SoCon Football 2023 Season Recap: (Part 1 of 2) Recapping the SoCon's top four teams

Furman quarterback Tyler Huff vs. Montana

The 2023 football season would begin in the heat of Northern Alabama and end in the cold, snowy Big Sky Country of Montana, and in-between, we had one heck of  a football season inside the Southern Conference.

It was another season in which the league took a step forward in terms of showing its overall competitiveness nationally now a full decade removed from the departures of league titans Appalachian State and Georgia Southern. 

With Furman going on the road and representing the league well in one of the toughest venues in all of Division I college football (FBS or FCS), taking national title participant Montana to overtime in the FCS Quarterfinals before dropping a heartbreaking, 35-28, contest, it went a long way in showing the SoCon--a league with eight national titles in its storied history--was ready to compete again among the newly established bluebloods of the classification.

Both the SoCon and Furman have long enjoyed a tradition of winning at a championship level long before the FCS moniker was ever established, starting in the early 1980s as the first dominant league under former membership distinction-- Division I-AA--starting with Western Carolina's breakthrough to a national title game appearance in 1983. 

It was the first of 14 national title game appearances for the SoCon, however, it hasn't made an appearance in the national title game since 2007, and seven of the eight titles won by the conference have since departed for the FBS.  

The goal for the SoCon has been to regain its national acclaim, and it has had to fight a largely western bias to earn back its former high reputation as being one of the top leagues in all of FCS football.

That fight should beginning to sway in the SoCon's favor, as it should now firmly encamp itself as a top three league in FCS football, with the CAA more watered down than it has ever been, having lost James Madison to the Sun Belt following the 2021 season, and now with the league also in line to lose another of its football historical powers, in the Delaware Blue Hens, which was the most successful remaining member of the league, having won a Division I-AA national title in 2003 with one of the greatest individual teams in Division I-AA history. 

The only remaining national championship winners include Richmond (2008) and Villanova (2009), which claimed titles in a time that the league enjoyed national prominence in a golden era for the league. 

The SoCon is firmly in a spot to overtake the CAA, which has now expanded to 14 teams, while the SoCon has added Mercer, VMI and East Tennessee State to the league following the losses of Elon (CAA), App State (FBS/Sun Belt) and Georgia Southern (FBS/Sun Belt). 

Even before Mercer tee'd the ball up in Montgomery to take on North Alabama in the first FCS football game of the season in late August, a month earlier at Hotel Hartness in Greenville, S.C., new commissioner Michael Cross talked about the importance of the SoCon re-establishing itself as a nationally prominent league in the FCS, and football offered the one major opportunity the league had to win a Division I national title. 

The 2023 season would see some teams managed to live up to lofty preseason expectations, while others who were expected to do well in the SoCon, struggled to find their way early and squandered their title opportunity before the end of October.

The Furman Paladins (10-3, 7-1 SoCon) were a team that lived up to those lofty expectations under the direction of seventh-year head coach Clay Hendrix, who had his best team since he returned to Furman to become the head coach back in December of 2016.

In fact, along with South Dakota State, Furman was one of only two teams in FCS football to be picked to win its conference in the preseason and follow through on those lofty preseason expectations.

For a second-straight season, Furman won 10 games, and for the first time in 33 years, the Paladins claimed a Southern Conference title outright, as the Purple and White finished with a 7-1 mark in league games.

Furman qualified for the FCS playoffs for the 20th time in program history, and its 2023 Southern Conference title marked the 15th in its storied conference history, which is most among any current or former league member. 

The Paladins would tie a program record with 13-straight Southern Conference wins before Wofford ended that string of consecutive SoCon wins by forging one of the biggest upsets of the FCS season, handing the Paladins a 19-13 setback on the final weekend of the regular-season.

That loss likely knocked the Paladins out of being a Top four seed in the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2011, when Georgia Southern entered the postseason as the No.3 Georgia Southern Eagles would make it all the way to the FCS Semifinals before being knocked out of the postseason by eventual national champion North Dakota State.

The Paladins would end up being one of three teams selected to the FCS postseason, marking the first time since 2017 that the league has had three playoff qualifiers. 

On the strength of 38 of 44 lettermen returning from its two-deep of a year ago, Furman would be as good as advertised, rising to as high as No. 2 in the nation for a three-week span, becoming the first SoCon school to be ranked that high since Oct. 28, 2012, when Georgia Southern was also ranked No. 2 in the nation.

The Paladins were led by one of the top defensive units in program history, posting a school-record 36 sacks during the regular-season, and its total of 38 sacks in the 13 games the Paladins would finish the season 38 quarterback takedowns, which would mark the third-most in program history and one of the highest marks in the regular-season in Southern Conference history.

The Paladins also finished the season leading the Southern Conference in total defense (316.5 YPG) since the 2003 season, while the Paladins also led the league in scoring defense (18.2 PPG), rushing defense (96.9 YPG), total sacks (38), turnovers gained (27), and interceptions (18).

The Paladins also led the SoCon and the nation in turnover margin (+1.31), which was also a school record. Furman ranked second nationally in turnovers gained (27) and tied for second in total INTs (18). Over the past two seasons, the Paladins have posted a total of 56 turnovers, with 36 pickoffs. 

Despite the loss in the regular-season finale to Wofford, the Paladins had done enough during the regular-season to be considered for a top eight seed in the 24-team FCS playoff field, as the Paladins were selected as the No. 7 seed and would receive an opening round bye.

Furman would finish the regular-season by going 3-0 against ranked opposition, knocking off No. 20 Mercer (W, 38-14), winning at No. 8 Western Carolina (W,  29-17) and winning at No. 14 Chattanooga (W, 17-14) late in the regular-season, clinching a share of the 2023 Southern Conference title. 

Furman opened the 2023 season with a 45-10 triumph over Tennessee Tech in a game, which saw the Paladins force six turnovers in a game for the first time since 2008 in a home win over No. 6 Delaware.

The Paladins started the 2023 season much like the Paladins opened the 2022 season--with a pick six--with Cally Chizik opening the 2022 season with a 56-yard return for a score in a win over North Greenville. 

In 2023, it would be Travis Blackshear that would return Ethan Roberts errant pass to the near sidelines 43 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead en route to what would be a big opening night for the sixth-ranked team in the nation to open the season.

The Paladins, which had four INTs in the game, returned two for scores, with linebacker Dan Scianna returning it 58 yards for a score late in the game, and Furman recorded an INT at every level of defense--defensive line, linebacker, cornerback and safety. 

The Paladins would suffer their only real sound beating of the season in the second game of the season at SEC member South Carolina, as the Gamecocks used a barrage of big plays to break open a close game inside the final minute of the opening half of play, taking a tie, 14-14, game and turned it in to a momentum building pair of touchdowns just before the break to take a 27-14 lead into the half. 

It was a big day for Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler, who threw for 345 yards and three scores in the win. It would be an evening that would see the Gamecocks roll up a season-high in total yards against the Paladin defense, amassing 571 yards of total offense, which included 463 yards threw the air.

The one noteworthy accomplishment for the Paladins in the second half of the contest would see Carson Jones toss his first scoring pass as a Paladin--a 16-yard scoring pass to freshman tight end Brock Chappell with just under five minutes remaining--which ended up producing the final points of the evening at Williams-Brice Stadium in what was a 26-point, 47-21, setback.

Furman's final non-conference of the game of the season would be only the second meeting in series history with the opposition, as the Paladins headed to the outskirts of Atlanta to face Kennesaw State.

The Paladins would avenge a 2016 loss, which saw the Owls claim a wild, 52-42, win in Greenville by handing the Owls a 31-28 setback on what was a big night for quarterback Tyler Huff, who accounted for 316 yards of total offense and recorded four rushing touchdowns, as the Paladins fought hard to move to 2-1 on the young season.

The Paladins would end up getting out-gained, 490-396, in the win, however, and it would be the end of any real sustained offensive success by the opposition against the Furman defense for the remainder of the 2023 season. 

No. 18 Mercer would be the first team to catch the measure of Furman's anger on the defensive side of the football after a challenging start to the season, as the Paladins would limit the Bears to just 267 yards and 14 points en route to what was a 38-14 rout in Greenville. 

Furman then had an off week before hosting The Citadel, as the largest crowd to see a Furman home game (12,157) since 2010 piled inside of Paladin Stadium to take in the rivalry game, which would see the Paladins post their third-straight, handing The Citadel a 28-14 setback inside the friendly confines of Paladin Stadium. 

The Paladins finished the contest with a 345-278 edge in total offense, which included a substantial 199-39 advantage in ground yardage in the win over the arch-rival Bulldogs.

Following the win over The Citadel, the Paladins faced their most challenging stretch of the campaign, facing a streak three of their toughest games on the road in a four-week span, beginning with defending champion Samford, who came into the contest desperate for a win to keep its postseason hopes alive.

The Bulldogs were the last Southern Conference team to have beaten the Paladins a little over a year earlier, handing the Paladins 34-27 in Greenville on a day that starting quarterback Tyler Huff did not play, as he was out with an injury. Much had also been made in the preseason about this game being the de facto Southern Conference championship game.

Furman's defense would have a breakout afternoon, and after having recorded a total of six sacks all season, the Paladins would break through and sack Samford quarterbacks Michael Hiers (8) and Quincy Crittendon (1) a total of nine times en route to a 27-21 crucial road win.

If there was a turning point in the 2023 season for the Paladins, the win over the Bulldogs in Birmingham was it, as the Paladins captured a ninth-straight win over Southern Conference competition, dating back to that loss to the Bulldogs in 2022. 

While the stadium underwent a name change at the half, transitioning from Seibert Stadium to Pete Hanna Stadium, Furman would come in and make Bobby Bowden Field a memorable one for its defensive performance.

The Paladins held Samford's high-octane, tempo 'Hatch Attack' to just 337 yards and 21 points, while the Furman offense utilized a ground attack that totaled 211 yards en route to a 27-21 Southern Conference win over the league's defending champions.

Furman’s total of nine sacks in the contest were one off the school record, which was set way back in 1997 in the regular-season finale at Chattanooga in what was a 43-21 road win, as SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and senior defensive end Bryan Dailer had a SoCon record seven quarterback takedowns. 

The Paladins’ nine sacks is tied for second-most in program history, which the Paladins recorded back during 2001 Division I-AA playoffs (now FCS playoffs). Prior to Saturday’s nine sacks vs. Samford, the Paladins had totaled just six in their previous five games entering Saturday’s mid-season

The 337 yards of total offense were the fewest allowed by a Samford FCS foe this season. Cally Chizik, who spent much of his childhood growing up in Auburn, AL, as the son of former Auburn national championship-winning head coach Gene Chizik, posted a team-high 13 tackles, while Furman spread its nine sacks among nine players—Jack Barton (2.5 sacks), Evan DiMaggio (2.0 sacks), Dan Scianna (1.0 sack), Bryce Stanfield (1.0 sack), Jeremiah Jackson (1.0 sack), and Xavier Stephens (0.5 sack).

Offensively, the Paladins were led by quarterback Tyler Huff, who accounted for 284 yards of total offense, as he finished the game completing 19-of-28 passes for 205 yards, with two touchdowns and an INT, while finishing the contest with 79 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

The Paladins’ ground efforts were led by running back Dominic Roberto, who rushed for a season-high 128 yards and a touchdown on 18 rush attempts. The Paladins also totaled a season-high 416 yards, out-gaining the Bulldogs 416-337 on the day.

Furman running back Dominic Roberto vs. Western Carolina (photo courtesy of Furman athletics)

Next up, the Paladins would face eighth-ranked Western Carolina and its top ranked offense. In fact,  including both FBS and FCS, only Washington and Oregon were averaging more yards-per-game and points per game in NCAA Division I football. 

But Furman's defense would prove otherwise. The Paladins showed up and shut down the nation's No. 1 offense, while rolling up their best offensive afternoon en route to a huge 29-17 road win. The Paladins held a Catamount offense that came in averaging 531.8 YPG and 41.3 PPG to just 353 yards and 17 points--season lows to that point against FCS competition.

Meanwhile, paced by quarterback Tyler Huff's 263 yards total offense in the game, the Paladins would roll up a season-high 508 yards en route to take control of the Southern Conference standings lead. 

Late in the game, it was Huff that clinched the win on a 53-yard RPO keeper around right end, out-pacing the Catamount defense to the end zone to give the Paladins a two-score lead with less than a minute remaining. 

As a team, the Paladins rushed for 334 yards on 48 attempts, with Dominic Roberto leading the way with a season-high 154 yards and a touchdown on 31 attempts. The 31 rushing attempts for Roberto were a career-high.

In Roberto's three games against the Catamounts, he rushed for 602 yards and seven TDs on 80 carries, averaging an impressive 7.5 YPC in his career vs. the other team in the league that dons a hue of Purple.

Huff was once again under center in leading the Paladins to a key league victory, finishing 13-of-22 passing for 174 yards and a pair of scores, while rushing for 89 yards and a score on just six rush attempts.

When WCU running back Desmond Reid went down early in the game after a 39-yard reception from quarterback Cole Gonzales on WCU's second drive of the day, it was a completely different injury than the one that the Catamount running back had exited the game with a couple of weeks earlier against Chattanooga, and Reid was 100% coming into the game against Furman.

Needless to say that development would not only hamper the Catamounts on this day, but also for the remainder of the 2023 season. That said, the day belonged to the best team in the Southern Conference and one of the top defenses in the country. 

