THE GAME
Gardner-Webb hits the road for the final time in 2018, traveling down I-26 to tangle with Charleston Southern. Kickoff between the only two remaining members of the original Big South football conference is set for 3:00 pm on Buccaneer Field. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with Kevin O'Rourke, Danny Croghan III and Danielle Hensley on the call.
  
SERIES NOTES
Saturday is the 19th meeting between the two schools in football, with Gardner-Webb holding an 11-7 edge in the series ... Charleston Southern won in a thriller last season in Boiling Springs, getting a field goal at the buzzer to take a 10-9 win ... Gardner-Webb topped No. 8 Charleston Southern in another nailbiter two seasons ago, winning 17-10 in Charleston ...  The two teams first met in 1988 when CSU was playing as a club team and Gardner-Webb was an NAIA member ... GWU won the first five meetings until a 38-7 defeat on Homecoming Weekend in 2005 to the eventual Big South champions ... There have been five shutouts combined in the series, most recently a 34-0 win by Charleston Southern in 2015 ... One of the teams has been ranked in six of the previous 19 meetings, Gardner-Webb in 2002 and Charleston Southern in 2006, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 ... The two teams have split those six contests.

SERIES HISTORY
Nov. 19, 1988 – W, 42-0 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 12, 1992 – W, 56-0 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 09, 2002 – W, 57-15 (Charleston)
Nov. 08, 2003 – W, 46-0 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 13, 2004 – W, 18-0 (Charleston)
Nov. 05, 2005 – L, 38-7 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 04, 2006 – L, 28-14 (Charleston)
Oct. 27, 2007 – W, 29-25 (Boiling Springs)
Oct. 04, 2008 – L, 13-10 (Charleston)
Oct. 17, 2009 – W, 27-20 (Boiling Springs)
Oct. 16, 2010 – W, 35-25 (Charleston)
Oct. 29, 2011 – W, 14-7 (Boiling Spring)
Nov. 10, 2012 – L, 28-10 (Charleston)
Nov. 16, 2013 – W, 27-10 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 08, 2014 – L, 44-14 (Charleston)
Oct. 24, 2015 – L, 34-0 (Boiling Springs)
Nov. 05, 2016 – W, 17-10 (Charleston)
Nov. 04, 2017 – L, 10-9 (Boiling Springs)

THE HEAD COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Carroll McCray (Class of '83) returned to his alma mater in 2013 and is 24-42 so far in his time in Boiling Springs. Mark Tucker (ETSU '87) is in his second season as head coach at Charleston Southern and has forged a 9-10 mark so far. Tucker served as a top aide at CSU during its stellar run into the national spotlight from 2013-2017

SOME FRESH [MEN] NOTES
Gardner-Webb has compiled  47 total freshmen starts so far in 2018, including nine each by quarterback Jordan Smith, defensive end John Singleton and punter Crimmins Hankinson ... More than half of the 47 freshmen starts this season have come from the State of Georgia (24) ... Other states represented are North Carolina (14) and Florida (9) ... 10 starts have come from former North Carolina Shrine Bowlers Singleton (9) and Matt Robinson (1).

ENGINE NO. 9
Quarterback Jordan Smith (6-1, 211, R-Fr.) has come alive the past two weeks under center, combining to complete 25-of-46 passes for 418 yards and seven touchdowns – with only one interception on a dropped pass. He went for a career-high 251 yards and three scores vs. Presbyterian and ran for another touchdown. The Fruit Cove, Fla., native has accounted for eight touchdowns over those two weeks and, not surprisingly, Gardner-Webb has averaged a healthy 36.5 points per game offensively during that stretch. Smith had passed for only three touchdowns over his first seven starts.

HIGH DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
One season ago, Gardner-Webb entertained the nation's most difficult schedule according to the NCAA. In 2018, the Runnin' Bulldogs are tackling another very difficult slate, ranking No. 20 nationally after games of October 27. GWU was the first team in the FCS this season to do battle with three top-10 teams, falling to No. 5 North Carolina A&T, No. 6 Wofford and No. 2 Kennesaw State. Four of Gardner-Webb's first five FCS opponents this season are currently ranked in the top-25 (Kennesaw State, Wofford, North Carolina A&T and ETSU). Four more – Campbell, Charleston Southern, Monmouth and Western Carolina – have each received votes at least one week during the 2018 regular season. This week's opponent, Charleston Southern, has the Big South's most difficult slate to date – ranking No. 9 according to the NCAA.

