1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football
1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	5–5–1 (1–5–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Charlie Taaffe (3rd season);
Defensive coordinator	Don Powers (1st season)
Home stadium	Johnson Hagood Stadium
	Seasons ← 1988 1990 →

1989 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Furman $^	7	–	0	–	0	12	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Appalachian State ^	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Marshall	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
East Tennessee State	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Chattanooga	2	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Western Carolina	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
VMI	1	–	4	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
The Citadel	1	–	5	–	1	5	–	5	–	1

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

The 1989 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 1989 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Charlie Taaffe served as head coach for the third season. The Bulldogs played as members of the Southern Conference and played home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium.^[2]^[3]^[4] The 1989 season was affected by Hurricane Hugo, which damaged Johnson Hagood Stadium as the eye of the storm passed over Charleston harbor before making its way inland. As a result, The Citadel played two "home" games at Williams–Brice Stadium, on the campus of the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina. The hurricane struck on September 22, 1989, and the Bulldogs did not play a game again in their home stadium until November 4, 1989.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Wofford*		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (rivalry)	W 42–21	17,768
September 16	Appalachian State		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 23–13	17,118	^[5]
September 23	at Navy*	No. T–11	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 14–10	20,057
September 30	vs. South Carolina State*	No. 7	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	W 31–20	21,853
October 7	vs. Western Carolina	No. 7	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	T 22–22	14,777
October 14	at No. T–20 Marshall	No. 7	Fairfield Stadium Huntington, WV	L 17–40	13,927
October 21	at Chattanooga	No. T–15	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	L 9–17	7,921
October 28	at East Tennessee State		Memorial Center Johnson City, TN	L 33–35	6,784
November 4	Samford*		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	W 35–16	15,214
November 11	at VMI		Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (Military Classic of the South)	L 10–20	8,125	^[6]
November 18	No. 2 Furman		Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (rivalry)	L 9–44	20,357	^[7]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game

^ "How Johnson Hagood Stadium Came To Be". citadelsports.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
^ 2011 Citadel Football Media Guide. The Citadel. p. 152. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
^ "Milestones". The Citadel Football Association. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
^ "Citadel Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
^ "The Citadel withstands Appalachian St. rally". The Index-Journal. September 17, 1989. Retrieved November 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Citadel stumbles at VMI". The Index-Journal. November 12, 1989. Retrieved February 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Furman romps past The Citadel". The State. November 19, 1989. Retrieved September 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.