Furman held the Catamounts to just 84 rushing yards, sacking Catamount quarterback Cole Gonzales three times and picked him off twice. Gonzales hadn't been sacked since the season opener against Arkansas, when the Razorbacks recorded a pair of sacks of the sophomore quarterback in the season opener.

The 12-point win over the Catamounts in late October marked the highest ranked foe the Paladins had defeated on the road in the regular-season since October 15, 1988, when Furman went on the road to knock off No. 3 Appalachian State, 24-9, ending the Mountaineers' 20-game winning streak against SoCon opposition.

Following the win over the Catamounts, Furman turned in what was a rather lackluster homecoming performance against a struggling East Tennessee State team. 

The Paladins used another strong defensive effort, needing just three field goals and a touchdown to power past the Bucs, 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.

The vanilla offensive performance was enough to keep the Paladins healthy heading into their biggest game of the regular-season, which was a looming road test at Chattanooga in a game that would decided the Southern Conference regular-season champion and the automatic bid qualifier for the FCS playoffs. 

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 Bucs quarterback William Riddle, which came from Micah Robinson, setting up the Paladin offense at the ETSU 42.

Four plays later, Huff found Harris on a tunnel screen and he did the rest, racing 22 yards with 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter to give the Paladins a seemingly commanding lead.

The Bucs would certainly make things interesting in the final quarter, however, as Ton’Quez Ball returned a Ryan Leavy blocked punt eight yards for a score with just under 12 minutes remaining, making it a 16-6 contest. The Bucs wisely opted to go for the two point game to make it a one-score game, and Riddle found Xavier Galliardetz on the conversion, getting the Blue and Gold to within eight, at 16-8.

The Paladin defense, which held the Bucs at bay all afternoon, would hold serve the rest of the day, with a Braden Gilby sack of Riddle for a loss of eight yards on 4th-and-5 from the Furman 38 effectively ending the threat.

Roberto would rush it three times for 11 yards, forcing ETSU to burn its final timeout in the process, and Roberto’s final first down of the day allowed Huff and the Paladin offense to run off the remaining time on the clock en route to its seventh win of the season.

The Paladins would finish the day holding a 300-230 edge in total offense, with the Bucs holding the 119-85 advantage in rushing yards. The Paladins held the 215-111 advantage in aerial yards.

Furman quarterback Tyler Huff was solid in the winning effort once again, connecting on 21-of-35 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown, while rushing just three times for 16 yards.

The Paladins were led on the ground by Dominic Roberto, as he rushed for 65 tough yards on 22 attempts.

The aforementioned Joshua Harris led the Furman receiving efforts, as he hauled in eight passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, while Luke Shiflett had five catches for 34 yards and Kyndel Dean hauled in four passes for 60 yards.

Up to No. 2 after a loss by Montana State, the Paladins headed to Chattanooga to take on the Mocs for all the marbles. It was Furman's highest ranking since 2005, when it headed to Georgia Southern as the No. 1 team in the nation during that season, and the Paladins' No. 2 ranking was the highest ranking for a Southern Conference team since 2012, which was former member Georgia Southern.

The Paladins would win a thriller, 17-14, however, the win came in difficult fashion.

The win over Chattanooga would come amid some adversity, as the Paladins would see starting quarterback Tyler Huff go down with a separated shoulder in the second quarter, forcing Furman to rely on redshirt freshman Carson Jones to bring home the win. He would come through in the clutch for the Paladins, helping Furman post the three-point road win.

The win guaranteed Furman at least a share of their 15th Southern Conference crown, as the Paladins came from behind late by using a late 9-yard scoring toss from redshirt freshman Carson Jones-to-Wayne Anderson Jr. with 2:58 remaining to give the Paladins a 17-14 lead in what was a thrilling fourth quarter.

When Furman lost veteran Huff to an apparent shoulder injury less than two minutes into the second quarter, the Paladins faced their most adversity in a high-stakes situation in the 2023 football season.

Furman, which came into the matchup with one of the most experienced mature teams in college football among its two-deep coming into the season, would now have to rely on a talented redshirt freshman to lead it to its eighth win (8-1) of the season, and remain undefeated in SoCon play (6-0) entering its final two league games. A win on Senior day against VMI next Saturday would see the Paladins win their first outright Southern Conference title in 33 years.

Jones, who was highlighted in the recruited former Paladin offensive coordinator and Maryville High School head coach, as well as current East Tennessee State head coach George Quarles, chose Furman among 20 offers during the recruiting process, which included Mercer and Gardner-Webb.

His patience paid off and his hard work during the off-season made him ready for his inevitable moment when he would be called upon to step up, and the cool and unflappable redshirt freshman met his moment of test with the readiness of a seasoned veteran.

On a day when points and yards came at a premium, the Mocs ended up holding a 357-244 edge in total offense. Furman’s 244 yards of total offense were the lowest yardage total of the season, while the 357 yards of total offense for the Mocs mark the Mocs’ third-lowest total of the season, with only Mercer (351 yds) and VMI (356 yds)—both of which were road wins for UTC road wins—accounting for lower offensive outputs by the explosive Mocs.

UTC needed 70 plays to generate its 357 yards, but on only two passing plays, amassed 137 yards of its final total with the two longest passing plays from scrimmage in the Southern Conference this season.

Jones finished the day connecting on 14-of-27 passes for 139 yards, with two TDs and an INT. Furman running back Dominic Roberto rushed for 61 yards on eight carries, while the Paladin receiving efforts led by true freshman Colton Hinton Jr., who hauled in four passes for 61 yards and a score.

Senior running back and wide receiver Wayne Anderson Jr. blocked a punt and had the nine-yard scoring catch were huge on a day when a number of guys stepped on both sides of the ball for the Paladins. 

Anderson directly helped contribute to 10 of Furman’s 17 points in the game, with the blocked punt leading to a 37-yard field goal from Ian Williams to start the scoring, while his scoring catch from Jones with just under three minutes left bookending the scoring for Furman in the win. Anderson also rushed for 18 yards on seven attempts, and his only catch proved to be the game-winner.

The win also saw Furman become the first of 24 teams to punch its ticket to the 2023 FCS playoffs.

Fittingly, the game would change on a defensive play, and it came from a player that decided to come back to the Paladin football program after initially entering the portal and then deciding to return to the Furman football program. His loyalty and commitment to the Paladin football program when its oftentimes easier to leave for greener pastures was justly rewarded, as he would be a major reason the Paladins would leave the Scenic City with some SoCon hardware.

Chattanooga threatened to take a two-score lead late in the quarter, as the Mocs reached the Paladin 25 with under a minute remaining in the third. It set the stage for what would turn out to be a game-changing play.

On 3rd-and-9 from the Paladin 25, the Mocs opted to go to its back of tricks, as Whatley took the pitch on a reverse and threw towards the end zone and into double coverage, with Zaire Thornton making an incredible effort to try and reach around Jack Rhodes to snag a Tyrone Prothro-like (Alabama vs.Southern Miss 1997) catch in the end zone, however, in doing so, he inadvertently tipped the ball into the air and the ball was picked off by Furman’s Travis Blackshear.

Blackshear, who was making his 47th-career start fo rthe Paladins—a program record—was only making his return to the lineup following wrist surgery just eight days earlier, inserting pins into his wrist to fuse bone together. 

None of that mattered in this situation, as Blackshear’s concentration was not broken and he picked the ball out of the air and then returned 46 yards near midfield, giving Furman all the momentum and completely changing the trajectory and nature of the football game. Blackshear didn’t start and was only in the game on selective series, making his game-changer that much more incredible.

It was not all that different than Cally Chizik’s interception against Western Carolina, which came at almost the exact same point in the game and in the end zone, however, the lone difference was the fact that Furman still led that game against Western Carolina, but the Catamounts were on the verge of assuming the game, which could have changed the momentum in a negative direction in that Top 10 road win.

"The receiver tried to jump over (safety) Jack (Rhodes) and he tossed the ball up. I happened to be in the right spot at the right time… "I just want to thank the trainers for making this happen. I told them how much I wanted to play in this game and asked them to do whatever they could,”said Furman senior cornerback Travis Blackshear of his big play.

Seizing upon that momentum and calmed by the play, Furman’s offense went to work. The Paladin offense went to work, taking over at its own 46 with just 22 seconds left in the quarter. On the first play of the new offensive set of downs for Furman, Jones found Kyndel on a 27-yard pass to get the visiting crowd from Furrman on its feet.

Following an incompletion on the next play, the Paladins faced 3rd-and-10 from the UTC 27. It would then be one freshman to another, as Jones found true freshman wideout Colton Hinton Jr. on the third play of the final quarter, giving the Paladins their first plead in the game—10-7–since late in the second quarter.

After Furman sacked Artopoues twice on the Mocs next possession, it would give Jones and the Paladin offense a chance to build upon its advantage and a chance to build a two-score advantage. However, after a promising start and a first down on an eight-yard catch by Roberto and two-yard run by the redshirt junior, Jones threw a couple of incompletions, and Furman was forced to punt the ball back to the Mocs.

The Mocs would re-take the lead on the next possession, and just like some on the UTC side might call Blackshear’s pick in the end zone a “fluke occurrence”, which led to Furman retaking the lead in the contest, it would be a fluke occurence on a long pass play, according to Furman folks, that would allow the Mocs to regain the lead. That’s because, like Thornton did everything right as a receiver to effort an acrobatic scoring catch for UTC, likewise the Paladin defense would be hard done by 72-yard scoring play by the Mocs.

On what was a the first play of the ensuing drive following a Ryan Leavy 47-yard punt, Artopoues was hit as he let the ball go, causing the ball to flutter and float just long enough for the speedy Jamoi Mayes to react, and he did the rest by racing 70 yards for the score and a 14-10 Mocs lead with just under nine minutes remaining.

Furman couldn’t do anything on its ensuing offensive possession after netting one first, however, the defense would continue to do its part late in the game to give Jones and the Paladin offense every chance they could to win the football game. The Paladins forced the Mocs into a three-and-out on their next possession, and after Crile’s 37-yard punt, Furman’s offense took over at midfield. Furman would a pair of a clutch throws by Jones on third downs to put the Paladins in a position to take a late-game lead.

The first came on a 3rd-and-8 play at the UTC 38, as Jones hooked up with his big 6-7 tight end Mason Pline, who continues to make clutch catches in the Furman passing attack, setting up Furman with a first down at UTC 24. Three plays later, the Paladins would face another third down—this time a 3rd-and-10 play—and Jones found freshman wideout Ben Anderson in the flats for a 12-yard completing, giving the Paladins a first down at the UTC 12.

Two plays later and following time out, Jones found a wide open Wayne Anderson in the flat on the same side Anderson caught his pass a couple plays earlier, and Anderson did the rest, out-racing a Mocs defender the corner pylon and a Furman 17-14 lead following the Ian Williams PAT with 2:58 remaining.

The Mocs would get the ball back and have one last chance to tie or win the football game. However, as it had done all day and all season to this point, the Paladin defense would slam the door shut and allow the Paladins to carry with it the 2023 SoCon Champions Trophy back to Greenville.

A week later against VMI, Jones would throw for 226 yards and four touchdowns, as the Paladins routed VMI, 37-3. 

The win over the Keydets saw the Furman defense shine as well, holding the Keydets to a meager 189 yards of total offense, with 123 of those yards coming in the fourth quarter and after Furman had taken most of its starters out on both sides of the football, leading 37-0 at the end of three quarters. 

Furman held its final 10 opponents to lower yardage totals than their offenses averaged coming into the game. It started with the Paladins holding Mercer to just 267 yards, which was 53 yards less than the 323.7 YPG the Bears came into the contest averaging. 

The one blemish against FCS competition for the Paladins would come in the 2023 regular-season finale against Upstate rival Wofford--a team that came into the matchup with just a 1-9 record, however, came in with a measure of confidence having defeated The Citadel on the road just a week earlier.

Furman won the toss and deferred until the second half, giving the Terriers the football first.

The Terriers would open the game by putting up points on their opening drive, as Bridger Jones connected on a 46-yard field goal to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead with 10:21 remaining in the opening quarter. 

The Paladins would tie the game late in the quarter after Xavier Stephens sacked Terrier starting quarterback Amarri Odom and the loose ball was recovered by Matt Sochovka at the Wofford 10.

After reaching the four on a six-yard pass on third down, the Paladins had to settle for a 22-yard Ian Williams field goal to tie the game with 4:39 left in the opening quarter.

The Paladins defense would force its third turnover of the opening half when Luke Clark applied a big hit on Wofford running back Ryan Ingram, forcing the ball free and the ball would be recovered by Jack Barton.

The Paladins netted a first down, however, before having to settle for a field goal, as Williams connected on his 10th-straight field goal to give the Paladins a 6-3 lead with remaining in the opening half of play.

Wofford was the lone team to find the end zone in the opening half and it would come on a 4th-and-2 play at its own 47.

The Paladins had most their defense aligned along the line of scrimmage in an effort to prevent Wofford from reaching the yard to gain, however, Terrier running back Ryan Ingram eluded one tackle and was off to the races, finishing it off 53 yards later in the end zone to give the Terriers a 10-6 advantage.

Furman would have one more chance at the end of half, but Ian Williams’ 32-yard field goal attempt would bang off the right upright and was no good to make to keep the deficit for the Paladins. That would remain the score as the two teams entered the halftime locker room with a surprising scoreline.

