VMI football falls to 0-4 after lopsided loss to Norfolk State

LEXINGTON — The VMI football team will head into October still seeking its first victory.

Jalen Daniels threw three first-half touchdown passes to lead Norfolk State to a 32-10 win over the Keydets on Saturday at Foster Stadium.

"We just didn't show up ... ready to play," said VMI quarterback Chandler Wilson, whose team trailed 19-0 at halftime.

VMI finished the nonconference portion of its schedule with an 0-4 mark.

"I'm definitely disappointed," coach Danny Rocco said.

"Sitting here 0-4, definitely not what we expected," Wilson said.

The injury-plagued Keydets will be idle next weekend before kicking off Southern Conference play on Oct. 5 at Samford.

"We've got to take a timeout, take a giant step back, reassess where we're at," Rocco said.

VMI is winless through four games for the first time since 2018, when the Keydets lost their first eight games.

"It's a long season," cornerback Noel Innocent said. "We play these (nonleague) games to build for conference play."

Two of VMI's losses came at FBS member Georgia Tech and at nationally ranked FCS member William & Mary.

But the other two defeats have come at home to Patriot League member Bucknell and Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Norfolk State.

"I did not expect to be 0-4," Rocco said. "We haven't played real well.

"We're thin in some spots; it's kind of stressing other positions. We're playing a lot of young guys right now.

"There's a lot of things that go into ... the reality that we're not getting better."

Wilson, a redshirt freshman making his second straight start in place of injured starter Collin Shannon, completed five of 12 passes for 33 yards with one interception.

With VMI down 19-0 late in the second quarter, Wilson was pulled in favor of true freshman Brady Hammonds.

"It just seemed like the right thing at the right time to try to create a little bit of a spark," Rocco said.

Hammonds, who made his college debut last weekend at Georgia Tech, completed 12 of 23 passes for 85 yards with two interceptions. His first interception was returned for a touchdown.

"He did come in and make some plays, but he also had some errors," Rocco said. "Those errors cost us significantly."

Shannon suffered a fractured shoulder in the Sept. 7 loss to Bucknell. Rocco had initially said Shannon could miss 3-6 games, but Rocco said Saturday that Shannon will undergo surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Shannon is one of four Keydets with season-ending injuries.

Rocco, who played four QBs on Saturday, will use the bye week to evaluate Wilson and Hammonds before choosing a starting QB for the Samford game.

"We're going to be packaged, I think, moving forward where we'll utilize more than one quarterback and guys will have different ... tasks," Rocco said.

The Keydets played without receiver Ivan Thorpe, who suffered a knee injury last weekend. Rocco expects him to play at Samford.

VMI was held to 85 yards rushing. Hunter Rice ran for 35 yards on 14 carries.

"The most disappointing thing for me was our inability to really control the line of scrimmage and run the ball," Rocco said. "We couldn't get Hunter going."

Norfolk State (2-3), which won only three games last fall, beat a fellow FCS team for the first time this season. The Spartans' only other win came against Division II member Virginia State.

VMI had three turnovers Saturday, while the visitors had none.

"We're not going to beat anybody minus-3 (in turnovers)," Rocco said.

Daniels threw for 277 yards and three TDs.

"We just had too many busts in the secondary that led to easy, quick scores," Rocco said.

"We got a few of the looks that we had seen in film and ... took advantage," Daniels said. "Got some one-on-one looks and I took advantage."

Daniels found Jacquez Jones in the left corner of the end zone for a 24-yard TD pass to give the visitors a 6-0 lead with 12:35 left in the second quarter.

Tavian Morris hauled in a Daniels pass on the left sideline at the VMI 45 and sprinted to the end zone for an 80-yard TD catch to extend the lead to 12-0.

Jones hauled in a Daniels pass on the left sideline at the VMI 30 and headed upfield for a 56-yard TD catch to give the Spartans a 19-0 cushion with 4:27 left in the second quarter.

Caden Beck kicked a 54-yard field goal to cut the lead to 19-3 in the third. It was the fourth-longest field goal in VMI history.

Daylan Long picked off a Hammonds pass and scored on a 45-yard interception return to extend the lead to 26-3 later in the third.

Mark Berman

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