*With an 8-3 record, Wofford is the SoCon’s winningest team over the last three seasons with a 29-8 overall record (.784) and 18-5 league mark (.783).
*With 33 victories, this year’s seniors graduated as the winningest class in school history. The previous mark of 32 victories was shared by the 1969-72 and 2000-03 squads.
*Ranked 18th in the final regular-season poll, the Terriers hold the nation’s second-longest current streak for consecutive rankings in the Division I-AA Top 25. Wofford has appeared in 36 consecutive polls since Oct. 21, 2002. Only Montana (93 polls) has been ranked longer than the Terriers.
*Wofford improved its all-time SoCon mark to 36-27 (.571), an impressive feat considering that its debut season in 1997 represented just its third year on the Division I-AA level.
*Lee Basinger was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as Division I-AA Defensive Player of the Year. He also received first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation, The Sports Network, Associated Press and the America Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
*Offensive guard Eric Deutsch, the 2003 SoCon Jacobs Blocking Trophy recipient as the league’s top offensive lineman, was a consensus All-America for the second straight season.
*Defensive end Ben Whitney received second-team Academic All-America honors.
*Wofford once again dominated the Academic All-District team. The Terriers had six selections (wide receiver Matt Beavin, defensive backs Shane Fast and Jonathan Wheeler, defensive linemen Katon Bethay and Ben Whitney and linebacker Josh Smith). For five straight seasons, Wofford has placed the most members on the squad. The Academic All-District team combines Division I-A and I-AA members in a five-state region. Wofford had six of the seven SoCon players on the team and totaled more selections than the entire ACC combined (five).
*The Terriers were represented by a league-best 11 players on the TIAA-CREF Fall Academic All-SoCon team. No other school had more than five football players selected. Wofford had one-third (11-of-33) of the football players named to the squad. Representing Wofford were wide receiver Matt Beavin, offensive tackle Tim Beckner, nose tackle Katon Bethay, safety Shane Fast, outside linebacker Kyle Horne, outside linebacker Derek Newberry, offensive tackle Davy Olmsted, inside linebacker Josh Smith, cornerback Jonathan Wheeler, defensive tackle Ben Whitney and quarterback Jeff Zolman.
*Inside linebacker Josh Smith and quarterback Jeff Zolman were selected to the 2004 Division I-AA Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star team. The Terriers have the maximum two players per team allowed on the 36-man squad that was chosen from 86 nominees. Wofford has two of the three SoCon players on the team and is one of just four schools with more than one selection. Smith carries the highest grade-point average (3.86) on the Terriers.
*Wofford had six players receive All-SoCon honors: defensive end Lee Basinger, nose tackle Katon Bethay, offensive guard Eric Deutsch, offensive guard Bobby Gibbs, offensive tackle Kevin Hodapp and running back Kevious Johnson.
*Lee Basinger and inside linebacker Justin Franklin received SoCon Defensive Player of the Week honors following Wofford victories over Western Carolina and VMI, respectively. Cornerback Brian Kemp was the SoCon Freshman of the Week after a win over Johnson C. Smith.
*Quarterback Jeff Zolman was selected as the TIAA-CREF SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week for Nov. 9.
*The Terriers have won 13 of their last 14 home games and are 17-2 in their last 19 Gibbs Stadium dates going back to the start of the 2002 campaign.
*Jeff Zolman graduates with a 26-6 record as the Terriers’ starting quarterback. He’s also Wofford’s career leader in completion percentage (58.3, 109-of-180).
*Kevious Johnson rushed for 1,035 yards to become the second Wofford running back in the last 25 years to reach the 1,000-yard mark. His total was the highest by a Terrier back since Lenny Best ran for 1,120 yards in 1979. Johnson averaged 6.0 yards per carry in rushing for nine touchdowns.
*Kevious Johnson returned the season’s opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown in a 24-22 win at South Carolina State. It was the Terriers’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since 1982.