The surprises would continue early in the third quarter, as on a 4th-and-1 play a missed exchange led to a 64-yard fumble return for a touchdown by Wofford’s Maximus Pulley to provide even more shock to the system for those watching around the nation, giving the Terriers a 16-6 lead. A missed Bridger Jones PAT left the margin at 10.

The Paladins would see the Terriers tack on a late 42-yard field goal by Jones to make it a 19-6 contest with lead with 50 seconds left in the third. Jones’ second field goal of the game came as a result of a Carson Jones INT, which gave the Terriers the football inside Furman territory.

Early in the fourth quarter it would be the Paladins that would begin to make things interesting and when Myion Hicks ran the ball in from 11 yards out to get the Paladins to within six, at 19-13, with a scoring run to seemingly give Paladins all the momentum with 12:07 remaining in the game. The Hicks TD run concluded what was a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive by the Paladins.

Furman’s defense, which has been outstanding all season, was once again elite Saturday and again provided a prime opportunity to salvage the win.

The Paladins finished the contest holding a 188-184 advantage in total offense, with the Terriers holding a slight 92-89 advantage in rushing yards.

Despite the loss, Furman wouldn't fall out of a Top eight seed, but the Paladins had to be wondering what might have been if they could have found a way past the Terriers in Spartanburg. My own opinion is that the Paladins would have been the No. 3 seed behind No. 2 Montana. 

The Paladins would end up having to square off against a familiar foe in the FCS playoffs, as for the seventh time in program history, the Paladins would end up seeing a team in the postseason that it had also played in the regular-season.  

The Paladins would take on that tough, gritty Chattanooga team again in the second round of the playoffs, and that would be because the Mocs would break through and win the program's first road playoff game in program history, as the Mocs ended Austin Peay's 2023 season by defeating the Governors, 24-21, in opening round action at Fortera Stadium a week earlier.

However, the Mocs came to Greenville without their starting quarterback, Chase Artopoues, who was injured late in Chattanooga's 17-14 loss to the Paladins three weeks earlier in the battle that would settle the automatic qualifier to the postseason. 

After the Mocs put together an impressive 81-yard drive to take its only lead of the day on an 11-yard TD run by Reggie Davis on their opening drive of the game, the Paladin defense shut the door and sealed it shut, allowing no points and a meager 119 yards over the remainder of the game.

It allowed the Paladins to advance into uncharted territory in recent seasons, as the Paladins were the SoCon's representative in the FCS version of the Elite Eight this season, facing off against No. 2 overall seed Montana (11-1).

The Grizzlies came into the quarterfinal battle with the Paladins as one of the hottest teams in all of FCS football, having won seven-straight games, which included a 49-19 dismantling of Delaware in a second round in snowy Missoula a week earlier. 

The Grizzlies were good no matter where you had to play them, however, it was especially to tough to beat the Grizzlies in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Grizzlies came in winners of their previous 10 games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, with many of those 10-straight victories coming in blowout fashion.

Many had predicted a win for the Grizzlies in blowout fashion, and it had been a while since a SoCon team had been competitive in a quarterfinal game. In 2022, Samford had been beaten, 27-9 a year earlier in Fargo, North Dakota against the North Dakota State Bison.

Not since 2016, when Wofford dropped a 30-23 double-overtime decision to eventual national runner-up Youngstown State had the SoCon been really competitive in an FCS quarterfinal game.

Furman, which yielded a 99-yard kickoff return to start the game and a 59-yard punt return for a score in the fourth quarter, found a way to force overtime, stunning the 20,884 fans in attendance, as the Paladins limited the Grizzly offense to just 14 points.

The Paladin were able to force overtime in dramatic fashion, when Furman quarterback Tyler Huff found 6-7 tight end on a 13-yard scoring strike with 13 seconds remaining, and after jumping offsides on what could have been the potential game-winning two-point conversion attempt, Ian Williams would convert the PAT to tie the game, 28-28, and send it to an extra session.

Furman won the coin toss in overtime, electing to go on defense first. After Eli Gallman gained six yards on the first play was followed by quarterback Clifton McDowell going for seven and a first down on the next play, the Grizzlies would score what would prove to be the game-winning TD when quarterback Clifton McDowell hooked up with Keelan White for a 13-yard scoring pass to make it 35-28.

Furman went four and out on the ensuing offensive possession, as the Montana defense helped secure the win.

With the loss by the Paladins, it ended the SoCon's chance at a national championship and a breakthrough to the semifinals of the playoffs for the first time since 2011. But the Paladins had done enough to show the SoCon was no pushover, and Montana would ease past North Dakota State, 31-29, in double-overtime the following week in the FCS semifinals to make it to the FCS title game to square off against top-seeded South Dakota State in the championship game to be played in Frisco, TX on Jan. 7. Kickoff for the national championship game is set for 2 p.m. EST.   

Furman had a school-record 19 players chosen to the postseason All-SoCon team, while quarterback Tyler Huff became the first Paladin chosen as Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year since 2011, when Paladin quarterback Chris Forcier garnered the same award.

Huff was chosen as the SoCon Offensive Player of the Year by the league's head coaches He quickly established himself as a winner, and is just two seasons under center for the Paladins, and quickly put his name at least in the conversation to be included on Furman’s Mt. Rushmore of all-time great quarterbacks. If his 19-4 record as a starting quarterback over two seasons wasn’t enough, how about his sterling 13-0 mark against Southern Conference opposition during his career in both the regular-season and postseason. 

The graduate transfer from Presbyterian College, who was looked over and ultimately benched after rehabbing from a knee injury, opted to transfer to a Furman football program better suited for his skillset and what he brought to the table as a dual threat.

While he may have been PC’s cast-off, Huff turned out to be Furman’s savior under center and the missing piece that allowed the Paladins to once again be a part of the national conversations when discussing the FCS elite. 

Huff not only posted a 19-4 overall record against all competition and an unbeaten 13-0 against Southern Conference competition, he also managed to post a 16-2 record against FCS teams in his career, with the only two losses in games he started coming in the FCS playoffs each of the past two seasons--both were games that the Paladins could have easily won--as both Incarnate Word (L, 38-41/2022 FCS Second Rd) and  Montana (L, 28-35 OT/2023 FCS Quarterfinals) accounted for the only two FCS teams to defeat Furman when Huff started under center. Huff also ended his Paladin career having never lost a home game, having gone a perfect 10-0 inside the friendly confines of Paladin Stadium during his career. 

The Paladins went as far as Huff could take them, and without Ryan Miller around for defenses to have to respect as a big-play threat this season, it put more of an onus on Huff to be that guy to make the play. 

That’s why the Paladins, ultimately, were able to outgain Clemson (384-376) in what was a 35-12 loss to the FBS sixth-ranked Tigers. Huff’s only other regular-season loss during his two seasons as the Furman signal-caller came early in the 2023 season, as the Paladins dropped a 47-21 contest at South Carolina.

Huff’s finished out his stellar career as the Paladin signal-caller ranking second in career rushing yards by a quarterback (1,285 yds) and his 39 career touchdown responsibilities (25 passing, 14 rushing) rank him tied for fifth in program history. His 4,068 passing yards in two seasons were good enough to place Huff inside the Top 10 all-time in program history, which was just ahead of former Paladin great Clyde Hewell (3,993 yds/1966-68) and just below former Paladin legend Bobby Lamb (4,168 yds/1982-85).

Huff was a major reason as to why the Paladins ended up with an impressive 20-6 overall record each of the past two seasons, including a 14-2 mark against Southern Conference competition. 

Roberto finished his career as one of the greats to ever tote the pigskin for the Paladins, and finished out a strong career with 2,871 rushing yards to go with 32 career touchdowns. He finished his standout career ranking eighth in school history in career rushing yards.

Furman also bids farewell to greats like cornerback All-SoCon performer and AP All American Travis Blackshear, running back and All-SoCon selection Dominic Roberto, offensive lineman and Jacobs Blocking Award winner, All-SoCon selection, and AP All-American Jacob Johanning, All-SoCon offensive linemen Pearson Toomey and Wyatt Hughes, linebacker, leading tackler and Furman record-holder for games played Braden Gilby and Walter Camp All-American and All-SoCon performer Cally Chizik. 

Also gone are three-time all-league veteran Hugh Ryan and SoCon Offensive Player of the Year (coaches) Tyler Huff, team captain and Furman's oldest player and All-SoCon selection Matt Sochovka, who was the heartbeat of one of the best defensive lines in the history of Furman football. Needless to say, it will be quite a rebuilding job that head coach Clay Hendrix has before him during the off-season. 

Paladin Defensive Notes:

—Furman finished the 2023 season leading the Southern Conference in total defense (316.0) for the first time in two decades, last leading the SoCon in that particular category back in 2003. The ‘03 unit ranks as one of the best in school history, surrendering just 272.5 YPG during that particular season. The 2023 season also marked the 10th time in league history in which the Paladins have finished the campaign with the league’s top unit. The 316.0 YPG yield sees the Paladins finish out the 2023 campaign ranking 19th in the FCS in total defense. 

—Furman’s 36 sacks during the 11-game regular season were a Paladin regular-season record. Furman, which finished the season with a total of 38 quarterback takedowns, which is the third-most in program history, trailing only the 1988 (49 sacks) and ‘89 (39 sacks) seasons, respectively.  The 49 sacks by the Paladins in ‘88 rank as a Southern Conference single-season record. It marked just the fourth time in league history that the Paladins have finished the season leading the SoCon in sacks, and it marks the first time the Paladins finished a season leading the league in quarterback takedowns since 2017.

Furman Opponent Total Offense Last 9 Games (Yards Allowed vs. Avg. Entering Game) 

Mercer (267 vs. 323.7 ypg)

The Citadel (278 vs. 199 ypg)

Samford (337 vs. 436.0 ypg)

Western Carolina (353 vs. 531.0 ypg) 

East Tennessee State (230 vs. 262.0 ypg) 

Chattanooga (357 vs. 420.7 ypg)

VMI (189 vs. 305.2 ypg)

Wofford (184 vs. 254.8 ypg)

Chattanooga (200 vs. 399.9 ypg)

Montana (356 vs. 383.3 ypg)

While the Paladins were making a trip back to the playoffs in consecutive campaigns for the first time since 2005 and '06, the Mercer Bears (9-4, 6-2 SoCon) would end the 2023 season by making their first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs.

It was a vision that vision that president Bill Underwood had had when he brought back football to middle Georgia after a 72-year hiatus, and a decade after bringing football back to the Mercer campus, step one of that vision was achieved in 2023, and that was breaking through and making the FCS postseason.

The Bears, who were picked to finish third by the coaches and media in the preseason, and Mercer would end up finishing the regular-season with an 8-3 overall record and a 6-2 mark in league play, tying for second and that was good enough to get the Bears an at-large invite to the postseason.

Mercer, who was under the direction of fourth-year head coach Drew Cronic, found that the third time of knocking on the door of the postseason to be a charm, squandering opportunities in each of the previous two campaigns in the final week of the regular-season, with losses to East Tennessee State (L, 35-38 in 2021) and Samford (L, 44-50 OT in 2022) to miss out on the postseason with just seven wins.

When the Bears broke through on the final weekend of the regular-season and posted a 28-21 win over defending champion Samford, it meant the program had posted eight was since its inaugural season return to the gridiron back in 2013, when the Bears won 10 games playing as a member of the Pioneer Football League.

 But it was the first in a scholarship conference, and that was good enough to see the Bears hear their name called on ESPNU open Selection Sunday as a part of the 24-team playoff field.

Interestingly, the Southern Conference was part of both South Dakota State and Montana's trip to an eventual meeting in the national championship game on Sunday, Jan. 9, 

2024, in Frisco, TX, in what will be the national championship game. 

After Mercer won its first playoff game--a 17-7 history-making win over Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the playoffs at Five Star Stadium--the Bears had to travel to No. 1 seed and reigning national champion South Dakota State in the next round, dropping what was a 41-0  contest in Brooking, South Dakota.

With 10 starters back on the defensive side of the football, it was the Bears defense that would prove to be the element that was strongest and one of the primary reasons that Mercer was able to break through and have a historic, memorable season that head coach Drew Cronic will look to build on moving forward.

The Bears showed off that defense in the season-opening, 17-7, win over North Alabama, as Mercer started the season ranked 20th in the nation. In the season opener, Mercer ended up holding North Alabama to just 248 yards of total offense in the win. 

The biggest question mark coming into the season for the Bears was the quarterback position, where Fred Payton had graduated. Taking over the signal-calling duties for the 2023 season would be Carter Peevy, who was the Bears' quarterback during the COVID-19 spring season season of 2020-21. 

While question marks might have surrounded the quarterback position, one area there were seemingly no question marks entering the 2023 season was at wide receiver, with the return of arguably the two top wideouts in all of FCS football, in Ty James and Devron Harper.

Peevy would end up leading an offense that would seemingly improve with each passing week, and it would Peevy that would provide one of the biggest offensive highlights of the early season when he raced 75 yards for a score on a day of few highlights in what was a 73-7 loss to Ole Miss. 

The Bears would move to 2-1 following their final non-conference game of the season, facing off against Morehead State in the home opener at Five Star Stadium. In what would be a 48-22 win over Morehead State, the Bears would roll up 450 yards of total offense, with Ty James hauling in five passes for 146 yards, moving atop the program's all-time receiving charts, while Devron Harper nearly set a new single-game mark for all-purpose yards, which included a 53-yard punt return for a score, leading the Bears to the lopsided, 26-point win.

