Charleston Southern 23, Wofford 34

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Wofford College football team rallied with two touchdowns in the final five minutes to defeat Charleston Southern 34-23 at CSU Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Down three with ten minutes to play, the Terriers responded with two touchdown runs by Eric Breitenstein to secure the win.

The Terriers are 1-1 on the season and the Buccaneers are 1-1. The Terriers were led by Eric Breitenstein with 97 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Rucker and Brad Nocek each added touchdowns. Brenton Bersin had 55 receiving yards as both Mitch Allen and Brian Kass shared time at quarterback. The Buccaneers were led by Anthony Chalmers with 71 receiving yards and a touchdown. A.J. Toscano was 25-of-41 for 229 yards.

The Buccaneers had the ball to open the game and drove 80 yards to score the first points of the game on a six-yard touchdown reception by Deon Lee from A.J. Toscano at 9:18 in the first quarter. Wofford was forced three-and-out on their first possession and punted.

With the ball back, Charleston Southern gained one first down before Blake Wylie picked off a pass by Toscano and returned it 38-yards. The Terriers were able to convert the turnover into points with a 30-yard field goal by Christian Reed with 2:53 remaining in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, the Buccaneers gained two first downs before punting. The punt went only three yards, giving the Terriers the ball back. Brian Kass came into the game and picked up two passing first downs, going 15-yards to Brenton Bersin and 31-yards to Joseph Inman. The drive ended with a 29-yard field goal attempt by Christian Reed that was wide right.

After gaining four first downs on their next drive, the Buccaneers also missed a field goal when John Paglia was wide left from 40-yards. On the first play of the ensuing Wofford drive, Mike Rucker went 77-yards down the far sideline for a touchdown at 5:49 in the second quarter to take a 10-7 lead.

On the next drive by Charleston Southern, they gained only one first down before punting. Wofford was able to gain a first down on a pass from Mitch Allen to Brad Nocek, however a fumbled exchange gave the ball back to the Buccaneers. After lining up for a36-yard field goal attempt with 46 seconds left, the holder fumbled and it was recovered by Stephon Shelton. Wofford had to punt after going three-and-out with only 24 seconds left in the half, but three incomplete passes by Charleston Southern ended the half with Wofford holding a 10-7 lead.

To open the second half, Wofford fumbled but recovered and were forced to punt. The Buccaneers were able to gain one first down and John Paglia tied the game at 10-10 with a 45-yard field goal with 10:16 on the clock in the third quarter.

Wofford got the ball back and with Brian Kass under center Donovan Johnson gained 33-yards on a carry for a first down. The drive ended for the Terriers with a 39-yard field goal by Christian Reed to take a 13-10 lead at 7:53 in the third quarter.

The Buccaneers were able to take the lead with a halfback pass from Gerald Stevenson to Anthony Chalmers who was alone at the goal line with 4:43 remaining in the third quarter. The point after was wide, giving Charleston Southern a 16-13 lead. Wofford opened their next drive with a 29-yard run by Eric Breitenstein. The drive was capped with a 26-yard touchdown run by Brad Nocek to regain the lead at 20-16 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.

After trading punts, Charleston Southern was able to put together a drive with four first downs that was capped with a one-yard touchdown run by DeMarcus Moon to take a 23-20 lead with 10:58 left in the fourth quarter.

Wofford went three-and-out on their next drive, primarily due to a 15-yard penalty for a chop block. After a three-and-out by Charleston Southern, the Terriers got the ball back with nine minutes left in the game. Mitch Allen completed a 40-yard pass to Brenton Bersin for a first down. A penalty again moved the ball back, but a completion to Devin Reed gained back the penalty yards. Mitch Allen ran the ball to the eight-yard line for a first down. Eric Breitenstein scored a one-yard touchdown with 5:59 left in the quarter for a 27-23 lead.

The Charleston Southern offense was then forced three-and-out by the Terrier defense, giving the offense the ball back with 4:16 left in the game. Wofford used the running game to take over three minutes off the clock and Eric Breitenstein scored from one-yard out with only 1:09 left on the clock. The Buccaneers fumbled on their final drive of the game, which was recovered by SeQuan Stanley to wrap up the game.

