After last weekend’s homecoming victory against the Chattanooga Mocs, the Bucs will have a chance to clinch their third-consecutive winning season with a win against Wofford on Saturday.
The ETSU football team will travel to Spartanburg, S.C., to face the Terriers, who have won three of the last five meetings between the two teams, including a 35-31 win in the Bucs’ homecoming game last season.They are also a team that is much better than their 3-6 record might indicate.
“We’re playing what may be the best 3-6 team in (Division) I-AA and just may be the best 3-6 team in the country,” said head coach Paul Hamilton at Tuesday’s press conference. “They’re a good team and their record could be much different than it is now.”
The Bucs are no strangers to tough schedules, but Wofford may be the one team in the Southern Conference that has traveled a rougher road than ETSU.
“I feel for (Wofford head coach) Mike (Ayers) and his staff and what they’ve been through from a scheduling standpoint,” Hamilton said. “Record-wise this team is so deceiving.
“They are a good team and have had to play a difficult schedule each week … they have come to play and played well each week.”
Besides playing No. 4 Appalachian State (L 34-23) and No. 9 Furman (L 45-14), Wofford has played Division I-A teams Clemson (L 38-14) and South Carolina ((L 14-38), with No. 2 Georgia Southern still remaining in its season finale.
“We’ll face a tremendous challenge down there on Saturday,” Hamilton said. “We’ll have to play good on Saturday to win at Wofford.”
The Bucs have faced a tough schedule of their own facing three of the top-10 I-AA teams in the nation and Division I-A Pittsburgh, but with two weeks remaining ETSU has a chance to have its most successful season since going 7-4 in Hamilton’s first season as head coach.
“It’s important for our senior class to have three-straight winning seasons,” Hamilton said. “If we can win seven games it’ll be one of the better seasons in the history of ETSU football.”
If the Bucs are able to win their last two games against Wofford and VMI (Nov. 22, 12 p.m.), they may even be deserving of a spot in the Division I-AA top-25 poll according to Hamilton.
“It’s important for us to win out and maybe have a chance to slip into the top 25,” he said. “Maybe it will help bring attention to our program and I hope people think we’re deserving of it.
“Our team wants to win out and if we win out, we’ll have gone 6-1 in the last seven games and beat the defending National Champions with our only loss to Furman, a top-¤five team.”
But first thing is first and ETSU will not be looking past the Terriers and their starting quarterback Travis Wilson, who is ranked third in the SoCon in passing efficiency (127.7).
“He’s brought so many things to their football team and there are so many ways they can beat you,” said Hamilton of Wofford’s offense and its starting quarterback.
There is also some concern about the Terriers’ defense, which, according to Hamilton, does a tremendous job defending the running. The Bucs, however, have not had much of a running game to defend.
Hamilton hopes to change that this weekend as he plans on playing three tailbacks, Corey Carter, Terry Copeland and Andrew Nuckolls.
Nuckolls has shown quickness and the ability to make big plays when needed, one such being a 57-yard spurt in the Bucs’ victory over The Citadel.
“He gives us a little shake and has a quickness about him, he builds his speed up quick,” Hamilton said. “We’ve been missing that breakaway type guy, who has the ability to go the distance.”
The defensive unit will once again be the catalyst for the Buccaneers as they have only allowed a total of 26 points over the last three weeks and have given the offense a chance to put points on the board at crucial moments in the ball game.
“Offensively from week to week we have been evaluating what our defensive strengths are and each Saturday, particularly because of our defense, we have been able to string together enough points to win,” Hamilton said.
If the Bucs are able to win out or win one of their next two games, they will be the first Buccaneer team to have threeconsecutive winning seasons since the 1952-1955 squad, which had four-straight.
“We have a lot to play for the next two weeks and Wofford and VMI will play a lot better on the road,” Hamilton said. “It’s very important to us (to win out), there are a lot of goals out there.”
The kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. The Bucs will then play next Thursday, at noon in Lexington, Va., against VMI.

Author