After a week off to prepare. the 21st-ranked Bears headed to Greenville to face No. 8 Furman and the Southern Conference favorite would show why they were so highly thought of nationally, as the homesteading Paladins dispatched the Bears, 38-14, in Paladin Stadium.

Furman finished the afternoon rolling up a substantial 387-267 advantage in total offensive yards. as the Paladins would break open the game in the second half, and held the Bears to only one second half touchdown en route to handing the Bears their second loss of the season.

With the loss, Mercer would fall from the rankings and now the season entered a crucial mode for Drew Cronic's football team, with little margin for error at 2-2 on the season.

If Mercer was going to break through and make its first playoff appearance in school history, it would have to navigate tricky games against VMI and East Tennessee State before getting to a potentially monumental clash against Chattanooga at Five Star Stadium. 

The Bears would get a big day out of Al Wooten II in what would be a lopsided, 38-3, win over VMI, and Wooten II would finish the day rushing for a career-high 164 yards and a pair of scores to help Mercer to the five-touchdown triumph. 

The next time out at ETSU,  the Bears used a big second half to get a 24-6 road win over the Bucs, as Ty James had a career day, matching a school record with 14 catches for 258 yards and touchdowns of 30 and 50 yards, respectively, and the Bears defense locked down the ETSU offense to just 126 yards. 

The win over the Bucs saw the Bears improve to 4-2, and it set another monumental matchup for the Bears, as they welcomed No. 20 Chattanooga to Five Star Stadium for a key league clash, however, it would be the Mocs defense that would lock down Peevy and the Mercer offense, and it would be UTC's fifth win in its last six games. 

The Mocs took a 12-0 lead to the half on a quartet of Clayton Crile field goals, with a pair of 37 yarders, as well as trifectas from 45 and 32 yards, respectively.  

In the second half, Mercer would score the first touchdown of the day in a defensive battle, as Carter Peevy found Ty James for a 10-yard scoring pass to cut the Mocs lead to five, at 12-7. The score was set up by a Peevy-to-James 31-yard connection a couple plays earlier.

However, UTC would restore its two-score lead by finding the end zone for the first time of the game, when Mocs quarterback Chase Artopoues helped the Mocs drive the football 75 yards in six plays, culminating with a 30-yard scoring pass to wideout Sam Phillips. 

Mercer would get back into the game late in the third quarter, when Reice Grifith connected on a 36-yard field goal to make it a 19-10 game with 2:35 left in the third quarter.

However, Crile would add his fifth field goal of the day, helping the Mocs re-take a double-digit lead, as his 27-yard field goal with just under four minutes remaining gave the Mocs a 22-10 lead, and that would ultimately prove to be the winning margin.

At 4-3, the Bears would get hot down the stretch, winning their final four games to make the postseason.

Following a 31-17 win over Wofford, the Bears faced their most crucial test of the season with a trip to Cullowhee, N.C., to face off against 10th-ranked Western Carolina on a day in which the Catamounts would be celebrating their homecoming. 

The Bears played maybe their most complete game of the 2023 season, rolling up 420 yards of offense, while forcing six Catamount turnovers en route to geting a huge 45-38 road win. It marked the Catamounts' eighth-straight win in the series. 

From the game's opening kickoff, Mercer put its grips on controlling the football game, forcing a fumble on the game's opening kickoff, which was recovered by the Bears and that would set up the first Bears touchdown on the day, and it came on a day when the theme would be 'points off turnovers' for the opportunistic visitors from Macon, GA.

Carter Peevy's 2-yard rumble up the middle would give Mercer the early 7-0 lead. The Bears would fumble at their own 18 yard line on their next possession with the football, and Western Carolina would make Mercer pay for that mistake, as on the second play following the turnover, quarterback Cole Gonzales found a wide open David White down the near sideline for an 18-yard scoring strike, tying the game, 7-7, with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Then came the onslaught of points from the Bears, who would end up scoring 21 unanswered points to take a 28-7 lead. 

Mercer needed just five plays to cover 65 yards on its ensuing series with the football, and less than two minutes after the Catamounts had tied the football game, Mercer had re-taken the lead when Ty James hauled in an 18-yard pass from Peevy to make it a 14-7 Bears lead with 8:04 left in the opening quarter of play.

On Western Carolina's next offensive possession, Bears safety Christian Davis forced a fumble, and it would be recovered by linebacker Mic Wasson and returned 24 yards for a score, increasing Mercer's advantage to 14 points, at 21-7 with 7:51 left in the opening quarter of play. 

Then after the Bears defense forced a WCU punt, the Bears put together one of their most impressive scoring drives of the afternoon, as they bridged two quarters and needed 13 plays to cover 76 yards to take a 28-7 lead, with Peevy capping the drive with a 4-yard scoring run to give Mercer the 21-point advantage with 14:50 left in the half.

Western Carolina would post the final points of the opening half of play when Catamount running back Branson Adams scampered 12 yards for a score to cap an impressive nine-play, 80-yard drive, making it a 28-14 game with 2:40 remaining in the half.

Mercer restored its 21-point lead a little less than six minutes into the third quarter, as Bears All-American defensive back Lance Wise picked off a Gonzales pass and returned it nine yards for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 35-14 lead with 9:04 remaining in the frame. 

The Catamounts would score 21 of the game's next 24 points to get the closest it had been since the game was tied, 7-7, in the first quarter, as the Purple and Gold would get to within 38-35 of the Bears with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. 

First tight end Ajay Belanger would haul in a 4-yard scoring strike from Gonzales to make it a 35-21 contest with just under three minutes left in the third quarter, capping an impressive 13-play, 92-yard scoring drive with 2:58 left in the frame. 

Early in the fourth quarter, Belanger hauled in his second scoring pass from Gonzales, as the Catamounts needed just four plays to cover the 51 yards needed to find pay dirt, with Belanger's seven-yard scoring catch capping the short scoring drive and bringing the Catamounts to within a touchdown with 14:52 left.

On maybe its most important possession of the contest, the Bears would come away with points to regain its two-score advantage, as Reice Griffith connected on a 44-yard field goal with 12:02 left, capping what was a 10-play, 54-yard drive, making it a 38-28 Bears lead.

The Catamounts would cut the Bears lead to a field goal on the next possession, however, as Calvin Jones would haul in Gonzales' fourth scoring toss of the day, as his 20--yard scoring catch would get the Catamounts as close as they had been since the opening quarter of the game, at 38-35, with just over eight minutes left to play.

With the Mercer offense facing yet another pressure situation and needing points to stay ahead of the Catamounts in what had become a see-saw battle, the Bears would again respond when the stakes were high. 

Devron Harper first gave the offense excellent field position, as returned the Richard McCollum kickoff 45 yards to set up the Bears offense in excellent stead to start the possession.

Mercer needed five plays to cover the 55 yards to regain the 1`0-point lead, scoring what would prove to be their final points of the contest when Al Wooten II scampered 17 yards for the score to make it a 45-35 lead with just 6:29 left.

Western Carolina would respond by getting a 27-yard field goal from McCollum with seven seconds left to make it a 45-38 game, however, the Catamounts couldn't recover er the on-sides kick and the Bears escaped Cullowhee with a Top 10 road win.

At 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the Southern Conference, Mercer returned to Five Star Stadium to take on winless The Citadel, and the Bears were able to improve to 7-3 in relatively easy fashion, posting a 38-16 win over the Bulldogs to inch closer to the postseason.

It would all come down to Mercer's final game of the regular season, facing off against the Samford Bulldogs, which had unceremoniously ended the Bears' playoff hopes in the final game of the season in 2022. 

With so much on the line, Mercer would not falter a third year in a row, as the Bears would post a 28-21 win over the Bulldogs in the regular-season finale to register the program's first eight-win season as a Division I program, helping make a strong case for inclusion in the program's first-ever FCS postseason. 

In the regular-season finale win over Samford. Carter Peevy again showed his worth as a running threat for the Bears, posting three rushing scores of 5, 6 and 1 yards, respectively, to help Mercer to the seven-point win. 

After an open week in the final weekend of the regular-season, head coach Drew Cronic and the Bears had to wait a full eight days to find out whether or not they would be participating in the FCS postseason when the pairings were announced at 1 p.m. EST. back on Nov. 19.

The Bears found out they would be at home on the opening weekend of the FCS playoffs, facing off against Ohio Valley-Big South member Gardner-Webb in the opening round of the postseason. The winner of that contest would move on to the next round facing off in the second round against top overall seed South Dakota State.

In Mercer's opening game against the Bulldogs, the Bears delighted the hometown crowd of 4,500 on-hand at Five Star Stadium by using another strong defensive effort to down the visitors, 17-7, recording a historic first-ever Division I postseason win.

In the win over the Bulldogs, the Bears held a narrow 289-280 in total offense, which included a Mercer defense that had allowed only 49 yards on the ground.  All told, the Bears held a 167-49 edge in ground yards in the 10-point win. 

Carter Peevy put the Bears ahead 14-0 on runs of 2 and 72 yards, respectively, and the Bears took a 14-7 lead to the halftime locker room. 

The defense would do enough in the second half to ensure the 10-point win for the Bears. The win would set up a a date with the top overall seed South Dakota State in the next round.

Mercer makes history with first FCS playoff appearance in 2023 (photo courtesy of Mercer athletics

It would ultimately prove to be the end of the road for the Bears in the 2023 season, as the Jackrabbits would hand Mercer a 41-0 loss in the second round of the FCS playoffs at Dyckhouse Stadium in Brookings, South Dakota.

The Jackrabbits showed why they were the top team in FCS football, amassing nearly 600 yards (570 yds) of total offense against a solid Bears defense en route to the lopsided, 41-0, win. The Jackrabbits went on to wins over Villanova (23-12) and Albany (59-0), and will play Montana for the national title on Jan. 9, 2024. 

The Jackrabbits took a 3-0 in the opening quarter when Hunter Dustman connected on a 26-yard field goal to make it a 3-0 Jackrabbits lead with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the opening quarter of play.

Just four seconds into the second quarter, Isaiah Davis' 4-yard scoring run capped what was an impressive seven-and-a-half minute scoring drive that covered 74 yards and needed 13 plays to complete, making it a 10-0 game with 14:56 remaining in the half. 

SDSU would tack on two more scores before the half, with Jaxson Janke hauling in a 7-yard pass from quarterback Mark Gronowski, and then a second Davis touchdown run--this one from six yards out with just 21 seconds remaining in the opening half--gave the Jackrabbits a seemingly safe 24-0 lead entering the halftime locker room. 

The only points of the third quarter ultimately put the game out of reach for the Bears, as Davis took a handoff from Gronowski and sprinted 42 yards for a score, making it a 31-0 game with just under 10 minutes remaining in the third frame.

In the fourth quarter, Dustman added a 19-yard field goal, and SDSU capped the scoring for the afternoon when Angel Johnson provided the most explosive play of the afternoon, sprinting 80 yards for a touchdown to set the final margin at 41-0 with just under six minutes remaining in the game. 

The win extended SDSU's winning streak, which has now reached 27 games and 21 at home, to 25 games, including 19-straight at Dyckhouse Stadium . The loss concluded the Bears' most-successful season as an NCAA Division I FCS football program with an impressive 9-4 final record.

Chattanooga quarterback Chase Artopoues vs. Western Carolina (photo courtesy of Chattanooga athletics)

Few knew what to make of the Chattanooga Mocs (8-5, 6-2 SoCon) coming into the 2023 season, especially after being predicted to win the league each of the previous three seasons only to not only fall short of those lofty preseason expectations, but to not even make the FCS playoffs in any one of those three seasons. 

So it shouldn't have really surprised many when the Mocs were projected to finish fourth at the league's preseason conference media day held at Hotel Hartness in mid-July in Greenville, S.C. Over the course of four months, Rusty Wright's Mocs would show themselves to be a worthy foe for all its SoCon foes, as well as its non-conference foes en route to qualifying for its first FCS postseason since 2016, while exceeding preseason expectations by tying for second-place in the final SoCon standings. 

With that said, most of the questions that both media and fans had of Wright's 2023 Mocs surrounded the quarterback position, and just what kind of production would come from that position, as the Mocs welcomed in another relative unknown at the position, and his job would be to lead the Mocs back to a place they hadn't been in seven years.

Last season, it was Preston Hutchinson leading the Mocs offense after transferring in for one year to lead the offense from Eastern Michigan. This season,  the man charged with leading the unit under center was a former UCLA Bruin, in Chase Artopoues, and by the end of the season, he would write his own success story after leading the Mocs back to the postseason, however, he wouldn't be there to see the story he started wrting at the start of the season to fruition, as a late-season injury suffered in one of Chattanooga's two SoCon losses to Furman would unfortunately prove to be of the season-ending variety.

Luke Schomburg would step in and step up in the postseason, as he would end up leading Chattanooga to its first-ever FCS playoff road win, as the Mocs would knock off Austin Peay, 24-21, in Clarksville, Tenn, and the Mocs moved on to a second round matchup in a rematch with conference rival Furman in Greenville at Paladin Stadium. Unfortunately, the playoff committee put two SoCon teams in the same bracket, and that meant only one could move on to represent the league in quarterfinals against Montana.

That team would ultimately be the Furman Paladins , who knocked off Chattanooga, 26-7, in rainy Paladin Stadium to move on in the postseason. For Chattanooga, it had been a successful turnaround season, and it was just the type of season Rusty Wright needed to rejuvenate his career in the Scenic City, coaching his alma mater.

That momentum could be enough to carry the Mocs forward as the preseason league favorite in 2024, however, only time will tell to see if the Mocs can keep a good core of young players together and from jumping into the transfer portal.

