2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football
2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	3–4 (2–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Maurice Drayton (3rd season);
Co-offensive coordinators	Patrick Covington (3rd season); Lamar Owens (2nd season);
Defensive coordinator	Raleigh Jackson (3rd season)
Home stadium	Johnson Hagood Stadium
	Seasons ← 2024 2026 →

Last updated October 22, 2025

2025 Southern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 17 Mercer	4	–	0	5	–	1
Western Carolina	4	–	0	5	–	3
Chattanooga	2	–	1	3	–	4
The Citadel	2	–	2	3	–	4
Furman	2	–	2	4	–	3
Wofford	1	–	2	2	–	5
East Tennessee State	1	–	3	3	–	5
Samford	1	–	4	1	–	6
VMI	0	–	3	1	–	6

As of October 21, 2025 Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represent The Citadel as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2025 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs are led by third-year head coach Maurice Drayton and play home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	12:00 p.m.	No. 1 North Dakota State *	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	L 0–38	10,695
September 6	3:30 p.m.	at Samford	Pete Hanna Stadium Birmingham, AL	ESPN+	W 40–13	4,017
September 13	7:00 p.m.	at Gardner–Webb *	Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	L 13–23	4,522
September 20	2:00 p.m.	Mercer	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	L 0–38	11,339
September 27	6:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 28–10	6,725
October 11	2:00 p.m.	Valdosta State *	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	W 38–14
October 18	2:00 p.m.	Western Carolina	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+	L 38−45	9,151
October 25	2:00 p.m.	at Furman	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+
November 1	2:00 p.m.	VMI	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+
November 8	1:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss *	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	SECN+/ESPN+
November 15	2:00 p.m.	Wofford	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	ESPN+
November 22	1:00 p.m.	at East Tennessee State	William B. Greene Jr. Stadium Johnson City, TN	ESPN+
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Game summaries

No. 1 North Dakota State

No. 1 North Dakota State Bison (0-0) at The Citadel Bulldogs (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Bison	0	17	14	7	38
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: August 30
Game time: 12:00 PM EDT
Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NE at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
Game attendance: 10,691
Referee: Jake Grombach
TV announcers (ESPN+): Pete Yanity (play-by-play), Jay Sonnhalter (analyst) and Dave Friedman (sideline)

Game information

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

(13:36) NDSU – Eli Ozick 31-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 3:55; North Dakota State 3–0)
(5:10) NDSU – Barika Kpeenu 2-yard run, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 12 plays, 90 yards, 6:22; North Dakota State 10–0)
(1:36) NDSU – RaJa Nelson 34-yard pass from Cole Payton, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 7 plays, 84 yards, 1:57; North Dakota State 17–0)

Third Quarter

(14:13) NDSU – Barika Kpeenu 1-yard run, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 2 plays, 1 yard, 0:34; North Dakota State 24–0)
(4:54) NDSU – DJ Scott 1-yard run, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 12 plays, 82 yards, 7:14; North Dakota State 31–0)

Fourth Quarter

(5:07) NDSU – Isiah St. Romain 15-yard pass from Nathan Hayes, Eli Ozick kick (Drive: 12 plays, 95 yards, 7:20; North Dakota State 38–0)

Statistics	NDSU	CIT
First downs	25	8
Total yards	519	126
Rushing yards	256	104
Passing yards	263	22
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	16–22–0	2–6–0
Time of possession	36:03	23:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Dakota State	Passing	Cole Payton	11/17, 192 yards, TD
	Rushing	Cole Payton	11 carries, 101 yards
	Receiving	RaJa Nelson	2 receptions, 60 yards, TD
The Citadel	Passing	Quentin Hayes	1/3, 14 yards
	Rushing	Israel Benjamin	16 carries, 54 yards
	Receiving	Javonte Graves-Billips	1 reception, 14 yards

at Samford

The Citadel Bulldogs (0-1) at Samford Bulldogs (0-1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
The Citadel	0	10	10	20	40
Samford	0	6	0	7	13

at Pete Hanna Stadium • Homewood, AL

Date: September 6
Game time: 2:30 PM CDT
Game weather: Cloud • Temperature: 83 °F (28 °C)
Game attendance: 4,017
Referee: Michael Farmer
TV announcers (ESPN+): Blake Gardner (play-by-play), Damian Mitchell (analyst) and Christina Chambers (sideline)

