SPARTANBURG, S.C. – A game-tying field goal as time expired was short and the Wofford College football team was defeated 27-24 by Samford University at Gibbs Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Down 24-7 at halftime, the Terriers came out strong in the second half with 17 unanswered points to tie the game with under five minutes remaining. The Bulldogs took the lead on a field goal with 1:38 left and a 41-yard attempt by the Terriers failed to end the game.
 
Wofford is 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the Southern Conference. Samford is 3-3 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Terriers were led by Irvin Mulligan with 135 carries and two touchdowns, while Nathan Walker added 70 rushing yards. Quarterbacks Bryce Corriston and Peyton Derrick each had over 100 passing yards. Liam Welch led the Bulldogs with 26-of-41 passing for 253 yards and two passing touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown.
 
"We played well in the second half and played our style of football," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "We did what we needed to do in the second half to give ourselves a chance to win the game. They were tough to defend and tough to prepare for, but I thought we did a pretty good job of handling it. We felt like if we held them to between 23 and 30 points we were going to have a chance to win the game, which we did. We made some adjustments at halftime and wanted to play more aggressively, but part of that was our offense and special teams in the third quarter."
 
The Bulldogs had the ball first and went three-and-out. Wofford had one first down on their opening drive before having to punt. Samford had two first downs and then converted a fourth-and-one. They capped the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Michael Vice for a 7-0 lead at 7:02 in the first quarter. After Wofford went three-and-out and punted, the Bulldogs had a 48-yard pass completion. The drive ended with a punt after a holding penalty. On first down from the 12-yard line, Peyton Derrick found Alec Holt who broke a tackle at midfield on 88-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 7-7 with 3:47 on the clock.
 
Samford had a first down and then punted. Wofford gained a pair of first downs before punting back to the Bulldogs. Samford had a 52-yard pass play and scored on a two-yard run by Liam Welsh for a 14-7 lead at 12:25 in the second quarter. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted. The Bulldogs has a 66-yard run to the one-yard line. Wofford's defense held and the Bulldogs had to settle for a 30-yard field goal to make it 17-7 at 8:01 in the quarter. Wofford used a 35-yard run by Irvin Mulligan to move across midfield. The drive stalled and a 40-yard field goal attempt was short. Samford moved down the field with five first downs and scored on a seven-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Smith for a 24-7 lead with 1:23 left in the first half. The Terriers gained two first downs before the half came to a close.
 
Wofford had the ball to begin the second half and Bryce Corriston took over at quarterback. On second down, his first career pass was a 48-yard completion to Wyatt Bartkowiak. After two more first downs, Irvin Mulligan capped the drive with a one-yard run to cut the lead to 24-14 at 12:30 in the third quarter. The Bulldogs had one first down before punting back to the Terriers. After gaining four first downs, a pass on fourth-and-eight was incomplete turning the ball back over to the Bulldogs after taking eight minutes off the clock. Samford went three-and-out and punted. Bryce Corriston ran for a 33-yard first down to move across midfield. Irvin Mulligan went 41-yards down the near sideline for a touchdown as the score was 24-21 at 14:25 in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had one first down and then punted. Wofford had three first downs and then Bryce Corriston converted a fourth-and-three with a run up the middle. After another first down, Walker Gliarmis made a 31-yard field goal to tie the game at 24 with 4:43 remaining in the fourth quarter.
 
Samford had three first downs before facing a fourth-and-two. They made a 38-yard field goal into the wind for a 27-24 lead with 1:38 left on the clock. Wofford took over at the 31-yard line after the kick-off. Devin Mathews had a first down catch and Bryce Corriston ran the ball to midfield. After another two first downs, a 41-yard field goal attempt by the Terriers was short as time expired.
 
Wofford had a season-high 573 total yards, with 366 rushing yards. Samford had 447 total yards, 253 of which were passing. Wofford had a 27 to 22 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 9-of-17 on third down and 1-of-2 on fourth down. Samford was 5-of-13 on third down. Wofford was called for seven penalties to six for Samford. The Terriers had a 40:33 to 19:27 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Samford Post-Game Notes
Samford holds a 14-5 lead in the series, including wins in the last seven straight contests.
 
Irvin Mulligan had 135 rushing yards, his fourth 100+ rushing game of the season. He also crossed the 1,000 career rushing mark during the game.  
 
Alec Holt had an 88-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, which was the longest passing play in school history.
 
Jaheem Hazel led the team with eight tackles.

Game captains were Micheal Mason, Peyton Derrick and Nathan Walker.
 
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 5,291.
 
After a trip to Mercer on October 23, the Terriers return home on October 30 against Western Carolina. Single game tickets are available at www.woffordterriers.com/tickets.