THE GAME
Gardner-Webb returns home for the first time since September 24 when it hosts Big South Conference newcomer Bryant University on Saturday, October 29 at 1:30 pm as part of Homecoming Weekend festivities on campus. The game will stream live on ESPN+, with Phil Constantino and Mark Covert in the booth. Dave Friedman and Reginald Walker, Jr., will call the game live on WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn Radio App).
HOT ROUTES
* Bailey Fisher tied a Big South single-game mark for passing yards in a conference game with his 408 yards at Charleston Southern (10/22).
* TJ Luther and Cutrell Haywood are the first duo in Big South Conference history to net at least 145 receiving yards in the same game when they combined for 304 yards at Charleston Southern (10/22).
* Saturday's game will feature the top-two passing attacks in the Big South Conference this season. The two teams have pass defense efficiency ranks in the Big South of second (Gardner-Webb) and fourth (Bryant), with just seven ratings points between them.
* Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb (33, September 16, 1989) is the second youngest head coach in the FCS ranks currently, with only Austin Peay skipper Scotty Walden (32, November 15, 1989) slightly younger.
* Gardner-Webb hasn't won three Big South games in a season since 2006. GWU hasn't been 3-0 in league play since 2003.
* Gardner-Webb has two preseason All-America selections on its roster – Narii Gaither and Ty French – for the first time since 2014. GWU is the lone Big South squad with multiple preseason All-America selections in 2022.
* Gardner-Webb won outright Big South Conference championships in both 2002 and 2003, the conference's first two seasons sponsoring football. Gardner-Webb is the only team remaining in the Big South with multiple outright league titles. Charleston Southern won an outright crown in 2005.
* Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern are the two remaining original football members of the Big South Conference. The two schools began play in 2002, with GWU claiming that first league trophy. The first conference season featured GWU, CSU, Liberty and Elon.
SERIES NOTES
Saturday marks the first meeting between Gardner-Webb and Bryant ... The visiting Bulldogs are in their first year of Big South Conference competition and entered 2022 after posting a solid 7-4 record last season ... Bryant will be the first team Gardner-Webb has played from Rhode Island and third from New England ... GWU defeated the University of New Haven on October 28, 2000 in Spangler Stadium (28-10) and knocked off No. 23 New Hampshire on November 11, 2000 in Durham, N.H. (38-35).
LET'S GO
Gardner-Webb is 2-0 in the Big South for the first time since 2009, when the Runnin' Bulldogs won 27-23 at VMI on October 3 and defeated Charleston Southern 27-20 on October 17 in Spangler Stadium. Gardner-Webb's last 3-0 start in the Big South came in 2003, when the Runnin' Bulldogs won their second league championship with a 4-0 conference mark. Gardner-Webb defeated Coastal Carolina (October 4), Liberty (October 11), VMI (October 18) and Charleston Southern (November 8) that season – posting an average margin of victory of 22.2 points per game.
TIGHT SQUEEZE
Three of Gardner-Webb's five losses this season have come by one possession, including a one-point loss at FBS Liberty (21-20) and a four-point loss at FBS Coastal Carolina (31-27). Both Liberty and Coastal Carolina are bowl eligible. Over the past two seasons, GWU has eight close losses – games decided in the final four minutes, overtime or by one possession.
CATCH THIS
Receiver TJ Luther (6-1, 180, R-Sr.) has been among the best in the nation this season, catching 35 passes for 754 yards and four touchdowns through eight games. The Arcadia, Fla., native ranks No. 3 nationally in receiving yards and No. 10 nationally in yards per catch – leading the Big South in both categories. Luther now has 97 career catches for 2,016 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns in 41 games played. He has 3,035 career all-purpose yards. Receiver Cutrell Haywood (6-0, 217, Gr.) has been consistently strong as well, hauling in 51 passes for 479 yards and three scores. Haywood has caught 199 passes for 1,793 yards and 15 touchdowns in 40 career games. Haywood has now gone over 50 catches three times in his career.
THE HEAD COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb is the second-youngest skipper in Division I football at age 33. He is 9-14 in his brief tenure, with five of those losses coming to 85-scholarship FBS programs. Chris Merritt is 15-19 in his fourth season in charge of the Bryant program. He is a 1992 graduate if Indiana University. Merritt had a length and successful career in the Florida prep ranks at Columbus (Fla.) High.
