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
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	1–10 (0–8 SoCon)
Head coach	Scott Wachenheim (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brian Sheppard (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Clark (4th season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Alumni Memorial Field
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	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 Poll

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)
1	Samford	204 (20)
2	Furman	174 (2)
3	Wofford	163 (1)
4	Mercer	133
5	Western Carolina	114
6	Chattanooga	88
7	The Citadel	83
8	East Tennessee State	53
9	VMI	23

Coaches poll

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Samford	63 (7)
2	Wofford	53 (1)
3	Furman	52 (1)
4	Western Carolina	39
5	Chattanooga	34
6	Mercer	32
7	The Citadel	28
8	East Tennessee State	15
9	VMI	8

Preseason All-SoCon teams

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

Offense 2nd team Brad Davis – OL

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 p.m.	at Toledo*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN3	L 3–66	24,136
September 8	6:00 p.m.	at No. 8 Wofford	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	L 14–59	4,957
September 14[a]	2:30 p.m.	East Tennessee State	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 24–27	2,764
September 22	3:30 p.m.	at Western Carolina	E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	L 50–52	12,759
September 29	1:30 p.m.	Mercer	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN3	L 38–48	3,251
October 13	2:00 p.m.	at Samford	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN+	L 22–73	4,163
October 20	1:30 p.m.	The Citadel	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA (Military Classic of the South)	ESPN3	L 32–34	7,002
October 27	3:00 p.m.	at Chattanooga	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	L 27–34	8,201
November 3	1:30 p.m.	Tusculum*	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	W 20–11	3,617
November 10	1:30 p.m.	Furman	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	ESPN+	L 13–49	3,922
November 17	2:00 p.m.	at Old Dominion*	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	ESPN+	L 14–77	20,118
*Non-conference game Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Source:^[3]

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

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.