Wofford opens season with 42-14 win over The Citadel
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – To open the 2026 season, the Wofford College football team used a balanced attack to defeat The Citadel 42-14 on Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium. The Terriers took a 21-0 lead at halftime and added three touchdowns in the second half to secure the SoCon win.
Wofford is 1-0 and The Citadel is 0-1 to begin the season. J.T. Fayard was 18-of-26 passing with 176 yards and two touchdowns, while Gerald Modest Jr. added 105 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Citadel was led by quarterback Quentin Hayes with 92 rushing yards and 88 passing yards.
“Well, none of them are easy, but we executed really well tonight,” said head coach Shawn Watson. “I thought the defense had some big turnovers to put us in good field position offensively. The offense stopped themselves twice with two interceptions, but that’s it. We moved the ball the rest of time. I am really pleased with how we played offensively and with how we played defensively. Then, our special teams was really good with big plays. I just credit it to the staff. The staff has done a tremendous job. I love what we got going right now. We’ve got really good chemistry on our staff, and we’ve got good chemistry in our locker room. And together, it’s a pretty powerful thing. It just feels good to see it come out the way it did tonight.”
The Terriers had the ball first and had three first downs before an interception. The Bulldogs gained a pair of first downs before a pass break-up by Eli Campbell on third down forced a punt. With the ball back, Wofford had four first downs to move inside the redzone. Gerald Modest Jr. capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first quarter.
The Citadel gained two first downs before having to punt on the first play of the second quarter. Eli Campbell blocked the punt and it was recovered by Davis Penn, who returned it 45 yards for a touchdown. After the Bulldogs had one first down and punted, Wofford drove with three first downs. An interception at the one-yard line was returned past midfield by the Bulldogs. On fourth-and-three, The Citadel converted for a first down and added another first down. A fumble was forced by Elijah Washington and recovered by Javario Tinch at the two-yard line. Wofford was unable to gain a first down and punted.
The Citadel went three-and-out and punted. Wofford had the ball back with 1:52 on the clock and had to punt, but the return was muffed by the Bulldogs and Joshua Hodge recovered at the 32-yard line for the Terriers. Following a first down by penalty, Gerald Modest Jr. found the endzone with a five-yard run to give Wofford a 21-0 lead. The Citadel gained one first down before the half ended.
To begin the second half, The Citadel had five first downs and scored on a four-yard run for a 21-7 game with 7:28 left in the third quarter. With the ball back, Wofford drove down the field with five first downs. Kaeden Gilstrap found Ivory Aikens in the corner of the endzone for a five-yard touchdown and a 28-7 lead with three minutes remaining in the quarter. On the first play of the ensuing drive by The Citadel, Ky’Ree Murphy intercepted a pass and returned it to the eight-yard line. Wofford capitalized with a one-yard touchdown pass to Colby Alexander as the Terriers took a 35-7 lead with 48 seconds left.
With the ball back, the Bulldogs three first downs before failing to convert a fourth-down opportunity. Wofford took over at the 34-yard line and drove the field with the drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from J.T. Fayard to Colby Alexander for a 42-7 lead with 5:37 left on the clock. The Citadel responded with a six-yard touchdown run with 1:49 remaining in the game with the Terriers leading 42-14. Wofford was able to gain one first down and run out the clock to get the postgame fireworks started.
Wofford had 341 total yards on offense, with 181 passing yards and 160 rushing yards. The Citadel had 351 total yards, with 227 of those rushing yards. Wofford had 24 first downs to 21for the Bulldogs. Wofford was 5-of-8 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. The Citadel was 5-of-12 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth down. Wofford had one penalty for 5 yards, while The Citadel had four penalties for 50 yards. The Citadel had a 35:05 to 24:55 time of possession advantage.
Wofford vs. The Citadel Post-Game Notes
This was the 90th meeting of the two teams. The Bulldogs have a 45-34-1 lead in the series that began in 1916. Wofford has won four of the last five meetings.
Gerald Modest Jr. had his first career 100-yard game with 105 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. It was the ninth 100+ rushing game by a Terrier since the 2022 season.
The touchdown on the blocked punt return by freshman Davis Penn was the first of his career. Freshman Kyree Murphy had his first career interception, while sophomore Tyce Donnelly had his first solo sack.
The Wofford defense was led by Wyatt Ward with 13 tackles. Elijah Washington had his first career forced fumble, with Javario Tinch having his second career fumble recovery.
The win ended three notable streaks, as Wofford had previously lost five straight season openers, five straight home openers, and five straight SoCon openers.
