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Football

VMI vs. Mercer Gameday Central

LEXINGTON, Va. – Looking to improve to 3-0 overall and in Southern Conference play for the first time in 40 years, the VMI football team hosts Mercer on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Foster Stadium.

The game will be televised by Nexstar and broadcast on ESPN+.

The total number of spectators allowed, 1,000, is based on currently enforced Executive Order #72 published by the Governor of Virginia. At this time, spectators are only allowed access to Foster Stadium, Cameron Hall Ticket Office, Drill Field No. 2 (lacrosse), Patchin Field (soccer) and Gray-Minor Stadium (baseball - max capacity 420 allowed); all other areas of post remain closed to visitors. Cameron Hall Ticket Office opens at 10:00 a.m. and gates to Foster Stadium open one hour prior to kickoff. NCAA Complimentary Admissions will be distributed starting at 11:30 a.m.

A limited number of tickets still remain for Saturday's game.

For further information regarding the attendance policy and CoVid-19 regulations in place for the game, please visit the VMI Outdoor Spectator Policy.

Links to the broadcast, radio and live stats are listed below in addition to other links that provide gameday information for both programs.
 
Attending the Game
Tickets | Weather | VMI Outdoor Spectator Policy | Directions
Broadcasts
Watch on ESPN+
Live Radio Broadcast on 96.7 3WZ 
Live Stats
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VMI (2-0, 2-0 SoCon)
Roster
Coaching Staff
Schedule/Results
Statistics
Game Notes 
2020-21 Fact Book
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Mercer (1-4, 1-1 SoCon)
Roster
Schedule/Results
Coaching Staff
Statistics
Game Notes
Media Guide
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VMI OPENS WITH TWO CONFERENCE WINS – With a 30-7 win at Western Carolina in Cullowhee last Saturday, VMI Football started out its 2020-21 campaign with a 2-0 record. It marked the first time the Keydets have begun the season 2-0 in conference play since 2005 when VMI was a member of the Big South Conference and the first time it has started 2-0 in SoCon play since 1981. The win at Western Carolina was the program's first in Cullowhee after dropping 13 straight at E.J. Whitmire Stadium and it also was the first win over the Catamounts since 1991 which ended a 17-meeting drought in the series.
 
KEYDETS RECEIVE MORE VOTES IN POLL - With a 2-0 start including a win over a top 10 ranked opponent, VMI continued to see a rise in votes Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll. The Keydets were the most receiving votes for programs who had yet to break into the Top 25 in this week's voting. This season is only the third time in program history that VMI has received votes in the poll with 2002 and 2019 the other years.
 
DEFENSE STINGY IN OPENER - The VMI defense continued to step up at Western Carolina and allowed the fewest points in a game (7) since a 37-7 win over ETSU on October 8, 2016. Prior to a fourth quarter touchdown by Western Carolina, the VMI defense kept opponents off the scoreboard for five straight quarters going back to the second half of the season opener against Furman.
 
A VMI Win over Mercer would ... Move VMI to 3-0 overall and in conference play on the season for the first time since 1981. 
 
VMI RADIO NETWORK : WWZW-96.7 FM (Lexington, Lynchburg), WJFN-100.5/92.7 FM (Richmond), and WJFN 810 AM (Hampton Roads). A free audio broadcast of the game is available at 3wzfm.com and via the Tune-In app. Wade Branner and Rick Cruze will be on the call.
 
TELEVISION/VIDEO STREAMING : Saturday's game will be carried on Nexstar affiliate stations and on ESPN+. Locally in the Roanoke/Lynchburg market, the game will be broadcast by WWCW. Pete Yanity will call play-by-play and Jared Singleton will be analyst.
 
THE SERIES: This will be the seventh meeting between the schools that first met in 2014. Mercer leads the rivalry, 5-1, with the lone VMI victory occurring in 2015 when the Keydets prevailed, 28-21. The Bears defeated VMI last year in Macon, Georgia, 34-27.
 
UDINSKI MOVING UP THE CHARTS - After completing 30 of 41 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown against Western Carolina in week two of VMI's 2020-21 football season, senior quarterback Reece Udinski continues to march upward on the VMI record charts and moved past his predecessor Al Cobb (2014-16) in three VMI all-time passing catagories. Udinski notched his 20th career 200-yard game and has now thrown 44 touchdown passes which moved him past Cobb for the most in school history. Udinski also passed Cobb last Saturday for most career pass attempts (1,175) and also has 716 career completions to surpassed Cobb for the #1 spot in that category.
 
GROUND GAME IN GEAR - After producing just 20 yards rushing in the opener against Furman February 27, VMI's ground attack thrived last Saturday as the Keydets netted 199 yards rushing on the ground. Leading the charge was junior back Korey Bridy, who netted a career-high 91 yards and also reached the endzone a career-high two times on runs of six yards and one yard. Freshman Rashad Raymond added 74 yards as the Keydets enjoyed their best rushing outing as a team since 220 yards against Mars Hill on September 7, 2019.
 
RICE BOOTS A TRIO - Redshirt freshman Jerry Rice kicked three field goals against Western Carolina last Saturday in Cullowhee connecting on attempts of 27, 29, and 32 yards for his first converted field goals of his college career. It marked the first time that a VMI kicker had three field goals in a game since Barrett Way against Charleston Southern on October 21, 2006.
 
HERRES MOVES INTO TOP 10 - With eight receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown against Western Carolina, junior wide receiver Jakob Herres moved past former tight end Steve Pancham (1982-85) for 10th spot on the VMI all-time reception list and now has 112 catches for his career. His 14 career TD grabs now place him third on the all-time VMI list in that category.   
 



 
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Players Mentioned

Korey Bridy

#1 Korey Bridy

RB
6' 0"
Junior
Jakob Herres

#14 Jakob Herres

WR
6' 4"
Junior
Jerry Rice

#93 Jerry Rice

K/P
5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
Reece Udinski

#2 Reece Udinski

QB
6' 4"
Senior
Rashad Raymond

#5 Rashad Raymond

RB
5' 10"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Korey Bridy

#1 Korey Bridy

6' 0"
Junior
RB
Jakob Herres

#14 Jakob Herres

6' 4"
Junior
WR
Jerry Rice

#93 Jerry Rice

5' 7"
Redshirt Freshman
K/P
Reece Udinski

#2 Reece Udinski

6' 4"
Senior
QB
Rashad Raymond

#5 Rashad Raymond

5' 10"
Freshman
RB