Salisbury, N.C. —- The Catawba College football team makes its long-awaited debut at Shuford Stadium this season, hosting Carson-Newman in South Atlantic Conference football action Saturday evening.

THE MATCHUP

Who: RV/25 Carson-Newman (3-0, 1-0 SAC) at Catawba (1-2, 0-1 SAC)

Where: Shuford Stadium, Salisbury, N.C.

When: Saturday, Sept. 28, 6 p.m.

How to Follow: Watch on FloSports ($) | Follow Live Stats

THE HISTORY

- Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 41-14-1

- The Eagles are 19-9-1 in Salisbury all-time

- The two sides first met in 1932, a scoreless tie; Carson-Newman and Catawba are first and third, respectively in South Atlantic Conference history in conference championships

- Carson-Newman or Catawba held at least a share of the conference title in every year from 1993 to 2004

LAST TIME OUT

- Catawba fell in its SAC opener at UVA Wise, 31-28

- LJ Turner recorded 194 total yards and two touchdowns; Quece Williams added 84 yards on the ground and two touchdowns

- Deuce Linder hauled in a team-high seven passes for 65 yards; Kobe Christian added five catches for 64 yards, all in the first half

- The 2023 SAC forced fumbles leader Evan Simons got his first forced turnover of the 2024 season with a forced fumble near the goal line

THE MOUTHPIECE MAMBA

- Christian is well on his way to repeating as the leading receiving tight end in the SAC

- His 17 catches ranks in a tie for first in league, while his 196 receiving yards ranks sixth; both lead the league for tight ends and exceed his league-leading pace for tight ends from a season ago

- The senior was held without a catch in the second half of last week's loss at UVA Wise

DOUBLE-DIGIT DENO, DITTO

- Deno Wardlow recorded 10 tackles for the third straight game in the SAC opener at UVA Wise

- The redshirt junior's 30 tackles leads the SAC through three games

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

- After hiring first-year head coach Ashley Ingram from the Naval Academy, Carson-Newman has returned to the triple-option offense, its style of choice through the dynasty of Ken Sparks through the 1980s and '90s

- Carson-Newman ranks fifth in Division II in rushing yards per game, in which Catawba's defense ranks 152nd of 159 teams in DII

- The Eagles are ranked 25th in the D2Football.com poll and are receiving votes in the AFCA national poll

- Carson-Newman is coming off an overtime win over nationally ranked Wingate in its league opener last week

- C-N currently rosters four rushers with at least five carries a game; Don Bradley averaged a team-best 62 yards per game on 12.4 yards per carry

- While the Eagles have attempted less than 10 pass attempts per game on average, they've been very successful, throwing for over 135 yards per game and nearly 15 yards per attempt

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

- For all necessary information on ticketing, parking, gameday timeline and items restricted for entry into Shuford Stadium, visit this week's Know Before You Go

UP NEXT

- Catawba returns to the road next week, playing in its first-ever matchup with first-year program Anderson; Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.