Charleston Southern has known for a couple of years that it would get to start the 2009 season in the Swamp facing Florida. Last night, they realized that they would be facing the defending BCS National Champions as well.

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The 11-game slate has six road games, including three of the first four games of the season.

The matchup against the Gators on Sept. 5 is the fourth FBS school in the past three years that CSU has included on their schedule, and will be the second year in a row that the Buccaneers have opened the season with one, having faced the Miami Hurricanes to begin 2008.

For the third year in a row CSU will go to a perennial playoff team in Wofford in the second week of the season (Sept. 12). Last year’s contest was scheduled to be played at CSU, but was moved to Spartanburg due to the threat of a hurricane.

CSU will open the home schedule on September 19 as they host Mars Hill. It will be the third meeting between the two teams, but the first since 1994.

The Bucs will continue their series against North Greenville on Sept. 26, as they travel to Tigerville, S.C. The two teams have played nine times in the history of CSU, including each of the past eight years. It is a series that CSU has dominated 7-1 with the Crusaders lone victory coming in the 2003 season.

Savannah State will come to Charleston on Oct. 3 as the Bucs face the Tigers for the sixth time, with CSU having won all of the previous five meetings.

The Bucs will get a nice chance to catch their breath with an off week before jumping into a tough Big South schedule to end the year. CSU will travel to Gardner-Webb to kickoff Big South play, with road games against VMI and Presbyterian as well. The Bucs will host Liberty on Oct. 24 and close out the year with home games against Stony Brook (Nov. 14) and their annual season finale against Coastal Carolina (Nov. 21).

Charleston Southern is coming off a 7-5 season in 2008, despite having faced one of the toughest schedules in school history with two FBS teams and two nationally-ranked FCS squads. It was the third winning season in four years for CSU.

2009 Football Schedule
Sept. 5 - @ Florida
Sept. 12 - @ Wofford
Sept. 19 - Mars Hill
Sept. 26 - @ North Greenville
Oct. 3 - Savannah State
Oct. 10 - OPEN
Oct. 17 - @ Gardner-Webb *
Oct. 24 - Liberty *
Oct. 31 - @ VMI *
Nov. 7 - @ Presbyterian *
Nov. 14 - Stony Brook *
Nov. 21 - Coastal Carolina *

* - Big South game
All home games scheduled for 1:30 p.m. but subject to change

By Charleston Southern University Athletics Media Relations