The Terriers had 467 total yards, with 334 on the ground. Charleston Southern had 376 yards, 256 of which were passing. The Buccaneers had the time of possession advantage. Wofford was 2-of-10 on third downs. Charleston Southern was 8-of-18 on third down and zero-of-one on fourth down.

Wofford will play the home opener on September 18 at 7:00 pm against Union (Ky.) before the open week.

Furman 45, Colgate 15

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Cody Worley passed for 113 yards and three touchdowns to propel Furman to a 45-15 win over 25th-ranked Colgate in the Paladins' 2010 season opener Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.

Worley came off the bench late in the second quarter with Furman sporting a 10-7 lead, and engineered a 9-play, 60-yard scoring drive that he sealed with a 19-yard scoring strike to Tyler Maples in the final minute of the first half.

Worley, who completed 9-of-14 pass attempts in the contest, continued his strong play in the second half with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Adam Mims and a 3-yard connection with Tersoo Uhaa that gave the Paladins a 31-7 lead.

Junior quarterback Chris Forcier, who started the game for the Paladins, made it 38-7 when he took a snap from center and raced around left end and down the sideline for an 85-yard touchdown run for the sixth longest run in Furman's 105-year football history.

Forcier finished the contest with seven rushes for 130 yards; the highest rushing tally by a Paladin quarterback since 1989.

In rushing for 377 yards, Furman fashioned its most potent rushing performance since 2005.  The victory also marked the 20th consecutive non-conference regular season home triumph for the Paladins dating back to 1999.

Nate Eachus led Colgate with 28 rushes for a game high 134 yards and a score.

"This was one of the most complete performances I've seen from a Furman team in a season opener -- a good win all the way around against a ranked team" said Paladin head coach Bobby Lamb, who improved to 8-1 in season openers.  "After five weeks of practice, it was good to finally play a game.  We competed well on both sides of the football and got some good play from a bunch of guys.  It's the kind of start to the season we were looking for."

True freshman Ray Early's 23-yard field goal midway through the first quarter gave Furman a 3-0 lead.

Colgate appeared set to answer after Adam Lock pounced on a Forcier fumble at the Furman 37.  From there the Raiders moved to the Paladin 4, but on a third-and-goal play Colgate's Steve Rizzo was stripped of the ball by Furman nose guard Pete Sanders and Nathan Wade recovered it in the end zone.

The Paladins then moved 80 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, which came on a Jerry Williams 8-yard power run through the heart of the Colgate defense for a 10-0 advantage.

Colgate got on the board in the with just under four minutes to go in the half when quarterback Greg Sullivan scored on an 11-yard option keeper.

At that point Worley entered the game and promptly directed the Paladins on a 60-yard touchdown march that put Furman up 17-7 at the half.

The Paladins carried the momentum into the second half by taking the kickoff and moving 73 yards in 13 plays for a score, which came on Worley's second scoring toss of the game, a 10-yard connection to Adam Mims at the 8:53 juncture.

Tersoo Uhaa ran for a career high 125 yards and a touchdown in the contest and also collected a pair of receptions for 27 yards and a score.

Furman, which posted a 536-260 advantage in total offense, suffered two turnovers, as did Colgate.

Senior rover Max Lerner topped the Paladin defense with 13 tackles, including a tackle-for-loss, and a pass deflection.  Ryan Steed added 10 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles.

Colgate's Chris DiMassa recorded a game high 15 tackles.

Furman plays at South Carolina next Saturday in a 7:00 p.m. pay-per-view contest.

Appalachian State 45, Jacksonville 14

BOONE, N.C. - Led by 386 yards of total offense from DeAndre Presley, No. 3 Appalachian State University football overcame its second-straight slow start to rout visiting Jacksonville, 45-14, on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Presley became the first player in Appalachian history to rack up 300 yards of total offense in three of his first four career starts by throwing for 285 yards and rushing for 101 in the home-opening win. The junior completed 20-of-31 passes without an interception and threw for a career-best four touchdowns. His 386 yards of total offense were a career high and rank 20th all-time at ASU.

