LEXINGTON, Va. - Senior quarterback Joey Gibson completed 19 of 28 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead VMI to a 27-16 upset win over #18 Wofford Saturday before 7,860 Parents' Weekend spectators at Alumni Memorial Field.
The Keydets (3-4, 1-3) snapped a four-game losing skid and secured their first Southern Conference win of the season. It was also VMI's first win over a ranked opponent since a 50-31 victory over #22 Liberty on September 9, 1995.
VMI capitalized on two fumble recoveries that were converted into scores, and controlled the ball for 35:34 of the game.
With the score tied 3-3 in the first quarter, the Keydets took their first lead of the afternoon when Gibson tossed a four-yard touchdown pass in the back of the endzone to freshman slotback Gary Price with 13:34 left in the second quarter. The drive was set up when Terrier kick return man Jesse McCoy coughed up the football following a converging hits by Tripp Smith and Maury Pauling. VMI's Adrian Cmerek recovered at the Wofford 22 and five plays later, Gibson teammed up for Price's first collegiate touchdown reception. McCoy did not return to the game after being shaken up on the play.
Wofford (4-2, 2-1) answered with an eight-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by J.R. McNair's one-yard run that tied the game at 10-10 with 7:54 left in the first half.
VMI on the ensuing drive marched 79 yards in seven plays and took the lead for good when Gibson drilled a 30-yard pass over the middle to senior T.J. Snelling for a touchdown, making it 17-10 with 4:41 remaining in the half. The TD strike was Gibson's 13th of the season, tying him with Dave Brown (1988) and Howard Dyer (1959) for the school season mark. A 27-yard pass to Price on a third down to the Terrier 33 keyed the drive.
Another fumble by Wofford on a kick return that was recovered by Price led to a 25-yard field goal by Matt Sharpe to give VMI a 20-10 lead at intermission.
The game remained scoreless until the fourth quarter when Wofford gambled on a fourth-and five from their own 43 and was stopped on downs when Trey Rodgers pass to D.J. Gaillard fell incomplete with 1:56 remaining in the third quarter. VMI took over and covered the 43 yards in nine plays and scored on a three-yard sweep around left end by senior slotback Kevin Solomon to give VMI its biggest lead, 27-10, with 12:49 left in the game.
Wofford answered when Trey Rogers dumped a pass to Melvin Jones on a fourth-and-nine from the VMI 29-yard line. Jones eluded several defenders and dashed to the endzone to cut the margin to 27-16 with 10:15 remaining, but Jay Harvey missed the extra-point attempt.
The Terriers final scoring threat was halted at the VMI 5 when Pauling snatched a batted pass from Rodgers and raced upfield to the VMI 40 at the 4:36 mark.
Gibson also led the Keydets in rushing with 71 yards on 17 carries while Price hauled in six passes for 65 yards and a score. Senior wideout Pedro Garcia and Snelling each caught four passes.
Jones led the Terriers on the ground with 95 yards on 11 carries. Wofford, which relies on the ground game but played from behind most of the contest, attempted a season-high 22 passes and completed only seven tries for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Pauling, along with his forced fumble and interception, led the Keydets in tackles with 10 including one for loss for -7 yards. Senior cornerback DeAngello Plather had nine stops.
Wofford's Brandon Ladd and Matt Nelson each had 11 tackles.
Saturday's game was not the first time Wofford head coach Mike Ayers had suffered a long October afternoon in Lexington at the hand of the Keydets. On October 12th, 1985, exactly 17 years ago to the day, Ayers, who was then head coach of East Tennessee State, saw his Bucs fall to VMI at Alumni Memorial Field, 23-19. Dan Monahan rushed for 135 yards and Al Comer completed 20 of 31 passes for 198 yards that day.
VMI hits the road to face Chattanooga next Saturday night at 6 p.m. Wofford will host Western Carolina in Spartanburg next Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES
- The VMI win over 17th-ranked Wofford was the program's first victory over a ranked opponent since Sept. 9, 1995 (#22 Liberty) . The Keydets had lost 30 straight previous games to ranked opponents.
- VMI's victory was the 10th in the series history but the first over the Terriers since 1992. VMI had dropped five straight in the series, and it was the first victory since Wofford became a Division I-AA program in 1995 and the first time since the Terriers joined the Southern Conference in 1997.
- The three wins for VMI so far this season are the most since the Keydets went 3-8 in 1996.
POSTGAME QUOTES
VMI HEAD COACH CAL MCCOMBS
"When you get ahead early against Wofford and make them play from behind, their offense is not catered for that."
"When you win ball games, somebody has got to make good plays. The hit that Tripp Smith had on the kickoff to knock the first fumble loose on McCoy hurt them down the line."
"What I really liked about the game is that Wofford got out of what they do well. In the third quarter, you saw them getting into the I-formation and trying to run some of the same plays that Furman ran against us. When they got behind, they had to start throwing the ball."
"At the end of the game, we didn't look good running the clock out, but at least we didn't turn the ball over."
"It was a good win for our football team and we had good special teams. Our defense didn't give up a lot of big plays. "
WOFFORD HEAD COACH MIKE AYERS
"VMI did a tremendous job. Give credit to them. Joey Gibson is a heck of a quarterback. Their offense kept our offense off the field."
"Turnovers killed us. We had some guys go down and had to play some young kids. We'll take a look at the film and evaluate everything."
