Furman set to wrap up season at Clemson

Evan James caught nine passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns
in Furman's 32-14 win over VMI. Photo courtesy of Furman

When Furman and Clemson face off for the 59th time in series history Saturday, it will come at an odd kickoff time on an odd part of the calendar. When the Paladins have visited Death Valley near the start of a season in previous years, fans in the upper decks of the stadium might have felt like rotisserie chickens by the fourth quarter after roasting in the sun all afternoon.

On Saturday, fans in certain parts of those same seats might instead see a sunset over Lake Hartwell as the sun sets on Furman's season. That's thanks to a 4:30 p.m. kickoff time as the game will be televised by The CW, Channel 62 locally. 

"It's the first time I've ever been involved in one of these (FBS) games late in the season. I know Furman has had a couple, but that was during the time I was gone," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said. "Obviously, they have one of their biggest games of the season next week (vs. South Carolina) so it will be interesting to see what their mindset is."

Furman (6-5, 4-4 Southern Conference), who was Clemson's first ever opponent in football on Halloween of 1896, will be trying to snap a 32-game losing streak in the series. A monumental upset by the Paladins would prevent Hendrix from experiencing back-to-back non-winning seasons for just the third time in his 44 years as a player, assistant and head coach.

During his Furman playing career, Hendrix was part of teams that went 4-0 against Div. I-A (FBS) competition with wins at South Carolina, Georgia Tech and N.C. State twice. He was the offensive line coach the last time the Paladins beat an ACC team, when they opened up a can on North Carolina by a score of 28-3 in 1999.

Times have obviously changed since then, although Furman held its own the last time it faced Clemson 2022. The Paladins outgained the Tigers in total yards that day and trailed 25-12 late in the third quarter. Furman failed get any points on a pair of drives into Clemson's red zone in the fourth quarter though in the 35-12 loss.

Times have changed even more since 2022, as the "Power 4" conferences made up of teams that make no geographical sense whatsoever have gone full semi-pro. Furman fans listening to the radio on their way to Saturday's game could hear Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik try to sell them a vehicle from one of the Easley dealerships they pass along Highway 123. That's before tuning into Dan Scott's Furman pregame show at 3 p.m. of course.

Last season, the Paladins got a bitter reminder of the other half lives when Ole Miss' $1.3 million quarterback torched them in the season opener. Still, that hasn't dampened any enthusiasm for this year's trip to FBS land.

"You've always grown up dreaming of playing on a stage like this, so I'm looking forward to it," said Furman all-American kicker Ian Williams. "It's the last game of my career and the same for a bunch of guys. We're going to leave it all out on the field."

Clemson enters as a 41.5 favorite. Fans who've followed both teams this season might be wondering if the Tigers' offense can score 42 points on anybody. Furman fans could wonder if the Paladins can hold any team with a quarterback with a strong enough arm to throw it over a defensive back's head to 42.

"I know this. When you play them the first or second week of the season, everybody's excited and looking for statistics," Hendrix said. "When you play them this late, everybody is a little bit more beat up. How does that affect things? I don't know. If you watch them, they're still Clemson. They're one of the best programs in the country and have been for many years."

Recapping VMI

The Paladins are coming off a 32-14 win over VMI last Saturday. That snapped a two-game losing streak and allowed Furman to double its overall win total from last season, as well as its SoCon win total as it finished .500 in league play. It was a successful Senior Day as Hendrix got to empty his bench.

"We got to play a ton of guys, which is awesome to see. We've got some old guys in our program who I'm not sure if they've been out there before, so that was great for them," Hendrix said. "We ran it pretty good, threw it pretty good and took care of the ball. That's a pretty good recipe for success."

It was a frustrating start against the downtrodden Keydets. The first quarter was scoreless as Furman's best chance at points came when Williams missed a 58-yard field goal. The ball was halfway up the right upright, but sailed just inches to the right of it. That would've topped his previous school record long of 57 yards, which he's made twice.

The second quarter began with Williams missing from 29 yards out, at which point you began to wonder if schools from Virginia have some kind of magic spell on the star kicker. Two plays later, Billy Lewis recovered a VMI fumble at the Keydets' 17-yard line, but Furman couldn't take advantage as VMI had a goal-line stand.

The scoreboard was finally cracked with 5:09 left in the half when freshman sensation Evan James caught an eight-yard touchdown pass from Trey Hedden. The Keydets' offense, which had just one first down since the opening drive of the game, responded with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to tie the game at 7-7 with 1:15 left.

Furman got a huge response out of its two-minute offense with a 40-second, six-play drive capped by James' incredible leaping grab of a 17-yard touchdown pass. After a personal foul by VMI on the extra point, the Paladins went for two and Jayquan Smith got in from a yard out to give Furman a 15-7 lead at the half.

The momentum carried over as Paladins opened the second half with a 12-play, 85-yard drive that shaved nearly six minutes off the clock. Smith's eight-yard touchdown run helped push the lead to 22-7.

Ben Croasdale scored from a yard out early in the fourth quarter. Williams, playing in his final game at Paladin Stadium, atoned for his earlier misses with a 51-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter to close out Furman's scoring.

"Ian's actually been my roommate for three years, so I was excited for him," said Furman offensive lineman Luke Petit. "He deserved to go out on a good note. He's done great things for us and been a great leader."

Hendrix added, "I don't know if I can say any more about a guy that has that kind of loyalty in the (college football) world we live in. ... I've never taken for granted that we've had him. ... He'll be sorely missed."

Hedden completed 33-of-46 passes for 275 yards and the two touchdowns. He wasn't sacked and didn't throw an interception. James finished with nine catches for 70 yards and the two scores, while Ja'Keith Hamilton had 97 yards on eight catches. Croasdale was the Paladins' leading rusher with 70 yards, while CJ Nettles carried 12 times for 54 yards. Freshman Isaiah Davis saw his first action and ran three times for 37 yards.

In the process of James' big day, which included a remarkable third-down conversion in which he made a 360 spin as he nabbed a screen pass with one hand before taking off for a 15-yard gain, he broke Furman freshman season records for receptions, yards and touchdowns. Despite missing three games to injury this season, James has 59 receptions for 760 yards and six touchdowns all of which are team bests.

"He's had a heck of year. ... He makes things look so easy. The fact that he even caught that screen pass, before kind of righting himself and making people miss ... that's just kind of what you assume from him," Hendrix said. "He comes over to the sideline and he's exactly the same as he was before he went out there. I'm just really, really proud of him."

Stoneking honored

Furman defensive end Joshua Stoneking is one of 15 players named to the Walter Camp Foundation's 2025 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Player of the Year Watch List announced this week. He currently leads the FCS in tackles-for-loss (20) and sacks (13.5) after making a one-armed sack (because the other was being held) against VMI.

Often when defensive ends have a lot of sacks, they don't necessarily have that many other tackles. That's not the case for Stoneking, who's tied with safety Taylen Blaylock for the team lead in tackles this season with 73.

The watch list includes five running backs, four quarterbacks, three wide receivers and three defensive players.