Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
The last two weeks, The Citadel football coach Maurice Drayton has used different motivational tools to get his players ready for rivalry games against Furman and VMI. This week, the Bulldogs travel to Mississippi to face No. 7 Ole Miss, one of the best offensive teams in FBS this season. Drayton said the emphasis in practice won't be on the Ole Miss offense or on the Rebels in general. “The focus will be on ourselves,” Drayton told the media during his weekly press conference on Nov. 3. “We’re coming off back-to-back weeks of preparing for rivalry games with Furman and VMI, and I realize that I have to do a better job of communicating with the players. “I learned a valuable lesson that you have to stick with your process. The focus has to remain on our process no matter who we are playing. That’s how you continue to achieve things that people don’t think you are capable of doing.” Drayton’s goal is to have the best version of the Bulldogs team he can have against Ole Miss. “We have yet to play a complete game this season, and that’s our goal every week,” Drayton said. “That’s what we’re searching for. We want our guys to compete against that guy in the mirror. If he can be the best version of himself, then we’re going to fine.” Dressing down After going scoreless again in the first half against a SoCon opponent — the Bulldogs were held without a point against Furman on Oct. 25 — Drayton decided to use a different motivational approach in the locker room at halftime. Trailing VMI 14-0 with two quarters to play, Drayton came out of the coach's office with just a pair of shorts and T-shirt on. “I know these guys think I’m crazy — I came out of our coaching room with just my undergarments on,” Drayton said. He made the players all strip down to similar attire and get something to drink and splash some water on their collective faces. “I told them we needed to start fresh,” Drayton said. “Some days in life when you are having a tough day, you just have to take a minute and start over again. Start fresh. Luckily, they bought into it and we were able to start over like the first half had never happened and get the win.” While the Bulldogs managed just a touchdown in the third quarter, they exploded for 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to come away with the 35-24 victory and retain the coveted Silver Shako. “The game we played against VMI was a lot like life; it has its ebbs and flows, its ups and down,” Drayton said. “When you get knocked down, you brush yourself off and get back up and go back to chopping that wood, and that’s what we did.” Not running it up Leading 28-24 with less than 20 seconds to play against VMI, the Bulldogs faced a fourth-and-1 at the Keydets' 33-yard line. The Keydets had stopped The Citadel on two short-yardage situations earlier in the game, and Drayton wasn’t confident the Bulldogs could pick up the first down, which would have turned the ball over to VMI. A run-pass option play was called in the huddle, and Jihad Marks grabbed a 33-yard TD pass, his third of the game, from Quentin Hayes to secure the victory. Drayton made a point after the game to say he was not trying to run up the score on VMI coach Danny Rocco.
