VMI at Western Carolina Gameday Central

LEXINGTON, Va. – A week after knocking off #10 Furman at home, the VMI football team hits the road for the first time this season en route to Cullowhee, North Carolina, to face the Western Carolina Catamounts in Southern Conference action Saturday at 1 p.m. at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

For fan attendance policies and Covid regulations in place, please visit the following site provided by Western Carolina Athletics:
https://catamountsports.com/news/2021/2/16/wcu-announces-football-spring-kickoff-times-attendance-policies.aspx

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 | WCU Outdoor Spectator Policy
Broadcasts
Watch on ESPN+
Live Radio Broadcast on 96.7 3WZ
Live Stats
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VMI (1-0, 1-0 SoCon)
Roster
Coaching Staff
Schedule/Results
Statistics
Game Notes
2020-21 Fact Book
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Western Carolina (0-5, 0-2 SoCon)
Roster
Schedule/Results
Coaching Staff
Statistics
Game Notes
Media Guide
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VMI GETS WIN OVER RANKED OPPONENT IN OPENER – Program history was already made last Saturday when VMI football started its first ever spring football season at Foster Stadium. The day ended up with more significant achievements as VMI knocked off #10 ranked Furman, 14-13, for its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2002 when the Keydets topped Wofford on Parents Weekend in Lexington. The win, VMI's first in a season opener since 2010, got national attention as VMI received votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll for only the third time in program history. It was also the first Keydets win over Furman since the 2014 season.

RIDDLE NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Redshirt senior outside linebacker Connor Riddle (Stafford, Va.) was named Stats Perform National Defensive Player of the Week and Southern Conference Defensive Player of the Week after a career-day in the 14-13 win as he posted a career-high 13 tackles (4.5 for loss), including four solo and nine assisted takedowns. He earned a career-high two sacks on the day with both coming on Furman's final drive as the Paladins were moving toward field goal range on their final drive of the game. He also broke up a third down pass near midfield on Furman's final drive of the third quarter which forced the Paladins to punt and helped set up VMI's game winning touchdown drive on the ensuing possession.

DEFENSE STINGY IN OPENER – The VMI defense held Furman scoreless after halftime in the 14-13 win last Saturday, marking the first time since September 4, 2010 (Lock Haven, W 48-6) that the Keydets held an opponent off the board in the second half.

A VMI Win over Western Carolina would ...
Give VMI its first win over the Catamounts since the 1991 season.

THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting between VMI and Western Carolina will be the 26th meeting between the schools with the Catamounts holding a 22-3 advantage. The Catamounts have taken 17 straight in the series with VMI's last win in the series coming on November 9, 1991 in Lexington, 27-25. The series began in 1978 and despite the one-sided results in the series, three of the last four meetings between the schools have been decided by an average of 4.3 points.

MORE "D" NOTES – Not only did VMI hold an opponent scoreless in the second half for the first time since 2010, it was also the first time the Keydets had kept an FCS opponent scoreless after halftime since 2008 when the Keydets posted a 49-0 blanking of St. Francis (Pa.). The 13 points allowed Furman last Saturday was also the fewest allowed a conference opponent since October 8, 2016 when VMI defeated ETSU, 37-7.

UDINSKI MOVING UP THE CHARTS - After completing 27 of 38 passes for 248 yards in the season opener against Furman, senior quarterback Reece Udinski continues to march upward on the VMI record charts. He notched his 19th career 200-yard game and has now thrown 43 touchdown passes which ties Al Cobb (2014-16) for the most in school history. He also has 686 career completions and needs 18 more to surpass Cobb in that category. With his next pass attempt Udinski will move past Cobb for the all-time spot for career completions and currently has 1,134.

FIRST TD CATCHES - Two VMI receivers each snagged their first career touchdown receptions Saturday against Furman. Junior wide receiver Michael Jackson caught an 11-yard score from Reece Udinski in the second quarter for VMI's first points of the 2020-21 season. True freshman wideout Chance Knox caught what proved to be the game winner with 0:17 seconds left in the third quarter when he gathered in a 19-yard pass from Udinski in the right corner of the endzone.

