GREENVILLE, S.C. – Coming off an impressive 27-14 Southern Conference road victory over defending league champion and 18th-ranked East Tennessee State, Furman continues its three-game, early season road stretch when it travels to Charleston Southern to take on the Buccaneers this Saturday.
Kickoff for the ESPN+ streamed contest at Buccaneer Field is set for noon.
The contest will be 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 can also follow the action through StatBroadcast live stats, accessible via FurmanPaladins.com and get timely updates on twitter @PaladinFootball.
The game will mark only the second meeting between Furman (2-1) and Charleston Southern (0-3), who first clashed in 2019 in Greenville in a contest the Paladins won, 46-13. The Buccaneers fell, 40-17, at FCS 19th-ranked Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, and have also dropped contests to N.C. State (55-3) and Western Carolina (52-38) in the season opener.
Ranked 26th in both FCS Coaches and Stats Perform polls this week, Furman will look to take its next step up the ladder on the strength of its defense, which performed in strong fashion in the win over ETSU, limiting the Bucs to just seven points and 104 total yards over the game's final two quarters on the way to halting ETSU's nine-game home winning streak.
Paced by SoCon Defensive Player of the Week, redshirt junior free safety
Hugh Ryan, Furman's stop troops checked Buccaneer running back Jacob Saylors, the league's preseason player of the year, limiting him to 19 carries for 54 yards and a fumble — caused by Ryan, who combined it with a game high eight tackles, an interception, and a pass deflection. The Paladins also threw a blanket over ETSU quarterback Tyler Riddell, who managed only a 50 percent completion rate (22x43) while surrendering two interceptions, eight pass deflections, and scrambling in the face of nine hurries.
Apparent through three games is the fact that Furman's defense sports a blue collar character, getting contributions across the board from both starters and backups, who are part of a constant rotation of talent. Ryan's 19 tackles top the unit and are followed by linebackers
Bryce McCormick (18 tackles) and
Braden Gilby (13 tackles). Six Paladins have already scratched in the sack category.
The story of Furman's offense, which two weeks ago posted 384 total yards against fifth-ranked Clemson and 409 yards in the win over ETSU, begins with quarterback
Tyler Huff, the graduate transfer who has completed 72.3 percent of his passes (73x101) for 743 yards and five scores.
When taking to the air, Huff's favorite target has been two-time All-America tight end
Ryan Miller (22 rec., 219 yds., 3 TDs), who has registered scoring grabs in the last six games. The emergence of wide receivers
Joshua Harris (14 rec., 141 yds.) and Wayne Anderson, Jr. (12 rec., 114 yds, 2 TDs) has presented defenses with more wrinkles to contend with beyond Miller, as has Huff's impressive running ability, evidenced by his team leading 217 yards (8.0 ypc).
Redshirt junior running back Domimic Roberto reminded Paladin fans of his key role in the offense when he broke free for a 46-yard touchdown run in the final minute against ETSU, salting away the win.
Another bright spot has been the work turned in by Furman's special teams. Against ETSU it was redshirt sophomore placekicker
Ian Williams who stepped into the spotlight, drilling 44 and 43-yard field goals while also notching five touchbacks on kickoffs on the way to collecting SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week laurels.
