LEXINGTON, Va. – With both teams looking for their first conference win, VMI Football returns to Foster Stadium on Saturday as it hosts the ETSU Bucs for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.
 

VMI BESTED BY HIGH-POWERED WESTERN CAROLINA OFFENSE – The Keydets visited Cullowhee – a place where they have only been victorious once – on Saturday afternoon, falling to Western Carolina 38-17. The Catamounts, which entered the weekend second in all of FCS for total offense, totaled 521 yards on 80 plays, while the Keydets logged 270 yards of total offense on 67 plays. The Keydet defense and special teams battled all day – forcing two picks and blocking a punt for the second straight week. While Collin Ironside was named starter prior to the game, Seth Morgan came on late in relief after Ironside passed for a touchdown, rushed for a score but threw two picks. The story of the season continued to be Chance Knox, who set career highs in receptions (9) and yards (105).
 
SCOUTING THE BUCS – Despite being preseason No. 2 in the SoCon Coaches and Media Polls, ETSU is off to an 0-3 start in the league season. Most recently, the Bucs hosted No. 10 Chattanooga and held a 13-3 lead going into the fourth quarter where they were outscored 21-3. Tyler Riddell (Preseason First Team) has gotten the majority of the snaps for the Bucs, tossing seven touchdowns but has also thrown five picks. ETSU had a league-high 11 players on the preseason All-SoCon teams, including Preseason Player of the Year Jacob Saylors. The running back leads conference players with an average of 136.0 all-purpose yards per game while Will Huzzie and Einaj Carter are the top two receiving threats for ETSU, each hauling in three touchdowns.
 
HOW THEY RANK – The turnover battle will be key against the Bucs, as they rank 5^th in the country in turnovers gained (11), 8^th in fumbles recovered (6) and 23^rd in turnover margin (0.60). The ETSU defense has also done a good job on third downs, allowing teams just a 32 percent conversion rate (23^rd, FCS). The aforementioned Saylors has racked up some numbers on the ground, ranking 4^th in FCS for rushing yards with 570, and sixth in rushing yards per game (114.0). On the defensive side, Chandler Martin has totaled a league-high 57 tackles, 2.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss. Alijah Huzzie has been fantastic in the secondary, leading the nation in passes defended (2.4), pacing the SoCon with three interceptions.
 
THE SERIES – ETSU has the all-time edge in the series 17-10, but the Keydets are an even 7-7 when playing in Lexington. The last two contests have been one-score games, with ETSU prevailing 24-20 and 27-20. VMI's last victory came on September 14, 2019, when VMI won 31-24 in overtime and VMI's last win at Foster Stadium was in 2016 when it rolled to a 37-7 win.
 
A VMI Win over ETSU would ...
--Be VMI's first victory in the series since 2019, first win in Lexington since 2016
--Improve VMI's record to 8-7 against ETSU in Lexington
--Give the Keydets their first SoCon win of the season

NATIONAL NUMBERS – VMI special teams has been consistently strong this season, with its three blocked punts tying for 6^th in the nation, while their kickoff unit is limiting teams to 16.6 yards (26^th, FCS). Stone Snyder continues to rack up numbers on the defensive side, with his 11.5 tackles per game ranking 4^th, while Evan Eller's 10.5 per game are 10^th and Snyder's 5.5 solo tackles per game is 18^th. Christian Dunn has been a force on the line, with 0.75 sacks per game (35^th), with the defensive unit totaling five interceptions thus far (28^th).
 
STATS AMONG THE SOCON – VMI's defense has been the driving force for the Keydets, ranking third among SoCon teams with five interceptions on the year. When forcing teams to fourth-down attempts, have held teams to just 2-for-9 (22.2%) which ranks second among league teams. Chance Knox (2^nd) and Leroy Thomas (8^th) both rank in the top 10 in receptions per game while Christian Dunn's 3.0 sacks rank 9^th.
 
TAKE A CHANCE – Chance Knox continues to be the go-to target for VMI quarterbacks, posting a career-high 9 receptions and 105 yards at Western Carolina. The junior from Charleston, West Virginia has 27 catches for 264 yards and a touchdown through four games, with his average of 6.8 receptions per game is 13^th among FCS receivers. Leroy Thomas has been another favorite target for Keydet quarterbacks, hauling in 17 catches for 153 yards.
 
CLIMBING THE CHARTS – Sending the 31^st field goal of his career through the uprights at Western Carolina, Jerry Rice is now tied for second place at VMI for career field goals, matching Wade Hawkins' 31. Rice is also fifth at VMI with 72 PATs, just one behind Mike Harris' 73. Jeff Sexton sits in third with 86 made PATs for his career.