Three Things You Need to Know about The Citadel

For the first time ever The Citadel's football program heads to Bryant-Denny Stadium for an 11 AM kickoff against top ranked Alabama.

The Bulldogs enter Saturday morning's contest 4-5 but have a two-game winning streak with come from behind victories over Samford and Western Carolina.

This weekend's contest will be The Citadel's final road game of the season.

Prior to Saturday's late morning kickoff, check out the three things you need to know about The Citadel.

Triple Option Offense

For the first time since 2011, Alabama will face an offense that operates with a triple option offense.

The Bulldogs have thrown the football a total of 549 rushing attempts while tossing just 101 passing attempts in nine games.

The Citadel ranks last in the SoCon with 90.1 passing yards per game but is second in the conference with 291.9 rushing yards per game.

In last week's 42-27 win over Samford, quarterback Brandon Rainey ran for a conference season best 217 yards and added an additional 81 yards passing with a rushing and passing touchdown to earn SoCon Player of the Week.

Alabama Connection at Running Back

In the backfield, The Citadel is led by a young man whose father has a connection to Alabama football.

The Columbia, South Carolina native leads the team in carries (160), rushing yards (661) and is second on the squad in rushing touchdowns (7).

The junior running back came to The Citadel as a recruited walk-on, earned his scholarship and is now the primary option in the backfield.

Ward's father, Lorenzo "Whammy" Ward recently took the helm as Louisville's interim head football coach following the firing of Bobby Petrino.

"Whammy" Ward played at Alabama from 1986-1989 and was part of the Crimson Tide's 1989 SEC championship team, the first conference title following the retirement of Paul "Bear" Bryant.

The Military College of South Carolina

Founded in 1842, The Citadel is most famous for their Corps of Cadets, which come from 45 states and a dozen countries.

The Citadel currently has 2,300 undergraduate students who comprise the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. The men and women in the Corps learn and live under a classic military that emphasizes leadership and character development as a fundamental aspect of the educational experience.

The institution also has 1,000 students who are a part of the Citadel Graduate College, a civilian evening and online which offers undergraduate, graduate and professional level degree programs.