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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Wofford College picked up a 28-7 road win over Samford on Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. The Terrier defense allowed only 186 total yards, while the offense held the ball for nearly 45 minutes in the game.
The Terriers are 8-2 on the season (6-1 SoCon) and Samford is 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the Southern Conference. Wofford was led by Dane Romero with 124 yards and two touchdowns, while Mike Rucker added 118 rushing yards. Ben Widmyer had a passing touchdown to Justice Joslin. Samford running back Chris Evans, the SoCon rushing leader, was held to just 43 yards on the ground.
“A big part of our game plan was to keep the ball away from them,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We felt they were very explosive offensively with the top rusher in the league. We felt like if we could keep it away from them, it would give us a better opportunity to win the game. We played really good football offensively in the first half. Defensively we came together today. The kids fit the defense well, we pressured the quarterback well and in the secondary the guys were in place and knocked balls loose. It was a fun game to watch. It was a great win against a heck of a football team.”
The Bulldogs won the toss and took the opening kickoff into Wofford territory. However the Terrier defense forced a three-and-out. Wofford then put together a 17-play drive that covered 93 yards. Included in the drive was a conversion of a fourth-and-two, along with a 28-yard run by Mike Rucker. The scoring drive was capped by a three-yard reverse by Stev Davitte for a 7-0 lead at 5:01 in the first quarter.
After the Wofford defense forced another three-and-out, the Terrier offense put together another long drive. The drive ended with a two-yard touchdown run by Dane Romero with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. The defense forced the Bulldogs three-and-out for the third straight time in the game on the next possession.
Wofford marched down the field again and Dane Romero found the end zone on a two-yard run to take a 21-0 lead at 8:54 in the second quarter. The Bulldogs then picked up two first downs, but had to punt once again. On the next drive by Wofford, Mike Rucker picked up a first down on fourth-and-five and again converted on a fourth-and-one. Wofford lined-up for a 39-yard field goal, but on the fake, Stev Davitte’s pass fell incomplete. Mitch Clark sacked Dustin Taliaferro to end the first half with a 21-0 lead for the Terriers.
In the first half, Wofford had the ball for 19:38 to Samford’s 5:05. The Terriers had 271 yards of offense, while Samford had only 48 total yards.
To open the second half, the Bulldogs tried an on-sides kick that was recovered by Wofford’s Hunter Hobson. The Terriers wasted little time to connect on a 38-yard pass from Ben Widmyer to a wide-open Justice Joslin for a touchdown and a 28-0 lead at 13:26.
Samford took over and gained two first downs, but on fourth-and-eight the pass was incomplete and the Bulldogs turned it over on downs. The Terriers then picked up two more fourth down conversions, but turned it over on downs with 4:59 remaining in the third quarter. With the ball back, Samford got on the board with a 53-yard touchdown pass from Dustin Taliaferro to Riley Hawkins at 2:16 in the third quarter for a 28-7 score.
Wofford converted another fourth-and-one on their next drive, however the Terriers fumbled and the ball was recovered by the Bulldogs on the 15-yard line. Samford began throwing the ball and picked up a couple first downs. On fourth-and-two, Mychael Johnson broke up a pass and the Terriers got the ball back with 11:26 left in the fourth quarter. However Wofford was forced three-and-out and punted for the first time in the game.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs again, but Wofford returned the favor with 5:30 left in the game. The Terrier defense forced Samford to punt the ball with 4:43 left. Wofford was able to pick up a first down and effectively run out the clock for the victory.
Wofford had 468 yards of total offense, while Samford had 186 total yards. Wofford had the ball for 44:53, while Samford had possession for only 15:07. The Terriers were 5-of-9 on fourth-down conversions and only punted once.
Up next will be the Terries final game of the regular season on November 22 against Furman at Gibbs Stadium. Kickoff is at noon and the game will be televised on CSS. Furman enters the game at 7-4 overall after falling to Georgia Southern on Saturday.
Wofford vs. Samford
Post-Game Notes
The meeting was the first ever between Wofford and Samford as members of the Southern Conference.
Wofford has faced two head coaches this season that were Heisman Trophy winners – Steve Spurrier at South Carolina and Pat Sullivan at Samford.
The game was the second of the season played on FieldTurf by the Terriers. Wofford is 1-1 in those two games.
The touchdown by Stev Davitte in the first quarter came on his first carry of the season and it was his first career touchdown.
The 17-play drive in the first quarter by the Terriers was the second-longest of the season. Wofford had an 18-play drive to open the game at Elon.
Dane Romero posted his fifth 100-yard game of the season and third straight. His two touchdowns gives him 18 on the season, which is the fourth-most in a single season at Wofford. Shawn Graves has the single-season record with 24.
Mike Rucker had the second 100-yard game of the season. It also marked the third time this year Wofford has had two players have 100+ rushing yards in the same game. Ben Widmyer and Dane Romero each had 100+ yards in the Presbyterian game, while Romero and Eric Breitenstein accomplished the feat at Appalachian State.
The offensive line allowed only the third sack of the season in the second quarter.
With the win, Wofford has an 8-2 record. It is the seventh-straight season the Terriers will have a winning overall record. It is the third-straight year with five or more wins in Southern Conference play.
Attendance was 2,973 at Seibert Stadium.