With that said, unfortunately Artopoues wasn't the only Mocs player to see his season and ultimately his career cut a bit short, as All-America and three-time All-SoCon selection running back Ailym Ford would ultimately see his season and career cut short after suffering a torn ACL in a road win at Mercer. 

Ford's career saw him finish just shy of setting a new school record for rushing yards, as he finished out his strong career as the Mocs running back having rushed for 3,928 yards and 36 TDs on 785-career carries, finishing his Mocs career just three carries, 123 yards and seven rushing TDs shy of former Mocs quarterback Jacob Huesman's (2012-15) program records in all three of those aforementioned categories.

Ford's accomplishments for the Mocs, however, won't soon be forgotten. The Mocs would be the only SoCon team to go 10-straight weeks playing before enjoying an off-week, and that would ultimately take its toll in terms of attrition as the season wore on. The injuries would mount, however, Chattanooga kept finding ways to win games.

Chattanooga got the 2023 season off to a rough start, taking on North Alabama on the road, and for a team that had just been beaten by Mercer, 17-7, in Montgomery a week earlier, it didn't give that appearance, at least offensively, in its home opener against Chattanooga.

Ultimately, the Lions would hand the Mocs their first loss in the 2023 season, rolling up a 41-27 win over Chattanooga. 

Buoyed by a good performance in a loss to Chattanooga’s SoCon rival Mercer a week earlier, the Lions came out with an offensive onslaught early, and the Mocs never really recovered after falling behind 21-0 early in the second quarter, as Chattanooga’s furious second half rally wasn’t enough in what was a 41-27 setback.

The Mocs defense would show signs of its 2022 self in the second half, allowing just 28 yards in the third quarter, however, it wouldn’t be enough to overcome what was an offensive outburst in the opening half, which seemingly saw the Lions dial up big plays on-demand en route to taking what was a 21-10 lead into the half.

The opening play of the final quarter would see the Mocs take their first and only lead of the day, at 27-21 lead to complete a string of 27 unanswered points, as Gino Appleberry found the end zone from two yards out, making it a 27-21 Mocs advantage.

Despite the good performance by the Mocs against the Lions defensively in the third quarter, the day offensively was dominated by the Lions. Following the Mocs brief lead, the Lions responded with 20 points in the final frame, highlighted by touchdown runs of 10 and 81 yards from Jalyn Daniles to bookend the final scoring flurry for the home team.

After generating just 170 yards of total offense in their season-opening setback against Mercer, the Lions rolled up 511 yards of total offense, out-gaining the Mocs, 517-488 in total offense.

UNA ended the day out-gaining the Mocs on the ground, posting a 246-177 edge, while Chattanooga had the better passing day, edging the Lions in that department, posting a 311-277 yardage advantage in passing offense.

UCLA transfer Chase Artopeus ended up much better than he initially started the game, as he connected on 22-of-46 passes for 311 yards, with a pair of touchdowns and an INT.

His favorite targets in the contest were Javin Whatley (6 rec, 106 yds) and Jamoi Mayes (5 rec, 75 yds), while Sam Phillips (4 rec, 54 yds) and Chris Houston (1 rec, 36 yds) hauled in TD catches of eight and 36 yards, respectively.

UNA quarterback Noah Walters was impressive all afternoon, hitting on 16-of-28 passes for 271 yards and four TDs and no INTs. Takairee Kenebrew led all receivers, as he was undoubtedly Walters’ favorite big play target, catching only five passes for 172 yards and three scores.

Daniels led a solid, balanced ground attack, rushing eight times for 147 yards and two scores. Daniels’ two scoring runs netted 91 yards in the final frame, ultimately sealing the Mocs’ fate.

Chattanooga’s All-SoCon running back had a solid debut to his final season in the Blue and Gold, rushing for 90 yards on 24 attempts.

Week two would see an interesting challenge greet the Mocs, who would be the first of two SoCon teams to face FBS transitioning Kennesaw State. The Mocs would open their home slate in style by posting what was a hard-fought, 27-20, win over Kennesaw State, handing the Owls their first loss of the season.

Chattanooga's defense would fare much better in the second week of the season against the Owls than it had in week one on the road against North Alabama. 

The Mocs would pick up a 27-20 win over the Owls, and showcased an offense capable of making big plays in the process. Chattanooga finished the contest by rolling up 399 yards of total offense, with 283 of that yardage coming through the air. 

It was not your grandfather's Mocs offense, which was predicated on run-dominated offensive attack. This unit was going to be one that produced explosive plays in the passing game, and that would become a theme throughout the 2023 season for the Mocs offense.

It would also prove to be a return to form for the Mocs defense after some uncharacteristically un-Chattanoogalike defensive struggles in the season opener.

Following a season opener which saw Chattanooga’s normally stout defensive unit surrender 517 yards and 41 points to North Alabama in a 14-point road setback, the Mocs defense returned to form just in time for their home opener against Kennesaw State, limiting the Owls to its lowest rushing total (102 yds) since starting the program from scratch in 2015. 

The third week of the season would see the start of Southern Conference play for the Mocs, who welcomed in The Citadel for the season opener at Finley Stadium. The Mocs would make quick work of the Bulldogs, downing The Citadel 48-3 to get off to a 1-0 start in league action.

The Mocs used big plays on both sides of the ball to avenge the 11-point loss (L, 24-35) from a year earlier in a game that essentially clinched at least a share of the 2022 Southern Conference title for Samford, as they danced and celebrated and took pictures on the Finley Stadium turf.

A year later, those memories were seemingly still fresh in the minds of the Mocs players and coaches, who in 2023, went about not winning a SoCon title at Seibert Stadium in late September, but rather getting off to a positive start to a potential title run, while effectively ending the defending champions hopes of being able to repeat their incredible feat in the league this season.

The Mocs got off to a fast start and never looked back, as Chase Artopeus found wideout Tyler Smith for a 47-yard scoring connection to give the Mocs the early 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. On Samford’s ensuing possession, Alex Mitchell picked off a Michael Hiers pass on his first attempt of the afternoon and returned it 38 yards for a score to make it a 13-0 game following a failed PAT.

It would be a hole that Samford would never be able to dig out of the rest of the afternoon, never getting the margin to less than 10 points the rest of the day. Following a 33-yard Wilson Beaverstock field goal midway through the opening quarter, the Mocs would increase their lead to 17 points when Gino Appleberry scored in a 2-yard run less than a minute into the second quarter to give Chattanooga full command of the game with a 20-3 lead.

Hiers and the Bulldogs offense would respond to cut the Mocs’ lead to 10 once again when the reigning SoCon Player of the Year connected with wideout Ty King on what was a 21-yard scoring strike to get Samford to within 20-10 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.

However, by this point in the game the Chattanooga offense was beginning to look unstoppable. Artopeus had full command of the Chattanooga offense and he was putting the ball where Samford defenders weren’t, and that set things up quite nicely for the Mocs ground game, led by star running back Ailym Ford and arguably the best reserve running back in the SoCon, Gino Appleberry. It would be Ford that would cap the first of consecutive scoring drives for the Mocs, plunging in from three yards out to increase the lead to 17.

After the Mocs defense forced a turnover on downs, Chattanooga’s offense would make Samford pay. Artopeus and the Mocs offense needed just six plays to cover then needed 52 yards to pay dirt, and it was Ford that drove the ball into the end zone once again, as his 3-yard score gave Chattanooga it’s largest lead of the afternoon, at 34-10, with 2:46 left in the half.

Hiers and the Bulldogs would at least give themselves a chance to make a comeback in the second half, as the Bulldogs covered 75 yards in 10 plays, with Jay Stanton’s 3-yard scoring run with 30 seconds left in the half, slicing the Mocs lead in half at the break, as Chattanooga went into the locker room with a 34-17 lead.

Samford at least made things interesting temporarily in the third quarter when Chandler Smith scored on a 21-yard run from his wideout position. His run came just 1:24 just in the second half to make it a 34-24 contest. The only points for the remainder of the third quarter came from Chattanooga, as Georgia Tech transfer kicker Jude Kelley added a 48-yard field goal with 9:09 left in the quarter, extending the Mocs lead back to 13 points.

In the fourth quarter, the Mocs would tack on 10 more points to make the game academic, as Kelley added.a 26-yard field goal a little over three minutes into the final frame to make it a 40-24 game. The final nail in Samford’s coffin and maybe its season came when Kameron Brown picked off a Michael Hiers pass and returned it 78 yards for a score, giving the Mocs a 47-24 lead with just 7:23 remaining. That would obviously end up being the final score.

The 95 points scored in back-to-back games by the Mocs to open SoCon play against both The Citadel and Samford to open league play marked the most points in back-to-back games since 1928. 

Next up was a trip to Spartanburg, S.C., to take on another of the league's Palmetto State programs struggling to find steady footing under a new head coach. The Mocs would encounter more struggles than they had bargained for in what would end up being a 23-13 win over the Terriers for the No. 22 ranked team in FCS football. 

It would be another solid day for the defense, which held the Terriers to less than 300 yards (297 yds) of total offense in the contest. On offense, the Mocs would roll up a solid 362 yards in 62 plays in the contest, as Chase Artopoeus finished the contest by connecting on 15-of-30 passes for 197 yards, with a pair of INTs. Artopoues did have a 3-yard rushing score in the third quarter of the contest.

It was a solid evening running the football for Gino Appleberry, who finished the contest by rushing for 93 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts. It was Appleberry's running in short-yardage situations that helped the Mocs offense wear down a goodTerrier defense over the final couple of quarters.

At 4-1 and 3-0 in the Southern Conference, the Mocs would host No. 20 Western Carolina in week six for what was essentially the Southern Conference Game of the Year-to-date. The Mocs were looking to strengthen their lead atop the standings, while the Catamounts came to the Scenic City ready to show this was a team intent on putting an end to a 40-year FCS playoff drought, and one that was a serious contender to win its first-ever Southern Conference title since joining the league in 1976.

What would unfold over 60 minutes of football on the first weekend of October would be quite simply one of the best Southern Conference Football games in recent memory, and one that would go down as an instant classic.

The game of the year in the SoCon in many respects would end up going the way of the visiting Catamounts, who came into Finley Stadium and posted a thrilling 52-50 win over the 20th-ranked Catamounts in what was the first-ever ranked matchup in the history of the series. 

It was an epic battle, which featured little defense, with the game being a see-saw affair for more of the afternoon. The Catamounts were even able to overcome an injury to running back Desmond Reid during the contest to get a historic win, as the win snapped a 48-game losing streak for the Catamounts against ranked foes on the road, dating back to the 1984 season when the Catamounts got a win at No. 11 Furman.

The game featured 1,094 yards of combined total offense, with the Catamounts edging the Mocs in total offense, with the Mocs able to hold the advantage in passing yards, out-gaining the Catamounts 399-276 through the air.

Western Carolina, which came into the contest with Chattanooga leading the nation in total offense, finished the day with yet another 500–yard output, despite having the ball 36 less snaps (84-48). The 551-yard offensive output would see the Catamounts average an impressive 11.48 yards-per-play.

The game was thrilling throughout, featuring three touchdowns that totaled at least 50 yards in distance. The Mocs scored with under a minute remaining when Mocs quarterback Chase Artopoeus connected with Evan Brown on a short 5-yard scoring pass with just 53 seconds remaining to cut WCU’s lead to 49-48. Instead of opting to kick the PAT and tie the game, Chattanooga head coach Rusty Wright would roll the dice and decided to go for the two-point conversion and the lead.

Ailym Ford took the direct snap from center, and his jump pass was hauled in by tight end Cameron Overton in acrobatic fashion, as the Mocs took the 50-49 lead. The play looked as if Overton were going up and over the back of a Catamount defender in basketball to get a rebound.

Down only one-point, the Catamounts needed only to get in the field goal range of Richard McCollum to have a chance to end its long losing streak against ranked foes on the road. The nation’s leader in passing efficiency–Cole Gonzales–delivered once again in the clutch to bring the Catamounts back from a deficit late in the game much like he did earlier this season in a win at Eastern Kentucky.

Gonzales completed three-straight passes to AJ Columbo, as the two connected on passes of 11, 10 and 39 yards to get the Mocs moving quickly into Mocs territory all the way down to the UTC 15. After Gonzales threw his only incompletion on a pass out to the right intended for Censere Lee with four seconds remaining, Richard McCollum trotted on for the 32-yard game-winning field goal, which he put right through the uprights, setting off wild celebrations on the Catamount sidelines and ending a streak that spanned some 39 years.

McCollum’s kick also ensured WCU’s best start to a season in 49 years, as you’d have to go all the way back to the Catamounts days as a Division II program in 1974 when the Catamounts started the season by winning nine out of its first 10 games.

With the win, the Catamounts ascended into the national Top 15 in each of FCS football’s two major polls. The Catamounts found their way inside the Top 10 of the STATS FCS Media Poll, as Western Carolina was ranked No. 9 nationally when the poll was released Monday afternoon just before lunch. In the AFCA Coaches Poll, the Catamounts are ranked No. 14.

With the win, the Catamounts ascended into the national Top 15 in each of FCS football’s two major polls. The Catamounts found their way inside the Top 10 of the STATS FCS Media Poll, as Western Carolina was ranked No. 9 nationally when the poll was released Monday afternoon just before lunch. In the AFCA Coaches Poll, the Catamounts are ranked No. 14.

