NEWS

 

GAME 1 | AUG. 31, 2024 | 12:30 PM | COOPER FIELD (3,750) | WASHINGTON, D.C. | ESPN+

DAVIDSON WILDCATS
2024 Record: 0-0 (0-0 PFL)
2023 Record: 7-4 (6-2 PFL)
Head Coach: Scott Abell
Davidson Record (Yrs): 41-23 (7)
Career Record (Yrs): 80-47 (13)

GEORGETOWN HOYAS
2024 Record: 0-0 (0-0 Patriot)
2023 Record: 5-6 (3-3 Patriot)
Head Coach: Rob Sgarlata
Georgetown Record (Yrs): 30-72 (11)
Career Record (Yrs): Same

INSIDE THE SERIES
Meetings: 13
Series Record: Georgetown leads, 9-4
First Meeting: Davidson Won, 28-27 (10/16/99)
Last Meeting: Davidson Won, 27-20 (8/31/2019)
Streak: Won 1
In Davidson: 2-4
In Washington, D.C.: 2-5
Abell vs. Georgetown: 1-0

1ST AND 10

• Davidson will kick off its 2024 campaign Saturday afternoon with a 12:30 p.m. contest at Georgetown in Washington, D.C.
• Picked third in the Pioneer Football League Preseason Poll, the Wildcats finished 7-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play last season.
• Now in his seventh season at the helm, head coach Scott Abell has guided the Wildcats to a 41-23 overall record and 31-14 conference mark, while capturing two PFL regular season crowns and leading the ‘Cats to three FCS Playoff appearances.
• Abell ranks third on Davidson’s career wins’ list with 41 victories. He is just four wins shy of becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach.
• The Wildcats have put together six straight winning seasons, the longest stretch in program history.
• Davidson finished 2023 with the nation’s top-rushing attack for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, the ‘Cats also led all of FCS in scoring offense (40.0), while ranking among national leaders in total offense (463.2 ypg / 5th), passing efficiency (158.37 / 8th), 3rd down conversion defense (13th), red zone offense (7th) and time of possession (33:25 / 4th).
• Saturday’s meeting will be the 14th all-time between Davidson and Georgetown, with the last coming exactly five years ago (Aug. 31, 2019).
• It’s also the fifth straight year the ‘Cats have opened with a scholarship program.
• Davidson’s Mari Adams (RB), Malik McDaniel (OL), Julian Rawlins (DE) and Daniel Carter (S) were named to the PFL’s preseason all-conference team.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Saturday’s meeting will be the 14th all-time between Davidson and Georgetown.
• The last time the two FCS foes met was exactly five years (Aug. 31, 2019) ago with the Wildcats winning 27-20 inside Richardson Stadium.
• Davidson is 2-5 all-time against the Hoyas on the road.
• Prior to the last meeting, the Hoyas had won nine of the previous 10 in the series.

LAST MEETING | DAVIDSON 27, GEORGETOWN 20 — AUG. 31, 2019 |DAVIDSON, N.C.

• With the score tied late at Richardson Stadium on Aug. 31, 2019, William Wicks had his hands on the football and his eyes on the end zone.
• Angling to his left, Wicks was cut off going wide, but he cut back to his right to shake defenders and score the game-winner in a 27-20 victory over Georgetown. His 2-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal secured the Wildcats’ third straight season-opening victory.
• Throughout its first win over the Hoyas since 2005, Davidson showed signs of the record-setting offense of 2018 and an improved 2019 defense.
• All three of the Wildcats’ first-half possessions ended in touchdowns, including a 19-play, 99-yard drive late in the second quarter, which was capped by James Story’s second scoring run and secured a 20-0 lead at the half. The other scoring drives went for 87 and 91 yards as the Wildcats had the ball for 46 plays and nearly 23 of the first 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, the Davidson defense shut out the Hoyas in the first half, holding them to 74 yards and four first downs.
• Georgetown made it interesting in the second half by capitalizing on three of its first four drives, with the aid of three Wildcat turnovers, and tied the game at the 1:58 mark of the third quarter on Gunther Johnson’s 1-yard touchdown pass to Michael Dereus on fourth-and-goal.
• After Wicks’ go-ahead touchdown capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with 4:54 left, the Wildcats had a few more plays to make. The defense held the Hoyas on a fourth-and-2 play near midfield, and the offense closed the door by running out the final 3:22, thanks in part to a Story 3-yard run on a fourth-and-2 in the edge of Hoya territory.
• The Wildcats finished with 355 rushing yards on 75 carries, led by Wicks’ 88 yards on 10 runs. Wesley Dugger’s 1-yard touchdown run capped the game’s first drive.

UP NEXT

• Davidson will open its brand new state-of-the-art facility Saturday, Sept. 7 when in-state foe Catawba College visits Davidson College Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.