College football is officially back in Spartanburg.
Wofford opens the 2026 season Saturday night at Gibbs Stadium against an old and very familiar Southern Conference rival, The Citadel Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 6:00 PM, with the game available on ESPN+ and the Nexstar SoCon Game of the Week package.
And while it may only be Week 0, this one counts immediately.
There is no warm-up game for either program. Wofford and The Citadel will open the season with a conference matchup, meaning somebody will walk out of Gibbs Stadium Saturday night 1-0 in the SoCon and somebody will immediately be playing from behind in the conference race.
For a Wofford team that enters 2026 with legitimate reason for optimism after a strong finish to last season, this feels like exactly the type of game the Terriers need to win.
The Matchup
The Citadel Bulldogs at Wofford Terriers
Saturday, August 29 — 6:00 PM
Gibbs Stadium — Spartanburg, SC
TV: ESPN+ / Nexstar
Series: The Citadel leads 45-33-1 (Wofford has won 23 of the last 28 matchups)
2025 Meeting: Wofford 16, The Citadel 14
Wofford enters the season picked 7th in the SoCon preseason coaches poll, while The Citadel was picked ninth. That doesn’t exactly scream conference-title showdown on paper, but there are reasons to believe both teams could outperform those projections.
Wofford had six preseason All-SoCon selections, while The Citadel had three — all three on the first team.
And if last year’s matchup tells us anything, don’t expect this one to be easy.
A Look Back at Last Year
Wofford went into Charleston last November and escaped a sold-out Johnson Hagood Stadium with a 16-14 win.
It was about as close as the score suggests.
Wofford finished with 369 total yards. The Citadel had 367. The Bulldogs had 18 first downs to Wofford’s 17 and held the football for more than 32 minutes.
But Wofford won the turnover battle 2-0, and that ultimately proved to be the difference.
Gerald Modest Jr. was outstanding, carrying 13 times for 99 yards and a touchdown, including a 48-yard run. J.T. Fayard completed 18 of 34 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown.
The biggest play, though, came from the defense.
With The Citadel driving for a potential game-winning score late in the fourth quarter, Eli Campbell intercepted Quentin Hayes on fourth down. Wofford’s defense then made one more fourth-down stop in the final seconds to seal it.
Saturday’s game brings back several of the most important players from that afternoon.
The Citadel Offense Starts With Quentin Hayes
If there is one player Wofford fans need to know before Saturday night, it is Quentin Hayes.
The Citadel quarterback was named the preseason first-team All-SoCon QB, and for good reason.
Hayes is not your traditional drop-back quarterback. The Bulldogs want him involved heavily in the running game, and he was their leading rusher last season with 682 yards and seven touchdowns on 153 carries. He also completed 58 of 92 passes for 897 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions, giving him 1,579 yards of total offense and 15 total TDs.
Against Wofford last season, Hayes carried the football 22 times for 78 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 153 yards and another score.
That makes assignment football absolutely critical Saturday.
Wofford can’t allow Hayes to repeatedly turn broken plays or option reads into six- and eight-yard gains. The Citadel rushed for 201 yards against Wofford last season, and the Bulldogs averaged more than 210 rushing yards per game over the full 2025 campaign.
The good news?
Stopping the run was one of Wofford’s biggest strengths in 2025.
The Terriers allowed just 106.1 rushing yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry last season.
That matchup, Wofford’s front seven against Hayes and the Bulldog rushing attack, could decide the game.
The Bulldogs Have Experience Up Front
The Citadel isn’t bringing an inexperienced offensive line into Spartanburg, either.
Preseason first-team All-SoCon selection Tyler Heggins-Hill anchors a veteran group that also returns tackles Darwin Murillo and Brady Pickett, along with Mike Lengi and Nico Rodriguez-Pena.
That experience matters in this offense.
The Citadel isn’t trying to line up and throw it 45 times. Maurice Drayton’s Bulldogs want to establish the run, shorten the game and force Wofford to remain disciplined snap after snap.
Running back Sebastien Boyle is another name to watch. Boyle rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns in 2025, including a 72-yard run, and enters this season as part of the Bulldogs’ primary offensive group around Hayes.
Receiver Braylon Knauth and tight end Whit Hobgood give Hayes returning options in the passing game.
Wofford’s first priority, though, has to be simple:
Make The Citadel throw the football when Wofford knows it’s coming.
Wofford’s Offense Has a Chance to Take Another Step
This is where the optimism surrounding the Terriers really begins.
Wofford started last season 0-5.
The Terriers then won six of their final seven games to finish 6-6 overall and 5-3 in the Southern Conference.
That turnaround wasn’t a fluke. Wofford became a completely different football team as the season progressed, and the Terriers now return 13 starters — eight on offense, four on defense and one specialist — plus another 13 players who started at least one game last season.
That is a lot of meaningful experience.
And perhaps nobody represents Wofford’s offensive potential better than Gerald Modest Jr.
Modest was named preseason second-team All-SoCon after rushing for 567 yards and five touchdowns on 115 carries last season. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry despite splitting work in the backfield.
He was also arguably Wofford’s most dangerous offensive player in last year’s meeting with The Citadel.
Expect him to be heavily involved again.
Can Wofford Make The Citadel Defend the Entire Field?
One of the most encouraging developments during Wofford’s 2025 turnaround was the growth of the passing game.
J.T. Fayard completed 67.2% of his passes last season for 1,471 yards, 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions in eight appearances.
