Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina heads to northern Virginia this Saturday for a Southern Conference meeting with the resurgent VMI Keydets at Foster Stadium. Kickoff between the Catamounts and the Keydets is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network (CSN) with live streaming audio available online at CatamountSports.com. Fans across the region can also hear the game beginning at 12:30 pm with the Pepsi Tailgate Show on eight CSN affiliates: in Cullowhee on 90.5 WWCU FM; 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC “The River” in Sylva; 104.9 FM & 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM and 102.9 FM in Asheville; and 970 AM WYSE in Canton.
The 26th all-time series meeting between WCU and VMI will also be broadcast on ESPN + (subscription required) with live streaming video available online with Wade Branner (play-by-play) and Chip Tarkenton (color commentary) on the call.
For a third time this season, Western Carolina (1-7, 0-5 SoCon) faces a team that is coming off its bye week the previous weekend. Gardner-Webb, Wofford, and now VMI each had their seasonal open date the week before facing WCU – and North Greenville played a Thursday night game prior to its trip to Cullowhee giving the Crusaders a couple of extra days in preparation for the Catamounts.
Saturday's game is all about streaks and skids. WCU looks to put an end to a five-game seasonal slide while also trying to halt a nine-game road losing skid which is currently tied for the eighth-longest active streak in NCAA FCS football. WCU also looks for its first SoCon victory in its past 12 games – the second-longest league-game winless drought in FCS – while trying to extend what has reached a 16-game series winning streak against VMI, last falling in the series back in 1991.
WCU leads the all-time series with the Keydets, 22-3, with each of the three defeats in the head-to-head meetings coming in Lexington, Va. The Catamounts dropped back-to-back road contests to VMI in 1988 and 1991, but have won seven straight on the road in the series as a part of the 16-straight victories.
Western Carolina faces the league's top passer – VMI's junior QB Reece Udinski – and one of the top rushing threats this season in redshirt junior RB Alex Ramsey. Udinski has completed 63-percent of his passes this season (218-for-344) for 2,314 yards and 14 touchdowns without throwing an interception. Ramsey leads the SoCon – and FCS football – with 17 rushing touchdowns, averaging a SoCon-best 116.9 rushing yards per game. Behind those two, VMI ranks third in the league in scoring offense (34.6 ppg) while ranking second in total offense with 440.2 yards per game aided by the SoCon's top passing attack at 305.0 yards per game.
Conversely, VMI ranks behind WCU in overall total defense in the conference this year, surrendering 458.6 yards per game to rank eighth while sitting seventh just ahead of WCU with 34.9 points per game allowed. Teams have averaged over 200 rushing yards per game against the Keydets while allowing 251.8 yards through the air to opposing offenses.
WCU has found scores on its opening possession in each of the past four games including game-opening drive touchdowns in three of those four. However, the success hasn't been sustained, unfortunately, as the Catamount ground game has been held below the 100-yard mark in back-to-back weeks – and three times this season – with just two touchdowns in its last two games offensively.
Three of the last four series meetings have been decided by four points or less including a shootout last year in Cullowhee in which WCU won, 52-50, as VMI scored two touchdowns over the final four minutes with the would-be game-tying two-point conversion failing.
Game 9: Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019 • 1:30 pm
Location: Lexington, Va. (Foster Stadium – 10,000)
Records: Western Carolina (1-7, 0-5 SoCon) at VMI (4-4, 3-2 SoCon)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Online Video Stream: ESPN+ (subscription required)
PBP: Wade Branner; Color: Chip Tarkenton
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PBP: Gary Ayers; Color: Daniel Hooker; Sideline: Greg McLamb; Producer: Jeff Bryson
CSN Affiliates:
- Cullowhee – WWCU, 90.5 FM
- Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
- Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
- Asheville – WISE Sports Radio 102.9 FM / 1310 AM
- Canton – WYSE Sports Radio 970 AM
- Online: CatamountSports.com
Western Carolina head coach Mark Speir reflected on the tough Homecoming Day loss last Saturday to the 14th-ranked Furman Paladins before previewing this Saturday's road SoCon match-up at VMI in the latest installment of "Catamount Football Weekly,” originally recorded live-on-location on Monday (Oct. 28) night at BC Outdoors Cullowhee Taproom located on campus at Noble Hall in Cullowhee. Join Speir and the CSN crew each Monday night at 7 pm at BC Outdoors in Cullowhee.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports) and Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
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