Despite Presley's heroics, Saturday's victory did not come easy at first, as first-half turnovers plagued the Mountaineers for the second-straight week. ASU did not punt in the first half but led only 17-7 at halftime thanks to losing two fumbles, like it did in last Saturday's opener at Chattanooga, and having a third drive stall on downs inside the Jacksonville 20.

The slim lead became even more tenuous when Jacksonville marched 78 yards on its first possession of the second half and scored on a two-yard run by J.J. Laster to cut the deficit to 17-14.

From there, however, it was all Appalachian (2-0, 1-0 SoCon). Each of the Mountaineers' next four possessions ended in touchdowns, with the first three drives all covering at least 82 yards. The highlight of the onslaught was a diving 41-yard touchdown catch by Brian Quick, his third score of the afternoon. The junior finished with 132 receiving yards on six receptions, including the career-high-tying three touchdowns. The 100-yard receiving effort was the fifth of his career and his second in two games this season, giving him back-to-back 100-yard performances for the first time. He also hauled in multiple touchdown passes for the fourth time in his career.

ASU's defense also played a huge role in the late surge, as it limited JU's dangerous offense to just 52 yards over the final 25:02 of the ballgame. Buck Buchanan Award candidate Mark LeGree led the defensive effort with a team-high eight tackles and an interception in the ASU end zone that thwarted the Dolphins' final scoring opportunity of the afternoon.

In all, Appalachian out-gained Jacksonville (1-1), 620-257, and held a 36-13 edge in first downs.

Besides Quick's three touchdowns, tight end Ben Jorden hauled in Presley's fourth scoring strike from six yards out and Devon Moore and Jamal Jackson found paydirt on runs of two and three yards, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Apps.

However, the player of the game may have been true freshman walk-on Patrick Blalock, who enjoyed a spectacular day on special teams. Blalock recorded ASU's first punt block in three years and nearly became the just the third player in school history to notch two blocked punts in a game, only to have his second block negated by an offsides penalty. In addition to the blocked punt - ASU's first since current Tampa Bay Bucanneer Corey Lynch did it at Elon in 2007 - and the near block, Blalock also registered four tackles on special teams.

Jacksonville quarterback Josh McGregor completed just 13-of-30 passes for 169 yards, 142 less than he posted in last week's win over Old Dominion. Running back Rudell Smith was limited to just 44 yards - 74 less than he had at ODU - and wide receiver Josh Philpart, who caught six passes for 115 yards last week was held without a reception.

Standing at 2-0 for only the second time in the past 12 seasons, Appalachian closes out a two-game homestand next Saturday when it hosts in-state rival North Carolina Central. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Navy 13, Georgia Southern 7 

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Georgia Southern (1-1) held Navy (1-1) scoreless in the second half but the Midshipmen capitalized on a 13-0 halftime margin to take a 13-7 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon. Junior quarterback Jaybo Shaw and sophomore J.J. Wilcox connected for a 17-yard touchdown in the third quarter for the Eagles. It was Wilcox's first career touchdown reception and Shaw's first touchdown pass as an Eagle.

A tentative Georgia Southern team struggled in the first half and both teams played less than crisp football as the two squads combined for seven penalties in the first quarter. Despite only 23 yards of offense and two first downs over the first 30 minutes, Georgia Southern's defense made a statement for the team allowing only 110 yards of offense and forcing Navy to punt three times. The 109 yards rushing by Navy for the game was the lowest rushing performance since 2002 vs. Connecticut and the 193 yards of total offense was the lowest since the Mids played Rutgers in 2006.

Navy's Joe Buckley hit two field goals, both in the first quarter, to give the Midshipmen a 6-0 lead. His first was an 18-yard field goal off the first series, completing a 10-play 35-yard drive over 6:44. The second field goal came on Mids' third drive of the game, after Navy recovered an Eagle fumble on the Georgia Southern 25-yard line. Buckley connected on the 42-yard field goal to put Navy ahead 6-0.

