No. 12 Furman Ready to go Under The Lights at Presbyterian Saturday Night

PC To Host Second-Straight Night Game Saturday When No. 12 Furman Visits Bailey Memorial Stadium

Furman Football-PC Preview (Game Preview)

CLINTON, S.C.–Off to its first 2-0 start since 2009, Furman is coming off a tough game against Mercer, in which the Paladins had to gut out a win over a Mercer team that gave the Paladins all they could handle in the Southern Conference opener for both clubs.

It was a game packed with emotion for both clubs, but the Paladins were able to survive and secure the win, with another opportunistic play on the defensive side of the ball by Gary Wilkins to secure the victory. The win marked the seventh in the last eight games for the Paladins dating back to last season.

The Paladins started their run of making plays when they had to last September in the home opener against PC, when the Paladins produced a big play on special teams to hold on for a 21-20 win, as the Paladin defensive back Jairus Hollman blocked a potential game-winning field goal to get the win in a game in which the Paladins were thoroughly out-played in.

That blocked field goal, however, began to change things for what was then a young Paladin football team, and from that point, though there would be struggles to come, this team started to believe in itself and that anything was possible.

That belief has carried over to this season, and when adversity has struck early on this season, the Paladins have showed that same fight, which started with that win against PC last season. It was a game that PC dominated in every statistical category but the final score. College football can sometime be a fickle sport, however, and the team that dominates isn’t always the one that comes out on top.

In the game against Mercer last week, the Paladins held just a 16-14 lead, and things weren’t particularly going well and the crowd was trying to urge the Bears on to what would have been a shocking Southern Conference win, and add to that the emotion and the storylines of the matchup coming in, and the Paladins could have met up with a recipe for disaster in their Southern Conference opener.

However, the sign of an experienced, championship football team is most noticeable in those moments when everything is going against them, and as a fan or media member, it’s easy to say the momentum will eventually prove too much and the will eventually give way. But in that moment–just when you catch yourself ready to write that headline or put your head in your hands, it happens.

The play that changes the game. For the Paladins, it has come with some frequency over the past 14 games, dating back to that PC game last season. It could be found in that blocked field goal at PC, or Reggie Thomas’ INT a week later and Gary Robinson’s subsequent 46-yard reception on the ensuing offensive play following the pick.

It can be found in the Wilkins pick against Appalachian State and returned 98 yards for a score, changing the shape of that game, allowing for a 10-point swing when the Mountaineers appeared to have the momentum and ready to take the 10-6 lead.

It can be found in the Georgia Southern game, when the Eagles were driving late to seize momentum of a tight game, but a forced fumble and recovery by Ira McCune would completely change the momentum of the contest.

Then there was the 60-yard run by Richard Hayes III after Karnorris Benson had brought the Catamounts to within two points of the Paladins in Cullowhee, and it seemed old ‘mo’ was squarely on the side of the Purple and Gold.

Well, you get the idea by now. The Paladins have that ‘it’ factor, and though it’s not a proven fact, the hypothesis can certainly be made that it all started back on Sept. 14, 2013, in a game at Paladin Stadium.

The one blocked kick against the Blue Hose changed the fate of this Furman football team, and without that block, the Paladins might not have ever started to believe in themselves last season, and though it ultimately did not change the fate of Furman’s Southern Conference title, it’s doubtful that things would have progressed like they did from that point last season.

It was an avoidance of embarrassment for Furman fans, but for the team and anyone who follows FCS football, it was not an avoidance of embarrassment as much as it was a good win for a team trying to find itself and gain confidence.

PC’s dominance certainly showed up on the stats sheet. The Blue Hose posted a 278-182 advantage in total yards in last season’s matchup, but the Paladins were able to gut out the win despite the yardage disparity.

Since then, the Paladins haven’t always won pretty under Fowler, but they have established a formula for winning, and it doesn’t matter how a team wins, but just as long as a team finds one of the many formulas for doing it. Clearly, after two weeks, Furman has established a formula for doing such.

A win Saturday night against the Blue Hose would help the Paladins establish their first 3-0 start to a campaign since the 2004 campaign, which was a season that would see the Paladins go on to win a Southern Conference title and win 10 games total on the campaign.

But this a Furman team much different from that 2004 team, and somewhat different from last season’s squad. Every team takes on its own identity within a given season, and no teams in any given season are identical.

Furman has already faced plenty of adversity in the first two weeks of the season, and its been a defensive effort in those first couple of games that’s starting to lay the foundation for the 2014 season, and what the identity will be of this 2014 edition of the Furman Paladins.

The Paladins have allowed just 23 points and a combined total of 480 yards of total offense through the first two weeks of the season, and it’s one of the better starts the Paladins have seen on the defensive side of the football in quite sometime. The Furman offense is still trying to find itself early on in the 2014 season.

However, time-and-time again, Furman has been the team that has made the big plays over the past year, stretching back to that home opener against the Blue Hose last season. It was a game that saw the Paladins enter in a must-win situation, with the Paladins already having started the campaign with an 0-2 record, with narrow losses to Gardner-Webb (28-21) and Coastal Carolina (35-28).

