WOFFORD at VMI
Saturday, September 23, 2023 - 1:30 PM
Foster Stadium (10,000)
Lexington, Virginia

THE VMI GAME
Wofford begins Southern Conference play on Saturday afternoon with a visit to VMI ... The Terriers are coming off an opening weekend 45-7 loss at Pittsburgh, a 23-6 loss to #4 William & Mary and a 23-20 home loss to Presbyterian ... Wofford is looking to continue to build on a 2022 season in which they were 3-7 overall and 3-4 in Southern Conference play ... This will be the 27th meeting between the two teams, with the Terriers holding a 14-12 lead in the series ... Last season Wofford earned a 34-16 win in Spartanburg ... The Keydets are 1-2 this season after a 12-7 win over Davidson and then a 21-13 loss at Bucknell along with a 45-7 defeat at N.C. State ... Last season VMI was 1-10 overall and 0-8 in the SoCon ... The game features two of the three new head coaches in the league with Shawn Watson and Danny Rocco (Maurice Drayton - The Citadel).

GAME INFORMATION
Radio - Wofford Digital Network (Jim Noble, Thom Henson and Van Hipp)
TV - ESPN+
Stats - LINK
Wofford Game Notes - LINK
Wofford Football Media Guide - LINK
Wofford Football Yearbook  - LINK
Southern Conference Information - LINK

TERRIER TOP NOTES
Here are the top notes of interest heading into the game against VMI ...
    • The season began with back-to-back road trips for the first time since 2016.  
    • The Terriers are 0-3 to begin the season for the second straight season and just the third time since 1990.
    • Wofford and VMI are the only two SoCon schools that play on natural grass.
    • Shawn Watson was named head coach on December 1, 2022. Over the past 50 years, he is the seventh head coach in school history. Watson was offensive coordinator at Pitt in 2017 and 2018.
    • The Terriers were 3-3 last season with Shawn Watson as interim head coach.
    • Wofford returns 14 starters overall, including five on offense, seven on defense and two specialists.  
    • Two players were named to the All-Southern Conference preseason second team - DL Chuck Smith and OL Jason Swann.    
    • As the Terriers moved towards a passing offense last season, Jimmy Weirick set a school record with 409 passing yards against ETSU. He also set the school single season records for completions (162), attempts (280) and passing yards (2,052).
    • In the national rankings, the Terriers were 99th in total defense (433.1) and 93rd in total offense (322.1) last season.
    • This season Wofford is first in the nation in fourth down conversions, first in red zone offense and fourth in fewest turnovers lost.

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE OPENERS
The Terriers have won their SoCon opener 15 times as members of the conference, including nine straight (Furman 2010, Samford 2011, Western Carolina 2012, The Citadel 2013 and 2014, Mercer 2015, ETSU 2016, Furman in 2017 and VMI in 2018) before a loss to Samford in 2019. Wofford got back in the win column against Mercer in 2020-21, but lost in 2021 to VMI and to Chattanooga in 2022.

A CHANGE AT THE TOP
Shawn Watson, the Terriers assistant head coach and offensive coordinator, served as interim head coach beginning on Thursday, October 6, 2022. Watson has over 35 years of coaching experience, including a stint as head coach at Southern Illinois (1994-96). It marks the first time in school history that the football team has had an interim head coach. Watson was announced as the permanent head coach on December 1, 2022.

INSIDE WOFFORD FOOTBALL WITH COACH SHAWN WATSON
Wofford Sports Properties, the multimedia rights partner for Wofford College Athletics, has announced the return of "Inside Wofford Football with Coach Shawn Watson." The show is part of an expanded selection of coaches shows that began last season. The shows, sponsored by Yokohama, are hosted by the voice of the Terriers, Jim Noble. "Inside Wofford Football" begins in September and will debut every Monday during the football season. Fans can listen to the "Inside Wofford Football" podcast in a variety of ways, including on the iTunes, Amazon, Google and Spotify podcast platforms, along with www.woffordterriers.com/podcast. A video version can be found on YouTube.

GOAL LINE CLUB
Help carry the ball for the Terriers and sign up to be a 2023 Goal Line Club member. Pledge as little as $1 to contribute to an athletic endowed scholarship. Established in 2012, the Goal Line Club has proven hugely successful in helping raise scholarship dollars for the Wofford College Athletics Endowment. Goal Line Club members have donated a combined total of more than $368,538 for the Goal Line Club Endowed Scholarship Fund since the inception of this initiative. Click HERE to donate!

WOFFORD APP
Be sure to download the new Wofford Terriers mobile app. Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new Wofford app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.Through the app, Wofford fans will enjoy a personalized mobile experience with the ability to manage tickets, and receive breaking news and score notifications for the teams they follow.

TICKETS
Single game tickets are available by calling 864-597-4090 or by visiting www.woffordterriers.com/tickets