No. 16 SC State's Early Scoring Flurry Proves Just Enough to Hold off No. 24 Furman

GREENVILLE, S.C.--Twenty-fourth ranked Furman found Saturday night's 20-17 loss to No. 16 South Carolina State frustrating for two reasons. One because SC State did a lot of the frustrating on the defensive side of the ball, while the other frustrating part of the game for the Paladins was some of it was self-inflicted, whether it was penalties or six dropped passes.

The crowd was what you'd normally expect for a South Carolina State-Furman game, with 9,217 fans in attendance at Paladin Stadium, including a couple of thousand from Orangeburg--band included. It was a tremendous FCS atmosphere, which is one of the great things about SoCon teams playing HBCU programs--especially ones with a winning tradition like SCSU has--is that they bring the atmosphere with them depending on proximity. 

My guess is that the Bulldogs will remain towards the top of the polls for the rest of the season, and one look at the Bulldogs' remaining schedule should see them not face the type of test on the road or at home tougher than the one they overcame on Saturday night in Greenville.

The three-point win by the Bulldogs marked just the sixth win in the series over the Paladins, including what was just the second in Paladin Stadium and first since the first time the two ever met, which was in the FCS Playoffs back in 1982, as the Bulldogs blanked Furman (17-0) on that occasion. 

It also marked the Bulldogs' first win over Furman since 2014, when the Bulldogs downed the Paladins 17-7 in Orangeburg. SC State, who is the reigning HBCU National Champion, claimed its 12th-straight win against FCS competition. 

The win sees the Bulldogs improve to 4-0 on the season, while Furman falls to 2-2 overall, which includes a 1-0 mark in SoCon play. Entering last night's contest, Furman had won the most-recent tilt between the two teams, claiming a 17-3 win on a rainy, windy, and cool early October Saturday evening back in 2015.

For Furman, it was not only a bit of a missed opportunity for the Paladins moving forward, but one larger missed opportunity for the Southern Conference, which needed a big win after VMI's 12-game winning streak over Pioneer Football League member Davidson came to an end Saturday afternoon in overtime. 

It was another semi-embarrassing loss for the league, although certainly not in the realm of Furman or Mercer's losses to Presbyterian last season. Still, Saturday night's game offered a great opportunity for the Paladins to garner a big win for the league, but the Paladins weren't up to the task. The silver lining is that it was against a very good opponent, but the missed opportunity still stings a bit. 

The truth is two very good defenses played on each side on Saturday night, while each offense continues to figure things out as the season progresses. SC State used two quarterbacks as part of its regular design, while Furman had to use two by default, with Jake Garcia leaving the game early in the third quarter with some sort of upper body injury and did not return.

Enter backup Connor Ackerley, who got his chance leading the Furman offense for the first time this season, and in his debut, the Western New Mexico transfer turned in a solid effort, finishing the night by finishing 10-of-18 passing for 164 yards and one touchdown. When Garcia left the game in the third quarter, he had connected on 11-of-22 passes for 100 yards.

Furman's ground attack, which was mostly non-existent for much of the evening, was led by Ben Croasdale's 24 yards on nine carries. 

The Paladins got a great effort from Tennessee Tech transfer wideout Luke Shields, who finished the night by hauling in seven passes for 133 yards and a score, which included that 67-yard scoring catch that made things especially interesting late in the game. 

SC State's two signal-callers were not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination but were efficient enough to fuel an offense that ended up outgaining the Paladins by a total of 15 total yards (332-317), while the Paladins had the ball for six more snaps. Both Keely Watson and Ronnie Robinson played under center for the Bulldogs.

If the Bulldogs had one major edge over the Paladins Saturday night, however, it was in the ground game. The Bulldogs ended up finishing the night with a big advantage in rushing offense, finishing with a 124-53 in rushing yards. 

Due to both defenses being so stout and talented, rushing yards were hard to come by. The Paladins held a slight advantage in passing yardage, finishing the night with a 264-208 advantage.

Watson ended the night connecting on 12-of-25 passes for 186 yards, with one TD and one INT, while Robinson finished the night going 4-of-7 through the air for 22 yards. Robinson also rushed it three times for 15 yards. 

The top target in the passing game for the Bulldogs was DJ Maultsby, who hauled in four passes for 118 yards, which included a 65-yard scoring catch on the game's first play from scrimmage.

The Bulldogs' leading ground threat was Josh Shaw, who rushed nine times for 55 yards and one score, while Mason Pickett-Hicks finished off an evening, which saw him post 52 yards on 15 rush attempts. 

How It Happened:

After kickoff was pushed back a half-hour, South Carolina State didn't take long to provide introduce its own proverbial lightning offensively, following Furman being flagged for a kickoff out of bounds infraction on the game's opening kickoff. Bulldogs quarterback Keely Watson found wideout DJ Maultsby well behind the Furman secondary, on an out-and-up, for a 65-yard scoring strike on the first play from scrimmage to give South Carolina State a 7-0 only nine seconds into the game. 

The Bulldog defense fed off the fast start, forcing the Paladins to punt it way after one first down and a total of 15 yards on Furman's opening possession of the night. 

South Carolina State made the most of its early momentum, capitalizing once again on Furman's shaky start on defense, as the Bulldogs put together their most successful scoring drive of the night, as the Bulldogs used 12 plays to move the ball 80 yards, bleeding just over six minutes off the clock to go ahead 14-0 with 6:58 remaining in the opening quarter following a nine-yard scoring run by Josh Shaw, as he knifed through the middle of the Paladin defense. Furman had rarely yielded such running lanes up the middle in the previous three games in 2026.