Now, Furman has a chance to increase its overall record 3-0 and improve its ranking, as well as increase its confidence even more as the Paladins get closer to starting conference play in-earnest. However, the test will not be easy, as it was not last season, facing Harold Nichols’ squad for the fourth time in as many seasons.

In fact, the Blue Hose have put quite a scare into the Paladins in each of the past two meetings between the two Palmetto State rivals, with the Blue Hose losing by just a point a year ago, and two years ago in Clinton, the Blue Hose rebounded from a 24-0 halftime deficit to outscore the Paladins, 21-7 in the second half, but just running out of time in a 31-21 loss.

With each season, PC is gaining confidence under Nichols, and this season, there’s reason to believe the Blue Hose could forge their best finish to-date in conference play. The Blue Hose come in off a record-setting offensive performance in the home opener last Saturday against Bluefield, as the Blue Hose posted a 69-14 win in a game that was sure to build some confidence after the Blue Hose opened the season with a 55-3 setback at Northern Illinois to open the 2014 season.

Looking At The PC Offense:

PC’s offense was impressive last Saturday–even record-breaking–in the 69-14 win over Bluefield College, which was a school record for points in the Division I era, as the Blue Hose posted a school-record 523 yards on 62 carries last Saturday.

PC comes into the matchup with plenty of offensive weapons, and will be led by quarterback Heys McMath (15-of-22 passing, 182 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who comes off a solid performance against Bluefield College in PC’s second game of the 2014 season, as well as the home opener, as he completed 7-of-8 passes for 155 yards and a couple of TDs.

McMath is a dual-threat under center, and is both a proficient passer and a rushing threat, and he finished with 35 rushing yards in the win over Bluefield College.

For the season, McMath has 44 yards rushing on the season. McMath comes in as a very efficient quarterback and has been effective in the early going throwing the football this season, having completed 68.2% of his passes so far this season.

McMath is just the start of the weapons to keep an eye on Saturday night for Paladin fans, as running back Laqua Mayes has gotten off to a solid start rushing the football so far this season for the Blue Hose. In the win over Bluefield State College last Saturday night, Mayes rushed 13 times for 161 yards and a pair of scores, including a 92-yard scoring jaunt, which was the longest rush in PC’s Division I history as well as accounting for the most rushing yards in PC’s Division I history.

Mayes comes in just eight yards shy of 200 yards rushing this season, having rushed for 192 yards on 19 attempts so far this season, averaging 10.1 yards-per-carry this season. He averaged 12.4 yards-per-carry in the win over Bluefield, which was the most yards average per carry in the Division I history of the program.

Mayes will team with DeMarcus Rouse in the backfield, and Rouse enters the contest having had a solid game against the Paladins last season, rushing for 110 yards on a career-high 18 carries, including a 26-yard scoring run.

Rouse and Mayes were part of a PC ground attack which racked up 143 yards on the ground against the Paladins last season in what was a game which saw the Blue Hose out-gain the Paladins 278-182 in total yards last season. Rouse was solid in the win over Bluefield in the first action he has seen this season, completing the contest with 117 yards on the ground, giving the Blue Hose a pair of 100-yard rushers this past Saturday.

There are also some veterans still around in the passing game which the Paladins must be wary of on Saturday night, with the most dangerous of those weapons being Jeremiah McKie. McKie has had quite a career for the Blue Hose, having hauled in 85 passes for 1,101 yards and five scores in his career. This season, McKie has just one reception for six yards.

The other receiver the Paladins must be wary of for the Blue Hose on Saturday night is Jordan Hallums. Hallums, a 6-1, 180-pound native of Mauldin, S.C., has good speed, and this season, Hallums has hauled in three passes for 32 yards so far this season. Hallums will start at the ‘Z’ receiver position for the Blue Hose on Saturday night.

Rounding out the receiving threats for PC heading into Saturday night will be Tobi Antigha and Daryl Wilson will act as the other slot receiver for the Blue Hose offense.

Antigha posted his most impressive season as a Blue Hose wide receiver last season, hauling in 54 passes for 764 yards and six TDs. In two games so far this season, Antigha has three grabs for seven yards. Like Hallums, Antigha has game-breaking speed.

Wilson has been the go-to-receiver so far this season for the Blue Hose, having hauled in five passes for 121 yards and a pair of scores, averaging 24.2 yards-per-reception so far this season. In the last outing against Bluefield, Wilson hauled in four passes for 94 yards and a pair of scores.

Set to start at tight end Saturday night for the Blue Hose, will be Kris Hurley, who had some big shoes to fill coming into the campaign, as he had to replace PC’s standout tight end from a year ago, in Bernard Gilkey. Hurley has made only one catch so far this season, which went for 12 yards.

