For the better part of six years, Wofford football has been searching for itself.
Since the COVID season disrupted what had long been one of the most consistent programs in FCS football, the Terriers have struggled to fully recapture the standard that once made conference championships and playoff appearances feel routine. There have been flashes over the past several seasons. There have been signature wins, talented individual players, and stretches where it looked like the program was finally ready to turn the corner. Yet every time momentum began to build, something seemed to stand in the way. A close loss. A key injury. A missed opportunity in conference play. Another season ending with more questions than answers.
For longtime Terrier fans, the frustration hasn’t stemmed from losing alone. It has come from knowing what this program is capable of when everything is operating at the level it should. Wofford football spent decades establishing itself as one of the premier programs in the Southern Conference and one of the most respected programs in all of FCS football. The Terriers were chosen as a Top 8 “Team of the Decade” in the FCS in the 2010’s by the NCAA, which followed a Top 10 result in the 2000’s on the same list. The expectation wasn’t merely to compete and maybe finish .500 on the year. The expectation was to contend for not only SoCon championships, but National Championships.
This season feels different, because for the first time since before the pandemic, there is a legitimate football argument to be made that Wofford is much closer to becoming a championship contender than its record from the last several years would suggest. The foundation for that argument was built during the second half of the 2025 season.
When people look back at last year’s 6-6 record, they may be tempted to view it as another middle-of-the-pack season. The reality is considerably more encouraging. Wofford finished 3rd in the Southern Conference with a 5-3 league record and closed the year winning six of its last seven games. More importantly, the Terriers looked like a fundamentally different football team in November than they did in September. The offense became more explosive. The defense became more physical. The confidence returned. Most importantly, Wofford began to look like a team capable of competing with anyone in the league.
The most telling statistic from last season isn’t one of the wins. It’s the losses.
All five of Wofford’s losses to FCS opponents came by four points or fewer. Mind you, those five losses each came against quality opponents, and Wofford had several opportunities to win in each of those games. Combined, those five defeats totaled just 17 points. The difference in each of those losses was one bad bounce, a costly turnover, a missed field goal or even an inability to get that one crucial fourth quarter stop. That’s the difference between a 6-6 football team and a SoCon title team playing in FCS playoffs.
While certainly close losses still count as losses in the standings, when they happen as consistently as they did to start the 2025 season, and then were eliminated in the back half, that tells a larger story about a program’s trajectory. Teams that consistently lose by three touchdowns are not on the verge of breaking through. Teams that repeatedly go toe-to-toe with playoff-caliber opponents and lose by a field goal often are. Wofford spent much of last season proving it belonged on the same field as the league’s best teams. The next step is learning how to finish those games.
The growth of quarterback J.T. Fayard is one of the biggest reasons to believe that step is coming. By the end of the season, Fayard looked like one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the Southern Conference. His comfort level within the offense improved dramatically throughout the year, and his ability to extend plays with both his arm and legs gave opposing defenses problems every week. As the season progressed, the offense became increasingly confident attacking downfield and creating explosive plays, something that had been missing for stretches of previous seasons.
The encouraging part for Terrier fans is that Fayard’s emergence wasn’t a late-career breakout. He returns with another offseason of development and a supporting cast capable of helping him take another step forward. Bear in mind, Fayard only joined the Wofford program entering fall camp last season.
The offensive skill talent returning to Spartanburg should be among the best Wofford has fielded in several years. Ivory Aikens developed into one of the league’s most dangerous playmakers, capable of turning routine touches into game-changing moments. Alongside him are former 3-star and 4-star transfers like South Carolina transfer CJ Adams, which are capable of making a huge impact on games. Adams really showed his potential in the last few games of the 2025 season with multiple big-time touchdown catches, and is poised to take the next step with the Terriers this fall. Gerald Modest continued to establish himself as one of the conference’s most reliable offensive weapons, providing balance and explosiveness in the running game. Together, they give the Terriers proven production at positions where they have lacked it in previous years.
