Furman vs. Campbell Game Notes
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman's football team hits the road for the first time this season when it faces Campbell this Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. ET clash at Barker-Lane Stadium in Buies Creek, N.C.
The game will mark the first football meeting between the two programs.
Furman (1-1) will look to rebound following a 39-38 upset loss in overtime to Presbyterian on Saturday at Paladin Stadium. The Paladins opened the season on August 30 with a 23-21 home triumph over William & Mary.
Campbell (0-2) is in search of its first win of the 2025 campaign following 31-20 and 56-3 losses to Rhode Island and East Carolina, respectively.
Saturday's contest will be live streamed (subscription) via FloCollege and aired over Furman flagship The Fan Upstate and its four powerhouse stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg. Broadcasts can be secured via Audacy.com, as well as through FurmanPaladins.com.
Fans can also follow the action through Campbell-powered StatBroadcast live stats, accessible via FurmanPaladins.com, and receive timely updates through the @FurmanPaladins "X" platform.
In Campbell the Paladins will take on their second Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) foe of the season after topping William & Mary in the opener. The Camels are entering their third season in the CAA following an association with the Big South Conference. Campbell started its football program in 2008 and for several years competed in the Pioneer League.
Furman will look to perform Saturday the way it did in the first half of its contest versus Presbyterian, when the Paladins took a 28-7 lead behind an effective, balanced offensive attack and effective defense. The second half, however, resembled a Stephen King horror novel, except for Furman it was real and included a near two-hour lightning delay that, once over, saw PC erase a 31-21 deficit in less than two minutes of late fourth quarter clock time to force overtime.
To succeed against Campbell, Furman will look for more production out of its running game, which has sparked at times but has yet to flame. The principals there are sophomore
Gavin Hall (119 yds., 2 TDs) and redshirt sophomore
Jayquan Smith (2 TDs), who has come back impressively after missing almost two full calendar years following injury.
Furman has gotten more out of its passing game, triggered by sophomore quarterback
Trey Hedden (50x69, 442 yds., 2 TDs) and featuring five primary targets, including freshman
Evan James (15 rec., 157 yds, TD), graduates
Kerry King (9 rec.) and
Joshua Burrell (9 rec.), redshirt sophomore
Ja'Keith Hamilton (6 rec., TD) and sophomore
Devin Hester, Jr. (6 rec.).
Defensively, the lead story has been a Paladin secondary that has pushed the momentum button early in the first two games, as in recording interceptions on the first pass attempt by both William & Mary and PC — both of which led to touchdowns. Safeties
Taylen Blaylock and
Billy Lewis (2 INTs vs. PC) have delivered a pair of pickoffs each.
If Saturday's game at Campbell comes down to special teams involving placekicking, Furman has to likes its chances with preseason All-American
Ian Williams at the ready. The Paladin graduate extended his made field goals streak to 10 with a 34-yard effort versus Presbyterian, which improved him to 46-of-60 on his career, and also delivered all six kickoffs for touchbacks, which improved his touchback percentage (.885, 54x61) over the last two seasons. Williams' trifecta of effectiveness also includes punting (45.5 avg.).
