SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College football needed overtime to defeat Chattanooga 35-34 on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Mocs scored twice in the fourth quarter to take a 28-21 lead, but the Terriers two-minute drill resulted in a touchdown to tie the game with 19 seconds remaining. Wofford had the ball first in overtime and Joe Newman scored on the first play. The Mocs answered with a touchdown but the two-point conversion failed to end the game.
 
Wofford is 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the Southern Conference to hold first place. Chattanooga is 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in the league. The Terriers were led by Joe Newman with three rushing touchdowns, including one in overtime, while also throwing for 134 yards. The Mocs were led by Ailym Ford with 136 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Nick Tiano had 245 passing yards and added a rushing touchdown.
 
"We made a lot of plays in the game and so did they," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "It was two teams that were fighting for it. We got off the field when we needed to and I think we played well. They did a tremendous job offensively of executing plays on the last drive they scored on. They kept adjusting and it was a hard fought both schematically by the coaches and by the players as well. The biggest thing is we got a win."
 
The Terriers had the ball first and had two first downs before punting. The Mocs gained two first downs and then Nick Tiano found Bryce Nunnelly for a 61-yard touchdown reception as Chattnooga had a 7-0 lead at 7:55 in the first quarter. On the next drive for Wofford, Jacquez Allen had a first down and added 15 yards after a facemask penalty. The drive stalled and the Terriers punted. The Mocs went three-and-out and punted and then Wofford gained one first down and punted.
 
After the Mocs had four first downs, Jireh Wilson intercepted Nick Tiano and returned it to the 32-yard line. Joe Newman found Garrison Moore for a 32-yard reception on third down and Nathan Walker capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7 at 10:14 in the second quarter. Chattanooga had a 28-yard completion on the next drive and then a 24-yard touchdown catch by Chris James made it a 14-7 game at 8:27 in the second quarter. Blake Morgan then had a 58-yard run to move to the ten-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the three, Joe Newman ran it in to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:53 left in the first half. The Mocs had one first down, then on third down George Gbesee had a pass break-up to force a punt. The Terriers had four first downs but had to punt with 47 seconds left in the half. Chattanooga ran two plays to end the second quarter.
 
To begin the second half, the Mocs had a first down before Keyvaun Cobb intercepted Nick Tiano at the 29-yard line. Wofford had first downs by Nathan Walker and Jacquez Allen, while Joe Newman and Ryan Lovelace added first downs to move inside the redzone. A 10-yard run by Joe Newman capped the drive as the Terriers took a 21-14 lead with 6:05 on the clock in the third quarter. Chattanooga then went three-and-out with D'mauriae VanCleave returning the punt 24-yards to begin the drive just across midfield. After coming up short on a fourth-and-one run, the Mocs took over.
 
The Wofford defense forced a three-and-out but could only gain two first downs before punting back to the Mocs. After a first down, Nick Tiano completed a 37-yard pass and then ran it in from 24-yards to tie the game at 21-21 with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter. Wofford gained one first down before punting with 5:26 on the clock. The Mocs gained three first downs and then Ailym Ford scored from 21-yards out to give Chattanooga a 28-21 lead with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
Wofford had a first down passes to Landon Parker and to Blake Morgan. On fourth-and-ten, Landon Parker made a first down catch. A first down catch for 13-yards by T.J. Luther gave the Terriers first-and-goal with 26 seconds remaining. D'mauriae VanCleave scored from seven yards out and Luke Carter hit the point after to tie the game at 28 with 19 seconds remaining. The Mocs were sacked to end regulation. In overtime, Wofford had the ball first and on the first play Joe Newman went in for a 25-yard touchdown to lead 35-28. The Mocs had two first downs to move inside the five-yard line. Ailym Ford scored on a three-yard run to make it 35-34. The pass for a two-point conversion was incomplete and the Terriers came away with the victory.
 
Wofford had 452 total yards, with 318 rushing yards. Chattanooga had 407 total yards, 245 of which were passing. Wofford had 24 first downs, while Chattanooga had 20. Wofford was 7-of-16 on third down and two-of-three on fourth down. Chattanooga was 7-of-12 on third down. Wofford was called for five penalties to two for the Mocs. Wofford had a 35:50 to 24:10 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Chattanooga Post-Game Notes
Wofford leads the series 14-11 over Chattanooga, including the last four games.
 
The last overtime game for Wofford was also was against Chattanooga in 2017. The Terriers are now 7-5 all-time in overtime contests.
 
The interception by Jireh Wilson in the second quarter was his first this season and second of his career. Keyvaun Cobb had his first career interception in the third quarter.
 
John Beckley and Tanner Barnes led the defense with six tackles. Joe Beckett had 1.5 sacks.
 
Game captains were Joe Newman, Justus Basinger, Mason Alstatt, Jireh Wilson and Blake Morgan.    
 
Attendance was 4,445 at Gibbs Stadium.
 
The Terriers will travel to Clemson, S.C., on Saturday, November 2, to face the Clemson Tigers. The defending FBS National Champions, they are undefeated on the season. Wofford will then face Mercer on November 9 in Macon, Ga., before returning home on November 16 against Furman.