By MONTE DUTTON

Furman football gets an opportunity to make a statement on Saturday afternoon when Mercer (6-1, 5-0 SoCon) takes on the Paladins at their eponymous stadium, kicking off 2 p.m.

The Bears, obviously residing at the top of the Southern Conference, is ranked 13^th in the FCS.

Both teams fell to then-unheralded Presbyterian in the first two weeks of the season. Within the SoCon, Mercer won 22-21 over Wofford; the Terriers bettered the Paladins, 31-13. Both have defeated The Citadel (Mercer 38-0, Furman 24-14), East Tennessee State (38-34, 31-22) and Samford (45-21, 31-13).

Furman (5-3, 3-2) has a shot at the FCS playoffs if it can beat Mercer, Chattanooga and Virginia Military before closing at Clemson. The Paladins hold a 12-9-2 lead in the series with Mercer and have won two of the last three meetings, though the Bears captured last year’s contest, 49-23, in Macon, Ga.

Furman head coach Clay Hendrix said, “It’s just a matter of continuing to play your best. We’ve played some really good football at times, but it’s still a matter of waiting for that best game. Hopefully, it’ll come this week, and we probably need it.

“We’ve got to stay in focus, whether things are good or things are bad.”

Mercer brings a six-game winning streak to Greenville, having blanked VMI, 62-0, last week while Furman was polishing off the SoCon’s other military school, The Citadel.

Furman regained its ball security against the Bulldogs, suffering no turnovers after totaling eight in losses to Western Carolina and Wofford. The Paladins put The Citadel away with solid defense, an improved rushing game and effective special-teams work.

“If we can take care of the ball, we’ve got a chance to win every week,” said Hendrix. “Eleven of our 14 turnovers have come in three games.”

Furman received a significant boost with the return of freshman wide receiver Evan James after three games sidelined with injury.  The Apopka, Fla., product had eight catches for 126 yards against The Citadel and has 40 catches for 505 yards and two scores in five games this year.

The Paladins produced their most effective ground game of the season against The Citadel behind Ben Croasdale and Jayquan Smith, who combined for 136 yards and two touchdowns.

Furman lost leading rusher Gavin Hall early in the Citadel game, opening the opportunity for Croasdale, a redshirt junior from Dallas, Texas, to rush for 91 yards in 19 carries.

“We were pretty thin at running back entering the game, so I knew my role was going to increase a little bit,” he said, “It was very unfortunate to see Gavin (Hall) go down in the first drive. I knew I had to step up. I was very confident. I tried not to overthink it and just do my job.”

 In Mercer the Paladins face a potent offense coming off a SoCon record 829-yard parade against VMI. Since turning over its offense to freshman quarterback Braden Atkinson, the Bears have flourished. He torched the Keydets for 533 yards and five touchdowns.

Of Mercer, Hendrix said, “They’re the most complete team we’ve faced, and I don’t think it’s even close.

“Give them a lot of credit. They’re really well coached. They play with an edge. We’ve got to match that.”

Atkinson, a freshman from Rolesville, N.C., has a quality receiving corps to engage, led by Brayden Smith (41 rec., 6 TDs) and Adjatay Dabbs (27, 4 TDs). The rushing leader is C.J. Miller (521 yds., 6 TDs).

Furman defensive end Joshua Stoneking leads the nation in tackles for loss (18) and sacks (12-1/2). Mercer is the conference leader as a team with 29 sacks, led by Andrew Zock with 8-1/2.

In a league of quality specialists, the Paladins and Bears have two of the best.  Furman’s Ian Williams, who last week collected the sixth league player of the week scroll of his career, is a stellar three-way performer, evidenced by his 11/14 field goal work, 43.8 punting average, and 80 percent kickoff touchback success rate (32/40). Mercer’s Reice Griffith has connected on 10/13 field goals.

“We’re a pretty battle-tested group,” Hendrix said. “We’ll need to be at our best, and there’s absolutely no reason we shouldn’t be.”

Saturday’s game will be live streamed via ESPN+ and aired over Furman flagship The Fan Upstate (97.7 FM/1330 AM in Greenville, 97.1 FM/950 AM in Spartanburg).

For years, my site has been supported by reader contributions. If you’re interested, you can make modest monthly payments on my Patreon page or a one-time contribution via Venmo (@DHKSports).

Or, if you’d like to make a contribution by check or cash, my mailing address, for now, is: Monte Dutton, 11185 Hwy. 56 N., Clinton, S.C.  29325.

Every little bit helps. It keeps gas in the truck for road trips.

Most of my books are available at Amazon.