LEXINGTON, Va. – After a month away, the VMI Football team returned home on Saturday as it hosted Samford, falling to the Bulldogs by a score of 27-14.
"Wholistically, really good quarterback, really good system and they were getting into good plays," said VMI Head Coach Danny Rocco of Samford. "They had a really good game plan to do what they wanted to do, our game plan was not as efficient as it needed to be. In the second half we made some adjustments to give ourselves a chance to win the game."
What's Next
VMI now falls to 3-4 overall on the season, moving to an even 2-2 in conference play. The Keydets will remain home, hosting Chattanooga at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Key Stats
- Samford (preseason No. 2 in SoCon) totals 438 yards to VMI's 336, with time of possession nearly even
- Hunter Rice rushes for career-high 119 yards and a score, now has four touchdowns in last four games
- Aidan Twombly records third touchdown of the season, totals 73 yards on six catches
- Collin Ironside throws for 182 yards and a touchdown, sacked four times
- Christian Dunn and Eric Rankin each record 12.0 tackles, Rankin adds a sack (1.5 TFL)
- Jack Culbreath punts seven times, averages 48.1 yards per kick including career-high 76-yard boot
- Isaiah Lemmond totals 72 yards on five catches
- Evan Eller, Alex Oliver each record 9.0 tackles
Catching up with Coach (Rocco)
On the Defensive Game Plan
"In past weeks they had been throwing the ball deep downfield. They were really striking quickly with shots and wheel routes, posts, fades and gos, but they didn't do that at all today. We went into the game with the mindset that we need to stop these shots and designed our defense accordingly, and to their (Samford), for whatever reason, they chose to play a different game. At halftime, we adjusted and got back to the game they were playing."
On the Fake Punt
"On the fake punt, we were going to pressure their punter, we slid into an unbalanced look on defense and to their credit they checked into a fake. Really the margins in the game are much tighter. Without that play it's a one-score game."
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
- Samford forces a VMI three and out to start the game, drives down the field but Keydets hold Bulldogs to a field goal (3-0)
- Jay Stanton scores on a 32-yard run to put Samford up 10-0
Second Quarter
- Keydets answer on ensuing possession with a Hunter Rice 47-yard touchdown run (10-7)
- Stanton and the Samford offense strike again, as a 36-yard run makes it 17-7 Bulldogs
- Ironside found Aidan Twombly for a 25-yard gain, setting up an Ironside to Twombly 30-yard score two plays later (17-14)
- VMI Defense holds strong, but a Samford fake punt ultimately leads to a third score on the ground, tack on field goal just before half (27-14)
Third Quarter
- Teams traded possessions early, VMI offense converts fourth-down opportunities but ultimately has field goal blocked
Fourth Quarter
- The Keydet defense continued to hold strong, and the VMI offense stayed aggressive, turning the ball over on downs at the 6:07 mark as they attempted to cut into the 13-point deficit
- VMI had some life late, blocking a field goal at the 2:28 mark to keep the game alive
- Ironside and the offense marched all the way down to the five, but couldn't convert on fourth, ending the game 27-14
