GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Football returns to the turf this fall as Gettysburg College will embark on a full 10-game slate featuring one non-conference outing and nine games against Centennial Conference opponents.
 
The new-look Bullets will enter their first season under Head Coach Maurice Banks, who took the helm in the spring of 2020. Gettysburg was unable to get on the turf last season with the fall season cancelled in the Centennial Conference due to the pandemic.
 
This year's schedule will see the Bullets kick off the season with a scrimmage at Shenandoah University on Saturday, Aug. 28, at 1 p.m. It will be the first taste of intercollegiate action for both the sophomore and freshmen classes.
 
The 2021 campaign officially begins with the only non-conference outing at Bridgewater College on Saturday, Sept. 4, at 1:30 p.m. The Bullets and Eagles opened each season from 2014 to 2019 with Gettysburg claiming its only victory in 2015.
 
Centennial Conference play begins with Gettysburg battling Moravian College at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 at 1 p.m. The Orange and Blue have won 12 of 18 meetings with the Greyhounds.
  
The first of three trophy games on the docket takes place at Dickinson College on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m. The Bullets and Red Devils will battle for the Little Brown Bucket, a fixture of the long-time series since 1938. It will be the 86th meeting in a rivalry that dates all the way back to 1892. Gettysburg holds a 44-39-2 overall lead, but Dickinson has claimed the Bucket since 2016.
 
Back-to-back home games close out September and the start of October. On Saturday, Sept. 25, the Bullets meet Juniata College at 1 p.m. as part of Homecoming Weekend. Gettysburg has won five of the last six meetings to extend their lead in the series with the Eagles to 24-10. The Old Tin Cup is up for grabs the following Saturday as Muhlenberg College arrives in town to meet Gettysburg at 1 p.m. Muhlenberg claimed the Centennial trophy and advanced all the way to the NCAA semifinals in 2019. The Bullets lead the series 43-40-1, but the Mules have won the last eight meetings.
 
The second half of the schedule begins after the conference-wide bye with the Bullets competing in their only Friday night game at Susquehanna University on Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. The River Hawks put together a 10-1 record and claimed a victory over Wilkes University in the 5th Annual Centennial-MAC Bowl in 2019. Susquehanna has claimed three of the last four games with Gettysburg, but the series still favors the Bullets 10-6-1.
 
Gettysburg hosts Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, Oct. 23, at noon. The Blue Jays saw their string of 10 consecutive conference titles halted in 2019. Gettysburg trails in the all-time series 25-20-2 with the last victory over Johns Hopkins coming in 2007. The game will also be part of the Family Weekend festivities planned across campus.
 
The Bullets visit Ursinus College on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m. Gettysburg leads the series 35-24-4, but the Bears have won the last two meetings.
 
Gettysburg's final home game and the likely date for Senior Day will be against McDaniel College on Saturday, Nov. 6, at 1 p.m. The Bullets and Green Terror rivalry goes back 130 years with the former holding a commanding 51-21-1 lead.
 
The 2021 campaign closes with one of the biggest rivalries in Division III football as Gettysburg heads to Franklin & Marshall College on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 1 p.m. The Bullets and Diplomats have met 105 times since 1890. The Diplomats hold a slim lead in the all-time series at 50-48-7 and have won The Lincoln Trophy every year since 2016. The trophy is carved from the remnants of two witness trees from the Gettysburg Battlefield and resembles Abraham Lincoln's stove-pipe hat. It has been a staple of the series since the teams' 100th meeting in 2014.
 
All home games will be streamed live on the Centennial Conference Digital Network.
 
Gettysburg's release of the 2021 schedule comes on the heels of the CC announcement regarding athletic competition for 2021-22. Competition can resume in accordance with health and safety protocols established by national, state, local, and campus administrations. Information on fan attendance will be available at a later date.