The Zips have never played Gardner-Webb in football, but the Bulldogs are 0-2 all-time against MAC opponents (losses to Ohio and Buffalo). Gardner-Webb is currently 1-0 on the season after a 28-14 victory over the Brevard College Tornados last week. Freshman running back Juanne Blount ran for 134 yards in just 18 attempts against the Tornados, but it is highly doubtful he will have that much success against Brian Wagner and the rest of the Zips rush defense. Also of note is senior linebacker Jeffery Williams, who was a 2008 FCS All-American, but was injury-plagued in 2009. He recorded 18 tackles last week and was named FCS National Defensive Player of the Week.
The game shouldn't be too hard for the Zips, but after being held to 166 total yards against Syracuse, anything can happen.
This is what I want to see more of on Saturday: Receivers catching the ball. Patrick Nicely threw the ball like a champ last week. Sure, he was only 12-35 for 111 yards, but I didn't see any of those 23 incompletions come close to a defender. In one drive in the third quarter, Nicely hit three different receivers straight in the hands; all three receivers dropped the ball. If Nicely and the receivers have some success early on Saturday, Nate Burney and Alex Allen are going to have a much easier time running the ball.
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