Georgia Southern came out and scored on its first series of the second half with the Eagles calling a timeout on fourth-and-8 to set up the 17-yard Shaw-to-Wilcox touchdown. Junior Adrian Mora connected on his 56th career PAT to put the Eagles within striking distance at 13-7. Navy punted on its two series of the quarter as the Eagle defense held the Mids scoreless for the quarter.

The Eagle defense maintained its tenacity in the fourth quarter and Navy assisted with a clipping penalty to put the Mids on their own 18 with a second-and-25 and eventual punt. On the ensuing Georgia Southern drive, the Eagles converted their second fourth down of the game to put the offense near midfield. Freshman Darries Robinson rushed 11 yards to give the Eagles another first down. A holding penalty pushed Georgia Southern back 10 yards and the Eagles couldn't generate another first down.

Sophomore mike linebacker Josh Rowe finished the game as the top tackler, doubling his previous career best with 10 tackles on the day. Junior defensive end Dion DuBose set a career best with two tackles for loss for a total of 11 yards, including his sack of Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs for a 10-yard loss. Senior E.J. Webb, who celebrated his birthday Saturday with 70 friends and relatives in attendance at the game, had seven tackles. Four Eagles finishes with six tackles each: Roderick Tinsley, DuBose, Derek Heyden and John Douglas.

 "I think our guys decided at halftime that they had a chance to win the game," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken. "Navy did a great job, they had a short week with only two practice when typically they would have four. The credit goes to them. We fought hard in the second half and I am proud of our effort. In the end, Navy made more plays than we did and we weren't able to come out with a victory."

Georgia Southern plays next at Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m.

Northwestern State 7, Samford 19

NATCHITOCHES, La. - The Samford defense held Northwestern State to just 47 yards rushing and 10 first downs as the Bulldogs earned a 19-7 win over the Demons Saturday night at Turpin Stadium.

Samford improves to 1-1 with the win, while Northwestern State drops to 0-2 with the loss.

"We knew coming in that they played hard and it would be a dog fight," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "I was really proud of our guys. This was an outstanding win. The one thing that cannot go unnoticed is our kicking game was outstanding tonight."

Samford senior running back Chris Evans rushed 25 times for 109 yards and a touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Quin Roberson caught six passes for career-high 124 yards. Junior quarterback Dustin Taliaferro completed 14-of-22 passes for 180 yards and an interception.

Defensively for Samford, Bryce Smith had nine tackles, including seven solo stops. Andy Davis, Thomas Broussard and Jamael Lett each had an interception for the Bulldogs.

Place-kicker Cameron Yaw made field goals from 44 and 43 yards out. Punter Bob Hooper averaged 36.6 yards per punt, placing four kicks inside the NSU 20-yard line.

As a team, Samford tallied 459 yards of total offense, while holding the Demons to 215. Samford held the ball for 38:21, compared to NSU's 21:39.

For Northwestern State, quarterback Paul Harris completed 16-of-35 passes for 162 yards and three interceptions. Bradley Brown caught seven passes for 77 yards. Derek Rose led the Demon defense with 14 tackles. Jamaal White had an interception for NSU.

The two teams played through a scoreless first quarter. Samford broke the scoreless tie when Evans scored on a five-yard run with 7:01 to go in the second quarter. Yaw missed the extra point to keep the Samford lead at 6-0. The score capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 4:49.

Samford's Yaw kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give Samford a 9-0 lead going into halftime. The scoring drive for Samford lasted five plays, 44 yards and took 1:17 off the clock.

At halftime, Samford had 276 yards of total offense to Northwestern State's 70 yards. The Bulldogs, however, were called for eight penalties for 70 yards, compared to one penalty for 11 yards for NSU in the first half.

Samford added to its lead on its first possession of the second half. Yaw kicked a 43-yard field goal with 12:09 to go in the third quarter to give Samford a 12-0 lead.

