GREENVILLE, S.C. — Furman and The Citadel are set to renew the Southern Conference's oldest football rivalry this Saturday when the Paladins and Bulldogs clash in a 2:00 p.m. contest at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The game will be streamed via ESPN3 (changed from earlier ESPN+ announcement) and also aired over flagship The Fan Upstate and its four powerhouse stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg.  The broadcast can also be accessed via Audacy.com, as well as through FurmanPaladins.com.

Fans may also follow the action through live stats, accessible via FurmanPaladins.com, and get timely updates on twitter @PaladinFootball.

Members of the SoCon since 1936, Furman and The Citadel have squared off on the gridiron every year since 1919, save three years during World War II.  The Paladins have had the upper hand in the series, notching a 61-37-3 overall, including last year's 24-14 triumph in Greenville.  In the last meeting in Charleston, contested in the spring of 2021, The Citadel claimed a 26-7 verdict.

Coming off a 34-27 home loss to Samford, Furman (3-2, 1-1 SoCon) will look to rebound against The Citadel (1-3, 1-1 SoCon), which was blanked 49-0 by Appalachian State on Saturday. The Bulldogs dropped a 17-0 decision at Mercer two weeks ago.

The Paladins and Bulldogs' lone league win came at the expense of East Tennessee State — The Citadel's in Charleston (20-17) and Furman's in Johnson City (27-14).

To kennel its longtime rival, Furman will need to ramp up its offensive efficiency, which was lacking against Samford.  The Paladins' snapped the football 97 times on Saturday, its highest tally since registering 102 plays in a 44-41 OT win over Hofstra in 2004, and generated 457 yards in offense to Samford's 360 — figures that should have produced more than 27 points.  The main culprit?  Turnovers.  The Paladins fumbled the football three times, two of which Samford converted into touchdowns, and had to settle for two field goals, including a 19-yarder following a 73-yard drive on the game's first possession. Two weeks ago Furman managed to overcome four turnovers in a 24-19 road win over Charleston Southern.

Taken at face value, the performance turned in by sophomore quarterback Jace Wilson against Samford should have been enough to lead the Paladins to a win.  Stepping in for injured starter Tyler Huff, Wilson connected on 38 passes in a school record 59 attempts for 329 yards and three touchdowns.  If anything, the Missouri City, Texas, product's play against Samford added further confirmation that the Paladins have two quality signal callers — a rare commodity in the program's recent history.

Two of Wilson's scoring strikes went to sophomore wide receiver Joshua Harris, and the other to senior All-America tight end Ryan Miller, who extended his shool record streak of consecutive games with a touchdown catch to eight games.  Miller has 117 career receptions for 1,784 yards and 21 touchdowns, his scoring tally ranking second all-time in Furman history.

An area head coach Clay Hendrix is looking to mine for more production is the running game, specifically in "chunk" (long) plays.  Last week the Paladin ground attack totaled only 128 yards, the long run covering just 14 stripes on he field.  Furman will look to improve those numbers through the work of veteran backs Dominic Roberto (1,294 yards, 13 career TDs) and Devin Abrams (1,381 yards, 9 TDs).  A year ago Roberto sparked Furman's win over The Citadel with a 90-yard touchdown bolt.

Furman's defense has acquited itself in good fashion through five games, registering solid improvement in third down percentage (34.3% vs. last year's 47.4%) and impressive fourth quarter shutouts in all five games.  What hasn't gone well for Furman's stop troops the last couple of weeks is allowing long plays, evidenced by 97 and 82-yard plays surrendered to Charleston Southern, and 36 and 44-yard scoring tallies to Samford.

The Paladins' blue collar defense is getting effective contributions from all areas, including its defensive front, which accounted for most of the unit's season high five sacks against Samford. Redshirt sophomore defensive end Luke Clark led the parade with two takedowns.  All told, 10 Paladins have scratched with sacks this fall.

Redshirt junior spur Jalen Miller has been productive statistically over the last three games, recording 11 tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

Furman's leading tackler is redshirt junior free safety Hugh Ryan with 30 stops.

Placekicker Axel Lepvreau is fashioning an effective season.  The native of France converted both field goal opportunities on Saturday and is 6-for-6 on the campaign.