TOUGH SLATE
Gardner-Webb's non-conference slate is among the toughest in FCS, with the six teams – including Liberty – posting a combined 33-13 record heading into this weekend (71.7 percent). All six opponents, Division II Limestone 5-3), FCS programs Elon (5-3) and Mercer (6-2) and FBS foes Coastal Carolina (6-1), Marshall (4-3) and Liberty (7-1) are either ranked or have received votes in their respective national top-25 polls. Mercer are currently ranked in the FCS top-20 tabulation by Stats Perform and the top-25 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Liberty is ranked as high as 27th in both the Associated Press and Coaches Top 25 this week after a 41-14 win over BYU.
THAT WAS FUN
Gardner-Webb posted its largest margin of victory ever in a Big South Conference game when it steamrolled Robert Morris 48-0 in the Pittsburgh suburbs on October 8. The previous mark was a 46-0 win over Charleston Southern on November 8, 2003 in Boiling Springs. The previous mark for a Big South road game was 42 points in a 57-15 win at Charleston Southern on November 9, 2002.
THE MAYOR OF ROCK HILL
Gardner-Webb deploys one of the most talented offensive players in the country in Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.). The Rock HIll, S.C., native is a preseason FCS All-America choice as an all-purpose back and is one of only two men in the nation returning after leading his team in both rushing yards and receptions. Gaither, who nearly reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark last season despite playing in just eight full games, was also recently named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List – given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He didn't disappoint in the season opener, churning out 137 yards and a score on just 13 carries – despite playing less than two full quarters. Gaither played just two snaps at Coastal Carolina before leaving with an injury and missed the next three games before returning with 11 carries for 106 yards at Robert Morris on October 8. He has three 100-yard games this season.
ALSO FUN
Gardner-Webb's 48-0 win at Robert Morris on October 8 marked its first shutout in a Big South game since an 18-0 win at Charleston Southern on November 13, 2004. It was the first shutout for the Runnin' Bulldogs in a Division I game since beating No. 8 Wofford by a 3-0 score in Spartanburg on September 21, 2013.
BONJOUR
Defensive end Ty French (6-3, 234, Jr.) is a preseason FCS All-America choice, as well as one of the nation's most feared pass rushers. A disruptive force on the edge, the Moultrie, Ga., native had 14.5 tackles for loss last season and recorded 7.0 sacks over his final four starts of the season. A two-time, first-team All-Big South selection, French was named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List in August. The Buchanan Award is given each season to the top defender in the Football Championship Subdivision. French has 7.5 sacks so far this season, collecting a pair to go with three hurries at Marshall (10/1). He followed with two more sacks and a hurry at Robert Morris (10/8) and two at Liberty (10/15). French has seven games with multiple sacks in 20 career starts.
TIGHT SQUEEZE
Three of Gardner-Webb's five losses this season have come by one possession, including a one-point loss at FBS Liberty (21-20) and a four-point loss at FBS Coastal Carolina (31-27). Both Liberty and Coastal Carolina are bowl eligible. Over the past two seasons, GWU has eight close losses – games decided in the final four minutes, overtime or by one possession.
CLOSE AGAINST THE BOWLERS
Gardner-Webb has lost three games to FBS foes this season, including two games by one possession. GWU lost 31-27 at bowl eligible Coastal Carolina (6-1) on September 10 and dropped a 21-20 decision at bowl eligible Liberty (6-1) on October 15. GWU lost a 30-25 affair at Georgia Southern in 2021's season opener.
THIRD DOWN PATROL
Gardner-Webb has been among the nation's best defenses this season on third down, ranking fourth nationally in the FCS by allowing opponents to convert just 26.6 percent. GWU built on that success by limiting FBS Liberty to just 1-of-12 on third down, it's best effort against a foe from the Football Bowl Subdivision since holding Georgia Tech to a 4-of-14 effort in a 10-7 loss on October 11, 2008. Teams are converting an average of just 3.6 third downs per game against GWU this season. Gardner-Webb has limited its two Big South opponents to just 21.0 percent on third down (6-of-28).
PARTNERSHIP
The Big South Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) have created an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access. It will provide the football member institutions a schedule of games against all the teams in their home conference and additional games against schools from the other conference. This new model for FCS football also creates more stability for the multisport conferences.
CORNERING THE MARKET
Gardner-Webb has dominated the Big South's Freshman of the Week award in 2022, posting five winners in the first eight weeks of play. Janiero Crankfield took the honor after the opener, followed by Jay Billingsley (Week 2), Ty Anderson (Week 5), Jayden Brown (Week 6) and Brown (Week 8).
