GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman Paladins and The Citadel Bulldogs prepare to renew the Southern Conference's oldest football rivalry this Saturday in Charleston with a 2:00 p.m. showdown at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The game will mark the 106th meeting between the longtime SoCon members, who joined the league in 1936.

Furman (2-7, 1-4 SoCon) owns a 65-37-3 record against The Citadel (2-7, 0-5 SoCon) in the series, which began in 1913 and has been contested every year since 1919, with the exception of a three-year period (1943-45) during World War II.

The Paladins enter Saturday's contest having won the last five clashes with the Bulldogs, including a 24-14 verdict last year in Greenville.  Furman has claimed the last two meetings in Charleston, the latest being a 17-16 verdict in 2024. Overall the Paladins sport a 26-22-2 record in games played in Charleston.

Both teams sport identical overall records and are saddled with six-game losing skids — Furman's longest since the 2015-16 seasons.  The Paladins' downside streak has come by a total of 27 points, which grew by one last Saturday when a last second Western Carolina field goal was the difference in a 27-26 loss.

For an offense starved for points this season, the Paladins' work against Western Carolina produced some hope in the form of freshman quarterback Trey Smith, who rushed for a Furman quarterback record 162 yards and an 85-yard touchdown run in his first collegiate start.  The flip side is the offense accounted for Western Carolina's first 14 points with a fumble and an pick-six in the game's first two minutes, before Furman's defense had taken the field.

Furman battled back to grab a 17-14 second quarter lead and got another fine performance from Nathan Chapman, who booted four field goals, including a go-ahead 25-yarder with just under two minutes remaining.

Chapman currently ranks as the top kicker in the FCS, having converted 20-of-24 field goals (2.22/game), including 10-of-13 from 40+ yards.

Furman's 147 points thru nine games (16.3 ppg) is its lowest output since 1974.

Defensively, it's been pretty much a different story as Furman has put up solid numbers — the product by a number of solid performers.  Heading the list, particularly of late, has been linebacker Raleigh Herbert, a preseason All-SoCon performer, who has combined for 30 tackles the last two weeks after missing three games due to injury.

Linebacker Ryan Earl is Furman's leading tackler with 50 stops on the campaign.

Defensive tackle Demetrius Baldwin, Jr., who recorded a pair of sacks against Western Carolina, is part of a solid, deep defensive front that also includes bandit Eli Lipscomb (4.5 sacks) and All-American Joshua Stoneking (3.5 sacks).