With a promising end-of-season surge, the Furman Paladin football team finished 21st in the national coaches’ poll. The Paladins ended the regular season by winning five of their last six games, with their only loss coming at LSU. These victories included wins over perennial 1-AA powerhouses, including Wofford, Georgia Southern, and Appalachian State.

With a little help from Samford’s win over Chattanooga on the final day of the season, the Paladins won the tiebreaker atop the Southern Conference and received the conference’s automatic bid. While usually one of the top conferences nationwide, Samford was the only other SoCon team to qualify for the 24-team NCAA playoffs. Despite decent seasons from Chattanooga and App State, the rest of the country was too strong this year for them to qualify.

The Paladins drew in-state rival South Carolina State Bulldogs, winners of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) with a 9-4 record, with one of those losses coming against Clemson. The playoff selection committee deemed that SC State was the stronger team, and granted the team home-field advantage for the matchup.

Despite a banged-up Hank McCloud (10 carries for 65 yards) and a rather pedestrian statistical performance from young quarterback Reese Hannon (three for 10 for 65 yards with one touchdown and one interception), enough playmakers stepped up to guide the Paladins to a 30-20 victory in Orangeburg.

Backup sophomore running back Tanner Skogen helped McCloud carry the rushing workload by running 13 times for 165 yards, a career high. Hannon also had a rushing touchdown. However, it was the school-record 90 yard punt return and 34 yard interception return for touchdowns by Jarius Hollman that propelled Furman to victory.

With the win, the Paladins advanced to the round of 16 against number one overall seed and back-to-back national champions, North Dakota State. Despite an evenly played first half, the Bison over-powered the Paladins in the second half, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter alone. NDSU proceeded to stomp their next three opponents as well to win their third consecutive FCS National Championship. They are only the second team in history to accomplish such a feat (Appalachian State three-peated in the early 2000s).

The Paladins’ strong finish landed them a spot in the final top 25 rankings and mostly likely a spot in next year’s preseason top 25. Many of the team’s most important players will be returning next season. However, a few older players such as offensive lineman Dakota Dozier and placekicker/punter Ray Early — both of whom were voted to various FCS All-American squads — may be taking their talents to the professional level. Dozier has been invited to the 2014 NFL combine, the sixth Furman player in program history to receive an invite.

Safety Trey Robinson was voted onto the College Sports Journal FCS All-Freshman team as well. Robinson was among four Paladins who were part of the All-SoCon freshman team. These young players are arguably the main reason why the Paladins, after finishing in the top 25 final rankings for the first time since the 2006 season, have such a bright future.

Despite being picked to finish seventh in this season’s preseason coaches’ poll, the Paladins won their all-time record 13th SoCon title. Bruce Fowler won Conference Coach of the Year award, and the Paladins are ranked in the NCAA’s top 10 graduation rate. Harvard is the only other 1-AA school on the list. Samford also made it to the second round of playoffs and finished 18th in the final poll, while Chattanooga finished at no. 25. Coastal Carolina, no. 7, and Charleston Southern, no. 23, also represented the state of South Carolina in the final rankings, making South Carolina the only state with more than two teams in the top 25.

Next season the Paladins return 17 of 20 players with the most tackles on defense. Returners include the entire backfield and four of the top five wide receivers. Although the losses of Dozier, Worthy, Culbreath, and Early will hurt the squad, having so many players returning will be a huge starting point for coach Fowler and the Paladins in 2014.