A Detailed History of Furman Football with regularity in the 2013 title run were no longer present. Previewing The Opponents: Game 9 The Paladins lost just seven players off that team from a year ago, including a pair of non-seniors Nov. 1 at VMI (Foster Stadium) which were removed from the team after a violation of the school’s honor code, in All-America candidates Eric Thoni (C) and Jairus Hollman (DB). The Paladins also lost seniors Dakota Dozier GREENVILLE, S.C--The operative term heading (LT), Ryan Culbreath (WR), Greg Worthy (DB), Ray Early (PK/P) and Cameron Mason (TE) to into Saturday’s contest between VMI and graduation. Furman is obviously streaks. It doesn’t seem like all that much production, but when you add in quarterback Reese Hannon For Furman, it enters Saturday’s clash with a 2-6 this season, who was lost in the season opener, the losses really become too much to overcome record and a 1-2 mark in league play, having for the Paladins. lost six-straight in a single season for the first time since the 2002 season, which saw the Just like two years ago, the Paladins have seen noticeable problems getting big plays from its Paladins claim a resounding 55-28 in Lexington, VA. wide receiving corps. Heading into Saturday’s contest at VMI, the Paladins leading receiver this season has been tight end Duncan Fletcher, who made the move from quarterback to tight end The Paladins enter Saturday’s contest against having claimed quite a long winning streak in the during the spring, as the change has seen production of the tight end position return to Colin series against the Keydets, having won 21-straight games in the series dating back to a 21-20 Anderson-like proficiency. loss to the Keydets in the 1979 season. The Paladins’ longest pass play from scrimmage this season was 45 yards, which went to Jordan VMI is in its first season back in the Southern Conference, re-joining the league this season after Snellings in the 25-20 win over Mercer. Snellings enters the weekend leading the Paladin an 11-year hiatus. The Keydets come in struggling under the direction of head coach Sparky Woods, having posted just a 1-8 record through their first nine games, including an 0-4 record against league competition, with the Keydets’ lone win this season coming in a 52-24 win over Davidson. VMI has played much better in the friendly confines of Foster Stadium this season, having posted a 1-2 record inside the friendly confines, losing twice at home by a combined nine points to both Gardner-Webb (47-41/OT) and lost a home conference game to Mercer (27-24). The last time the Keydets tasted victory on the gridiron was back on Sept. 13 in the win over Pioneer League member Davidson, while Furman posted its last win on the road at Mercer (25- 20). The first game between the two SoCon foes came in 1946, with the Keydets posting 26-7 A Historical Perspective On Furman’s Offensive Woes In 2014: Saturday’s clash in Lexington will pit the SoCon’s two worst offenses against each other, with the Paladins on pace to have one of their worst offenses in school history, averaging just 13.8 PPG and a mere 306.5 YPG of total offense this season. Redshirt Sophomore Wide Receiver Andrej Suttles Had A Dynamic Impact As A Redshirt Freshman Last Season, Setting A Furman Freshman Record With 697 Receiving Yards To Go Along With Six Scores and Furman has played three quarterbacks in 2014, having lost starter Reese Hannon in the 3 TDs In 2013. season-opening, 13-3, win over Gardner-Webb. The season, especially on the offensive side of the football, hasn’t really ever gone right since. If the season ended today, the Paladins’ average receiving corps in receiving yards, having hauled in 29 passes so far in 2014. Andrej Suttles of 306.5 YPG would rank as the second-worst in program history in terms of total offense, has seen the most frustration hauling in the football this season after posting such a dynamic averaging just 301.7 YPG in 1997. freshman campaign. Interestingly enough, it was the 1997 season that has strangely mirrored the 2014 season It was about this point last season when Suttles started to have such an effect last season as for the Paladins, as Furman lost starter Chris Jonas to a knee injury in the second game of the a redshirt freshman wideout, posting a pair of long scoring catches in back-to-back wins over season at SC State, and the Paladin offense never found its rhythm after the injury. However, the Georgia Southern and Samford last