1992 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

1992 The Citadel Bulldogs football
SoCon champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 1
Record11–2 (6–1 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeOption
Defensive coordinatorDon Powers (4th season)
Home stadiumJohnson Hagood Stadium
Seasons
← 1991
1993 →
1992 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 The Citadel $^ 6 1 0 11 2 0
No. 6 Marshall ^ 5 2 0 12 3 0
No. 16 Appalachian State ^ 5 2 0 7 5 0
Western Carolina 5 2 0 7 4 0
Furman 4 3 0 6 5 0
East Tennessee State 2 5 0 5 6 0
VMI 1 6 0 3 8 0
Chattanooga 0 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1992 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 1992 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Bulldogs were led by sixth-year head coach Charlie Taaffe and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They played as members of the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936.

The Citadel claimed its second SoCon championship, their first since 1961. They spent four weeks as the top ranked team in the nation and played in the I-AA playoffs for the third time in five years.[1] They also won 11 games, most in school history, and the only time a Bulldog football team has won more than eight games in a season. Their playoff win was the first postseason victory for the Bulldogs since the 1960 Tangerine Bowl.

The Bulldogs defeated two teams from Division I-A for the first time since the SoCon became a Division I-AA league. Wins over Arkansas and Army marked high points in the season.[2] The victory over Arkansas to open the season resulted in the Razorbacks' head coach Jack Crowe stepping down. This was Arkansas' first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference.[3]

After the win over Arkansas, Sports Illustrated published a story critical of The Citadel and its military environment, particularly its effects on athletes.[4] It contained several accounts of hazing, most notably of a freshman kicker who missed a field goal that would have won the 1991 game against Wofford. The story created a firestorm on campus and potential distractions for the team, as several current players were named in the article.[5]

  1. ^ Justin Cannon. "Citadel's Giant Killer". dixiefriedsports.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  2. ^ Al Harvin (September 27, 1992). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; The Citadel Beats Army On Late Kick to Go 4-0". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  3. ^ "Arkansas Coach Quits After Loss to The Citadel". Los Angeles Times. September 7, 1992. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  4. ^ Rick Reilly (September 14, 1992). "What Is The Citadel?". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2013.
  5. ^ Bob Lang (September 12, 1992). "Citadel hoping to dispel week of distractions". Post and Courier. Charleston, South Carolina. pp. 1–C, 7–C. Retrieved October 17, 2013.