SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was defeated 31-10 by Samford University at Gibbs Stadium.  The Bulldogs had a 7-0 lead after the first quarter and added 17 points in the second quarter for a 24-3 halftime lead. In the second half, both teams had touchdowns for the final margin.
 
Wofford is now 0-6 and 0-3 in the Southern Conference, while Samford is 3-3 overall and 3-2 in league play. The Terriers were led by J.T. Smith with seven carries for 67 yards and Ryan Ingram had 15 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. Jay Stanton led the Bulldogs with 19 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns, while Michael Hiers was 30-of-42 passing for 239 yards and a touchdown.
 
"In the second quarter we started making errors on defense just getting lined up with the tempo after doing a good job of that in the first quarter," said head coach Shawn Watson. "You can't make mistakes like that against an up-tempo offense. Offensively, we had several opportunities for big plays and we hit some, but at the same time we gave away chances and need to clean that up. At halftime we knew that we had been our own worst enemy and needed to settled the guys down and put them in a position to just play football. We were able to do that in the second half and were solid on defense. On offense, we just need to finish drives."
 
The Terriers had the ball to open the game and went three-and-out. Samford had one first down before having to punt on their first drive. With the ball back, Wofford had three first downs which included a 31-yard run by J.T. Smith. A 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked by the Bulldogs and they took over at the 29-yard line. After one first down, the Bulldogs punted. Wofford went three-and-out, with the Bulldogs beginning their drive at the 41-yard line. They rapidly moved down the field with three first downs and Jay Stanton found the endzone from one-yard out for a 7-0 lead at 3:30 in the first quarter.
 
Wofford went three-and-out and punted, which was followed by Samford gaining two first downs and adding a 24-yard field goal for a 10-0 advantage after one play in the second quarter. The Terriers then picked up three first downs and a 37-yard field goal by Bridger Jones made it a 10-3 scored with 11:22 left in the first half. With the ball back, Samford had six first downs on a twelve-play drive that covered 81 yards and was capped by a six-yard touchdown run for a 17-3 lead. Wofford went three-and-out again and the Bulldogs had three first downs before a nine-yard touchdown run pushed the lead to 24-3 with 3:12 left in the half. The Terriers had a first down run by Ryan Ingram before punting and Samford had three first downs before the half ended.
 
To open the second half, Samford had one first down and punted. Wofford's Pauly Seeley was intercepted by Xavier Nurse and the Bulldogs took over at the 47-yard line. Samford had one first down before punting back to the Terriers. Wofford had one first down before punting with the ball downed at the three-yard line. The Bulldogs covered 97 yards in 15 plays and scored on a run by Damonta Witherspoon for a 31-3 lead at 1:53 in the third quarter. Wofford had a pair of first downs before punting. Samford's quarterback was sacked by Eli Purcell on their next drive, forcing a three-and-out and punt. The Terriers converted a fourth-and-four with a pass to Rickie Shaw for a 22-yard gain. Alec Holt had a first down catch to move into the red zone. On fourth-and-goal from the five, a defensive holding call gave the Terriers a first down at the two. Ryan Ingram bounced outside and scored from two-yards out to make it a 31-10 game with 5:42 remaining. On Samford's next drive, Damien Curtis intercepted Michael Hiers and Wofford took over at the 32-yard line. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted, with Samford taking over with 3:43 left in the game. They were able to gain one first down and run out the clock.
 
Wofford had 251 total yards, with 137 rushing yards. Samford had 457 total yards, with 252 of those passing yards. Samford had 28 first downs to 14 for the Terriers. Wofford was 1-of-14 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. Samford was 9-of-17 on third down. Wofford was called for four penalties and Samford was called for five in the game. The Bulldogs had a 32:45 to 27:15 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. Samford Post-Game Notes
This was the 21st meeting between the two teams, with Samford holding a 16-5 lead in the series that began in 1949. The Bulldogs have won nine straight in the series.
 
Damien Curtis had an interception in the fourth quarter, his third in the last two games.
 
On defense, David Powers led the team with 18 total tackles and Eli Purcell had eleven tackles. Chuck Smith had 1.5 sacks and Purcell had one sack.
 
Wofford will visit East Tennessee State on Saturday, October 14, for a 3:30 p.m. contest.   
 
Game captains were Amir Annoor, Jordan Davis, Anthony Garcia and C.J. Tillman.  
 
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 4,514.