Furman's defense was opportunistic in their 31-13 road win at Samford, Saturday to open SoCon play. While, the Paladin defense allowed 23 1st downs and nearly 400 yards of total offense, they clamped down in critical moments.
Furman won the turnover battle and were plus three in turnover margin, while holding Samford to just 70 total rushing yards and an average of 2.3 yards per tote.
The Paladins jumped out to an early 14-0 lead after the offense put together two scoring drives of over 50 yards. Samford got on the board in the 2nd quarter cutting the lead to 14-7. The Paladins defense then made their biggest play of the game, as LB Raleigh Herbert got a "Pick 6" to make it 21-7 with 48 seconds left in the 1st half, which was a huge momentum swing in the game.
The Paladins made a play on Special Teams to close the half when Josh Stoneking blocked a Samford FG try as time expired. Furman took a 21-7 lead into the half. The Paladin D then stonewalled Samford to open the 2nd half forcing a turnover on downs at midfield.
Furman's offense capitalized and got a Trey Hedden TD pass to take a commanding three score lead at 28-7. The defense then held Samford the rest of the quarter. They forced a fumble and two punts and the Paladins added a FG to take their largest lead of the day at 31-7 heading into the 4th.
Samford did score a TD early in the 4th, they failed on the two point try to make it 31-13. The rest of the 4th belonged to Furman's defense forcing a turnover downs and a punt. They sealed the deal when Paladin DL Garrison Butler got an interception with less than two minutes to play.
With the win Furman moves to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. They're back in action Saturday hosting SoCon foe East Tennessee State for a 2PM kickoff. Furman Football plays all season long on the Fan Upstate.