His performance against The Citadel wasn’t spectacular, but it was efficient enough to win: 210 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.
More importantly, Wofford showed it could create explosive plays.
The Terriers hit Terrence Honeywood for 39 yards on the opening possession against the Bulldogs last year, while Modest later broke a 48-yard run.
That’s going to be important again.
The Citadel’s defense allowed 270 passing yards per game in 2025, compared with only 148.4 rushing yards per game. Opponents completed more than 70% of their passes against the Bulldogs.
If Wofford can protect its quarterback, there should be opportunities through the air.
The Terriers don’t need to abandon the run. Far from it.
But forcing The Citadel’s safeties to respect the vertical passing game would create much better opportunities for Modest and the Wofford rushing attack.
Players to Watch: Wofford
RB Gerald Modest Jr.
This feels like an obvious one. Modest nearly reached 100 yards against the Bulldogs last season and enters 2026 as a preseason second-team All-SoCon selection. If Wofford establishes him early, the entire offense becomes more difficult to defend.
DB Eli Campbell
Campbell made arguably the biggest defensive play of last year’s game with his fourth-quarter interception and enters 2026 as a preseason first-team All-SoCon defensive back.
Against an offense that can punish one missed assignment, having an experienced player like Campbell on the back end is huge.
LB Wyatt Ward / DL Ramon McCollough
Both were named preseason second-team All-SoCon. Against The Citadel’s option-heavy rushing attack, Wofford needs its front seven to control the line of scrimmage and tackle extremely well in space.
K Sam Spence
Don’t overlook special teams in a game like this. Spence earned preseason second-team All-SoCon honors after scoring 55 points last season. He also made the field goal that ultimately represented the difference in Wofford’s 16-14 win in Charleston.
Players to Watch: The Citadel
QB Quentin Hayes
Everything starts here. Preseason first-team All-SoCon quarterback, leading returning rusher, explosive athlete and the centerpiece of the Bulldog offense.
Wofford has to make somebody else beat them.
OL Tyler Heggins-Hill
The preseason first-team All-SoCon lineman gives The Citadel an experienced centerpiece up front. If the Bulldogs consistently create four- and five-yard rushing gains on first down, Wofford could be in for a long night.
RB Sebastien Boyle
With several contributors gone from last year’s rushing attack, Boyle has an opportunity for a bigger role. He’s already shown big-play ability and gives The Citadel another weapon Wofford has to account for alongside Hayes.
EDGE Maurice Bonneau Jr.
The Citadel specifically highlighted Bonneau as a returning threat off the edge entering 2026. Wofford’s offensive line can’t allow him to consistently disrupt the backfield and put the Terriers behind the chains.
Three Keys for Wofford
1. Win First Down
This is especially important defensively.
If The Citadel is consistently looking at second-and-5, the entire Bulldog playbook stays open. Hayes becomes a threat to run, hand it off, attack the perimeter or catch Wofford overcommitting and hit something through the air.
Put them in second-and-9 and third-and-7.
Make Hayes become a traditional quarterback.
2. Don’t Give Away Possessions
Wofford won last year’s matchup despite The Citadel possessing the football for more than five additional minutes.
Why?
The Terriers didn’t turn it over. The Citadel did twice.
Against an offense designed to shorten the game, every possession matters more. Wofford can’t hand the Bulldogs short fields with interceptions, fumbles or special-teams mistakes.
3. Hit Explosive Plays
The Citadel will almost certainly try to make this game ugly.
Wofford needs to make it uncomfortable for them.
A couple of 30-plus-yard completions or explosive Modest runs could completely change the way the Bulldogs have to play defensively.
The Terriers have the offensive experience to do it.
Why This Game Matters
Because Wofford’s schedule gets difficult in a hurry.
After Saturday, the Terriers host Gardner-Webb before traveling to Kent State and Chattanooga. Conference road games at Furman, Samford and Western Carolina are also waiting later in the season.
You don’t want to begin that schedule by dropping a conference home game.
Especially not against a team picked below you in the preseason poll.
Wofford spent the second half of 2025 showing that the program may finally be turning the corner under Shawn Watson. After starting 0-5, the Terriers won six of seven, including victories over Furman, Samford, VMI, The Citadel and Chattanooga.
Now comes the next step.
Can Wofford carry that momentum into a new season instead of spending September digging out of another hole?
Saturday night is our first answer.
Prediction
The Citadel has exactly the type of offense you don’t necessarily want to see in Week 0, running a triple option offense similar to some of the great Wofford teams of the past. Hayes is experienced, dangerous with his legs and playing behind a veteran offensive line. If Wofford comes out sloppy with its assignments or tackling, the Bulldogs can absolutely control the football and turn this into another one-possession game. That said, if Wofford can stifle the run it should be a really tough day offensively for the bulldogs.
Wofford should have the better overall roster. The Terriers return significant experience from a team that finished last season playing some of the best football in the conference. They have a proven running back in Modest, experience at quarterback, multiple preseason All-SoCon defenders and home-field advantage.
Wofford’s defense held opponents to only 17.25 points per game last season, and that unit’s ability to stop the run is exactly what you want against The Citadel.
Expect a game that will be very physical early. Wofford’s offense should be able to create more explosive opportunities than it did in Charleston last November.
The Terriers pull away in the second half and start 2026 with a conference win.
Wofford 27, The Citadel 17
The Terriers start 1-0.