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2025 Western Carolina

7–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Southern Conference).

Schedule and results

Western Carolina in 2025, game by game: lost vs. Gardner-Webb 45–52; lost at Wake Forest 10–42; lost vs. Elon 31–37; won vs. Samford 50–35; won at Campbell 42–35; won at Wofford 23–21; won vs. Furman 52–7; won at The Citadel 45–38; won at Chattanooga 35–28; lost vs. Mercer 47–49; lost vs. East Tennessee State 35–52; won at VMI 48–6+45−32Lost 45–52 vs. Gardner-Webb-7Gardner-WebbLost 10–42 at Wake Forest-32Wake ForestLost 31–37 vs. Elon-6ElonWon 50–35 vs. Samford+15SamfordWon 42–35 at Campbell+7CampbellWon 23–21 at Wofford+2WoffordWon 52–7 vs. Furman+45FurmanWon 45–38 at The Citadel+7The CitadelWon 35–28 at Chattanooga+7ChattanoogaLost 47–49 vs. Mercer-2MercerLost 35–52 vs. East Tennessee State-17East Tennessee …Won 48–6 at VMI+42VMI
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsGardner-WebbL 45–⁠5270%
Sep 6atWake ForestL 10–⁠4227%
Sep 13vsElonL 31–⁠3752%
Sep 20vsSamfordW 50–⁠3570%
Sep 27atCampbellW 42–⁠3557%
Oct 4atWoffordW 23–⁠2159%
Oct 11vsFurmanW 52–⁠758%
Oct 18atThe CitadelW 45–⁠3852%
Nov 1atChattanoogaW 35–⁠2849%
Nov 8vsMercerL 47–⁠4946%
Nov 15vsEast Tennessee StateL 35–⁠5267%
Nov 22atVMIW 48–⁠680%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat VMI 48–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Southern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
463–⁠402
Coach
—
Elo
1368 +8 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−26.6 No. 45 of 129 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 142
Offensive coordinator
Rylan Wells
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Odom

Leaders

Passing yardsTaron Dickens QB3,508 yds
Passing touchdownsTaron Dickens QB38 TD
Rushing yardsPatrick Boyd Jr. RB420 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarkel Townsend RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJames Tyre WR832 yds
Receiving touchdownsJames Tyre WR11 TD
TacklesSamaurie Dukes S5 tkl
InterceptionsHasaan Sykes DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Kha’leal Sterling WR★★★No. 1646
Cole Cooke OT★★★No. 2391
Brandon Joseph II DL★★★No. 2994
Devin Brown CB★★★No. 3106
Joshua Perry RB

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers13.00.853
Offensive line13.00.834
Defensive line13.00.810
Defensive backs13.00.807
Whole class43.00.826

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 120

The 2025 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2025 portal
Tate Rodemaker QB★★★from Southern Miss
Cam’Ron Dabney CB★★★from Northern Illinois
Ilija Krajnovic OT★★★from Boston College
Ryan McKinnis LB★★★from App State
Jordan Thompson LBfrom Middle Tennessee

Transfers out 10

Derek Simmons OT★★★to Oklahoma
Isaiah Johnson WR★★★to Cincinnati
Antarron Turner LB★★★to Wisconsin
Mateo Sudipo S★★★to Bowling Green
Zion Booker WR★★★to Tulsa
Caleb Carter OL★★★to Michigan State
Tahjae Mullix DL★★★to Oregon State
Jordy Lowery CB★★★to East Carolina
Calvin Jones WRto Samford
De’Andre Tamarez WRto Marshall

2025 Southern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Mercer8–⁠09–⁠3
Western Carolina6–⁠27–⁠5
East Tennessee State5–⁠37–⁠5
Wofford5–⁠36–⁠6
Furman4–⁠46–⁠6
Chattanooga4–⁠45–⁠7
The Citadel3–⁠54–⁠8
Samford1–⁠71–⁠11
VMI0–⁠81–⁠11

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