THE GAME
Gardner-Webb heads to historic Williamsburg, Va., to battle the No. 5 seed William & Mary on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 in Zable Stadium. The game will stream live on ESPN+ with James Westling and Leger Douzable on the call. The radio team of Dave Friedman and Reginald Walker, Jr., will call the action live on WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn Radio App).

HOT ROUTES
*    TJ Luther has more catches this season (62) than he had the first three seasons of his college football career combined (39). He is also the first GWU receiver in school history to top 1,000 yards with fewer than 70 receptions.

*    Nine teams on Gardner-Webb's 2022 schedule have at least seven wins this season. Three were ranked in their respective subdivision's top-25 final regular season poll (Elon, Mercer, William & Mary) and two more (Liberty, Coastal Carolina) were previously ranked. Limestone qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs.

*    Gardner-Webb has eight games with 400+ yards offensively this season, moving past the 2005 squad for the most in the program's Division I era (since 2000).

*    Bailey Fisher is tied for the most 300-yard passing games in Gardner-Webb's Division I era, joining Lucas Beatty as the only men with seven to their credit.

*    TJ Luther has nine games with 100+ receiving yards over two seasons at Gardner-Webb, leaving him one shy of tying Kenny Cook (2012-2014) and William Andrews (2000-2003) for the school mark in the Division I era.

*    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 (33, November 15, 1989) slightly younger.

*    Gardner-Webb ranks No. 10 nationally in offensive pace, averaging 74.2 snaps per game. William & Mary ranks No. 108 in pace with 63.3 snaps per game on offense – and allows only 65.5 snaps per game on the defensive side.

*    Gardner-Webb won outright Big South Conference championships in 2002, 2003 and 2022. Gardner-Webb is the  only team remaining in the Big South with multiple outright  league titles. GWU went undefeated in each of those three championship seasons.

SERIES NOTES
Gardner-Webb and William & Mary have never met on the football field ... GWU is 2-4 in its football history against teams from the talent-rich 757 area code in Virginia, going 2-3 vs. Hampton and dropping a 14-7 game at Old Dominion on October 2, 2010.

WHAT A SCHEDULE
Each of Gardner-Webb's non-conference opponents have been lights out in 2022. Liberty, Coastal Carolina and Marshall are bowl eligible. Limestone (8-3) recently competed in the NCAA Division II playoffs and both Elon (8-4) and Mercer (7-3) were ranked in the final national FCS regular season polls. Elon earning an at-large spot in the FCS playoffs before falling on the road at Furman. The overall schedule rates 10th nationally by NCAA.com, just ahead of Eastern Washington and Weber State.

THE MAYOR
Running back Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.) now has 2,373 yards rushing for his career, moving the Rock Hill, S.C., native into seventh on the school's all-time rushing list, passing Hall of Famer Shed Harris (2,252 yards). Gaither is third on the school's all-time Division I career rushing list, trailing only Tyrell Maxwell (2,944) and Juanne Blount (2,439). Darrell Middleton (3,877 yards) is the school's all-time leading rusher after a Hall of Fame career from 1986-1989.

IS IT DECEMBER?
Gardner-Webb has not played a football game in the month of December since 1992, when the Runnin' Bulldogs dropped a 19-16 decision in the NAIA National Championship Game vs. Central (Ohio) State on December 12, 1992.

DECEMBER FOOTBALL GAME HISTORY
12/12/92 – Central State 19, Gardner-Webb 16 (Boiling Springs, N.C.) – NAIA Championship
12/05/92 – Gardner-Webb 22, Shepherd 7 (Boiling Springs, N.C.) – NAIA Semifinals
12/05/87 – Carson-Newman 27, Gardner-Webb 24 (Jefferson City, Tenn.) – NAIA Quarterfinals
12/08/73 – Stephen F. Austin 31, Gardner-Webb 10 (Gainesville, Ga.) – Poultry Bowl

THE HEAD COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb is the second-youngest skipper in Division I FCS football at age 33. He is 13-14 in his brief tenure, with five of those losses coming to 85-scholarship FBS programs. Veteran head coach Mike London is 21-15 in his fourth season in charge at William & Mary. He has won 84 games overall in 14 seasons, including a national title at Richmond in 2008.

