ORANGEBURG, S.C. –  In the season opener on Saturday night, the Wofford College football team was defeated 16-15 by South Carolina State at Dawson Stadium. A touchdown with 1:29 left in the fourth quarter by the Bulldogs gave them the lead and a last-second field goal attempt by the Terriers came up short. With the Terrier offense unable to gain momentum, the defense and special teams unit came up with big plays. An 89-yard kick-off return and a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown, along with a safety on defense, were all the points the Terriers could muster.
 
Wofford opens the season at 0-1, while S.C. State is 1-0. The Terriers were led on offense by Gerald Modest, Jr. with seven carries for 34 yards. The Bulldogs had 50 rushing yards by KZ Adams and William Atkins was 17-of-33 passing.
 
"Well, I thought our defense played really well," said coach Shawn Watson. "At times, we gave up some big plays on third down to let them stay on the field. Other than that, they played really well. You've got to get them off the field on third down. So that's obviously something we need to work on. I thought special teams was outstanding. Dustin (Royston) did a great job and he had a really good plan That was a huge return and then the blocked punt was obviously a really good play. We took all the points off of that. And then offensively, we've got to get a lot of things fixed. We were our own worst enemy tonight. We have got to clean that up."
 
The Bulldogs had the ball first and had five first downs before kicking a 33-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 6:47 on the clock in the first quarter. Wofford had one first down before punting. With the ball back, the Bulldogs had a pair of first downs. The Terrier defense then had a pass break-up by Seth Foster and a sack by Marion Smokes to force a punt. Wofford took over at the three-yard line and had a first down run by Gerald Modest with a facemask penalty added on as well. The drive stalled and Wofford punted. The Bulldogs had one first down before going for it on fourth-and-five, with the run coming up short.
 
Wofford had a first down run before attempting a 52-yard field goal that was just short with 8:19 left in the second quarter. After the Bulldogs had one first down and punted, the Terriers had the ball at the 28-yard line. S.C. State forced a three-and-out and with the ball back they had two first downs before adding a 41-yard field goal to take a 6-0 lead with 2:37 remaining in the half. After the field goal, freshman Colby Alexander had an 89-yard kick-off return for a touchdown to give Wofford a 7-6 lead with 2:25 left in the half. The Bulldogs had a late 48-yard field goal attempt that was wide right and the Terriers ran one play to end the first half.
 
On the opening drive of the second half, a costly holding penalty forced the Terriers to go three-and-out. The Bulldogs used a big pass play to move across midfield and they added a 25-yard field goal to regain the lead at 9-7 with 8:33 on the clock in the third quarter. After Wofford gained one first down, they punted and the Bulldogs started their next drive on the 20-yard line. A punt after a pair of first downs gave the Terriers the ball at the 16-yard line with 1:17 left in the third quarter. After a first down on a personal foul penalty, the Terriers drive ended with a punt. A huge sack by Brandon Maina on third down forced a punt. Maximus Pulley was able to block the punt and it was recovered by Perrin Ketchin, who took it in for a touchdown. The two-point attempt failed and Wofford held a 13-9 lead with 12:22 remaining.
 
With the ball back, the Bulldogs had two passing first downs and then faced a fourth-and-five. The pass was dropped and Wofford took over at the 38-yard line with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs forced a three-and-out, but the punt was downed by the Terriers at the one-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Brandon Maina sacked the quarterback in the endzone for a safety with 9:11 on the clock as the Terriers took a 15-9 lead. Wofford had the ball and Jayden Whitaker ran for a first down to move across midfield. Ihson Jackson-Anderson added a first down run and then the Terriers attempted a 44-yard field goal that was wide left with 4:33 left on the clock.
 
After a pair of big passing plays moved the ball to the 21-yard line, the Bulldogs faced fourth-and-two from the 13-yard line. A short pass was completed for a touchdown with 1:27 remaining in the game and the Bulldogs had a 16-15 lead. Wofford had a first down pass to Isaiah Scott and then on fourth down a pass was completed to C.J. Adams for a first down. With ten seconds remaining, the Terriers attempted a 49-yard field goal that was short. The Bulldogs ran one play to end the game.
 
Wofford had 143 total yards, with 108 rushing yards. S.C. State had 414 total yards, with 303 of those passing yards. Wofford had 10 first downs to 23 for the Bulldogs. Wofford was 4-of-15 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. S.C. State was 12-of-23 on third down and 1-of-3 on fourth downs. S.C. State was called for seven penalties, while Wofford was called for six. S.C. State had a 34:13 to 25:47 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. S.C. State Post-Game Notes
This was the tenth meeting between the two teams. Wofford holds a 6-4 lead in the series.
   
Wofford opened the season on the road for the 14^th time in the last 16 years. The Terriers are 54-62-1 all-time in season openers since 1889.
 
The kick-off return by Colby Alexander in the second quarter for a touchdown was the first by the Terriers since James Wells (73 yards) against Chattanooga in 2021.
 
The defense was led by Eli Campbell and C.J. Coombes with nine tackles each. Brandon Maina had two sacks, with Marion Smokes and Seth Foster each adding a sack.
 
Game captains were Quincy Hughes and Maximus Pulley.       
 
Attendance at Dawson Stadium was 6,208.
 
Wofford will host Richmond on Saturday, September 6, in the home opener at Gibbs Stadium.