# 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

The 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by third-year head coach Brent Thompson and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They were members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 5–6, 4–4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Bulldogs predicted to finish in seventh place. The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Bulldogs also predicted to finish in seventh place.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Samford | 204 (20) |
| 2 | Furman | 174 (2) |
| 3 | Wofford | 163 (1) |
| 4 | Mercer | 133 |
| 5 | Western Carolina | 114 |
| 6 | Chattanooga | 88 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 83 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 53 |
| 9 | VMI | 23 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Samford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Wofford | 53 (1) |
| 3 | Furman | 52 (1) |
| 4 | Western Carolina | 39 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 34 |
| 6 | Mercer | 32 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 28 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 15 |
| 9 | VMI | 8 |

### Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Bulldogs placed five players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 10 Wofford | Gibbs StadiumSpartanburg, SC (rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 21–28 | 8,930 |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | Chattanooga | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN+ | L 28–29 $^{OT}$ | 8,076 |
| September 22 | 4:00 p.m. | at Mercer | Moye ComplexMacon, GA | ESPN+ | W 38–31 | 11,772 |
| September 29 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Towson* | Johnny Unitas StadiumTowson, MD | CAA.tv | L 27–44 | 7,323 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 23 East Tennessee State | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN3 | L 23–26 | 11,043 |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | at VMI | Alumni Memorial FieldLexington, VA (Military Classic of the South) | ESPN3 | W 34–32 | 7,002 |
| October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | Furman | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC (rivalry) | ESPN+ | L 17–28 | 8,574 |
| November 3 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | ESPN+ | W 38–24 | 10,499 |
| November 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Samford | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN+ | W 42–27 | 11,145 |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 1 Alabama* | Bryant–Denny StadiumTuscaloosa, AL (FBS) | SECN | L 17–50 | 101,681 |
| November 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Charleston Southern* | Johnson Hagood StadiumCharleston, SC | ESPN+ | W 43–14 | 7,877 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
* ↑ This game was originally scheduled for September 15, but it was rescheduled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
* Source:

## Game summaries
### At Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 10 Terriers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Mocs | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 29 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### At Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 38 |
| Bears | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### At Towson

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 27 |
| No. 25 Tigers | 7 | 17 | 17 | 3 | 44 |

### East Tennessee State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 23 Buccaneers | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 26 |
| Bulldogs | 6 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 23 |

### At VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| Keydets | 7 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 32 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Paladins | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### At Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 38 |
| Catamounts | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 24 |

### Samford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| SAM Bulldogs | 14 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| CIT Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 42 |

### At Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Crimson Tide | 7 | 3 | 27 | 13 | 50 |

### Charleston Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 43 |