BEHIND THE LINE
Gardner-Webb leads the Big South and ranks No. 10 nationally in total sacks as a team, posting 26 on the season. GWU has posted 16 of those in the past four games, including five at FBS Liberty. The 'Dogs have 31.0 tackles for loss in those same three games.
2-2 ON THE ROAD TRIP
Gardner-Webb will play a program-record seven road games this season. The four-game road swing in October tied the longest in program history, with the previous set happening from September 12-October 17 in 2009. GWU went 2-2 that year with wins at Western Carolina and Charleston Southern sandwiching losses at NC State and Buffalo. Gardner-Webb also went 2-2 on its 2022 four-game swing, with wins at Robert Morris (10/8) and Charleston Southern (10/22).
BEST IN STATE
Three current players on Gardner-Webb's roster were State Players of the Year as seniors. Quarterback Bailey Fisher (Rabun County HS, Ga.) earned Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year honors in 2017. Defensive back Jamari Brown (Eastside HS, Ga.) was named Class 4A Defensive State Player of the Year in 2018. Running back Donovan Jones (Champagnat Catholic, Fla.) was the Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year in 2020.
THIS IS COOL
Quarterback Bailey Fisher (5-11, 207, R-Sr.) is the first man in Gardner-Webb's football history – with the senior college era dating back to 1970 – to pass for 400 or more yards twice in the same season. The Clayton, Ga., native went for 403 yards in a narrow loss at bowl eligible Coastal Carolina and topped that with 408 yards at Charleston Southern (10/22).
PRESEASON HONOR
Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.) was named Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in July, and is only the second Gardner-Webb man to earn that honor in league history. Quarterback Tyrell Maxwell was also named prior to the 2017 season after earning the postseason award in 2016. Gardner-Webb has seen seven men earn Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, including four consecutive between 2007 and 2010.
ELITE COMPANY
Gaither is one of only three backs to pace the Big South Conference in total rushing yards for two consecutive seasons, joining Liberty's Dre Barnes (2002-2003), Stony Brook's Miguel Maysonet (2010-2012) and Coastal Carolina's De'Angelo "Hop" Henderson (2014-2015) also accomplishing the feat. Maysonet is the only man to lead the league for three consecutive seasons.
THE GREAT NATE
Janathian Turner (6-3, 306, R-Sr.) has enjoyed a strong 2022 so far, posting 7.0 tackles for loss on the season to go with 38 total hits. He recorded at least a half TFL in each of Gardner-Webb's first five games this season.
SOMETHING HAS TO GIVE
Saturday's matchup between Gardner-Webb and Bryant is intriguing for many reasons, but a key factor will come on the strength of each team's third down production. The Runnin' Bulldogs are nationally elite in third down defense, holding opponents below 27 percent. The Bryant Bulldogs are nationally elite in third down offense, converting at an impressive 50 percent clip. That ranks 10th nationally among FCS members.
TACKLING MACHINE
Gardner-Webb linebacker William McRainey (6-0, 217, Jr.) leads the team and ranks among the Big South's best with 66 tackles this season. The Shallotte, N.C., native needs only five more hits to reach the 200-tackle mark for his career. McRainey is a two-time All-Big South selection. McRainey is also an Academic All-America candidate again in 2022, one season after earning Academic All-District III honors as a sophomore.
ANOTHER RECORD
Gardner-Webb's offense posted a 637 yards on 88 plays at Charleston Southern, marking its highest offensive output ever against another NCAA Division I foe. GWU has topped the 600-yard mark twice this season – the first time ever – and has done so just four times total since joining the Division I ranks in 2000.
MORE ON FISHER
Quarterback Bailey Fisher (5-11, 207, R-Sr.) ranks among the nation's top-10 among active career leaders in 10 offensive categories. The Clayton, Ga., native is fourth in career passing attempts (1,296), fourth in completions (765), fifth in passing yards (8,855), sixth in touchdown passes (61), fourth in touchdown responsibility (87), third in total plays (1,746), fourth in total plays per game (39.6), fourth in total offensive yards (9,919), fifth in passing yards per attempt and – among quarterbacks with at least 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing – he ranks second in total yards. Fisher ranks among the top-20 in all of Division I (FBS and FCS) in attempts, completions, total plays and total yards..