Chattanooga, meanwhile, didn’t tumble completely out of either the STATS FCS poll or the AFCA coaches poll. The Mocs fell five spots to 25th inside the FCS STATS Media Poll, while in the AFCA Coaches poll, the Mocs found themselves ranked 20th.

Western Carolina and Chattanooga combined to post 102 total points in the contest, which is the highest-scoring game in series history, surpassing the 99 combined points (63-36) between the Mocs and Catamounts in a game back in 2019.

Chattanooga would be forced to pick up the pieces a week later with another stern road test at Mercer, and the Mocs would do just that, picking up a hard-fought, 22-10, win over a Bears team, that like Chattanooga, would end up being an at-large qualifier for the FCS postseason. 

The Mocs held a healthy, 351-280, advantage in total yards and improved to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in league play with the win over the Bears.

Up to No. 17 in the national rankings, Chattanooga headed back to Finley Stadium to face arch-rival East Tennessee State in the "Rail Rivalry" game and it would be a game that would never really be close, as the Mocs made pretty easy work of the Bucs and were able to get a 34-3 win to retain the rail trophy for a third-straight year. 

Next up was the never easy trip up to Lexington, VA., to face off against the tough, gritty VMI Keydets.

Chattanooga was able to hold off a valiant effort from VMI, knocking off the Keydets 24-23 in Lexington, VA, moving to 7-2 overall and 6-1 in league action.

UTC was out-gained 440-356 in total offense, including 210-172 on the ground. The Mocs were able to get a little luck as well, as the Keydets missed both a PAT and a field goal, leaving four crucial points on the field.

Chase Artopoeus connected on 9-of-17 passes for 184 yards with a pair of scores, while VMI’s Collin Ironside connected on 20-of-32 passes for 184 yards, with a pair of INTs.

Hunter Rice had a monster day on the ground for the Keydets, rushing for 208 yards and three scores on 25 attempts.UTC was led by Gino Appleberry, who finished with 113 yards and a TD on 21 attempts.

That set up the game for all the marbles between Chattanooga and Furman in a game that would decide the automatic bid for the FCS playoffs and a game that would decide at least a share of the 2023 Southern Conference regular-season title. 

A defensive battle would play out in the Scenic City, and it would end up being the Furman Paladins who would come from behind late to get the 17-14 win with backup quarterback Volunteer State native Carson Jones ultimately leading the Paladins to the three-point win.

For Furman, it was one huge defensive play, which turned out to be the lone turnover it caused in the game to completely flip the momentum of the game, leading to the first of Furman’s two scoring drives on the day. The other major play made by Furman came from Wayne Anderson Jr. late in the opening quarter, as Wayne Anderon Jr. broke through the line to block a Clayton Crile punt, setting the Paladin offense up at the UTC 25.

However, after moving the football to the Mocs 14, the Paladins could advance the football no further against the stout UTC defense, settling for a 37-yard field goal from Ian Williams and a 3-0 lead with 13:34 left in the half. 

During the short drive, Furman starting quarterback Tyler Huff was sacked on third down SoCon preseason Defensive Player of the Year Jay Person, who came unblocked from Huff’s blindside to get a free hit on the graduate senior signal-caller on what was a nicely disguised blitz from the Mocs.

Though he gave no apparent signs of an injury when he left the game with just over 13 minute remaining in the second quarter, Huff did not return to the game. Furman would lean on Volunteer State native and Maryville High School product Carson Jones for the remainder of the afternoon. The redshirt freshman would go the rest of the way, leading the Paladins to a monster win in relief.

Chattanooga would answer just before the half, as Mocs signal-caller Chase Artopoeus found big-play wideout Javin Whatley on a post route over the middle, and after two Paladin defenders collided, Whatley and his tremendous speed did the rest, as he raced 67 yards to match longest passing touchdown of the season in the SoCon in 2023 in the process, giving the Mocs a 7-3 lead following Crile’s PAT with 3:38 remaining in the half.

Despite getting the ball to open the second half, the Paladin offense continued to struggle to find a rhythm, as Jones continued to adjust to being a quarterback in a high-stakes situation as a collegiate quarterback against a ranked Division I foe. Furman would generate no more than 13 yards on any of its offensive possessions in the third frame, and Jones was even intercepted by UTC’s Kam Brown late in the half, giving the Mocs the football just inside Furman territory at the Paladin 46 with 8:50 left in the quarter.

However, an offsides infraction and a third down sack by Bryce Stanfield—one of five quarterback takedowns in th game—would ultimately force the Mocs into a punt on a quick-kick by Artopoues on a 4th-and-18 play.

Chattanooga threatened to take a two-score lead late in the quarter, as the Mocs reached the Paladin 25 with under a minute remaining in the third. It set the stage for what would turn out to be a game-changing play.

On 3rd-and-9 from the Paladin 25, the Mocs opted to go to its back of tricks, as Whatley took the pitch on a reverse and threw towards the end zone and into double coverage, with Zaire Thornton making an incredible effort to try and reach around Jack Rhodes to snag a Tyrone Prothro-like (Alabama vs.Southern Miss 1997) catch in the end zone, however, in doing so, he inadvertently tipped the ball into the air and the ball was picked off by Furman’s Travis Blackshear.

Blackshear, who was making his 47th-career start fo rthe Paladins—a program record—was only making his return to the lineup following wrist surgery just eight days earlier, inserting pins into his wrist to fuse bone together. 

None of that mattered in this situation, as Blackshear’s concentration was not broken and he picked the ball out of the air and then returned 46 yards near midfield, giving Furman all the momentum and completely changing the trajectory and nature of the football game. Blackshear didn’t start and was only in the game on selective series, making his game-changer that much more incredible.

It was not all that different than Cally Chizik’s interception against Western Carolina, which came at almost the exact same point in the game and in the end zone, however, the lone difference was the fact that Furman still led that game against Western Carolina, but the Catamounts were on the verge of assuming the game, which could have changed the momentum in a negative direction in that Top 10 road win.

"The receiver tried to jump over (safety) Jack (Rhodes) and he tossed the ball up. I happened to be in the right spot at the right time… "I just want to thank the trainers for making this happen. I told them how much I wanted to play in this game and asked them to do whatever they could,”said Furman senior cornerback Travis Blackshear of his big play.

Seizing upon that momentum and calmed by the play, Furman’s offense went to work. The Paladin offense went to work, taking over at its own 46 with just 22 seconds left in the quarter. On the first play of the new offensive set of downs for Furman, Jones found Kyndel on a 27-yard pass to get the visiting crowd from Furrman on its feet.

Following an incompletion on the next play, the Paladins faced 3rd-and-10 from the UTC 27. It would then be one freshman to another, as Jones found true freshman wideout Colton Hinton Jr. on the third play of the final quarter, giving the Paladins their first plead in the game—10-7–since late in the second quarter.

After Furman sacked Artopoues twice on the Mocs next possession, it would give Jones and the Paladin offense a chance to build upon its advantage and a chance to build a two-score advantage. However, after a promising start and a first down on an eight-yard catch by Roberto and two-yard run by the redshirt junior, Jones threw a couple of incompletions, and Furman was forced to punt the ball back to the Mocs.

The Mocs would re-take the lead on the next possession, and just like some on the UTC side might call Blackshear’s pick in the end zone a “fluke occurrence”, which led to Furman retaking the lead in the contest, it would be a fluke occurence on a long pass play, according to Furman folks, that would allow the Mocs to regain the lead. That’s because, like Thornton did everything right as a receiver to effort an acrobatic scoring catch for UTC, likewise the Paladin defense would be hard done by 72-yard scoring play by the Mocs.

On what was a the first play of the ensuing drive following a Ryan Leavy 47-yard punt, Artopoues was hit as he let the ball go, causing the ball to flutter and float just long enough for the speedy Jamoi Mayes to react, and he did the rest by racing 70 yards for the score and a 14-10 Mocs lead with just under nine minutes remaining.

Furman couldn’t do anything on its ensuing offensive possession after netting one first, however, the defense would continue to do its part late in the game to give Jones and the Paladin offense every chance they could to win the football game. The Paladins forced the Mocs into a three-and-out on their next possession, and after Crile’s 37-yard punt, Furman’s offense took over at midfield. Furman would a pair of a clutch throws by Jones on third downs to put the Paladins in a position to take a late-game lead.

The first came on a 3rd-and-8 play at the UTC 38, as Jones hooked up with his big 6-7 tight end Mason Pline, who continues to make clutch catches in the Furman passing attack, setting up Furman with a first down at UTC 24. Three plays later, the Paladins would face another third down—this time a 3rd-and-10 play—and Jones found freshman wideout Ben Anderson in the flats for a 12-yard completing, giving the Paladins a first down at the UTC 12.

Two plays later and following time out, Jones found a wide open Wayne Anderson in the flat on the same side Anderson caught his pass a couple plays earlier, and Anderson did the rest, out-racing a Mocs defender the corner pylon and a Furman 17-14 lead following the Ian Williams PAT with 2:58 remaining.

The Mocs would get the ball back and have one last chance to tie or win the football game. However, as it had done all day and all season to this point, the Paladin defense would slam the door shut and allow the Paladins to carry with it the 2023 SoCon Champions Trophy back to Greenville.

After the heartbreaking loss to Furman in a chance to claim a share of the Southern Conference title, the Mocs got a much needed week off for the first time all season after 10-straight weeks of games. 

The reward for that week off would be a regular-season finale in Tuscaloosa against the No. 8 University of Alabama Crimson Tide--a team that would of course go on to win the SEC Title and qualify for the College Football Playoff. 

The Mocs were hoping the scenario didn't play out like it had a decade earlier, when UTC lost its final two games of the season and despite being involved in a three-way tie for the Southern Conference title, missed out on the postseason due to losses in the final two games of the regular-season to both Samford and Alabama. 

This time around, the Mocs would drop a 66-10 contest to the Crimson Tide, with Luke Schomburg drawing his first start under center for the Mocs.  

Alabama scored early and often, and the Crimson Tide's intent was clear from the opening play of the game when Jalen Milroe found Jermaine Burton for a 56-yard connection on the game's first play to get the ball down to the UTC 11 yard line just 11 seconds into the game. Milroe found Burton again on a five-yard scoring toss to make it a 7-0 game, concluding what had been a quick 63-yard scoring drive.

After the Mocs went three-and-out, Alabama's offense continued to look like a well-oiled machine with Milroe at the controls. The Crimson Tide drove the ball 70 yards in five plays, highlighted by a 44-yard connection between Milroe and Burton again, which resulted in a 14-0 Alabama lead.

The Crimson Tide would make it 21-0 when putting together an impressive 11-play, 90-yard scoring drive, and the rout was on. Milroe threw his third scoring pass of the opening half of play when he found tight end Robbie Ouzts on a 7-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter to make it a 28-0 contest.

After Crimson Tide place-kicker connected on a 50-yard field goal to make it a 31-0 game, Chattanooga would score its lone touchdown of the afternoon when running back Gino Appleberry scored on a 41-yard run to make it a 31-7 game with 3:39 remaining in the opening half.

Order would be restored just before the break, however, as Malik Benson hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike from Milroe to make it a 38-7 game with just 63 seconds left in the half to make it a 38-7 game at the half. 

Clayton Crile would add a 23-yard field goal to open the third quarter to provide Chattanooga's final points of the afternoon, as he made it a 38-10 contest. The Crimson Tide would tack on four more touchdowns, highlighted by an 85-yard punt return from Caleb Downs late in the third quarter, which made it a 52-10 contest.

Following what was a rather humbling experience to end the season with its backup quarterback playing the entire game, the Mocs would be the recipients of some good news a day later when it was announced the Mocs would be a part of the 24-team FCS playoff field. Up first would be an in-state battle and a trip to Clarksville, Tenn., to face off against Austin Peay at Fortera Stadium. 

The Mocs would make history, and did so with their backup quarterback in the saddle as the starter, as Luke Schomburg helped the Mocs to the program's first-ever road playoff win, with a 24-21 win over the Governors in just the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs. 

The 18th-ranked Mocs were able to get a 35-yard field goal from Clayton Crile as time expired to get the thrilling, 24-21, road win over the Governors. The game saw the Mocs come out and take control of the contest, leading for most of the afternoon. 

The game started out as a defensive battle, with both teams punting on each of their first two possessions, as the game's first four possessions resulted in punts. Late in the opening quarter, however, the Mocs found their breakthrough, as Schomburg found wideout Javin Whatley for a 29-yard scoring strike to make it a 7-0 Mocs lead with 2:17 remaining in the opening quarter of play. 

It would take long for the Govs to answer, however, as APSU needed just three plays to tie the score, 7-7. Jevon Jackson ripped off what was a 57-yard run, breaking through a couple of would-be Mocs tacklers along the way en route to APSU's first trip to the end zone of the day, tying the score with just 1:06 remaining in the opening quarter. 

The Mocs would re-take the lead in the second quarter, as Gino Appleberry finished off what was an eight-play, 78-yard drive by scoring on a one-yard plunge to give Chattanooga a 14-7 lead with 8:27 remaining in the opening half of play. 

The game-changing play would ultimately come just before the break, however, and it was a play that would ultimately prove decisive in the outcome. Facing what was a 2nd-and-10 play from the APSU 16 with just under 20 seconds remaining in the half, Schomburg's pass was intercepted in the end zone by Govs defensive back Kory Chapman, however, during the return attempt by Chapman, the ball was stripped away by Mocs wide receiver Jamoi Mayes and he raced back into the end zone from about four yards out to give the Mocs a 21-7 lead on the most unlikeliest of plays. That's how the score would remain as the two teams entered their respective halftime locker rooms. 

