2023 Furman Paladins football team

2023 Furman Paladins football
SoCon champion
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 28–35OT at Montana
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
STATS	No. 7
FCS Coaches	No. 6
Record	10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Clay Hendrix (7th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Chad Byers (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Justin Roper (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Duane Vaughn (5th season)
Home stadium	Paladin Stadium

2023 Southern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 7 Furman $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 14 Chattanooga ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 17 Mercer ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 23 Western Carolina		5	–	3					7	–	4
Samford		4	–	4					6	–	5
VMI		4	–	4					5	–	6
East Tennessee State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6					2	–	9
The Citadel		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Furman Paladins football team represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Paladins were led by seventh-year head coach Clay Hendrix and played their home games at Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 p.m.	Tennessee Tech*	No. 6	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 45–10	9,827
September 9	7:30 p.m.	at South Carolina*	No. 6	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	SECN+/ESPN+	L 21–47	78,281
September 16	5:00 p.m.	at Kennesaw State*	No. 7	Fifth Third Bank Stadium Kennesaw, GA	ESPN+	W 31–28	6,993
September 23	1:00 p.m.	No. 21 Mercer	No. 8	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 38–14	9,387
October 7	2:00 p.m.	The Citadel	No. 5	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 28–14	12,157
October 14	1:00 p.m.	at Samford	No. 5	Pete Hanna Stadium Homewood, AL	ESPN+	W 27–21	5,908
October 21	2:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Western Carolina	No. 4	Bob Waters Field at E. J. Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	ESPN+	W 29–17	10,736
October 28	2:00 p.m.	East Tennessee State	No. 3	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 16–8	11,237
November 4	1:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Chattanooga	No. 2	Finley Stadium Chattanooga, TN	ESPN+	W 17–14	9,201
November 11	1:00 p.m.	VMI	No. 2	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	ESPN+	W 37–3	9,277
November 18	12:00 p.m.	at Wofford	No. 2	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	ESPN+	L 13–19	3,722
December 2	1:00 p.m.	No. 18 Chattanooga*	No. 7	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN+	W 26–7	7,118
December 8	9:00 p.m.	at No. 2 Montana*	No. 7	Washington-Grizzly Stadium Missoula, MT (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN2	L 28–35 OT	20,884
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

at South Carolina (FBS)

See also: 2023 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Game Two – No. 6 Furman Paladins (1–0) at South Carolina Gamecocks (FBS) (0–1) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Furman	7	7	0	7	21
South Carolina (FBS)	7	20	13	7	47

at Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, South Carolina

• Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
• Game time: 7:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Sunny • 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: SE 5 mph
• Game attendance: 78,281
• Referee: -
• TV announcers (SECN+/ESPN+): TBD

Game information

First quarter (7:27) FU – Dominic Roberto 1-yard run (Axel Lepvreau kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 68 yards, 2:49; Furman 7-0) (4:59) SC – Dakereon Joyner 3-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards, 2:21; Tied 7-7) Second quarter (11:57) FU – Luke Shiflett 4-yard pass from Tyler Huff (Ian Williams kick) (Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 5:04; Furman 14-7) (8:26) SC – Spencer Rattler 1-yard run (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:31; Tied 14-14) (0:43) SC – Luke Doty 36-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (pass failed) (Drive: 10 plays, 74 yards, 3:48; South Carolina 20-14) (0:03) SC – O'Mega Blake 3-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:26; South Carolina 27-14) Third quarter (8:36) SC – Xavier Legette 42-yard pass from Spencer Rattler (Mitch Jeter kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 90 yards, 1:30; South Carolina 34-14) (0:09) SC – Tyshawn Russell 50-yard pass from LaNorris Sellers (pass failed) (Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards, 2:01; South Carolina 40-14) Fourth quarter (10:40) SC – Nyck Harbor 7-yard pass from LaNorris Sellers (Alex Herrera kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards, 2:24; South Carolina 47-14) (4:41) FU – Brock Chappell 16-yard pass from Carson Jones (Axel Lepvreau kick) (Drive: 1 play, 16 yards, 0:08; South Carolina 47-21)

Statistics	FU	SC
First downs	16	25
Total yards	65–323	77–571
Rushing yards	31–80	39–108
Passing yards	243	463
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	20–34–1	32–38–0
Time of possession	28:07	31:53

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Furman	Passing	Tyler Huff	14/24, 129 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Jayquan Smith	8 carries, 30 yards
	Receiving	Joshua Harris	6 receptions, 73 yards
South Carolina	Passing	Spencer Rattler	25/27, 345 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Dakereon Joyner	11 carries, 42 yards, TD
	Receiving	Xavier Legette	6 receptions, 118 yards, TD