Cullowhee, N.C. – For seven of the next eight weeks, Western Carolina football's potential path back to the postseason includes seven Southern Conference opponents, four on the road and three at home. The first step is Saturday as the Catamounts look for their third consecutive seasonal victory, leaving the state of North Carolina for the first time with a league road matchup at Wofford.
Kickoff from Wofford's on-campus Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required).
Fans across western North Carolina can listen to the game on the Catamount Sports Network with coverage beginning with the Pepsi Tailgate Show at 12:30 p.m., with WCU Hall of Famer Gary Ayers, Jeff Bryson, and Daniel Hooker on the call. Five network affiliates across the mountains are set to carry the CSN broadcast, including longtime affiliates 105.7 FM and 540 AM WRGC in Sylva; 104.9 FM and 1050 AM in Franklin; WISE Sports Radio 1310 AM in Asheville; and 103.9 FM WBRM BIGFOOT Country in Marion and the I-40 corridor.
Live stat links and online audio from CSN are available through CatamountSports.com, with in-game updates provided on Twitter / X, using the handles, @Catamounts and @CatamountsFB.
Opening Kick:
Saturday's Southern Conference matchup includes two teams heading in opposite directions entering October. Western Carolina shook off an early-season three-game slide by getting offensive and securing victories in its last two outings, including a home tally in its SoCon opener over Samford and last week in its nonconference finale at Campbell.
Meanwhile, Wofford limped into its bye week on the wrong end of a four-game winless drought to open 2025. However, don't let the O-fers start to confuse you; the Terriers have been uber-competitive in each of their three NCAA FCS matchups. The three losses have come by a mere combined six points, including one-point defeats at South Carolina State (16-15) and a league-opening 22-21 loss at preseason favorite Mercer. Sandwiched between was a four-point home loss to Richmond (14-10).
WCU has likewise faced several close calls with a pair of one-score defeats, falling by seven to Gardner-Webb (52-45) and by six to Elon (37-31). And speaking of the Catamounts, WCU moved back into the national conversation this week by receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll for the first time since Sept. 8, though the media has been slower to come around, as WCU did not earn votes in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25.
Saturday pits the Southern Conference's top offense – Western Carolina at 482.8 yards per game – against the league's third-best defense as Wofford is limiting teams to 382.7 yards per outing. WCU tops the SoCon in passing (350.6 yds/gm) and scoring (35.6 ppg), while Wofford has surrendered an average of 259.3 passing yards per game, fifth in the SoCon, while boasting the conference's top scoring defense (17.3 ppg).
About Saturday's Opponent – the Wofford Terriers:
Wofford is winless on the season at 0-4 despite a trio of extremely close NCAA FCS losses, and enters the weekend coming off of its bye week. Symmetrically, the Terriers are also 0-4 the week following the bye over the past four seasons, with a pair of those defeats at the hands of WCU.
Wofford returns 10 combined starters, including four on offense, four on defense, and a pair of specialists. The Terriers put six players on the preseason All-SoCon lists, headlined by DB C.J. Coombes, who earned a spot on the first team and landed on the preseason watch list for the Buck Buchanan Award for the nation's top defender. Coombes collected SoCon Defensive Player of the Week plaudits back on Sept. 8, following a five-tackle performance against Richmond, adding a 72-yard interception return for a TD for the Terriers.
Wofford was picked seventh in the preseason SoCon Coaches Poll.
Western Carolina vs. Wofford – All-Time Series:
The Catamounts and Terriers meet for the 47th time on Saturday in a series that dates back to 1952. WCU trails in the all-time series, 18-28, including a mark of 6-16 in games played in Spartanburg. Following last year's 21-17 decision in Cullowhee without fans in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, WCU has won four straight over the Terriers, the second-longest series win streak for the Catamounts – and has wins in six of the last 10 meetings overall.
Inside the Numbers:
Since the return of QB
Taron Dickens, the Catamount offense has gone from Varsity level to Heisman level in terms of its videogame-like production. WCU amassed 1,117 yards of total offense over its first three games – but has kicked it up a notch over its last two to the tune of 1,297 yards of production. WCU has rocketed to No. 7 nationally with a SoCon-leading 482.8 yards per game average, which includes the nation's second-best passing offense at 350.6 yards per game.
Conversely, Wofford has struggled on offense entering the weekend, ranking 126th out of 126 NCAA FCS teams in offensive production with 181.8 yards per game and a 3.65 yards per play average. Despite surrendering an average of 401 yards of offense to the opposition, the Terriers' "bend but don't break" mentality has Wofford tied for 31st nationally, with only 22.5 points surrendered per contest. They are also tight against the run, limiting teams to just 131 yards per contest, tied for 28th. Wofford is also +1 in turnover margin, tied for 11th nationally at this point of the season.
What the Dickens:
Coming off his school-best fourth 400-plus yard passing performance, QB
Taron Dickens has thrown for 1,009 yards this season with 10 touchdowns. By comparison, Wofford as a team through four games has just 1,080 yards through the air and five passing scores. As an individual, Dickens would currently rank 46th in the NCAA FCS in terms of total passing yards and tied for 11th with 10 passing scores.
Saturday marks the first game that Dickens will have played against Wofford in his Catamount career.
Up Next for Western Carolina:
The Catamounts play their lone October home game next Saturday (Oct. 11), returning to the friendly confines of E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field as the best game day atmosphere in the Southern Conference springs to life ahead of the "Battle for Purple Supremacy," as WCU hosts Furman. Next Saturday's game has been dubbed "Heroes Day," and WCU will celebrate its long-standing relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on EBCI Day.
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Broadcast Options for Saturday at Wofford:
Game 6: Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 • 1:30 p.m.
Location: Spartanburg, S.C. (Gibbs Stadium – 13,000)
Records: Western Carolina (2-3, 1-0 SoCon) at Wofford (0-4, 0-1 SoCon)
Wofford Live Stats Link
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Video Stream: ESPN+ (
subscription required) –
Watch ESPN (link)
PxP: Jim Noble; Analyst: Thom Henson; Sideline: Van Hipp
Listen LIVE:
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
PxP: Gary Ayers; Analyst: Daniel Hooker; Producer: Jeff Bryson
CSN Affiliates:
Sylva – 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC
Franklin – 104.9 FM / 1050 AM WFSC
Asheville – 1310 AM WISE Sports Radio
Online:
CatamountSports.com -
Click HERE to Listen to CSN
Keep track of everything related to Catamount football and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (FB.com/CatamountSports; FB.com/catamountsportsnetwork) and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountsFB).
