A Sample of the 2025 SoCon Football Preview: No. 2 Western Carolina
The 2025 Western Carolina Football Preview is below for you to enjoy.
The biggest part of my preview is that I wanted to detail the portal additions and departures so each fan can use it as reference material to refer back to throughout the season. I didn't realize just how long this takes.
Also included are our standout quotes from media day, some about each program's football tradition.
As for Western Carolina...On paper, the Catamounts in my estimation are the most-talented team in the SoCon, but have some key questions to answer, which mainly involves the defensive side of the football.
I want to thank George Bagwell for helping me out to get around to all the coaches and get quotes from the media day outing last week.
Also wanted to thank Kevin Marshall for helping coordinate everything for me even though it was pretty easy to navigate my hometown. I look forward to covering FCS football from a national perspective this season. Listed below is WCU's written preview.
2. Western Carolina (7-5, 6-2 SoCon in ‘24/2nd)
HEAD COACH: Kerwin Bell (117-59 overall entering his 17th year as a head coach/24-21 entering his
5th year at WCU)
Western Carolina’s Tradition:
SHARED OR OUTRIGHT
SOCON FOOTBALL TITLES: (0)
FCS PLAYOFF
APPEARANCES: (1) 1983
FCS PLAYOFF RECORD: 3-1
OLD NORTH STATE PRIDE: Western Carolina carved out most of its great football tradition under the direction of Bob Waters in the late 1960s-mid-1980s, as the former Presbyterian star quarterback for led to a four-year pro career with both the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Chargers. All that being said, Waters helped facilitate WCU’s move to NCAA Division I football and the Southern Conference in 1976, and is responsible for leading the Catamounts to their two greatest campaigns in program history, which were the 1974 campaign, which saw the Catamounts make it to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The 1983 season would be the most successful in program history, as the Catamounts made it all the way to the NCAA Division I-AA National Championship game just eight years after becoming an NCAA Division I member, but came up short in a 43-7 loss to Southern Illinois in Charleston at The Citadel’s Johnson-Hagood Stadium. Waters spent his last years coaching the Catamounts in a wheelchair, as he battle Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). The Catamounts’ 1983 national title game appearance gives the program the distinction of becoming the first SoCon member in league history to make it to the national title game. The Catamounts went on to finish 11-3-1 overall and second in the Southern Conference, posting a 5-0-1 record in league play, with the only blemish being a tie at Furman. The Catamounts would then exact revenge in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs by handing the Paladins a 14-7 loss at Paladin Stadium, tearing down Furman’s goalposts in celebration after arguably the biggest win in program history. Despite having some success as a league member, a conference title has eluded the Catamount football program. WCU continues to knock under Kerwin Bell, however, having posted three-straight winning campaigns. While the Catamounts are the only current member to have never shared or won a league title, they also have not been back to the FCS Playoffs since ’83. WCU thinks it has what it takes to add to its tradition in 2025 and will look to add another milestone to its football history, which would be a first SoCon football title in program history if it can successfully reach its goal this fall.
OFFENSIVE SCHEME: Pro Spread
DEFENSIVE SCHEME: 4-2-5
COACHES PRESEASON PROJECTION: 3rd
FCS NATION PROJECTION: 2nd
KEY OFFENSIVE RETURNERS: QB Taron Dickens (Preseason Southern
Conference Offensive Player of the Year/127-of-172 passing, 1,428 yds, 12 TDs,
3 INTs/58 rush att, 56 yds, 2 TDs in ‘24); RB Branson Adams (Preseason
first-team All-SoCon/134 rush att, 749 yds, 4 TDs, 5.6 YPC/36 rec., 284 yds, 1
TD, 7.9 YPR; **WR AJ Colombo (61 rec, 590
yds, 5 TDs, 9.7 YPR in ‘24); RB Patrick Boyd Jr. (40 rush att., 201 yds, 1 TD,
5.0 YPC in ‘24); WR Malik Knight (23 rec, 392 yds, 1 TD, 17.0 YPR in ‘24); WR
Jai Boyd (19 rec, 307 yds, 16.2 YPR in ‘24); WR Camury Reid (DNP in 2024); OL
Aaron Sanez (Preseason second-team All-SoCon selection/missed the 2024 season
with an injury); OL Zach Watson (Preseason first-team All-SoCon selection/played
in 11 of 12 games for WCU with three starts in ‘24); OL Brett Gray (Logged
action in 7 games with WCU in ’24 after transferring in from Valpo the previous
spring); TE Brayden Blackmon (8 rec, 83 yds, 10.4 YPR in ‘24); OL Steven Hamby
(served as a key reserve along the WCU OL in 2024)
**-potentially out for the 2025 season with an injury
KEY OFFENSIVE DEPARTURES: QB Cole Gonzales
(first-team All-SoCon selection in '24/transferred to Pittsburgh); WR Isaiah Johnson (transferred to
Cincinnati); WR DeAndre Tamarez (transferred to Marshall); WR Zion Booker (transferred
to Tulsa); OL Caleb Carter (transferred to Michigan State); OL Peyton Davis
(transferred to The Citadel); WR Santana Fleming (transferred to Dodge City CC);
OL Derek Simmons (transferred to Oklahoma); WR Calvin Jones (transferred to
Samford); TE Jake Young (first-team All-SoCon selection in ‘24/transferred to
Charlotte); OL Blake Whitmore (first-team All-SoCon selection in ‘24/out of
eligibility); Camden Myers (DNP in
‘24/transferred to Southern Miss)
KEY DEFENSIVE RETURNERS: DB/LB Ken Moore Jr. (Preseason
first-team All-SoCon selection/36 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 4 INTs, 7 PBUs, 1 FF, 1
blkd kick in ‘24); DL Caleb Fisher (Preseason first-team All-SoCon selection/37
tackles, 7.0 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 6 QBHs, 2 PBUs, 1 blkd kick in ‘24); DL Micah
Nelson (Preseason second-team All-SoCon pick/has been on campus at WCU since
2019/26 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 PBU, 2 QBHs in ‘24); DB Samaurie Dukes (Preseason
second-team All-SoCon selection/55 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 4 PBUs, 2 INTs in ‘24); LB
Hayward McQueen Jr. (Preseason first-team All-SoCon selection/61 tackles, 7.5
TFL, 1.0 sack, 3 PBUs, 3 QBHs, 1 FF, 1 FR in ‘24); DB Bo Simpson-Nealy (37
tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.0 sack, 1 INT, 1 FR in ‘24); DB Ed Jones V (7 tackles in
‘24); DL Kenyon Patridge (9 tackles, 2.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, 4 QBHs in ‘24); DB/LB
Jeno Junius Jr (10 tackles, 0.5 TFL, 0.5 sack, 1 QBH in ‘24); DB Lee Campbell (2
tackles in ‘24); LB Blue Monroe (Preseason second-team All-SoCon selection/36
tackles, 8.0 TFL, 1.5 sack, 2 QBHs in ‘24); DL Jamichael Wilson (3 tackles in
‘24); DB Zayveon Wells (9 tackles, 2 INTs in ’24); DB Hasan Sykes (5 tackles,
1.0 TFL in ’24); DL Richard Garrett (5 tackles, 0.5 TFL in ’24)
KEY DEFENSIVE DEPARTURES: DB Jordy Lowery (transferred
to East Carolina); DL Edwin Moore Jr. (transferred to Maryland); DL Tahjae
Mullix (transferred to Oregon State); DB Mateo Sudipo (second-team All-SoCon
selection in ‘24/transferred to Bowling Green); LB Antarron Turner (Transferred
to Wisconsin); DL Chris Morgan (out of eligibility); DL Jacquarius Guinn (out
of eligibility); Curtis Fann Jr. (out of eligibility); LB Antoine Williams (out
of eligibility); DL Ugo Nosike (out of eligibility); DB Quez Royal (out of
eligibility); DB/LB Amarian Robinson (out of eligibility); DB CJ Williams (out
of eligibility)
KEY SPECIAL TEAMS RETURNERS: PK Christian Lowery (12-of-17
on FGs/19-of-20 on PATs); P Stephen Brantley (41.2 YPP career avg.)
