Positive press a big-game benefit for Bulldogs

STATE COLLEGES

What does The Citadel get out of a game with third-ranked Florida?

Besides a sound trashing, a $450,000 check and the experience of a lifetime for the players, a lot of positive press accompanies the Bulldogs when they go on the road for "money games" like the one they will play Saturday at The Swamp.

When The Citadel goes to places like Auburn, LSU, Pitt, Texas A&M or Wisconsin, as it has in recent years, the local media usually does a story explaining the unique nature of the military school.

A story this week by David Jones of the Fort Myers News-Press is a good example. Jones led his article with the inspirational speech given by 2006 Citadel graduate Brian Brennan to the Bulldogs' football team last Friday before the game with Chattanooga.

Brennan, a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant, was with the 506th Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan last May when the convoy he was leading was hit by an explosive device.

Three soliders were killed, and Brennan lost both his legs.

"He ended up, basically, putting his body on it and lost both legs," Citadel coach Kevin Higgins said. "He was going to lose his arm. They were going to put a tourniquet on it and he just pleaded with them not to and they didn't. His arm survived. ... He spoke to our team on Friday and, boy, I'll tell you. That was a powerful, powerful talk. He talked about teamwork, taking care of your teammates, not giving up ... You talk about a guy that loves his country."

Jones' story noted that some 1,300 Citadel grads have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. That number includes former Citadel quarterback Stanley Myers, who served in Afghanistan with the S.C. National Guard.

Many schools like to use a visit by The Citadel as an occasion to honor the military, as Clemson did earlier this year.

Florida officials are planning to do much the same.

"There's a group nationally called The Wounded Warriors that will be involved in this weekend's ballgame," Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley said this week. "Any time you can show respect for people who are fighting for this country, it's something we are glad to do and proud to do."

Florida coach Urban Meyer knows a lot about The Citadel. One of his assistants is former Bulldogs player Kenny Carter, and Meyer coached Tim Higgins, the son of The Citadel coach who was a walk-on receiver with the Gators' national championship team in 2006.

"I have a lot of respect for them," Meyer said. "There was a time when I was hoping, and still am, that my son will go to a military academy or a place like The Citadel, because I have great admiration for them. I know 'Higs' and his father is the coach. (Tim) Higgins played for us and he's always going to be a Gator."

The positive press should be particularly helpful in Florida, a big recruiting ground for The Citadel. There are 13 Bulldogs on the current roster from Florida.

Tough day for Furman

Furman's 17-10 loss to Georgia Southern last week likely ended the Paladins' quest for a FCS playoff berth. But that was not the worst news of the day for coach Bobby Lamb's team.

Talented tight end Larry Hedden, an all-Southern Conference pick last year, had his career ended by a gruesome knee injury. Hedden, a 6-5, 241-pounder from Hoover, Ala., tore all three ligaments in his right knee — the anterior cruciate, the posterior cruciate and the lateral collateral.

Hedden underwent three hours of surgery Sunday and was still in the hospital on Monday.

"It was just a freak thing you never like to see in football," Lamb said Tuesday. "Larry's really struggling right now. There's a lot of pain involved, and he'll probably never play football again."

Hedden already had been through a tough season. His father, Tim, died of cancer on Oct. 13, just five days before Furman's game with The Citadel. Larry did not practice that week, but played in the Paladins' 34-20 win over the Bulldogs.

"He felt that's what his father would have wanted," Lamb said.

Extra points

--Now that South Carolina State has wrapped up an FCS playoff berth — the Bulldogs' first since 1982 — coach Buddy Pough is wondering where his team will be placed in the 16-team field.

S.C. State is 9-2 heading into this week's regular-season finale at North Carolina A&T, and Pough knows a win there can help.

"The fact that we have the possibility of winning 10 games and the fact that the only two losses we have were to Bowl Subdivision teams (Central Florida and Clemson), I think should mean something in people's thought process," Pough said at his weekly news conference. "It's just that we don't have quite enough non-conference wins against quality opponents, is the only reason why I haven't ranked us any higher."

S.C. State is ranked No. 15 in the FCS coaches poll. Last year's Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champ, Delaware State, was sent to Delaware in the first round and lost 44-7. MEAC teams have lost nine straight playoff games.

One place S.C. State does not want to visit in December — Boone, N.C.

--No coincidence that Charleston Southern has played some of its best ball lately now that quarterback Tribble Reese is healthy again. In the Bucs' last three games, the Clemson transfer is 45 of 60 for 622 yards and 10 touchdowns against three interceptions.

"Tribble just got beat around a lot early in the season," said CSU coach Jay Mills, whose team goes to Coastal Carolina on Saturday. "In the middle of the season, that showed a little as he was not able to practice a lot for a number of weeks.

"As he's gotten healthier, gotten closer to 100 percent, he's been very consistent. As he's gone, the team has gone, and he has gone very well the last couple of weeks."

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