The SoCon Spread

A battle of the past two defending Southern Conference champions will commence Saturday in Greenville at Paladin Stadium in the league opener for both Furman and Samford, as the past two champions will look to recover from a rough start to the 2024 regular-season. The Paladins were picked to finish second in the preseason by the league's head coaches, while Samford was picked to finish fifth.  The Paladins and Bulldogs will be meeting for the 27th time on the gridiron, with Furman holding the narrow 14-12 series edge. Since 2008, the Paladins and Bulldogs have only met once in the SoCon opener for both teams, which came back in the 2012 season, with the Bulldogs claiming that clash by a 24-21 margin in Birmingham in what was the season opener for both teams. Each of the past 10 meetings between the two programs have been decided by 10 points or less. For a full preview of Saturday's SoCon opener for both teams, click the PDF link below.  https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:s...

Furman (1-2) at No. 12/13 William & Mary (2-1) Series: Furman leads 8-7 Coaches: Furman-Clay Hendrix (52-31/8th season)/William & Mary Mike London (31-22/6th Sseason) Furman and William & Mary meet for the first time in 24 years Game Overview: Fresh off its first win of the 2024 season, defending Southern Conference champion Furman (1-2) returns to action Saturday afternoon at No. 12 William & Mary (2-1) for its final non-conference game of the season. The game is one that represents what once was a thriving Southern Conference gridiron rivalry between a pair of programs that put an emphasis on academic excellence, with both institutions being two of the very best academic schools on the East Coast.    William & Mary called the Southern Conference its membership conference for four decades, fielding athletic teams in the nation's fifth-oldest intercollegiate athletics conference from 1936-75.  Over the past three seasons, the Paladins have been solid a...

Furman senior WR Joshua Harris (courtesy Furman Athletics) Furman true freshman quarterback Trey Hedden completed 20-of-27 passes for 267 yards and two TDs, while rushing for 16 yards and another touchdown in his first-career start, and senior wideout Joshua Harris hauled in seven passes for a career-best 164 yards and two scores, as the Paladins blasted Pioneer Football League member Stetson, 48-7, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium. Hedden, a native Tampa, FL., seemingly had the magic touch on his passes all afternoon against the Hatters, and as the game progressed, his immense arm talent showed more potency with each throw, as Furman’s explosive plays in the passing game were key to breaking the game open just before the half. In fact, Furman seemingly produced more chunk scoring plays than it has in any one game in each of the past two seasons. Hedden became the first true freshman signal-caller to start for the Paladins since Jace Wilson led the Paladin...