VMI fell at nationally-ranked Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon, 41-13.
The Mocs, currently ranked No. 9 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the FCS Stats Perform poll, and boast one of the better defenses in all of FCS, limited VMI to just a special teams touchdown (Jahleel Porter, 98-yard kickoff return) in the first half and a Collin Shannon rushing touchdown in the third quarter.
Shannon – a true freshman – got the nod under center after injuries sidelined Collin Ironside and Seth Morgan, totaling 157 yards to go with his first touchdown at the collegiate level. VMI now drops to 1-5 and 0-3 in Southern Conference play, while preseason-league favorite Chattanooga improves to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in SoCon action.
The teams traded possessions to start the game, with Chattanooga ultimately breaking through late in the first quarter. Jahleel Porter answered on the ensuing kickoff, taking the ball 98 yards for the score to knot the game up at 7-7. The Mocs would take control after a 72-yard touchdown in the air and 62-yard run, adding a field goal and touchdown right before the break to make the score 30-7.
The Keydets came out firing in the second, as Shannon lofted a deep ball down the sideline that was reeled in by Andre Cooper to set up Shannon’s first touchdown of his career via a five-yard rush. The Keydets would fail to convert the two-point conversion as the Mocs chewed up the clock and added 11 more points to win, 41-13.
The Keydets return to Foster Stadium for the first of a two-game home stand on Saturday, Oct. 22, hosting Furman at 1:30 p.m.
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Chris Graham
