Paladins set to hit the road to take on defending SoCon champion Samford
The Furman Paladins are all set to hit the road to take on the defending Southern Conference champion Samford Bulldogs at 1 PM EST at Seibert Stadium in Birmingham, AL on Saturday afternoon in their first major road SoCon test of the season.
The Paladins (4-1, 2-0) weighed in at #4 in the FCS AFCA top 25 poll for the second straight week this week, while the Bulldogs (3-3, 2-2) are currently not ranked after starting SoCon play slowly with two losses.
Coming off a double digit win over the rival Citadel, the Paladins are riding high with a 4-1 overall record, their only loss coming at the hands of the SEC’s South Carolina Gamecocks. While the Paladins got the win last Saturday, it was hardly dominating as Furman won 28-14 over the statistically worst offensive team in the FCS.
“I’m certainly happy to get a win,” head coach Clay Hendrix told the media after the Citadel game. “I just told the team, we certainly didn’t play our best… I’m happy to be where we are, but we’ve got a challenging road ahead”
On the opposite sideline of Saturday’s upcoming game, the Samford Bulldogs have started their SoCon title defense campaign slowly, but they remain an extremely dangerous team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
While the Bulldogs may be 2-2 in SoCon play after losses to Western Carolina and Chattanooga, Samford has won each of their last two contests against East Tennessee State and Wofford. Despite the slow start to the season, the Bulldogs are heating up, looking to get back to their championship form of a year ago behind a stellar offense.
“It starts with their tempo,” Coach Hendrix told the media on Monday including Furman Joust, “You have to be able to adjust to their tempo… it really is a challenge.”
“You’ve got to be productive when you get [the ball],” Hendrix continued. “If you’ve got a chance to get them [Samford] off the field then you’ve got to get them off the field. That’ll be a great key to the game.”
The last time Furman and Samford met was in Greenville, as the eventual conference champion Bulldogs edged the Paladins out, 34-27. The last time Furman visited Samford was 2 years ago in 2021, where the Paladins won 41-34 on the road in Birmingham.
It’s sure to be a tough road test for the Paladins, and history indicates that it’s also likely to be close. In totality, 9 out of the last 15 Furman-Samford matchups have been decided by one score or less, including the last 3 matchups.
With Samford and two currently ranked teams on the Paladins schedule for the next three weeks, October is a daunting month for Furman. What separates good teams from great teams is consistency. While their mettle will be tested in the fire, it won’t be long until we all see what the 2023 Furman Paladins football team is made of.
2023 statistics:
Furman Football
PPG: 32.6
Points allowed (per game): 22.6
Rushing Yards (team): 854 yds
Passing yards (team): 981 yds
Rushing leader: QB Tyler Huff (312 yds, 4 TDs), RB Dominic Roberto (266 yds, 5 TDs)
Passing leader: QB Tyler Huff (852 yds, 4 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Joshua Harris (20 rec, 188 yds)
Tackles leader: S Hugh Ryan (35.0 tot, 22 solo)
Samford Football
PPG: 31.0
Points allowed (per game): 29.0
Rushing yards (team): 769 yds
Passing yards (team): 1847 yds
Rushing leader: RB Jay Stanton (423 yds, 6 TDs)
Passing leader: QB MIchael Hiers (1768 yds, 10 TDs)
Receiving leader: WR Chandler Smith (38 rec, 465 yds, 3 TDs)
Tackles leader: LB Noah Martin (49 tot, 34 solo)
Television information:
ESPN+ | 12 PM CST/1 PM EST
Furman vs Samford will be available to stream exclusively on ESPN+, with kickoff scheduled for 1 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.
