SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Nov. 14, 2026) – The ETSU football team rallied from an early 10-0 deficit to knock off Wofford, 20-17, on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, ETSU improved to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in SoCon play, secured its third consecutive season with at least seven wins for the first time in program history, and kept its FCS Playoff hopes alive.
Quarterback
Mason Mims completed 27-of-33 passes (81.8%) for 227 yards and two touchdowns while connecting with 10 different receivers.
Brandon Winton was Mims' top target with six receptions for 36 yards.
TJ Peyton led with 43 receiving yards and 62 rushing yards on 14 carries. Peyton also eclipsed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with his performance.
Defensively, the Bucs forced a season-high three turnovers with three interceptions by
Jivon Oggs,
Mike Jenkins, and
Jarvis Johnson.
Qua Birdsong and Oggs combined for the lone sack on the day for the Bucs. Jenkins and Johnson were ETSU's leading tacklers, with seven stops apiece.
Both defenses controlled the opening quarter, keeping the game scoreless through the first 15 minutes. Mims for ETSU and Wofford's Ethan Drumm combined for 13 pass attempts, but each squad was held off the scoreboard. The best scoring chance in the first quarter came with a 45-yard field goal attempt by
Ewan Johnson. Johnson's attempt went wide right, keeping the game scoreless.
Following a scoreless first quarter, ETSU and Wofford started to click offensively in the second. The Terriers got on the board first with a 46-yard field goal by Connor Deviney. An ETSU punt promptly gave Wofford the ball back. Despite being pushed back to their own seven-yard line, the Terrier offense put together a nine-play, 93-yard drive that ended with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Drumm to Isaiah Scott, putting Wofford up 10-0 with 8:37 to go in the first half.
A couple of drives later, the Bucs offense put together their best drive of the game to date. Mims went 9-for-11 and found seven different receivers on the possession. A key fourth-down conversion from Mims to
Jaiden Daniels kept the drive alive before Mims found Griffin for a seven-yard touchdown, bringing the Bucs within three, 10-7, at halftime.
On the opening drive of the second half, Wofford took the field. The Bucs got a sudden jolt of momentum as
Mike Jenkins picked off Drumm and returned the ball 46 yards into Terrier territory. After the sudden change, a couple of running plays set up a 21-yard touchdown strike from Mims to
Charlie Browder, giving the Buccaneers their first lead of the day, 14-10, with 11:54 remaining in the third quarter.
After forcing a Wofford punt, ETSU quickly surrendered possession on a fumble. However, the Buccaneer defense responded immediately with another takeaway.
Jimmy Bowdry hit the Wofford receiver as he tried to make the catch, popping the ball into the air, and
Jarvis Johnson intercepted it to give the ball back to the Bucs.
The Bucs' drive stalled, but ETSU came away with a 43-yard field goal by Johnson to grow their lead to 17-10 with 3:57 left in the third. Wofford's next offensive drive also ended in an interception as
Jivon Oggs picked off his first pass of the season. It looked like Oggs might have returned that interception for a touchdown, but he stepped out of bounds at the Wofford 42-yard line. A sack by the Terriers forced an ETSU punt, and the two teams went to the fourth quarter with the Bucs on top, 17-10.
With a possession that began at the end of the third, the Terriers grinded out a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to pull back even with the Bucs, 17-17. Wofford's equalizer came on a three-yard touchdown run by Gerald Modest Jr.
ETSU leaned on its rushing attack on the ensuing possession. ETSU churned out 48 rushing yards, bringing the Bucs to the Terriers' two-yard line. However, a bobbled snap, a short run, and an incomplete pass forced the Bucs to settle for a field goal attempt. A 24-yard field goal by Johnson split the uprights to give ETSU the lead back, 20-17.
The Terriers had a little over four minutes to try to tie or take the lead. ETSU's defense stepped up and forced Wofford's offense to go three-and-out. The Terriers chose to punt the ball back to the Bucs with 2:49 to go. After moving the chains on a Wofford penalty, Albritton picked up 12 yards to secure the first down and allow the Buccaneers to run out the clock on their 20-17 victory.
ETSU will close out the regular season next Saturday when it visits Mercer. With Mercer's win over Tennessee Tech earlier this afternoon, the Bucs and Bears face off with a share of SoCon Regular Season Championship on the line. Kickoff between the Bucs and Bears is set for 3 p.m. in Macon, Georgia.
For more information on Buccaneer football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football tab.
