LEXINGTON, Va. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team defeated VMI 51-36 at Foster Stadium. The game was tied at 7 when weather caused a two-hour delay. The Keydets scored a field goal when play resumed, but Wofford scored four straight touchdowns for a 35-10 lead. VMI answered with two touchdowns to make it 35-24 at the half. Two field goals and a touchdown gave the Terriers a 48-24 lead, but two late touchdowns by VMI made it a 51-36 final.
 
Wofford is 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Southern Conference. VMI is 2-3 on the season and 1-1 in the league. The Terriers were led by Joe Newman with 97 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with two passing touchdowns. Blake Morgan added 88 yards and two touchdowns. The Keydets were led by Reece Udinski with 315 passing yards and two touchdowns, while Alex Ramsey had 207 rushing yards.
 
"The delay didn't have a big effect on us as we had a pretty good plan as how we wanted to attack them," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "Our guys responded to it the right way and I was glad we started off fast when we came back out. They are an explosive offense with an exceptional quarterback and running back. We got a few key stops and we played well in the red zone which was good to see. The offense played really well."
 
The Keydets had the ball to open the game and had a 28-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. A 38-yard run gave them first-and-goal from the one and on third down a rushing touchdown by Alex Ramsey made it a 7-0 game with 12:11 on the clock in the first quarter. Wofford had a 21-yard run by Nathan Walker and a 37-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lovelace to tie the game at 7-7 with 9:33 left in the first quarter.
 
A lightning delay began after the kickoff and lasted two hours. Back underway the Keydets had two first downs before kicking a 37-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead at the 6:36 mark. Wofford punted on their next drive, but a personal foul on VMI resulted in a first down. On the next play, Joe Newman found D'mauriae VanCleave for a 41-yard touchdown to take a 14-10 lead with 4:21 on the clock. The Keydets had a first down before a sack by Tanner Barnes forced a punt. D'mauriae VanCleave had a 39-yard return of the punt and Blake Morgan had a first down run to move into the red zone. Joe Newman scored on a seven-yard run for a touchdown and a 21-10 lead with eleven seconds left in the opening quarter.
 
VMI had a first down before punting. Wofford had four rushing first downs and Blake Morgan scored on a pitch from Joe Newman from three-yards out for a 28-10 lead at the 9:53 mark of the second quarter. The Keydets then went three-and -out and punted. On third down for the Terriers, Joe Newman found a wide-open T.J. Luther for a 71-yard touchdown as Wofford built a 35-10 lead with 7:25 left in the second quarter. VMI took advantage of a long kickoff return and two Wofford penalties to begin their next drive at the Terriers' 41-yard line. After two first downs, the Keydets converted a fourth-and-one with a run. Alex Ramsey capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 35-17 at the 3:41 mark of the second quarter. Wofford punted for the first time in the game with ninety seconds left in the half. The Keydets had a 55-yard pass completion to move into Wofford territory. After another first down, Wofford was called for a personal foul and VMI had first down at the two. Alex Ramsey ended the drive with a touchdown run for a 35-24 score with eleven seconds on the clock. Wofford had a first down before the half ended.
 
To begin the second half, Wofford had four first downs before Luke Carter hit a 23-yard field goal for a 38-24 lead with 9:46 on the clock. The Keydets had a first down and then added a 35-yard pass completion. On fourth-and-six, a pass was complete but short and Wofford took over on downs. After two first downs by Nathan Walker, Blake Morgan added a first down before Luke Carter hit a 39-yard field goal to make it a 41-24 game with less than a minute left in the third quarter. The Keydets and Terriers both then went three-and-out and punted. VMI gained a first down before punting with 10:19 on the clock in the fourth quarter. Wofford was able to gain four first downs to move inside the ten-yard line. Blake Morgan capped the drive with a three-yard run as the Terriers had a 48-24 lead with 3:35 left in the game. The Keydets answered with a four-yard touchdown pass to Leroy Thomas but the two-point conversion attempt failed to make it a 48-30 game with 1:54 on the clock. Wofford recovered the on-side kick and had a first down by Jacquez Allen. On fourth-and-three inside the 20-yard line, Luke Carter hit a 30-yard field goal for a 51-30 advantage. With 1:08 left, the Keydets drove the field and scored a touchdown on a two-yard pass. The two-point attempt failed and the score was 51-36 with eight seconds left. Wofford recovered the short kick-off and took a knee to end the game.
 
Wofford had 581 total yards, with 439 rushing yards. VMI had 485 total yards, 315 of which were passing. Wofford had 26 first downs, while VMI had 24. Wofford was 9-of-15 on third down. VMI was 7-of-15 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Wofford was called for five penalties to two for VMI. Wofford had a 34:30 to 25:30 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. VMI Post-Game Notes
Wofford leads the series 13-10, winning the last eight meetings.
 
Wofford has scored 100 points in the last two games.
 
The Terriers allowed a 200+ rusher for the first time since December 10, 2016 at Youngstown State.
 
Game captains were Joe Newman, Justus Basinger, Mason Alstatt, Jireh Wilson and Blake Morgan.    
 
Attendance was 3,300 at Foster Stadium.
 
The Terriers will visit ETSU next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The next home game is October 19 against Western Carolina as part of homecoming weekend.