KEY TRANSFER PORTAL ADDITIONS: OL Jarvis Adams Jr.
(DNP as true freshman/Kennesaw State); DL Jahleel Anderson (Alcorn
State/Highland CC); DL Jackson Banks (Old Dominion/Miss. Gulf-Coast); RB
Anthony Benjamin (Jacksonville State); DB Cam’Ron Dabney (Northern
Illinois/Kansas); WR Dominic Dutton (Old Dominion/South Carolina); OL Ilija
Krajnovic (Boston College); LB Ryan McKinnis (Appalachian State); OL Vito
Moriana-Sigel (Mississippi Valley State); DL Sean Morris (UAlbany/Morgan
State); LS Emmett Rhodes (DNP at Florida A&M/played in 1 game at Akron); WR
Painter Richards-Baker (Dartmouth); DL Gavin Rowell (Tusculum); OL Renard Smith
(Pikeville); WR Marcus Striggles (Concord); WR Jaylen Terzado (Bethune-Cookman/played
at WCU in ‘23); DB Marseille Taylor (South Florida/Stephen F. Austin); LB
Jordan Thompson (Middle Tennessee State)
HOME STADIUM: EJ Whitmire (13,790)
OVERVIEW AND 2024 RECAP: The folks in and around Jackson
County and in and around western North Carolina needed something of a
distraction after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in the final week
of September.
A hurricane traveled inland and
brought with it the type of devastation to a region completely unprepared for
such high winds and heavy rainfall. Water overwhelmed the small towns of
Western North Carolina, and if that wasn’t enough, the wind did its number,
levying both death and devastating destruction to the region that will take
years to rebuild.
There isn’t much around the
region for folks to cling on to with so much loss, and for some, especially
around Haywood and Jackson Counties, the escape of a Saturday at EJ Whitmire
Stadium would become a release and a needed salve for the soul to one’s mind of
the realities of just what life had become in a matter of moments.
Just how fast it can all change
certainly wasn’t lost on Western Carolina longtime legendary play-by-play
broadcaster Gary Ayers. While Helene did its devastation in the region, Ayers
was busy trying to make a full recovery from a near fatal heart attack.
On an early August afternoon,
Ayers collapsed of a massive heart attack, however, his wife found him moments
later with a catatonic stare, and she knew immediately things weren’t good. She
then administered CPR so vigorously that it broke three ribs and even his
sternum, but it was enough to get Ayers’ heart pumping again and the EMTs were
quickly on-scene to do the rest. Ayers had survived, and he had God, his wife
and the quick-acting EMTs to thank for the miracle.
Ayers is not only a well-loved
broadcaster among those that have heard his voice bellow Catamount football
throughout the peaks and valleys of the western North Carolina region,
describing each detail of a Catamount fall Saturday, but his love and respect
stretched much further and into all nine member schools in the league, and even
into its fanbases. The fact that Ayers had survived had been a true miracle
witnessed by so many that found out either by social media or from his peers to
urge on prayers, which no doubt played a major role in his survival. After
undergoing quadruple bypass surgery, Ayers spent time healing at Mission Health
Hospital in Asheville and would, a little more than a month in the 2024 season,
return to the airwaves and a strange dynamic.
That’s because when he returned,
the scene was almost a surreal one. His vocal cords were now needed more than
they had ever been, and that’s because the Catamounts played a Southern
Conference football before an empty EJ Whitmire Stadium against the Wofford
Terriers. It had been two weeks since Helene had torn through the region,
wrecking so much havoc on campus and around the stadium that, if the Catamounts
had not already had a scheduled an off-week, they would not have been able to
play a game.
Western Carolina would end up
being triumphant against the Terriers on that strange afternoon before an empty
Whitmire Stadium, as Ayers shook off the rust and described the action to an
intently listening audience once again. The streaming of the game on ESPN+
offered a peculiar peek into an empty stadium that more than often full every
fall Saturday the Catamounts had a home football game. Only on this particular
Saturday, only the purple glare off the purple chairbacks and railings as they
glistened in the high mountain sun could be seen, and the teams had to create
their own excitement, as Western Carolina put the finishing touches on a 21-17
victory over their visiting rivals from Spartanburg.
Whitmire Stadium was also in its
50th season of operation as the 2024 season kicked off. In a season of celebration for the facility,
few could have imagined it would play host to its first-ever spectator-less
game, but having Ayers back to call out the action was a certainly a blessing
that made it such a blessing given the circumstances.
The Catamounts had been close to
making a breakthrough and getting back to playoffs in 2023 to breaking a long
curse, which had kept the Catamounts out of the postseason since 1983. In fact,
despite making it all the way national title game against Southern Illinois in
1983 and a rich tradition of both NFL talents, winning had been hard in the
Southern Conference for Western Carolina, however, ever since the program
started to show signs of a turnaround in the middle of the 2021 season under
Kerwin Bell, Catamount fans have had reason to believe in not only getting back
to the FCS postseason, but also lifting a Southern Conference Championship
trophy for the first time since joining the league as an official member back
in 1976.