*Matt Beavin had three receptions for 123 yards against Furman for the Terriers’ highest single-game receiving day since Darrick Adams had 144 yards on three catches in a 42-17 win at Catawba on Sept. 26, 1992. It was also the first 100-yard receiving day by a Wofford player since Curtis Nash totaled 102 yards with four receptions in a 38-6 win over Western Carolina (Oct. 18, 2003). Beavin’s 73-yard reception from Jeff Zolman in the Furman game was Wofford’s longest pass play since Oct. 14, 2000, when Travis Wilson connected with Jesse McCoy for a 73-yard touchdown on the Terriers’ opening play from scrimmage in a 40-31 win over Western Carolina.
*Wofford blocked three punts and has 15 blocks since the start of the 2002 season. The Terriers have totaled 47 punt blocks in coach Mike Ayers’ 17-year tenure.
*Wofford placed second nationally in team rushing with its average of 305.1 yards per game. Individually, Kevious Johnson and Gabriel Jackson placed third and sixth, respectively, in the league with per game averages of 94.1 and 58.8 yards. Jackson led the SoCon with a 7.0 per carry average while Johnson was tied for third at 6.0. Johnson’s 183 yards in a 27-13 win at Elon (Oct. 9) were the most by a Wofford player since Jesse McCoy ran for 184 yards in a 27-14 victory over The Citadel in 2002.
*Inside linebackers Jim Thurman and Timmy Thrift closed the season ranking second and third, respectively, on the Terriers’ career tackles list for the Division I-AA era (1995-present). Thurman has 262 stops, trailing only Matt Nelson (452, 2000-03). Thrift, a 2003 All-SoCon selection and a 2004 preseason All-America, closed his career with 237 tackles after suffering a season-ending knee injury in the Oct. 16 Western Carolina game. With another season of eligibility remaining, Thurman is already fifth on Wofford’s all-time tackles chart. He needs just 26 stops to move into third place.
*Sophomore inside Justin Franklin topped Wofford with 116 tackles, 38 more than the next closest Terriers (Lee Basinger and Jim Thurman, 78).
*Lee Basinger closed his career ranking second on the Terriers’ career list in tackles for a loss (61).
*The Terriers had 16 touchdowns of at least 25 yards in length.
*The 112 points Wofford scored in back-to-back wins over Johnson C. Smith and Chattanooga were its most in consecutive games since 1949. It also represented the first time in school history that the Terriers topped 50 points in back-to-back contests.
*After leading the nation in 2003 in turnover margin (+23) and turnovers gained (41), Wofford again topped the SoCon while ranking in a tie for eighth in Division I-AA at +11.
*The Terriers topped the SoCon in kickoff return average (21.1) and net punting (34.9) while placing second in punt returns (9.1).
*Wofford’s SoCon-leading 15 interceptions came from 12 different players. The Terriers’ 25 sacks were second.
*Wofford placed second in the SoCon in rushing defense, allowing just 130.1 yards per game on a league-low 3.3 per carry average. The Terriers were third in total defense (325.0 yards each contest).
*Wofford ranked third in the SoCon with its average of 13.4 yards per pass completion.
*The 56-0 win over Johnson C. Smith, the Terriers’ first shutout since a 48-0 blanking of Newberry in 2002, was Wofford’s largest margin of victory since a 77-7 win over Lees-McRae in 1992. The 56 points were also the most for the Terriers dating back to a 59-14 win over VMI in 2001.
*The 49-17 win over Gardner-Webb marked the first time since the 1988 season opener versus Catawba (Mike Ayers’ first game as head coach) that the Terriers had three touchdown passes.
*The 56-0 win over Johnson C. Smith was Wofford’s fourth straight home-opening victory. During that stretch, the Terriers have outscored their opposition by a 174-23 margin.
*The Terriers lost three defensive starters (outside linebacker Steve Hoover, inside linebacker Timmy Thrift and defensive end Ben Whitney) to season-ending injuries while two other defensive starters (inside linebacker Jim Thurman and strong safety Ryan Steele) also missed games. The Terriers were also hit hard by injuries on the offensive side. All-SoCon offensive tackle Kevin Hodapp, the team leader in knockdown blocks prior to being sidelined by injury, missed three games while running back Kevious Johnson was forced out of action in the first half of the Furman contest.
*Western Carolina coach Kent Briggs said the following on Oct. 16, 2004 in the Asheville Citizen-Times, “This week, we’re playing the best-coached team (Wofford) in the country.”