The Bulldogs added their second touchdown of the game when Jonathan Sillers took a direct snap and scored on a one-yard run with 7:52 to go in the third quarter. Yaw added the extra point to make the score 19-0. The touchdown was the first of Sillers' Samford career.

Northwestern State got on the scoreboard when Harris scored on a one-yard sneak with 7:32 to go in the game to cut the Samford lead to 19-7.

Samford will play its home opener on Thursday, Sept. 16, when the Bulldogs play host to Newberry College. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.

Elon 55, Shaw 26

ELON, N.C. - Scott Riddle passed for 244 yards and three touchdowns on his way to becoming the most prolific passer in the history of the Southern Conference as the eighth-ranked Elon Phoenix jumped out to a 28-0 lead and never looked back in a 55-26 victory over the Shaw Bears in the squad's home-opener on Saturday night. Riddle's performance left him with 10,558 career passing yards and atop the league's all-time passing chart as he surpassed the 10,392 yards passed for by Appalachian State's Armanti Edwards.

"You know it's a game on paper that you're supposed to win, but at the same time you watch the film and you see the caliber and quality of the athletes that are going to be coming in on the other team and it's a nerve-wracking week," said head coach Pete Lembo. "I'm very pleased with how focused our guys were coming out. It says a lot about the caliber of young men we have in the program that they don't overlook anybody. We have a lot of respect for everybody we play. It's a good win, we were able to play a lot of players in this game and we got out of it relatively healthy."

After forcing Shaw to go three-and-out in its first drive, the Elon Phoenix got excellent field position thanks to a 23-yard punt return from Lance Camp that put the ball at the Elon 38. Elon quickly marched 62 yards on seven plays for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. On the drive, which took just 3:09, Riddle completed three passes for 42 yards while Brandon Newsome carried three times for 20 yards. The score came when Riddle found Matt Eastman on a four-yard pass. It was the first TD of Eastman's career.

On the Phoenix's second drive of the game, Riddle became the SoCon's all-time record holder for career passing yards when he connected with Newsome for a 10-yard gain. The drive, which led to a second Elon touchdown, began on Elon's own 17 before Riddle fired to Sean Jeffcoat for a 25-yard gain on third-and-10. He followed that up with an 11-yard pick-up on a pass to Camp. A.J. Harris then got in on the action with an 11-yard carry down to the Shaw 36 before Newsome gained another nine on the ground. On third-and-six from the Shaw 32, Riddle set the record with the pass to Newsome. Four plays later, Riddle hit Aaron Mellette in the left side of the end zone for an eight-yard TD score and a 14-0 Phoenix lead.

Elon began its third drive of the game at the Shaw 45 after a 21-yard punt return by Camp and a five-yard penalty on the Bears. On the second play of the drive, Riddle teamed up with Mellette who made multiple defenders miss down the sideline for a 26-yard gain to move the Phoenix to the Bears 19-yard line. On a second-and-eight from the Shaw 17, Kierre Brown gained 13 yards on his second reception of the season to move the ball to the four. Two plays later, Newsome plunged in from four yards out for the score to cap a six-play, 45-yard drive that lasted 1:36 as Elon built a 21-0 edge early in the second period.

After taking over on the Shaw 34 after a fumble, Elon marched the short distance for its fourth first-half touchdown as Newsome raced in from four yards out for his second score of the night. The TD run came one play after Newsome broke numerous tackles for a 21-yard scamper.

Shaw got on the board with 8:33 left in the first half when Kevin Atkins found a streaking Julius Gregory for a 62-yard gain down the sideline. The Bears missed the PAT and Elon led 28-6.

The Phoenix got those points right back, driving 55 yards on six plays to take a 35-6 lead when Harris rushed in for the TD from 32 yards out.

Elon tacked on another seven points when Riddle went deep to Mellette for a 41-yard TD strike to end a four-play drive and make it 42-6 game with just 2:26 to play in the first half.

Atkins got in for the second Shaw score of the night when he ran it in from six yards out one play after a 24-yard completion to Alberto Johnson.