The Catamounts had risen as high
as No. 8 in the nation in 2023 before dropping a 23-14 home game against
Furman, which ended up seeing the Catamounts end the season in a bit of a
tailspin after that loss, finishing the season with a 6-5 overall record, which
included a 5-3 record in SoCon play. Still, the prevailing feeling around the
program is that despite a disappointing season-ending loss at VMI (L, 24-27),
the program had taken a collective step forward heading into the 2024 campaign,
and as the summer months wound their way towards late August and early fall,
the excitement around Cullowhee and for Western Carolina football started to
build around Bell’s program once again
Western Carolina’s 2024
season saw the Catamounts face a non-conference schedule as tough or tougher
than any in program history, highlighted by a trip out west to play Montana in
one of the marquee games of the non-conference slate for the Southern
Conference last season. The Catamounts also faced road tests at North Carolina
State to open the season, as well as another trip to that part of North
Carolina to face off against an Elon team that many figured would be in the mix
for a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) title in 2024.
The one game that
most had sharpie-d in as a win was the home opener against Campbell—a team that
was picked to finish in the lower half of the league at CAA media day. As it
turns out, it would ultimately be the Campbell game that would end up biting
the Catamounts in the end, as Western Carolina and star quarterback Cole
Gonzales struggled and it ended up leading to a detrimental loss, as the Camels
stunned the Catamounts, 24-16, before a near sellout crowd on-hand for the home
opener. Western Carolina opened the 2024 season on a Thursday night up at
Carter-Finley Stadium, putting a scare into the North Carolina State Wolfpack
before eventually running out of gas in the second half of the contest, as NC
State went on to the 38-21 win, scoring 21 unanswered points in the final frame
to claim the 17-point win.
Week two saw Campbell
visit Cullowhee for the home opener, and the Catamounts—one of the most
prolific offenses in the nation in 2023—suddenly was shooting blanks, as
Gonzales was picked off four times, and three Christian Lowery field goals
turned out to be the only offensive points the Purple and Gold could muster in
the game in what turned out to be an eight-point, 24-16, loss.
The Catamounts
rebounded in a big way a week later at No. 22 Elon, but it would take some third-quarter
heroics from the WCU offense and special teams to finally yield a 24-17 win in
a game that WCU trailed 14-3 at one point in the third quarter. Branson Adams’
1-yard scoring plunge with eight minutes remaining in the third quarter snapped
a streak of eight quarters without a touchdown for the WCU offense, and it
would be a blocked field goal return of 55 yards by Jordy Lowery that would all
but seal the win with 1:15 remaining, on a play that ended up being a 10-point
swing and giving the Catamounts a 10-point lead, at 24-14, as they held on for
the 24-17 win to improve to 1-2.
Western Carolina would get off to
a strong start, holding a 17-point lead early in the contest at No. 10 Montana
and its rowdy fanbase, throwing several haymakers early in the game only to see
the Grizzlies score 24 unanswered points to rally for what was a 46-35 win in
Missoula.
The Grizzlies were led by
redshirt freshman quarterback Keali’I Ah Yat would lead the Montana offense,
finishing the contest by rushing for a school-record for a quarterback, as he
finished with four rushing touchdowns, while Grizzlies sophomore running back
Eli Gillman finished with a career-high 177 yards on the ground in the
come-from-behind win. The win would mark Montana’s 15th-straight
home win and 19th-straight non-conference win at Washington-Grizzly
Stadium.
The loss would mean the
Catamounts would conclude non-conference play with a 1-3 mark, giving the
Catamounts little margin for error when entering Southern Conference play.
The Catamounts had an off-week
following the loss to Montana before opening Southern Conference play. It would
be good timing for every reason that didn’t have to do with something as
trivial as college football, as on Friday, Sept. 27, at just after 7 am local
time, Hurricane Helene would change the landscape and the lives of those in and
around the western North Carolina region forever and even put the remainder of
the football season in question.
Places like Chimney Rock, N.C.,
were destroyed forever and hundreds of lives lost throughout small communities
that made up the region of western North Carolina, and other places like Sylva,
Dillsboro, Cullowhee, Waynesville, and Asheville were all severely affected by
the unexpected occurrence—a Hurricane that came inland.
Following the devastation,
communities would begin the process of rebuilding and assessing the damage in
the weeks following, and for WCU’s campus, it would be shut down the following
week due to the damage. It would present a surreal situation for the Catamounts
Southern Conference opener, as they welcomed Wofford into an empty EJ Whitmire
Stadium for the 2024 Southern Conference opener.
The game would also mark the
return to the broadcast booth for Catamounts legendary play-by-play announcer
Gary Ayers, who suffered a near-fatal heart attack in early August but was
ready to make his return to the booth a little less than two months after his
episode. Fittingly, it would give Ayers one of his most important platforms of
his broadcasting career for Catamount athletics, as without spectators being
allowed at EJ Whitmire Stadium, there would be many more around the region
tuning into local affiliates that carried Catamount football to hear his voice
describe all the action between the Catamounts and Terriers.
When it was all said and done,
the Catamounts were able to emerge with what was an emotional, 21-17, win over
the Terriers to improve to 2-3 and get the Southern Conference season started
off in the right fashion, at 1-0 in league play.
For a second-straight week in
succession, the Catamount offense was clicking with Cole Gonzales at the
controls under center, rolling up a 120-yard advantage in total yards, as the
Catamounts out-gained the Terriers, 475-355, en route to the win.
WCU held a 257-216 in total
passing yards in the win, while the ground game would do just enough, as the
Catamounts finished the contest with a narrow 218-139 advantage in ground
yards.
When fans were able to return to
EJ Whitmire Stadium the following Saturday, as Western Carolina hosted The
Citadel underneath blue skies, they would be treated to a Catamount victory, as
Western Carolina evened their overall record to 3-3 on the season, which
included remaining perfect in Southern Conference play, at 2-0, with a 30-16
win over The Citadel.
The win came despite the fact the
Bulldogs ended the day with more yardage, as the Bulldogs held a 33-yard
advantage in total yards gained, posting a 429-396 edge in total offense.
The Catamounts improved to 2-0
against Palmetto State teams as Jalynn Williams, returning from an injury that
kept him out for the entire 2023 season, scored three times, proving effective
in short-yardage situations near the end zone.
In his first two games of the
2024 season, Williams carried the ball 10 times, with five of those ending in
the end zone. He finished the contest against the Bulldogs with 17 total yards
on seven carries, and that included scoring runs of 3, 9, and 2 yards,
respectively.
Meanwhile, Catamount quarterback
Cole Gonzales finished another solid day under center, finishing the contest by
connecting 28-of-38 passes for 294 yards and one touchdown and no picks. The
Catamounts would see the Bulldogs hold a substantial advantage on the ground,
posting a 274-102 advantage in rushing yards.