HOIST THE HOG
Gardner-Webb captured the second annual NC Pork East/West BBQ Bowl vs. Campbell on November 12 in Buies Creek. The Runnin' Bulldogs defeated the Camels, 42-35, to bring home the well-built, hefty trophy -- topped with a decorative hog and adorned with a placard to engrave each year's winning team and score -- and will enjoy a feast of barbeque supplied by the Camels as part of the arrangement. The rivalry game is tied at 1-1, as Campbell won the inaugural BBQ Bowl in 2021, and will be on hiatus until the teams can re-schedule the series in future nonconference seasons.

CATCH THIS
Receiver TJ Luther (6-1, 180, R-Sr.) has been among the best in the nation this season, catching 62 passes for 1,134 yards and seven touchdowns through 12 games. The Arcadia, Fla., native ranks in the top-10 nationally in receiving yards and yards per game – leading the Big South in both categories while also averaging a league-best 18.3 yards per catch. Luther now has 124 career catches for 2,396 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in 46 games played. He has 3,423 career all-purpose yards. Luther is also the first Gardner-Webb receiver to post seven different 100-yard receiving games in a season since the 'Dogs moved ot Division I in 2000. He is the first 1,000-yard receiver for Gardner-Webb since 2019 and only the third since the move to Division I in 2000.

CATCH THAT
Receiver Cutrell Haywood (6-0, 217, Gr.) has been consistently strong as well, hauling in a career-high 73 passes for 726 yards and seven scores. Haywood has 218 catches for 2,122 yards and 21 touchdowns in 43 career games. Haywood has now gone over 50 catches three times in his career – with two of those seasons coming at Idaho.

ROAD TRIP
Gardner-Webb endured the longest road swing in program history during the month of October, playing four in a row away from Spangler Stadium from October 1-October 22. GWU went 2-2 during that stretch, with the losses coming at FBS Marshall and current #19 FBS Liberty. Gardner-Webb's two road conference wins at Robert Morris (Oct. 8) and Charleston Southern (Oct. 22) mark the first time since 2009 that GWU has picked up multiple Big South wins away from home in the same season.

THIRD DOWN PATROL
Gardner-Webb has been among the nation's best on third down, ranking No. 8 nationally by allowing a 32.1 percent conversion rate.  GWU has been aided by a strong pass rush, with the team ranking No. 8 nationally in sacks this season.  Eight different players have recorded multiple sacks so far in 2022, with Ty French (11.5), William McRainey (5.5) and Willie Harris (5.5) leading the way.

POSTSEASON AVALANCHE
Gardner-Webb secured 14 spots on the All-Big South team on November 21, tops in the league, and swept the league's major postseason awards – with Bailey Fisher (Offense), Ty French (Defense) and Tre Lamb (Coach) taking those trophies. Ty Anderson was named Big South Defensive Freshman of the Year and William McRainey was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Fisher was joined on the first-team offense by Narii Gaither, TJ Luther, Cutrell Haywood, Gabe Thompson and Clayton Frady. French was joined on the first-team defense by McRainey, Jamari Brown and Raequan Ousley. Tackle Janathian Turner was named second-team All-Big South and safety AJ Thomas joined him on defense.

A FACT
Janathian Turner (6-3, 306, R-Sr.) was the only defensive tackle among the eight linemen chosen to the All-Big South defensive first or second team on Monday. Each of the other seven choices played end in 2022. Turner has been an anchor for the 'Dogs this season, recording 45 total tackles despite consistent double teams.

BONJOUR
Gardner-Webb defensive stalwart Ty French (6-3, 230, Jr.) is in the midst of a career-best season, breaking the Big South single-season record for sacks with 11.5 through 12 games. French is just the third player in league history to reach double figures in sacks and is just a half sack from tying the GWU single-season mark set by Chris Mintz in 1999. The Moultrie, Ga., native needs just one more sack to tie the Big South career mark (25.0). French needs five more sacks to reach the Gardner-Webb career mark – currently held by former Green Bay Packer and GWU Hall of Famer Gabe Wilkins (1990-1993). French is a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and is on the final watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award.

THE QUARTERBACK
Gardner-Webb's Bailey Fisher (5-11, 207, R-Sr.) tied the Big South record with three consecutive games with 350+ yards of total offense from October 22-November 12. Fisher amassed 452, 384 and 414 total offensive yards during his streak, and in the process increased his career games with 400+ total yards of offense to four, which tied Coastal Carolina's Alex Ross for the most in league history. He is the only quarterback in GWU's Division I era to post a pair of 400-yard passing games in the same season.

