2019 Football Preseason Preview: VMI Keydets

Throughout this preseason, Purple & Gold will preview all of Western Carolina's 2019 football opponents.

For the ninth game of the season, the Cats travel to Lexington, VA to play the VMI Keydets.

The Cats have won all five games against the Keydets since their return to the Southern Conference in 2014, can we make it six in a row on the road?







Game #9 - VMI Keydets

When: Saturday, November 2 - Time: 1:30 pm  EST
Where: Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium (10,000), Lexington, VA
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV/video:  ESPN3 or ESPN+

The Series: Western currently leads the series with VMI, by a 21-3 margin. The Cats and Keydets first played on the gridiron in 1978, and the Cats currently own a fifteen game winning streak over the Keydets, having swept the Keydets since their return to the Southern Conference.

The last game played vs. VMI:  September 23, 2018 - WCU wins Wild SoCon Opener, 52-50 over VMI Cullowhee, N.C. – Tyrie Adams rushed for a season-high 117 yards and scored his fourth touchdown on the ground this season, adding three TD passes to help lead Western Carolina to a wild 52-50 victory over VMI in the squad’s Southern Conference season opener Saturday afternoon in front of 12,759 fans at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. Leading by 15 with just over six minutes remaining in regulation after a Michael Murphy 46-yard interception return for a touchdown, the Catamounts had to hold-off a feverish Keydet rally as VMI scored two touchdowns over the final four minutes to pull to within two points. Javeon Lara hauled in a 10-yard strike from quarterback Reece Udinski at the 4:01 mark before Jakob Herres corralled a 12-yard strike to cap a 15-play scoring drive to make it 52-50.

Head Coach: Scott Wachenheim - Scott Wachenheim enters his fifth season as VMI’s head football coach, and he continues to guide the program with a steady hand in one of the toughest conferences in FCS. The program continues to build a solid foundation with young personnel, and since his debut season in 2015, Wachenheim has transformed expectations and attitudes within the VMI football program and has shown that sustainable success can be attained with enthusiasm, hard work, resilience, and dedication. Three years ago, the Keydet football program showed such potential in Wachenheim’s second season that the Keydets were significantly more competitive in a Southern Conference that produced four teams that reached the FCS playoffs. Overall, the scoring margin improved from -11.9 in 2015 to -7.3 and the Keydets started the season 3-2 for the first time since 2003 and in the process won back-to-back road games for the first time in 35 years. The three wins also were the most in a season since 2010.


Last Season's Record (VMI): 2018 - 1-10 overall, 1-5 home, 0-5 away,  0-8 SoCon

Offensive Formation: Air Raid
-2018 Offensive: 23.4 ppg. (93rd in FCS)
Defensive Formation: 3-4
-2018 Defensive: 48.2 ppg. (124st in FCS)
Starters returning/lost:    19   /   8
Offensive starters - Returning/Lost:  8   /  3
Defensive starters - Returning/Lost:   8   /   3
Specialist - Returning/Lost:    3    /    0
Letterwinners Returning: 56

Key Personnel Lost  -
Offense (3) WR – Kris Thornton; OL – Cole Brummit; RB – Quan Myers
Defense (3) DL- Zack Baker; OLB – Uzoma Kpaduwa; DB- Colin Loftis

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Four VMI football players were named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference teams announced by the league at the 2019 SoCon Football Media Day. Senior wide receiver Javeon Lara was named first-team offense, while junior quarterback Reece Udinski was named to the second-team offense. On the defensive side, junior AJ Smith was named to the first-team defense and on special teams, senior Rohan Martin was named a second-team return specialist. The Kevdets were picked to finish 9th by both the coaches and Media in the SoCon polls.

While the Keydets were shut out in conference play last season, they lost 4 conference games by a total of 14 points, losing by 2 points to both Western Carolina &  the Citadel, by 3 points to ETSU, and by 7 points to Chattanooga.  All four games could have gone in the other direction, so the Keydets could have easily finished 4-4 in the SoCon. While the Keydets were young last season, they will return 19 starters in 2019, 8 each on offense and defense and 3 on special teams. This team could make some serious noise in the conference this season that many teams will not expect. I'd be really surprised if they are winless in conference play this season.

Reece Udinski returns as the Keydet quarterback, but his number one receiver, Kris Thornton will not be in a Keydet uniform in 2019, but senior wide receiver Javeon Lara can fill the shoes of Thornton, the question will be, can one or two other receives step up to pull down the needed yardage to make this offense effective. Again the year, the Keydets will be unbalanced with their "Air Raid", but should be able to run just enough to keep most defensive units somewhat off guard.  In 2018, the Keydets finished second in the SoCon in passing yards, with 310.1 ypg (just ahead of the Cats), while Western finished dead last in pass defense, giving up an average of 261.5 yards per game. Without an improvement in pass coverage for the Cat defense, this is an area of great concern in playing against the Keydets.


2018 VMI Statistics
Rushing Offense: 687 yards
Yards per game: 62.5
Yards per rush: 2.2 yards
Rushing 1st downs: 61
TDs rushing: 11
Passing Offense: 3427 yards or 310.1 yards per game
Avg. per pass: 5.9 yards
Passing 1st downs: 151
Passing Comp-Att-Int: 333-585-19
TDs Passing: 23
Total Offense: 4113 yards or 374 yards per game
Fumbles-Lost: 15-7
3d Down Conversions: 63 of 181 (35%)
4th Down Conversions: 21of 45 (47%)
Field goal attempts: 4 - 7
PAT-Attempts: 23 of 29 (79%)
On-side kicks: 1-2
Red Zone Scores: 28 of 39 (72%)
Red Zone Touchdowns: 24 of 39 (62%)
Punts - Yards: 62- 2307 - Avg per punt: 37.2


Game predictions:  Per the Massey Ratings, the Cats have a 57% probability of winning (41-38) over the Keydets. I'll agree with the victory, I'll agree with the victory in Lexington.  According to Massey, the Cats should be 3-6 after this game, however, my prediction is that the Cats will depart Lexington with a 7-2 overall record after this game.

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