Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina embarks on its longest Southern Conference road trip as it wraps up the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 20, traveling to Lexington, Va., and Foster Stadium for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff against the defending conference champion, VMI Keydets.
Saturday's game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network (CSN) with airtime of the Pepsi Tailgate Show at 11:30 a.m. Fans across western North Carolina can hear the game locally on seven CSN affiliates: in Sylva, 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC "The River"; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM WFSC in Franklin; WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM and 102.9 FM in Asheville; and 970 AM WYSE in Canton, with
live streaming audio online at CatamountSports.com.
The 28th all-time series meeting between WCU and VMI will be
broadcast live on ESPN+ (
paid subscription required) with Wade Branner and Chip Tarkenton on the call. Fans can also follow the game with
live stats by VMI accessible online at CatamountSports.com with timely in-game updates on Twitter using @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
Western Carolina looks to finish the season with its third-straight conference road victory, most recently upending both The Citadel (45-31) and Wofford (41-21) to spark a three-game win streak following the bye week. WCU last won three-consecutive SoCon road games in the same season back in 1984. A win would allow the Catamounts to post a 4-4 (.500) league record which would represent the most conference wins by WCU since winning five in 2017 – and would give first-year head coach
Kerwin Bell his fourth win in Cullowhee, the most by a first-year head coach since Kent Briggs won five back in 2002.
Losers of two straight on the road,
VMI (6-4, 4-3 SoCon) fell from the national rankings this week, though the Keydets are still receiving votes in both polls. VMI needs a win to keep its postseason hopes alive, while also securing a seventh seasonal victory for the first time since 1977. As the Keydets honor 15 seniors on Saturday, VMI also seeks to remain perfect at home this fall (4-0) already with wins over Davidson, Wofford, Chattanooga (in OT), and Samford. Three of the four victories came in one-possession games with two by three-or-fewer points – 37-34 in OT over UTC and a one-point, 46-45, win over Samford.
WCU leads the all-time series with the Keydets, 23-4, with three of VMI's victories coming at home in Lexington, Va., all time – 1981, 1988, and 1991. The Catamounts hold a 10-3 edge in the series away from Cullowhee including eight-straight victories. VMI snapped WCU's 17-game win streak last season by scoring its first-ever road win, 30-7, over the Catamounts in Cullowhee.
Two of the top passing teams in the SoCon will match up on Saturday in Lexington featuring two of the best quarterbacks and five of the top receiving threats. WCU leads the SoCon – and ranks ninth nationally – with an average of 312.3 passing yards per game, just ahead of third-place VMI at 262.6 yards per game. WCU is second in the league in total offense at 456.5 yards per game while the Keydets are fourth averaging 417.9 yards per game.
Fifth-year graduate student QB
Rogan Wells is second in the SoCon in passing (274.5 yds/gm), passing touchdowns (16), and in total offense (333.0 yds/gm). He squares off against VMI's Seth Morgan who is third in passing (218.9 yds/gm) and total offense (235.2 yds/gm) and has thrown 12 TD passes.
On the receiving end, VMI boasts three of the top 10 receivers in both receptions and receiving yards while WCU has two ranked among the SoCon's best including league-leader
Raphael Williams – 7.0 receptions and 91.4 receiving yards per game. Tailback
Kenny Benjamin ranks sixth with 4.7 catches per game out of the WCU backfield. VMI's Jakob Herres (5.9 rec/gm, 2nd; 62.5 yds/gm, 6th), Leroy Thomas (5.3 rec/gm, 4th; 54.7 yds/gm, 7th), and Michael Jackson (5.1 rec/gm, 5th; 69.5 yds/gm, 3rd) headline the Keydet aerial attack.
But neither defense can afford to sleep on the ground game, though, as VMI ran for 194 yards – its second-most in a game last season – in Cullowhee with Korey Bridy gaining 86 yards with two touchdowns in last year's meeting. Bridy averages 72.7 yards per game on the ground this season, seventh in the SoCon, while WCU's Wells is averaging 58.5 rushing yards per game that includes a pair of 100-yard outings.
The two defenses are highlighted by three of the top tacklers in the SoCon this season. VMI's Stone Snyder, who was a co-defensive player of the year in the league last spring, paces the conference with 11.1 tackles per game while WCU's fifth-year senior LB
Kareem Taylor is fourth at 9.4 tackles per game. DB
Jacob Harris is averaging 7.4 tackles per game, seventh overall, while VMI's Josh Knapp is tied for 10th with a 7.1 average. Catamount LB
Ivan Hogans is among the league's best with 10.0 tackles for loss this season.
In the third phase of Saturday's game, two of the more accurate field goal kickers will be on the field as WCU's
Richard McCollum is perfect in all 11 attempts while VMI's Jerry Rice has split the uprights on 16-of-18 attempts (88.9%), leading the SoCon in field goals made.
Saturday's amended kickoff time is slated for 12:30 pm.
Western Carolina vs. VMI – All-Time Series:
The Catamounts and Keydets meet for the 28th time on the football gridiron since 1978 with WCU leading, 23-4 … FOUR of the last SIX meetings have been decided in one-possession games with three decided by four points or fewer … WCU leads in games played in Lexington, Va., 10-3 … Last season, VMI snapped WCU's 17-game series win streak that dated back to 1992 – it also halted WCU's 13-game win streak in Cullowhee as VMI earned its first road victory in the series.
Game 11: Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 • 12:30 pm
Location: Lexington, Va. (Foster Stadium – 10,000)
Records: Western Carolina (3-7, 3-4 SoCon) at RV/RV VMI (6-4, 4-3 SoCon)
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
TV / Video Stream: ESPN+ (
cable 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:
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
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).
