# 2019 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team

The 2019 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team represented East Tennessee State University (ETSU) in the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season and were in the fourth year of their second stint as football members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They were led by second-year head coach Randy Sanders and played their home games at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium.

## Preseason
### Preseason media poll

The SoCon released their preseason media poll and coaches poll on July 22, 2019. The Buccaneers were picked to finish in third place in both polls.
Media poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 253 (21) |
| 2 | Furman | 229 (6) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 187 (2) |
| 4 | Mercer | 146 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 134 |
| 6 | Samford | 125 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 111 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 88 |
| 9 | VMI | 32 |
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Wofford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Furman | 55 (1) |
| 3 | East Tennessee State | 44 (1) |
| 4 | Chattanooga | 40 |
| 5 | Mercer | 34 |
| 6 | Samford | 33 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 22 |
| 8 | Western Carolina | 21 |
| 9 | VMI | 12 |

### Preseason All-SoCon Teams

The Buccaneers placed seven players on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 3:30 p.m. | at Appalachian State* | Kidd Brewer StadiumBoone, NC | ESPN+ | L 7–42 | 25,147 |
| September 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Shorter* | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN+ | W 48–10 | 8,615 |
| September 14 | 7:30 p.m. | VMI | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN+ | L 24–31 $^{OT}$ | 9,150 |
| September 21 | 7:30 p.m. | Austin Peay* | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN+ | W 20–14 | 9,350 |
| September 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 16 Furman | Paladin StadiumGreenville, SC | Nexstar/ESPN+ | L 10–17 | 5,031 |
| October 5 | 3:30 p.m. | Wofford | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN3 | L 17–35 | 8,242 |
| October 17 | 7:00 p.m. | at Chattanooga | Finley StadiumChattanooga, TN | ESPN+ | L 13–16 | 7,124 |
| October 26 | 1:00 p.m. | at Samford | Seibert StadiumHomewood, AL | ESPN+ | L 17–24 | 1,521 |
| November 2 | 3:30 p.m. | The Citadel | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | Nexstar/ESPN+ | L 27–31 | 8,674 |
| November 9 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | E. J. Whitmire StadiumCullowhee, NC | Nexstar/ESPN+ | L 20–23 $^{OT}$ | 7,681 |
| November 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Mercer | William B. Greene Jr. StadiumJohnson City, TN | ESPN3 | W 38–33 | 7,121 |
| November 23 | 2:30 p.m. | at Vanderbilt* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | SEC Alt. | L 0–38 | 19,863 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At Appalachian State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Mountaineers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |

### Shorter

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Hawks | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Buccaneers | 17 | 8 | 14 | 7 | 46 |

### VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Keydets | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 24 |

### Austin Peay

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Governors | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Buccaneers | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 20 |

### At Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 16 Paladins | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Wofford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Terriers | 7 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |

### At Chattanooga

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Mocs | 7 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 |

### At Samford

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 24 |

### The Citadel

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Buccaneers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 27 |

### At Western Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Buccaneers | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Catamounts | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 23 |

### Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 33 |
| Buccaneers | 10 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 38 |

### At Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Buccaneers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Commodores | 7 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 38 |