SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College football team defeated the Virginia Military Institute by a 41-14 score on a sunny and windy Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium. The Keydets took a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Terriers scored 38 unanswered points for the final 41-14 margin.
Wofford is 5-3 and 3-2 in the SoCon. VMI is 0-7 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by
Gerald Modest Jr. with 173 yards on 20 carries, scoring three rushing touchdowns.
J.T. Fayard was 16-of-21 passing for 270 yards and two touchdowns, while
Anjuan Coleman Jr. (104) and
Ivory Aikens (105) both reached the 100-yard receiving mark with a touchdown each. The Keydets were led by Traveion Slaughter with 75 rushing yards and a touchdown.
"I was a little fired up at halftime because I felt like we got a slow start," said head coach
Shawn Watson. "I challenged them, and they did a great job in the second half. We tightened it up and played what we call Wofford football, so I was really happy to see the way they responded. I thought our defense played a great game, and that's hard against an option football team. And then offensively, I thought Lane (Knost) called a really good game. He and Corey (Woods) had some excellent run schemes dialed up, and Gerald (Modest) took advantage of them. The offensive line is really getting better and better. I thought J.T. (Fayard) played a really good game, and both Ace (Coleman) and Ivory (Aikens) had explosive plays, so I am really proud of the effort. Heading into the bye week, we're going to take some time down, let our kids get healthy."
Wofford opened the game with the ball and went three-and-out. After VMI went three-and-out, the Terriers fumbled on the first play of their next drive and it was picked up by Isaiah Grevious and returned 46 yards for a touchdown. Wofford drove down the field in 15 plays, but had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by
Conner Deviney to make it a 7-3 game with 3:44 on the clock. The Keydets had one first down, and then a 61-yard run up the middle gave VMI a 14-3 lead with 1:57 left in the first quarter. Wofford responded with an eleven-play drive that was capped by a 12-yard touchdown run by
Gerald Modest Jr. to make it a 14-10 game with 10:36 on the clock in the second quarter.
VMI had one first down and then punted.
J.T. Fayard found
Anjuan Coleman Jr. for a 39-yard reception to move into the red zone. A five-yard touchdown run by
Gerald Modest Jr. on the left side gave Wofford a 17-14 lead with 4:35 left in the first half. The Keydets had two first downs and then a tackle for loss on third down by
Nicholas Mathious forced a punt.
Gavin Batt returned the punt for a touchdown, but it was nullified by a holding penalty. On third down,
J.T. Fayard hit
Ivory Aikens in stride for a 56-yard touchdown reception and a 24-14 lead with 45 seconds left in the half. VMI ran one play before the half ended.
The Keydets had the ball to open the second half and had three first downs. A 52-yard field goal attempt was blocked by
Eli Campbell and Wofford took over at the 35-yard line. On second down,
Gerald Modest Jr. went 65 yards up the middle of the field for a touchdown as the Terriers extended the lead to 34-14 with 9:34 on the clock. After a fourth-and-two conversion, a pass by the Keydets was intercepted by
Ky'Ree Murphy near midfield. A 39-yard catch by
Ivory Aikens set up a 27-yard field goal by
Conner Deviney for a 34-14 lead with 4:57 left in the third quarter.
After three first downs, the Keydets went for it on fourth-and-six, but a sack by
Nicholas Mathious gave the ball back to the Terriers. Wofford had one first down and then
Anjuan Coleman Jr. caught a pass and went down the far sideline for a 43-yard touchdown. The Terriers had a 41-14 lead with 11:37 left in the game. The Keydets converted a fourth-and-two but then had to punt. Wofford had two first downs and punted with 2:45 remaining, and then the Keydets went three-and-out. After a first down run by
Troy Timko, the Terriers took a knee to close out the game.
Wofford had a season-high 514 total yards on offense, with 270 passing yards. VMI was held to 188 total yards, with 152 of those rushing yards. Wofford had 19 first downs to 13 for the Keydets. Wofford was 6-of-10 on third down. VMI was 4-of-14 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down. Wofford had 12 penalties for 85 yards, while VMI had five penalties for 32 yards. VMI had a 30:45 to 29:15 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. VMI Post-Game Notes
This was the 30
th meeting between the two teams, with Wofford holding a 17-13 lead in the series.
The game was the 81
st Homecoming game at Wofford, with the Terriers having a 51-28-2 record all-time in Homecoming games.
The Wofford defense was led by
Logan McCloud with seven tackles and the unit combined for eight tackles for loss.
Nicholas Mathious, Corley Watson and
Cooper Horton were credited with sacks.
Gerald Modest Jr. had 173 rushing yards, his third 100+ rushing performance this season and the third of his career. The 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was the first run over 50 yards for the Terriers since 2023 (Ryan Ingram at Furman, 53t).
Ky'Ree Murphy had his second career interception in the third quarter. Wofford now has nine interceptions on the season as a team.
With
Eli Campbell's field goal block in the third quarter, Wofford has blocked field goals in back-to-back games.
Wofford had two 100+ receivers in the game.
Ivory Aikens had four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, marking his first career 100+ game.
Anjuan Coleman Jr. had five catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, with it being his first career 100+ game as well.
Game captains were
Eli Campbell,
J.T. Fayard, and
Jack Purdy.
Attendance at Gibbs Stadium was 6,102.
Wofford will be on the road for the next two games, with the next home game on Saturday, November 14, against East Tennessee State. Tickets are available by visiting
https://woffordterriers.com/tickets.