Elon compiled 360 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes, including 244 passing yards by Riddle who completed 21 of his 24 passes and ended his night late in the second quarter. Newsome carried 11 times for 71 yards and two scores while Mellette had a career night in the first half, hauling in six balls for 84 yards and two TDs. The Phoenix defense allowed 171 yards.

On the opening drive of the second half, Elon went 55 yards in nine plays before Adam Shreiner extended the Phoenix lead to 45-13 with a 26-yard field goal.

The Bears added a touchdown on a Johnny Wooten one-yard dive with 8:43 left in the third quarter to make it a 45-19 game. Shaw went for two, but failed to convert. The drive covered 69 yards on five plays.

With 3:21 to play in the third quarter, Harris ran it in from 21 yards out for his second rushing TD of the game. Shaw added a score with a 39-yard pass from Atkins to Tyrone Craig with just 40 ticks remaining in the third period.

Mellette's career night saw the sophomore snare nine passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. The Phoenix completed 30 passes for 327 yards. On the ground, Newsome finished his game with 14 carries for 77 yards and two scores. Harris added two TDs on seven carries and 70 yards rushing. The Phoenix tallied 199 rushing yards on 36 carries.

Ronnie Hardison led Elon with six tackles while both Blake Thompson and Chandler Wrightenberry picked off passes for the Phoenix.

Shaw's offense was led by Atkins who threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another 24 yards and a score. Three Bears finished with 10 or more tackles, led by the 12 stops from Fred Sparkman.

Elon will travel up I-85 for a rematch of last season's FCS Playoff tilt at Richmond (1-0) next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Robins Stadium.

Tusculum 54, Western Carolina 30

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Back-up quarterback Zac Brindise tossed a career-best four touchdown passes to four different receivers on Saturday night, but Western Carolina could neither find offensive consistency nor answer Tusculm's passing attack in dropping its home-opener. Pioneer quarterback Bo Cordell threw for 410 yards and four scores, adding a one-yard sneak for a rushing TD to lead Tusculum to the 54-30 win over the Catamounts at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.

The Pioneers, which entered the game ranked 25th in this week's D2Football.com poll and were receiving votes in the AFCA/Division II ledger, raced out to a 27-0 lead and also rattled off 24-straight points in the second half.

Brindise, who transferred from South Carolina with just one collegiate game under his belt, came on for WCU starter Zack Jaynes midway through the second quarter and orchestrated the Catamounts' first scoring drive inside the two-minute drill just before the half.

Jaynes was just 4-of-10 passing for 92 yards including a long of 30 yards to Deja Alexander.

"We were going to play (Zac) Brindise tonight, but we played him a little earlier than we thought we would," said Wagner of the quarterback change. "He did some good things, scrambling well and keeping some drives alive. He is going to be a good quarterback for us. He just hasn't got a ton of playing time in the last couple of years, but the more he plays the better he will get."

Sophomore WR Jacoby Mitchell led WCU with a career-best 116 yards on a game-high eight catches including his first career touchdown, while redshirt junior WR Josh Cockrell hauled in four passes for a career-high 110 yards and a TD for the Catamounts in the loss. Redshirt freshman Deja Alexander made five receptions for 86 yards including a score with tight end Chris Everett catching Brindise's final scoring strike and two, two-point conversions for 10 points.

After the two teams traded punts on the first three possessions, Western Carolina appeared poised to put the first points on the new video scoreboard at Whitmire Stadium. Taking over at the Tusculum 34-yard line after a 16-yard punt return by Alexander, Jaynes connected with Mitchell for a 23-yard pass and a two-yard rush by Dion Wilson put the Catamounts at the Pioneer 11 yard line. However, a fumbled center-to-quarterback exchange was scooped up by defensive back Justin Arrington and returned 90 yards to pay-dirt and the 7-0 lead.

All told, WCU failed to produce points on its first eight offensive possessions including six punts, a missed field goal attempt and the first of two fumble recoveries for touchdowns by the Pioneers. Meanwhile, Tusculum got on track after punting on its first four possessions with three-straight offensive touchdowns including a 92-yard scoring drive to take a 27-0 lead just before the half.

