LEXINGTON, Va. (AP) Graeson Underwood connected with Christian Hilton on a 51-yard touchdown with 3:37 left in the game to lift The Citadel to a 26-22 win over VMI Saturday afternoon to win The Military Classic of the South rivalry game.

The Bulldogs took a 14-3 lead at intermission, but VMI roared back with three third-quarter touchdowns after Eric Rankin blocked a Citadel punt and Elijah Quamiley returned it 20 yards for a touchdown to take a 22-14 lead.

Cooper Wallace ran eight yards for a touchdown to get the Bulldogs within two, 22-20, but the-two-point conversion attempt to tie it failed. After the Keydets were forced to punt with 6:04 left, The Citadel went 78 yards in six plays for the game-winning score.

The Citadel (4-7, 3-5 Southern) finished with 319 yards on the ground, with Wallace leading the effort with 94 yards on nine carries.

Three quarterbacks combined to go 18 of 24 for 232 yards to lead VMI (1-10, 0-8).

-

More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://twitter.com/ap-top25. Sign up for the AP's college football newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/mrxhe6f2

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.