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2026 Gardner-Webb

2–⁠6 (1–⁠2 Ohio Valley Conference). The season’s Wikipedia article records 2–⁠5, over seven games to the eight on file here.

Schedule and results

Gardner-Webb in 2026, game by game: lost at Austin Peay 17–35; lost at Wofford 13–17; lost at Liberty 23–24; won vs. North Carolina Central 44–20; lost at Marshall 35–36; won at Charleston Southern 12–10; lost vs. Eastern Illinois 7–21; lost at UT Martin 6–17+24−18Lost 17–35 at Austin Peay-18Austin PeayLost 13–17 at Wofford-4WoffordLost 23–24 at Liberty-1LibertyWon 44–20 vs. North Carolina Central+24North Carolina …Lost 35–36 at Marshall-1MarshallWon 12–10 at Charleston Southern+2Charleston Sout…Lost 7–21 vs. Eastern Illinois-14Eastern IllinoisLost 6–17 at UT Martin-11UT Martin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 27atAustin PeayL 17–⁠3539%
Sep 5atWoffordL 13–⁠1735%
Sep 12atLibertyL 23–⁠2422%
Sep 19vsNorth Carolina CentralW 44–⁠2047%
Sep 26atMarshallL 35–⁠3618%
Oct 3atCharleston SouthernW 12–⁠1048%
Oct 10vsEastern IllinoisL 7–⁠2175%
Oct 17atUT MartinL 6–⁠1737%
Oct 31atSoutheast Missouri StatePreview35%
Nov 7vsLindenwoodPreview58%
Nov 14atWestern IllinoisPreview44%
Nov 21vsTennessee StatePreview67%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

Record
2–⁠6
Conference
1–⁠2 6th in Ohio Valley Conference
AP now
Unranked
Points
157–⁠180
Coach
—
Elo
1254 −54 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−24.9 No. 23 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 156
Offensive coordinators
Kenny Hrncir and Brayle Brown
Defensive coordinator
Jake Shaw
Offense
Hurry-up, no-huddle spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

Leaders

Passing yardsCole Pennington QB1,680 yds
Passing touchdownsCole Pennington QB8 TD
Rushing yardsChristian Vann RB369 yds
Rushing touchdownsRandy Young RB3 TD
Receiving yardsKory Jones WR625 yds
Receiving touchdownsKory Jones WR3 TD
TacklesTre Yanez LB83 tkl
SacksTre Yanez LB5 sacks
InterceptionsHunter West DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Xavier Wade OL★★★No. 2052
Michael Doe RB★★★No. 2052
Noah Terry RB★★★No. 2352
Kaiden Dewey WR★★★No. 2533
Jackson Settle LB★★★No. 3115

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.848
Receivers13.00.840
Offensive line13.00.850
Linebackers13.00.820
Whole class53.00.841

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 131

The 2026 roster

131 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 2

The 2026 portal
Anthony Mebane DE★★★from App State
Tyshawn Sanders CB★★★from App State

Transfers out 15

Antonio O’Berry DE★★★to Kentucky
Ahmad Carwise OL★★★to Toledo
C.J. Dawson II OL★★★to Ohio
Darius Johnson CB★★★to Georgia State
De’Arieun Hicks DL★★★to Kansas State
Aaron McIver OL★★★to Western Carolina
Cahari Haynes LB★★★returned to Gardner-Webb
Carson Gresock RB★★★returned to Gardner-Webb
Jecari Bryson LB★★★to Kennesaw State
Luke Rector OL★★★to Toledo
Josiah Harris S★★★returned to Gardner-Webb
Giovanni Adopte WR★★★returned to Gardner-Webb

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2026 Ohio Valley Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Southeast Missouri State2–⁠04–⁠3
UT Martin2–⁠03–⁠4
Lindenwood2–⁠12–⁠4
Western Illinois1–⁠13–⁠4
Eastern Illinois1–⁠12–⁠5
Gardner-Webb1–⁠22–⁠6
Charleston Southern0–⁠23–⁠4
Tennessee State0–⁠22–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.