Western Carolina (0-2) used two touchdown passes by Brindise, who threw for 304 yards on 23-of-39 passing, to get to 27-14 with 11:18 left in the third quarter. However, on the ensuing possession, Cordell answered with a 39-yard TD to Calvin Britt - his second TD reception of the day - and Jason Muehling scored on a 60-yard fumble return to push the lead to 30 (44-14).

Cordell's 73-yard touchdown pass to Xzanvion Smith made it 51-14 with 9:50 left in the game.

WCU was able to tack on a pair of touchdowns through the air to Mitchell and Everett, with Tusculum adding a 21-yard field goal by Gareth Rowlands to provide the final tally, 54-30.

Sophomore running back Michael Johnson carried the ball six times for 45 yards - an average of 7.5 yards per rush - while Nate Harris rushed eight times for 43 yards.

Defensively, redshirt freshman Randy Pressley led the team with nine tackles including five solo stops and 1.5 sacks, the first of his career since converting to defense prior to this season. Both Angelo Brown and Rock Williams recorded eight tackles apiece while Brown's secondary classmate Mitchell Bell finished with seven total hits.

Lineman Trey Selby recorded a game-high three tackles for loss, matching his career total from his first two seasons.

Saturday's game endured a 16-minute weather delay for lightning before officials at WCU made the decision based upon the projected forecast to end the contest with 2:39 still showing on the game clock.

Western Carolina hits the road to face Gardner-Webb next Saturday in Boiling Springs. The Runnin' Bulldogs are coming off an overtime win over Akron on Saturday and have won the last two meetings with the Catamounts including a 27-20 victory a year ago in Cullowhee and an overtime triumph, 26-20, in the last head-to-head meeting at Spangler Stadium.

Jacksonville State 21, Chattanooga 17

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. --- For the second straight week, the Chattanooga Mocs carried a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter against a top five team only to see it evaporate into a loss.  This week UTC (0-2) lost at No. 5 Jacksonville State (2-0) 21-17 at Burgess-Snow Stadium Saturday evening.

It was a great start for the Chattanooga defense.  The Mocs picked off three JSU passes in the first three series of the game, but in a harbinger of things to come, UTC did not take advantage scoring just three points off the three miscues.

The fourth turnover the defense forced was fully capitalized on.  True freshman Chaz Moore, starting for Buster Skrine forced a Jamal Young fumble.  Senior Jaron Norfleet picked up and returned 26 yards for his first career score to give the Mocs a 10-0 halftime margin.

Chattanooga came out strong to start the second half.  After Brian Sutherland nearly took back the opening kickoff of the half, returning it 32 yards, the offense wasted little time moving the ball.

Senior Errol Wynn saw his first action of the 2010 season carrying the ball three times for 22 yards on the drive including a big third-down conversion with a 15-yard scamper to the JSU 17.

Two plays later B.J. Coleman found Joel Bradford for a 14-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-0 Mocs.  But that's when JSU started to find its rhythm.

On the ensuing possession, the Gamecocks marched 69 yards in 15 plays eating up 6:14 of clock time for its first score on a three-yard Coty Blanchard rush to close to 17-7.  JSU converted three third downs on the drive.

Quarterback Marques Ivory and Blanchard combined to orchestrate a 17-play, 97-yard drive (7:05) that several times just needed a key defensive play to make the stop.  JSU converted two third downs and one fourth on a pass interference call that led to a nine-yard Blanchard touchdown pass to Jeffrey Cameron cutting the advantage to 17-14.

The Mocs answered taking over its next possession on their own 30.  They methodically moved the ball to the JSU 10, all 60 yards coming on the ground, before the drive stalled at the JSU 11 with the Gamecocks taking over on downs with 2:20 remaining.

Third down did the Mocs in once again.  Ivory connected with Young on a four-yard toss for a first down.  After a six-yard gain and an incompletion, third-and-four was once again a situation the Gamecocks wanted to be in. 

Under solid pressure, Ivory found James Shaw as he broke free on a post pattern for 72 yards for the final JSU tally making it 21-17.  The Mocs fumbled the kickoff turning it over to the Gamecocks who escaped with the win.

