VMI embraces opportunity into uncharted territory with SoCon title, FCS playoff berth
LEXINGTON, Va. (BVM) — It always felt like a different year for the Virginia Military Institute football team. With the season kicking off in February instead of August or September, it was bound to feel a bit funky. However, as the season progressed, it was clear that it wasn’t only the months on the calendar that made this campaign stand out.
Despite missing out on their first game of the season against Chattanooga due to a cancellation because of COVID-19 protocols, the Keydets would come out of the gates with an upset victory over Furman, who were ranked No. 10 in the country at the time, on Feb. 27. That win was the beginning of a five-game win streak for VMI. Although a loss to Eastern Tennessee State University would end the winning streak on April 3 and prevent the team from clinching the Southern Conference title, the Keydets would still have control of their own destiny and would just need to beat The Citadel on April 17 to secure the team’s first conference championship since 1977.
The team did just that, beating the Bulldogs 31-17 in front of a sold-out home crowd of 3,000 individuals due to COVID-19 protocols, at Foster Stadium. The win not only ended a nearly 50-year conference championship drought, but also allowed the Keydets to punch a ticket into the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history.
“My theme this week was borrowed from Drake. We started from the bottom now we’re here,” Keydets head coach Scott Wachenheim said after the game. “We started at the bottom and now we’re at the top of the SoCon. I couldn’t be more proud of our football team.”
— VMI Athletics (@VMIAthletics) April 17, 2021
That metaphor is almost an understatement, believe it or not. When he was hired in December 2014, Wachenheim was adopting a program that had struggled for many years prior to his arrival. It was not an easy beginning for Wachenheim either as he would only win five games over his first four years at the helm, which included an 0-11 2017 season and an 1-10 2018 season.
In 2019, it appeared that Wachenheim had righted the ship as he led the Keydets to a 5-7 record, marking the program’s most wins since 2003. The team’s 4-4 conference record would also stand out as it marked the first time since 1979 that VMI secured four conference wins in a season.
The season also earned Wachenheim some recognition and praise as he would become the first Keydets coach to win Southern Conference Coach of the Year since 2002 and received a three-year contract extension from the school following the campaign.
Though it may have taken time for him and his staff to establish their footing in recruitment, Wachenheim felt it was a key reason for their rebuild.
“We have a great football program and a great overall program to sell here at VMI,” Wachenheim said. “I think my staff and I have learned to recruit better and find the young men that can be successful here at VMI and want what VMI has to offer. … Plus, now you can play championship level football too.”
Not only did the win set up VMI for its first FCS playoff game, but it also set up an intriguing Virginia matchup as the Keydets found out they would play the James Madison University Dukes in Harrisonburg, Va. in the tournament’s opening round on April 24. The matchup will pit the two teams against each other for the first time in over a decade, with their last meeting happening in 2009. JMU currently holds the edge in the all-time series with a record of 10-3 with the Keydets last beating the Dukes in 1990.
“I think they are the No. 1 team in the nation,” Wachenheim said of the Dukes. “I think it is the best team overall that we’ve played and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play them this Saturday.”
There is plenty of excitement already circulating around the matchup as it will pit one of the classes of the FCS in James Madison, making their seventh straight appearance in the playoffs, the third-longest active streak in the FCS, and 17th overall against the underdog Keydets who will be experiencing the postseason for the first time since the tournament’s inception 43 years ago.
“[The support] is endless,” quarterback Seth Morgan said. “I’ve had plenty of alumni coming up to me after the games and congratulating me and talking about how proud they were. They like to say they laid the groundwork for this so you’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Everybody who goes to the school you’ve seen them come around and be super supportive of our team. We feel the support of the entire core every week and it’s only building up as we go.”
While there appears to be outside pressure on the team given the historical significance of the playoff game, Wachenheim made it clear the team would treat the game and the opponent like any other they’ve had before.
“It’s another football game,” Wachenheim said. “I think every game is a playoff game and usually you have to go 7-0 or 8-0 to win a conference championship and qualify for the playoffs so I don’t think the intensity or the nature of the game is going to be any different.”
Though seen as the underdog, the team is not afraid of embracing that role and have been throughout the season.
“We’ve been an underdog all year I feel like,” Morgan said. “No one really expected us to win the SoCon championship this year. Nobody expected us to make the playoffs so this really isn’t new to us. It’s just another challenge on our list of things to accomplish so we just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
With the first step of the historic season already completed, the Keydets will now look to build upon their history with their first playoff win. From there, they can start talking about another win, then a Cinderella run, then hopefully a championship. But the first thing is winning that first game.
“To go out and beat a champion like JMU would be tremendous because it would say we have the championship medal to go all the way and win the national championship,” Wachenheim said. “It’s a tremendous honor, a tremendous opportunity to play the best of the best and the team and I are looking forward to it.”
The 2021 spring season may have been a different season for VMI and the Keydets, but they wouldn’t want it any other way.