Early in the third quarter, APSU would cut Chattanooga's lead to just seven when Jevon Jackson scored his second touchdown of the day, as this time he found the painted portion of the field on a one-yard scoring plunge to make it a 21-14 game with 11:58 remaining in the third quarter. 

Later in the quarter, the Govs came up with a big, tide-turning play of their own, as Cedarius Doss broke through to block a 44-yard field goal attempt by Crile, keeping the deficit at seven. APSU's offense would seize upon that momentum as a result.

The Govs drove the ball 70 yards in just three plays to tie the game, 21-21, as Mike DiLello found wideout Tre Shackelford for a 27-yard scoring connection to complete the scoring drive and tie the football game with just 3:28 left in the third quarter. 

But Chattanooga would ultimately have the final say in the outcome, as the fourth quarter was scoreless for 14:57 until Crile booted through a 35-yard field goal with three seconds left to allow the Mocs to emerge with the 24-21 road win.

The Mocs season, however, would come to an end a week later in Greenville, S.C., taking on No. 7 seed Furman in the second round of the FCS playoffs. It would be the second meeting between the Mocs and Paladins in a four-week span, but this time, it would be the Mocs without their starting quarterback. 

Though Chattanooga would ultimately score first in the contest after driving the ball 81 yards on its opening possession of the game, with Reggie Davis capping the scoring drive off with a nine-yard scoring run. 

From that point forward, the Mocs would find it hard to move the ball anywhere on the offensive side of the ball, gaining just 121 yards the rest of the game and couldn't find any more success scoring points, as the Paladins ended Chattanooga's season by handing the Mocs a 26-7 season-ending setback.

Despite the loss, the beat-up Mocs finished off the season in strong fashion, never showing any quit, despite all the adversity they faced along the way.  If Rusty Wright can find a way to retain most of the talent he has that are underclassmen, the Mocs could very well head into season as the preseason Southern Conference favorites.

The team that most thought was ready to break through and make some noise on a national level for the first time in a long time was Western Carolina (7-4, 5-3 SoCon). People started to have lofty expectations for the Catamounts after how they saw Kerwin Bell's team compete in its SoCon opener against defending league champion and seventh-ranked Samford.

Expectations were muted a little after the Catamounts' season-opener at SEC member Arkansas, where the Catamounts' 56-7 loss could have fooled some. That's because the Catamounts, after they stopped shooting themselves in the foot with offensive mishaps and special teams miscues, actually acquitted themselves pretty well against their higher level of competition. 

The Catamounts would settle in after falling behind 21-0 in the opening frame before settling into the game.

Quarterback play was an issue for much of the afternoon for the Catamounts, which used a pair of quarterbacks in the contest, with Cole Gonzales starting under center for the Purple and Gold, however, it was Harvard transfer Charlie Dean, who ended up seeing more time under center when the day ended. Neither shined in the contest, which had more to do with ill-advised throws into coverage more than the fact they were playing against SEC caliber talent.

Gonzales finished the day connecting on 9-of-14 throws for 114 yards with an INT, while Dean finished the day 15-of-23 for 98 yards, with three picks. Brody Palhegyi was the third QB to play for the Catamounts in the contest, and he connected on 1-of-3 passes for 11 yards.

While the Catamount offense left much to be desired, the one real bright spot to emerge from Saturday's loss for fans of the Catamounts is the improvement, especially up front, defensively.

In a game that was 56-13, you'd expect offensive numbers for the victor to be approach the 500-yard range—something not uncommon for SoCon foes to routinely do the Catamount defense in recent years.

In Saturday's loss, that narrative seems to be changing. At least after one week. Credit to Catamount defensive coordinator Chazmon Scales for shoring up a unit that was woeful just a couple of years ago.

Saturday saw the Razorbacks finish the contest with a 379-291 advantage in total yards, holding a slight 274-227 edge in passing offense, while the Razorbacks owned a 105-64 advantage in rushing offense.

Highlighting Western Carolina's solid defensive performance was All-SoCon safety Andreas Keaton, who posted a team-high seven stops, while CJ Williams and Samaurie Dukes added six tackles apiece.

The Catamounts would have a surprise waiting on the defending Southern Conference champion Samford Bulldogs when they visited EJ Whitmire Stadium. Another wrinkle that no one could have foreseen is Mother Nature, which also issued a five-hour delay due to weather, and what would happen would be a 30-7 upset win by the Catamounts.  

That win served as notice to the rest of the Southern Conference that the Catamounts were indeed for real and would be a force that would have to be reckoned with in the 2023 Southern Conference football race. 

In a game that brought back memories of Western Carolina’s 2005 Southern Conference opener, which saw the Catamounts take down No. 2 and preseason Southern Conference and league defending champion Furman, 41-21, under the lights before a capacity crowd at EJ Whitmire Stadium, Saturday’s 30-7 win over No. 7/8 Samford started with sunny skies, however, ended under the lights following a five-and-a-half hour lightning delay, however, at the end of the game, lightning had struck in the form of a resounding Catamount win to open up league play, as Western Carolina claimed a 30-7 win over the Bulldogs.

For Western Carolina, it marked the first time since the Catamounts have knocked off back-to-back ranked FCS foes since 1992 and ’93, when the Catamounts did so in contiguous seasons by claiming wins over No. 2 Marshall and No. 23 Marshall, respectively. The 1992 campaign would see the Catamounts claim a 38-30 win over No. 2 Marshall on Halloween of 1992 and then in 1993, the Catamounts would post a key homecoming win over Furman, downing the 23rd-ranked Paladins, 23-20.

The win by the Catamounts to open the home portion of the schedule also marked Western Carolina’s fourth-straight against Southern Conference competition, while snapping what had been an eight-game winning streak against league competition for Samford, dating back to the 2021 SoCon and regular-season finale in what was a loss to Furman.

After seeing its share of struggles at the quarterback position in the season opener against Arkansas, things went a lot better for Cole Gonzales and the Catamount offense inside the friendly confines on Saturday, as he passed for 262 yards and a pair of scores, and led a Catamount offense that rolled up a 546-361 advantage in total offense en route to the win.

It appeared Western Carolina had squandered a golden opportunity early in the game, as the Catamounts drove all the way down to the Bulldogs 7-yard line, however, 14-play drive, the Catamounts were stopped short on 4th-and-goal, and thus, had to give the ball over to the Bulldogs offense, which of course is led by Southern Conference preseason Player of the Year selection and Walter Payton Award candidate quarterback Michael Hiers.

He would help the Bulldogs engineer what was a seven-play, 97-yard drive midway through the opening quarter, allowing the defending champs to take an early 7-0 lead. It was Hiers that picked up where he left off last week en route to garnering SoCon Offensive Player of the Week honors, as he connected with tight end Michael Vice for an 8-yard scoring strike to give the Bulldogs the early 7-0 lead.

It would be all Catamounts the rest of the way, as they would score 30 unanswered points to close out the game and the seven points by the Bulldogs would mark the lowest point total in a Southern Conference game by Samford since scoring just six points since the 2010 season.

On Western Carolina’s ensuing drive following what proved to be the lone score of the day for the Bulldogs, the Catamounts moved the football swiftly down the field once again , moving it 76 yards in 10 plays before the Catamounts scored their first touchdown of the 2023 season before what was a raucous Catamount crowd on-hand for the home opener, as Gonzales connected with AJ Columbo out in the flat, and he made a couple of Bulldog defenders miss on the tackle, and Columbo scampered to pay dirt for what was a 21-yard pitch and catch to make it a 7-7 contest.

On Samford next possession, the Catamounts were able to force Samford to punt the ball away, and with the ball back in its possession, Western Carolina would take the lead for good when Gonzales hit Censere Lee on a 6-yard scoring pass early in the second half, making it a 14-7 with 13:42 remaining in the half.

Samford was moving the ball, and Hiers picked up 16-yard run up the middle, however, Catamount linebacker Va Lealaimatafao leveled Hiers and the ball popped free, and the Catamounts had forced a turnover after Jayelin Davis pounced on top of the pigskin, and surprisingly, it would be the game’s lone turnover. Hiers stayed down for treatment and had to be helped to the sidelines. The delay was just long enough to allow a severe thunderstorm to hover in the mountains of Western North Carolina and the mountains of East Tennessee over the next several hours. In Cullowhee, it would turn out to be a 5.5-hour weather delay in total.

With The game, which stopped a little after 3:30, wouldn’t resume again until 9 p.m. It was reminiscent of the East Tennessee State vs. Western Carolina game in the spring of 2021 just a couple of years ago. The Catamounts would conclude the opening half with a pair of Richard McCollum field goals to extend their lead to 13, at 20-7, as the two teams headed to the locker room for halftime. A short 18-yard field goal by McCollum late in the third quarter gave the Catamounts a 23-7 advantage, and would prove to be the only points of the frame.

The Catamounts put the final nail in Western Carolina’s coffin when it moved the ball 71 yards in 10 plays, with the drive having been capped by a Desmond Reid 2-yard scoring run with just over two minutes remaining.

Western Carolina’s win is maybe the biggest the program has experienced since that 2005, 41-21, win over No. 2 Furman in its SoCon opener in that campaign. Reid was named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week after he rushed for 170 yards and a score on 27 carries, as the Catamounts out-gained Samford, 284-46, on the ground. The 170 yards by Reid were a career-high.

As far as the Bulldogs offense was concerned, despite the big hit he sustained early in the second quarter, Hiers would finish the game, finishing the game by connecting on 21-of-34 passes for 315 yards and Samford’s only score of the day, which came an early 8-yard scoring toss to tight end Michael Vice. Hiers’ favorite target in the game was all-conference wideout Chandler Smith, who finished the contest with six catches for 46 yards.

The story was WCU’s defense, which limited the Bulldogs to just 361 yards of total offense, and the seven points scored by Samford turned out to be its lowest total in a SoCon game since Wofford limited the Bulldogs to a mere three points in what was a 10-3 Wofford victory.

Western Carolina then headed out on the road to play their toughest FCS non-conference road game, facing off against Eastern Kentucky in what turned out to be a classic. 

The Catamounts would emerge from Roy Kidd Stadium with an impressive 27-24 win, and a definite argument to be included in the FCS National Top 25 polls. 

The Catamounts would see their new starter under center coming into the season--Cole Gonzales--come of age right before everyone's eyes. 

With wet conditions for what it was its home opener, the Colonels welcomed a Western Carolina team bristling from a win over Samford, many wondered whether or not the Catamounts could go on the road and into a tough environment and come away with a big win. Cole Gonzales’ 8-yard touchdown pass to Branson Adams with just 25 seconds remaining gave the Catamounts a 27-24 lead, and WCU would have to weather a missed 40-yard field goal by Patrick Nations that would have tied the game as time expired and the Catamounts brought back a historic win.

It’s one of the biggest wins of the Kerwin Bell era. In my Top 25 poll for RS Sports this week, I had the Catamounts No. 11 in my poll, as I have had the Catamounts in my FCS poll since the start of the season. WCU’s win brought to mind a similar type game back in 2005, when Appalachian State opened the season and was pushed to the limit by the Colonels at Roy Kidd Stadium before getting a hard-fought 24-16 win.

The Mountaineers would go on to win the first of their three-straight national titles and while I am not predicting a similar fate just yet for the Catamounts, I am just stating the mere fact that the Purple and Gold’s ability to go on the road and get such a win says a lot about the grit and toughness of Kerwin Bell’s 2023 Catamounts.

Saturday night’s game will go down as a classic and be remembered for years to come by fanbases on both sides. History suggests that being picked in the middle of the SoCon portends a pretty good season for teams in the SoCon. The Mountaineers were picked fifth in the SoCon back in 2005. 

When Furman won its lone national title in 1988, the Paladins were picked fourth, and just last season, the league’s top two teams and ultimately playoff qualifiers, in Samford and Furman, were picked sixth and fourth, respectively, as both would go on to win double-digit win seasons and would represent the league well in the postseason. 

In Western’s three-point win Saturday, the game see-sawed back-and-forth, with the Catamounts falling behind 11-0 on a 6-yard pass from EKU quarterback Parker McKinney and subsequent two-point conversion making the score 8-0. Nations then added a 41-yard field goal to extend the Colonel lead to double digits with 4:02 remaining in the opening quarter.

Bell’s Catamounts, however, would answer the Bell, as Censere Lee got the Catamounts on the board with a 45-yard scoring catch on the ensuing WCU possession. Nations put the Colonels up a TD at the break, as his 34-yard field goal as time expired in the opening half made it a 14-7 game at the break.

The Catamounts would post the solitary points of the third quarter, tying the contest for the first time since it was 0-0 when Lee caught his second scoring pass from Gonzales, hauling in a 15-yard scoring strike with 9:11 remaining in the third, tying the game 14-14, and setting the stage for an epic fourth quarter. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the Catamounts would stun the Colonels by taking their first lead of the night when Desmond Reid, who set a career-best rushing mark for a second-straight game, plunged in from a yard out to give the Cats a 21-14 lead with 14:24 left.

Almost three minutes later, the Colonels responded to tie the game when Jaden Smith hauled in a McKinney aerial for a 14-yard score to make it a 21-21 game with 11:32 remaining.

The Catamount defense would do its job on the next EKU possession, as the Colonels reached the WCU 1, however, were stymied from there and had to settle for a Nations field goal with 4:18 to take a 24-21 lead.

