CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford College football team and The Citadel had a game decided by a 45-44 score in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Hagood Stadium. Wofford scored touchdowns on all four possessions in the first half for a 28-17 lead, but the Bulldogs score the next 14 points for a 31-28 advantage in the fourth quarter. After trading touchdowns, a 42-yard field goal by Wofford tied the game with 56 seconds left and the game went to overtime. The Citadel scored first in overtime and Wofford answered. The two-point pass was incomplete to end the game at 45-44.
 
Wofford is 1-9 overall and 0-8 in the Southern Conference, marking the first winless season in league play. The Citadel is 3-7 overall and 2-5 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Alec Holt with 137 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Irvin Mulligan had 13 carries for 114 yards. Peyton Derrick threw for 181 yards and four touchdowns, adding 54 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Bulldogs were led by Cooper Wallace with 127 rushing yards and Jaylan Adams with two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns.
 
"Obviously the guys played really hard," said Wofford head coach Josh Conklin. "They never gave up. We had some more guys go down with injuries today and we had guys step up and played well to finish the game out. The offense responded really well and we are seeing some better things. Unfortunately, we came up short. The players wanted to go for it and so did I – we wanted to go do swinging and that's what we did. I appreciate their effort."
 
The Bulldogs had the ball to open the game and had five rushing first downs before settling for a 25-yard field goal with 7:08 on the clock for a 3-0 advantage. On the first play of the game for the Terriers, Peyton Derrick found Alec Holt for a 75-yard touchdown pass and a 7-3 lead at 6:59 in the first half. With the ball back, the Bulldogs had a first down and were faced with a fourth-and-one at midfield. The run was stuffed by the Wofford defense and the Terriers took over on downs. A 32-yard run by Irvin Mulligan on the first play put the Terriers inside the redzone. Mulligan added a first down run and on third down Peyton Derrick found Jim Welsh for a one-yard touchdown reception. With 48 seconds left in the first quarter, the Terriers had a 14-3 advantage.
 
Early in the second quarter the Bulldogs had a 46-yard touchdown reception to cut the lead to 14-10. After two rushing first downs on the ensuing drive, Peyton Derrick hit Alec Holt in the endzone for a 27-yard touchdown pass and a 21-10 lead at 10:35 in the quarter. The Bulldogs had two rushing first downs and then converted a fourth-and-one with a run. After another first down, the Terriers were called for pass interference in the endzone. On the next play, the Bulldogs scored on a two-yard run to make it a 21-17 game with 5:52 left in the first half. After a first down on a penalty, the Terriers added two more first downs and Irvin Mulligan converted a third-and-long with a 29-yard run. With 21 seconds on the clock, Peyton Derrick scored from three yards out on the quarterback keeper for a 28-17 advantage. The Bulldogs had a first down before time expired in the first half.
 
To begin the second half, the Terriers had three first downs before Destin Mack intercepted Peyton Derrick at the seven-yard line with 10:47 on the clock. The Bulldogs had one first down before punting. On the first play by the Terriers, the pitch was fumbled and recovered by The Citadel at the 20-yard line. After a first down, a three-yard touchdown run cut the lead to 28-23 as the point after was missed with 4:51 left in the third quarter. Wofford went three-and-out and punted on their next drive. The Citadel had five rushing first downs before facing a fourth-and-five. With the quarterback under pressure, Jaylan Adams found Cooper Wallace for a 12-yard touchdown pass. Wallace also caught the two-point conversion attempt for a 31-28 lead with 10:55 on the clock in the fourth quarter.
 
With the ball back, Peyton Derrick had a 41-yard run up the middle and a first down run by Nathan Walker moved the Terriers inside the 20-yard line. A 12-yard touchdown run by Ryan Ingram enabled Wofford to regain the lead at 35-31 2ith 8:24 left in the game. The Bulldogs used a 42-yard pass to move inside the redzone. After a first down run, the Bulldogs faced fourth-and-one from the one-yard line and a quarterback keeper by Jaylan Adams scored the touchdown for a 38-35 lead with 3:37 remaining. After back-to-back first down runs by Ryan Ingram to get to midfield, R.J. Khayo had a first down catch for 20-yards. A third-and-five pass was incomplete and Walker Gliarmis hit a 42-yard field goal with 56 seconds left to tie the game at 38-38. The Bulldogs took a knee twice to send the game to overtime.
 
Wofford won the toss in overtime and elected to go on defense. The Bulldogs had a first down and then Jaylan Adams scored a 13-yard touchdown from a 45-38 lead. On the second play for the Terriers, a pass to Ryan Ingram for a 23-yard touchdown put the game within a point. Wofford decided to go for the two-point conversion and the win, but the pass was incomplete to end the game.  
 
Wofford had 447 total yards, with 266 rushing yards. The Citadel had 465 total yards, with 344 of those rushing yards. The Citadel had a 27 to 20 advantage in first downs. Wofford was 5-of-8 on third down. The Citadel was 11-of-17 on third down and was 3-of-4 on fourth down, scoring twice on fourth down plays. Wofford was called for three penalties to four for The Citadel. The Bulldogs had a 35:35 to 24:25 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. The Citadel Post-Game Notes
The Bulldogs holds a 44-30-1 lead in the series that began in 1916 and have won the last two meetings.
 
The game was the first to go to overtime for Wofford since 2019. The Terriers are now 7-6 in overtime contests. Wofford lost a game by just one point for the first time since 1999 (21-20, Appalachian State).
 
Alec Holt had 137 receiving yards in the game, the first 100+ receiving game of his career and the first for Wofford since the 2019 season. The 137 yards are the second most by the Terriers since Brenton Bersin had 146 vs. Chattanooga (11/20/10). Holt's 75-yard touchdown reception is tied for the 8^th longest in school history.
 
Irvin Mulligan had his sixth 100+ rushing yard game of the season with 114 yards.
 
Peyton Derrick was 7-of-12 for 181 yards and four touchdowns. The four passing touchdowns tied the school record held by Carter Davis in 1973 against Albion.

The touchdown reception by Jim Welsh in the first quarter was the first of his career. Ryan Ingram had his first career touchdown reception in overtime.

The 44 points scored in the game were the most this season by the Terriers.
 
Micheal Mason and Chuck Smith led the team with eight tackles each.
 
Game captains were Micheal Mason, Peyton Derrick and Nathan Walker.
 
Attendance at Hagood Stadium was 11,941.
 
The Terriers season finale will be on November 20 at North Carolina, which will kick-off at noon.