With the win and after playing
consecutive games at home, it was now time for the Catamounts to head on the
SoCon road for the first time in 2024, and the opponent was one that has caused
head coach Kerwin Bell and staff plenty of nightmares over his short stint as
WCU’s head coach.
The next game on the 2024
schedule read “at Furman” and for many Catamount fans, who have been around
since the Catamounts entered the Southern Conference and the NCAA Division I
FCS level, Furman had been a perennial thorn in the side of the Catamounts, and
the joyful moments for one shade of purple have far outweighed the other, with
the Furman shade of purple enjoying a commanding (35-14-2/series prior to ’24
meeting) lead in the all-time series between the two programs.
Many Catamount fans regard WCU’s
14-7 win over Furman in the 1983 NCAA Division I-AA Semifinals at Paladin Stadium—a
day which visiting fans tore down Furman’s goalposts—one of the great
accomplishments in the history of Catamount athletics.
In 46 years as a Southern
Conference member, the Catamounts have still never won a regular-season
football title and have only been to the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs once,
which was that 1983 season and run to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship game,
where the Catamounts would drop a 43-7 contest to Southern Illinois at The
Citadel’s Johnson Hagood Stadium being the last postseason game for the purple
and gold.
Many of the 42 seasons since that
run to the title game, WCU has approached a return to the FCS Playoffs or have
been in contention for a SoCon title, but they were ultimately ruined entirely
or at least hindered by a loss to Furman along the way. The 29-17 home loss to
Furman in 2023 in a matchup between a pair of Top 10 ranked FCS programs would
make that list, and for Bell and staff, might even be near the top. The
Catamounts were defeated 29-17 in arguably the biggest game for the program
since that win at Furman 40 years earlier, and making the sting of that loss
hurt a little more is the fact that it came on home turf, as for the first time
all season in 2023, WCU’s prolific offense under Bell was slowed and looked
human.
While WCU’s record-setting 52-20
win over the Paladins in Greenville wouldn’t take the place of that win some 41
years ago, it would go a long way in help soothe some of the pain experienced
in those painful losses to Furman over the years. It was almost if the
Catamounts and quarterback Cole Gonzales played to that emotion throughout the
afternoon, and the Catamounts would seemingly take out their frustrations
against the defending SoCon champions and the cause of so many heartbreaks over
the past four decades, as it also didn’t help Furman’s cause that it had lost
35 of those 44 players from that run of a year earlier, as well as entering the
matchup with the Catamounts down to its third string cornerbacks on both sides
of the field, which didn’t bode well facing a Catamount passing attack that
once again ranked among the best in the country once again with Cole Gonzales
at the controls.
While the 43-42 win over Furman
in Bell’s first season as the head coach back in 2021 as a memorable
breakthrough for the Catamount football program, the 32-point win over the
Paladins on their home turf, which included a day in which the Catamounts rolled
up an astounding 801 yards of total offense to set a Southern Conference
record, will live on in the collective memory bank of Catamount athletics and
all those involved or who have contributed to the tradition in some small way,
will own a piece of such a monumental win in their own way for years down the
line in the future. Both alums and undergrads alike have their fingerprints on
such a monumental win, which despite having been dominated in series history by
Furman, has never seen so many records fall in any previous clash between the
two as the ones that did in 2024.
WCU registered its seventh win
all-time in Greenville and now have the second-most wins at Furman among
Southern Conference foes, with only Chattanooga's eight wins in Greenville
accounting for more by a SoCon foe. Interestingly, it was just the third win by
Western Carolina in Greenville since 1993, with the other two coming in 1994
and 2014.
The Catamounts outgained Furman
801-294 in total offense, with 620 of that coming through the air. Gonzales'
passing total marked the seventh-highest passing mark in FCS Football history
and is also a Southern Conference record for single-game passing yards. He
finished the day connecting on 35-of-55 passes for 620 yards and five scores,
without an INT. Meanwhile, backup Taron Dickens added one completion for 32
yards and a touchdown. The combined 652 passing yards by the two QBs is a SoCon
record.
The 32-point home loss by the
Paladins is the second largest home defeat in the 44-year history of the
facility, with only the 45-0 win by Samford on Homecoming eclipsing that
margin. The 52 points scored by Western Carolina are tied for the second-most by
a visiting foe, along with Kennesaw State (52 in 2016), Appalachian State (52
in 2009) and The Citadel (52 in 1994).. Only ETSU's 58 points in a
58-28 victory over Furman in 1997 surpasses that total. With the
win, the Catamounts improve to 4-3 overall and remain unbeaten in Southern
Conference play at 3-0.
Following the win over Furman,
the Catamounts were feeling pretty good about themselves when they headed to
Mercer at the end of October to battle the Bears in a key SoCon clash between
the league’s two top teams. The Catamounts were now above .500 on the campaign,
having improved to 4-3 overall and a perfect 3-0 in league play. However, the
Bears would end up handing the Catamounts their first of two Southern
Conference losses on the season, as the eventual league champions overcame a
24-7 deficit in the first half to capture what was a 44-34 win.
Cole Gonzales would end up
passing for 395 yards and accounted for three touchdown responsibilities,
however, would leave the game late and would not return. It would be his final
action of the 2024 season for the Catamounts,
and thus, his final game as a Catamount signal-caller decided to enter the
transfer portal shortly after the completion of the season, as he would
announce that he would continuing his career at Oklahoma on Christmas Day. He
then later enter the second transfer portal window following spring drills with
the Sooners and ended up transferring back east to play for Pittsburgh and
former Catamount offensive coordinator Kade Bell, who was the offensive
coordinator for the Panthers.
Despite the loss, the Catamounts
were still very much alive in the Southern Conference title race heading into
the month of November. In his final two games as a WCU quarterback, the junior
signal-caller from Ocala, FL,
threw for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns. Gonzales finished out his WCU
career by completing 511-of-803 passes for 6,662 yards, with 51 TDs and 22 INTs
in 2.5 seasons as the Catamounts quarterback.
The Catamounts wouldn’t have time
to sulk over their loss to the league-leading Bears, with Chattanooga in town
to face WCU the following week in a game that had major FCS Playoff
implications. In 2023, the Catamounts and Mocs played a classic, with WCU winning
on a walk-off field goal from Richard McCollum to claim what was a 52-50 win.
This time around, both Western
Carolina and Chattanooga would be without starting quarterbacks Cole Gonzales
(Western Carolina) and Chase Artopoeus (Chattanooga), with the surprise of the
two not being available for action being Artopoues, who was forced to miss the
game he suffered Thursday in practice in the lead-up to the game. The
Catamounts would get the better of the Mocs, despite having the
lesser-experienced of the two quarterbacks, posting a 38-34 win to remain alive
in the SoCon title race as well as squarely in the hunt to break the long curse
of playoff-less seasons.