FIRST STARTS - Five Keydets made their first career start in the season opener against Furman last Saturday – NT Eric Weaver, DE Jaylon Haney, CB Alex Oliver, C Ayden Jilson, and OT Jacob Peace.

HERRES SURPASSES CENTURY MARK – With five receptions for 57 yards, junior wide receiver Jakob Herres now has 104 career receptions and needs eight more to surpass former tight end Steve Pancham (1982-85) for 10th spot on the VMI all-time reception list.

VMI LOOKS TO BUILD ON BREAKTHROUGH 2019 CAMPAIGN - The 2019 season stood as a significant step forward for the VMI football program and the 2020-21 edition of the Keydets looks to build upon that success. VMI football posted five wins overall in 2019 – the most since 2003 when VMI posted a 6-6 mark. The Keydets closed out the regular season with a 31-24 win over Chattanooga to finish with a 4-4 mark in SoCon play which marked the first time since 1979 that the VMI had secured four conference wins in a season. The Keydets also reclaimed the Silver Shako trophy for the first time in 13 meetings after an October win over The Citadel in the Military Classic of the South. The 2019 squad established a new VMI school single season mark with for total offense (4,887) and passing yards (3,429) and the 370 points scored was the second highest in Institute history. Coach Scott Wachenheim was voted 2019 Southern Conference Coach of the Year by the league coaches and became the first VMI coach to achieve the honor since Cal McCombs in 2002.

UDINSKI HEADLINES ALL-SOCON PRESEASON SELECTIONS -VMI quarterback Reece Udinski was named the Southern Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year at the SoCon Football Media Day held virtually in late January. Udinski was named to the preseason First Team Offense along with VMI offensive lineman Nick Hartnett. On the defensive side, Keydet lineman Jordan Ward and safety AJ Smith were named to the First Team Defense. Junior wide receiver Jakob Herres was named to the Second Team Offense and junior kick returner Korey Bridy was named to the Second Team Special Teams unit.The second-team All-SoCon quarterback last season, Udinski threw for a league-best 3,276 yards in 2019, pacing the SoCon in passing yards per game with 273.0 and total offense with 262.9 yards per game. The senior from North Wales, Pennsylvania, also threw for a SoCon-best 19 touchdowns, completing 306 of his 479 pass attempts with just five interceptions. Udinski set an FCS single-season record for consecutive passes without an interception, opening the season with 368 passes without one to surpass the previous FCS mark by 26 and smash the SoCon record by 165.Udinski enters his senior season ninth in league history with 658 completed passes, tied for sixth with nine games of at least 300 yards passing and tied for fourth with three games of 400 yards passing or more.

DEFENSIVE STANDOUT JORDAN WARD TO WEAR "0" IN 2020-21 - The number zero plays a central role in mathematics and physics and serves as a placeholder in value systems. Its importance cannot be overstated. The same could be said of the VMI football cadet-athlete who will wear the jersey "0" for the first time in program history.Senior defensive end and team captain Jordan Ward leaves jersey "94" behind and wear the new number "0" into competition when VMI football takes the field in the spring. It's a responsibility the mechanical engineering major from Frederick, Maryland gladly accepts with pride. In 2019, he led the team in tackles for loss with 11 for 41 yards and produced six quarterback hurries which was second on the team and fourth in the conference. All this while seeing the most plays of all Keydet defensive linemen with 773 total snaps. In addition to serving as a team captain, Ward also serves on the SoCon Racial Equity and Justice Task Force.

BREAKING DOWN THE ROSTER - VMI returns seven offense starters and six defensive starters plus one specialist for the 2020-21 spring football season. Of the 97 cadet-athletes on the current football roster, 63 are freshman eligibility although 21 are designated redshirt freshmen. Of those 21 redshirt freshmen, eight saw game action in 2019 during their "true" freshmen season. The rest of the roster breaks down to 15 sophomores, 12 juniors, and six seniors.

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