Furman has big opportunity at William & Mary

Furman's Trey Hedden earned SoCon Offensive Player and National
Freshman of the Week honors this week. Photo courtesy of Furman

It's become a bit of a cliche in sports to say that "polls don't matter." In many cases, this is true. Like it or not, in the world of FCS football, they do matter - even in September. As a program that's had its playoff bubble burst as an unranked Southern Conference champion in 2018, Furman is fully aware of this.

The Paladins (1-2) fell out of the FCS media and coaches polls for the first time in two years following their loss to Charleston Southern on Sept. 7. This Saturday night offers a chance for Furman, which is still receiving votes in both polls, to likely hop right back in if it can pull off a win at 12th-ranked William & Mary. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

Saturday also offers the chance for Furman to enter SoCon play on a high note against a former league member that the Paladins have a lot of respect for.

"We don't get to do this very often, but I really enjoy playing against people that are a little bit like us as an institution. They play with true student-athletes," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "I have great respect for their institution and how they go about it. We recruit a lot of the same kind of kids.

"Watching tape of them, they're talented and really well coached. They've got a good scheme. We're built similarly. They want to be a physical football team and run the ball."

Saturday also renews an old SoCon rivalry ... sort of. Even though William & Mary was in the league from 1936-76, it only faced Furman 10 times over that span. None of those meetings were really as significant as the five games in the series since:

• In 1989, Frankie DeBusk ran three times for 83 yards and two first quarter touchdowns, while Carl Tremble rushed for 115 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown as Furman opened the Division I-AA playoffs with a 24-10 win over the Tribe at Paladin Stadium.
• In 1990, No. 7-ranked Furman traveled to 10th-ranked William and Mary for an unusual non-conference showdown on the first Saturday of November. DeBusk threw three touchdowns and ran for another to give the Paladins a 28-24 lead going into the fourth quarter before the Tribe rallied for a 38-28 win. William & Mary had 593 yards of total offense that day while Furman had 554. Donald Lipscomb broke the school record for receiving yards in a single game with 202 on six catches. His total is now tied for second in school history.
• Furman opened the 1994 season with a respectable 27-6 loss at Clemson and a 26-21 win over S.C. State before hosting William & Mary the following week. On that day, the Paladins lost starting quarterback Philly Jones for the season with a broken wrist and also lost five turnovers. Braniff Bonaventure nearly rallied the Paladins to victory, but a failed two-point conversion run with 3:35 left sealed the Tribe's 28-26 win. William & Mary was led by Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who had 94 yards receiving and a touchdown. That rough day was kind of an omen for the season as Furman went 3-8 in Bobby Johnson's first year as head coach.
• In 1999, Furman rebounded from a 24-22 season-opening loss to Elon in which the Paladins missed a field goal with 38 seconds left with a 52-6 rout at William & Mary the next week. Furman's triple-option attack piled up 509 yards on the ground for the second-highest rushing day in school history. That started a seven-game winning streak for the Paladins, who finished 9-3 and won the SoCon title.
• In 2000, Louis Ivory rushed for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Furman beat William & Mary 34-10. Ivory, who went on to win the Walter Payton Award that year, helped the Paladins record another 9-3 season.

Furman could use some offensive performances like that again Saturday in Williamsburg, Va. as William & Mary (2-1) is solid on both sides of the ball. The Tribe are coming off a 28-21 win in a back-and-forth game at Wofford last week. Furman will be their third SoCon opponent this season as they opened with a 41-7 win over VMI. It will also be their third consecutive game against a Palmetto State opponent as they lost at Coastal Carolina, 40-21, in week two.

Led by senior running back Bronson Yoder, who's on the Payton Award watch list, William & Mary averages 196.7 rushing yards per game. Fellow senior running back Malachi Imoh has averaged 7.0 yards per carry in his career. Tribe senior quarterback Darius Wilson ranks 16th nationally in passing efficiency (151.2). Meanwhile, William & Mary's defense ranks ninth nationally in pass defense efficiency (93.7).

Third downs could be a factor Saturday. The Tribe is sixth in the country in third-down conversion percentage (51.2) and 12th in third-down defense (27.8). On the other side, Furman has converted only 11-of-43 third downs (25.6 percent), while allowing 37.8 percent (17-of-45).

"We will have a big, big challenge this week. ... They're much more of a veteran team than we are right now," Hendrix said. "They've got a veteran quarterback, who's a true dual threat guy, and several good running backs."

The Paladins will look to build off a strong showing in last week's 48-7 win over Stetson. In his collegiate debut as a starter, freshman quarterback Trey Hedden completed 20-of-27 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a 13-yard touchdown. He was subsequently named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week and Stats Perform National Freshman of the Week.

Hedden's big day led to a career-high day for Joshua Harris, who caught seven passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. 

After failing to record a turnover in back-to-back games for the first time in six years, Furman's defense came up with three interceptions last week. That included two by freshman safety Billy Lewis. The Paladins' offense did not suffer a turnover for the first time this season also last week.

William & Mary has yet to throw an interception this season, but has lost three out of seven fumbles. It's defense has forced three turnovers.

Furman could have an edge on special teams. Ian Williams earned SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week last week after drilling field goals of 48 and a school-record 57 yards. He also averaged 44.8 yards per punt and sent eight of his nine kickoffs for touchbacks. William & Mary is 0-for-2 on field goals this season, with misses from 48 and 37 yards.

Saturday's game will be Furman's only one this season not available on ESPN+. With William & Mary being the home team, the broadcast will only be available via FloSports, the official television provider of the Coastal Athletic Association. A monthly subscription to FloSports costs a laughable $29.99 per month, which I guess is required to fund a 16-team league like the CAA.