The Paladin offense continued to find it hard to solve the Bulldogs' defensive riddle, as the two teams exchanged punts before Furman's offense got the ball back late in the opening quarter and would put together what turned out to be its most promising offensive drive of the evening to that point in the game. 

Furman, which took over the ball with 2:29 remaining in the opening quarter, used 12 plays to cover 43 yards, but had to settle for a Nathan Champman field goal after Jake Garcia was sacked on 2nd-and-goal from the three-yard line for a loss of six yards, and after his helmet came off in the process, Connor Ackerley entered the game, but his 3rd-and-goal pass from the SC State nine fell incomplete, and the Paladins had to settle for a 27-yard Nathan Chapman field goal with 11:59 remaining in the half to make it a 14-3 game.

Both defenses controlled the middle portions of the third quarter, and with the Paladins looking to establish some momentum midway through the second, had one of those significant drops by wideouts prove costly. Garcia found an open Daniel Haughton on a short pass which would have yielded a five-yard gain on 3rd-and-4, however, the ball was bobbled by Haughton and that mishap led to an INT by Tyler Jones at the Furman 22. However, after the play was reviewed, it was overturned and ruled incomplete, allowing the Paladins to punt the ball away. 

Following a 44-yard punt by Furman's William Pendergrass, the Bulldogs marched back into Furman territory, but the Paladin defense held firm after the Bulldogs reached the Furman 24, and instead of to try and convert on 4th-and-3, opted for a Jett Jackson field goal. The former Presbyterian Blue Hose kicker, which had been part of PC's 39-38 overtime win over Furman a year earlier, connected on the 42-yard attempt to put the Bulldogs ahead 17-3 with 4:21 remaining in the half. 

Furman again threatened to put points on the board late in the half, driving to the SC State 24 before having to settle for a 41-yard Nathan Chapman field goal attempt on 4th-and-9, but the kick was wide right. However, the Bulldogs were flagged for offsides and the Paladins took the penalty, but instead of opting to re-kick the field goal attempt, decided instead to send the offense back out on the field on 4th-and-4. Garcia's pass was broken up by SC State's Zavian Wells, which kept the Bulldogs' advantage at 14 (17-3) as the two teams entered their respective locker rooms for halftime.

Furman would put the only points on the board in the third quarter, as Chapman connected on a 49-yard field goal midway through the third quarter to make it 17-6 game. On the second play of the second half, Furman lost quarterback Jake Garcia for the remainder of the game, as he exited the game with some sort of shoulder/upper arm injury and did not return to the game. He also was seen exiting the stadium on a motorized cart and did not return to the sidelines. No updates as to his status were provided postgame. Connor Ackerley would finish out the game under center for Furman. 

Later in the quarter, the Paladins would seem to gain further momentum in the when Watson's pass down field was complete to tight end Nicolas Brown, however, a big hit was provided by Braylon Peebles to force the ball to deflect in the air and into the waiting arms of Furman 'spur' safety AK Burrell, who returned 17 yards inside Bulldog territory to the 45, giving the Paladin offense excellent field position.  However, a sack by the Bulldogs on 3rd-and-12 thwarted any thoughts of drawing closer on the scoreboard for the Paladins, as Gray Gitter was called upon to punt the ball away. 

Furman's next points would come a little over a minute into the final period, as Chapman connected on a 44-yard field goal to conclude a five-play, 39-yard drive to get the Paladins to within eight, at 17-9, with 13:57 remaining. 

The Paladin defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back to the Paladin offense. Furman reached the South Carolina State 38, but were faced with a 4th-and-7 and the Paladins opted to go for it. However, Ackerley was sacked by Bulldogs defensive end Joshua Dollard for a loss of seven yards, thwarting another scoring opportunity. 

Another Jett Jackson field goal, which was good from 28 yards out, concluding an eight-play, 45-yard drive with 3:03 left, it appeared the game was done and dusted for Furman. Jackson's field goal increased SC State's lead to 11, at 20-9, with just over three minutes remaining.

However, Furman found life on the first play of its next possession. Furman's lone touchdown of the night game when Ackerley launched a pass to a wide-open Luke Shields behind the SC State defense for a 67-yard pitch-and-catch to bring Furman to within 20-15. Ackerley then found Haughton on the two-point conversion to make it a 20-17 game with 2:47 remaining. 

Furman's defense then forced a three-and-out to get the ball back at its own 28 with 2:20 remaining following an excellent 54-yard punt from SC State's Max' Ceon Cobb, flipping the field position. 

However, three-straight incompletions by Ackerley saw Furman face a 4th-and-10 with just over two minutes remaining. On fourth down, Ackerley scrambled and then found running room along the near sideline but was stopped two yards short of the first down marker by Jordan Franklin and Roderick Taylor, who chased down Furman's backup signal-caller from behind, effectively securing the road win for SC State.

Furman (2-2, 1-0 SoCon) returns to action next Saturday against Richmond (3-1, 2-0 Patriot League) in what will be the first meeting between the two programs in 21 years. Kickoff for that contest is set for 2 p.m. EST at UR Stadium. SC State (4-0, 0-0 MEAC) will be on the road to face Bethune-Cookman (2-1, 0-0 SWAC) in a 7 p.m. EST contest next Saturday.

Post-game Press Conference:                                                                                                                

Head Coach-Clay Hendrix

Quarterback-Connor Ackerley

Defensive Back-AK Burrell