GREENVILLE, S.C. -- FCS 17th-ranked Furman rolled up 509 yards of total offense, including 369 on the ground, en route to a 46-13 season-opening football victory over Charleston Southern Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
 
Junior tailback Devin Wynn led the way for Furman (1-0) with 131 rushing yards and a touchdown, while redshirt freshman quarterback Darren Grainger passed for 130 yards, tossed a touchdown, and ran for a score.  

The 46 points represented the highest tally in a season opening game against an FCS foe in Furman's division history (1982-present).

The victory is also the fifth straight and seventh in the last eight games for the Paladins, who closed the 2018 campaign with four consecutive wins.

Grainger's 4-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter opened the scoring, and redshirt freshman  Devin Abrams' rambling 9-yard touchdown tally late in the period gave the Paladins a 14-0 lead.

Terrance Wilson got Charleston Southern (0-1) on the board when he slammed through the middle of the line on a third-and-one play from the Buccaneer 48, bounced off a couple of defenders, and sprinted to the end zone to cut Furman's lead to 14-6.

The Paladins answered with a 13-yard burst from Wynn and a Grayson Atkins 39-yard field goal that marked his 12th consecutive made field goal, tying the Furman standard set by Danny Marshall (2000-03).

The Buccaneers covered 71 yards on nine plays to open the second half, getting a 1-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Jack Chambers slice Furman's lead to 24-13.

It would be all Paladins after that, however, as Grainger connected on a 6-yard touchdown strike to Ryan DeLuca, and running back Carson Maples and true freshman running back Wayne Anderson, Jr., posted a pair of 66-yard scoring bolts to cap Furman's big offensive register.

Grainger, whose day was done after three periods, completed 14-of-20 passes for 130 yards.  The Conway, S.C., native also added six rushes for 25 yards.

Wynn's 131 rushing yards, just four off his career high, marked the third straight 100-yard performance for the Greensboro, Ga., product.

Senior receiver Thomas Gordon caught five passes for 53 yards and, in the process, cracked Furman's Top 10 (9th) in receptions (116).

Charleston Southern finished with 377 total yards, but the Buccaneers paid a high price, yielding eight tackles for-loss and five sacks to the Paladins spread among five players.  Inside linebackers Elijah McKoy and Donavan Perryman led Furman with seven tackles.

The Paladins face their first of two FBS foes next Saturday when they take on Georgia State in Atlanta in a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.