Andrew Miller is a sports reporter, covering The Citadel, College of Charleston, S.C. Stingrays, Charleston Battery, etc. Before joining The Post and Courier in 1989, he graduated from South Carolina with a degree in journalism.
There's little doubt that The Citadel is an improved team from a year ago.
The Bulldogs suffered through an 0-11 season in 2023 and defeated Charleston Southern in the season opener a week ago.
The Citadel took South Carolina State down to the wire in its 23-20 loss and had a chance to tie or win on its final two possessions this past Saturday in the home opener at Johnson Hagood Stadium.
That was in stark contrast to last year's 31-10 drubbing by S.C. State in Orangeburg last season.
But those results matter little to Bulldogs head coach Maurice Drayton.
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Sitting around the breakfast table Sunday morning, Drayton and his daughter, who plays soccer at Cane Bay High School, were commiserating about their respective team's performances over the weekend.
"My daughter's soccer team lost to a team that she felt like they should have beaten," Drayton said. "She told me, 'The people that say it doesn't matter if you win or lose, as long as you play hard and give a good effort are part of the problem, Daddy.'"
It was at this point Drayton started to channel his inner Al Davis -- the former owner and head coach of the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders where Drayton once coached special teams -- who infamously said, or didn't say, according to whom you believe, 'Just win, baby.'
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"I can't disagree with her," Drayton said. "It's about winning and losing. Although we did play better against S.C. State, that's not our goal just to play better and be better. Our goal is to win."
The difference between the Bulldogs' win over Charleston Southern and the loss to S.C. State came on third down. The Citadel converted 7 of 13 third down chances against the Bucs, and only 3 of 12 against S.C. State.
S.C. State, meanwhile, was also more efficient on third down, converting 7 of 13 times, while The Citadel was just 3 of 12.
"Staying on the field, keeping drives alive, and getting off the field on defense on third down is crucial in any game, but it was the difference between winning and losing," Drayton said. "There's more out there for us, especially offensively. We had too many self-inflicted errors and that's something we'll address this week in practice."
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Drayton said the Bulldogs will have to clean up the unforced errors with Division II North Greenville headed to Johnson Hagood Stadium on Saturday.
Three times the Bulldogs started an offensive drive with an avoidable penalty that put them behind the chains.
"We're supposed to be the most poised, disciplined group and we were not," Drayton said. "It's not enough to say, 'sir, no excuse sir.' We're tapping into the why things happen.'
"As we were digging into the why we realized some of the issues were with our mindset. We have to slow things down and relax in the moment."
Pressure on the QB
A year ago, the Bulldogs recorded seven quarterback sacks during the entire 11-game season.
In just two games so far, the Bulldogs already have five sacks and are pressuring the opposing quarterbacks much more consistently.
"We've got more depth on the defensive line," Drayton said. "We can play seven, eight guys with little to no drop off and that's huge at the FCS level. Yes we are getting better, we're giving great effort, but like my daughter said, 'it's not enough' because we need to win.'"
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North Greenville has several players from the Lowcountry including DB Gavin Edwards (Timberland), LB Ryan Ashe (Woodland), RB Deshawn Thompkins (Cane Bay), DB Nik Jefferson (Ashley Ridge), LB Miles Robinson (Oceanside), LB Kylen Brown (Timberland), LB Parker Osborne (Cane Bay), OL Phen Johnson (Oceanside), OL Mauriceo Summers (Goose Creek), TE Dwayne Simmons (Ashley Ridge), and LB Ashton Howard (Cross).
Citadel alum
North Greenville head coach Jeff Farrington is a 1982 graduate of The Citadel where he lettered twice as a defensive back.
This is Farrington's 12th season as head coach of the Trailblazers, where he has compiled a 54-57 record.
Farrington is very familiar with teams in the Southern Conference, having been an assistant coach at Furman, VMI and Mercer.
"I don't see how a Citadel grad could ever coach at VMI," Drayton said with a chuckle.