Game information

First Quarter

No scoring

Second Quarter

(14:46) SAM – Jake Garner 40-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 13 yards, 1:17; Samford 3–0)
(8:34) SAM – Jake Garner 20-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 4:25; Samford 6–0)
(6:03) CIT – Javonte Graves-Billups 43-yard pass from Cobey Thompkins, Ben Barnes kick (Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:31; The Citadel 7–6)
(0:03) CIT – Ben Barnes 40-yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 0:36; The Citadel 10–6)

Third Quarter

(11:21) CIT – Ben Barnes 28-yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 15 yards, 3:17; The Citadel 13–6)
(3:03) CIT – Sayre Smothers 31-yard fumble recovery, Ben Barnes kick (The Citadel 20–6)

Fourth Quarter

(13:48) CIT – Bradlee Jones 59-yard fumble recovery, Ben Barnes kick (The Citadel 27–6)
(11:17) SAM – CJ Evans 5-yard run, Jake Garner kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:31; The Citadel 27–13)
(4:34) CIT – Javonte Graves-Billups 13-yard pass from Quentin Hayes, 2-pt conversion failed (Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 1:32; The Citadel 33–13)
(1:45) CIT – Quentin Hayes 18-yard run, Jake Garner kick (Drive: 4 plays, 27 yards, 1:32; The Citadel 40–13)

Statistics	CIT	SAM
First downs	15	26
Total yards	330	452
Rushing yards	162	90
Passing yards	168	362
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	10–13–0	43–62–3
Time of possession	29:51	30:09

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing	Cobey Thompkins	9/11, 155 yards, TD
	Rushing	Cobey Thompkins	13 carries, 76 yards
	Receiving	Javonte Graves-Billips	6 receptions, 139 yards, 2 TD
Samford	Passing	Quincy Crittendon	40/56, 324 yards, 3 INT
	Rushing	Quincy Crittendon	14 carries, 35 yards
	Receiving	Jaden Gibson	10 receptions, 91 yards

at Gardner–Webb

The Citadel Bulldogs (1-1) at Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (1-1) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	7	6	13
Runnin' Bulldogs	10	7	3	3	23

at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium • Boiling Springs, NC

Date: September 13
Game time: 7:00 PM EDT
Game weather: Sunny
Game attendance: 4,522
Referee: John Kellermeier
TV announcers (ESPN+): Ford Martin (play-by-play) and Bryson Byrnes (analyst)

Game information

First Quarter

(7:14) GWU – Charles Viorel 26-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 42 yards, 5:34; Gardner–Webb 3–0)
(0:47) GWU – Caleb Borders 11-yard pass from Nate Hampton, Charles Viorel kick (Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 4:08; Gardner–Webb 10–0)

Second Quarter

(6:15) GWU – Chris Lofton 67-yard pass from Nate Hampton, Charles Viorel kick (Drive: 2 plays, 69 yards, 0:43; Gardner–Webb 17–0)

Third Quarter

(11:02) GWU – Charles Viorel 33-yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, -1 yards, 0:39; Gardner–Webb 20–0)
(1:39) CIT – Sebastien Boyle 2-yard run, Ben Barnes kick (Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards, 4:00; Gardner–Webb 20–7)

Fourth Quarter

(10:57) GWU – Charles Viorel 27-yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards, 5:35; Gardner–Webb 23–7)
(0:02) CIT – Braylon Knauth 1-yard pass from Cobey Thompkins (Drive: 8 plays, 99 yards, 1:31; Gardner–Webb 23–13)

Statistics	CIT	GWEB
First downs	14	16
Total yards	307	334
Rushing yards	210	118
Passing yards	97	216
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	6–11–0	15–25–0
Time of possession	30:50	28:23

