The SoCon Spread

FCS No. 3 Furman used another strong defensive effort, needing just three field goals and a touchdown to dispatch league rival East Tennessee State, 16-8, on homecoming to equal its best start to a season since 2005, and best start to a SoCon campaign since ’01 on a beautiful, unseasonably warm, late-October Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium. With the win, Furman improves to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in Southern Conference action, while the Bucs dropped to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in league play.  Ian Williams connected on field goals of 23, a career-long 52, and 32 yards through the first three quarters to give Furman a 9-0 lead. Joshua Harris, who finished the contest with a career-high matching eight receptions (eight rec vs. ETSU last season) for 78 yards, added a 22-yard touchdown later in the third quarter, as Furman assumed a seemingly safe 16-0 lead heading into the final frame.  Furman’s lone trip to the end zone on the afternoon came as a result of its third interception of...

No. 3/4 Furman 29, No. 8/14 Western Carolina 17 Much had been made about Western Carolina's "cat-like" quickness and stealth offensive prowess, however, little was made of Furman's staunch defense during the lead up to the 51st renewal of the Battle for Purple Supremacy. In what was the second Top 10 matchup between the two, and the first one in four decades, the Paladins held a Catamount offense averaging 41.4 PPG and 531.8 YPG to totals of 17 points and 353 yards, as No.3/4 Furman posted a 29-17 win over No. 8/14 Western Carolina in front 10.736 fans on-hand Saturday afternoon inside EJ Whitmire Stadium. The win sees the Paladins improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Southern Conference play, taking sole possession of first place in the league standings. The loss sees the Catamounts have their eight-game winning streak snapped against FCS competition, including also their streak of six-straight wins against SoCon foes, as the Catamounts dropped to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in...

FCS fourth-ranked Furman sacked SoCon preseason Player of the Year and talented signal-caller Michael Hiers eight times and recorded a total of nine QB takedowns, as the Paladin defense limited the ‘Hatch Attack’ to just 337 yards and 21 points, while the offense utilized a ground attack that totaled 211 yards en route to a 27-21 Southern Conference win over Samford on a beautiful, sun-splashed Homecoming Saturday afternoon at the newly named Pete Hanna Stadium.  The win sees the Paladins improve to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in SoCon play, while Samford fell to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in Southern Conference action. The loss, in effect, ended all hopes of returning to the FCS playoffs for a second-straight year. The win by the Paladins, meanwhile, sets up a Top 10 showdown between Furman and Western Carolina for the first time in the regular-season history, and will mark the first time both teams were ranked headed into the matchup since 2006 (No. 3 Furman vs. No. 22 Western Carolina). The Ca...