When NAIA transfer (Marion) and linebacker Logan Blake picked off a Gonzales offering with just over three minutes remaining, things didn’t look good.

With EKU looking to run out the clock, the Catamounts defense stood strong forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back for the Catamount offense with just 1:56 remaining. Gonzales and the Catamount offense would need just 91 seconds to drive the needed 87 yards for what proved to be the game-winning points. Highlighting the game-winning drive were completions of 46 and 28 yards to wideout AJ Columbo before Adams hauled in the decisive 8-yard strike.

Gonzales finished the evening completing 18-of-33 passes for 340 yards, with three touchdowns and an INT. Desmond Reid rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts. He also hauled in four passes for 63 yards, ending the contest with 244 all-purpose yards.

The Catamounts held the slight edge in total offense, out-gaining the Colonels 551-509 in the contest.

The following week, the Catamounts would move to 2-1 overall and broke into the polls for the first time during the 2023 campaign at No. 23, when the Catamounts hosted Charleston Southern at EJ Whitmire Stadium in the fourth week of the season before another big crowd.

The Catamounts would again put on a show in front of a large home crowd, as WCU hosted Charleston Southern in its second home game of the season. The Catamounts looked like a well-oiled machine on offense, posting a 77-14 win over the Bucs.

The 77 points scored by the Catamounts tied a school record, which was set just last season in a 77-21 win over Presbyterian. The Catamounts didn’t break much of a sweat in their 56-point win over the Buccaneers, improving to 3-1 overall on the season, while Charleston Southern dropped to 1-3.

Cole Gonzales only got in a half of work, as he tossed all five of his touchdown passes in the opening half of play, with four of those scoring strikes going to different receivers, leading Western Carolina to a 42-7 halftime lead.

Gonzales, who would go on to garner Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors, ended up connecting on 14-of-16 passes for 299 yards, with five touchdowns and no INTs. He was one of three quarterbacks to see action for the Catamounts in the contest, with Taron Dickens (3-of-4 passing, 91 yds, 1 TD) and Brody Palhegyi (3-of-4 passing, 56 yds, 1 TD) also logging time under center for WCU in the contest.

Desmond Reid finished out the game with his third-straight 100-yard rushing effort, finishing the contest with 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns on only 13 carries. Corey Washington hauled in three passes for 108 yards, while AJ Columbo finished the contest with three grabs for 95 yards and a pair of scores. Censere Lee had two catches for 86 yards and a TD.

Western Carolina moved to 2-0 in the Southern Conference a week later when they went to struggling The Citadel and handed the Bulldogs a 49-14 setback at Johnson-Hagood Stadium.

By this point in the season, most were wondering if Desmond Reid might be the frontrunner for not only the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Year, but also the Walter Payton Award, which is given to the nation's top overall player in the FCS.

Reid rushed for five first-half touchdowns, which set a new school record to go along with his 167 rushing yards. 

The lopsided win in Charleston would set up one of the best games of the season on the SoCon gridiron, and it would be between the Catamounts and Chattanooga Mocs.

The classic battle in Chattanooga  is one that would see a see-saw battle unfold nearly the entire afternoon, with the Catamounts finally ending the game with a 32-yard field goal by Richard McCollum, taking home what was a remarkable 52-50 win over the Mocs in the first-ever nationally ranked battle between the two programs. 

McCollum's game-winner came just after a thrilling drive by the Mocs, which was capped by a two-point conversion pass from running back Ailym Ford to tight end Camden Overton with less than a minute remaining, giving the Mocs a one-point, 50-49 lead.

However, as he proved against Eastern Kentucky earlier in the season, Cole Gonzales was seemingly an unflappable quarterback under pressure. He would help lead the Catamounts down the field completed three-straight passes to put the Catamounts in position to come away with what was a remarkable win. All three passes went to wideout AJ Colombo, who easily knocked through the game-winning field goal to set off wild celebrations on the WCU sidelines. 

It was another banner day running the football for Desmond Reid, who rushed for a career-high 211 yards and a pair of scores on just 15 carries. One of the concerns coming out of the victory, however, was that on his 75-yard scoring run, he came up with what looked to be a hamstring injury. 

Fortunately for head coach Kerwin Bell and his Catamounts, he would have the luxury of an off week to try and get Reid healthy for a game that some had billed the biggest for Western Carolina since 1983, as No. 3 Furman paid a visit to EJ Whitmire Stadium for what figured to be not only one of the games of the year in the SoCon, but also nationally as No. 3 took on No. 8 in a rare SoCon Top 10 clash.

The Paladins came to Cullowhee and surprised the Catamounts, using a defense that sacked Cole Gonzales three times, becoming the first team at the FCS level to record a takedown of the Catamount quarterback this season.

Western Carolina would lose Desmond Reid to a completely different injury than the one he had suffered the previous week against Chattanooga, and following the injury, the Paladin defense shut down the ground game, and forced the Catamounts into being one-dimensional. 

When Furman had the football, it used its physically imposing offensive line to tire the Catamount defense, eventually posting what would be the best day of the season rushing the football for the Paladin offense, as Furman finished the contest with 334 yards on the ground.

Western Carolina would finish the contest with one of its worst offensive showings of the season, as the Catamounts were held to just 353 yards of total offense on the day. The 353 yards of total offense were the lowest total against of the season for the Catamount offense, and it was also the second-lowest offensive output in WCU's 11-game schedule in 2023, as only the Arkansas Razorbacks, which held the Catamounts to just 291 total offensive yards ranked lower.

Following the 12-point home loss to Furman, Western Carolina would drop a second-straight home contest against when Mercer took advantage of a six-turnover afternoon for the Purple and Gold, handing the Catamounts a surprising 45-38 setback.

The home loss overshadowed a career-high 388-yard passing effort and five TD effort from Cole Gonzales. However, Gonzales also tossed three INTs in the loss, and that also deterred from his career day passing the ball. 

With hopes of a Southern Conference title now having gone down the tubes, the only thing left to play for after so much optimism to start the 2023 season was ending its FCS playoff drought, which had reached four decades in length. 

The good news would be that the Catamounts would get back on the winning track, taking down Wofford, 28-25, to begin the month of Nov, as the Catamounts would be forced to come from behind once again in the fourth quarter to come up with a thrilling win.

The heroics would once again be left to Richard McCollum, who came in and booted the 33-yard, game-winning field goal with 8:10 left, and that would ultimately prove to be the game-winning points for the Catamounts in the come-from-behind road win. 

It was another solid day throwing the football for Gonzales, who connected on 19-of-33 throws for 229 yards and a pair of second quarter touchdowns of 15 and 23 yards, respectively.

Twice in the fourth quarter the Catamounts would be forced to overcome deficits of eight and four points, respectively, in the back-and-forth battle before eventually being able to break through and get the win.

Despite being without the speedy Desmond Reid yet again, the Catamounts still managed to have a big day offensively, out-gaining the Terriers, 400-345, in total yards, keeping the Terriers winless on the campaign, while the Catamounts, in-turn, improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in league play. 

WCU quarterback and co-SoCon Player of the Year (media) vs. ETSU (photo courtesy of WCU Athletics

Western Carolina celebrated Senior Day by downing Blue Ridge Rival East Tennessee State, 58-7, retaining the Blue Ridge Battle Border trophy as a result, as the result was never in doubt to the delight of 11,019 fans on-hand at EJ Whitmire Stadium for the final home game of the 2023 season.

The Catamounts would send its senior day crowd home with plenty to satisfy the appetite for points, big plays and yardage on the afternoon. The 58 points were the second-highest point total of the season for the Catamounts, while the 687 yards of total offense, as Cole Gonzales recorded his third five TD passing effort of the season and the Catamounts passed for a season-high 513 yards.

The 687 yards of total offense eclipsed the previous season-high of 683 previously established earlier in the season in the 77-21 win earlier in the campaign against Charleston Southern. 

While the Catamount offense did its thing, the Western Carolina defense also did its thing by limiting the Bucs to an opponent season-low of 215 yards of total offense.

The Catamounts essentially put the Bucs away in the third quarter, with 21 points to render the game academic. Gonzales tossed scoring passes of 40, 38, 5, 31, and 6 yards, respectively, and was one of four Catamount quarterbacks to log action in the lopsided win. Brandon Palhegyi would also record another touchdown throw, giving the Catamounts a six scoring pass on the day, as his scoring toss came on a 27-yard strike. 

All told, the Catamounts finished the afternoon by scoring points on 10 of their 14 possessions in the game.

At 7-3 overall and 5-2 in SoCon play, the 18th-ranked headed to Lexington, VA., to face VMI for their final game of the season, with a trip to the FCS postseason for the first time in four decades likely hinging on the final outcome.

Adversity always seemingly strikes in sport at times when are least expected. For Furman, it came with the Paladins trailing Chattanooga in a game that would decide the automatic bid to the FCS postseason on the line, as Furman starter Tyler Huff went down in the second quarter with a shoulder injury, but Furman rallied behind Carson Jones to get the 17-14 road win and took home the auto bid to Greenville.

Chattanooga lost starter Chase Artopoues, and despite having to start Luke Schomburg in its final three games of the season, the Mocs managed to go on the road in the opening round of the postseason and take home the program's first-ever playoff victory, with a 24-21 verdict over in-state rival Austin Peay.

Unfortunately, Western Carolina, which had already had to navigate losing Desmond Reid multiple times to injury within the 2023 season and would be back in the backfield for the Keydets in the final game of the season, however, the Catamounts would also lose quarterback Cole Gonzales for the rest of the season with an injury during the second quarter against the Keydets in what turned out to be a 27-24 setback, adding finality to its WCU's FCS playoff yet again.

With a chance to put itself into a prime position to receive its first NCAA FCS playoff invitation since 1983, No. 14 Western Carolina couldn’t clear the final hurdle, as Hunter Rice rushed for four touchdowns to lead VMI to a 27-24 win to close out its first season under head coach Danny Rocco.

Rice would finish with 138 yards and four scores, becoming the first Keydet to rush for four TDs in a game since 2019, as the Keydets defeated their first ranked foe since 2021.

The win sees the Keydets close out the 2023 season with a 5-6 record overall and a 4-4 record in SoCon action. Western Carolina finishes the 2023 season 7-4 overall and 5-3 in SoCon action.

The Keydets got out to a 27-10 lead before having to hold on for dear life to close out the season with a home win.

VMI got on the board less than a minute into the second quarter when Rice rumbled in from a yard out to make it a 7-0 game, concluding what was a nine-play, 79-yard scoring drive.

The Catamounts stormed back to assume a 10-7 lead when Richard McCollum added a 41-yard field goal and running back Desmond Reid, who was seeing his first action since a mid-season loss to Furman back on Oct. 22, scored on a 7-yard scoring run with 2:29 remaining in the opening half, and that’s how things would remain as the two teams entered the halftime locker room.

Western Carolina’s lead came despite losing the SoCon’s most-efficient passer, Cole Gonzales, to an upper-body injury. Brody Palhegyi would come in relief and would play the remainder of the game.

Things would take a turn in favor of the Keydets in the third quarter with a pair of Rice scoring runs, posting a seven-yard scamper with just under five minutes remaining in the frame to give the Keydets their first lead since early in the second quarter, however, the PAT was no good leaving the margin at three, at 13-10.

The key play in the drive was a 36-yard connection from quarterback Collin Ironside to tight end Aiden Twombly, which was part of a career-high 133-yard receiving effort.

The Keydet defense forced WCU into a quick three-and-out and with the ball back, it wouldn’t take Rice long to finish off another scoring run, as he scampered 63 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 Keydet lead with just over four minutes left in the third quarter.

Things would get even better for VMI when Evan Eller picked off a Palhegyi pass and gave the Keydets excellent field position. He returned it 28 yards to the WCU 30. It would eventually lead to a 1-yard scoring plunge on the opening play of the final quarter, making it a 27-10.

The Catamounts would mount a furious rally, however, as Palhegyi tossed a 21-yard scoring strike to De’Andre Tamarez to make it a 27-17 game with 12:50 left.

After the WCU defense forced a VMI punt for a second-straight possession, the Catamounts inched even closer when Palhegyi called his own number to make it a three point game following his four-yard scoring scamper to make it a 27-24 game with nine minutes left.

VMI got the ball back, however, and though it didn’t score, it did the next best thing by running just over seven minutes off the clock and forced the Catamounts to burn a timeout.

The Keydets reached the WCU 17 but were forced to attempt a 35-yard field goal with 1:56 left, however, the kick was no good and the Catamounts took over.

Completions of 15 and five yards got the ball up to the Catamount 39, however, a key sack by VMI’s Christian Dunn and Evan Eller on third down forced WCU to burn its final timeout to come up with a play on 4th-and-15.

Palhegyi faced heavy pressure on 4th down and decided to try and gain the 15 yards with his feet, but was stopped two yards short effectively ending the threat and WCU’s 2023 playoff hopes.

The Catamounts would finish the season with nation's top offensive unit, averaging 504.1 YPG, however, like the previous couple of seasons under head coach Kerwin Bell, there will be several changes that have to be made on both sides of the ball with both coordinators not returning, as offensive coordinator Kade Bell has moved on to Pittsburgh, taking a lot of the Catamounts key performers with him, including dynamic running back Desmond Reid. Chazmon Scales will not be returning, and his vacancy already filled by former Tusculum head coach Jerry Odom.

In part two, I will recap the bottom five teams seasons and also rank the top 10 games of the 2023 season. Also I will list all of the players that received postseason recognition, both All-SoCon and All-America accolades...Stay tuned.