Chattanooga, Tenn. – Redshirt-freshman Carson Jones connected with Wayne Anderson Jr. on a nine-yard touchdown toss with 1:44 to play and Furman's defense stopped Chattanooga on fourth down with 44 seconds remaining as the FCS second-ranked Paladins topped No. 13 Chattanooga, 17-14, Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, Tenn.
 
The victory, the seventh straight and 12th consecutive league triumph for Furman (8-1, 6-0 SoCon), earns the Paladins at least a share of the SoCon championship — a league best 15th for the program — and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA FCS playoffs, which get underway later this month.  Furman can make its championship outright with a win in either of its final two regular season games against VMI (Nov. 11 in Greenville) or Wofford (Nov. 18 in Spartanburg). 
 
The loss sends Chattanooga (7-3, 6-2 SoCon) into its off week prior to its regular season finale versus Alabama (Nov. 18).
 
Trailing 14-10, Furman took over possession at midfield with 4:42 left in the fourth quarter following a Chattanooga punt. Jones, playing in place of injured starting quarterback Tyler Huff, led the Paladins on a nine-play, 50-yard march that culminated with a nine-yard catch and run by Anderson, who dove into the right corner of the end zone with 1:44 left to give the Paladins the lead. Furman's signal caller went 6-for-9 passing, including a key 14-yard connection to tight end Mason Pline on a third down-and-eight play, to cover the 50 yards.
 
Chattanooga started its final drive from its own 25-yard line and converted one first down before facing a fourth and three at the 43 with under a minute remaining. Quarterback Chase Artopoeus flipped the ball to wide receiver Javin Whatley on a reverse but he was chased down by Cally Chizik for no gain on the play to force the turnover on downs.
 
Furman's defense limited Chattanooga to just 353 yards on 70 plays while sacking Artopoeus five times. The Paladin defense held Chattanooga to just 3-for-15 on third down conversion attempts and stopped the Mocs on two of their three fourth down conversion attempts.
 
With the Paladins trailing 7-3 and under a minute to go in the third quarter, Furman corner back Travis Blackshear intercepted a flanker reverse pass by Javin Whatley in the end zone and returned the pick to the 46 to turn the momentum. Four plays later, Jones found Colton Hinton down the middle for a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Paladins in front 10-7 with 14:08 to go.
 
The Mocs answered two possessions later when Artopoeus was hit releasing a pass. The ball fluttered and traveled less than 10 yards past the line of scrimmage before Jamoi Mayes picked the pass out of the air and raced 70 yards to give Chattanooga a 14-10 lead with 8:53 remaining.
 
Jones finished the game 14-of-27 through the air for 139 yards and two touchdowns while Dominic Roberto rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Hinton hauled in four passes for 61 yards and a score.

Jeremiah Jackson accounted for two of the Paladins' five sacks, and Bryce Stanfield tallied 1.5.  Luke Clark had one takedown to round out the Paladins' solid pass rush.
 
Furman returns home to celebrate Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day on Saturday, November 11, when it hosts VMI in the regular season home finale. Kickoff at Paladin Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.