BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. — Coach Tre Lamb, 33, the second youngest coach at the FCS level, has Gardner-Webb playing for its first Big South championship since 2003 on Saturday.
"You know, this is kind of what we dreamed of at Gardner-Webb when I took this job in 2020," he said.
The winner of Saturday's game against North Carolina A&T not only wins the league title, but gets an automatic berth into the FCS playoffs too.
"You know, you don't get a lot of these opportunities as a coach or player in your lifetime," Lamb said. "So we want to make sure we enjoy every single second, take in all the noise, take in all the all the good stuff that's going to happen Saturday."
The Runnin' Bulldogs got off to a 1-4 start navigating a tough schedule that includes FBS programs like Liberty and Coastal Carolina, which were both close losses.
"I can tell you this," Lamb said, "we were probably the best one and 14 in the country at one point."
But after that, they've gone 1-4, and are unbeaten in league play.
Gardner-Webb averages 41.5 points per contest in Big South play.
"They don't know Gardner-Webb's past," Lamb said. "You know, they don't know what happened in 2003. I mean, these kids were one year old. This is the 2022 Gardner-Webb football team and we got a chance to do something special. Nothing else in the future matters. Nothing else in the past matters. The only thing that matters is 12 o'clock Saturday."
NC A&T will certainly have something to say about the result.
The Aggies have won seven-straight games and are also undefeated in Big South contests.
It's the fourth-ever "winner-take-all" championship game, and second in a row.
Tickets for the game can be purchased here, or at the gate.
Contact Nick Carboni at ncarboni@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.