The Lindenwood Lions rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to earn their first win of the season, Saturday against Charleston Southern. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

NCAA Football1st2nd3rd4thFinal
Lindenwood (1-2, 1-0)0772135
Charleston Southern (0-3, 0-1)1470728

DeMarcus Dixon
Staff Writer

CHARLESTON, SC — The Lindenwood University football team pulled off a remarkable comeback to earn its first win of the 2025 season on Saturday.

The Lions trailed 21-0 early in the second quarter, but then rallied back with five straight touchdowns to the the lead. Lindenwood then held on the fourth quarter for an eventual 35-28 victory over Charleston Southern in the OVC-Big South Football Association opener for both clubs.

“No coach likes to go down that early, but I do believe adversity reveals character. I’m incredibly proud of our guys fight today,” Lindenwood head coach Jed Stugart said. “It’s not easy digging out of a 21-point deficit, especially on the road, and they revealed a lot about themselves today. Now we have to continue to build on it.”

Lindenwood QB Nate Glantz gets tackled by a Charleston Southern defender during Saturday’s game at Buccaneer Field in Charleston, S.C. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

Charleston Southern started fast, by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter to grab the lead. Then the Buccaneers added another score on the first play of the second quarter to go up by three touchdowns, while the Lions had only made one first down so far in the game.

But that changed late in the second quarter, when Lindenwood went 80 yards on 10 plays — capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Nate Glantz that put the Lions on the board. Charleston Southern led 21-7 at halftime.

Lindenwood scored again on its second possession of the third quarter, when it drove 61 yards on six plays, sparked by a 30-yard pass completion from Glantz to receiver Jalen Smith. Glantz capped off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run that pulled the Lions within a touchdown.

The fourth quarter though, is when Lindenwood truly found its rhythm and proved it couldn’t be stopped.

First, the defense got a stop on a 3rd-and-10 and forced a punt, which was returned 31 yards to the CSU 29 by freshman return man Christopher Bennett, Jr. Then, Lindenwood needed just three plays to find the end zone — another Glantz touchdown run — that tied the score at 21.

On its next drive, Charleston Southern drove to Lindenwood’s 9-yard line, but had to attempt a field goal, which it missed that left the scored tied. Lindewood then put together its best drive of the night, when it drove 80 yards on just seven plays, which was finished off by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Glantz to Rico Bond that gave the Lions their first lead of the day.

The Lindenwood defense gave up three early touchdowns, but held Charleston Southern to just one score in the final three quarters of Saturday’s win. (Photo: Ellie Parker)

Another key play of the game came on the ensuing kickoff, when Charleston Southern return man Hakeem Watters took a hit from Lindenwood’s Tajay Passmore and fumbled the ball. Lindenwood freshman Andrew Baumgart recovered it to give the Lions the ball on CSU’s 36-yard line.

Seven plays later, junior running back Jared Rhodes punched the ball into the end zone from 1 yard out to give the Lions a two-touchdown lead with just under two minutes left in the game.

Charleston Southern (0-3) scored a touchdown with 26 seconds left to get back to within one score. But that was as close as the Buccaneers would get before taking their third straight loss to begin the season.

“We were just in our own way a little bit,” CSU head coach Gabe Giardina said. “I thought we had a decent night offensively. We had some good things going, (but) then we had snap infractions and a couple of turnovers, and doggone little things that I don’t wanna say were derailing the drive. But we were kinda overcoming ourselves. We’re going to watch this tape and be ill about beating ourselves.”

Lindenwood avoided the 0-3 fate and is now 1-2 overall on the year and 1-0.

After beginning the year with three straight road games, the Lions will finally get to host their own home opener, next Saturday, September 20, when they’ll host Stony Brook. Kickoff at Hunter Stadium is set for 6 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

SCORING SUMMARY

QtrTimeScoring PlayLUCSU
1st06:15CSU – Musch, Brandon 2 yd run (Gordon, Zach kick), 8 plays, 53 yards, TOP 05:1507
1st01:12CSU – Baldwin, Ke’Marion 39 yd run (Gordon, Zach kick), 6 plays, 73 yards, TOP 02:51014
2nd14:50CSU – Watters, Hakeem 52 yd run (Gordon, Zach kick), 1 plays, 52 yards, TOP 00:10021
2nd02:43LU – Glantz, Nate 8 yd run (Graham, Will kick), 10 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:55721
3rd07:55LU – Glantz, Nate 10 yd run (Graham, Will kick), 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 01:581421
4th12:23LU – Glantz, Nate 7 yd run (Graham, Will kick), 3 plays, 29 yards, TOP 00:552121
4th04:32LU – Bond, Rico 12 yd pass from Glantz, Nate (Graham, Will kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:552821
4th01:57LU – Rhodes, Jared 1 yd run (Graham, Will kick), 7 plays, 36 yards, TOP 02:263521
4th00:26CSU – Cunningham, Rashawn 25 yd pass from Osborne, Zolten (Gordon, Zach kick) 9 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:263528

2025 LINDENWOOD LIONS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DateTimeAtOpponentLocationTVResults
August 28, 2025 (Thursday)6 pmAwaySt. ThomasSt. Paul, Minn.L 35-13 (0-1)
September 6, 2025 (Saturday)2:30 pmAwayAppalachian StateBoone, N.C.L 20-13 (0-2)
September 13, 2025 (Saturday)3 pmAwayCharleston SouthernCharleston, S.C.W 35-28 (1-2)
September 20, 2025 (Saturday)6 pmHomeStony BrookHunter Stadium
September 27, 2025 (Saturday)2:30 pmAwayMiami (OH)Oxford, Ohio
October 4, 2025 (Saturday)1 pmHomeTennessee-MartinHunter Stadium
October 18, 2025 (Saturday)1 pmHomeTennessee TechHunter Stadium
October 25, 2025 (Saturday)2 pmHomeGardner-WebbHunter Stadium
November 1, 2025 (Saturday)3:30 pmAwayTennessee StateNashville, Tenn.
November 8, 2025 (Saturday)1 pmAwayWestern IllinoisMacomb, Ill.
November 15, 2025 (Saturday)2 pmHomeEastern IllinoisHunter Stadium
November 22, 2025 (Saturday)1 pmAwaySoutheast Missouri StateCape Girardeau, Mo.