WCU’s Taron Dickens star was born,
as he shined brightly in his first start for the Catamounts, throwing for five
touchdowns and a career-high 431 yards, while leading WCU to what was a
thrilling 38-34 win. He would have a different test on the horizon the
following week in a proximity rivalry known as the “Blue Ridge Border Battle”
the following week against East Tennessee State in Johnson City. A
school-record crowd of 12,109 fans were on hand to take in the contest between
the Cats and Bucs at William B. Greene Jr. Stadium on a sunny, late-fall
afternoon.
The Catamounts’ dreams of
returning to the playoffs and winning at least a share of a first-ever SoCon
title were given a death blow in week 10, however, as ETSU avenged a 58-7 loss
to the Catamounts in the previous season by handing the Catamounts a 24-21
setback in Johnson City in a game that neither quarterback or offense in
general could seemingly keep from turning the football over. The Catamounts
picked off ETSU quarterbacks four times, and Dickens didn’t throw an errant
pass to the Bucs all afternoon, however, it was two costly fumbles that, in the
end, proved to be the deciding factor in the loss for WCU. Dickens had two
rushing scores in the game, and his 8-yard scoring scamper late in the third
quarter gave WCU a 21-17 lead.
It looked like the Catamounts
might be ready to turn the tide of the game for good midway through the fourth
quarter and perhaps put the game out of reach when Zayveon Wells intercepted
the second pass of his career to set up the WCU offense at its own 23,
thwarting what had been a promising ETSU drive.
However, a combination of
negative plays and penalty yardage pushed WCU back into the shadow of its own
goalposts at its own 7-yard line. A poor WCU punt gave the Bucs excellent field
position at the Catamount 28. From there, a misplay in special teams resulted
in favorable field position for the Bucs, as a short WCU punt placed the Bucs
at the Catamount 28-yard line. It would take ETSU only five plays to cover the
needed 28 yards and produce the game-winning score, as Devontae Houston
scampered 14 yards to cover the final distance and give the Bucs a 24-21 lead
following the PAT.
On its final possession of the
game, the Catamounts could only muster 10 yards, and when ETSU took over the
football, gained a pair of first downs to ultimately run out the clock and
celebrate the Blue Ridge Border Battle win. The loss was obviously a major
disappointment for the Catamounts and put a huge dent in their hopes of
returning to the FCS Playoffs for the first time in 42 years.
There was still an outside chance
at postseason qualification if the Catamounts could finish out their final two
games strong, which were at home against VMI and on the road at Samford. Wins
in those two games, coupled with the right things following into place
nationally for the Catamounts to have a realistic chance to potentially squeeze
into the postseason.
The first of those two challenges
would come in the form of the VMI Keydets, which paid a visit to EJ Whitmire
Stadium for the Catamounts’ final home game of the 2024 season.
The Catamounts made a statement
in the second quarter against the Keydets en route to what would end up being a
58-28 win, as the Purple and Gold ended up exploding for 35 points in the
second quarter en route to the 30-point win.
The Catamounts did most of their
damage in the final three minutes of the opening half, scoring three times.
An opportunistic WCU defense
recorded three INTs and forced a pair of fumbles, as the Catamounts played
complimentary football in the lopsided win in the regular-season home finale.
It was a sweet win for the Catamount faithful, as the victory helped soothe the
pain of the previous season’s loss in Lexington by three points, which was one
that likely ended up costing the Catamounts a place in the 24-team FCS Playoff
field.
WCU’s win in combination with
league losses by both East Tennessee State and Chattanooga, allowed the
Catamounts to climb back up the Southern Conference standings and into second
place as a result.
The Catamounts actually found
themselves trailing, 7-6, at the end of the opening 15 minutes of football. The
WCU offense would erupt for four second quarter scores and got another on a
pick-six in the second quarter to assume a commanding 41-7 halftime lead.
Isaiah Johnson scored what would be five second quarter scores, hauling in a
short, 4-yard pass from quarterback Taron Dickens, and that was followed by a
pair of 1-yard scoring runs from WCU’s short-yardage specialist—Jaylnn
Williams—to assume what seemed like a score that would likely be the final
points of the half-- at least on the Catamounts’ side of the ball with just
2:48 left in the opening frame--as WCU held a 27-6 following Williams’ second
touchdown of the quarter.
However, there would be 14 more
points to come in a flurry for WCU. On VMI’s first play from scrimmage on the
ensuing possession, Catamount cornerback Ken Moore Jr. read the eyes of Keydet
quarterback Chandler Wilson perfectly, picking off his pass and then proceeded
to return it 34 yards for a score with 2:30 remaining in the half to send the
better than 13,000 fans in attendance in the regular-season home finale into a
frenzy, increasing the WCU lead to 27, at 34-7.
The Catamounts finally finished
the scoring in the quarter with almost an exact replica of how they started the
scoring flurry, as Taron Dickens tossed his second 4-yard scoring pass, with
this one going to Zion Booker with six seconds remaining in the half and the
Purple and Gold would take a 41-7 lead to the break.
With the game’s result already
securely in the bag, the Catamounts would tack on three more scores in the
second half to eclipse the 50-point plateau for the second time in the 2024
campaign, as Christian Lowery booted home the only points of the third quarter,
splitting the uprights from 27 yards out to make it a 44-14 game following
WCU’s first possession of the second half. In the fourth quarter, backup
quarterback Jefferson Boaz added a 1-yard scoring plunge and then Patrick Boyd
Jr. closed out the WCU scoring for the game with a 28-yard scamper with 10:31
remaining, giving the Catamounts a season-high 58 points, increasing their
advantage on the scoreboard to 37, at 58-21. VMI would cap the scoring in the
game with just 21 seconds remaining, as Hunter Rice posted a 3-yard scoring
scamper to set the final margin at 30.
For the game, Catamount
quarterback Taron Dickens ended the contest by connecting on an impressive
30-of-37 passes for 294 yards, two TDs and no INTs, powering a WCU offense that
amassed 534 yards, out-gaining the Keydets 534-294 on the day, including holding
a 318-170 advantage in passing yards.
Defensively, the Catamounts were
paced by linebacker Antarron Turner’s seven tackles and half-a-tackle-for-loss,
while Wesley Scott contributed six tackles, half-a-tackle-for-loss, a PBU and
one of WCU’s three INTs. Scott was joined in the pick party by Catamount
defensive backs Mateo Sudipo and Ken Moore Jr. both added INTs.