The Mocs gained more yards on the ground (174) than in the air (149) on the evening.  Wynn led all rushers with 98 on 13 rushes, all in the second half.  True freshman Keon Williams impressed with 33 yards in his debut.

Coleman hit 10 of 22 pass attempts with one touchdown and an interception.  He found Bradford six times for 76 yards, while Sutherland added three catches for 48 yards.

Defensively, Ryan Consiglio had a career-high 14 tackles with an interception.  D.J. Key came off the bench for 12 stops playing for Jordan Tippit who was injured late in the second half. 

Ivory ended up 18-33 with two interceptions for 226 yards and the final score.  He was 10-15 in the final quarter for 140 yards.

Alphonso Freeney (54) and Calvin Middleton (53) combined for 107 yards on the ground for JSU.  The team had 96 yards total as the Mocs' defense had 10 tackles for loss totaling 62 yards.

Chattanooga returns home next Saturday to host traditional OVC-power Eastern Kentucky at Finley Stadium.  Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Arizona 52, The Citadel 6

Tucson, Ariz. - The Citadel football competed against their first Pac-10 opponent in the home-opener for the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday night. The Bulldogs fell to the Wildcats, 52-6, in front of a crowd of 54,844. Senior kicker Sam Keeler recorded the only points for the Bulldogs, marking the first offensive points of the season scored against the Wildcats.

The Citadel won the toss and chose to receive the ball first; however the Arizona offense dominated the first half, sending the Bulldogs into halftime with a 24-0 deficit.

Once again, the defense came out strong to start the game for the Bulldogs. Defensive end Erik Clanton sacked Wildcat junior quarterback Nick Foles on third-and-eight for a loss of two yards to force Arizona to punt on their first possession of the game. However, the Wildcats would take control on the next possession, driving the ball 60 yards, highlighted by a 44-yard pass from Foles to Juron Criner, The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown run by Nic Grigsby to send the Wildcats up, 7-0, and kick off the Arizona scoring rally.

The Bulldog defense held Arizona to the one score to end the first quarter, but the Wildcats quickly added another TD to the tally early in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead when Foles found William Wright in the back of the end zone for the  4-yard touchdown pass with 12:58 on the clock. Arizona added two more scores to the board later in the second quarter with the first a 41-yard field goal by Alex Zendejas. The next score came after Thompson fumbled on the Bulldog 22-yard line. The Wildcats recovered the ball and Grigsby recorded his second TD of the game two plays later on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Down 24-0 with five minutes left in the half, The Citadel had possession of the ball for the seventh time in the game, but went three-and-out, forced to punt on fourth-and-one on the Bulldog 34-yard line. Junior linebacker Tolu Akindele earned the first pick of his career regaining possession for the Bulldogs late in the second quarter, but The Citadel was unable to convert the drive into a score, ending the first half.

After the Wildcats started off the second half scoring twice in the first 2:30 of the quarter, extending their lead to 38-0, the Bulldogs brought in redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Martin who led the Bulldogs in their first scoring drive of the game. Highlighted by a career long 30-yard run by Terrell Dallas, the Bulldogs drove the ball 48 yards in 5:30, capped off with a 39-yard Sam Keeler field goal to make the score, 38-3, avoiding a shutout. The field goal was the first offensive points against Arizona this season.

Arizona would score again when running back Greg Nwoko found the end zone at the end of a three-yard run. However, the Bulldogs would not stop there, adding another Sam Keeler field goal, this time for 29 yards with 9:08 left in the game to make the score 45-6. Wildcat backup quarterback Bryson Beirne found Jack Baucus for a 6-yard score to cap the scoring at 52-6.

The Citadel totaled 171 yards of total offense. Jeremy Buncum led the Bulldog defense with 10 total tackles, while Dallas was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 54 total yards. Arizona's offense totaled 22 first downs with 489 total yards of offense. Grigsby finished the game with 107 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bulldogs return home to face the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Sept. 18 in a 7 p.m. kickoff.