The Presbyterian offensive line came into the season as the youngest unit on the offensive side of the football, with just two regulars returning from a year ago. However, the unit looked strong last weekend even if it was against the likes of Bluefield, as PC churned out 678 yards of total offense, including 523 on the ground, leading to the record-breaking 69 points put up by the Blue Hose on Saturday afternoon. That came on the heels of generating just 127 offensive yards in the season opener against MAC powerhouse Northern Illinois in the opener.

The two regulars that returned along the offensive front for the Blue Hose for the 2014 season were right guard Devin Ritter and center Hunter Grey. All told, the Blue Hose enter Saturday afternoon’s clash ranking 38th in the FCS in total offense (402.5 YPG), 16th in scoring offense (36.0 PPG) and sixth nationally in rushing offense (296.0 YPG). The Blue Hose will operate out of the spread offense Saturday night when the Paladins come to town.

Looking at The PC Defense:

PC will operate out of a standard 4-3 defensive alignment Saturday night when taking the field against the Paladins.

The Blue Hose are physical and aggressive on the defensive side of the football, taking after their defensive coordinator and former legendary Blue Hose head coach Tommy Spangler in that respect. Spangler is back in his second season leading a unit that Furman had a tough time solving a year ago.

It all starts up front, with an athletic, physical defensive front, which is led by a pair of talented defensive ends, in Khari Rosier and Ugonna Akoh, with Rosier being a redshirt sophomore and Akoh a true sophomore.

Rosier has been one of the more impressive pass-rushers to date for Spangler’s defense, having posted 10 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks on the young season. Akoh has posted six stops and 1.5 TFL so far in 2014. Akoh leads all defensive players in his two seasons as a part of the PC defense, having amassed 15.5 tackles-for-loss.

Redshirt junior Mitchell Anderson and sophomore Kamren Mack will start at the defensive interior positions for the Blue Hose. Mack and Anderson are somewhat undersized on the interior, weighing in at 240 and 230 lbs, respectively, but for what they lack in size they certainly make up for in athleticism. So far this season, Anderson has posted six tackles and a tackle-for-loss, while Mack has registered a tackle so far this season.

The Blue Hose have talent, depth and experience to boast at linebacker in 2014, with Isaiah Lynn starting in the middle, flanked by All-Big South candidates Donnelle Williams and DaRon Dickey.

Williams leads the team with 16 stops so far this season, and he will start at the strong-side linebacker spot, and he will be a player the Paladin offensive line will have to be wary of at all times. In his career, Williams has a team-leading 225 stops to go along with five career tackles-for-loss.

Dickey, who will start at the other outside linebacker spot, boasts 80 career stops to go along with seven stops behind the line-of-scrimmage. This season, Dickey has posted 12 tackles and a pair of stops behind the line-of-scrimmage.

Lynn might be the most athletic and fundamental tackler on the PC defense, and will patrol the middle of the Blue Hose defense at MIKE linebacker. This season, Lynn has 12 stops, while posting 113 career stops, including 8.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks.

Also, linebacker Justin Antolik (8 tackles and a FF vs. Bluefield) and Breyon Williams, who have been significant contributors as starters in the past for Spangler’s defense, will also see plenty of action Saturday night.

The third level of the PC defense also brings back talent, with a precedent having been set by Justin Bethel three years ago by the athletic phenomenon Justin Bethel in the Blue Hose secondary. Bethel was a Pro Bowl selection in 2013-14 for his efforts on special teams for the Arizona Cardinals.

Safeties Corey White and Ed Britt are both veterans and now carry the torch passed down by Bethel, with White set to start at the free safety spot and is one of the most experienced players on the Blue Hose defense, while Britt, a junior, will start at strong safety. White ranks second on the defense this season with 15 stops and a tackle-for-loss, while Britt has contributed 10 tackles, a TFL and an INT so far on the young season.

The two starters at cornerback are also experienced and athletic, in Shonquille Byers and Levent Sands will start at the respective cornerback positions. Byers has posted five stops so far this season, while Sands has contributed just one stop through the first two contests.

Though athletic, Sands and Byers are two of the more inexperienced players on the PC defense, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Paladins to take some shots deep early in the contest to try and loosen the otherwise stingy unit.

The Blue Hose come in ranking 38th nationally in total defense (446.5 YPG) and 75th in scoring defense (34.5 PPG).

Final Prediction:
Saturday night’s trip to PC won’t be as easy as most Paladin fans would like it to be, and the past six quarters of football, the Paladins have been out-played, out-executed and out-coached by PC. However, talent, in the end, was enough to help Furman get wins in both of those games. While Furman has more talent, the gap isn’t what it used to be and no longer is PC a program that the Paladins can throw up scores like they did in head coach Bruce Fowler’s first season in Greenville. That being said, the Paladins’ defensive line will be the difference in most game this season, and shutting down the run will be top priority on Saturday night, and it all starts up front. Furman’s most distinct advantage at any position on offense or defense is on the defensive front, and though the Blue Hose may be able to take away Gary Wilkins, as Mercer found out last Saturday, doing it the entire night is pretty tough to do. Paladins don’t run away, but get off to first 3-0 start since 2004. Furman 30, Presbyterian 17