Charleston Southern football schedule released - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather

Charleston Southern football schedule released

CHARLESTON, S.C. – September road trips to The Citadel and Appalachian State, along with November home games with Liberty and Coastal Carolina highlight the 2013 Charleston Southern football schedule, which CSU released on Friday.

For the first time in program history, CSU will play 12 regular season games.

First-year head coach Jamey Chadwell makes his CSU debut as the Bucs open with The Citadel on Aug. 31. It will be the fifth time the Bucs and the Bulldogs have faced in each other in a season opener.

The Bucs play four of their first five games of the season on the road. CSU will make a second trip to SoCon Country in late September to face Appalachian State. The Mountaineers won three-straight FCS National Championships in the mid-2000's and reached the FCS Playoffs last season. The Bucs face ASU on Sept. 28. 

"Our team is looking forward to the challenging schedule that we have for 2013," Chadwell said on Friday. "We have two Southern Conference opponents that will improve our strength of schedule, as we face our crosstown rival The Citadel and travel to Boone (N.C.) to play Appalachian State. We have a tough stretch of three-straight road games that will challenge our team, but will also prepare us for Big South play."

CSU's home opener comes on the first Saturday in September. The Bucs will host Shorter University (Ga.) at Whitfield Stadium Center at 1:30 p.m. CSU beat the Hawks last season in Rome, Ga., 24-21.

Three-straight road trips to close out September wrap up a tough opening month for CSU.

The Bucs will travel to Campbell on Sept. 14 for a first-ever meeting with the Camels, then will head back up I-95 again the following week (Sept.21) to face Norfolk State. The Spartans were 4-7 in 2012.

Charleston Southern will host North Greenville on Oct. 5 for the 11th time. CSU is 10-0 all-time against NGU, where Chadwell served as head coach from 2009-'11.

The Buccaneers open Big South play on Oct. 12 with a road trip to VMI.

Including the trip to Lexington, Va., the Bucs play their first two Big South games on the road and don't play a home conference game until Nov. 9. CSU beat the Keydets 33-14 last season, part of a 3-0 Big South home record in 2012 for CSU.

CSU hosts first-year program Charlotte for homecoming on Oct. 26 following its lone bye of the season. The 49ers will be in their first year at the FCS level.

Four Big South games to close out 2013 make up CSU's November schedule.

CSU travels to Presbyterian on Nov. 2 to face the Blue Hose. The Bucs beat PC last season, 31-21.

The Buccaneers will host rival-Coastal Carolina on Nov. 9 in their Big South home opener, before traveling to Gardner-Webb in Nov. 16 in their final road trip of the season.

CSU hosts Liberty in its regular season finale on Nov. 23.