ Mobley had five catches for a career-high 68 yards and a score in the opener
- Kamal Desor added five catches for 60 yards and a Touchdown in week one
- Myles Dillon is second on the team with six receptions, going for 52 yards and a score
 
WINGATE DEFENSE
 
- The Wingate defense ranks second in the SAC, allowing 14 points per game
- The 'Dogs rank fourth in total defense, allowing 301.5 yards per contest
- WU holds opponents to 86.5 rushing yards and 215.0 passing yards per game
- The Bulldogs have five sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery this season
- Opponents are six-for-24 on third down and one-for-two on fourth down this year
- Through two games, a Wingate opponent is yet to run a play in the red zone
- WU ranked second in the SAC in scoring defense in 2019, allowing 21.9 points per game
- The Bulldogs ranked second in rushing defense (111.1 rush yards allowed per game)
- Wingate finished second in the conference with 37 sacks in 2019
- Jaquan Edwards leads the 'Dogs with 13 tackles, adding two TFLs, a sack and two break-ups
- Daquan Mosley has 10 tackles, an interception and two break-ups
- Matthew Ellis-White has also registered 10 tackles, adding a pass break-up
- Sirod Cook has 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble
- Jesiah Carlton and DJ Horne are tied for the team lead with three QB hurries each
 
WINGATE SPECIAL TEAMS
 
- Kicker McLean Robertson has earned All-SAC and All-Region honors the last two years
- He hit a league-best 16 field goals in 2019, earning first team all-conference honors
- He has hit all three field goals this season, including a 47-yarder
- Ethan Evans averages 42 yards per punt through five attempts this season
- He has two punts over 50 yards, while four of the five have gone inside the 20
- Seven of his 14 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks
- Kyron Thomas has piled up 165 return yards in five kick returns, good for 33 yards per return
- The SAC Special Teams Player of the Week ranks in the top 20 nationally in total yards and yards per return
- The 'Dogs have blocked a punt (Tyler Riley) and a field goal (Mark Burks) this season

ABOUT CARSON-NEWMAN
 
- The Eagles went 9-3 in 2019, with a 6-2 mark in SAC play, earning a D2 play-off bid
- Carson-Newman played just one game in 2021 spring season, downing UVA Wise 40-37
- CN opened this season with a 45-7 home loss against West Georgia
- The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the preseason SAC poll
- CN leads the SAC with 21 league titles all-time but has not won one since 2009
 
CARSON-NEWMAN OFFENSE
 
- The Eagles averaged 36.8 points and 417 yards per game in 2019, good for second in the SAC
- Carson-Newman piled up a league-best 292.3 rushing yards per contest in 2019
- CN had just 87 rushing yards against the Bulldogs in 2019
- The Eagles scored just seven points in the season-opening loss to West Georgia Sept. 2
- Carson-Newman was shutout over the final three quarters
- CN went five-for-14 on third down and zero-for-three on fourth down
- The 45-7 loss was the worst home loss for the Eagles since the 2010 season
- The Eagles put up 194 yards of offense, ranking last in the SAC in yards per game
- Carson-Newman also ranks at the bottom of the conference in points per game
- Six Eagles had at least four rushing attempts, with Troy Dendy going for 54 yards on 12 carries
- Trey Mitchell was seven-for-20 for 47 yards and a touchdown in the opener
- Mister Hogue had two catches for 16 yards and a TD for the Eagles
 
CARSON-NEWMAN DEFENSE
 
- CN ranked second in total defense (298.3 ypg) and third in scoring defense (22.2 ppg) in 2019
- The Eagles were third in rushing defense and fourth in passing defense in the 2019 season
- Carson-Newman had a league-high 22 interceptions, adding 32 sacks
- The Eagles gave up 470 yards of offense in the opener to go along with the 45 points
- CN ranks last in total defense and scoring defense heading into week three
- The Eagles gave up 331 passing yards and 139 rushing yards in week one
- Carson-Newman allowed West Georgia to convert seven-of-13 third downs and both fourth downs
- Alonzo Houston leads Carson-Newman with 12 tackles
- Rondrow Peebles has nine tackles, while Jalen Anderson has an interception
- Jackson Ward added seven tackles and three pass break-ups in the opener
 
CARSON-NEWMAN SPECIAL TEAMS
 
- Christian Erwin made his only PAT attempt of the game in week one, no field goal attempts
- Both of Erwin's kickoffs went for touchbacks
- Michael Harrah averaged 44.8 yards per punt on six punts, with four inside the 20
- Devon Moore had two kick returns for 113 yards, with a long of 74 yards
 
UP NEXT
 
- The Bulldogs return home for the next two weeks, giving WU four home games in the first five weeks
- Wingate hosts Catawba Sept. 25 and Tusculum Oct. 2, with both games kicking off at 6 p.m.
- The Oct. 2 game vs. Tusculum is homecoming weekend
- The 'Dogs then hit the road for their next three games
- Carson-Newman embarks on a three-game road trip after Saturday's contest
- The Eagles travel to UVA Wise, Barton and Catawba over the next three weeks