VIDEO: Mike Clowney Press Conference
VIDEO: 2019 Newberry Highlights
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Setzler Field has been a house of horrors historically for Carson-Newman.
The Eagles (0-6, 0-4 South Atlantic Conference) will try to buck a trend of losses at Newberry (5-2, 4-1 SAC) and pick up their first win of the season with a 4 p.m. kickoff Saturday.
Carson-Newman has lost four straight at Newberry, and hasn't collected a win at Setzler Field since 2010. That represents the Eagles lone win at Newberry's place since 2006.
"When you go down there, you know you are going to play a talented football team," Carson-Newman head football coach Mike Clowney said. "It's kind of like what we've alluded to before in terms of Carson-Newman. When Carson-Newman shows up, it's a big football game. They work and respond to that."
The home team is 11-3 in the series over the last 13 years. Carson-Newman's only win at Setzer Field in that span came in 2010 when the Eagles downed the Wolves 35-12.
Carson-Newman has lost four straight at Setzler Field and six of their last seven at the field adjacent a graveyard.
Carson-Newman won seven consecutive games at Newberry from 1989 through 2005 (the series halted for a half decade during that stretch when Newberry left the SAC). Meanwhile, Newberry has won twice at Carson-Newman in the last decade and a half, winning in 2011 and 2017.
While offense has been tough to come by for C-N in 2021, it's historically been tough sledding against Newberry. Newberry has limited Carson-Newman to under 300 yards rushing in five straight games. The sixth, a 48-21 win for Newberry in 2014, the Eagles were limited to 301 yards rushing. In fact, Newberry has held Carson-Newman below its season average for rushing in every game since 2010 when the Eagles racked up 451 yards in that 35-12 win at Setzer Field.
"For us, it's about continuing to keep our heads up, continue keep up our spirits, and continue talking about the things we did well," Clowney said. "Being able to go out to practice today and create the energy we need in order to move forward. One thing we talked to our guys about in a meeting yesterday: we have four football games that are promised to us right now. They're going to be the best four football games we go play, one way or another. That means from an effort standpoint, from us displaying who we really are on the inside, essentially it's a character check. They always say what's on the inside eventually comes on the outside. We're going to press them and see what we get."
Carson-Newman will hope that it can play the role of homecoming spoiler Saturday as Newberry's homecoming opponent. Carson-Newman has beaten opponents eight of the last nine times that it has represented their foes' homecoming opponent. Limestone proved to be the latest to schedule the Eagles for homecoming and lose, doing so in week six of 2017, 31-20. Newberry is the only team in that stretch with a win. The Wolves downed the Eagles 34-19 on their homecoming in 2016.
Newberry has put the clamps down on teams defensively. The Wolves are 12th in the country and the SAC's leaders in scoring defense - giving up 15.4 points per game. Newberry also leads the SAC in total defense, giving up 304 yards per game. The Wolves have held two straight foes (Catawba and UVA Wise) under 300 yards of total offense.
A week after facing the SAC's leading rusher in Dwayne McGee, Carson-Newman tangles with the league's second-leading rusher - Mario Anderson. Anderson averages 92.6 yards per game. He has three, 100-yard games this year, including a 171-yard day against Barton. As successful as Anderson has been on the ground, he hasn't found the end zone since week three against Lenoir-Rhyne.
"We have to make sure and continue doing a good job up front and work to change the line of scrimmage," Clowney said. "We have to do a good job of keeping gaps tight and fitting in where we need to be. We can't play with high eyes, which is one of the things that got us in trouble against L-R. Losing things and not necessarily seeing things we need to see. We have to do a better job of seeing that, running to the football, and playing with a team mentality."
This is just the second time in school history a Carson-Newman football team started 0-6. The 2021 team joins the 1927 team. The 1927 team had the inglorious distinction of being outscored 121-6 with five shutouts through the first six weeks of the season. That team snapped its losing streak to open the year with a 15-0 win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 5, 1927.
Carson-Newman has never been 0-7 in the 108 years that there are year-by-year records for the program. The Eagles however have lost as many as nine consecutive games. C-N scored a whopping 18 points from 1915-1920 before collecting a win 17-14 over King to start the 1921 season and snap a 13-game winless streak and nine-game losing streak. Through those years, the then Fighting Parsons were only playing a max of five games in some seasons.
Carson-Newman has played the ninth toughest schedule to date in the nation. UVA Wise is the only team the Eagles have faced with a losing record. Wingate, Catawba and West Georgia all only have one loss.
The Eagles have the number one kickoff return man in the country. DeQuan Dudley is tops in the nation with 41.5 yards per kickoff return and two KOR touchdowns.
Kickoff from Newberry is set for 4 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network starts one hour prior to game time with the AEC Tailgate Show on Joy 620 (WRJZ-AM, Knoxville), Mountain Sports 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
