At a chilly Paladin Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the #2 Furman Paladins (9-1, 7-0 SoCon) coldly subdued any effort by the VMI Keydets (4-6, 3-4 SoCon) to thwart the so-far perfect season by Furman with a strong defense and very aggressive passing offense. With the victory, Furman claimed the outright SoCon title. The smell of cigars filled the air as players and staff cheered, elevating the polished wooden SoCon trophy above their shoulders.
The season’s first goal is complete: the team puts both hands on the SoCon trophy by winning it outright. The Paladins completed this goal behind never-before-seen aggression in playcalling on offense paired with a stout defensive effort, holding VMI to only 189 yards total.
Redshirt freshman QB Carson Jones silenced any doubt that he could fill the hole in offensive production left by the injured starting QB Tyler Huff. Jones looked highly comfortable in the pocket. He moved with determination to avoid pressure, stepping up in the pocket to throw for 226 yards on 18-23 passing and four touchdown passes. Co-offensive coordinators Chad Byers and Justin Roper drew up incredible plays for Paladin receivers to get behind the VMI defense, notably two 34-yard deep touchdown passes to Kyndel Dean and Nick Cannon.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Paladins were dominant. They combined 12 tackles for loss and eight sacks, holding VMI to only 33 yards rushing. LB Dan Scianna got his hands on a tipped pass for an interception, and LB Luke Clark also recovered a VMI fumble. The 189 yards by VMI is the least amount of yards the Keydet offense has been able to muster this season, including their FBS matchup against NC State, in which they attained only 191 yards.
The Paladins still have one last conference game to play this Saturday at noon on the road in Spartanburg, S.C. against Wofford. 2023 has been woeful for the Terriers (1-9, 1-6 SoCon) as they have just won their first game this season last weekend against The Citadel, 11-3. If the Terriers want to have any chance at beating the Paladins, they will need to score far more than just 11 points. Their true freshman QB Pauly Seeley has been far less than optimal, throwing for less than 1,000 yards this season and only three touchdown passes but with six interceptions. The Terriers will look to RB Ryan Ingram for production in the running game.
For the game against Wofford, one should expect QB Jones to once again get the start. QB Huff, who was out against VMI with a shoulder injury, has not been wearing a sling on his shoulder as seen in his interview with ESPN after being named the 2023 Armed Forces Merit Award recipient. It would be unwise to start Huff against Wofford when he can be saved for the Paladins in the playoffs this December. The Paladins should look to employ a greater emphasis on passing once again against Wofford with Jones, who demonstrated his accurate passing against VMI.
The Paladins will be back in Paladin Stadium on Dec. 2 in the Second Round of the FCS playoffs. You can watch their upcoming matchup against Wofford on ESPN+ this Saturday at noon. Go Dins!
