Charleston Southern at Wofford, Saturday, 2:00
Charleston Southern had to win their last two games to earn the Big South’s automatic bid to the playoffs. And that was not an easy task considering those two games were against the other quality teams in the Big South, Liberty and Kennesaw State. But they knocked off Liberty 48-26 on the road and then beat Kennesaw State 28-7. That 28-7 win was very indicative of how the Buccaneers play football. They play great defense and do enough offensively to get the victory.
The Charleston Southern defense will have their hands full with Wofford’s option offense. The Terriers ranked fourth in the FCS with 292.9 yards per game on the ground and, while that is a step back compared to year’s past, it is still a very, very potent ground game. Quarterback Brandon Goodson has done a good job stepping in for injured signal caller Evan Jacks. He is never much of a threat to throw the ball, but he can run the offense and get the ball in the hands of running backs Lorenzo Long and Will Gay.
The Wofford defense has been very good too and that is where this Charleston Southern team could run into some major problems. The Buccaneers want to establish a strong ground game with backs Mike Holloway and Darius Hammond. Yet, the Terriers have been absolutely brilliant against the run this year, allowing fewer than 70 yards per game. Tyler Vaughn and Miles Brown have led a very good defensive line that consistently gets a great push at the line of scrimmage. Linebacker and leading tackler Datavious Wilson can then take advantage of that push and track down the ball carriers. If Holloway and Hammond cannot find a way to establish the run, Charleston Southern will find it very difficult to score points against Wofford. This is a good Charleston Southern team, but the matchup against Wofford is not favorable, especially on the road.
Projected Score: Wofford 24, Charleston Southern 10
