By MONTE DUTTON

Wofford, nearby archrival that stunned a powerful Furman a season ago in Spartanburg, visits Paladin Stadium on Saturday, holding the presumptive upper hand this time.
The Paladin faithful relish a big payback. When the Terriers won, 19-13, on Nov. 18, 2023, Furman had nine victories and Wofford one.
An outcome like that defines a rivalry. It happens, and it hurts.
If I had a nickel for every purple-clad partisan who has said to me something along the lines of, I don’t care what happens long as we beat we Wofford, well, I’d possibly be financially solvent.

My position, owing to my time at Furman, has always been that The Citadel was the biggest rivalry because the Paladins and the Bulldogs are Athens versus Sparta, and the conflict with the Terriers is merely Athens versus Athens.
Furman came from behind to defeat The Citadel, 17-16, on Oct. 5. The Paladins have fallen three times in a row since. Head coach Clay Hendrix has lost consecutive home games for the first time in his eight years at the helm. Furman has not fallen in three straight home games since 2016.
The Wofford game is irrelevant in terms of the Southern Conference standings, other than possible occupancy of fifth place.

Furman and Wofford, football rivals since 1889, are renew the Deep South’s oldest gridiron contretemps this Saturday when the Paladins host the Terriers at 2 p.m.
This year’s matchup will mark the 98th battle between Furman (2-6, 1-3 SoCon) and Wofford (4-5, 2-4) in a series the Paladins lead 56-34-7. Furman has won six of the last seven clashes in Greenville, where it holds 35-11-5 advantage, including a 63-28 verdict in 2022. Wofford, however, captured last year’s meeting in Spartanburg, claiming a 19-3 win over a SoCon championship Furman squad that contended without the services of injured SoCon Player of the Year quarterback Tyler Huff, among others.
No excuses, though. The Terriers richly deserved the victory.

This year has been a different story for head coach Clay Hendrix’s squad, which has struggled following the graduation of 40 veteran performers. The contrast is most obvious in the (two-deep) depth chart, where last season at the 10-game mark the Paladins counted 35 players with graduate, senior or junior eligibility status among their top 44 players on offense and defense. This season 33 of the 44 are classified as freshmen and sophomores. This fall 24 Paladins have made their first career starts.

In a tough 21-17 road loss at VMI last week, Furman rolled up 412 yards in offense, including a season-high 195 on the ground, dominated the time of possession 39:35-20:25, and ran 87 plays to VMI’s 43, all while holding the Keydets to two first downs and 31 total yards duing a second-half shutout. Still, the Paladins lost, victimized by their own inefficiency and three turnovers, one of which led to a short four-yard drive for a VMI touchdown.
Bright spots amid the frustration in Lexington, Va., were a ground game that delivered its best performance (195 yards) of the season, led by true freshman running back Gavin Hall (13 rushes, 121 yds., 9.3 ypg), the play of wide receiver Colton Hinton (8 rec., 88 yds., TD) and the aforementioned work of Furman’s defense, especially in the second half.

All in all, it was still rock bottom to date. The win was VMI’s first, both overall and in the SoCon.
The Paladins have gotten solid play from senior linebacker Evan DiMaggio (78 tackles, 5.5 TFL), one of the few defensive holdovers from a year ago after senior nose guard Xavier Stephens suffered a season-ending knee injury against The Citadel and bandit Luke Clark exited the lineup against Western Carolina with an injured shoulder.

Clark is back for the Wofford game.
Wofford is coming off a solid 17-13 road victory over Samford and has already doubled its win total from a year ago. Redshirt freshman quarterback Amari Odoum, who recently returned from injury, threw for 203 yards in the win over the Bulldogs.
The contest, billed as Military Appreciation Day at Furman, will be streamed via ESPN+ and aired over flagship The Fan Upstate and its four stations: 97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, and 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg.

In the spring, it is said that thoughts turn to love. In November, they turn to basketball.
Two of the top mid-major programs in the country over the last decade clash on Friday night when Furman visits Nashville, Tenn., to take on the Missouri Valley Conference’s Belmont Bruins.
Tip-off at tCurb Event Center is at 7:30 p.m. EST, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+, as well as on The Fan Upstate.
Furman opened the season with a 104-46 rout of NAIA member Columbia International on Monday evening at Bon Secours Wellness Arena behind 21 points from junior Florida State transfer Tom House.
Redshirt-freshman Tommy Humphries added 15 points, freshman Mason Smith scored 11, and redshirt freshman Eddrin Bronson contributed 10 while. senior Tyrese Hughey totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds to notch his second career double-double.

Friday’s game marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Paladins and Bruins with Furman holding a 3-2 series edge. Furman claimed a 99-76 decision in last season’s meeting in Greenville, its second straight win over Belmont. The Bruins won the most recent meeting in Nashville between the schools during the 2021-22 season.
Belmont opened its season on Monday night with a 93-70 victory over Maryville.

Following Friday’s road trip, Furman returns on to host Jacksonville on Monday, Nov. 11, and Tulane on Friday, Nov. 15, at the Well.

Women’s basketball opens its home season schedule on Thursday when it plays host to Erskine at North Greenville University’s Hayes Gymnasium, beginning at 7.
Hayes Gymnasium is the primary home court for the Paladins this season while Timmons Arena, the university’s home basketball venue, undergoes a $40 million renovation.
The Paladins are scheduled play 10 of their 12 home games at Hayes Gymnasium, as well as two contests — UNC Greensboro (Jan.18) and Wofford (Feb. 8) — at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville.

Thursday’s game versus Erskine will not be live streamed.
Furman (1-0) tipped off the season with a 60-54 road victory over South Carolina State on Monday, getting 16 points from junior forward Sydney Ryan, 12 points from graduate guard Tate Walters and a 10-point performance by freshman guard Raina McGowens in her college debut.
Freshman forward Clare Coyle led the Paladins’ rebounding effort with eight, while Walters and Ryan followed with seven and six, respectively.

Furman won at S.C. State despite not having its top two post players, seniors Jada Session and Kate Johnson, in uniform due to injuries.
Thursday’s contest is the season opener for Erskine.
The Paladins play at Georgia on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. contest.
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