2018 VMI Keydets football team
The 2018 VMI Keydets football team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. It was VMI's 128th football season. The Keydets were led by fourth-year head coach Scott Wachenheim. They played their home games at 10,000–seat Alumni Memorial Field at Foster Stadium. They were a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 1–10, 0–8 in SoCon play to finish in last place.
| 2018 VMI Keydets football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Southern Conference |
| Record | 1–10 (0–8 SoCon) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Brian Sheppard (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Tom Clark (4th season) |
| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Home stadium | Alumni Memorial Field (Capacity: 10,000) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Wofford +^ | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 22 East Tennessee State +^ | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Furman + | 6 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Samford | 5 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chattanooga | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Carolina | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VMI | 0 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason
Preseason media poll
The SoCon released their preseason media poll on July 25, 2018, with the Keydets predicted to finish in last place.[1] The same day the coaches released their preseason poll with the Keydets also predicted to finish in last place.[2]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samford | 204 (20) |
| 2 | Furman | 174 (2) |
| 3 | Wofford | 163 (1) |
| 4 | Mercer | 133 |
| 5 | Western Carolina | 114 |
| 6 | Chattanooga | 88 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 83 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 53 |
| 9 | VMI | 23 |
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samford | 63 (7) |
| 2 | Wofford | 53 (1) |
| 3 | Furman | 52 (1) |
| 4 | Western Carolina | 39 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 34 |
| 6 | Mercer | 32 |
| 7 | The Citadel | 28 |
| 8 | East Tennessee State | 15 |
| 9 | VMI | 8 |
Preseason All-SoCon teams
The Keydets placed one player on the preseason all-SoCon teams.
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Offense 2nd team Brad Davis – OL |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 7:00 p.m. | at Toledo* | ESPN3 | L 3–66 | 24,136 | |
| September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Wofford | ESPN+ | L 14–59 | 4,957 | |
| September 14[lower-alpha 1] | 2:30 p.m. | East Tennessee State | ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 2,764 | |
| September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | at Western Carolina | ESPN+ | L 50–52 | 12,759 | |
| September 29 | 1:30 p.m. | Mercer |
| ESPN3 | L 38–48 | 3,251 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | at Samford | ESPN+ | L 22–73 | 4,163 | |
| October 20 | 1:30 p.m. | The Citadel |
| ESPN3 | L 32–34 | 7,002 |
| October 27 | 3:00 p.m. | at Chattanooga | ESPN+ | L 27–34 | 8,201 | |
| November 3 | 1:30 p.m. | Tusculum* |
| ESPN+ | W 20–11 | 3,617 |
| November 10 | 1:30 p.m. | Furman |
| ESPN+ | L 13–49 | 3,922 |
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at Old Dominion* | ESPN+ | L 14–77 | 20,118 | |
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Source:[3]
- This game was originally scheduled for September 15. It was moved up one day in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
Game summaries
At Toledo
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Rockets | 21 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 66 |
At Wofford
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 8 Terriers | 21 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 59 |
East Tennessee State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| Keydets | 0 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
At Western Carolina
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 14 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 50 |
| Catamounts | 14 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 52 |
Mercer
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 13 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 48 |
| Keydets | 7 | 13 | 0 | 18 | 38 |
At Samford
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
| Bulldogs | 14 | 28 | 24 | 7 | 73 |
The Citadel
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bulldogs | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | 34 |
| Keydets | 7 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 32 |
At Chattanooga
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
| Mocs | 7 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
Tusculum
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Keydets | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
Furman
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paladins | 21 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
| Keydets | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
At Old Dominion
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keydets | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Monarchs | 21 | 28 | 14 | 14 | 77 |