Defensively, Wofford has repeatedly been able to produce dominant defensive teams despite the records the program has produced over the past 4-5 years.
For most of the season, Wofford resembled the type of defense that historically fueled successful Terrier teams. The unit played fast, aggressive, and with a great deal of confidence to go toe to toe with any team they faced. Most importantly, the defense repeatedly kept Wofford in games against some of the conference’s best offenses. The addition of several transfers this offseason should only increase the competition level across the defensive side of the ball, while providing additional depth in areas that needed reinforcement.
That transfer portal success is another reason why expectations should be elevated entering 2026. The Terriers have supplemented an already improving roster with experienced additions rather than relying solely on internal development. That’s an important distinction when Wofford for the first few years after COVID was only seeing players leave during the Transfer Portal window. Programs attempting to climb the conference standings often need years for young players to mature. Programs that combine returning production with proven transfer talent can accelerate that process significantly. Wofford appears to fall into the latter category now that they are much more actively utilizing the portal each offseason.
The schedule this season also presents opportunity. The Terriers open the season at Gibbs Stadium against longtime rival The Citadel before hosting Gardner-Webb. Those are two games that should allow Wofford to build momentum before entering the heart of conference play. A road trip to Kent State will provide an early measuring stick before the Southern Conference race begins in earnest.
Conference play won’t be easy. Road trips to Chattanooga, Furman, Samford, and Western Carolina represent some of the tougher environments in the league. However, Wofford also gets key opportunities at home and should enter nearly every game on the schedule believing it not only has a legitimate chance to win, but that the Terriers should win every game. That’s a far different position than the program occupied just a few years ago.
The reality is that the Southern Conference, while certainly not the status it once enjoyed when Wofford, App State, Georgia Southern & others created one of the most dominant leagues in FCS history, remains one of the strongest leagues in FCS football. Mercer has established itself as a perennial conference & FCS playoff contender as of late. Chattanooga continues to recruit and develop at a high level. Western Carolina has become one of the league’s most dangerous programs. Yet for the first time in several seasons, Wofford appears equipped to take over that conversation rather than simply chase being a part of it.
Perhaps that’s the strongest argument for optimism of all. For decades, Wofford football was one of the gold standards of the FCS under Mike Ayers. Southern Conference championships became expected. Playoff appearances became routine. The Terriers developed a reputation for toughness, discipline, and physicality that made them respected across the country. Opponents at both the FCS & FBS level knew that whether they were traveling to Spartanburg or if the Terriers were coming to their town, they were in for sixty minutes of difficult football. The culture established during that era transformed Wofford from a respected regional program into a nationally relevant one.
Even after that era ended, the expectation of winning remained. The Terriers continued to reach the postseason, win SoCon championships, and remained the most respected program in the Southern Conference. That’s an important reminder because it illustrates that success at Wofford is not some unrealistic aspiration. The blueprint already exists. The facilities, history, support, are all there to make Wofford a power in FCS football once again. What has been missing over the past several years is the roster maturity and continuity necessary to reconnect the current program with that standard and get true buy-in from its star players.
The trajectory of the program shifted during the second half of 2025. The belief that whenever the old gold & black steps onto the field, they are there to win, is back. Players began expecting to win rather than hoping to win, and that distinction often separates good teams from great ones.
Nobody is saying outright that the Terriers are about to run through the Southern Conference undefeated. There are too many quality programs for those expectations to be put in place prior to the start of the season. However, when a team returns an experienced quarterback that is highly respected at the FCS level, proven offensive playmakers, a junkyard dog defense, and then over multiple years adds meaningful talent in both the portal and from the HS ranks, it becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss the possibility of a breakthrough.
The post-COVID skid has lasted longer than anyone in Spartanburg would have liked. There have been enough false starts and near misses to make Terrier fans understandably cautious. But as the 2026 season approaches, it feels as though the pieces have finally aligned in a way they simply have not since 2019.
The Terriers have spent years trying to climb back to where the program belongs. This just might be the season they get there.