ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Interstat) — Citadel defeated South Carolina State 34-31 on Saturday in an NCAA Football Championship Division game at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium. The visiting Bulldogs improved to 2-3, while the home Bulldogs dropped to 5-1. Citadel secured the win after a back-and-forth second half that included several lead changes and a late push by South Carolina State. The in-state matchup drew a home crowd at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.

Keely Watson led South Carolina State’s offense. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound quarterback from Jacksonville, Fla., completed 20 of 31 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns. Watson spread the ball to multiple receivers and kept the home offense moving throughout the contest. DJ Maultsby was his top big-play target, finishing with three receptions for 79 yards and one touchdown. Malaqhi Jones caught six passes for 58 yards, while Shamontae Burgess added four receptions for 33 yards. Elijah Baesa and Malik Brightwell each had two catches for 19 yards. Brightwell also returned one kickoff for 17 yards and one punt for 16 yards. Martavious Collins caught one pass for 8 yards. Josh Shaw rushed nine times for 14 yards and scored a touchdown, and he also made one tackle. Mason Pickett-Hicks scored on an 18-yard run and a 21-yard reception.

Quentin Hayes guided Citadel’s attack. The 6-foot, 195-pound quarterback completed 7 of 12 passes for 127 yards and rushed 11 times for 56 yards, accounting for two touchdowns. Hayes’ 127 passing yards and 56 rushing yards helped Citadel balance its attack. Damir Abdullah was Citadel’s leading receiver with three catches for 84 yards and one touchdown. Whit Hobgood had two receptions for 59 yards. Gavin Garcia powered the ground game with 18 carries for 167 yards and scored three total touchdowns, including a 19-yard run. Garcia also caught one pass for 8 yards. Michael Lorino ran six times for 8 yards and caught two passes for 36 yards. Abijah Webb caught one pass for 10 yards. Braylon Knauth had one reception for 7 yards, returned one kickoff for 39 yards and brought back two punts for 27 yards.

South Carolina State’s defense produced several notable efforts. Marquis Lane-Owens led the way with nine tackles. Caleb Williams and Roderick Kelly Jr. each had five tackles, with Kelly adding one sack. Zayveon Wells, Joshua Barker and Kwantre’ Harry each recorded four tackles. Barker also had one quarterback hurry. Ka Von Chisolm finished with three tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry. Jordan Dollard had three tackles and one quarterback hurry. Jabin Ford and Jadin Jones each made three tackles. Jayden Fuller added one tackle and one sack. Javon Beckford had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Charron Dorsey recorded two tackles. Myles Dixon, Xavier Tates, Jaheim Rose, KB Bonds, Hunter Puckett, Marquis Bradley, Michael Evans and Zanjerry Dunham each contributed one tackle. Max’Ceon Cobb punted six times for 225 yards, an average of 37.5 yards per punt. Jett Jackson made a 47-yard field goal and handled kicking duties. Eric Paul Jr. returned one kickoff for 14 yards, and Amarion Henry returned one kickoff for 19 yards.

Citadel’s defense also made key stops. Zyion Brown led the unit with eight tackles and one sack. Jalen Wright and J’hari Mosley each had five tackles. Khaleb Bridges and DK McGruder each recorded six tackles. Maurice Bonneau Jr., Beau Shugarts and Zeb Stroup each added three tackles. Nick Porada had two tackles. Jalen Wright and Mosley helped limit South Carolina State’s rushing attack in critical moments. The visiting Bulldogs forced South Carolina State into a long field goal attempt early and made enough plays late to preserve the win.

The game opened with South Carolina State moving into scoring position. Jett Jackson’s 47-yard field goal gave the home Bulldogs the first points of the afternoon. Citadel answered in the second quarter when Evan Kiely made a 30-yard field goal. The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter. Mason Pickett-Hicks broke free for an 18-yard rushing touchdown for South Carolina State. Citadel responded when Gavin Garcia scored on a 19-yard run. South Carolina State reclaimed momentum later in the third when Keely Watson connected with Pickett-Hicks for a 21-yard touchdown pass. In the fourth quarter, Josh Shaw scored on a 6-yard run to pull South Carolina State closer. Citadel made the final decisive plays to secure the three-point victory.

Citadel’s win snapped a two-game losing streak. The visiting Bulldogs had lost to Chattanooga 27-8 and Charleston Southern 26-20 in overtime, and they had beaten Charlotte 43-41 and lost to Wofford 42-14. South Carolina State had won its first five games before Saturday, including a 31-21 victory at Bethune-Cookman, a 20-17 win at Furman, a 66-0 home win over Virginia State, a 31-13 win at Florida A&M and an 87-0 home win over Savannah State. Citadel is scheduled to host East Tennessee State next before visiting Texas A&M, hosting Tennessee Tech, visiting Mercer, hosting Furman, visiting Virginia Military Institute and visiting Western Carolina. South Carolina State is set to visit Charleston Southern next before hosting Norfolk State, visiting Morgan State, visiting Howard, hosting North Carolina Central and hosting Delaware State.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of South Carolina State 55, Citadel 18. Interstat’s ELO system had projected South Carolina State with a 94.3 percent probability to win. Citadel had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of +20.5. The total score of 65 went under the over-under line of 47.5.