# 2022 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team

The 2022 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team represented Gardner–Webb University as a member of the Big South Conference during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Tre Lamb, the Runnin' Bulldogs played their home games at the Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
Three milestones were reached for the program this season. For the first time since 2003, Gardner-Webb won the Big South championship. With it, they clinched an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship, their first playoff appearance as an FCS team and first as a program since the 1992 NAIA playoffs. Their best season in 19 years would be further added on with a win over Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the playoffs, their first FCS playoff win in program history. They would ultimately fall to William & Mary in the second round.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Limestone* | Ernest W. Spangler StadiumBoiling Springs, NC | ESPN+ | W 56–21 | 4,560 |
| September 10 | 6:00 p.m. | at Coastal Carolina* | Brooks StadiumConway, SC | ESPN+ | L 27–31 | 12,261 |
| September 17 | 6:00 p.m. | at Elon* | Rhodes StadiumElon, NC | FloSports | L 24–30 | 8,126 |
| September 24 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 17 Mercer* | Ernest W. Spangler StadiumBoiling Springs, NC | ESPN+ | L 14–45 | 4,750 |
| October 1 | 3:30 p.m. | at Marshall* | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | ESPN+ | L 7–28 | 19,845 |
| October 8 | 12:00 p.m. | at Robert Morris | Joe Walton StadiumMoon Township, PA | ESPN3 | W 48–0 | 2,416 |
| October 15 | 3:30 p.m. | at Liberty* | Williams StadiumLynchburg, VA | ESPN+ | L 20–21 | 20,924 |
| October 22 | 6:00 p.m. | at Charleston Southern | Buccaneer FieldNorth Charleston, SC | ESPN3 | W 28–14 | 4,112 |
| October 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Bryant | Ernest W. Spangler StadiumBoiling Springs, NC | ESPN+ | W 48–40 | 3,060 |
| November 12 | 1:00 p.m. | at Campbell | Barker–Lane StadiumBuies Creek, NC | ESPN3 | W 42–35 | 4,586 |
| November 19 | 1:30 p.m. | North Carolina A&T | Ernest W. Spangler StadiumBoiling Springs, NC | ESPN+ | W 38–17 | 268 |
| November 26 | 5:00 p.m. | at Eastern Kentucky* | Roy Kidd StadiumRichmond, KY (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN+ | W 52–41 | 4,973 |
| December 3 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 6 William & Mary* | Zable StadiumWilliamsburg, VA (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN+ | L 14–54 | 7,110 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Limestone

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Saints | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 28 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 56 |

### At Coastal Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| Chanticleers | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |

### At Elon

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Phoenix | 13 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 30 |

### No. 17 Mercer

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 17 Bears | 21 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### At Marshall

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Thundering Herd | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia
* Date: Saturday, October 1, 2022
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 54 °F (12 °C) • Wind: N/A
* Game attendance: 19,845
* Referee: Scott Jackson
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Chad Bush (play-by-play), Doug Chapman (analyst)
* Pregame line: Marshall –31.0
| Statistics | GWU | MRSH |
| First downs | 8 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 51–143 | 86–421 |
| Rushes–yards | 19–19 | 53–236 |
| Passing yards | 124 | 185 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 11–32–3 | 21–33–1 |
| Time of possession | 21:34 | 38:26 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Gardner–Webb | Passing | Bailey Fisher | 9/28, 114 yards, 3 INT |
| Gardner–Webb | Rushing | Donovan Jones | 4 carries, 37 yards |
| Gardner–Webb | Receiving | Deland Thomas | 2 receptions, 49 yards |
| Marshall | Passing | Henry Colombi | 13/20, 138 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT |
| Marshall | Rushing | Khalan Laborn | 35 carries, 191 yards, 2 TD |
| Marshall | Receiving | Charles Montgomery | 5 receptions, 72 yards |

### At Robert Morris

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 7 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 48 |
| Colonials | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### At Liberty

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Flames | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### At Charleston Southern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin’ Bulldogs | 3 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 28 |
| Buccaneers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Bryant

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 40 |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 14 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 48 |

### At Campbell

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 14 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| Fighting Camels | 0 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 35 |

### North Carolina A&T

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 3 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

## FCS Playoffs
### At Eastern Kentucky – first round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 21 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 52 |
| Colonels | 14 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 41 |

### At No. 6 William & Mary – second round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Runnin' Bulldogs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 6 Tribe | 7 | 27 | 13 | 7 | 54 |