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| Furman linebacker Ryan Earl returns a fumble in the Paladins' 13-9 loss at Richmond Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman |
RICHMOND, Va. - Furman's longest road trip of the season Saturday must have felt even longer coming home as trends continued for the team. While the defense remained adept at coming up with big plays to give the Paladins a chance to win, the offense remained inept as it failed to take advantage of those opportunities.
The 400-mile plus road trip turned out to not include any visits to either end zone at Robins Stadium. Instead, Furman was held to a trio of first-half field goals in a 13-9 loss to former Southern Conference rival Richmond. It's the first time the Paladins were held without a touchdown by an FCS opponent since a 13-3 loss at Chattanooga on Oct. 30, 2021.
While the Spiders (4-1) entered Saturday ranked 19th in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and fifth nationally in team sacks, that defense had also allowed 17 touchdowns and just one field goal attempt. Granted, 10 of those TDs were scored by N.C. State in a 73-0 loss, but the rest were: two by Bucknell (currently No. 103 out of 128 FCS teams in the Massey computer ratings), two by Howard (No. 90) and three by Georgetown (No. 111). Those three TDs by winless Georgetown a week earlier necessitated Richmond needing a 49-yard field goal on the game's final play to win, 24-21.
Saturday's game also came down to the final play as Furman's Hail Mary 29-yard pass to the end zone bounced around in the gaggle of players before hitting the turf incomplete. That final play came on a second down, which did help the Paladins (2-3) avoid another failed third down as they converted just 2-of-13. Furman ranks last in the country in third-down conversions this season at 19.4 percent (14-of-72).
"Offense not being able to get it going has been the story of the year and that's got to change. This is 1,000 percent on me. I'm the one that's got to do a better job," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said following Saturday's game. "We've scored six touchdowns in five games and it's just frustrating. We've got to look at everything we're doing, particularly offensively.
"The running game is getting to the old insanity deal. You keep doing a lot of the same stuff thinking something's going to change. We've really got to look hard at what we're doing. ... I don't know. We might be in the wishbone next week, but something's got to change."
Hendrix meant what he said. At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Hendrix confirmed that Justin Roper had been relieved of his duties as offensive coordinator. Quarterback coach Drew Dudzik will take over in that role. Roper was not coaching any position this season, so nothing else really changes assignment-wise.
"I think the world of Justin Roper. He's a really smart bright guy, who helped us win a conference championship and go to two playoffs. I just got to the point where it felt like we had to do something different," Hendrix said Tuesday. "Drew and (defensive coordinator) Chad Byers handled Sunday. That's when we told the team and unbeknownst to us, our offensive group had already had a little players-only meeting. That's something about this whole group that I really like about them."
Furman entered Saturday with just three points scored in the first quarter all season and appeared destined to stay with that many. The Paladins went three-and-out on each of their first three possessions, which combined for a total offense of minus-8 yards. Furman's fourth possession began at the Spiders' 48-yard line thanks to a 26-yard interception return by Joshua Tarver.
With momentum on its side, Furman finally got its first first down thanks to a 14-yard run by C.J. Nettles on the next play. Two plays later, Nettles ran six yards to the Richmond 20 for another first down. The Paladins had a near perfectly executed play-action on the next play, but Connor Ackerley's pass to an open Connor Morin in the end zone was barely overthrown. After another incompletion on second down, a decision was made for Ben Croasdale to take a shotgun handoff up the middle on third-and-10 which resulted in no gain. Following an offsides penalty on the Spiders, Nathan Chapman ended the first quarter with a 33-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
Richmond answered with the lone touchdown of the game on its ensuing possession. It came after a beautiful open field tackle by Braylon Peebles forced a fourth-and-three at the Furman six. Spiders' tight end Carson Derey went in motion right-to-left. After the snap, Derey came right back down where he'd just left and took an easy pass from Ashten Snelsire into the end zone.
Furman appeared to be a big trouble after fumbling away a converted third-down in which the Spiders recovered at the Furman 44. However on the next play, Peebles came up with an interception and returned it to the Richmond 39. The return was wiped out by a ridiculously awful blindside block flag, which essentially was a 36-yard penalty as Furman took over at its own 25.
The Paladins still managed to drive down and once again had a first down at the Spiders' 20. On second-and-16, Nettles took a shotgun handoff up the middle for nothing. On third-and-16, a five-wide empty shotgun set resulted in a quarterback draw that fooled nobody. After Ackerley gained a yard, Furman settled for a 42-yard field goal by Chapman to cut the lead to four with 3:20 left.
