Scouting Western Carolina

u Western Carolina opens Southern Conference play by hosting the Samford Bulldogs at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field in Cullowhee ... Saturday’s game has been billed the Ingles SoCon

Game of the Week, a second WCU game marked for linear television on through Nexstar Media

Group and streaming online on ESPN+ ... Pete Yanity and Jared Singleton have the call; u Western Carolina and Samford meet for the 19TH time on the football gridiron with the Catamounts trailing the Bulldogs in the all-time series, 3-14 ... Samford has won the last three head-tohead meetings dating back to 2018 – and four of the last five meetings overall ... Two of WCU's three victories in the series have come in Cullowhee ... WCU is just 2-11 against Samford since the

Bulldogs joined the Southern Conference in 2008; u Western Carolina claimed a thrilling 38-34 win over then No. 17 Samford in Cullowhee back in 2017 ... Detrez Newsome scored the go-ahead touchdown with 93 second remaining in the game – but it wasn't until Keion Crossen deflected a Devlin Hodges pass in the endzone on the game's final play that WCU could celebrate the upset victory, its first over a nationallyranked FCS team since 2006, ending a 27-game slide against ranked foes; u Western Carolina’s 56-36 win in Cullowhee in 2015 marked the first victory for the Catamounts in the series since winning the first-ever meeting between the two schools, 47-13, back in 1969 in Birmingham ... WCU's 2015 victory halted a 46-year drought; u Since joining the SoCon in 1977 (member in 1976, although did not compete for the championship until 1977), Western Carolina is 23-21 overall in conference openers including a record of 15-5 at home in Cullowhee, most recently falling to Mercer back in 2019; u WCU's win over Samford back in 2017 represented the first league game of the year for the Catamounts – and the only other time prior to this season the two met to open conference play; u Two of the top three passing quarterbacks in the Southern Conference square-off on Saturday ...

Catamount quarterback ROGAN WELLS (180.5 yds/gm) ranks third in the SoCon in passing through the first two weeks of the season while reigning SoCon Offensive Player of the Year, Samford's

LIAM WELCH, leads the league with an average of 293.5 passing yards per game; u Western Carolina tailback TJ JONES ranks seventh in the SoCon in rushing entering week three of the regular season ... the junior transfer from Tusculum is averaging 62.5 rushing yards per game including a 115 yard performance on the ground in the season-opener against Eastern Kentucky; u Transfer LB IVAN HOGANS ranks tied for third in the SoCon in total tackles through the first two games, posting a team-high 18 stops for a 9.0 tackle per game average ... Hogans is second in the league with a team-best 4.0 tackles for loss ... LB KAREEM TAYLOR (7.0 tackles/gm) and freshman

ANDREAS KEATON (6.5 tackles/gm) also rank among the conference leaders; u Western Carolina has two players on NFL rosters – KEION CROSSEN, one of the heroes of the 2017 upset win over Samford, is currently with the New York Giants after being traded by the

Houston Texans in the preseason ... Charlotte, N.C., native and Catamount football student-athlete alum JOHN BRANNON was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad on Sept. 7 after being released by the Los Angeles Chargers, the team that signed him as an undrafted free agent; u DID YOU KNOW: Western Carolina's last four NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponents have each been ranked inside the Top 25 ... the Catamounts closed the 2019 season on the road at fifth-ranked Alabama ... Last fall in the split 2020-21 schedule, WCU visited both No. 22 Liberty and No. 17 North Carolina ... Last weekend, the Catamounts faced the six-time defending Big 12

Conference Champion and fourth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners in Norman ... Since 2006, WCU has played SEVEN games against nationally-ranked FBS programs.

PHOTO BY PHIL POLITO

In Birmingham, Ala. ............WCU trails, 1-9 In Cullowhee ................. WCU trails, 2-6 Current Streak ....................WCU, L–3 Longest WCU Win Streak: ..........1 games (3x) Longest WCU Losing Skid:. . 11 games (1991-2014)

WCU Average Points .................20.61 ppg SAM Average Points ................. 34.06 ppg

Feb. 27, 2021 Birmingham, Ala. L, 55-27 Nov. 16, 2019 Cullowhee L, 31-13 Oct. 6, 2018 Birmingham, Ala. L, 66-28 Sept. 23, 2017 Cullowhee W, 38-34 Oct. 22, 2016 Birmingham, Ala. L, 30-17 Oct. 24, 2015 Cullowhee W, 56-36 Nov. 8, 2014 Birmingham, Ala. L, 34-20 Sept. 28, 2013 Birmingham, Ala. L, 62-23 Sept. 22, 2012 Cullowhee L, 25-21 Oct. 29, 2011 Birmingham, Ala. L, 52-24 Oct. 9, 2010 Cullowhee L, 38-7 Oct. 3, 2009 Birmingham, Ala. L, 16-3 Oct. 4, 2008 Cullowhee L, 21-6 Nov. 5, 1999 Cullowhee L, 35-32 (OT) Nov. 22, 1997 Birmingham, Ala. L, 19-0 Oct. 3, 1992 Birmingham, Ala. L, 30-6 Oct. 26, 1991 Cullowhee L, 16-3 Nov. 8, 1969 Birmingham, Ala. W, 47-13