VMI had two quarterbacks—Chandler
Wilson and JoJo Crump—combine to complete 14-of-27 passes for 170 yards, a pair
of touchdowns and three INTs. The VMI ground game was paced by senior running
back Hunter Rice, who was impressive in defeat, as he finished with 109 yards
and a pair of touchdowns on the ground, which included a 59-yard scamper early
in the third quarter, as he carried the ball 13 times in the contest.
At 6-5 overall and 5-2 in league
play, the Catamounts headed into their final game of the regular-season, which
would be a tricky road test at always-formidable Samford.
To pretty much no one’s surprise,
a win in the regular-season finale wasn’t going to come easy against a Samford
team that had had its share of ups and downs during the 2024 season but had
been an especially tough out on its home turf during the 2024 campaign. Just
ask No. 7 Mercer, which suffered its only SoCon loss of the regular season, as
the Bears were blitzkrieged by the Bulldogs, 55-35, a month earlier.
As had been the case on the road
all season, nothing would come easy for the Catamounts, however, WCU would find
a way to pull out what was a wild, 47-42, win in the final game of the regular
season.
The wild win was highlighted by
another strong performance from Taron Dickens, who passed for 408 yards and
three touchdowns and would survive a late, furious rally from Samford to hold
on for a thrilling win. The Bulldogs would end up holding what was a 568-482
advantage in total offense in the game, which included an astounding 365-74
advantage in ground yards gained.
It would be the Catamounts that
would end up going into the locker room with a huge lead, however, as WCU went
into the break with a 37-14 lead. Like the VMI game, the end of the second
quarter would feature a flurry of points for head coach Kerwin Bell’s team. It
started when Jordy Lowery turned the tide of the game, with Samford driving
late inside Catamount territory late in the first half. Lowery would step in
front of a Quincy Crittendon pass and returned it 92 yards for a score with
only 21 seconds left in the half gave the Catamounts a 30-14 lead and seemingly
all the momentum heading to the break. However, that wouldn’t even be the
ending of the scoring in the opening half of play.
After Samford drove the ball
within field goal range in the waning moments of the first half of play, it was
the turn of the WCU special teams to make their own impact on the proceedings
of the game, as Caleb Fisher swatted away a long field goal attempt and
teammate CJ Williams picked up the football and scampered 72 yards for a score
to send the Catamount sidelines into a frenzy, as Williams crossed the goal
line with no time remaining in the half, and WCU holding what was a 37-14 lead.
However, what seemed to be a
cut-and-dry win for WCU at halftime would prove to be much more difficult than
the score would indicate at the break. That’s because Samford wasn’t giving up
so easily. The Bulldogs, slowly but surely, got back into the game, beginning
with a couple of short scoring drives to eventually trim the Catamount lead and
quell the visitors’ momentum.
Samford scored a pair of
touchdowns within the opening two minutes of the third quarter, as quarterback
Quincy Crittendon threw for one score and rushed for another, getting the
Bulldogs to within nine points, at 37-28, with 13:04 left in the quarter. Crittendon’s
first score was a 6-yard scoring toss to E. Jai Mason, while his second TD
would come on a 19-yard scoring run. Later in the quarter, the Bulldogs would
make things even more interesting when Micah Bell took a hand-off from
Crittendon and proceeded to scamper 85 yards for a score, getting the Bulldogs
to within 37-35 with 3:24 remaining in the game and all of the sudden things
were starting to look bad for the Purple and Gold.
However, the Catamounts would
rise to the occasion in the fourth quarter to end what had been a 10-game
losing streak against the Bulldogs in Birmingham. Western Carolina would
increase their lead back to two scores when Jalynn Williams finished off a 13-play,
75-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring plunge with 13:45 remaining, increasing
WCU’s lead back to nine, at 44-35. Christian Lowery then connected on a 23-yard
field goal with just over five minutes remaining, increasing the Catamount lead
to 12, at 47-35.
Samford would tack on a final
score to set the final margin late in the contest, when Crittendon posted his
fourth rushing score of the day with just 33 seconds remaining to round out a
15-play, 73-yard scoring drive and make it a 47-45 game.
The win over the Bulldogs marked
WCU’s first road win over Samford since 1969, snapping a streak of 10-straight
lost to Samford in Birmingham. The win also ensured WCU’s second-straight
seven-win season, and six wins in league play was also quite the accomplishment
for Catamount football, marking the first time the Purple and Gold had ever
done that since originally joining the Southern Conference way back in 1976.
The win would see WCU lock of
sole possession of second place in the league standings, marking the best
finish in the league standings since tying for second with Samford with an
identical 5-2 league mark a decade earlier. You’d have to go all the way back
to 1986 to find the last time Western Carolina finished off a season in sole
possession of second place in the league standings.
Western Carolina battled
adversity throughout the 2024 season and also played against one of the
toughest non-conference slates in all of FCS football, yet found a way to claim
wins in six of their final eight contests of the season. The Catamounts got three of those six wins
over the final eight games with a redshirt freshman under center, as Cole
Gonzales suffered a season-ending hip injury in the loss at Mercer.
Ultimate success in the Southern
Conference, however, is usually gauged for programs in one of two areas, which
are playoff appearances and league titles. While the 2024 season was an overall
success given the schedule difficulties and injury issues at quarterback, it
would end up seeing the Catamounts’ playoff drought continue, however, as WCU
was left out of the 24-team playoff field.
Western Carolina, which hasn’t
reached the postseason since 1983 and has never won a regular-season SoCon
title, was not even one of the first four teams left out of the postseason, as
league rival Chattanooga would actually finish as one of the “first four out”
despite the fact that WCU defeated Chattanooga during the regular-season and
finishing higher in the final regular-season league standings.
Despite it all, the Catamounts
did build a more than respectable resume, but the home loss to Campbell was the
loss that ended up ultimately dooming the season in the end. The Catamounts had
a pair of ranked road wins, defeating both Elon and Chattanooga on the road.
The win over Chattanooga marked the third in a row against the Mocs. The
Catamounts also finished off the season in style with a win at Samford, which
handed the league’s regular-season champion and FCS automatic bid qualifier
Mercer its only SoCon loss in 2024.
Not only did the Catamounts have
to deal with the loss of quarterback Cole Gonzales to injury, battle an
extremely tough schedule, but also had an unprecedented weather event, in
Hurricane Helene, to navigate around and through during the 2024 season. The
Catamounts hosted a home game without any fans a week following the natural
disaster against Wofford, which provided a bizarre and surreal backdrop.