CORNERING THE MARKET
Gardner-Webb has dominated the Big South's Freshman of the Week award in 2022, posting eight winners in 11 weeks of regular season play. Janiero Crankfield took the honor after the opener, followed by Jay Billingsley (Week 2), Ty Anderson (Week 5), Jayden Brown (Week 6, Week 8, Week 11), Jonathan Burns (Week 9) and Caleb Borders (Week 10).

RUN DAWGS RUN
Gardner-Webb has posted two of the top-4 rushing games in school history this season, rumbling for 412 yards in the season opener vs. Limestone and nearly topping that effort with 405 yards in its playoff win over Eastern Kentucky on November 26. GWU has topped 200 yards on the ground six times this season, going 6-0 in those games.

WHEN THE MAYOR IS IN THE OFFICE
Gardner-Webb has played just eight games this season with All-America running back Narii Gaither at full speed, going 7-1 in those contests. GWU is averaging 41.5 points and 514.4 yards of total offense per game over those eight contests, with the only loss coming in a 21-20 nail biter at FBS Liberty (8-4). Gaither himself is averaging 115.1 rushing yards per game on those eight dates with seven touchdowns. He has six 100-yard games in those seven outings and went for 245 yards in the win at Eastern Kentucky – the top rushing performance in Gardner-Webb's Division I history (since 2000).

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
Gardner-Webb had a passer go for 300+, a rusher go for 100+ and a receiver go for 100+ in the same game for just the fourth time in its 42-35 win at Campbell on November 12. It was only the second time that the Runnin' Bulldogs won a game when accomplishing that feat, joining a November 11, 2000 win over No. 23 New Hampshire on the road.

A LONG TIME COMING
Gardner-Webb last secured the Big South's three major postseason awards in the same season in 2002, when Jeremy Martin (Offensive Player of the Year), Mario Williams (Defensive Player of the Year) and Steve Patton (Coach of the Year) were honored. Keppy Baucom was also named Big South Freshman of the Year in 2002. That solo award is now split into two different awards – Offensive and Defensive Freshman of the Year.

A STREAK
Gardner-Webb hasn't won five games in a row since 2002, when the 'Dogs closed the season with eight wins in a row over Division I foes to finish at 9-1 and ranked No. 18 nationally. GWU's lone loss that season came at No. 12 Georgia Southern and was followed by wins over ETSU, Chattanooga, Liberty, Elon, Florida International, UT Martin, Charleston Southern and Savannah State.

MAJOR AWARDS
The 2022 season marks the first time ever that Gardner-Webb has finalists for the Walter Payton Award (Bailey Fisher), the Buck Buchanan Award (Ty French) and the Eddie Robinson Award (Coach Tre Lamb) in the same season. 

NEARLY DID IT AGAIN
Gardner-Webb narrowly missed its second-ever FBS victory on September 10, as the Runnin' Bulldogs fell to former Big South power Coastal Carolina, 31-27. GWU rallied back from a 24-10 deficit to take a 27-24 lead at 10:33 in the fourth quarter. In Week 7, the Runnin' Bulldogs suffered a one-point defeat at former Big South rival Liberty, 21-20. GWU held a 20-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Gardner-Webb's lone win against an FBS squad came at Akron on September 11, 2010 (38-37). GWU nearly stunned Georgia Tech on October 11, 2008, falling 10-7 in Atlanta and lost a five-point game at Georgia Southern in the 2021 season opener.

TACKLING MACHINE
Gardner-Webb linebacker William McRainey (6-0, 217, Jr.) leads the team and ranks among the Big South's best with 92 tackles this season. The Shallotte, N.C., native has 216 career tackles through 25 starts and is a three-time All-Big South selection. McRainey is also an Academic All-America candidate again in 2022 and is a two-time Academic All-District choice with a 3.59 cumulative GPA in Economics and Finance.

ROAD WARRIORS
Gardner-Webb will play its ninth road game of the 2022 season on Saturday, the most in the program's history for a single season. GWU led the Big South with three road wins this regular season and has a 4-4 mark away from Spangler Stadium this season. The game at Eastern Kentucky marked Gardner-Webb's first road playoff game since a 27-24 loss on December 5, 1987 at Carson-Newman in the NAIA Playoffs – and its first ever playoff road win.