WOFFORD at S.C. State
Saturday, August 30, 2025 - 6:00 PM
Dawson Stadium (22,000)
Orangeburg, S.C.

THE SC STATE GAME
Wofford will open the 2025 season on Saturday night at South Carolina State ... The Terriers are coming off a 5-7 record last year, with a 3-5 mark in the Southern Conference to finish sixth in the standings ... This is the tenth meeting between Wofford and South Carolina State in a series that began in 1974, with the Terriers holding a 6-3 lead ... The last meeting was in 2019, with the Bulldogs winning 28-13 in Orangeburg ... South Carolina State was 9-3 overall last year and went 5-0 to claim the MEAC title ... They fell to Jackson State in the Cricket Celebration Bowl to close out the season ... They have been picked to win the MEAC again in 2025 and had three players named preseason All-MEAC. 

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 season opener at South Carolina State ...
    • This is the 117th season of football at Wofford, which began in 1889.
    • Wofford opens the season on the road for the 14th time in the last 16 fall seasons.
    • Shawn Watson enters his third full season as head coach of the Terriers. 
    • Wofford returns ten starters overall, including four on offense, four on defense and two specialists.  
    • Six players were named to the All-Southern Conference preseason team. C.J. Coombes earned a spot on the first team and he is also on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award. 
    • The Wofford defense was 59th in the nation and fourth in the SoCon, with the passing defense 39th overall and first in the SoCon. 
    • The defense had 13 interceptions as part of 21 overall turnovers gained, which ranked 25th in the nation. Wofford had a positive turnover margin for the second-straight season. 

ABOUT WOFFORD
Shawn Watson is entering his third full season as head coach of the Terriers. On offense, the offensive line features returning starters Mason Howard, Quincy Hughes, and Luke Moise. Clayton Hixon started the final three games last season at center and Chizara Alegbe will be at the other spot. The pro spread offense usually sees three receivers, one tight end and one running back in most formations. C.J. Adams, Ivory Aikens, and Isaiah Scott are set to start at receiver, with Scott the lone returning starter. Transfer Matt Flanders will start at tight end, while Kyle Parsons is the top returner at running back  At quarterback, Jayden Whitaker earned the starting spot after a competition in fall camp and will be backed-up by Ethan Drumm. 
    The defense remains a 3-4 base, with the defensive line led by returners Brandon Maina and Marion Smokes. They are joined by Seth Foster. The linebacker position has four new starters in Alijah Williams, Javario Tinch, Jalen Rambert, and Elijah Washington. In the secondary, safeties C.J. Coombes and Maximus Pulley return as starters at safety, with Darius Malcolm and R.J. Brunson taking over at the cornerback positions. 
    The special teams will see Connor Deviney handling placekicking, Sam Spence on kickoffs, Cavan Craig at punter, and Blake Shirley at long snapper. Maddox Cowart will hold for the Terriers.

SEASON OPENERS
After the win at Gardner-Webb in the fall of 2024, Wofford is 54-61-1 all-time in season openers since posting a 5-1 win over Furman on December 14, 1889 ... In the last ten seasons, Wofford is 6-4 in season openers, with the losses to Clemson, South Carolina State, Chattanooga and Pittsburgh ... When Wofford opens the season at home, its record is 27-20-1.

2025 PRESEASON ALL-SOCON
The Terriers had six players recognized by the league's coaches on the 2025 preseason all-conference first and second team. One player earned a spot on the first team, sophomore safety C.J. Coombes. Coombes started all 12 games last season and was second on the team with 88 total tackles. 
     Five players earned spots on the second team. Senior offensive lineman Quincy Hughes started all 12 games at left tackle last season. Senior defensive lineman Brandon Maina started four games in 2024 before an injury. In 2023, he started ten games and was named All-Southern Conference second team with a team-high 4.0 sacks. Senior safety Maximus Pulley started all 12 games last season and had 53 total tackles. Sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Scott played in all 12 games last season with eight starts and was second on the team in receiving with 28 catches for 350 yards. Sophomore defensive lineman Marion Smokes, played in seven games last season and led the team in sacks with 4.0 to be named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.

HITTING THE ROAD EARLY
Wofford is on the road for three of the first four games of the season for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The first three trips are a combined 1,108 miles round-trip with Mercer (436), South Carolina State (266), and Virginia Tech (478). The other three road trips are in the last five games of the season and 1,268 miles total to ETSU (254), VMI (610) and The Citadel (404).

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, sponsored by Yokohama, is 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 2025 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 $375,000 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
Season and single game tickets are available by calling 864-597-4091 or by visiting www.woffordterriers.com/tickets. The Box Office is located in the lobby of the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium fo sales and customer service.