Western Carolina would finish out
the 2024 season having nine players garner All-SoCon recognition, with four
garnering first-team all-league citations, two second-team selections, and
three selected to the league’s All-Freshman Team. Leading the way for the
Catamounts was quarterback Cole Gonzales, who despite the season-ending injury,
finished out the season as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award finalist. He
finished the season completing a career-best 205 passes—eighth in WCU
history—for 2,543 yards, which also marked the eighth-best mark in program
history and also second in the SoCon, despite playing three fewer games. He
finished the season with 12 scoring passes in eight games, which ended the
season tied with four others in the league, including teammate Taron Dickens.
Prior to his injury against
Mercer, Gonzales would lead the FCS with an average of 317.9 yards per game as
a part of a season that would see the junior rack up 2,755 yards total offense
and an average of 344.38, which was a mark that led the FCS at the time of
Gonzales’ injury. He also finished ranking in the top three in several career
categories, including total completions (511), passing yards (6,682) and total
offense (7,244), and ranks second in school history in career touchdown passes
(51). Gonzales also holds the SoCon single-game record for passing yards,
tossing for 620 yards in that lopsided mid-season win over Furman.
Unfortunately for a player that would have likely finished his WCU career
holding all of the program’s passing records, it will not end in Cullowhee, as
Gonzales announced on Christmas Day 2024 that he would be transferring to
Oklahoma via his X account.
Gonzales would be joined on the
SoCon’s first team by teammates, in redshirt senior and sixth-year senior
offensive lineman Blake Whitmore, tight end Jake Young, and wideout AJ Colombo rounded out the
first-team selections for the Catamounts. Whitmore finished his stellar career
with a streak of 34-straight starts over his final three seasons in Cullowhee
and the Raleigh, N.C., would play in 45 games after joining the program in
2019.
Redshirt sophomore tight end Jake
Young finished out the season as a reliable option in the WCU passing attack,
finishing the season with 28 catches for 321 yards, with a pair of scoring
catches. A far cry from his redshirt freshman season, which saw him catch two
passes for four yards.
Colombo finished his third
campaign inside the WCU program with a career-best 61 catches for a team-high
590 receiving yards to go with five scoring catches. Colombo finished eighth in
the SoCon in receiving yards, and his five scoring catches tied him for fifth
in the league in that category.
As far as the second-team
selections are concerned, the Catamounts would have a player represent each
side of the ball, with offensive lineman Derek Simmons garnering second-team
all-league recognition, while he would be joined on the second team by defensive
back Mateo Sudipo. Simmons has started all 16 games over the past two seasons
since transferring in from Abilene Christian. He started 10 of 12 games during
the 2024 season and ended up being a key piece of offensive fronts that amassed
over 5,000 yards of total offense in each of the past two seasons.
As far as the All-Freshman Team
selections are concerned, the Catamounts would see quarterback Taron Dickens
and Isaiah Johnson would also garner SoCon All-Freshman team recognition for
their standout efforts during the 2024 football season. Dickens would finish
out a stellar first season in Cullowhee by connecting on 127-of-172 passes for
1,428 yards, with 12 TDs and only three INTs. He also finished out the season
by rushing for 56 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 58 attempts. Dickens would
also finish the campaign as a candidate for the Jerry Rice Award, which is
awarded annually to the top freshman player in FCS football.
As for Johnson, he was also one
of both Gonzales and Dickens’ favorite targets in the potent WCU passing
attack, as he ended the campaign hauling in 21 passes for 303 yards and three
touchdowns, boasting an average of 27.5 YPR.
The Catamount offense would again
be among the nation’s top units during the 2025 season, as the Purple and Gold
finished the campaign ranking third nationally in total offensive output (472.1
YPG), while the Catamounts completed the season ranking tops in the nation in
passing offense for the 2024 campaign, averaging 335.8 YPG through the air. WCU
also finished the 2024 season ranking tied for 19th nationally in
scoring offense (33.1 PPG).
THE OFFENSE: The
Catamounts have continued to knock at the proverbial door of both the SoCon
title and at an FCS Playoff appearance. The Catamounts have never won a
Southern Conference Football title and have only been to the FCS Playoffs once
in program history, which came way back in 1983, but there’s reason to believe
that could all change this season. The Catamounts might have lost Cole Gonzales
to the transfer portal and Pittsburgh, but as we have come to learn of head
coach Kerwin Bell, who heads into fifth season as the head coach, and will have
another quarterback able to put up record-setting numbers, in Taron Dickens,
who started the final three games of the season against East Tennessee State,
Chattanooga, VMI and Samford after Cole Gonzales went down with a season-ending
injury. The Catamounts will have an
embarrassment of offensive talent returning once again this season even without
Isaiah Johnson, Calvin Jones, Zion Booker and De’Andre Tamarez returning at
wide receiver—all lost to the transfer portal, including even one to a
conference rival. Fortunately for WCU, wide receiver is a position in which the
Catamounts have a stockpiled talent under Kerwin Bell. Running back finally has
some stability with a pair of veterans returning, in the ever-versatile Branson
Adams, as well as Patrick Boyd Jr. The entire offensive line must be re-tooled,
but veteran experience returns in the form of guys like Aaron Sanez and Zach Watson, who are ready to step into
starting roles along the offensive front this coming fall. The offensive front
lost both Derek Simmons (Oklahoma) and Caleb Carter (Michigan State) to the
transfer portal, but Sanez, Watson and Brett Gary look ready for their
opportunity to play regular roles as full-time starters in Bell’s prolific
offensive scheme. Even a guy like Steven Hamby is someone that has seen a lot of snaps in his career, will now have a chance to do so as a full-time starter along what should be a solid unit.
THE DEFENSE: On the
defensive side of the football, the Catamounts still must find a way to shore
up a unit that ranked 105th (427.6 YPG) in total defense last
season, as well as one that ranked 83rd nationally in scoring
defense (29.2 PPG). The defensive line
will need to find a way to replace veterans like Curtis Fann Jr., Chris Morgan
and JaQuarius Guinn, but the good news is that guys
like Caleb Fisher, JaMichael Wilson, and Micah Nelson return to help provide
some veteran leadership. Veteran all-league
linebacker Hayward McQueen Jr. will team with Blue Monroe and Jeno Junius Jr.,
give the Catamounts one of the most formidable linebacking units in the SoCon. The defensive backfield has a good mix, despite having to replace one of the league's most talented corners, in Jordy Lowery. Ken Moore Jr. has decided to return this season after
entertaining the idea of transferring initially. Moore Jr. should be on everyone’s
preseason All-SoCon list entering the 2025 season and perhaps even some
preseason All-America scrolls. The secondary will have one of the best in all
of FCS football returning, in Samaurie Dukes, who will man the ‘rover position
in the Catamount 4-2-5. Dukes had originally moved to corner before moving back to 'rover following the departure of Mateo Sudipo, who transferred to Bowling Green this past spring. Ed Jones V and Bo Simpson-Nealy will add veteran
leadership at free safety. Despite losing talent at both corner and safety, the Catamounts should still be more than adequate to put capable talent on the field in 2025. If there is enough of an improvement for Jerry Odom's defense this fall, expect the Catamounts be back in the playoffs for the first time since 1983 at bare minimum. That's thanks in large part to the fact that the offense should be out of this world good once again this season, with new OC and former quarterback Rylan Wells inheriting an embarrassment of talent on that side of the ball.
