Furman's Caleb Williams makes a tackle against Chattanooga. Photo courtesy of Furman |
Furman will try to rebound from the most lopsided Southern Conference loss it's had in Clay Hendrix's eight-year tenure as head coach when it hosts Western Carolina at 2 p.m. Saturday on homecoming at Paladin Stadium.
The Paladins lost five turnovers (officially) and didn't force any in last week's 41-10 loss to Chattanooga. The Mocs (3-3 overall, 2-1 SoCon) scored 24 points off those turnovers. That performance came weeks after being at minus-four in turnover margin for the first time ever under Hendrix in Furman's 24-20 home loss to Charleston Southern.
"We're certainly disappointed in the outcome and how we played. We just kind of continue to be our own worst enemy," Hendrix said after the game. "I told the team at halftime that I'd felt a lot better about how we played today than last week (first half at The Citadel), but we turned it over four times (in the first half). So you keep that in perspective. You can't beat anybody (doing that), especially a good team and they've got a really good, veteran team."
Even though Furman (2-4, 1-1) had the four turnovers, it wasn't like a 20-3 halftime deficit was insurmountable. After freshman quarterback Trey Hedden was intercepted three times in the first half, the Paladins turned to Carson Jones to quarterback the second half. Unfortunately for Furman, Jones could not capture that same magic he had last season at Chattanooga when he came on for an injured Tyler Huff and rallied the team to victory and the SoCon championship.
On the first play of the second half, Chattanooga's Chase Artopoeus threw a bomb to Javin Whatley for a 47-yard gain to the Furman 28. The Mocs and Paladins entered last week's game as two of the worst rushing teams in the country, but Chattanooga proceeded to churn out yards on the ground on this drive. Reggie Davis carried on each of the final five plays of the possession, capped by a two-yard touchdown run.
On Furman's ensuing possession, Myion Hicks ran for six yards on first down. Jones' first pass was complete for a one-yard loss and his third down pass was incomplete, so the Paladins went three-and-out. Furman's defense was poised for a three-and-out on the Mocs' next possession, but on 3rd-and-9, Artopoeus found Whatley running all alone down the right sideline for a 71-yard touchdown.
Furman entered Chattanooga territory for the first time since midway through the first quarter on its next possession. However the drive ended when Jones' third down pass was batted down. UTC's Marquise Freeman gathered the loose ball and held it up in the air in celebration as everyone had stopped on the play. With no whistle though, Freeman took off for the end zone and was officially credited with an interception return for a touchdown.
Replays showed that the ball had bounced off the turf, but there was never an official review. While it didn't probably matter, it's a pretty unprofessional look to not automatically review a goofy looking play that everybody had stopped on. Of course, Hedden's third interception of the first half was reviewed and the call stood despite the ball being trapped.
Nevertheless, the three touchdowns by Chattanooga less than nine minutes into the second half turned a 20-3 game into a 41-3 game and it was essentially over.
"In our three FCS losses, we've had 12 turnovers and you can't do that," Hendrix said during his weekly press conference Monday. "It hurts me to have to say it, but (Chattanooga) just got after us. Something we've taken pride in since I came back here is playing with relentless effort and playing with great physicality. We got out-physicalled Saturday."
Three turnovers or five turnovers doesn't change the fact that the Mocs dominated the final three quarters. In the first quarter, Chattanooga had a 76-68 edge in total offense and both teams had 17 plays apiece. The rest of the way, the Mocs had 367 yards on 55 plays while Furman had 165 on 35 plays.
It was Furman's first game without noseguard Xavier Stephens, who was lost for the season after suffering an injury in the fourth quarter at Citadel the week before. Chattanooga found holes up the gut that were not there before with Stephens clogging up the middle. The Mocs finished with 199 yards rushing on 46 attempts. Davis finished with 93 yards on 22 carries to lead the way.
"This was the game you really needed him (Stephens)," Hendrix said. "I looked out there early in the game and six of our front seven (on defense) were freshmen."
For what it's worth, Furman also had one of its more successful games on the ground with 130 yards in what was one of its better efforts with the RPO. Hicks finished with 67 yards on 15 attempts and had the Paladins lone touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Evan DiMaggio led Furman's defense with a 14 tackles. The defense was further decimated when Luke Clark left with an injury. While his season isn't over, he is expected to miss Saturday's game against Western Carolina.
"It's been a tough year, but tough times don't last. Tough people do," Hendrix said. "We're just trying to hang in there and get better with our young guys. ... It is what is is and everybody deals with it."
Being without your top pass rusher is less than ideal when facing the Catamounts (3-3, 2-0), who are one of only two teams without a loss in SoCon play. Western quarterback Cole Gonzales is ninth in the country in total offense (282.8 yards per game). He has 1,528 yards passing and 169 rushing this year and road environments haven't exactly intimidated him. Gonzales had a season-high 340 yards passing in the Catamounts' 46-35 loss at Montana. He rushed for a season-high 75 yards in their 38-21 loss at N.C. State.
Gonzales is third in Western Carolina history with 44 career passing touchdowns. He's fourth in career passing (5,667 yards) and total offense (6,186).
"We've got a really, really good, really talented team coming in here. We're never going to out-talent either of these teams (Chattanooga or Western)," Hendrix said. "They've played a really tough schedule. That's why their record isn't as good, very similar to Chattanooga. ... We've got to get back to attacking on defense."
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