After Richmond missed a 50-yard field goal with 36 seconds left, the Paladins' most productive offense this season - the two-minute drill - came through again. On fourth-and-three at the Richmond 48, Ackerley and Luke Shields connected for a gain of 16 yards with 11 seconds left. That set up Chapman's 49-yard field goal to end the half. Despite being held to 106 yards of total offense and allowing five sacks in the first half, Furman only trailed 10-9.
The Spiders opened the second half with a 12-play drive to the Furman 27. On fourth-and-one, Snelshire's sneak was stopped short of the first down by Ryan Earl and Caleb Easterling. Two plays later, Ackerley and Shields connected again on a 16-yard gain but the ball came free. Richmond's Tayshaun Burney returned the fumble 18 yards to the Furman 27.
A sack by Joshua Stoneking in the red zone helped force the Spiders to settle for a 30-yard field goal to wrap up the game's scoring with 5:34 left in the third quarter.
"I've been doing this a long time and there's been some frustrating times. This is one of them because I think we're actually good enough at some spots," Hendrix said Saturday. "I think we may be asking some guys to do some things that are not in their best interest or our best interest. We've got to look at that."
Furman forced a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers, but couldn't cash in those chances. Richmond had a 12-play, 70-yard drive and looked poised to essentially put the game away considering how it had been going. On first-and-goal from the one, Richmond's Aziz Foster-Powell tried to put the ball across the plane but it was knocked free by Ty Kauserud. It landed into the arms of Earl, who was in a convoy with three other Paladins. Unfortunately for Furman, Earl was the lead truck and was tackled at the Paladins' 16 by Snelshire - the only Spider anywhere near the play.
If Earl had somehow been behind his teammates, Snelshire woud've likely been blocked and Earl would've likely found the end zone. Instead, the Paladins didn't move the ball a yard and went three-and-out as Shields couldn't hang on to a deep ball into Richmond territory on third down. The play woud've been nullified by yet another "blindside" block anyway, as Paladin reserve tight end Cameron James was flagged after hitting a defender in his left arm and chest area.
Furman went three-and-out again on its next drive. That resulted in Richmond's ensuing possession beginning at its own 21-yard line. With just 4:11 left, a Spiders offense that averaged 4.9 yards a carry as a team Saturday inexplicably went to the air on its first play. Easterling jumped the route and made a diving grab of Furman's third interception. The Paladins' gift on a silver platter was delivered to the Richmond 27.
Once again, Furman came up empty. After C.J. Stokes was stopped for no gain on a third-and-two shotgun handoff up the middle, the Paladins passed on a field goal try with just 2:40 left. On fourth-and-two from the 19, Furman came out in a pistol set with Croasdale to the left of Ackerley and Stokes behind him - nine yards behind the line of scrimmage. Stokes took a handoff to the right side and lost one yard.
"We get third-and-two and can't get two yards," Hendrix said.
The Paladins had to take all of their timeouts on Richmond's next drive and the Spiders got one first down before having to punt. Furman's final possession began at its own 15-yard line with 55 seconds left. The Paladins proceeded to pick up four of their 13 first downs for the game on their final drive, but ran out of time at the 29.
Foster-Powell ran 25 times for 125 yards and had a 30-yard reception to lead Richmond's offense, while Daniel Sellers had team-highs in tackles (9), tackles-for-loss (4) and sacks (3).
"We knew they were a good pass-rushing bunch, but we didn't protect well," Hendrix said. "And we just couldn't get to their quarterback ... but we held them to 13 points. What more can you ask?"
Making his first Division I start, Ackerley completed 15-of-30 passes for 137 yards with no interceptions for Furman. He was also the leading rusher for the Paladins with 35 net yards on 14 attempts. He actually ran for 67 yards, but five sacks nearly cut the net total in half. Thanks to 56 yards on the final drive, Furman did manage to eclipse the 200-yard mark for the game with 215.
Easterling and Earl led the defense with nine tackles apiece, As opportunistic as it was again on Saturday, the unit had just one sack and allowed 188 yards rushing. That helps the Spiders enjoy a 13:54 advantage in time of possession.
Furman will next host rival Wofford at 2 p.m. Saturday.
"We've got a new (SoCon) season starting tomorrow," Hendrix said Saturday. "We're 1-0 in the conference, but if we don't fix the things we've got to fix that's not going to matter. Because it's going to show up again."