season. difference in the ‘97 team was that it claimed seven wins, finishing just out of the FCS playoff mix. Saturday saw Suttles turn in his most impressive performance in terms of receptions, as he posted seven catches for 45 yards in the loss. Suttles ended the 2013 season with 20 catches, The reason that 1997 team was able to win seven games was it sported one of the best defenses and this season, he has hauled in 20 less catches and has four games remaining, and could in the history of the program, as the Paladins allowed just 304.9 YPG and a 20.3 PPG. The realistically finish pretty close to the numbers he put up in terms of catches should he turn in Paladins finished the season as the league leader in sacks, thanks in large part to All-American four solid performances against VMI, The Citadel, Wofford and Chattanooga. Bryan Dailer, who set a school and Southern Conference mark with seven sacks in his final career game against Chattanooga, helping the Paladins finish with 32 on the season--the second-most The running game has seen even more of a struggle, although its imrpovement has been notice- in program history in a single season. able in the latter half of the season, despite struggling a bit last week after a pair of 200-yard rushing performances in losses to South Carolina and Coastal Carolina prior to the homecoming The Paladins started off defensively much like that 1997 team, but the Paladins have seen debacle against Samford. each of its past four opponents score at least 30 points and gain better than 400 yards of total offense. In the 45-0 homecoming loss to Samford last week, the Paladins surrendered a In each of Bruce Fowler’s first three seasons, the Paladins had posted a 1,000-yard rusher, season-high 540 yards to the Bulldog offense, which accounted for the most since surrendering however, that trend appears to be coming to an end this season, as the Paladins’ leading rusher- a school-record 672 yards in a 48-16 loss at No. 13 LSU last season -Hank McCloud--has just 368 yards through the first eight games. He is averaging 4.3 YPC this season and has a pair of rushing scores. In the loss to South Carolina a couple of weeks ago, The 13.8 PPG to point this season would be the second-worst average for a season in school Suttles had a career-long 60-yard scoring run. In 2013, McCloud rushed for 1,092 yards and five history, eclipsed only by the 1974 Paladins, which mustered a meager 11.7 PPG. That Furman scores, averaging 5.1 YPC. team went on to finish the season with a respectable 5-6 mark, which included a defense that ranked as one of the best in program history, finishing the season ranked 13th nationally, The Paladins’ offense scored 281 points through 12 games last season, and through the first allowing just 257.0 YPG. eight games this season, Furman has posted 110 total points. Furman would need to average better than 40 points in its final four games to approach the point total the Paladins concluded It’s interesting that two of the worst seasons in the modern era for Furman football featured two their 12-game slate with a year ago. of the best defensive seasons in the history of the program. If Furman can rally and finish strong defensively in 2014, it would once again be the same theme. A Different Mentality: Furman seemed to be charted on the right course after a 37-31 loss in overtime to No. 4 One thing is for certain, the first game against the Keydets in 12 years won’t be regarded the Coastal Carolina, while posting what was a respectable 41-10 loss at South Carolina. However, same as it was back in 2002 when the Paladins were fresh off a national title appearance and confidence and identity issues on offense have plagued the Paladins since the loss of Hannon in considered an elite program and consistent Top 10 team in the FCS. Saturday’s contest against the season opener, coming to a head last week with the loss to Samford. It was clear a team that the Keydets will likely be a fourth-quarter type contest. was not mentally tough and one that lacked the kind of confidence it seemingly manufactured A Detailed History of Furman Football Previewing The Opponents: Game 9 Nov. 1 at VMI (Foster Stadium) In fact, the Paladins have been dominant in the series against the Keydets, and in the past 20 meetings between the two the average margin of victory has been nearly 30 points, with the closest game during the past 20 meetings having been a 33-21 contest in 1981, which was played in Lexington.