Charleston Southern Buccaneers
Big South
Following an upset loss to Gardner-Webb, Charleston Southern was sitting at 2-1 in Big South play with the toughest games, against Liberty and Kennesaw State, yet to play. The Buccaneers had to win both to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the playoffs and they did just that, knocking off Liberty 48-26 on the road and beating Kennesaw State 28-7 on senior day.
2016 Record: 7-3, 4-1
Coach: Jamey Chadwell
Big Wins: 10/1 at Coastal Carolina (59-58), 11/12 at Liberty (48-26)
Bad Losses: 8/27 at Florida State (8-52), 11/5 Gardner-Webb (10-17)
Strengths:
Right out of the gate, Charleston Southern proved to have a very good defense. In the season opener against North Dakota State it took overtime for the Bison to score 24 points and pick up the victory. Not counting games against Florida State and FBS transitional team Coastal Carolina, the Buccaneers defense has been just as dominate as they were against North Dakota State. The pass defense may not make too many big plays besides the four interceptions by Troy McGowens, but the pass defense is very experienced and very productive. Joining McGowens in the secondary are fellow seniors Corbin Jackson and D.J. Curl and emerging sophomore Shadarius Hopkins. With lineman Anthony Ellis leading the pass rush and linebacker Solomon Brown doing a lot of everything, even the most potent offenses in the FCS will at least have some trouble with this defense.
Weaknesses:
Charleston Southern wants to run the ball as much as possible. With senior running backs Mike Holloway and Darius Hammond, they definitely should keep the ball on the ground. Holloway rushed for 860 yards and nine touchdowns, while Hammond added 482 yards and four touchdowns. The passing game is where there are some major questions. Freshman Shane Bucenell has been solid this season, but has not been asked to make many big plays. On the year he has passed for just 1,009 yards. However, he has thrown for 14 touchdowns with just four interceptions. His main target is a freshman too, Kameron Brown, who has 23 receptions for 495 yards and six touchdowns. It will not take long before Charleston Southern has to put the ball in the air and it may be asking too much for Bucenell to step up in the playoffs as a freshman.
Statistical Leaders:
Rushing: Mike Holloway, RB, 860 yards
Passing: Shane Bucenell, QB, 1,009 yards
Receiving: Kameron Brown, WR, 495 yards
Tackles: Solomon Brown, LB, 57
Sacks: Anthony Ellis, DL, 7.0
Interceptions: Troy McGowens, DB, 4
2016 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 276.6 (6th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Passing Offense: 156.1 (108, 4)
Total Offense: 432.7 (22, 2)
Scoring Offense: 35.7 (16, 2)
Rushing Defense: 130.6 (28, 2)
Pass Defense: 178.3 (14, 2)
Total Defense: 308.9 (15, 1)
Scoring Defense: 24.7 (41, 4)
Turnover Margin: -0.56 (90, 6)
Sacks: 3.00 (9, 1)
Sacks Allowed: 1.89 (57, 4)
Recent Playoff Appearances:
2015 Second Round Defeated Citadel
2015 Quarterfinals Lost to Jacksonville State
*all team stats through 11/12
