Furman to face VMI in final home game of regular season on Saturday
The #2 ranked Furman Paladins will hit the road to take on the VMI Keydets with a chance to clinch sole possession of the Southern Conference championship in Paladin Stadium.
The Paladins (8-1, 6-0) will also be honoring their outgoing seniors in their final regular season home game. VMI (4-5, 3-3), on the other hand, will only be playing to get to .500 overall and achieve a winning record in the conference play after slogging through a mediocre (though much improved from a 1-10 season in 2022) year.
A week ago, Furman clinched a share of the SoCon championship with a dramatic victory over Chattanooga. Paladin’s QB Tyler Huff, who was announced as the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Armed Forces Merit Award earlier this week, exited the game in the first half with a shoulder injury, leaving the contest in the hands of backup Carson Jones. Jones delivered in a big way, turning in two 4th quarter touchdowns to lift Furman over the Mocs in come-from-behind fashion.
But while the Paladins may have won their 12th straight SoCon victory and clinched a spot in the playoffs, a much improved VMI squad cannot be overlooked.
After going 1-10 overall and 0-8 in the SoCon last season, the Keydets are leaps and bounds ahead of where they were a year ago. While VMI can hardly be called a dangerous team, they sport an above average defense and a solid run game. Two weeks ago, VMI took a very good Chattanooga team down to the wire before the Mocs escaped with a one point 24-23 victory.
Furman holds a 30-10 advantage in the all-time series against VMI, including a 17-3 record in Greenville. The Keydets have not won in Greenville since 1977.
With sole possession of the SoCon title on the line, the honoring of seniors in their final home game, and a chance for Furman to improve to 9-1, Saturday’s matchup promises to have it all. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 PM EST in Paladin Stadium.
2023 statistics:
Furman Football
PPG: 28.0
Points allowed (per game): 19.22
Rushing Yards (team): 1546 yds
Passing yards (team): 1757 yds
Rushing leader: RB Dominic Roberto (674 yds, 7 TDs), QB Tyler Huff (488 yds, 5 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Tyler Huff (1489 yds, 9 TDs), QB Carson Jones (217 yds, 3 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Joshua Harris (34 rec, 310 yds, 2 TDs)
Tackles leader: S Hugh Ryan (57 tot, 38 solo)
VMI Football
PPG: 15.22
Points allowed (per game): 23.67
Rushing yards (team): 1091 yds
Passing yards (team): 1656 yds
Rushing leader: RB Hunter Rice (682 yds, 10 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Collin Ironside (1222 yds, 4 TDs)
Receiving leader: TE Aidan Twombly (30 rec, 399 yds, 3 TDs)
Tackles leader: LB Evan Eller (82 tot, 41 solo)
Television information:
ESPN+ | 12:30 CST/1:30 EST
Furman vs VMI will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ with kickoff slated 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.
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/X, or visit our website at furmanjoust.com.
