#2 Furman to face #14 Chattanooga with SoCon automatic playoff bid on the line
The #2 ranked Furman Paladins will hit the road to take on the #14 ranked Chattanooga Mocs in what will be a defacto Southern Conference championship game with massive FCS NCAA playoff implications on Saturday afternoon.
Should the Paladins (7-1, 5-0) come out on top, they will clinch a share of the Southern Conference title with the opportunity to keep other teams from sharing the trophy in their final two conference games against Wofford and VMI. Should the Mocs (7-2, 6-1) come out on top, they will clinch at least a tie with the Paladins for the conference title, pending Furman’s performance in the aforementioned two remaining games.
But perhaps the most important thing at stake on Saturday will be the SoCon’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, which will go to the winner of this all-important contest in Finley Stadium. The automatic bid tiebreaker is determined by head to head matchup results, so while the loser of the game will still have a chance to clinch a share of the SoCon championship in future weeks, the fate of the automatic playoff bid will be decided in Chattanooga, TN tomorrow.
Furman is riding high off their 6th straight win as they successfully defended their home turf against the ETSU Buccaneers last Saturday. The Paladins rode their stellar defense in the contest, only allowing one score as they emerged victorious by a score of 16-8.
“I thought we played really, really well defensively,” Furman head coach Clay Hendrix told the media including Furman Joust on Monday. “We’re playing at a high level. We’ll certainly be challenged much more so, especially this week.”
While the Paladins have run through the Southern Conference this year, facing 14th ranked Chattanooga on the road will undoubtedly be their toughest battle yet.
The Moc’s lone conference loss to this point was a 52-50 barnburner against Western Carolina, who currently sits at 4th in the SoCon. Last weekend, Chattanooga edged out VMI on the road 24-23 to snag their 6th conference victory of the season.
“[Chattanooga has] kind of gone to more of a pass-first, run with it [gameplan], maybe a little different than their philosophy in the past,” Hendrix said. “They still run it well, just really, really good everywhere. They’re certainly outstanding defensively”
Historically, Furman has controlled the series between the two teams, as the Paladins currently sport a 31-21 all time lead. The last time Furman traveled to Finley Stadium to face the Mocs, Chattanooga came out on top 13-3. Last season in Paladin Stadium, Furman knocked off the then #7 ranked Moc’s 24-20.
While the SoCon doesn’t have a postseason championship game as many collegiate conferences do, Chattanooga vs Furman will be as close as you can get to a conference championship game. This is what football in the fall is all about. It’s Furman vs Chattanooga for the right to go to the playoffs and a share of the conference title, and it’s all coming to Chattanooga, Tennessee at 1:30 PM EST tomorrow afternoon.
2023 statistics:
Furman Football
PPG: 29.38
Points allowed (per game): 19.88
Rushing Yards (team): 1478 yds
Passing yards (team): 1581 yds
Rushing leader: RB Dominic Roberto (613 yds, 7 TDs), QB Tyler Huff (487 yds, 5 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Tyler Huff (1452 yds, 5 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Joshua Harris (32 rec, 296 yds, 2 TDs)
Tackles leader: S Hugh Ryan (54 tot, 35 solo)
Chattanooga Football
PPG: 33.6
Points allowed (per game): 21.0
Rushing yards (team): 1336 yds
Passing yards (team): 2450 yds
Rushing leader: RB Ailym Ford (485 yds, 4 TDs), RB Gino Appleberry (479 yds, 6 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Chase Artopoeus (2383 yds, 18 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Jamoi Mayes (48 rec, 819 yds, 3 TDs)
Tackles leader: DB Josh Battle (50 tot, 29 solo)
Television information:
ESPN+ | 12:30 CST/1:30 EST
Furman vs Chattanooga will be available to be streamed over ESPN+ with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 PM EST.
Radio broadcasts can be found on The Fan Upstate and its four main stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg.
Additionally, radio broadcasts can be found on Audacy.com, as well as through furmanpaladins.com.
For more news and coverage of all Furman Paladin athletics, be sure to follow The Furman Joust podcast on twitter, or visit our website at furmanjoust.com.