SPEED DEMON
Receiver and return man Kyle Horton (5-11, 178, Sr.) is fully healthy in his final campaign and has proven to be a dangerous weapon so far – and had another big day in the win over Presbyterian. Horton hauled in six passes for 159 yards and two scores to stake GWU to a 38-7 lead after three quarters vs. PC, with all six of his catches going for first downs. His 74-yarder broke the game open early and he added a 10-yard touchdown catch to put GWU up 14-0. So far this season Horton has hauled in a career-high 35 passes for 527 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 15.1 yards per catch. He also ranks No. 14 nationally with a 12.4 yards per attempt average on punt returns. The Charlotte, N.C., native has two 100-yard receiving games in his career – with both coming against Presbyterian (2016, 2018).

MORE STARTERS LOST FOR 2018
Gardner-Webb has two more defensive starters out for the rest of the season. Outside linebacker Malachi Bucker (6-1, 200, Fr.) is down with an injury, as well as safety Josh Carter (5-11, 195, Sr.). Both saw significant snaps vs. Kennesaw State in their final appearance. That marks five starters or potential starters on the defensive side out for the 2018 campaign with two games remaining on the slate. The Runnin' Bulldogs lost veteran nose guards Josh Ramseur and K'Maron Patterson before the season started and starting SPUR linebacker Robert McKoy (5-11, 220, RSo.) early in the season.

BOOM BOOM
First-year starter Tre' Jackson (5-10, 226, R-Jr.) has proven to be a powerful kicker through nine games. The Newland, N.C., native has connected on six of his eight field goal attempts this season, including a 41-yarder vs. Western Carolina (9/14) and a 40-yarder at No. 5 North Carolina A&T (9/8). Jackson's most impressive performance has come on kickoffs, where he has boomed 19-of-37 attempts into – or out of – the end zone for touchbacks. The former prep quarterback also hauled in a two-point conversion pass at Campbell off a broken play.

FOOTBALL FAMILIES
Gardner-Webb features two families on its current roster with strong ties to college football. Nose guard Josh Ramseur (5-11, 286, R-Sr.), who will seek a medical redshirt in 2018, is one of five brothers in his family to play college football. Older brothers Kenneth (Gardner-Webb) and Tim (NC State) played collegiately in the 1990s, while brothers Tank (Tuskeegee) and Aaron (East Carolina) are currently on college rosters. Another set of brothers on Gardner-Webb's roster – Robert McKoy and Keante McNair – are part of a group of four brothers to play college football. Older siblings Terrell Manning (NC State) and Artemis Robinson (NC State) played collegiately, with Manning drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2012. Current GWU teammates and brothers Elijah Rodgers (Fr.) and Kobe Rodgers (R-So.) have both played on special teams and in the secondary this season for the Runnin' Bulldogs.

SYMMETRY
For the first time since moving up to NCAA Division I in 2000, Gardner-Webb will alternate home and road dates evenly throughout a season. GWU almost pulled off the feat in 2010, but played its final two games back-to-back at home in Ernest W. Spangler Stadium.

FUTURE SCHEDULES
Gardner-Webb has added a handful of future FBS opponents for coming seasons, beginning with back-to-back games to open the 2019 campaign at Charlotte and East Carolina. With the addition of Hampton and North Alabama to the Big South slate, Gardner-Webb's 2019 schedule is complete. In addition to Charlotte, East Carolina, Gardner-Webb will have 2019 non-conference dates with North Carolina Central, Wofford and Western Carolina. GWU will play three future FBS games against nearby foes, traveling to face Georgia Tech in 2020, Georgia Southern in 2021 and Liberty in 2022.

A.J. LEADS THE WAY
Running back A.J. Moses (6-0, 229, So.) made his second consecutive start at Campbell (10/27) and came through in a major way. The Griffin, Ga., native carried 18 times for 100 yards and a touchdown – and added five catches for 34 yards to pace a strong offensive effort by the Runnin' Bulldogs.

