#3 Furman set to face ETSU in Greenville for Homecoming Weekend
After an impressive road win in an FCS top 10 matchup last week, the Furman Paladins (1-1) are set to return home to face the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on Saturday morning in Paladin Stadium.
The Paladins (6-1, 4-0) will be celebrating Homecoming Weekend, with the festivities culminating with the 2 PM EST game against the Buccaneers (2-5, 1-3).
A week ago, Furman impressed with a major road win over then #8 Western Carolina, seizing sole control of first place in the Southern Conference with an impressive 29-17 victory. Furman is the consensus #3 overall team behind powerhouses South Dakota State and Montana State in the major 3 FCS polls, including the AFCA, Stats Perform, and the FCS playoff committee’s rankings which were released earlier this week.
But while the Paladins are on top of the world for the time being, one slip-up is all it takes to ruin a season, and despite a 2-5 record, the ETSU Buccaneers are not to be taken for granted.
Coming off a tough blowout loss to a very good Chattanooga squad last weekend, the Buccaneers have struggled to find consistency on both sides of the ball this season. Still, bright spots have shown through this season, including a 31 point win against Wofford and a 14 point loss in a game where the Bucs scored 28 on a solid Samford squad.
There’s a lot that has gone wrong in ETSU this season, but the potential for the Buccaneers to keep this contest close is apparent.
Furman has historically dominated the series against ETSU, holding a 28-9 all-time series lead. Since bringing back their football program in 2015, the Buccaneers are 2-5 against the Paladins. Their last win against Furman came two years ago in Greenville as the Buccaneers knocked off the Paladins 17-13.
Furman came away victorious from last season’s game in Johnson City, defeating ETSU 27-14 a year ago.
On paper, ETSU doesn’t have a fighting chance against the 3rd ranked Paladins in Paladin Stadium tomorrow. However, paper doesn’t mean a whole lot once two football teams hit the gridiron.
As the Paladins seek a Homecoming Weekend victory, vigilance and attention to detail will be key. As the great coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”
2023 statistics:
Furman Football
PPG: 31.29
Points allowed (per game): 21.57
Rushing Yards (team): 1393 yds
Passing yards (team): 1366 yds
Rushing leader: RB Dominic Roberto (548 yds, 7 TDs), QB Tyler Huff (480 yds, 5 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Tyler Huff (1237 yds, 8 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Ben Ferguson (17 rec, 243 yds, 1 TD), WR Joshua Harris (24 rec, 218 yds, 1 TD)
Tackles leader: S Hugh Ryan (48 tot, 31 solo)
ETSU Football
PPG: 18.0
Points allowed (per game): 31.71
Rushing yards (team): 1101 yds
Passing yards (team): 733 yds
Rushing leader: RB Bryson Irby (478 yds, 5 TDs)
Passing leader: 3 QBs around 200 yards: Tyler Ridell [241 yds, 1 TD], William Riddle [223 yds, 1 TD], Baron May [201 yds, 2 TDs]
Receiving leader: WR Will Huzzie (21 rec, 232 yds, 2 TDs)
Tackles leader: DB Sheldon Arnold II (59 tot, 35 solo)
Television information:
ESPN+ | 1 PM CST/2 PM EST
Furman vs ETSU will be available to stream exclusively on ESPN+ with kickoff slated for 2 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 streamed 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.
