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
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2018 record1–10 (0–8 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrian Sheppard (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorTom Clark (4th season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumAlumni Memorial Field
(Capacity: 10,000)
2018 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
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  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS FCS Poll

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2017 season 0–11, 0–8 in SoCon play to finish in last place. This was VMI's fourth winless season and the first time they had gone winless since 2004.

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]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford204 (20)
2Furman174 (2)
3Wofford163 (1)
4Mercer133
5Western Carolina114
6Chattanooga88
7The Citadel83
8East Tennessee State53
9VMI23
Coaches poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Samford63 (7)
2Wofford53 (1)
3Furman52 (1)
4Western Carolina39
5Chattanooga34
6Mercer32
7The Citadel28
8East Tennessee State15
9VMI8

Preseason All-SoCon teams

The Keydets placed one player on the preseason all-SoCon teams.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:00 p.m.at Toledo*
ESPN3L 3–6624,136
September 86:00 p.m.at No. 8 Wofford
ESPN+L 14–594,957
September 14[lower-alpha 1]2:30 p.m.East Tennessee State
ESPN+L 24–272,764
September 223:30 p.m.at Western Carolina
ESPN+L 50–5212,759
September 291:30 p.m.Mercer
  • Alumni Memorial Field
  • Lexington, VA
ESPN3L 38–483,251
October 132:00 p.m.at Samford
ESPN+L 22–734,163
October 201:30 p.m.The Citadel
ESPN3L 32–347,002
October 273:00 p.m.at Chattanooga
ESPN+L 27–348,201
November 31:30 p.m.Tusculum*
  • Alumni Memorial Field
  • Lexington, VA
ESPN+W 20–113,617
November 101:30 p.m.Furman
  • Alumni Memorial Field
  • Lexington, VA
ESPN+L 13–493,922
November 172:00 p.m.at Old Dominion*
ESPN+L 14–7720,118

Source:[3]

  1. This game was originally schedule for September 15. It was moved up one day in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Projected depth chart

Game summaries

at Toledo
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 0 3 0 0 3
Rockets 21 21 21 3 66
See also: 2018 Toledo Rockets football team

at Wofford
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 0 7 0 7 14
No. 8 Terriers 21 21 17 0 59
See also: 2018 Wofford Terriers football team

East Tennessee State
1 2 3 4 Total
Buccaneers 7 6 7 7 27
Keydets 0 17 7 0 24
See also: 2018 East Tennessee State Buccaneers football team

at Western Carolina
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 14 10 13 13 50
Catamounts 14 7 21 10 52
See also: 2018 Western Carolina Catamounts football team

Mercer
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 13 14 14 7 48
Keydets 7 13 0 18 38
See also: 2018 Mercer Bears football team

at Samford
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 9 13 0 0 22
Bulldogs 14 28 24 7 73
See also: 2018 Samford Bulldogs football team

The Citadel
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulldogs 7 7 14 6 34
Keydets 7 7 6 12 32
See also: 2018 The Citadel Bulldogs football team and Military Classic of the South

at Chattanooga
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 14 7 0 6 27
Mocs 7 14 6 7 34
See also: 2018 Chattanooga Mocs football team

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
See also: 2018 Furman Paladins football team

at Old Dominion
1 2 3 4 Total
Keydets 0 0 14 0 14
Monarchs 21 28 14 14 77
See also: 2018 Old Dominion Monarchs football team

References
  1. "Media picks Samford to win 2018 SoCon football title".
  2. "Football coaches select preseason all-conference teams, poll".
  3. "Football - Schedule - VMIKeydets.com - The Official Site of Virginia Military Institute Athletics". www.vmikeydets.com.
  4. "2018 VMI Football Game 11: Old Dominion" (PDF). VMIKeydets.com. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
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