Complete Game Notes
This week’s game
The Terriers head up the mountains this Friday night for a meeting against Appalachian State which will be televised nationally by ESPN2. The game will be a match-up of the two undefeated teams in the Southern Conference standings and two of the top ranked teams in the nation. Wofford and Appalachian State both rank in the top ten in the nation in total offense, scoring offense and rushing offense. Wofford is coming off a convincing 55-20 win at Elon last week to improve to 4-0 in the conference. After nine weeks of the season, Wofford has the nation’s second-ranked rushing offense at 348.86 average yards and the third ranked total offense in the nation with 480.43 average yards. The scoring offense is fourth in the nation, while the passing efficiency is second in the country. The rushing defense is 21st in the nation, allowing only 101.14 average yards, and the turnover margin is first in the nation. In the Sports Network Poll the Terriers are third with two first place votes, and in the FCS Coaches Poll the Terriers are ranked fifth, with one first place vote. Wofford was picked to finish third in the conference by the SoCon Coaches. Appalachian State has begun the season 6-2 overall and are 4-0 in the conference. They lost to LSU in the season opener and to James Madison, but have conference wins over The Citadel, Samford, Georgia Southern and Furman. They were picked to finish first in the preseason by the SoCon Coaches. Currently they are ranked second in the Sports Network poll and second in the FCS Coaches Poll.
About Wofford
Wofford has opened the season 6-1 overall, with wins over Presbyterian, Charleston Southern, Georgia Southern, Chattanooga, Western Carolina and Elon. The Terriers are the 2008 defending Southern Conference Champions. Wofford returns 43 letterwinners from last season, including six offensive starters, four defensive starters and two specialists. In addition, six other players with at least two starts return for Wofford. Wofford finished the 2007 season 9-4 and were 5-2 in the Southern Conference. Wofford runs the wingbone offense, led by senior quarterback Ben Widmyer. The multiple defense is led by first team All-SoCon linebacker Seth Goldwire.
About Appalachian State
Appalachian State enters the game at 6-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference. Last season they finished 13-2 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference, tied for first place. They won their third straight National Championship with a win over Delaware. Head Coach Jerry Moore is in his 20th season at Appalachian State and has posted a 173-72 record. Overall, he is 200-120 in 27 seasons as a head coach. The Mountaineers return 13 starters from last year amd 40 overall lettermen. Appalachian State runs a multiple spread offense led by All-American quarterback Armani Edwards and a 4-3 defense led by Preseason SoCon Defensive Player of the Year Pierre Banks.
The Appalachian State Series
Wofford and Appalachian State have faced each other 24 times, with Appalachian State holding a 14-10 advantage in the series. The teams first met in 1960, a 23-14 win by Wofford. Since both teams have been members of the Southern Conference, Appalachian State has an 8-3 lead in the series. At Kidd Brewer Stadium, Appalachian State has a 10-2 record over Wofford. The Terriers’ last win in Boone was a 26-19 victory in 2002. In the series, nine of the meetings have occurred when one team is ranked in the top 25. In three of those meetings, both teams have been ranked and the lower ranked team won all three games (Wofford twice, ASU once).
Terrier Top Five
Here are the top five notes of interest heading into the Appalachian State game:
• The offensive line has allowed only one sack all season, best in all of NCAA Division I
• Wofford is the only team ranked in the top five in sacks and sacks allowed
• With a +15 on turnover margin, Wofford is first in the nation
• The Terriers have won their last eight SoCon road games
• Wofford is first in the conference in six stat categories, including rushing offense
Wofford Head Coach Mike Ayers
Wofford head coach Mike Ayers (Georgetown, KY ‘74), the winningest coach in school history, is in his 21st season at the Terrier helm with a record of 138-94-1 ... Ayers is in his 24th season as collegiate head coach and has a record of 149-115-2 that includes a three-year stint as the head coach at East Tennessee State from 1985-87 ... Ayers has earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors in four of the last eight years, being so honored by the league coaches in 2000, 2003 and 2007 and by the media in 2000, ‘02 and ‘03 ... Ayers was the 2003 recipient of the Eddie Robinson Award as Division I-AA’s National Coach of the Year and also earned the 2002 Division I-AA National Coach of the Year award from the College Sporting News (I-AA.org) in addition to being the runner-up for the Robinson Award ... Between 2002-04, Ayers led the Terriers to a 29-8 overall record and an 18-5 league mark including a conference championship and an appearance in the Division I-AA national semifinals in 2003.
Injury Update
Wofford opened the season without punter Chris Tommie (knee), offensive lineman Grant Duren (leg) and tight end Joseph Inman (knee). All three players are expected to take a medical redshirt and return in 2009. Players that missed the Elon game due to injury were running back Sean Lees (right knee), running back Matthew Boggs (left knee), safety Trey Diller (pelvis) and linebacker Keaton Thompson (ankle). Thompson will return for the Appalachian State game, however the other three will miss the remainder of the season. There were no significant injuries in the Elon game.