NON-CONFERENCE GAME TO WATCH: at
Campbell (Sept. 27)—It will mark the return matchup
of the game that likely kept the Catamounts out of the postseason in 2024, and it
will also mark just the fourth all-time matchup between the two programs, with the
Catamounts having never scratched out a win in the all-time series, which began
in 1937. The trip to beautiful Buies Creek, N.C., to face the CAA member will
mark the first trip for the Purple and Gold since 1939—a 7-6 setback on that
particular occasion. The WCU home loss to the Camels last season was not only
detrimental to the playoff hopes for WCU in the long-term, it was also a scar
on the SoCon as a league, particularly when others in the league struggled that
very same week; ie Furman’s 24-21 loss at home to Charleston Southern. It was
one of just three wins the entire season for the Camels in 2024, finishing just
1-7 in CAA play. The Camels are picked to finish 10th in the 14-team
CAA poll and didn’t have one player picked to either the first or second team
preseason squads. The Camels, who also host Furman (Sept. 13), have had some
recent success against SoCon members. In addition to that 24-16 win at WCU last
season, the Camels delivered a 56-7 beatdown to The Citadel at Johnson-Hagood
Stadium in Charleston the previous season. The Camels also claimed a 29-10 win
over the Bulldogs in 2022 at Barker Lane Stadium in Buies Creek. In 2019, the
Camels went to Mercer and downed the Bears, 34-27, at Five Star Stadium. In
fact, in the modern era, no current SoCon member while playing as a SoCon
member has ever defeated Campbell. The last team of the current membership to
defeat Campbell was Mercer back in 2013, which defeated the Camels, 38-31, in
the Bears’ only season as a PFL member. WCU must win this game. They are the
better team, but then again, they were last season as well. In WCU’s 24-16 loss
in Cullowhee last season, as prolific as WCU’s normally was with Cole Gonzales
at the controls, it certainly wasn’t that particular afternoon. If it hadn’t
been for a blocked punt returned for a score and three Christian Lowery field
goals, the Catamounts wouldn’t have scored a point. It was part of a bizarre
eight-quarter end zone drought for WCU, which saw Gonzales play some of his
worst football under center of his WCU career, including four INTs in that
infamous home loss last season.
CONFERENCE GAME TO WATCH: vs.
Mercer (Nov. 8)—Like some of the ETSU-Mercer
battles or Western Carolina-Chattanooga battles in recent seasons, the games
between Mercer and Western Carolina have been ones that you’ve had to buckle
your proverbial seatbelt for, especially over the past couple of seasons. It’s been a game that has ultimately costly for the Catamounts in the grand schemes of the 2022 and '23 seasons, respectively. Those consecutive losses to Mercer have likely
ended up keeping the Catamounts from making it back to the FCS playoffs for the
first time since 1983. Two years ago, the Bears were able to solidify
themselves as a legitimate FCS Playoff team by going on the road and getting
what was a 45-38 thriller of a win over a then No. 10 ranked Catamounts team. For WCU, it was a case of letting the loss a week earlier to No. 3 Furman carry over the following week in a home loss to Mercer. Then in 2024, the Bears were able to overcome deficits of 17-0 and 24-6 at home to come away with a hard-fought 44-34 win over the Catamounts at Five Star Stadium. As good as Mercer’s defense has been over the past couple of seasons,
they’ve had little to slow the Catamounts’ offensive output, with WCU able to
post 582 yards of total offense last season and in the 2023 meeting, the
Catamounts were able to put up 474 yards, out-gaining the Bears in both
meetings. The Catamounts and Bears should showcase two of the better
dual-threat QBs in the SoCon next season, with the Bears going with DJ Smith as
a result of Whitt Newbauer moving on to Oklahoma, while Taron “Tyger” Dickens
will now be the man for the Catamounts under center after Cole Gonzales first
decided to transfer to Oklahoma before eventually ending up at Pittsburgh. It
was Gonzales, who broke his hip in the game at Mercer last season and ended his
season and ultimately his career at WCU, allowing Dickens to step into the role
as the starting quarterback spot and getting a good start on the future for
Kerwin Bell’s Cats. WCU was likely never going to have Gonzales beyond the 2024
season even if he had stayed healthy throughout. The reality was the league’s
top quarterback was going to try and ply his trade at the highest level of
college football for a power conference program. After Gonzales made his move
to Pitt, it is interesting that Newbauer opted to transfer from Mercer out to
Oklahoma and will have a chance to compete for time for the Sooners next
season. This is a game that I see as crucial for both to win, however, for WCU,
it comes at a time on the schedule where once again a win could put them in
excellent position for a playoff spot, but a loss could once again have fans
mentioning the dreaded Bob Waters curse. It is interesting to note that after
WCU won the first two meetings in this series, the Bears have now won the last
nine in the series, holding a 9-2 series edge heading into the 2025 season.
QUOTABLE:
Bell on the success of red zone
defense (WCU was first in the SoCon in that category last year)
“Well I thought we were really
good when we made people earn it defensively. We got better and better
as the year went. This is now our second year with Coach Odom, (DC Jerry Odom) and
with these veterans back on defense, a lot of fourth and fifth year guys
that’ve been in our program for four years now, I really feel like that’s
what’ll carry us. And I made a comment, I think we’re the most balanced
football team we’ve ever been since I’ve been here. And that’s because we’ve
always had a great offense, but the defense is really going to show up this
year and be one of the better defenses in our conference.”
Final Synopsis:
This Western Carolina team is more than capable of doing something no other
team in its history has done—win a Southern Conference regular-season title.
The Catamounts are also capable of doing something that no team has done since
that 1983 Catamounts achieved, and that is making a deep run in the postseason.
It will depend on if Taron Dickens can stay healthy throughout the season, as
well as how much this defense has improved this year over last. If the
improvement is as good as I think it should be, and the Catamounts catch some
breaks, don’t be surprised to see Catamounts become the seventh different
league champion in the past seven years, including becoming the first in
program history to ever win a league title.
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