SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- JT Fayard passed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, and Wofford used opportunistic defense to beat Furman, 31-13, in Southern Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.

The win in the 99th renewal of the Deep South's oldest football rivalry, was the third straight for Wofford (3-5, 1-2 SoCon) over Furman (4-3, 2-2 SoCon).

Fayard completed 18-of-25 passes in the contest, and his two scoring strikes, covering 29 yards to Colby Alexander and 21 yards to Terrence Honeywood, came in the first half to help the Terriers take a 21-6 lead into intermission.

Wofford was aided by its defense, which recorded five sacks and intercepted Furman quarterback Trey Hedden three times, including a 66-yard "pick-six" three minutes into the fourth quarter that gave the Terriers a 28-13 advantage.

Hedden, who was forced to contend without his three primary weapons in the passing game — injured wide receivers Evan James, Ja'Keith Hamilton, and Ethan Harris — hit on 27-of-39 pass attempts for 257 yards.

Sophomore running back Gavin Hall ran for 61 yards and a touchdown and was also the Paladins' top receiver in the contest with seven catches for 49 yards.  Devin Hester had six catches for 82 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown catch early in the second quarter that pulled Furman to within 7-6.

Hall's four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was set by a 37-yard interception return by AK Burrell to the Wofford 19.

Furman plays host to The Citadel next Saturday in a 2:00 Homecoming contest at Paladin Stadium.