BABY BULLDOGS
Gardner-Webb played 23 freshmen during its most recent game vs. Presbyterian, with six garnering starting assignments. All told this season, GWU has gotten starts from freshmen 47 times. Heading into its November 10 game at Charleston Southern, 20-of-44 spots on the two deep are freshmen (45.5%), with two more freshmen listed on the eight-person special teams depth chart.

GAME OF THE WEEK COMING UP
Gardner-Webb's season finale vs. Monmouth on November 17 was recently chosen as the ESPN3 Wildcard "Game of the Week" selection by the Big South Conference. The 1:30 pm kickoff will remain intact as the teams currently sitting in second and third place in the league standings face off. It will mark the third time in 2018 that GWU has played a game on ESPN3, joining the already aired Kennesaw State (10/13) and Campbell (10/27) games. Gardner-Webb's other eight games, including this weekend's tilt in Charleston, have streamed live on ESPN+.

NICE TWO WEEKS
With the tough start to its season in the rear view, Gardner-Webb has feasted on its last two opponents to pick up a pair of important conference wins. In those two wins over Campbell and Presbyterian, Gardner-Webb has averaged 36.5 points per game while chewing up 437 yards of total offense per contest. The production has been balanced, with a solid 228 yards per game on the ground and another 209 through the air, leading to more than 33 minutes of possession time per game. Defensively, in addition to allowing only 13.5 points per game, Gardner-Webb has limited its last two opponents to an average of only 109 yards per game on the ground and only one rushing score. The GWU defense has also forced seven turnovers during that stretch, while the offense has only miscue.

BIG BAD JOHN
Gardner-Webb defensive end John Singleton (6-5, 240, R-Fr.) has been a stalwart in his first season, starting each of the first eight games for the 'Dogs. The former Middle Creek (N.C.) High star has posted 36 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks during his nine games. He had six tackles and a sack at Appalachian State (9/22) and came through with a career-high 10 total stops vs. No. 6 Wofford (9/29). Singleton is one of six freshmen who make up the seven-man rotation on the defensive line for Gardner-Webb in 2018..

RAMSEUR OUT
Preseason All-Big South nose guard Josh Ramseur (5-11, 286, R-Sr.) will miss the entire 2018 season after undergoing offseason surgery, but will apply for a medical redshirt and a sixth year of eligibility for 2019. The former Burns (N.C.) High standout totaled 50 tackles as a redshirt junior and is expected to make a full recovery. The bright spot in the extended career is that Ramseur will have a chance to play against his youngest brother – Aaron Ramseur – when Gardner-Webb travels to East Carolina on September 7, 2019.

HIT MAN
Mike linebacker Corey Horne (6-1, 225, Sr.) has been a mature force for Gardner-Webb's young defense so far this season, pacing the team with a career-high 77 total tackles (42 solo). His 16 stops vs. Western Carolina were a new career-high total, breaking the mark set one week earlier when he had 12 tackles at No. 5 North Carolina A&T (9/8). Horne, who is in his second full season as a starter, has made 193 total tackles during his time in Boiling Springs.. 

DOMINANT
Linebacker Darien Reynolds (6-0, 224, So.) had a coming out party of sorts at Campbell (10/27), ripping his way to a career-high 13 total tackles to go with an interception and forced fumble. The Charlotte, N.C., native had seven tackles over the game's first 15 minutes and posted 11 hits by intermission – with a quick start putting Gardner-Webb up 28-7 at the break. His second-half interception was returned 16 yards and was part of a five-turnover day for the Gardner-Webb defense. That record lasted only one week, as Reynolds came through with 14 stops (nine solo) in a win over Presbyterian. He was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week twice over that two-week span.  Reynolds has played well in his first full season as a starter, collecting 62 total tackles at his inside linebacker post. The former Shrine Bowler played outside linebacker as a true freshman in 2017.

UP NEXT
Gardner-Webb will close out the 2018 season at home, hosting Monmouth on November 17 for Senior Day. The game will stream live on ESPN3. †