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| Furman's Joshua Stoneking pressures Wofford quarterback Ethan Drumm earlier this season. Photo courtesy of Furman |
After a much-needed bye last Saturday, Furman is seeking a much-needed win this Saturday. The Paladins will try to snap a four-game losing streak when they host Samford at 2 p.m. on Homecoming at Paladin Stadium.
It will be the Bulldogs' first trip to Greenville since 2022 as the 2024 matchup was cancelled by the effects of Hurricane Helene. The 2022 matchup was the notorious game in which two video reviews that lasted a total of 13 minutes determined that a Samford receiver's forward progress was stopped prior to an interception by Furman's Ivan Yates, despite the fact that Yates was the only one who ever had the ball. That loss cost the Paladins a SoCon championship and cost the lead official his job.
That game and non-game in 2024 are just two chapters in what's been an odd series. Despite Furman leading it 15-12, Samford (1-6, 1-3) actually has an 8-6 advantage in Greenville and 5-5 in Paladin Stadium. Among teams that have played at Paladin Stadium more than once, only Georgia Southern (7-4) and Coastal Carolina (3-1) have a better record there.
Some of those home losses to Samford were particularly painful even before 2022. In 2014, Furman celebrated homecoming by donning black jerseys for the first time. It was appropriate that the Paladins were dressed for a funeral as they proceeded to get buried by Samford, 45-0. In 2018, the Bulldogs' 38-25 victory cost Furman an outright SoCon title as it finished in a three-way tie for first. That loss, combined with another weather-cancelled home game against Colgate, cost the Paladins a FCS playoff bid.
None of the past will matter come kickoff on Saturday. All that will matter for Furman (2-5, 1-2) is how much progress has been made in the off week. That's especially true on offense as this is a matchup of two of the least offensive offenses in the country. Samford (1-6, 1-3) is ranked 104th in the FCS in scoring at 18.6 points per game. That's despite a 45-point effort against VMI earlier this season. The Paladins, who play VMI in the regular season finale, ranks 114th at 16.1 points per game. Only Brown (9) and VMI (7) have scored fewer touchdowns than Furman's 10, and Brown has only played five games.
"Byes are good when you need one and we needed one, for a number of reasons. Last week was really productive. We got just what we wanted out of it - got some guys healthy and got some really good work in," Furman coach Clay Hendrix said during his Tuesday press conference. "We've played good defense this season. ... You give up 20 points, you ought to win. Every week."
Furman has given up 20 points or less in four of its five FCS games this season. The total margin in the current four-game skid is 19 points. Per legendary sports scribe Rudy Jones, the last time the Paladins averaged less points per game than it's current 16.1 total was in 1974 when it scored 11.7 per game.
Hendrix has seen some improvements offensively since Drew Dudzik took over as offensive coordinator a couple of weeks ago. He believes more will be coming and that's another byproduct of the bye week.
"We added little stuff and changed stuff for probably two weeks, but you couldn't reinvent the wheel," Hendrix said. "We didn't reinvent it last week either, but there's things we absolutely tweaked more. We're just trying to play off the strengths of our players. It was good for (Dudzik) to have that time frame to get those adjustments."
Looking back in anger
Furman is coming off a 20-15 loss at 15th-ranked Tennessee Tech two weeks ago. It was yet another performance in which the Paladins' defense certainly played well enough to win, but the offense fell just short. After allowing 75 yards on Tennessee Tech's opening drive of the game, Furman's defense allowed just 74 yards - and six points on a pair of 52-yard field goals - in the second half.
"I thought we played really good defense the whole day against a really good football team," Hendrix said. "Their coach made a statement that he thought they should've won 38-7. I don't know what game he watched. ... That was pretty disrespectful. They had 285 yards of total offense (Furman had 289) and one turnover.
"The blocked punt was huge. ... We make the block, get the recovery and they signal touchdown. It goes to review and gets overturned. Then on Sunday, I get told that it should not have gotten overturned. That's a five-point loss in a five-point game."
Peebles makes Rice watch list
Furman safety Braylon Peebles has been named to the 30-player Jerry Rice Award Watch List. The award is presented by Stats Perform to the top freshman in the FCS each season. Peebles had the rare distinction of being a true freshman starter from the start of the season. Despite being hampered a bit injury-wise the past couple of weeks, Peebles leads the team in tackles with 42 and has an interception and three pass breakups.
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