ST. CHARLES, MO.  – Charleston Southern will begin their 2026 season on Thursday night facing a conference foe in Lindenwood. The kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EST at Hunter Stadium under the lights of Missouri. The game will be available live to be watched on ESPN+.
 
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN NOTABLES

• This marks the first time since 2011 that the Ohio Valley Conference has had a conference matchup for a season opener. In that season, Jacksonville State beat UT Martin on September 1.
• The season's first game will be on the road for the second consecutive year. In 2025, the Buccaneers played at Vanderbilt to open the fall.
• For the past two seasons, Charleston Southern has dropped their conference opener falling to Lindenwood in 2025 and Tennessee State in 2024. In 2023, they defeated Lindenwood.
• The Buccaneers named Lek Powell as the starting quarterback earlier this week. He joined the program ahead of the 2025 season and was a backup last year. Prior to that, he spent four years at Sheppard, sitting behind future NFL backup Tyler Bagent. In his final season there he served as the starting quarterback where he threw for 15 touchdowns and over 2000 passing yards.
• In the Phil Steele Preseason Conference Awards, the Buccaneers had a conference-best 18 selections. The publisher also selected Steve Zayachkowsky as the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
• In the preseason, Zayachkowsky was named Third-Team Preseason All-American by Stats Perform, Fourth-Team Preseason All-American by Phil Steele and to the Preseason Watch List for the Buck Buchanan Award.
• In the running back room, the Buccaneers will have one of the most talented groups in the nation. They will look to Hakeem Watters, Brandon Musch, Tyson Greenwade, Harry Smalls and Dwayne Wright throughout the game.

 
LINDENWOOD NOTABLES

• Lindenwood returns a bunch of weapons on offense but will have a new face leading the attack in 2026. Pops Battle will be making his first career start on Thursday night. The junior signal caller has thrown three passes in his career since joining the program in 2024. He will have a veteran offensive line in front of him as the Lions are bringing back all five starters from a season ago, a group that has compiled 69 career starts.
• Jalen Smith also returns as a weapon on the outside. The Shiloh, Ill. native had a breakout junior campaign in 2025, hauling in 40 passes for 771 yards and four scores. He averaged 19.3 yards per catch a season ago, which led the conference. As a result, he was tabbed a second team All-Conference selection.
• During the 2025 season, Lindenwood led the OVC in rushing touchdowns during conference play with 20. A big reason for that was Steve Hall and Jared Rhodes who combined for 14 scores on the ground a year ago. Both went on to earn All-Conference honors as Hall was tabbed to the second team and Rhodes garnered honorable mention recognition.
• The Lions will be looking for their third-straight win over the Buccaneers. On the road last season, Lindenwood was down 21 points early in the second quarter and went on to outscore CSU 21-7 in the fourth to earn the comeback victory. Jacob Waller had a career-high 17 tackles in the contest.
  LINDENWOOD NUMBERS TO KNOW:
• 30: The Lions scored 30 points or more in all six wins last season, including a season-high 42 against Eastern Illinois in week 11. Lindenwood averaged 24.8 points per game in 2025, the third highest total in the Ohio Valley Conference.
• 4: Lindenwood has struggled during home openers, winning only four over the last 10 seasons. The Black and Gold will be looking for their first home opening victory since the 2023 season in what was a 77-9 win over Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
• 14: A year ago, the Lindenwood defense forced 14 fumbles, which was the second most in the conference, behind Charleston Southern. Nine of those were recovered by the Lions, which helped make up for a league low three interceptions.
• 3: The Lions earned some respect in the preseason poll, being selected third behind UT Martin and SEMO. Lindenwood earned 37 points in the poll and one first place vote. The third spot is the highest they have ever been picked in the OVC.