The VMI Football Team reignites its rivalry with The Citadel, as it travels to Charleston on Saturday to square off for the Silver Shako. The Military Classic of the South kicks off at 2:00 p.m.
The matchup between VMI and The Citadel is one of college football's oldest rivalries, dating back to 1920. In 1976, the Silver Shako trophy was introduced, with the winning Institution staking claim to it each respective year.
LAST TIME OUT
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Collin Shannon throws for just 104 yards, has no interceptions
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Owen Sweeney has 56 yards on three catches
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Noah Grevious totals 29 yards on two receptions
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Stephen Dean III leads VMI with 11.0 tackles and 3.0
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Amaje Parker records 8.0 tackles, blocks a field goal (0.5 TFL)
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Robert Powell,
Kouri Crump,
Derek Hite each have 6.0 tackles
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Aslin Shipe rushes for 57 yards, including a long rush of 33 yards; totals 153 all-purpose yards (97 on kick return)
- Atkinson tosses five touchdowns to four different receivers for Mercer; Bears have three different rushers find the end zone
BULLDOG BITES
- The Citadel's option offense creates a lot of yards on the ground, ranking 12
th in the country with an average of 212.0 yards per game
- Quentin Hayes and Cobey Thompkins split time as signal caller, with Hayes rushing for 488 yards and five touchdowns (369 passing, 3 TDs) and Thompkins totaling 411 yards and one touchdown (455 passing, 4 TDs)
- Garrison Johnson Sr. has four rushing scores and Sebastien Boyle three
- The rushing offense opens up the big-play opportunity, as the Bulldogs average 13.77 yards per completion (14
th FCS) with Javonte Graves-Billips being the favorite target (313 yds, 2 TD)
- Defensively, the Bulldogs rank 24
th nationally with an average of 2.38 sacks per game
- Mickey Rosa and Chris Benton each have 5.0 on the season
- The Citadel has not allowed a blocked kick or punt all season and is 4
th in the SoCon in turnover margin, having gained eight and lost 6
- The Bulldogs have been disciplined, committing just 4.0 penalties per game (5
th FCS)
THE SERIES
- The Citadel has the all-time edge (45-33-2) but the series has been even in recent years, with each team winning three of the last six
- VMI's last win in the series came in Charleston two years ago, when they hung on for a 17-13 victory
- The last three matchups have been one-score games
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