Not only did Furman not come to play at Western Carolina. As it turned out, I didn’t come to watch.

I followed the Presbyterian game electronically. It started at 1 p.m. – PC has played at 1 the last four weeks – and the plan was, to borrow from the TV guys, to pick up the action when the Blue Hose’ game at Butler was decided.

By then, it was too late. Remarkably, the game in Cullowhee, N.C., was scoreless after a quarter. From then on, Western Carolina recited multiplication tables and Furman couldn’t even add.

The final score, excruciatingly, was 52-7. Great Caesar’s ghost. Ye Gods.

Taron Dickens passed for 220 yards and four touchdowns. A 24-point second quarter greased the Paladins’ skids. DIckens’ touchdown strikes covered 50, nine, 41 and six yards to power the Catamounts (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) to their fourth consecutive victory and second straight triumph over the Paladins (4-2, 2-1). Western Carolina opened the catastrophic second quarter with a Marcus Trout 44-yard field goal.

Dickens followed with 50-yard scoring strike to M.J. Rossin and nine-yard toss to Josh Perry.

Ken Moore finished off the half when he intercepted Furman quarterback Trey Hedden’s pass at the Catamount 36 and covered 64 yards to the end zone.

 Furman put together its only scoring drive of the contest before halftime, covering 75 yards in 10 plays for Joshua Burrell’s eight-yard touchdown catch with 13 seconds on the clock.

It got worse and even exponentially.

Western Carolina doused any hope of a Paladin comeback in the first two minutes of the second half when Dickens found Malik Knight behind coverage for a 41-yard scoring pass that extended the lead to 31-7.

Dickens hit 17/24 passes and added 48 rushing yards.

The Catamounts outgained the Paladins 522-366 and accounted for 302 rushing yards. Had it been a war, it would have been a slaughter.

Furman suffered four turnovers, including a pair of interceptions in the end zone and another that went as a pick-six.

Ethan Harris paced Furman with 12 catches for 95 yards.

The Paladins’ top receiver, Ja’Keith Hamilton, exited the game midway through the first quarter and did not return.

Furman returns to action next Saturday with a noon contest at Wofford (1-5, 0-2), which won, 31-14, over Norfolk (Va.) State. The Terriers have defeated Furman in both of the past two seasons, by an 18-14 margin each time.

Take a look at the stats here.

Much football remains to be played. Perhaps there are some spoons full of sugar left to help the medicine go down.

Then there’s basketball season, where the Paladins were picked second to Chattanooga in the annual preseason poll of SoCon coaches.

Cooper Bowser and Tom House were named to the preseason all-conference team

Bowser, a junior from Woodbridge, Va., returns to anchor the Paladin frontcourt this season after averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game a year ago. The 6- 11 forward’s 57 blocked shots, including 26 in league play, helped him earn a spot on the 2024-25 SoCon all-defensive Team. Among his top performances last season, Bowser powered Furman to a victory over Seattle in Las Vegas with 17 points and 12 rebounds, helped the Paladins to an overtime win at The Citadel with 13 points and a career-best 14 boards, and totaled a career-high 21 points in a January win over Samford.

 House, who arrived in Greenville from Florida State prior to the 2024-25 season, contributed 7.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 34 contests while shooting .406 from behind the arc. The Dayton, Ohio, native excelled over the final month of the season, scoring 26 and 19 points, respectively, in home wins over Mercer and The Citadel before netting 21 points in a SoCon Tournament win over Samford. Over Furman’s last 10 games of the season, House averaged 11.4 points per game and shot .565 from three-point range.

 Chattanooga and Furman each received five first-place votes with the Mocs taking the top spot in the preseason poll by a margin of 77 points to 73. Samford was picked third and ETSU fourth with UNC Greensboro, VMI, Western Carolina, Mercer, Wofford and The Citadel rounding out the poll.

 Head coach Bob Richey, entering his ninth season at Furman as head coach, welcomes back six players who saw playing time in at least 31 games a year ago for a Furman squad that posted a 25-10 overall record, advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament finals, and received an at-large bid to the NIT.

 Furman is set to open the newly-renovated Timmons Arena in front of a packed house on Sunday, Octo. 26, when it hosts nationally-ranked Alabama in an exhibition. After taking on Big South champion High Point in Rock Hill at The Field of 68 Tip-Off Marathon on Nov. 3, Furman will entertain Sun Belt Conference champion Troy in the regular-season home opener at Timmons Arena on Nov. 7.

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