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing	Cobey Thompkins	6/10, 97 yards, TD
	Rushing	Garrison Johnson Sr.	13 carries, 73 yards
	Receiving	Braylon Knauth	3 receptions, 44 yards, TD
Gardner–Webb	Passing	Nate Hampton	13/22, 206 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Quasean Holmes	17 carries, 90 yards
	Receiving	Chris Lofton	3 receptions, 90 yards, TD

Mercer

Mercer Bears (1-1) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (1-2) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	-	-	-	-	0
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: September 20
Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Weinstein (play-by-play), Vad Lee (analyst) and Matison Little (sideline)

Statistics	MER	CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mercer	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Chattanooga

The Citadel Bulldogs (1-3) vs. Chattanooga Mocs (1-3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	14	7	0	28
Mocs	7	3	0	0	10

at Finley Stadium • Chattanooga, TN

Date: September 27
Game time: 6:00 PM EDT
TV announcers (ESPN+): Chris Goforth (play-by-play), Chris Barnett (analyst) and Mackenzie Johnson (sideline)

Statistics	CIT	UTC
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Chattanooga	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Valdosta State (DII)

Valdosta State Blazers (DII) (2-2) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (2-3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Blazers (DII)	0	7	0	7	14
Bulldogs	14	10	7	7	38

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: October 11
Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
TV announcers (ESPN+): Dave Weinstein (play-by-play), Vad Lee (analyst) and Matison Little (sideline)

Statistics	VAL	CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Valdosta State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Western Carolina

Western Carolina Catamounts (4-3) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (3-3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Catamounts	7	17	14	7	45
Bulldogs	14	3	7	14	38

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: October 18
Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
Game attendance: 9,151
TV: ESPN+

Statistics	WCU	CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Carolina	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Furman (rivalry)

The Citadel Bulldogs (3-4) vs. Furman Paladins (4-3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0
Paladins	-	-	-	-	0

at Paladin Stadium • Greenville, SC

Date: October 25

Statistics	CIT	FUR
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Furman	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

VMI (Military Classic of the South)

VMI Keydets (0-0) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Keydets	-	-	-	-	0
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: November 1
Game time: 2:00 PM EDT

Statistics	VMI	CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
VMI	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at Ole Miss (FBS)

The Citadel Bulldogs (0-0) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (FBS) (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0
Rebels (FBS)	-	-	-	-	0

at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS

Date: November 8
Game time: 12:00 PM CDT

Statistics	CIT	MISS
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
Ole Miss	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Wofford (rivalry)

Wofford Terriers (0-0) vs. The Citadel Bulldogs (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Terriers	-	-	-	-	0
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0

at Johnson Hagood Stadium • Charleston, SC

Date: November 15
Game time: 2:00 PM EST

Statistics	WOF	CIT
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Wofford	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

at East Tennessee State

The Citadel Bulldogs (0-0) vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers (0-0) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	-	-	-	-	0
Buccaneers	-	-	-	-	0

at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium • Johnson City, TN

Date: November 22

Statistics	CIT	ETSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
The Citadel	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
East Tennessee State	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

References

↑ "2025 The Citadel Football Schedule". citadelsports.com. The Citadel Athletics. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
↑ "2025 The Citadel Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved May 5, 2025.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[1] "2025 The Citadel Football Schedule". citadelsports.com. The Citadel Athletics. Retrieved May 5, 2025.

[2] "2025 The Citadel Football Schedule". fbschedules.com. FBSchedules. Retrieved May 5, 2025.

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v t e The Citadel Bulldogs football
Venues	College Park Stadium (c. 1905–1926) Johnson Hagood Stadium (original) (1927–1947) Johnson Hagood Stadium (1948–present)
Bowls & rivalries	1960 Tangerine Bowl Furman VMI: Military Classic of the South Wofford
Culture & lore	The Regimental Band and Pipes
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

2025 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

Contents

Schedule

Game summaries

No. 1 North Dakota State

at Samford

at Gardner–Webb

Mercer

at Chattanooga

Valdosta State (DII)

Western Carolina

at Furman (rivalry)

VMI (Military Classic of the South)

at Ole Miss (FBS)

Wofford (rivalry)

at East Tennessee State

References