Five things to know before South Carolina hosts Furman

Very quickly, South Carolina is in a tough spot. After dropping the season opener, the Gamecocks face plenty of questions as to what this team can do.

The message all week has been to be better. Head coach Shane Beamer has relentlessly preached it, and so have his players. Correcting the mistakes that led to a defeat last week.

Before starting a tough SEC slate next week, the Gamecocks will play host to Furman. While some might chalk it up as an automatic win, let’s take an in-depth look at this Paladins team.

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Not your typical FCS team

Every Power Five team has those games on the schedule that are more likely than not going to be wins. South Carolina has been no exception to this in the past. But not this year.

Some might assume Furman, an FCS school, can’t hang with the big boys. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“If you actually study the game of football and know what you’re talking about and watch football, then you know this is a hell of a football team coming in here this weekend,” Beamer said.

The Paladins are currently ranked No. 6 in the FCS. They’ve won eight of their last nine games, with their only loss coming in the second round of last year’s FCS playoffs. That was a three-point loss to the UIW Cardinals.

One team that has a good understanding of this Furman team would be Clemson. The Tigers hosted the Paladins last September and won 35-12. While the score might not indicate it, Furman threw for more yards and nearly ran for just as much as Clemson.

On top of that, Furman held a potent Tigers offense to just seven points in the second half of that game. So the proof is in the pudding that this team should not to be underestimated.

“They won’t be wide-eyed coming in here on Saturday night, so if anybody thinks that’s the case and that this is a take a breath week, you’re sorely mistaken,” Beamer said. “This is a really good team coming in here, and we need to play really, really well.”

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Veteran-led group

Beamer pointed it out in his press conference earlier this week, Furman is an older squad.

“This is a team with 18 returning starters. This is a team that every single starter on offense or defense except for two is a junior or senior or a graduate. So these guys have played a lot of football,” he said.

Leading the Paladins is graduate quarterback Tyler Huff. He’s in his second year with the program after transferring from Presbyterian.

In a small one-game sample size this year, Huff has gone 15-for-27 for 172 yards and one interception. He also is pretty mobile, running for 53 yards in a 45-10 route of Tennessee Tech back on Aug. 31.

Huff is surrounded by a handful of veteran playmakers as well.

Ground and pound offense

In the Paladins’ only game so far this year, it was clear they love to run the football when they can. They rushed 40 times for 194 yards and four touchdowns. That’s not to say they won’t air it out, though. After all, Huff went 31-for-40 for 259 yards and a touchdown and interception against Clemson last year.

This could create some problems for the Gamecocks, who gave up 168 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against North Carolina.

Dominic Roberto will be an important name to keep an eye on in the running back room. The graduate back ran 18 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee Tech. Standing at 5-foot-11, 231 pounds, he rushed for 1,120 yards a year ago.

If Furman decides to throw the ball more often, here’s some guys to keep an eye on. Kyndel Dean is the team’s best returning target, catching 44 passes for 407 yards last year. Besides him, there’s a lot of raw talent.

Sophomore Ben Ferguson could also be a threat in the deep passing game. He’s caught two passes for 56 yards, one of which was for 45 yards. And like Luke Doty for South Carolina, the Paladins have a quarterback turned receiver of their own. Luke Shiflett, who caught 14 passes for 167 yards last year, is listed as a receiver. But he has played quarterback in the past.

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Physical, disruptive defense

Good news for South Carolina: Furman only has one sack this season.

After allowing nine sacks last week, the Gamecocks’ offensive line is in dire need of a bounce back performance. And it could come against the Paladins. But it’s not that simple.

Much like the offense, the defense has a lot of experience. It’s a hungry group that is going to come out swinging.

The Paladins picked off Tennessee Tech four times and forced four fumbles, recovering two. In their game against Clemson, they forced two turnovers. But they also gave up 35 points and 231 passing yards to DJ Uiagaleilei.

“They led the nation last year in takeaways. So nobody created more turnovers than their defense did last year,” Beamer said. “Pretty good on defense, I think we had 24 that we created last season and we were second in the SEC. These guys created 29. They had six the other night, six turnovers in their game. And then they also led the nation in blocked kicks.”

Milestone game

While it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, this will be the 50th all-time matchup between Furman and South Carolina.

The Gamecocks lead the series 28-20-1, with the most recent game played back in 2014. That year, South Carolina won 41-10 thanks to a two-touchdown outing from Dylan Thompson and a strong running game from Mike Davis and David Williams.

Outside of the early 1900’s, South Carolina has only lost this game once, a 28-23 defeat back in 1982. That year, the Gamecocks finished 4-7 under Richard Bell.

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