Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina steps out of conference for the final time of the 2021 regular season this Saturday, Sept. 25, as the Catamounts travel to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face regional rival Gardner-Webb at Spangler Stadium. Kickoff of GWU's Family Weekend game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Saturday's game will be broadcast
on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with Phil Constantino and 10-year NFL veteran Al Wallace on the call.
The game will also be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with an air time of the Pepsi Tailgate Show at 5:00 p.m. Fans across western North Carolina can hear the game locally on seven CSN affiliates: in Sylva, 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River"; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM and 102.9 FM in Asheville; and 970 AM WYSE in Canton, with
live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com.
Fans can also follow the game with live stats accessible online at CatamountSports.com with timely in-game updates on Twitter using @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
Western Carolina seeks its first victory of the season despite a pair of close calls against NCAA FCS competition. The Catamounts have had the football on their final possession in the one-possession, home losses to Eastern Kentucky and Samford.
"We feel that we've really closed the gap as far as being a competitive football team. It's come down to the last series in both of those games," said WCU head coach
Kerwin Bell this week in his weekly press conference, referencing the 2020-21 games against EKU and Samford in comparison to the two this fall. "But we've got to figure out a way to close the gap all the way, and that's to get that (first) win."
Under the direction of the second-youngest head coach in the NCAA FCS, Tre Lamb, Gardner-Webb (1-2) scored its first season victory with a 56-0 blanking of the NCAA Division II Lincoln (Pa.) Lions. The Runnin' Bulldogs played a very good Georgia Southern team tough in the season opener before bowing out, 30-25, before falling to in-state foe Charlotte 38-10.
Again this week, a focal point in Saturday's meeting will be the quarterback position. WCU's graduate transfer
Rogan Wells, coming off a SoCon-best 441 yards of total offense last week, ranks second in the league in passing yards with an average of 227.3 yards per game – 298.0 yards per game against FCS competition alone. GWU's transfer QB Bailey Fisher ranks fourth in the Big South in total offense (173.3 yds/gm), including 155.0 passing yards per game. The former Tennessee Tech product has been solid in managing the game for the Runnin' Bulldogs offense.
Catamount redshirt freshman WR
Raphael Williams enters the week leading the Southern Conference in receiving yards per game (86.3 yds/gm), including a pair of 100-yard receiving games. His 132 yards against Samford last week are the most by a receiver this season in the league.
But according to Bell, the battle up front will be a significant determining factor. Led by All-America candidate sophomore Ty French, Gardner-Webb's front is among the top in the NCAA FCS matches-up against a Catamount front that has suffered a few injuries early in the season. And on the flip side, GWU has been solid in the running game behind Narii Gaither (61.3 yds/gm) and Jalin Graham (41.7 yds/gm).
Gardner-Webb ended WCU's four-game series win streak with a 33-yard field goal as time expired, capping a game-winning, 16-play drive in the most recent series meeting back in 2019 in Cullowhee. WCU, which is 3-1 all-time in Boiling Springs, claimed the most recent meeting at Spangler Stadium 28-10 on a breezy Friday night in a game moved earlier due to the impending landfall of Tropical Storm Florence.
Saturday marks the final meeting between the Southern Conference and Big South Conference in football this fall – and is a veritable rubber match. The regional match-ups stand at two wins and two losses apiece, with Furman downing a ranked NC A&T squad and Chattanooga blanking another league newcomer, North Alabama. Kennesaw State downed Wofford, and Charleston Southern sank The Citadel to give the Big South two victories.
Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.
Western Carolina vs. Gardner-Webb – All-Time Series:
WCU and Gardner-Webb meet for the 11th time on the football gridiron … Western Carolina leads the all-time series, 6-4, after the 2019 last-second loss in Cullowhee … WCU has won three of the four all-time series meetings played in Boiling Springs, including three straight – the lone loss came back in 2004 when the 25th-ranked Catamounts fell in overtime,
Looking for Streak Snappers:
Western Carolina enters Saturday's game looking to end a three-game slide to start the fall 2021 season – and give first-year head coach
Kerwin Bell his first victory at the helm. The Catamounts also look to halt a five-game winless drought that dates to the spring season and a home win over The Citadel on Mar. 13, 2021. WCU is also looking to snap a nine-game road losing skid that extends to the 2019 season – WCU's last road victory came in Lexington, Va., at VMI on Nov. 2, 2019.
Game 4: Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 • 6:00 p.m.
Location: Boiling Springs, N.C. (Ernest W. Spangler Stadium – 8,500)
Records: Western Carolina (0-3) at Gardner-Webb (1-2)
WCU Football - 2021 Media Center
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV / Video Stream: ESPN+ (
paid subscription required)
PBP: Phil Constantino; Color: Al Wallace
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP: Gary Ayers; Color:
Daniel Hooker; Sideline: Greg McLamb; Producer: Jeff Bryson
CSN Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
Asheville – WISE Sports Radio 102.9 FM / 1310 AM
Canton – WYSE Sports Radio 970 AM
Online:
CatamountSports.com
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
